0 ARTS The Michigan Daily Friday, February 21, 1992 Page8 This is what the MC5 looked like on the inside cover of their incendiary debut album, the live and banned-at Hudson's Fred Sonic Smith, Michael Davis, the late Rob Tyner, Wayne Kramer, and Dennis Thompson. Tyner jams on in city's by Greg Baise Think of a world where ART is the only motivation ... -Rob Tyner, in the inside cover of the MCS's High Time No matter which way you slice up the Panther, whether you use the prescriptions of purity and accuracy or the perhaps more accurate disillu- sionment, you can't deny that the MC5 was getting down in the late '60s, flag-waving for a group of Detroit/Ann Arbor political rabble- rousers and a teenage nation of freeks at the '68 Democratic Con- vention and beyond. , Rob Tyner died last fall. His strong, soulful vocals kicked out the incendiary White Panther poetry slams for legendary Detroit rockers the MC5. When coupled with the ferocious punk R&B of the other four (duh!) members of the Five, Tyner's voice let everyone in this tri-county area and beyond feel the flames of a Motor City burning with unrest and discontent and a youth culture quite ready to actively search for solutions and party at the same time. Then, when the Five saw how they-were getting ripped off by pro- moters and other lazy people, they staged their own Lockian revolution. They persevered, continuing to kick out the jams through two studio al- bums that are quite free of Panther manure, and filled with ferocious, souped-up rock and R&B. The MC5 fired some of the most real live bul- lets this area's ever seen. In Tyner's spirit and memory, a group of local people involved with the music industry have organized themselves under the moniker "The Friends of Robin Tyner." They're executing a series of concerts and other cultural activities to commem- orate Tyner's contributions to music. But instead of money flowing into the loose pockets of someone like, say, Uncle Russ Gibb (the Grande Ballroom's monetary major- domo), the proceeds from the series of benefits and cultural happenings go to Detroit's Center for Creative Studies, as well as to the Tyner Scholarship Fund, which will aid Tyner's children with their future education. The event most worthy of bearing the name of the Five's signature tune occurs this Saturday night. Entitled "Kick Out the Jams: A Tribute to Rob Tyner," the evening's program includes performances by all sorts of Motor City luminaries, past and, ahem, present, including the sharp red leather-encrusted Romantics, the almost year-old Rationals Reunion Experience, the deploy-all-Ashetons antics of Dark Carnival, as well as appearances by Tyner's bandmates from the MC5. For the whetting of younger folks' auditory appetites, next big- label-things like Loudhouse and Goober and the Peas will plant their memorial saplings as well. Current Ann Arbor resident Dee Dee Ramone should make the rounds. And New York's When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water, whose Kim Rancourt hails from Royal Oak, will perform as well. Hopefully, they'll select some grade-A '60s Detroit punk nuggets from their upcoming Bill Kennedy Presents... tribute album. (O)ur culture itself represented a political threat to the established or- der, and that any action which has a political consequence is finally a po- litical action... - John Sinclair, Guitar Army Ain't it the truth? Ain't it what rock and roll has always been about, besides filling the platinum-en- crusted coffers of LA and New York manufacturing moguls? Well, al- though they would later concentrate on the good 01 jams, the Five were prone to making political statements - like Tyner shouting "mother- fucker" in a crowded theater, while the tapes were rolling no less, on that Zenta New Year (Oct. 31) in '68. They also put the American flag through some less-than-VFW-ap- proved anti-military exercises. Now normally, they would've just been hassled by the police and the local PTA or whatever preserver of com- munity standards happened to have kids in the audience. But in the fall-out of the release memory of Kick Out the Jams, local busi- nesses decided to get in on washing the filthy Five's mouths out with corporate boycott soap as well. Soon, Elektra Records stationary was seen hanging on the walls, em- blazoned with the words "Fuck Hud- son's." People in business suits everywhere were not amused. Besides presaging punk rock, the MC5 often encountered situations similar to modern dilemmas of com- merce and government interfering with art. With such a legacy, it is on- ly fitting that this tribute serves two purposes: to commemorate Rob Ty- ner and to present a public display of arts appreciation. Had Tyner not passed away, and these events were solely for the promotion of the arts, he surely would have taken to the stage to help out. His memory should inspire the gathered to kick out the jams, loudly and for a good cause. When introducing the MC5's single "Tonight," Rob Tyner enticingly proclaimed, "All right, kids! Let's get together and have a BALL!" There will be plenty of opportunities to live up to Tyner's words this weekend: besides Saturday Night's KICK OUT THE JAMS event at the State Theater, on Friday night the ROB TYNER ROCK AND ROLL REVIVAL will be held at the Miami in Detroit and REMEMBERING ROB TYNER will be held Sunday evening at Alvin's in Detroit. Justice assassinated Let Him Have It dir. Peter Medak by Michael John Wilson Oliver Stone's not the only one trying to right some old wrongs on film these days. Let Him Have It seeks to reveal the truth about a famous murder4 case in England - the Craig/Bentley affair of 1952. Bypassing Stone's stylistic assault approach, director Peter Medak (The Krays) quietly and powerfully convinces the audience of one man's innocence. In 1952, 19-year-old Derek Bentley (Chris Eccleston) was convicted of beingtan accessory to the murder of a police officer. The guy who actually dunnit was Chris Craig (Paul Reynolds), a wild kid who wanted to be an American gangster. Despite the jury's plea for mercy, and despite the fact that Bentley was an epileptic with the mental age of 11, he was executed. Since then, public protest over Bentley's execution contributed to the abo- lition of the death penalty in England, and the case has reached nearly leg- 4 endary status. Plenty of conspiracy theories about the murder have arisen in years since, but Medak and screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade aren't in- terested. Instead, they methodically, at times ploddingly, focus on Bentley's character, showing us (often fictional) details. Bentley's previous dealings with the nearly psychotic Craig, for exam- ple, prove that he wouldn't have encouraged Craig to kill a cop. Once we're inside Bentley's head, we're convinced of his innocence -- he couldn't be guilty because in a sense, he is an uncorrupted child. No third gunman on the roof, no grassy knoll theory is necessary to exonerate Bentley in the audi- ence's mind. The filmmakers' rely on character to convince - a shrewd move, and one that requires good performances. Medak gets them from the entire cast, especially from newcomers Eccleston and Reynolds. Reynolds plays Craig like a young Joe Pesci-type from Goodfellas, scarily teetering between psy- chotic rage and immature sobbing. As Bentley's parents, veteran actors Tom Courtenay (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner) and Eileen Atkins steal the show in their fight to free their son. The raw, unsentimental scenes of their final days with Bentley are painfully real. Personal, family scenes - not the courtroom drama or staging of the crime - are the most memorable. Unlike The Thin Blue Line or JFK, Let Him Have It doesn't present an agenda of What Must Change in Our World. Instead, we're left with the memory of a single injustice - and the unbearable agony of one family. LET HIM HAVE IT starts Saturday at the Michigan. Buy your tickets in ad-, vance at Shaman Drum or PJ's Records to benefit Amnesty International. f y; I . , E AI s' rff ,a Cy {y }'a (x ^. 7 i e ( {y j" is i' ; y Peter Medak (left) directs Chris Eccleston as Bentley in Let Him Have It KODO pounds passionate KODO Power Center February 19, 1992 Phenomenal is one word to de- scribe the KODO Japanese drum- mers whose "One Earth Tour" re- sounded at the Power Center Wednesday. In nine pieces and one encore, the 11 members of KODO shared their dream by singing, dan- cing and playing the heck out of va- rious drums. Although their roots are tradi- tional, KODO's influences come from many sources. For example, in Yamauta, four of the drummers Perforance review played the taiko (traditional Japanese druns). They began as a group using a stiucture similar to jazz music; one by one they stepped forward to play a solo improv. Climactically, two of the drummers lowered themselves to their knees slowly while clubbing their taikos at breakneck speed, re- miniscent of a rock concert stunt. By contrast, Miyake began with a cappella singing. A haunting soloist was echoed by six men in strong harniony. Miyake then used drums positioned close to the ground that the KODO members lunged toward, attahking them with martial arts-like Donner's dreamlike abuse turns Radio Flyer into a lead weight { Radio Flyer dir. Richard Donner by Aaron Hamburger Beneath the sunlit hills, cute kids and fuzzy animals of Radio Flyer, lies a sinister movie. The filmmakers have decided to tackle the serious subject of child abuse, yet they end up coating it with a fairy tale wash that only ends up intensifying the impact of the violence. Radio Flyer has the distinction of being the first movie ever to wax nostalgic about getting beaten up. You know you're in trouble from the outset. Radio Flyer opens with a visit to a crying buffalo by a family on their way to California (in the movies, all of life's problems are solved by moving to California). It seems Daddy's abandoned the family and Mommy (Lorraine Bracco, in her second appearance in a dismal flop this year; the first was Medicine Man) is setting up shop with a new guy, known as The King. Bracco's kids Mike (Elijah Wood) and Bobby (Joseph Mazzello) suspect something's up when The King slaps Bobby around for snapping the string on his fishing pole. Things start getting really serious when The King starts beating up Bobby on a regular basis. Don't worry though, the crying buffalo visits the movie in the most ridiculous dream sequence this side of Grand Canyon to assure the audience that Bobby is actually a visionary prophet, a la Bugsy Siegel. Bobby's dream is to turn the tykes' Radio Flyer red wagon into a flying machine so that he can fly away, back to the crying buffalo. For what audience is the film intended? The ads, which compare it to E. T.., are aimed at little kids, but there are several reasons why this film is completely inappropriate for children. First, no kid is dumb enough to swallow the movie's inane plot. Second, the film's world is a dark and brutal one, where kids either get beaten up by other kids or by step-parents. Mothers can't be trusted, according to this movie. Money's more important to them than the welfare of their kids. And policemen? They're too old to be of any use. Seven-year-old Christ figures like Bobby are the only people you can really count on any more. Director Richard Donner (Superman and Lethal Weapon) isn't exactly known for subtlety, and doesn't., show any here. For example, to indicate to the audience the faceless evil which is The King, Donner never fully reveals The King's face. Nice touch. Also, to point out The King's alcoholism, Donner indulges in countless repeated closeups of The King opening beer after beer, not realizing that after the fifteenth time, the audience gets the point. Radio Flyer is a beautifully made film with a swel- ling musical score and lyrical shots of rolling hills and sundrenched California suburbs. But the tone of whim- sy and nostalgia just doesn't jibe with the serious sub- ject of child abuse. The movie is an insult to anyone who has ever suffered from child abuse and to human sensitivity. This spring break, if you want to take that little sib- ling or cousin that you've missed all year long to a movie, do them and yourself a favor: skip Radio Flyer. RADIO FLYER opens today at Showcase and Briar- wood. of !.:'.: r ,y ,' J i d . ,rt ' . f S di , 3* 4 Ex-Gong Show gongmeisters KODO hit the Power Center Wednesday. movements. In the energetic O-daiko, the men stripped down to G-strings and the drumming became more powerful. The o-daiko, an 800 pound drum carved from a single tree, was majes- tically wheeled out on a high plat- form lit by lanterns. Two of the men played the drum simultaneously, ex- hibiting the strength required to beat the o-daiko. Not only could the drumming be seen and heard, it could be felt through the instrumen- t's deep tone as well as the drum- mers' bodies. In ancient Japan, village limits were determined by the furthest dis- tance from which the taiko drum- ming could by heard. KODO's hope is to let the drumming be heard by all in the large village of the world. -Maureen Janson who what where when 0 wAnn Arbor Civic Theatre Present N~.s . -te Hey, are you stuck working your butt off in Ann Arbor over Spring Break? Take some time out to expe- rience Culture. The renowned Mark Braun, a blues and boogie-woogie pianist who has played all over Europe, Canada, USA, and Mexico but comes from Detroit, plays at the Kerrytown Concert House tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10, $15 for as-signed seats. For more info, call 769-2999. For those of you that missed Lenny Kravitz' brilliant and life- changing show last year, there is still hope. The gorgeous dreadlocked wonder is opening for the Cult this Saturdayand Sunday night at the Fox Theatre. This is sure to be quite musicians will perform in a benefit for the arts in Michigan. Emceed by Arwulf Arwulf, this event features a poetry-slam type event with an open mike, poet Wolf Knight, writer Karen Malofy, People Dancing's Whitley Setrakian, songwriter Suvonne Baker and rock band Luna Park. It benefits the Granite Line Writers and the Washtenaw Council for the Arts. Cover is $4. For more info, call 665-3063. SPRING BREAK '92