ARTS The Michigan Daily Wednesday, October 30, 1991 Page 5 _:. Ooooh, scary! School ofMusic's Halloween Concert brings chills to Hill by Diane Frieden Four thousand seats were sold out in 20 minutes. Without a doubt, the School of Music's Annual Halloween Concert is one of the most well-liked performances on campus, and certainly one of the most well-attended. To capture the flavor of a not-so-Hallmark- Halloween, all of the performers outfit themselves in zany and creative costumes, and most of the audience also catches the spirit by appearing in disguise. This year's concert, featuring the University Symphony Orchestra and the University Percussion Ensemble, is tonight at Hill Auditorium. Often, sections of the Orchestra try to dress with a unique theme in mind. Last year, the Percussion Ensemble came en maquillage as rock group rebels Kiss. For this year's concert, some of the sections, such as the oboes, are still planning their costumes. As opposed to being assigned a cohesive theme, "it's up to the indi- viduals," says Michael Herbst, who plays both the oboe and the English horn. Fellow oboe player Jared Hauser says, "Since (we're) a small sec- tion, we dress as a group. It can get as elaborate as we want." And Nick Hart, a third oboe player, adds, "There are a couple of options." All three men were hesitant about giving away any serious secrets re- garding this year's costumes, but they said that last year, the costumes were anything but basic black tie, ranging from the fuzzy Energizer bunny, complete with drums, to a male violinist whose conical brassiere was Madonna-inspired. The format of the Halloween Concert remains classical, with spooky selections from Bizet, Dukas, Holst and Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as ,favorite chillers like Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" and excerpts from Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. "It's a pretty straightforward concert," says Herbst, "but all of the music is Halloween-y." Hart says that the feeling is more laid-back for tonight's show. "I enjoy playing in the Halloween Concert because it's more relaxed," he explains. "There's no worry about pitch or togetherness, really- we're all just trying to have fun." The caliber of the performance is still excellent, even enhanced by the festive aura in which the orchestra's members are surrounded. What separates the Concert from formality are the skits that both the orchestra and the conductors (Gustav Meier and Donald Schleicher) put on prior to the start of the concert, as well as those that the conductors put on during the performance itself. "Last year," says Hart, "the con- ductor had his baton as a lightening rod. And the Percussion section usu- ally does something impressive."' The audience provides a "really frenetic, hyper atmosphere," says Herbst, who adds, "I like doing (the Concert) because of the little kids. There's always a bunch of them screaming." Hart concurs, saying, "I like that everybody comes. The audience is so rowdy that you don't notice anyone in particular at all. Usually little kids annoy me, but for the Concert, they add to the mayhem." All three suggest getting to Hill a half-hour before the performance starts. "That's when the spectacle be- gins," says Herbst. THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC'S ANNUAL HALLOWEEN CONCERT is tonight at 9 p.m. at Hill Auditorium. The performance is sold out, and tickets are general admission seating. Costumes are optional, but strongly suggested. All Play and no plot makes Patty dull film House Party 2 dir. Doug McHenry and George Jackson by Jen Bilik partying high school kids in Ohio, based on the experiences of the director/producer/brother team of Warren and Reginald Hudlin. The Hudlins created a movie that was both definitively African-American and youthful in perspective - it depicted young people with humor and sympathy without resorting to The first hip-hop House Party was a fun, extravaganza about the stereotypes of teenagers that plague Hollywood. Banking on the appeal of African-American music stars, the Hudlins cast rappers in all the main parts and achieved honest, funny and fully-developed perfor- mances that gelled with the comic book style of their filmmaking. Unfortunately, House Party 2 doesn't continue in this successful vein. Part of the problem, no doubt, is the absence of the Hudlins, whose personal and creative influence was evident throughout House Party. The sequel, directed and produced by Doug McHenry and George Jackson (the team behind Krush Groove, and the producers of New Jack City), neglects character for an overly contrived and complicated plot, a plot that would've been unnecessary - as in the first film - had the characters conveyed their former depth. Rappers Kid 'N Play reprise their roles as the leads (also named Kid and Play). The story opens as Kid prepares to leave for college, against the will of Play, who foresees a lucrative future in rap which Kid will have to postpone. The acting, though natural and endearing, suffers due to the film's shoddy excuse for a script. The premise for the movie as a whole is also unbelievable: after a reluctant Play drives Kid to college, Kid accidentally leaves his tuition check in the trunk of Play's car, whereupon Play signs the check over to Sheila (Iman), a fraudulent music agent who skips out with the money. The entire movie consists of Kid trying to stave off evil tuition collectors until he and Play can raise the money to replace it by holding - you guessed it - a house party, college style. Despite the plot, the characters are likeable, a virtue that can only be attributed to the actors. Without interesting words to say, however, the characters' appeal can only go so far. All talk functions in service of the overly-construed plot. Interesting - if didactic and poorly executed - are the political issues the film touches upon. House Party 2 echoes Spike Lee's School Daze in its exploration of Black-on- Black issues within a university context. It seems that only African- American filmmakers are willing to touch the volatile issues, such as political correctness, Afro-cen- tricity, feminism, and so- cial/political affiliations, facing university campuses these days. Each character represents one political extreme, and functions as moral advisor and gadfly to the main characters. Kid's roommate, Jamal, played by white rapper Kam- ron from Young Black Teenagers, is a white person who wants to be Black and succeeds. Kid's girlfriend, Sidney (Tisha Campbell), lives with Zora (Queen Latifah), an Afro- centric feminist who apprises Sidney of her self-deprecating ten- dencies in relation to men. The message, overall, is positive In House Party 2, African-American characters see music and education as a means of self-improvement, and See PARTY, Page 7 Young Black Teen Kamron hangs out with his buddy Kid in the new, Hudlinless House Party 2: Electric Boogaloo. Guild House readers pierce the listeners by John Morgan take pride in confusing people," the poet said. "Although not in a negative way." These were the words of M.L. Liebler, one of three poets who par- ticipated in the Monday night Guild House program. Although both of the others, Lawrence Pike and Gay Rubin, have their own unique styles of writing, it was evident that they all shared a similar sentiment. Liebler has published several volumes of poetry and short stories, and has created his own publishing house, the Ridgeway Press. Cur- rently teaching at Wayne State University, Liebler is known for his continual efforts to promote the 5TH AVE. AT UBERTY 7614700 $3 OoDAILY SHOWS BEFORE6PM u A ST D AY I TUESDAY* 'xceptIon.e JSTUDENT WITH I.D. 33.50 CITY OF HOPE (R) MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (R) Combo Coupon! Present this coupon when purchasing a large popcorn and receive one Ex.. ire 1 1eDink Expires 11/6/91 reading of poetry on campus. He also recites poetry in the Magic Poetry Band, a unique combination of poetry and music that has earned a local reputation. It was music, especially that of the Beatles, that first appealed to the Muse in Liebler's soul. "My work grew out of it," he said. "I come from a blue-collar family, not an intellectual background. Music was a sort of back door for me." An emphasis on the music and sound of poetry is evident in much of Liebler's work, as in "Listen To The Stars": "SHHH!!! / QUIET!!! / LISTEN to the stars. / They talk softly. / Don't they talk softly? / Listen as their beams / Pass quietly over / The lawns in our neighbor- hood / Of silence." Liebler likes the "quirky" ele- ment of writing best. "I like strong images," he says. "That which can be felt, but not explained intellectu- ally." Liebler admits that he is best known for his work with Magic Poetry, but says that it is only one See GUILD, Page 7 4 Prince and the New Power Generation "Cream" This is absolutely brilliant. Prince is still coming up with cre- ative new ways, even in this time of his self-professed maturity, to of- fend. The two white women from the "Gett Off" video, Diamond and Pearl, have been replaced by a couple of Cindy Crawford lookalikes and joined with a like sequence of danc- ing girls in skimpy, burlesque attire (there is a token oack woman, however.) One look at the array of pearls in this video tells us that this is one of the Imp Perverse's more exquisite visions of cultural subver- sion. Musically, "Cream" is Prince's foray into a laid-back, sensuous funk realm as previously touched upon by the Isley Brothers, bordering on Isaac Hayes at his most playful and reclined musical levels. Visually, this romp through the retronuevo See VIDEO, Page 7 Here's Your Chance To Educate Your Skin... JOIN US FOR AN EXCITING EXPO FEATURING FASHION, FRAGRANCE, BEAUTY, FITNESS, TRAVEL AND MUCH MORE... Receive terrific product samples at sponsor booths, experience a professional beauty makeover, check out fitness demonstrations and enter contests to win great prizes, including a trip for two to Hedonism II in Jamaica! And don't miss the Mademoiselle fashion show starring University of Michigan students modeling the latest looks for Fall*! DATE Wednesday, October 30, 1991 TIME 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM expo 4:00 PM fashion show PLACE Michigan Union Ballroom FREE ADMISSION * We need volunteers - girls and guys - to model fashions from Spiegel and Reebok (no experience necessary!). If you're interested, stop by the Michigan Union, Room 2105, between 4:00 and 7:00 PM on Tuesday, October 29. For more information, call 763-1107 Sponsored by the University Activities Center Tuition Here's your chance to educate your skin-without laying out An I ME In . Y Q wV'- Y1T GASA te, t J~f-inaiV) h~WE 55UKU. (r rr rri1 I