I
Wlk on down to the Ark
N# Louis Walker plays at the Ark tonight. Check out the singer,
ngwriter, guitar player from San Francisco as he brings his
acoustic and electric music to Ann Arbor. Walker is known for his
.gospel-trained vocals. The show begins at 8 p.m., and tickets are
~$15. Tickets may be purchased at the Michigan Union Ticket
Office, or by calling 763-TKTS or (248)645-6666.
mfr *tiiim iwtv
Tmrow in Daily Arts:
U Weekend, etc. is back with a look inside Detroit's comedy
club Second City.
Wednesday
October 21, 1998
9
Phair delivers sexy show
By Bryan Lark
Daily Arts Writer
It's appropriate that Clutch Cargo's in
Pontiac was once a church, as on Monday
night, the club was turned into a house of
worship for America's Blow Job Queen.
And that's not a derogatory term for Liz
Phair, she wants to be your Blow Job Queen,
so she said on her debut album, 1993's
" xile in Guyville."
Phair has come a long
way since those beauti-
fully raw, sexually frank
Liz Phair indie rock days, over-
coming her paralyzing
stage fright and settling
Clutch Cargo's down with a husband
Oct. 19, 1998 and bouncing baby boy.
Not that Phair isn't a
pervert anymore, now
she's just an extrovert to
boot.
After a slide show that
consisted mainly of
nudie pictures of herself
set to the disparate
works of Iggy Pop, Madonna, Lyle Lovett
and Prince, Phair confidently took the stage
for a 70-minute set - the first third of
which was plagued by sound problems that
kwned out the fine back ground vocals and
e of the percussion - playing clever,
non-stop, pop-rock love songs, her tongue
planted firmly in cheek.
Beginning with the dreamy strains of
"Explain It to Me" and the balls-to-the-wall
feminist anthem "6'l1"," both from
"Guyville," Phair touched on hits like
"Supernova" and "Polyester Bride" for a
juiced-up, fleshed-out, rollicking show -
with an emphasis on the "licking" part.
But the show wasn't all sex, though Phair
hid her shyness well by slinking around the
stage and flirting musically with her adoring
fans.
Tracks like "Guyville"'s most gorgeous
break-up number "Divorce Song," the soft-
spoken "Perfect World" and the lush charac-
ter study "Uncle Alvarez," both from her lat-
est, "Whitechocolatespaceegg," made a
strong non-sex-oriented showing, mainly by
showcasing Phair's guitar prowess and ever-
expanding vocal range.
But despite all her sonic showcases,
Phair's sexy songs still elicited the strongest
response, including the immortal ode to des-
perate one night stands, "Fuck and Run,"
and the deceptively sweet and slow
"Flower," which includes the equally immor-
tal words, "I just want your fresh young
jimmy, jamming, ramming, slamming in
me."
"And speaking of pissing off your moth-
er," cooed Phair after that little exercise in
impropriety, launching into the mother-
daughter conversational rocker, "What
Makes You Happy," which proved one of the
show's highlights and brought the female
fans to a roar with the line, "I swear this one
is gonna last and all those other bastards
were only practice."
Phair, however, is not simply a champion
of female rage, she's the patron saint of the
sexually-frustrated or even those who just
enjoy a melodic night of questionable
morals.
And to gauge the power and universality
of Phair's cult-like appeal, just look to the
eclectic fans that populated Clutch Cargo's.
There's the older man, later revealed to be
a pastor by some kindly female parishioners,
dancing wildly to "Fuck and Run" and there,
in the balcony, is the little boy crouched
against the railing, unbeknownst to his hedo-
nistic parents shimmying around him,
mouthing the explicit words to "Flower."
As was evidenced by those unexpected -
and completely true - characters crammed
inside Clutch on Monday, the cult of Phair
does not discriminate based on age or reli-
gion, just based on those discriminating few
who like to be blown away by an immensely
talented and strikingly sexual musical god-
dess.
ADRIANA YU CVICs/Daiy
Liz Phair gave her crowd at Clutch Cargo's something to sing about Monday night.
Daniels''Town' makes big boom
By Garth Heutel
Daily Arts Writer
A very little playhouse in a very lit-
town is about to receive a very big
bang. Sparkling with sensational per-
formances and intelligent directorial
choices, "Boom Town," the new play
written and directed by Jeff Daniels,
makes for an explosive new drama.
'Set entirely in the living room of a
midwestern house (cleverly designed
by Bartley H. Bauer), the play has a
cast of only three characters: a ques-
tionably-happily married couple
andra Birch and Guy Sanville) and
)eir financier (John Lepard). But
thanks to the great ensemble work, the
cast doesn't seem small at all.
own script. Silence is used effectively
and often; long pauses showcase either
the interaction or the lack thereof
between the characters, complement-
ing the dialogue.
Also effective is Daniels' use of the
stage, positioning the actors to express
their relationships through their physi-
cality. The most notable of these
instances occurred when the three cast
members stood opposite each other as
vertices of an invisible triangle, signi-
fying the metaphorical triangle in
which they would all eventually end
up.
The second act begins as a thrilling
nail-biter, thanks to Sanville's gripping
obsession. It unfortunately collapses
midway into a testosterone-driven
showdown, which relies on the cliched
use of a gun, that is far less provoca-
tive than what led up to it. Granted, it
remains tense and almost as captivat-
ing, it's impossible not to continue to
be enchanted with all three of the per-
formers. But Daniels should know bet-
ter than to use a prop for a cheap thrill,
sacrificing much of the innovative
work that had been accomplished.
"Boom Town" is a mesmerizing
examination of three fabulously
Near, far or
wherever
ouare,
c eCk out
the Daily
Online at
hmichigandaily.
corn
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Boom
Town
Purple Rose
Theater
Through Nov. 29
The most fas-
cinating thing
about the show
has to be the phe-
nomenal perfor-
mances of Birch
and Sanville.
Birch makes
Angela a woman
torn between two
men and a whirl-
wind of subdued
emotions, all of
which are some-
how simultane-
ously and con-
courtesy of The Purple Rose Theater Company
Guy Sanville and John Lepard star in
"Boom Town" which Is written and
directed by Jeff Daniels.
watchable characters. The details of
the story may not stick with you for
long, but even a hydrogen bomb could-
n't shake Birch's and Sanville's unfor-
gettable performances from your
memory.
stantly present. Her most exquisite dis-
play occurs when her violent, aggres-
sive emotions finally take over, and all
the hidden energy that we've
glimpsed becomes tangible, manifest-
ing itself in a beer-hurling rage worthy
of Medea.
Sanville rivals his co-star as Angela's
jealous husband Stu. While relatively
quiet and unnoticed during the first act,
he (along with the play) takes off
immediately after the intermission. He
calmly and patiently controls himself
rhile hiding a keg of dynamite beneath
F s pleasant demeanor; we're just wait-
ing for it to explode.
The second act opens with a dizzy-
ingly tense tub of anticipation, all of it
driven by an unstoppable Sanville.
Eventually, he gets his chance to shed
his cordial pretense and show us what's
underneath, and it's worth the wait: It's
the "boom" in "Boom Town."
While not nearly as psychopathic,
his performance carries all of the inten-
ty and ignites similar fear as those of
oe Pesci in "Casino" or Michael
Madsen in "Reservoir Dogs."
Daniels proves himself a formidable
director, intelligently utilizing his fan-
tastic cast to add more dimension to his
There are creative
ays to send
packages...
h indu Students Council presents:
The Diwali Puja
"The Fesv of Lights"
October 21, 1998
Stockwell Blue Lounge
8:00 PM
Come celebrate the New Year!
Prasad will be served
For more informationcontact: hsccore@umich.edu
or http: /www.umich.edu/-hindu
Senior Portraits will be taken daily
Sept.
28
- Oct.
31 at the Union.
A Mayor who is respected
within the city and university
communities for her involvement
with social service organizations.
Call today to set up your appointment!
-there is
only one
reliable
Air
4m T-
ENSI4N
i
. ' ' -~ 1 El