The Michigan Daily - Friday, April 8, 1994 - 11


Rackham treated to
old-fashioned recital
By MARK KATZ
Violin recitals today are all too frequently the aural equivalent of a meal
made up solely of main courses - the typical program of three or four major
works, usually sonatas, is hard to
a REVIEW swallow for the average listener.
Joshua Bell Thus, it was a pleasure to hear
Joshua Bell's varied and thoroughly
Rackham Auditorium enjoyable program -achaste Handel
April 5, 1994 sonata, Beethoven's powerful
"Kreutzer" Sonata, a pleasantly dis-
sonant work by John Corigliano, two little gems by Tchaikovsky and Kreisler,
and Sarasate's showstopper, "Zigeunerweisen."
These diverse works were united by Bell's cleanly Romantic sound, with
its seamless phrasing, precise intonation and warm but (relatively) unobtru-
Ove vibrato - a sound suffused with emotion, but not self-indulgent.
Bell's approach generally made for convincing interpretations. In Handel's
D major sonata, the finely graded dynamics and exquisitely wrought phrases
produced a beautiful, if not authentic, performance. His graceful playing was
also well-suited to the nostalgic beauty of Tchaikovsky's "Melodie" and
Viennese charm of Kreisler's "Schdn Rosmarin," the program's sole encore.
Corigliano's 1963 sonata also found a sympathetic interpreter in Bell.
While the program notes claimed the work has a distinctly American sound,
one could hear a Gallic impressionism in the second movement, a third
movement cadenza not unlike the opening of Ravel's "Tzigane," and a
4rokofiev-like bite and wit in the finale. Bell and pianist Jonathan Feldman
oldly asserted themselves in this high-octane work.
While Beethoven's powerful "Kreutzer" Sonata would seem well-suited to
the young violinist's Romantic temperament, it did not come off quite as well
as one might expect. Bell's languorous treatment of the slow sections in the
first movement, combined with Feldman's general reluctance to assert his
important role robbed the work of some of its drama and momentum. It was
a good performance-the perpetual motion variation in the second movement
and the coda to the finale were particularly fine - but not consistently
satisfying.
On the other hand, Bell's performance of "Zigeunerweisen," Sarasate's
*usical portrait of gypsy life, was easily the most stunning and soulful
interpretation of the work this reviewer has heard. From the treacherously
difficult outer movements to the deeply moving inner section, Bell's perfor-
mance garnered a well-deserved standing ovation for the final work on the
program.

TriangleVision shops the pop around
Local pop trio bursts on the scene with amazingly fresh sounds

By MATT CARLSON
Pop music needs a little resuscitation. XTC's
glory days are long past, and They Might Be
Giants is old news. R&B groups who wish they
had half as much soul as The Four Tops are
croonin' to young ladies about love, love and yet
more love, while clueless metal heads everywhere
are pounding their guitars without rhyme or rea-
son, praying to God that they'll be the next Stone
Temple Pilots. The world is ready for a band of
young upstarts to burst upon the scene with a more
subtle and entertaining approach to music.
Enter TriangleVision, a local trio with soulful
grooves and light but full pop melodies that will
set your heart at ease and your toes a' tappin'.
Their latest four-song cassette, "Texas Lawn
Dances," swirls with dizzying pizzazz around the
guitar hooks of Dave Mester and the strong rhyth-
mic pulse of David Weiss' drums.
"We like to think that what we do is different,"
said Weiss. "We're definitely not grunge. We
didn't want to add to the pool. I like to think of us
as a legendary guitar-drums combination a la Jimi
Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell."
"Texas Lawn Dances" was produced by Brian
Doherty, drummer for They Might Be Giants'live
band. Weiss met Doherty when he was in New
York City interning for IRS Records.
"Brian was my drum teacher," Weiss explained.
"I told him that my band was going to make a new
album, and I liked what he had done with other

projects, so we trucked out to New York City for
a week to record four songs."
Those four songs are a peppy batch of musical
escapades. "The Campfire Song" is reminiscent
of XTC with loopy singing courtesy of guitarist
Mester. Listen to this tune once, and you won't be
able to get it out of your head for days.
"Passage of Time" and "Near the Line" con-
tinue in the same whimsical tone while a tempo-
building instrumental, "Sanctify," caps the album
off with flair.
All of the songs are highlighted by Mester's
fancy guitar work who trained as a classical gui-
'We're definitely not grunge.
We didn't want to add to the
pool. I like to think of us as a
legendary guitar-drums
combination a la Jimi Hendrix
and Mitch Mitchell.'
- David Weiss
drummer, TriangleVision
tarist.
"Dave can take anything - country, jazz -
and turn it into a pretty good rock song," said
Weiss. "He's got an enormous amount of talent
and drive. You would never know it, but all Dave

listens to is Van Halen. When we play live, imag-
ine Alex Chilton as a wannabe David Lee Roth
and you'll have Dave."
Weiss and Mester grew up together in the
suburbs of Detroit where Mester would come over
to Weiss' house and beat up his brother. Mester
and Weiss formed TriangleVision and began play-
ing seriously in 1989. The band has gone through
about five bass players since that time. The cur-
rent bassman is John Wisti, who joined the group
in January.
After two EPs, TriangleVision's next step
should be a full-length album, but Weiss is hesi-
tant to undertake such a project without a little
more support - particularly a recording contract.
"We've come to the point where we want to
see what other people will pay for," he said. "A
full album is something that we don't want to pay
for out of our own pockets. Right now, we're on
Lasso Records out of Atlanta. The people who
work there are very eccentric, which sometimes
means they don't have their shit together. They
give us distribution in southern states, but we'd
like to get national distribution."
Let's hope that TriangleVision can get the
attention they deserve without relocating to a
different musical mecca. A good pop band is hard
to come by these days.
TRIANGLEVISION plays this Saturday at Club
Heidelberg with the Wandering Sailors. Call
663-7758for more info.


Kathryn P. O'Brien

el-

M
66

RECORDS
Continued from page 9
nd half of the EP a live recording
om a Chicago appearance. Check
out the savory guitar-work on "Ci-
cada Rock" and "Walleyed." Then
brace yourself for the final and best
track on "Peckin' Party" - "Daddy
Was a Preacher But Mama Was a Go-
Go Girl." This album is yummy for
your tummy.
- Matt Carlson
ddaho
Year After Year
Caroline
How much mid-tempo doom can
two men create? This is the question
apparently posed by Jeff Martin and
John-Berry, who together comprise
Idaho, on their debut album, "Year
After Year."
The sound is basic: Martin sings
ta his deep voice over a backdrop of
ass, spare percussion, minor-key
acoustic strumming and electric feed-
back. Sometimes it works to great
effect, as on the elegant "Skyscrape"
and the brooding "Memorial Day."
When the two crank up the metro-
nome to at least 3/4 the speed of the
average pop song on "One Sunday,"
it sounds positively peppy.

Other songs, however, fall amaz-
ingly flat, usually as a result of an
attempt on Martin's part to break out
of the comfortable half-octave vocal
range he lingers in for most of the
album.
It may be Idaho's goal to create
such intentionally moody music, but
unfortunately it leaves no room for
hooks that can take up residence in
your head for days and days.
That is the greatest downfall of the
album: there is nothing here to draw
you back for another listening except
for its gloomy aura, which begins to
wear thin quite quickly.
- Dirk Schulze
Animal Bag
Offering
Stardog Records
You'll really need a bag after you
hear this - one to puke in. Animal
Bag writes on the back of their CD
case that "Offering" offers "a glimpse
of one of the many faces of Animal
Bag."
Well, if this bloated, self-impor-
tant, acoustic album that rips off Alice
In Chains' "Sap" without half as much
energy is one of their faces, I'd hate to
hear their other - no-doubt hair-
shakin' butt-metal - sides. Sucks.
- Matt Carlson

. S. W., A.C.S. W.
663-2973
Counseling
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University of Michigan
School of Music

ANNOUNCING
A NEW SET OF COURSE OFFERINGS IN
MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY
BEGINNING THE FALL OF 1994
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the De-
partment of Biology will be offering a new series of courses set in
modular format. Each module will run for one third of a semester
and will be a one credit course. In many cases multiple modules
can be combined to make up a traditional course. Students may
choose from the various modules to create a program that best fits
their educational objectives and interests.
Microbiology 501, 502, and 503 collectively provide an advanced
introductory course designed for upperclass undergraduate and
beginning graduate students interested in health sciences. The
three modules will be offered consecutively and will meet MWF
from 10:00 to 11:00 AM.
Prerequisite-first year biochemistry or permission of course director
Module I (9/9-10/10)
Microbiology 501-Introductory Microbiology (I credit)
Module II1(10/12-11/9)
Microbiology 502-Introductory Immunology (1 credit)
Module III (11/11-12/12)
Microbiology 503-Introductory Virology (1 credit)

Thursday-Sunday, April 7-10
The Heidi Chronicles, by Wendy Wasserstein
Theatre & Drama Production
Tickets: $10, students $6 (764-0450)
Trueblood Theatre; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.
Friday, April 8
Symphony Band & Concert Band
H. Robert Reynolds, Dennis Glocke, and William Wiedrich
conduct music of Bernstein, Thorne, and Bach
Hill Auditorium, 8 p.m., free
Saturday, April 9
Opera Gala
The Friends of Opera celebrate 20 years of supporting U-M opera
with an evening of arias by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Britten,
Rossini, and Gounod, sung by 15 returning scholarship winners.
The School of Music's present and former deans will also
speak, and a reception will follow the performance.
Recital Hall, School of Music, 8 p.m., free
Men's Glee Club: "Explosion of Sound"
Men's Glee Club (Jerry Blackstone, conductor) with guest men's
choruses from Miami University and Bowling Green State
Tickets: $10, $8 $5, $3 (764-TKTS)
Hill Auditorium, 8 p.m.
Guest Concert: Northwestern Euphonium-Tuba Ensemble
Jeremy Van Hoy, director
McIntosh Theatre, School of Music, 6 p.m., free
Sunday, April10
Campus Philharmonia Orchestra
Vincent Danner, conductor; Joan Morris, narrator
Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf; plus music of Dvorak
Hill Auditorium, 4 p.m., free
Black Arts Council Concert: "The Heart of a Woman"
McIntosh Theatre, School of Music, 5 p.m., free
Monday, April 11
Composers' Forum
Recital Hall, School of Music, 8 p.m., free
Tuesday, April 12
University Symphony Orchestra
Gustav Meier and Ricardo Averbach, conductors
Saint-Satns' Violin Concerto No. 3 (Xiang Gao, violin); Weber's
Freischutz Overture; Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica")
Hill Auditorium, 8 p.m., free
Guest Recital with Double Bassist Edgar Meyer
Recital Hall, School of Music, 3:30 p.m., free
Wednesday, April 13
Campus Band
Glen Adsit, conductor
Hill Auditorium, 8 p.m., free
Thursday-Saturday, April 14-16
Full Bodied/Serve Chilled

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