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Catch the Third Wave
Shaman Drum Bookshop is holding a poetry reading tonight to raise
funds for Third Wave magazine. Local writers Thylias Moss and Eileen
Pollack will be present at this 8 p.m. event. Call 332-8959 for more
information.
Wednesday
April 3, 1996
Grohl fights voice, Foos fly into State
By Use Harwin
Daily Arts Writer
Performing to a sold-out house at the
State Theater, Dave Grohl did some-
thing that would definitely surprise the
average concert-goer, especially the
concert-goer who had seen the Foo
Fighters live before. He didn't lose his
voice.
After clearly taking several months
voice lessons, the lead singer of the
Too Fighters - and former drummer of
Nirvana - managed to survive an en-
tire show without going completely
hoarse. This feat, while not outstanding
for any other vocalist, was truly unique
for Grohl. And through it all, he still
retained his trademark sense of humor.
Right from the start of the show, the
Fighters proved that they are a force to
contend with on the current modern
rock scene. Grohl took the stage early,
noting that he would, "do anything for
the Motor City." He launched into a
rousing version of "This Is A Call," the
first single off of the group's debut
album. This was followed by
"Winnebago" and Groh] asking for a
throat lozenge from nearby audience
members.
The fact that Dave Grohl is not a
singer is a quality that makes the Foo
Fighters more endearing to their audi-
ences, particularly because he has no
qualms about admitting his shortcom-
ings. The album itself was created en-
tirely by Grohl, minus current
bandmates Pat Smear, William Gold-
REVIEW
Foo Fighters
State Theater
March 30, 1996
smith and Nate Mendel. While in the
studio, Grohl had the opportunity to
rest his voice between the recording of
each track, a factor that isn't possible
during a live performance. Fortunately,
since the Foo Fighters' tour over the
summer, Grohl has clearly adapted to
the strain put on his voice. While he still
makes jokes about his lackluster sing-
ing skills, he also doesn't have to give
up singing halfway through a perfor-
mance.
The band continued with a version of
"For All The Cows," a clever little ditty
that left the audience wondering just
how seriously to take this grungy band.
Nonetheless, the crowd was wild, with
several people running up on stage de-
spite security guards placed strategi-
cally around the venue.
Another quality that makes the Foo
Fighters so unusual is Grohl's repartee
with his audience in any given city. In
a decade where bands use the same
lines on each crowd, Grohl is a refresh-
ing change. His way of personalizing
each show for the city and venue can't
be beat. At this particular performance,
Grohl suggested that since the State
show was an early one, they should
head over to St. Andrew's to see Chris-
tian metal band Trouble, since they
were not unlike the Melvin's. Clearly,
this is not a line that would be accept-
able in any other city in the country.
In the only song that actually calls
for a hoarse voice, "Weenie Beanie,"
the Fighters proved that they have un-
beatable energy. While their stage show
may not be that exciting, one can't
argue with the fact that they all put
everything they have into each song.
It's no wonder that Dave Grohl is al-
ways losing his voice.
Following "Oh, George," the Fight-
ers went on to play "Big Me," the song
for which the Mentos-esque video has
brought them more widespread national
attention. Truly, the Foo Fighters will
be remembered as "the dude who was
the drummer for Nirvana," and "the
band that made that Mentos video."
Unfortunately, this means that people
will overlook the fact that, for a drum-
mer, Dave Grohl does an awfully good
job of taking the lead.
The Foo Fighters also performed sev-
eral new songs at this show, much to the
audience's enjoyment. Grohl informed
listeners that a new album should be
due out next February. For now, fans
will have to be content with hearing the
newest tunes, like "My Hero," live.
Interestingly, in the only Nirvana com-
parison of the evening, "My Hero"
sounded suspiciously similar at times
to "In Bloom." Following the cover of
the Angry Samoans' "Gas Chamber,"
the Fighters debuted another song titled
"Up In Arms."
In possibly the best performance of
the evening, following "Good Grief,"
the Fighters played a lesser-known tune
called "How I Miss You." The mellow,
dreamy song was a great contrast to
their more upbeat numbers, with Grohl
acknowledging that he "likes a crowd
with a sensitive side." Ending with a
fantastically spirited version of "Alone
+ Easy Target," the Fighters left the
stage to an audience who still wanted
more.
Due to the crowd's persistent chant-
ing, the Foo Fighters returned for the
final off-key version of "I'll Stick
Around." Afterward, Grohl turned the
vocal duties over to opening band That
Dog for a horrible version of"Floaty,"
a song that would have sounded better
even with Grohl's fading voice.
Overall, the show was worthwhile.
Dave Grohl sounded better than ever,
though the band seems to perform bet-
ter in a more intimate venue ... or at
least one that has a limited number of
audience members. Seeing any band in
a place where you get stepped on every
couple minutes leaves most people with
a bad taste in their mouth, no matter
how good the show itself may be.
Jeffrey Bender stars in the University theater department's performance of Sam
Shepard's rock drama "The Tooth of Crime."
Rockrules i 'rhe
The Foo Fighters entertained the audience at the State on Saturday.
U' dmusic group es audience
By Tyler Patterson
Daily Arts Writer
From time to time there appears in
the realm of American art a piece that
seems to originate from the gut of
American culture. It passionately de-
fines how it feels to live in a country
spanning the breadth of an entire conti-
nent, imminently struggling with is-
sues of freedom and morality. More
often than not this art surfaces in our
music, like the emergence of jazz and
then rock 'n' roll in the earlier parts of
the century.
Occasionally, though, a movement
emerges in writing, as with Allen
Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac of the Beat
generation. Perhaps the lastgreatAmeri-
can work of art in written form is "The
Tooth of Crime," a play with music in
two acts by Sam Shepard.
Appearing for the next two week-
ends here in Ann Arbor, "The Tooth of
Crime" promises to have a powerful
effect on the community. Betty Jean
Jones, a professor in the department of
theater and drama said, one reason for
the power of the play is that Shepard
shows a chilling vision of what it means
to be an American.
"Shepard is a particularly American
playwright," Jones said in a recent in-
terview with The Michigan Daily.
"What he's writing about has to do with
America and the American scene and
the American character."
Using rock music as the defining
edge of American culture, Shepard re-
calls the tradition set forth by the Beat
generation, which used American mu-
sic in writing to fuse the conflicting
forces of the American struggle.
The play's story centers around Hoss,
a rock 'n' roll icon struggling to main-
tain his identity after reaching the top,
while dealing with every ambitious
young punk that dreams of tearing him
THE TOOTH
OF CRIME
Where: Trueblood.Theater
When: April 4-6,11-13 at 8 p.m.,
April 7 & 14 at 2 p.m.
General admission tickets are $12
($6 students). Call 764-0450.
down. The world painted througl
Shepard's language is violent, sadisti(
and divisive. Hoss is surrounded-b'
management who feed off his success
while being aprisoner to the rules ofth(
game that established him at the top -
rules that do not apply to the next gen-
eration.
"How can one be and have levels o
truth and originality when you've risel
to a point in your life and in this culture
where you're seen as an icon of sorts?'
Jones asked. "Is there a co-opting a
that level where you become so much
the status quo, so anything else tha
goes on around you threatens both tha
personal place of success and the actua
industry you represent?"
One of the special aspects of "Thc
Tooth of Crime" is the powerful lan-
guage used by Shepard. The use o:
language in this particular piece is fai
more than cosmetic. Not only does i
come "from the gut" of the characters.
as Shepard put it, but words are used at
instruments by the characters to cut anc
beat each other down.
Rebecca Somerville, the dramaturg
for the project, wrote that "the language
is violent, rough, shaping, staccato ...
Language is 'tooth' of 'crime."' In z
world where freedom of speech is sa-
cred and protected at most costs, lan-
guage has become the culture's most
powerful weapon.
The play, it should be warned to
See TOOTH, Page .
By Anitha Chalam
For the Daily
It takes a long time to say "University of Michigan
Digital Music Ensemble." It only takes a moment to
say, "Wow!" Based on the Saturday night perfor-
mance of this group, it seems that the two names are
*nonymous.
Though the performance took=
place on North Campus, the event
was well worth it for all who made
the trek up there. The concert in-
cluded synthesizers and electric
guitars, of course, but also less Ma
conventional electric instruments,
such as the flute, violin and eupho-
nium.
In fitting with the unconventional instruments, the
concert was also rather unconventional, played in the
*rk with psychedelic images and other slides and
movies being projected onto canvases placed on all
sides of the theater.
The first piece, the "Continuing Story of Counter-
point Part IX," featured synthesizers, trumpets and
flute. The piece was loud and dissonant, but in the
darkness, staring at kaleidoscope patterns, the audi-
ence loved it.
For the second piece, "Stars in the Sky," three
additional canvases were hung in the middle of the
stage to receive even more visual media. The idea for
this piece came from a children's story, in which a
small child contemplates what
REVIEW lies beyond the heavens. This
question was posed to eight dif-
ital Music ferent groups within the ensemble
Ense~mble as an assignment, and the piece
consisted of their musically in-
cIntosh Theatre terpreted answers.
The audience was asked to re-
March 30, 1996 main silent in between each piece
within the piece, so that they
could contemplate their place in a vast universe. The
screens showed images of all sorts of spiritual things
and there were digitally produced sound effects. At
one point the main computer screen was projected
onto the biggest canvas, to show the digital workings
behind the piece being played, so that the entire
audience could appreciate its complexity. At the very
end, stagehands threw the audience brightly colored
origami cranes with the following words printed on
them: "oh if we knew / if we knew what we needed if
we even knew / the stars would look to us to guide
them."
The third and final piece, "Potlatch," was the most
amazing of all. It was created by Steev Hise of the
California Arts School. He was a virtual guest of the
concert, speaking to the audience over the computer
microphone from California, and assumed a major
role in its performance. The computer screen was
again placed on the big screen so that the audience
could see what was happening. Using Fetch, Telnet
and an interactive program called CUSeeMe, the
audience was able to see simultaneously what was
going on in California and on stage, as the computers
busily exchanged pictures and other information.
On that note of awe, the concert came to an end. The
audience took their time leaving, as if exiting the
building would somehow break the spell that we had
been placed under, and we didn't want to escape. The
University Digital Music Ensemble has had 216 con-
certs since its formation and it will likely perform
many more. For those who have missed it 216 times,
make sure to catch the 217th.
Don't Panic!
if you think you're pregnant,.
call us-we listen, we care.
PROBLEM PREGNANCY HELP
769-7283
Any time, any day, 24 hours.
Fully confidential.
Serving Students since 1970.
Mandy Barnett
+*andy Barnett
Asylum Records
However you feel about country
music, especially the low-risk, high-
gloss sort this Tennessee-born singer
presents on her debut, one thing's for
sure: Mandy Barnett's got a rare pair of
lungs and the attitude to match.
Barnett got her first big break two years
o when she landed the title role in the
usical "Always ... Patsy Cline." Play-
ing a country legend at the Ryman Audi-
torium didn't rattle the 20-year-old singer,
and she attacks the 10 retro-flavored tunes
on her first record with similar bravado.
With her big, wonderfully rich voice,
Barnett powers her way through bal-
lads like "A Simple I Love You," wor-
thy standards like Willie Nelson's
"Three Days," the traditional "Wayfar-
g Stranger" and big, swinging num-
bers like Jim Lauderdale's "Planet of
Love" with equal aplomb.
Barnett is a belter (and yes, her voice
does recall Cline's golden pipes), and
most of the time it works to her advan-
tage, as on the fine first single "Now
Thnt', A1nhtith,"(f,raim ; Alignn
iii R1114 ill113
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Please return by April 4th to the
A
Daily at 420 Maynard, Ann Arbor, MI
48109. Results will be printed.on
April 18th in the Best of Ann Arbor
issue of Weekend. Thank youfor
your time.
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