The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 3, 1997 - 21A
gadiohead concert energizes Detroit
British band wows crowd with intense double-encore show
By Ryan Posly
Day Arts Writer
Despite its modest critical success,
ladiohead is probably the most under-
appreciated British band to not quite hit
itbig in America this decade. The band
Sdecidedly more
popular here than it
'i fn its own coun-
try, yet its oftent
sonically challeng-
ing, semi-experi- State7
nental brand of
guitar rock has
somehow eluded the core masses of the
American listening public. While such
bland English exports as Bush and
*sis have been able to flourish on the
mainstream American airwaves, bands
like Radiohead are consistently ignored
because of the very quality that makes
them worth listening to.
At its recent stop in Detroit, on an
extensive tour to promote its latest
album, "OK Computer," Radiohead
displayed more energy, enthusiasm and
character than many major stadium-
bands are capable of mustering. An
*ense two-hour, double-encore set left
the majority of the crowd at the State
Theater breathless, with barely enough
energy to scream for more. Yet there
was Radiohead, pouring on song after
E
Th
tuneful song, alternating between the
heavier rock of its second album, "The
Bends," and the quieter musical layer-
ings of "OK Computer," as lead singer
Thom Yorke's seemingly rubber head
shook menacingly back-and-forth alt
the while.
VI EW The show start-
ed rather unevent-
Radiohead fully, with Scottish'
band Teenage
ieater, Detroit Fanclub playing a
August 15, 1997 short set of its own
variation of
Britpop (or Scotpop, if you will).
Though the band has never achieved
any real airplay in the States, it is easy
to see why Teenage Fanclub is a mod-
erate success in Britain. Its catchy
guitar pop, coupled with the fact that.
it has essentially three lead singers,
makes it quite radio-friendly in a
nation that relies almost exclusively
on singles and marketing gimmicks
(witness the Spice Girls).
Perhaps to change the mood as
quickly as possible, Radiohead took to
the stage with its most un-radio-friend-
ly song, "Fitter Happier," which con-
sists almost entirely of a computerized
voice reciting a sort of cyber-poem
about the alienation and dehumaniza-
tion of modem man in a technologized
world. Deep stuff, to be sure, but the
band quickly changed the pace with its
first real song, "Planet Telex," also the
first track off of "The Bends."
From there, Radiohead alternated
between "The Bends" and "OK
Computer," replicating each song per-
fectly, including Yorke's dynamic
vocals and the bizarre sound effects
on its newest tracks. The band
gnashed through "Airbag" and
"Lucky" before settling into an
uncomfortably long set of most of its
slowest material, including the per-
plexing "Exit Music (For a Film),"
"No Surprises" and "The Tourist" off
of "OK Computer," as well as "(Nice
Dream)" and "Bulletproof ... I Wish I
Was" from "The Bends."
Yorke finally broke the monotony
by thanking Detroit radio station 89X
"for actually playing" the band's next
song, "Paranoid Android," the first
single off of "OK Computer." A
rhythmically complex song with no
discernible chorus or consistent
melody, "Paranoid Android" was the
unlikeliest of singles, yet it received
one of the warmest receptions, as it
gave the crowd a chance to both sway
slowly and headbang in the same
song.
Radiohead continued with "Karma
Police" (during which nobody seemed
to notice that Yorke messed up the
lyrics), "Bones," "Just," "My Iron
Lung" and a surprisingly quiet rendi-
tion of "Let Down." What was even
more surprising was the audience's
response, or lack thereof, that this sec-
ond single off of "OK Computer"
evoked. As the only mainstream song
on the album, it is sure to be
Radiohead's biggest hit this year, but no
one seemed to notice that it was being
played.
The crowds were given a further
chance to abuse their bodies during
vigorous versions of "Sulk," "Black
Star" and an especially exhilarating
rendition of "The Bends," before
Yorke slowed it down again by get-
ting behind the keyboards for the
haunting "Subterranean Homesick
Alien" and the disturbing "Climbing
Up the Walls." Finishing off its
lengthy set with "Fake Plastic Trees"
and, appropriately, "Street Spirit
(Fade Out)."
The obligatory encore included the
essential Radiohead staple, "Creep," the
band's biggest hit to date, off of its first
album, 1993's "Pablo Honey."Although
the crowd was by now drained, this first
encore was not enough, and in a pleas-
ant surprise that somehow only a hand-
Radlohead rocked Detroit's State Theater last month.
ful of fans seemed to appreciate, Yorke
appeared on stage alone for a rare
acoustic rendition of "Thinking About
You" from "Pablo Honey."
The crowd awaited a third encore,
but the house lights were finally
brought up and the physical
emotionally exhausted fans,
began their relentless quest for
of water, were left to contempl
sheer showmanship of one of
most interesting rock bands.
Tucker shines in otherwise empty 'Talk'
qw
By Julia Shih
Daily Film Editor
Critics have already begun calling
Chris Tucker, the comedian who wowed
audiences in "Friday" and "The Fifth
Element;' the next Eddie Murphy. With
this in mind, it should come as no sur-
prise that in his first leading role,
Tucker stars in a
movie that is R
strangely similar to
Murphy's hit ®
"Beverly Hills
Cop" series.
"Money Talks"
is a comedy thriller
that brings together Tucker and Charlie
Sheen in the same fashion as the stars of
"48 HRS" (another Murphy hit) and
"Lethal Weapon." Tucker is a fast-talk-
ing, wisecrack-firing con-artist who, by
circumstance, gets paired up with an
intense, strictly-business television
reporter.
Tucker plays Franklin Hatchett, a
Iv
small-time crook whose specialty is
scalping basketball tickets in the heart
of Los Angeles. He gets sent to jail
because of James Russell (Sheen), an
ambitious reporter who sets him up so
that he can get busted on camera.
While being transported, Hatchett is
cuffed to a laconic French diamond
smuggler named
V IEW Villard (Gerard
Ismael). Villard
loney Talks escapes during a
planned prison
** break involving
At Showcase explosions and
helicopters, taking
Hatchett along for the ride.
By the time Hatchett escapes from
Villard and his cronies, he has gained
knowledge of where Villard's stash of
diamonds is, and he is being chased by
the police who believe he is the one
who orchestrated the escape.
Hatchett goes to Russell for help,
who gladly accepts the fugitive and the
chance for a career-boosting exclusive
interview. Soon both men are being
chased by the police and a group of
angry, cutthroat diamond thieves.
It soon becomes obvious that the best
thing about "Money Talks" is Tucker.
His quirky performance does not disap-
point fans, as most of the laughs in the
movie involve him. He can easily go
from boasting that he enjoys killing for
fun in one moment, to screaming like a
young sorority girl in a USA Up-All-
Night horror film in the next. His style
of throwing out amusing wisecracks at
every possible opportunity is very
much like Murphy's.
Other comedic highlights include a
hilarious bidding scene at an automo-
bile auction involving violent hand ges-
tures, and a rehearsal dinner for Russell
and his beautiful bride-to-be (Heather
Locklear) in which Hatchett toasts the
couple by quoting Barry White.
Otherwise, the movie is predictable
with a choppy and uneven pace. There
are times when the movi, focuses on
being a comedy and times when -the
movie focuses on being a bullet-ridden,
charged action movie, but director Brett
Ratner switches gears too erratically for
the film to flow well.
Furthermore, Sheen's straight nianis a
little too serious and flat for him to be
much more than dead weight for the
movie. Sheen pretty much fadesinto the
background, which is ,unfortunate
because we've come to expect much
more from this quality actor.
For all the ridiculous plot turns and
the lack of plausibility that threaten to
bomb this movie, "Money Talks" does
deliver cheap laughs by way of
Tucker. Perhaps this is the perfect
vehicle to launch a talented young
comedian's career - an asinine,
mediocre movie that allows a star to
shine. Nevertheless, "Money Talks"
gives audiences a fairly good time
and a look at an actor who is on his
way to the top.
it out! I'm the best thing that could have happened to 'Money Talks.!"
Stallone rises to top in memorable 'Copland'
By Bryan Lark
paily Arts Editor
When was the last time you really loved a Sylvester
hone film without feeling guilty?
Wid you bask in the harsh glow of "Daylight?"
Didn't think so. Did you demolish
everything in your path to see him R
team up with Wesley Snipes?
Thought not. Did you stop your- V
self before his mom could shoot?
Probably.
Well, strike up the "Rocky"
fanfare and call Adrian because
Sly is back on top, turning in a perfect performance in
James Mangold's riveting "Copland."
Stallone heads up a stellar ensemble as Sheriff
AE
At
Freddy Heflin, the designated peacekeeper in the
NYPD burg ofGarrison, N.J, settled and run by cor-
rupt members $f the 36th precinct. Overweight and
almost deaf, Freddy languishes in his appointed and
ineffectual post at the mercy of the New York cops he
so enviously admires.
.v I E W However, the film is not all
about Freddy - it's about deci-
Copland phering the root of moral corrup-
tion and examining the most inti-
mate details of human relation-
State and Showcase ships.
With Stallone's Freddy as the
centerpiece, the film tells the tale of a cover-up
arranged by dirty cop Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel),
investigated by internal Affairs officer Moe Tilden
(Robert DeNiro) and witnessed helplessly by Freddy.
Adding depth to the film are the many layers of
intertwined back stories that incorporate many of the
townspeople into the action.
Some of the well-drawn characters include: Deputy
Cindy (Janeane Garofalo), who's about to give up on
Freddy and Garrison altogether; cocaine-addicted cop
Gary Figgis (Ray Liotta), who can't decide to protect
or pity Freddy; Liz (Annabella Sciorra), the longtime
object of Freddy's affections, who married Donlan's
goon Joey (Peter Berg) only after Freddy went deaf
saving her life; Super Boy (Michael Rapaport), who
kickstarts the plot when his Uncle Ray must cover
Super Boy's crimes to save the precinct's name; and
Ray's wife (Cathy Moriarty) who also happens to be
See COPLAND, Page 25A
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