The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 3, 1990 - Page 7 What's a mell like fish by Brian Jarvinen 0 K, Classic Rock Quiz time: What was the first band to emerge 4m the break-up of Jefferson Air- plane way back when? No, it wasn't tie sappy Jefferson Starship, it was Hot *@#%in' Tuna, mann, and While the Airplane have been reduced to a two-song footnote on the radio and the requisite greatest-hits CD package, Hot Tuna is alive and well, blowing minds and tiny bar-rooms idto the stratosphere from coast to st. Hot Tuna formed as a vehicle for Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, musical pals since their high school days in the '50s, to play all of the classic blues, folk, hard country, urban blues and what- ever else caught their fancy. In a decade punctuated with numerous new guitar virtuosos the likes of Hendrix, Page, Clapton and Garcia, , aukonen quickly gained his own 'putation for brilliant electric leads and intense finger-pickin' acoustic work. Many fans are still occasion- ally convinced that Jorma's fingers are doing the talking, but many oth- ers who listen to Hot Tuna get lost with a huge smile trying to absorb the intricacies Casady fills the lower frequencies with. After a lot of touring and numer- *us albums on RCA throughout the '70s, Hot Tuna relaxed their efforts slightly in the '80s. Kaukonen re- leased solo albums on Relix records, including Quah, which some of his devoted fans consider the best exam- ple of his prowess on the acoustic guitar. But Jorma & Jack were soon together again, playing in an electric four-piece or as an acoustic duo a lit- ,Ae more often. "Ain't you glad that shotgun blast was only in a movie Dennis?" "Yeah Peter I sure am." The two of them appeared in this manner at Sully's in Dearborn last spring; shortly before the encore one excited head blurted out "acoustic space music mann here we go!," and I couldn't have coined a better de- scription myself. Jorma & Jack filled Sully's with an awesomely complex sound that went far beyond anything Pink Floyd has done with any amount of electronics since "Green Is the Color." Of course tonight at the Blind Pig they will be playing an electric show but it could easily be as in- tense. Over the course of two shows it would be surprising if they repeat anything from their large repertoire. Recently, a major label (Epic) fig- ured out that Kaukonen and Casady can still play circles around most rock "musicians" and that a very happy audience still loves Hot Tuna for it. Their new album, Pair A Dice Found, at first sounds like the tense efforts of a band who don't want to screw up, but it quickly grows on Opportunities Campus Building.) Snow is Jan. 28th. For more info. call 668-8397. The Ann Arbor Civic Theater is auditioning for the musical comedy She Loves Me on Sunday Dec. 9th and Monday Dec. 10th at 7 p.m. at the A.A.C.T., 1035 S. Main. Two female and six male singer/actors are needed. For more info. call 662-9405. the listener, especially Kaukonen's "Happy Turtle Song," an acoustic instrumental that immediately brings to mind his incredibly soothing work on Burgers. That song and two covers, "Parchman's Farm" and "San Francisco Bay Blues," have been kicking around Tuna set lists for awhile now. Their new single, a well-timed cover of "Eve of Destruction," may or may not earn them more than trivia-question-answer status on clas- sic radio. Whether our country will wake up to a morning of reconstruc- tion remains to be seen, but depress- ing Time magazine cover stories will be the last thing on anyone's mind at the Pig tonight. RECORDS Continued from page 5 Betty Boo Boomania Sire By making an irresistible blend of the closely-related genres of rap, house and disco, Betty Boo has cre- ated an instantly likeable record with Boomania. Like the cartoon art on. the sleeve, it's bright, energetic and fun. Although just about every song on the record is a well-crafted gem, "Doin' the Do (7" Radio Mix)" is especially good. Structured like most current rap songs (rap verse/sung or sampled chorus/verse/chorus /bridge/ chorus, etc.), this tune is an instant dance classic. Other outstanding tunes include "Hey DJ/I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing)" and "Where Are You Baby?" which should have an dance floor sweating profusely. t Despite the tight music and Boo's excellent vocal delivery, how- ever, some of the songs suffer from a lack of depth. This is especially true in the lyric department, where the topics are restricted to love and boasting. (I can't count the number of times the words "Betty Boo" ap- pear on this record). Also, some of the songs are a bit too simplistic, making Boo sound like a hipper ver- sion of Paula Abdul at times. After all, just a verse and a chorus do not a great song make. Yet these are very minor complaints, especially to dance mu- sic enthusiasts. As Janet Jackson said, "Gimme a beat." This Boo does, and very well. -Mike Molitor The Pogues Hell's Ditch Island Produced by Joe Strummer, Hell's Ditch returns to a rougher, folkier sound than Peace and Love. Traditional Celtic forms are spiced up with international flavor, giving the album the feel of a travelog by the London-Irish buccaneers. Hell's Ditch takes up where "Turkish Song of the Damned" left off, with its Mediterranean temperament and southern sanguiness. On the title track the Pogues sound like they should be playing tangos in a Sicilian bar, though Shane MacGowan rambles on about bordellos and Jean Genet doing time in prison. The exquisitely simple "Five Green Queensand Jean" finds the group, heady from wine, playing in a Left Bank caf6 in Paris. "The Wake of the Medusa" could very well be the Pogues as a rai band on a bacchanalian romp in Algiers. On "Sayonara," MacGowan falls in love with an Asian beauty, then recalls another romantic hiatus on the pained Tom Waits-ish ballad "Summer in Siam." In its carnivalesque sense of the bawdy and the scatological, Hell's Ditch is more like the debut Red Roses for Me than any of the Pogues' other albums. MacGowan's writing goes for the jugular more of- ten. Lyrics are pithier; there are fewer romantic ballads. After the drunken debacle of the last U.S. tour, Hell's Ditch is something of a relief; and there's a drinking song on it too. -Nabeel Zuberi Testament Souls of Black Atlantic Souls of Black, the latest release by the veteran heavy metal band Tes- tament is an exemplary demonstra- tioq of the form. It contains the typ- ical vocals that surpass the point of pain, guitar screeching that toys with your spinal cord, and an all-out head banging inducing rhythm. In other words, it's good. Being typi- cally hypocritical, the first side is seems short although it consists of six songs and the flip side feels longer despite the fact that it only has four. The album contains noth- ing extraordinary, but "Beginning of the End" seems to be the groups lone attempt at doing something a little different, even though it ends too quickly. This album is prime bait for the seasoned listener or the novice wanting to break into the World of Heavy Metal. -Kim Yaged HOT TUNA appear at the Blind Pig for two shows at 8 and 11 p.m. Tick- ets are $12.50 in advance at Schoolkids' and $15 (including rep- rehensible service charge) at Tick- etMaster. These people look pretty happy for a group that just put out an album called Hell's Ditch. Maybe they've been drinking. Shane MacGowan? Nah. CLASSIFIED ADSI Call 764-055' 1 Save the LP! . Daily Arts I Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company is looking for 37 dancers, actors and other individuals with previous stage experience for The Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin I The Promised Land. Auditions are A7uesday, Dec. 4, from 4:30 to 7:30 ;m. at the University of Michigan Dance Building, 1310 North University Court (behind the Central L DAILY ARTS NEEDS WRITERS with some background in these areas: Folk Jazz Classical Music Dance Books Art Telephone 763-0379 for more in formafion The Office of International Programs Information Meetings for Study Abroad for 1991-92 GREAT BRITAIN (Essex, York, London, St. Andrews) Tues., Dec. 4, 1990 7:00 pm 443 Mason Hall GERMANY (Freiburg) Weds., Dec. 5, 1990 7:00 pm 443 Mason Hall SAINT-MALO (France - Summer language program) Weds., Dec. 5 / Thurs., Dec. 6 7:30 pm B-115 MLB ITALY (Florence) Thurs., Dec. 6,1990 4:00 pm 2011 MLB B E A C H RIVE ON DOWN TO LUXURIOUS OCEAN FRONT " Large Oceanfront Pool - Full Service Restaurants Deck & 2 Pools " Indoor Pool & Jacuzzis " Lounges with Live " Private Balconies Entertainment - Daily Pool Parties " Cable Color TV-36 . 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Through education and service YOU can help Michigan Individual Entrepreneurial Project Presents The Eighth Annual PRYOR AWARD PRIZE $3,500 Awarded To The Best Business Plan Written By U of M Students & Submitted By May 3, 1991. (Confidentiality Is Insured) INFORMATION MEETING: DoteDecemr b, 199 JImp: 4:00 - 4:30 p.m. Place: Room 1205-UofMBusinessSchool Corner of Tappan & Monroe The Taubman Program Presents... "Promoting Yourself in the Workplace" Tavi Fulkerson President