The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition-Entertainment - Thursday, September 10, 1992 - Page 9
By the time I get to
boppin'Ann Arbor
. Amusic lover's guide to A; everything you could ever want to know about this college town's music scene
by Scott Sterling
Sitting in the back of your parents
car, as they gleefully barrel down the
freeway to finally ship you of to the
illustrious University Of Michigan, a
plethora of questions run rampant
through your brain: Will my
roommate be a psycho? Who will I
get to buy for me? How long 'til I
,heat on my beloved high school
sweetheart? But most importantly,
how and where am I going to get my
music fix??
Still high from that intoxicating
day at Lollapalooza II, you're con-
stantly jonesing for something new.
Finally able to appreciate Ornette
Coleman as much as Morrissey, (or
vice-versa) your newly enlightened
self is eager to check out the hip and
who in the musical mecca known as
Ann Arbor. Of course, this is in no
way a comprehensive list, but a good
place to start. And as it goes in the
wacky world of rock 'n' soul, bands
come and go with the frequency of a
cheap ham radio. By the time you
read this, many of these groups may
be long gone, replaced by a new
batch of bands. So be bold, grab
your roommate, bring along your
older sibling's fake ID (Just kidding
- Really!), and discover your own
local favorites.
Big Chief - The torque-masters
of crunch 'n' munch boom blast,
these sonic messiahs have hit the
big-time, with an album on Sub-Pop,
and an opening slot on the Beastie
Boys tour this nast Summer. As
happenin' local pubs and discover
some stylin' new bands to lavish
your alternateen affection upon.
Have no fear, because Ann ("The
Jan") Arbor is bursting with a wealth
of way cool bands, and a musical
history second to none.
Iggy and the Stooges crawled out
f our humble burg, taking their ter-
rifying and gorgeously fractured
fuzzbuzz to the world. If it wasn't
for the Igster, we'd probably still be
listening to Pat Boone. Along with
his merry band of Stooges, he single-
handedly invented what todays is
known as "alternative," "grunge,"
heavy as Helmet, and gitted witn me
funk of 40,000 mega-watts, the
Chief lays it down hard.
Destruction Ride - Straight-up,
no chaser rock 'n' roll. Snot-nosed
punk meets mid-'70s FM boogie
with a kick. And girls, the singer's a
dead ringer for Sebastian Bach!
Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band -
Hip swaying roots rock reggae. Fire
one up.
Slot - Bottom-heavy sonic jaz-
zcore mindfuck cerebral rock, with a
dope beat.
Roland B. - Gritty garage
power pop trio that kicks it with the
Culture Shock - Funky-butt
Princesters that are on time 24-7.
With hot sauce on top. And they can
step too!
Holy Cows - Yee-ha! These
Chelsea-bred cowpunks can out re-
place the Replacements, and have
more soul Than Soul Asylum. THE
good-time slam-bang fun boys
around town.
Voodo Chili - Rip-roarin' rave-
up rock that has a good beat, and
you can dance to it. I'll give it an 85,
Dick.
Harm's Way - Heavy metal
speedcore with some thrash and
trash for good measure.
Etch-A-Sketch - More ska than
you can handle, these gals & Euys
turn on the sweat machine with their
mosh 'n' skank mania:!
Frank Allison & the Odd Sox
- Eclectic, quirky, and gleefully
goofy, singer-songwriter Allison and
his cohorts just wanna have fun. And
they've toured Russia twice!
Unfortunately, Ann Arbor's not
as abundant with venues to check
out these bands. Most of the bars
that feature live bands are for those
folks that are 21 and older, such as
Rick's American Cafe.
Rick's is a jock/frat watering hole
that hosts mostly cover bands, like
Grateful Deadheads Assembly
Required, but occasionally brings in
original acts like Sun-60 and Miracle
Legion.
The Blind Pig admits those 19
and over, but for national acts, usu-
Ann ("The Jan") Arbor
is bursting with a
wealth of way cool
bands, and a musical
history second to
none.
ally lowers it to 18. The Pig is where
you'll catch more of the "alter-
native" original acts, such as Urge
Overkill, Cop Shoot Cop and L7, all
of which have played there recently.
Flannel shirts, long hair, and cooler-
than-thou attitudes are welcome.
There's the Heidelberg, which
varies its age limit on a nightly basis
(Usually 18-19). They're quite ad-
So, there you have it,
a teeny little nutshell
that barely scratches
the surface of all the
cool bands and bars in
and around glorious
Ann Arbor.
venturous with the bands that they'll
book, so you'll catch lots of first-
time bands honing their chops and
paying their dues on this stage.
Three and four band bills aren't un-
usual, so you're sure to get more
bang for your buck.
The Michigan Theatre and Hill
Auditorium play host to the bigger
national and international bands,
such as the Cowboy Junkies, Jesus
Jones, and so on. No age limit, but
often rather pricey. (Insiders tip:
You can charge tickets at these two
venues on your Entre Plus card -
Catch your fave bands courtesy of
mom and dad!)
Another bummer is that quite a
few band tend to bypass o1' Ann
Arbor all together, and instead play
in the fine city of Detroit. (And no,
it's not as scary as your folks have
told you - You're just as likely to
get mugged outside of your dorm as
you are in "The City." Just be care-
ful!)
If you're into most of the bands
that frequent MTV's "120 Minutes,"
St. Andrews Hall in Detroit will be
your second home. From Pearl Jam
to KMFDM to Smashing Pumpkins,
St. Andy's has seen 'em all. Right
down the street, (sort of) is the larger
State Theatre, which also pulls in
some biggies. So if you don't have a
car, make fast friends with someone
who does.
Detroit also has a huge supply of
great local bands, from the ska-crazy
Gangster Fun, to the dreampop of
Majesty Crush, to the sonic guitar
rush of Tyrone's Power Wheel.
I should probably also mention
that for those of you that would
rather shake your booty to some
techno tunes or hip-hop as spun by
some pretty cool DJ's, the Nectarine
Ballroom's the place for you. No
live bands, but plenty of industrial
dance and rave grooves to keep ya
moving.
So, there you have it, a teeny lit-
tle nutshell that barely scratches the
surface of all the cool bands and bars
in and around glorious Ann Arbor.
There's LOTS to do around here, so
don't let me catch you saying that
you're bored. You can get out there
and check out what's happening, or
you could always go to the UGLI
and study up on your calculus. The
choice is yours.
Big Chief opened for the Beastie Boys, but still can't take a decent photo.
"modern rock," whatever the hell
you wanna call it. Combining manic,
&rashed-out guitars, a psycho stage
presence, with scary and sardonic
lyrics, the Stooges smelled like teen
spirit long before Nirvana wet their,
first pair of Huggies.
Ranging from Seattle-style
... your newly
enlightened self is
eager to ... discover
some stylin' new
bands ---.
grunge-o-rama rock, to the most "out
there" cool ray jazz, Ann Arbor
(now home to Dee Dee Ramone -
If you see him on the street, go up
and say hi. He's really cool!) will
give you more than enough reasons
to blow off studying and check 'em
out. Here's a handy-dandy clip 'n'
*save short list of just who the hell's
best of 'em. A thinking man's
Material Issue.
Wig - These groovy grunge
lovegods turn it up, lay it down, and
look great doing it. Sonic as hell,
with a side order of goth.
Tracy Science - Miles Davis
meets Curtis Mayfield? This free-
form jazz quartet is brilliant, and fea-
tures Craig, one of the finest key-
board players you'll ever see.
Billy - More likely to play at a
house party than a bar, this instru-
mental ensemble does blissrock
headtrip pyschedelia like nobody's
business. Ya like Ride, My Bloody
Valentine, Lush, and such? Then
you'll worship Billy.
Frank Allison and the Odd Sox. They're goofy and have toured Russia twice.
16 YEARS OF SERVING ANN ARBOR
I
POP AND CLASSICAL
Schoolkids' and our all-
classical store, SKR Classical,
are considered to be among
the best of their type. We offer
unsurpassed service, selection,
and the area's most knowl-
edgeable staff. In fact,'we are
rated as one of the best music
stores in the country.
FREE CONCERT SERIES
Schoolkids' has been an
integral part of the Ann Arbor
music community since 1976.
This year, we've been recog-
nized with an "Annie" Award
for outstanding support of the
Arts. Look for our free concert
series at The Ark, highlighting
up and coming singer-
songwriters. Previous per-
formers include Bill Morrissey,
Daniel Lanois, and John Gorka.
ANN ARBOR'S OWN
RECORD LABEL
We want to thank everyone
for their great support of our
debut recording by Mr. B, My
Sunday Best. Be sure to pick
up our new releases by
award-winning songer-
songwriter Dick Siegel (Snap)
and premier roots rock
guitarist George Bedard
(Upside). Look for the new
Madcat and Shari Kane CD
this fall.
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