8 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 20, 1998 Buffett brings Margaritaville to Motown By Stephanie Jo Klein Daily Arts Writer Salvador Dali probably would have enjoyed Jimmy Buffett's concert Tuesday night. But for those of us less into the surreal, it was a bit startling. When the clock struck 8 p.m., hordes of Parrotheads swarmed the Palace of Auburn Hills, ready to have Captain Jim and his Coral Reefer Band sail them over to Key West for some good old-fash- .oned island music. >t But instead of a quick sail, it was more of a freak- ish, neverending booze cruise. The packed house was teeming with middle-aged, over-weight drunks. The hands that didn't hold up tribute lighters cradled $5.50 Margaritas in stylish plastic glasses. From any angle, one saw a sea of besotted adults sporting loud klawaiian shirts. Some wore leis around their necks and parrots on top of their baseball caps. Others wore balloon animals on their heads. On Jimmy Buffett The Palace Feb. 17, 1998 stage, Buffett started one song with a big shark head on his head. If any of the audience members were looking for a reli- gion, they certainly had found it. The Bacchanalian festivities seemed like they had much less to do with music than with sim- ply finding drinking buddies. The crowd thrilled to Buffett's trademark songs, "Margaritaville" and "Volcano," and as he reminded them that Mardi Gras was approaching, the horrifically repressed Lenten crowd shrieked out words to But even so, and despite his very normal attire of pink T-shirt, khaki pants and white sneakers, Buffett had most of the members of the audience convinced that he was divine. Perhaps the surprise of the debaucherous spectacle was precisely what catapulted him into the big leagues and into the ranks of those select artists whose songs everyone knows by heart. (Of course, he's even got an album by that name.) More than any rock 'n roll atti- tude, it was the twinkle in Buffett's eye when he and the members of the Coral Reefer Band sing about pirates, parrots and Havana, that encouraged everyone to link arms and sing "Cheeseburger in Paradise" This reviewer included. Buffett joked around about the crassness of one of his most popular songs, "Why Don't We Get Drunk (And Screw)," mentioning one fanatic Parrothead who sent her kindergarten-aged child to school with the Buffett CD-ROM for show and tell. Scratching his margarita belly, Buffett said the mother had an easy explanation to the teacher's unsur- prising anger - her kid danced around singing "Why Don't We Get Lunch (In School)." Not bad for a future parrothead. It didn't really matter whose music Buffett played. The audience happily bounced around myriad beach- balls during Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl," Mexican folk song "Guantanamera," and even Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Southern Cross." He could have played "Go Tell It on the Mountain" for all they cared. He wasn't as holy as his grand end-of-concert "I'm the Pope" wave would suggest, but Buffett was certainly congenial. He started off the second half by playing from the nose-bleed seats. From the opening strains of "Cuban Crime of Passion," to the foot-stompin' bluegrass beat of "Gypsies in the Palace," and so on until the last notes of "Survive" in the second encore, the audience was wacky and wild. If anyone remembered it the morning after, I'm sure they said it was out of this world. Courtesy of Mercury Records Chuck D takes part in "Back In the Day," the premiere of "Ultra Sound." MTV's new series continues March 1 with a look at Madonna's new album. 'Sound' debut spr1eads - e messae of'80s rap WARREN ZINN/Daily Margarita-filled Jimmy Buffett continued his dogged pursuit for his lost shaker of salt Tuesday night. singing every word of "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" and "Come Monday." Even with unfamiliar new songs, like "Calaloo" off of "Don't Stop the Carnival," the audience didn't turn away, choosing instead to raise glasses in a ceremoni- ous salute and fixate on the stage. But Buffett is an odd choice for a musical god. Hardly a master of music, he sings about as well as my father in the shower. (No offense, Dad.) The Reeferettes clearly showed more talent and vocal range; harmonica player Fingers showed more soul. _.fhy Don't We Get Drunk (and Screw)" and danced with abandon. It was a frighteningly perverse fun house mirror view of many normally sedate Michiganders. It was a strange sort of religious frenzy - with worshippers aged 15 - 50 swaying together in a trance, o ( Brater celebrates surrealism Evolution or Creation? Free Tiransportation Call (734) 995-3609 " Did men live at the same time as dinosaurs? " Why is the "missing link" still missing? " What do the fossils really show? * How old is the earth? Sunday, February 22, 1998 10:00AM, 11:00AM, & 6:00PM Ann Arbor Baptist Church 2150 South Wagner Rd. Ann Arbor, Ml 48103 (734) 995.5144 By Erin Diane Schwartz Daily Arts Writer Have you ever wanted to write down a strange dream, but although the dream made sense while you slept, when you had pen and journal in hand to write it down, you couldn't follow its logic? The surrealist theater has been trying to capture the essence of the human experience in the unconscious, dream- like state. This type of theater is, "Not based on life as we know it in the wak- ing world, but to go beyond and discov- er a more profound reality, beyond the mask of everyday life," said English Prof. Enoch Brater. Although surrealism is normally associated with 20th-Century visual arts, Brater will discuss how surrealism changes the way we think about theater Sunday in his talk, entitled "Surrealism in the 20th Century Theatre." He will also discuss the relationship between the surrealistic breakthrough and how it was embraced by theater principally in Paris in the '20s and '30s. "I want to have a discussion with the audience. It's not going to be dry and boring. I'm going to show video examples of surre- alistic theatre." This type of "in your face" Enoch performance Brater becomes redi- rected in the sur- Borders realistic plays. In Sunday at 1 p.m. a surrealist play, the goal would be to make the audi- ence "feel involved in the dream landscape and capture the same logic as the dream world," explained Brater. While the influence of surrealism can still be witnessed in contemporary theatre, Brater said, "I don't think sur- realists were fully successful in their theatrical work. They never finished (because of the onset of WWII) and another generation saw their influ- ence." Brater looks forward to the presenta- tion and hopes his audience brings intellectual curiosity and a lively imag- ination. By Bryan Lark Daily Arts Editor Since MTV started its new pro- gramming strategy six years ago, it has become a pastime of media critics and other assorted hipsters to wonder for what the "M" really stands. Instead of music videos, all the chan- nel ever airs are game shows, chat shows, cartoon shows and reality shows. In an effort to clarify this "M" con- fusion, MTV's news division has given birth to "Ultra Sound," a new music-focused documentary series on Sunday nights. What, you thought they'd actually play music? That's why the MTV gods created M2. lf MTV is going to beef up its per- manently leave the music videos to its year-old sister station, then airing the intelligent, intormative and extremely entertaining "Ultra Sound" is a bril- liant step in the right direction. Premiering Sunday night, the debut installment of "Ultra Sound," called "Back in the Day," focuses on the rap phenomenon of the '80s, with well- old-schooled hosts Run DMC walk- ing this way and that through New York City as they introduce segments about one of the most influential movements in popular music history. But "Back" isn't some manufac- tured educational video that traces the origins of rap as a means of social commentary. The documen- tary assumes that the viewer knows that history and instead relies on interviews with such rap luminaries as LL Cool J, Salt N Pepa, KRS- ONE and Chuck D, as well as footage and inside gossip to show how the golden age of hip-hop influ- enced today's musical landscape - gold being the operative word there. Yes, rap's curious fascination with "mad, crazy, stupid gold," as Public Enemy's Chuck D puts it, is well- detailed here, as are rap's influence in making Adidas, Kangol and Puma household names and the rev- elation that jheri curls get no respect in the field of hip-hop. Though it is amusing to see such where-are-they-now clips as MC' Shan bemoaning the extinction of Puma gear and 3rd Base's MC Serch promising that he'd never again Ultra Sound MTV Sundays at 10 p.m. between nearly every grandmaster or MC who took the mic in any number of neighborhood skills competitions. 4 These competitions serve as a reflection in "Back" for the rap scene as a whole - all about fun, honing your skills and "command- ing the most attention for the longest period of time" as LL Cool J says, proving that the "bitches and money" school of rap is an exclu- sively '90s phenomenon. If you've ever wondered about the origin of the term "B-Boy," about what went on backstage at the land- mark "Raging Hell" tour (Run DMC, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys and Whodini) or about the evolution from simple beats and improvised rhymes to samples and catchy hooks and choruses, then "Back in the Day" is truly a rapper's delight. But if you're looking to find music on your MTV, the message the net- work is sending is very clear. With4 the onset of "Ultra Sound," MTV is becoming more of a resource for the study and appreciation of music hi - tory and culture - it's like that aid that's the way it is. shave his name into the back of his head, "Back in the Day" goes way beyond surface nostalgia and fash- ion trends, delving into the dynam ics that shaped an era. In the best and most revealing seg- ment, the show gets down and dirty, detailing the heated feud that arose between UTFO and Roxanne Shante, after the 14-year-old Shante, now a, social worker, recorded the scathing "Roxanne's Revenge" to counter UTFO's classic "Roxanne, Roxanne" Their war of words is revealed to have been impersonal, making the feud little more than a battle of who was the better MC and who4 could sell more records. A battle that was common in this time period, pop- ping .up I 7 .00 P I I . Spring break gear on sale