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Dancin' the Night Away
The Detroit Dance Collective brings to life the visions of artistic directors
B arbara Selknger and Paula Kramer. Dramatic and visual pieces
incorporate the work of Michigan composers, writers and visual artists.
Look for original, thoughtful and entertaining works from the Performance
Network at 8 pm. this Thursday through Saturday. Tickets are $12, $9
(students) and pay-what-you-can on Thursday.. Call 663-033981.

Page 5
Wednesday,

Slayer bleeds heavy metal

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Oy Kirk Miller
Daily Arts Writer
"They're such a polite group, those
Slayer fans," my friend Nicole com-
mented after last Friday's concert at the
State Theater in Detroit. Unlike those
Slayer
47 iState Theater
February 10, 1995
rowdy troublemakers next door at the
Anne Murray extravaganza (which was
still going strong at the Fox Theater
when our concert ended) we were sur-
rounded by the friendliest leather-clad,
'80s hair-styled, pot-smoking people
ou could ever hope for.
46Unexpectedly nice, especially for a
concert that promised uncontrolled vio-
lence and the best heavy metal lineup in
Detroit in years. Not only was Slayer
triumphantly returning with two sold-
out shows, but they had brought under-
ground favorites Biohazard and new
thrash gods Machine Head along for the
ride. Slayer fans are notoriously nar-
row-minded, so the slightly off beat pair-
Opgs promised to create a riot.
Machine Head opened by scream-
ing the charming mantra, "Let free-
dom reign with a shotgun blast" from
their single "Davidian." Despite the

minimal stage space and a lack of
song recognition by the audience,
guitarist 1 vocalist Robb Flynn won
what there was of a crowd. Since
Slayer decided to drop all of their
progressive instincts and return to their
roots for the their new album it's been
up to bands like Machine Head and
Sepultura to move thrash forward in a
different, more diverse direction.
With only thirty minutes Machine
Head was the brightest spot of the
evening, closing with a killer hardcore
rendition of the Cro-Maps "Hard
Times," which Billy and Evan from
Biohazard joining in, just to prove that
stadiums ornot, they're still "hardcore."
As the auditorium continued to fill
Biohazard came out, back for the third
or fourth time in a year. Which might
have explained the lukewarm reception
to all to but their breakout MTV video
"Punishment." The band's mix of
hardcore, thrash and rap sounded good
but barely registered with the crowd,
who became more and more disgruntled
as the set continued. When bassist /
vocalist Evan Seinfeld tried to make a
dedication to a friend of the band's that
died the day before, the true Slayer fan
came out.
The song he used was the opening
acoustic intro to "Loss," an older Bio-
hazard tune about friends of theirs lost
to street violence and suicide. Within
30 seconds the entire second and third

floors were chanting "Slayer! Slayer!
Slayer! ," enough to drown out the band.
Can you imagine inviting these
people to your funeral?
Priest: As we lay to rest this great
man ...
Congregation: Slayer! Slayer!
Slayer!
So Biohazard barely made it out
alive, only winning the crowd by kiss-
ing a skinhead's forehead that had a
Biohazard tattoo on it. Last year open-
ing for Fishbone the band pulled up
several kids from the crowd and things
went nuts; this was more subdued and
a slight disappointment from one of
the best live bands in the world.
And then there was Slayer.
Within seconds of the first chord
the pit was full - so full no one could
even move or breathe. From there it
was rough; they might be nice folk,
but they are violent nice folk.
Looking charged up and excited
the band mixed older classics like
"Angel of Death" and "Dead Skin
Mask" in with newer material like
"213," which sort of summed up what
makes Slayer so appealing.
"It's a love song" lead singer Tom
Araya declared.
"Boo!" the audience chanted.
"Don't worry, it has death at the
end of it," he promised (the song is
about Jeffrey Dahmer).
"Yeah!" the audience recanted.

Beavis and Butt-head said it best: Slayer rules!!! Really, there's not much we can add to that. JONATHAN LURIE/Daily

Behind the evil facade of Slayer
lurked incredible song structures and
the tightest playing foursome in rock
music; even though I thought they made
a big mistake by not continuing with the
progressive stuff seen on their previous

"Seasons in the Abyss," all of the mate-
rial blended together very smoothly, if
death metal could be called smooth.
Never mind the increasingly right-
wing lyrics, simple song titles like
"Mind Control" and "Chemical War-


'Dead' is a spaghetti western without any
By Scott Plagenhoef opportunity to abandon her image. as oppressor and Stone as the hunter.
Daily Arts Writer When Stone is given the chance to open She despises him completely, so does
The title, "The Quick and the Dead" hermouth itis typically only to deadpan the audience. He is a man so selfish, so
refers to the fates of the two combatants one-liners to thwart come-ons. Still maniacal, so despotic that we know he
in a shoot-out. An appropriate title for a Stone's character is a refreshing female must suffer for his sins. It' sjust a matter
film which has no less than fifteen1 of when and how.
shoot-outs, and little in between. t a Sam Raimi, architect of the "Evil
John Herrod (Gene Hackman), the- Dead" films does his best to keep things
town despot, sponsors an annual quick 1 The Qu ick and interesting, but really, how may ways
draw competition, which he always the Dead can you film a shoot-out? Crosscutting
wins, for the purpose of eliminating Dir ected by Sam Raimi; between participants as the town clock
those who challenge his authority un- begins to approach the top of the hour,
der the guise of fair-play. The contest with Sharon Stone and each time focusing closer and closer
attracts the usual overly masculine, gold- Gene Hackmanj until only their eyes are in frame is not
toothed, whiskey-dri nking, poker-play- At Briarwood and Showcase a successful tension builder, it's a tired
ing crowd of expendable characters ________________ film device to be mocked on a
which populate every western. role in a time in which there are few. "Simpsons" episode.
Yet this particular year it also fea- She can compete in a traditionally male
tures a revenge-seeking female gun- arena yet does not have to sacrifice her
slinger portrayed by Sharon Stone. sensitivity and adopt a tough-as-nails
Stone, riding into town to avenge the bitch persona.
death of her father is a quick draw, but The problem with Stone's character
not a killer. She seeks redemption from is indicative and representative of the
Herrod for the death of her father but problems ofthe f lm atlarge. The shoot-
doesn't seek to leave a trail of blood in outs are so central to the plot and time-
the process. consuming that the development of
Stone, in her second attempt (fol- characters or subplots outside is nonex-
lowing "Intersection") to escape the istent.
over-sexed female role which catapulted Hackman's character is so evil that Success on the G]
her to fame, unforuaeisgvnlte there is never any tension between him You Focus your eff

fare" or the drone of the one guitar
reminding me of standing next to an
jet engine. They came, they played,
they conquered.
And they didn't kill Anne Murray.
Bless their kind hearts.
pastabilifties
Sam Raimi has prospered as a styl-
ish and visual director, often assisted by
the brilliant physical comedy of Bruce
Cambpell, able to take a simple situa-
tion, a small cast, and a narrow setting,
and create works of extraordinary en-
joyment. He has again in "The Quick
and the Dead" a small cast, a narrow
setting, but not the freedom (in part
because he didn't script the film) to
dictate a majority of the action again
due to the restriction of cramming fif-
teen shoot-outs into one film.
Raimi has trapped himself between
creating "Evil Dead" and a Sergio Leone
spaghetti western and ended up with
neither.

-.~~~~,.'.-~~~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bebey Brings Two Cultures Together
Looking for musical diversity? Want to experience it through a multi-
talented musician and composer? Then Rackham Auditorium is the place
to be tonight at 8 p.m. Francis Bebey is a self-taught classical guitarist
and performing artist from Duala, Cameroon. Now living In Paris, Bebey
~rings the best of both his worlds to Michigan through his unique blend of
Ufrican music and Western Ideas. The evening promises to be original, and
the chance to see and hear this acclaimed artist shouldn't be missed.
Tickets are available at the Michigan Union Ticket Office and at all
TicketMaster Outlets. Ticket prices are $15.00 and $10.00 student price
in advance only. Charge by phone at 313-763-TKTS or 810-645-6666.
- Kimberly Braton

Simple Minds
?good News From
the Next World
Virgin
If you have heard the first single
from Simple Minds' new album,
"She's a River," you can get a very
good idea of what the whole release
sounds like. If you like the song, go
buy the album. The rest of it is just
~ke it. If you don't, forget it. The rest
fthe album is just like it. Either way,
everything starts to blur together into
an overproduced haze after awhile.
But this does not mean that the album
is bad; several of the songs are out-
standing, most notably "Great Leap
Forward," "Hypnotised" and the
aforementioned "River."
Still, one starts to yearn for the old
dgays of "Don't You Forget About
e"midway through the songs, when
it becomes apparent that no. 1: Jim
Kerr has added even more pseudo-
breathlessness-sexiness-urgency-ri-
diculousness to his voice than usual;
no. 2: The excellent guitar work of
Charlie Burchill is overshadowed by
his insistence on effects/reverb over-
kill; and no. 3: Cliche city for the song
titles. This is a minor gripe, but
*uldn't they think of something a tad
more clever than "Night Music" or "7
Deadly Sins" or "My Life" or "Crimi-
nal World" or "This Time?"
The fact remains that the music is
good if not great, and the album as a

artists. With such acts as Bad Reli-
gion, Offspring and Rancid, new
punk fans can get their fill on their
faves, while also experiencing some
of the best names in the once-under-
ground world of punk rock.
"Punk-O-Rama" is a great disc,
with great bands, and also a great
introduction to what California punk
is; not just the sappy, sweet Green
Day songs, but stuff that's in your
face and pissed off. Stuff that grabs
you and screams "Fuck you!C"
Bad Religion's "Do What You
Want," from the group's 1987 album
"Suffer," is a great pounding track.
Others from NOFX and Pennywise
are just as impressive. Gashuffer's
"Crooked Bird" is another great track,
and so is Down By Law's "Bright
Green Globe."
Offspring's contributions, "Ses-

sion" and "Jennifer Lost The War"
are great tracks for the band, and even
better than a lot of songs off their
latest release, "Smash."
Rancid's "Hyena" is another great
track from their 1993 self-titled Epi-
taph debut. The second song on the
disc, "IY Wanna Riot," is an awesome
previously unreleased track, and takes
the band back to its ska roots.
For old and new punk fans,
"Punk-4-Rama" offers a great taste
of the many hard-rocking bands on
Epitaph. With Johnny Rotten push-
ing 40, it's about time for a new
breed of angst music to take control.
Like it or not, punk is now main-
stream, but hell, these people are all
still alive. Go and check 'em out
before they're dead too.
-Brian A. Gnatt
See RECORDS, page 8

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