The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, May 28,1980--Page
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Arts
Ing taste oofpun
re resh k
By MARK COLEMAN
For those living in Ann Arbor, being a
rock and roll fan is akin to surviving an
extended drought or food shortage: Not
only does one learn to get - by on the
bare minimum, but the barest means of
gratification become. profoundly ap-
preciated. There are some very talen-
ted bands around town and some decent
clubs, too, but not consistency-you've
got to take what you can get when you
can get it. May has been a particularly
dry month, so the bill at Second Chance
for Memorial Day evening seemed like
a godsend. Five "new wave" or "punk"
bands were scheduled to appear, in-
cluding Detroit's infamous Sillies and
local favorites the Cult Heroes. Not a
deluge, but a welcome oasis in a
veritble desert.
First up, the Offbeats, a three-piece
made up of assorted ex-members of
various Detroit bands whose sound did
little to dispell'their anonymity. Their
guitarist, a balding, uncomfortable
looking man with horn-rimmed glasses,
attempted to add a little wire fire to the
Offbeats' bland uptempo eccentricities
but his short solo jabs created little
more than a minor diversion. The Of-
fbeats are a good example of what I'd
call the new wave pseudo-sincerity
syndrome; they play original songs yet
their approach is wholly derivative, but
so diffuse one can't pin them down to a
single influence. The results sound like a
half-digested regurgitation of every
record they're heard in the last two
years. The Offbeats do know how to
play, though, so maybe a little more
experience will give them the confiden-
ce to overcome their influences and
really rock out.
THE FOLLOWING band, R.U.R.,
provided the biggest surprise of the
evening. Usually a four-man guitar-
oriented band, on Monday night they
added synthesizers, toy keyboards, and
a female violin player to their
progressive sound. On a series of super-
ficially structured jams the R.U.R.
"Arkestra" blended screeching strings,
and piercing electronics with a restless
beat in a throbbing, unsettled jell. Per-
forming in whiteface on a stage set with
borderline-tacky tables and chairs, it
was a bit hard to decide if R.U.R. was
emulating the artiness of experimental
rock or lampooning it, but either way
the performance was arresting both
aurally and visually. Any band that
flaunts local conventions (and expec-
tations) so brazenly has some guts and
a sense of humor, too.
$1 MILLION GRANT
GRAND RAPIDS (AP)-Strong
community spirit in Michigan's second-
largest city has helped the Grand
Rapids Art Museum win a $1 million
grant from the state. The money will be
used to renovate the former downtown
post office and courthouse building as
its new home.
Strong local and regional support for
the project was a major consideration
in Gov. William G. Milliken's recom-
mendation for the grant. A local fund-
raising drive matched state dollars by
more than a 2-to-1 ratio.
The move to the historic building will
be complete by fall 1981.
The Sillies have built up a kind of
notoriety in the area, giggling very in-
frequently with a constantly changing
line-up. They were the first punk rock
band I ever saw, as such, way back in
1977, and their anarchistic aplomb and
total musical inability created an am-
bience of abandonment wholly ap-
propriate to that bygone era.
Times change, and the Sillies are back
and vastly improved. They are still
playing it primal, but what a difference
practice has made. The Sillies are tight
and tough now, and while their ap-
proach is hardly ingenuous they exude
so much energy and attitude it's hard ,
not to bounce to a ditty like "Sex for the
Handicapped" no matter how tasteless
its subject matter. The polishing of the
rhythm section and the addition of an
effective organ player adds and builds
on Ben Waugh's brutal but effective
vocal delivery and Tommy Kilowatt's
tongue-in-cheek guitar rampages,
while the continued presence of the
nefarious Gloria Love on stage is a
reassurance that these people aren't
getting too serious. The Sillies area hell
of a lot of fun to watch, and they put it
all across with a kinky impact that
makes them fun to listen to, also.
THE "SPECIAL appearance" of the
evening featured Bob Wilson, a. new
Ann Arbor resident that .has done
session work with the likes of Bob
Dylan (circa Nashville Skyline) and
Flatt and Scruggs. To complete the non
sequitur he performed Monday with a
pick-up band that dished out the most
overwrought hard-rock cliches
imaginable-"This one's for all the
ladies here tonight ... '-you get the
idea. I thought bloated respect for
"chops" and studio work was one of the
things bands like the Sillies rejected by
their very existence.
Rounding out the evening in a set cut
by closing time were the Cult Heroes,
one of the first of the local new wave.
Specializing in straightforward, sim-
plistic rock and roll with an obvious
debt to the Stooges, the Heroes continue
to improve each time out. Lead singer
Hiawatha has an intriguing, gruffly
suave delivery-when he can be heard
above the din. Drummer Larry Steele
keeps things from bogging down with a
steady, sure-fired attack that gives the
band a rock-solid backbone. Though they
tend to be a little overbearing, the
Heroes put their fascination with noise
and distortion to some interesting uses,
all the while chugging along like a
well-oiled piece of machinery. Their
single "The Prince and the Showgirl"
is a remarkable departure from their
live sound and indicates that this is a
band worth keeping an eye on.
While the musical results of Monday
night were decidedly mixed it was
refreshing to hear a wide cross-section
of music and musicians that one
wouldn't encounter on the average
spring evening in Ann Arbor. Hopefully
the show was enough of a financial suc-
cess to encourage more, equally adven-
turous bookings. We can now return to
that rock and roll desert partially
fulfilled and fortified, at least for a
while.
WHAT A
COMBIN ATION
PRIME RIB AND CRAB
What a blend of tastes! You get our tender prime rib,
cooked to your order, served along side a generous
portion of succulent Alaskan king crab leg. And$0,
of course it includes a fresh green salad, bread &
butter and your choice of baked potato, French
fries or rice. And at a very special $8.95.
COMPLETE DINNER
Imit - Seafood
300 South Maple
Ann Arbor, 665-1133
This is our regular
Prime Rib and Alaskan
King Crab dinner-at a
special saving price
all day on Sunday and
Monday thru Thursday
during our regular
dinner hours.
Call today
for reservations.
)Crntinental Rests rant Systems 1980
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