Van Zandt hits Townes Townes Van Zandt is the epitome of the neglected talent that deserves far more recognition than it gets. One of the most influential and respected folk singer / songwriters in recent memory, his darkly humorous images have inspired such luminaries as Lyle Lovett, Guy Clark and the Cowboy Junkies. Van Zand" comes to the Ark tonight to share his witty songs of desolation, Tickets are $12.50 in advance; showtime is at 8 p.m. Call 763-8587 for details. Page 5 Wednesday, March 22. 1995 Berezovsky's brilliance blinds I By Matthew Steinhauser For the Daily Boris Berezovsky's virtuoso pi- ano playing sent reverberations through Hill Auditorium during his recital Monday night. Whether slight tremblings or earthquakes, the rever- berations repeatedly pounded out the truth of the pianist's young age. At only 26, the Russian attacks the piano keys with youthful exuberance, impetuousness and passion. Like a strong wave, Berezovsky's music flows with freshness, honesty and a turbulence that can inspire excitement with heart-gripping speed or bruise with violent clashes. Featuring pieces by Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Schumann, Berezovsky's program seemed tai- lored to flaunthis awesome technique and his mastery of complex rhythms and reckless runs. However, the S pianist's opening pieces by Rachmaninoff underscored his inex- perience. The magnificently dark power of Rachmaninoff's compositions suf- fered slightbruises fromBerezovsky's ferocious style. He approached Etudes "No. 4 in b minor," "No. 3 in f-sharp minor," "No. 7 in c minor" and "No. 9 in D Major" with an unrestrained abandon that lacked sharpness and focus. At times, Rachmaninoff's big chords echoed gratingly rather than resounded richly. The Russian missed several opportunities to score points when he sacrificed gentle fullness in the quieter themes for whimpering emptiness. Despite several shortcomings in the opening pieces, Berezovsky fore- shadowed the blinding brilliance of the latter portions of his program with " Boris Berezovsky Hill Auditorium March 20, 1995 delicate, deft interpretations of cer- tain softer parts that spun smoothly from speedy, spectacular, controlled bigger lines. Berezovsky tamed and polished music by thecomposer Maurice Ravel with increasing skill as the intermis- sion approached. The pianist utilized Ravel's runs and dance rhythms in "La Valse" to display his remarkable technical proficiency, but he occa- sionally rendered the voices in the music indistinct and muddled. In at- tempting to flourish some of the fast, spectacular themes, Berezovsky bur- ied more important melodic lines. In "Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales," the young Russian illustrated a scene with two lovers slowly dancing. Berezovsky gripped the audience with unexpected, inter- mittent bursts of lustful love that crisply leapt from the piano. He con- cluded Ravel's composition with a quiet, confident mastery of tones, and the last note hung in the still air of the Hill with stark beauty. After the intermission, Berezovsky unleashed his raw talent. He chan- neled the fire in his soul, and effec- tively burned music by Robert Schumann into submission. Every note - no matter how loud or soft - that Berezovsky flung into the air resounded with individual impor- tance. In the "Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17," he manipulated silences and hesi- tations to enrapture the audience and reveal a versatile collection of moods. As if he had opened a can of magical powers, the pianist found beauty in death, pride in failure and honor in sin. Berezovsky struck chords with authority and they resounded with a depth and richness often absent dur- ing the first half of his performance. The pianist maintained his tight control over the notes in Schumann's "Toccata in C Major, Op. 7" and in two encore pieces. Throughout the post-intermission portions of his pro- ezovsky is the thinking-man's pianist. gram, Berezovsky subdued his pow- erful, youthful passions to fulfill his smallest musical desires. With agile, energetic playing tech- niques and fresh, interpretive ap- proaches to the music, Berezovsky re- vealed glimpses of greatness even dur- ing the rougher parts at the outset of his recital. The daring, vivacious, youthful quality in Berezovsky's playing com- prised the backbone of the program, and a genuine, electric honesty pre- vailed through his final, humble bows to the approving audience. The Archers aren't loafing around By Tom Erlewine Daily Arts Editor In the past year and a half, Archers of Loaf has become one of the hippest bands in the indie-rock underground. Since the release of their debut al- ARCHERS OF LOAF Where: State Theater 5 When: Tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: Call (313) 961-5450 for ticket information. Weezer is headlining the concert. The show is all-ages. bum, "Icky Mettle," in September of 1993, the band has received reams of glowing reviews and have gathered a sizable cult following across the United States. "Web in Front," with its infectious, slightly off-key chorus of "All I ever wanted was to be your spine," has become a staple of college and alternative radio. The band's glee- fully noisy pop has already earned them a fair amount of respect and acclaim; now the band is preparing to expand that following. Earlier this month, Archers of Loaf released their second album, "Vee Vee," and began a monthlong tour with guitar-pop sensations, Weezer. All the cards seem to be in the right place for the band - if the tour goes well, the Archers will become a fa- miliar name to teenagers across the country. Drummer Matt Gentling admitted he's "psyched" for the tour, "because it'll be big crowds. But I really don't know who listens to Weezer - like what kind of crowd they're gonna have. I figure it's pretty young kids. It's gonna be fun, regardless." Even if their skewed, experimental pop doesn't make sense to the Weezer crowds, Gentling vowed, "We'll still enjoy ourselves, we'lljust drink more beer, unfortunately." Nevertheless, Gentling would be pleased if the tour gained the Archers a larger audience. "If we ended up with a huge following, I would love that," he said, "as long as people re- ally honestly liked it. I wouldn't want us to gain a larger audience by satura- tion, by getting plugged on the radio so much that people buy it regardless. But if people like the music, that's great. I don't think any of us are wanting to limit our audience. We're not in it for the cool factor, we're in it because we enjoy playing the music." Even if Archers of Loaf doesn't play music in order to be cool, "Icky Mettle" established a reputation among indie-rock fans that is difficult to live up to. Instead of copying the style and sound of their debut, the band has turned it inside out . Ini- tially, the record sounds less acces- sible, yet the songs begin to sink in with repeated listens. Getling admitted recording "Vee Vee" was a different experience than making their debut. The new record was basically written in the studio, Film Festival highlights diversity This year's winners are an eclectic mix of viewpoints By Sarah Rogaki . Daily Arts Writer The ballots came in and the cur- tains came down on the 33rd Ann Arbor Film Festival's Awards Screening on Sunday at the Michi- gan Theater. While the concessionist sweeps up the last vestiges of pop- corn and funky celluloid confetti, let's reflect on the highlights of an- Ann Arbor Film Festival Michigan Theater March 14-19, 1995 other cutting-edge year in film fes- tival history. Top prizes went to an assort- ment of comic experimental narra- tives that told modern folk tales from the fringes of life. Best of the Festi- val was awarded to K.C. Amos of Sherman Oaks, California for his film, "Syphon Gun." Centering around the perceptions of an elderly man who bears a striking resem- blance to Fred Sanford in gesture and dress, Amos construct the stuff of neighborhood myth by retelling the man's confrontation with a gas syphoner through a photographic montage. With a gritty black and white film stock, the filmmaker gives movement and texture to the old codger's voice over. This peculiar slice-of-life short kept audiences in stitches as Amos spun together his a whole lot of spunk. In the same vein, Australian-na- tive Liz Hughes won the Lawrence Kasdan Award for her black and white comic narrative, "Cat's Cradle." Departing from the wilds of a surreal outback homestead, the film chronicles the comic journey of a rag-tag family finding a resting place for their dead patriarch. After many trials with shovels and rose- gardens, the family leaves him in a Saturday matinee to comfort a lonely Mia Farrow-type. Finding it's strength in an ambitious soundtrack, "Cat's Cradle" kept with the festival's tradition in screening the bizarre extremities of independent filmmaking. The Peter Wilde Award for Most Innovative Film went to Canadian filmmaker Ramiro Puerta for his film, "Crucero/Crossroads," an ex- ploration of cultural identity in the post-colonial world. Hinging on both comic appeal and self investi- gation, Puerta's film illustrated the filmmaker's own need to find a transcultural foothold in construct- ing an identity which borders on a Western lifestyle and an indigenous heritage. The filmmaker's comic Latino alter-ego, sporting black pants and a blue bolero jacket, chal- lenges the notions of ethnicity by commenting on stereotypical im- ages of the Hispanic community in the west. "Crucero/Crossroads" added a fresh perspective to the as- tute group of winners, while mak- ing an excellent transition between the many comic and dramatic pieces in the festival. nated by outstanding documenta- ries. Grosse-Pointer Mitch McCabe won the Special Jury Documentary Award for her Harvard thesis film, "Playing the Part." In the filmmaker's struggle to tell her par- ents that she is gay, she communi- cates the need for acceptance from her family and their upper-crust community. Through "photo therapy," McCabe desperately draws ties between her new life and the past she is leaving behind. Other strong contenders in the documen- tary genre were "How I Spent My Summer Vacation," Chicagoian Kate Wrobel's piece on children in the pro-life movement, and "Hello Photo," Harvard Graduate student Nina Davenport's breathtaking trav- elogue on the nature of image and representation in Indian culture. Winning the Arts Foundation of Michigan Award, Claire Tinkerhess' film "A Touch to Cold" swept for Best Local Filmmaker: Sticking to a traditional avant-garde montage strategy, Tinkerhess con- trasts footage of animals in the wild with the cold interactions of human beings. Entered without her knowl- edge by her husband, the film made Tinkerhess a cool thousand dollars to fund her next project. Kind of makes you want to get out grandpa's old Super-Eight camera before next year's festival rolls around. Da Bush Babees Ambushed Reprise Records Perhaps nothing is more lamen- table than the continued weathering of the musical bulwark, rap, at the hands of a plethora of wannabe rap- pers whose lyrical abilities could be shown up by your average kindergar- ten student. More often than not, it seems that any album released by a new rapper or rap group will turn out to be shitty at best; they almost make the average rap conneiseur not want to take any chances with a freshman rap CD. It is with this understandable hesi- tancy that many would approach da Bush Babees and their debut effort, "Ambushed." It would be easy to look at the three guys on the CD's front cover and dismiss them as another here-today-gone-tomorrow rap group. Thankfully, that thought is the fur- thest from the truth. Mr. Man, Kaos and Y-Tee have produced a very interesting and ap- pealing 13-cut creation. These three men also have a uniqueness that hasn't been found in a rap trio since what seems like eons ago. Each rapper has a rap style starkly different than those of the other two in the group. In complementing these differences, these guys have produced cuts any one of which features a host of con- trasting beats and other background sounds. These sounds will change, faster than the blink of an eye, from smooth and mellow orough and raun- chy to lively and upbeat without any int of when that change will take place. "Pon De Attack," the CD's first rap cut, will quickly take you back to the treble-crazy sounds of Pharcyde, the psycho raps of Onyx's Sticky Fin- gers and the reggaeishness of the Fu- Schnickens; this is no easy feat for a 3-1/2 minute song. But, this song is not unique in its rapid, rabid and ram- pant musical style. Check out "Rough N' Rugged," (reggae with a passion) "We Run Things" (a little Erik B. and Rakim sound) and "Put It Down" (that single, recurring bass beat that occurs about 40 seconds into the song is hype). No two songs are alike, but all share one common feature - pas- sionate variety. One weakness that would be ex- pected of "Ambushed" would be that such a variety of beats must include a few weak sounds. Not true. "Ambushed" isas solid as Y-Tee's hardened facial expressions, as fresh as Mr. Man's hairdressed dreads and as powerful as the Blackness exuded by Kaos. In short, "Ambushed" is mere centimeters away from rap mu- sic perfection. - Eugene Bowen The Waterboys The Secret Life Of EMI O.K., so maybe an album of b- sides, live and unreleased Waterboys' material from 1981-1985 is not at the top of everybody's wish list, but it does make for a decent record. Most of the songs hold up as more than just interesting Waterboys' historical ar- tifacts, ranging from the great ("Love See RECORDS, Page 8 p ~i~WAIfl~~hh~ It's not N V~ N JN~ .r I V N. ~ ~'J 5 3 Or N.i... N E.