. Playwrights Rachel Urist, Al Sjoerdsma, Jeff Duncan and Susan Arnold discuss their experience as writers. These indiviuals will lead an informative session about the playwrighting process from their first-hand experience. The session begins at 7 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library. Admission is free. Ugf e £ d i w n m ] gva i-AR tomorrow in Daily Arts: It's Oprah-time! With the release of the Oscar-bound "Beloved" on Friday, Daily Arts is bringing you an interview with star Oprah Winfrey. Wednesday October 14, 1998 9 Soul Coughing delights By Gabe Fajuri Daily Arts Writer Amid a flurry of high-powered strobe lights, cartoons projected on the wall and noisy fans, Soul Coughing held rth on Sunday night in Downtown Pontiac. Clutch argo's was comfortably full when the band took the stage around 9:30 p.m. Michael Doughty, lead singer and occasional guitarist, welcomed fans to the show with a short, succinct phrase: "Welcome, friends." On that note, the crowd went wild. As the band launched into their first song, the hall began to shake and groove, slowing only momentarily over the next hour or so. Touring in support of its recently released album, "El Soul Coughing Clutch Cargo Oct. 11, 1998 Oso," the band's hour-plus set included songs from all three of its releases, and started with a selection from its first, "Ruby Vroom" . Preceded on stage by a Venezuelan disco outfit, Los Amigos Invisibiles, Soul Coughing changed the pace of the evening rather drastically when they hit the stage. Its deep, soulful bass lines, coupled with constantly changing electronic noise from Marc De Gli Antoni's keyboard sampler took the audience on a sonic journey that can not, and will never be, imi- tated. In between songs, Doughty's ban- ter was unintelligible and usually fact that he insisted on loudly repeating the word "Poppie!" at the end of each sentence only added to the crowd's delight and confusion. In addition to Doughty's verbal weirdness, not to men- tion the band's unique sound, two surprising visual aspects added to the ultra-hip ambiance of the show. Projected on a wall-size screen behind the band, predom- inantly black and white Warner Brothers cartoons had been looped to fit certain numbers in the set. Constantly whirring images of cats, monkeys, frogs and mice ran their course over and over again, during every other song. The visuals also included an often blinding, multi-col- ored light show, eminating from and above the stage. The fact that Soul Coughing can actually reproduce the music that they record in a live setting deserves two snaps up. What's even more impressive is that the band does it so well. Scarcely a single member of the rela- tively mature audience had both feet on the ground for very long. Hips were shaking, heads were bobbing, and bodies swayed. Selections like the show-closing "Super Bon Bon" and the first single off of "El Oso," "Circles" brought even the most sedentary onlookers into motion. The evening came to a close with an encore for which the crowd was simply begging. The band consented with three songs, including "Is Chicago" but refused, despite insistent chants, to come back for another turn. With or without the second encore, Soul Coughing turned in a performance just short of amazing. For those members of the audience just along for the ride, things might have seemed strange - layers of ambient noise mixed with nonsensical lyrics, unrelenting drumbeats and thick bass lines. For the vast majority of the crowd, however, Sunday was an evening of pure delight. brief. When he did try to converse with the crowd, he made a point to fire off choice phrases in Spanish that ,even when translated, made absolutely no sense. The ALLISON CANT'/Dailiy Michael Doughty, lead singer of Soul Coughing, hacks into his mic. JohnWilliams, world's best classical g taist, to perform By Scott Bullock For the Daily Making his second appearance in Ann Arbor since 1996,' Australian guitarist John Williams will perform in Rackhamr Auditorium on tonight. Born in 1941, Williams began -z learning the guitar at four from his father. Then, in 1952, his family moved to London, where Williams met and studied with Andres Sergovia. Recognizing the talent before him, Sergovia recommend- ed that Williams enter the presti- gious Accademia Musicale di Siene in Italy. Williams followed Sergovia's counsel and spent five years studying there on scholar- ship. While there, he set a standard of musicianship few have approached. At the request of his fellow students, Williams became the first student - of any instru- ment -- to give a complete solo. recital. Soon thereafter, he returned to England to attend the Royal College of Music. Williams' debut at Wigmore "' Political comedians sing By Garth Heutol Daily Arts Writer Flipping through television channels, it's sometimes hard to distinguish CNN from Comedy Central. What with Bill, Monica, Ken, et. al., many Americans are abandoning sitcoms and sketch comedy shows to watch the really funny stuff - the evening news. One group has seen this coming for the past two decades. The Capitol Steps, a comic troupe of former Congressional staffers, is coming to the Michigan Theater on Friday evening. The group was formed during the Reagan administration by three Washington insiders who reasoned that if entertainers could become politicians, then politicians could become entertain- ers. Since then, the cast has grown to 20 regulars, all of whom have worked on Capitol Hill, and has performed more than 4,500 times in 47 states. The group has recorded 16 albums in the past 16 years, the most recent of which is titled "Unzippin' my Doo-dah." Expect to see some show-stoppers like Bill Courtesy oT university Musical Society Capitol Steps, a political comedy troupe, will perform Friday at the Michigan TheateL YR a Capitol Steps Michigan Theater Friday at 8 p.m. Hall in 1958 was 7 John Williams Rackham Auditorium Tonight at 8 p.m. to set the stage for a flurry of performances around the world; Paris and Madrid were first, fol- lowed by tours of the Soviet Union and Japan. So pro-. found is his talent that many of the world's most ace laimed composers Clinton singing "I've Taken Stands on Both Sides Now" (sung to the tune of Judy Collins' "Both Sides Now") or Bob Dole singing "Fifty Ways to Peeve Your Leader." Legend has it that the group was started in 1981 when Sen. Charles Percy asked three of his staffers to I _ . } . their shows are performed outside of D.C. or for out-of-town audiences. Celebrities and politicians, although targets for the group's material, love the group, and some have even performed with them: Sam Donaldson, Vice President Gore, Larry King, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, Pat Robertson, and President Bush, to name a few. The Steps have performed for Presidents Ford, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. The Capitol Steps themselves will be the first to admit that its hard trying to be funnier than Congress. But they have the advantage of not taking themselves seri- ously, a phase out of which the U.S. Congress will never grow. Tickets for The Capitol Steps are $20-$32. Call 764-2538 for more information. Pnwer.fris.. 7 'wiL tunitics a ke=Davis' Ph-army c-eu tical .R The Worldwide Drug Safety Surveillance department at Parke-Davis is currentl hiring students/externs to perform data entry of adverse event information into a database. Qualified candi- dates will have excellent task/time management skills, an ability to quickly learn new processes and work independently. Courtesy of University Musical Society John Williams is one of the world's best guitarists. have written specifically for him, including Thereby, Stephen Dodgson and Andre Previn. He also has performed premieres of music by Sculthorpe, Nigel Westlake, Richard Harvey, Leo Brouwer and the late Toru Takemitsu. In addition to. having played with some of the world's most honored classical performers, such as Julian Bream, Paco Pena, Barry Kessel, Itzhak Perlman and Andre Previn, but Williams was one of the first classical musicians to play at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. One-time member of the groups SKY and ATTACCA, Williams has also been Artistic Director of the South Bank Summer Musical Festival, as well as Artistic Director of the Melbourne Arts festival. Tonight's diverse program includes Vivaldi's "Concerto in D Major, Op. 3, No. 9," Albeniz's "Asturias," Brouwer's "El Decamer6n Negro," Houghton's "Stet'," Theodorakis' "Three Epitafios," Domenicioni's "Koyunbaba" and a special perfor- mance of "Medieval Suite" (Anon.) arranged by Williams himself. According to the Washington Post, "One could not have wished for a more gifted and versatile exponent of the instrument." At a likely sell-out tonight, the University community will have an opportunity to hear Williams' skills and perhaps reach similar conclusions. Tickets for John Williams are $22-$36. Call 764-2538 for more information. provide entertainment for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Christmas party. They intended to stage a traditional nativity play, but, according to one of the Steps, "in all of Congress they were unable to find three wise men or a virgin." So instead they dug into the headlines and came up with new lyrics for popular tunes. Although the group was started and is based in Washington, D.C., 90 percent of + Typing and computer skills as well as familiarity with database concepts are essential. These positions will cover the afternoon/ evening shifts (5pm-12am), and run 4-6 months. Succcesful candidates will have an understanding of medical terminology. + Preference will be given to students studying healthcare professions (pharmacy, nursing, pre-medicine, etc.) and in at least their 3d year of study. " Interested students should fax their resume to: Parke-Davis Worldwide Drug Safety Surveillance, Attention: Student Positions, (734) 622-2721 or mail their resume to Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research, Drug Safety Surveillance, Attention: Student Positions, 2800 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, M148105. E-Mail resume using DSSQueries@w.com, Attention: Student Positions. bPARM-ws UNIVERSITY I MeetaOF MICHIGAN L ~u~ Check out the Michigan Daily Informational Seminar:October 21, 1998 Put some power 5:30pm, Check with the SWE Office Laboratory, you directly into the Refreshments will be served world applicatio Interviews: October 22,1998 lance, communi __if you're looking "' " "please forward r behind your ideas. At MIT Uncoln r research and ideas will be transferred development of leading edge, real- Dns, including air defense, space surveil- ications and air traffic control systems. g for a way to power up your career, a cover letter and scannable resume to: 4. "m.L IA ermirTaw+.rL&N. I Happy Hour Specials L.E : '