'Arts-
The Michigan Doily Wednesday, June 10, 1981 Page7
Onyx outshines the Brides
in Second Chac cnert.
By RJ SMITH this oldie, Lynn and Dawn, a couple Alas, it is not to be. By the end of washout, however. Opening for The
They may have been known as The of looking-for-trouble California gals the last reel they have gone out on Brides was Onyx, a reggaefied en-
Brides of Funkenstein, but after find fame and fortune after they their own, trying to make it with a semble from Detroit that burned the
seeing them Monday night at Second strike up with a mad man and his steady band and an overdose of place down. With enough guys on-
Chance I couldn't help but be fremin- wigged-out band. For a moment it perkiness. The stage show provides stage to make for a hell of a pickup
ded of another great horror flick: I seems like they are standing on the most of the film's horrific moments. basketball game, Onyx creates
Was A Teenage Glitter Kitten. In verge of getting whatever they want. SOMETIMES life can be like the music with a heavy reggae bass line
movies. The Brides, as they now tricked out with a barrage of rococo
want to be known, tossed out some percussivity.
mediocre versions of songs from the When I saw them at Bookies a few
George Clinton pantheon, some weeks ago it was right after Marley
mediocre funk stuff, and a lot of had died, and there was intensity but
bash-bash-crash-crash, trying to not a lot of energy in their playing.
hold everything together with a slew From the moment they took the
of campy come-ons tothe audience. Second Chance stage and played
A version of Lene Lovich's "Lucky their "We Came to Rock You,"
Number" was sufficiently hard- however, everyone knew they meant
driving and unexpected to stand out; it.
so did maybe one or two of the The -effortless- way all the in-
Bride's attempts at new wavish struments mesh belies the great
rockers. But beyond that all that deal of work it must take to get nine
there was to remember was a hot musicians thinking along the same
version of Funkadelic's "Standing terms. With a pair of guitars and
on the Verge of Getting it On." And keyboards and the Aylerisms of
when Lynn and Dawn began Faruq Z. Bey on saxophone, perhaps
showing more of what they stripped the most amazing thing about Onyx
from the mothership, well, it is the restraint each musician
became sadly obvious that they had shows. They listen to each other's
seen better days back when they playing extremely well and perform
were singing P-Funk onstage with utterly asa unit.
SClinton. Capping a triumphant set that in-
The band was hardly inspired. cluded a warm version of "The
They started out with a schlocky Creator Has a Master Plan," one of
rave-up to "prepare us" for the en- the musicians in Onyx stood at the
try of Dawn and Lynn; WCBN-FM mike and announced the band was to
music director and teenage manque play something called "new wave
Michael Kremen had it pegged when reggae." What ensued was a bit of
he called it a fanfare for the common genuine silliness, a danceable chest-
band. From then on the display of thumper that was a splendid coda.
Doily Photo by JACKIE BELL shallow hamhandedness was con- It was a merging of rock and rhythm
The Brides, Dawn Silva (left) and Lynn Mabry, indulge in some stagy chit- stant. that the Bride's trash with flash
chat during their show at Second Chance Monday night. THE SHOW was anything but a never came close to matching.
Gang of Four's anti-fascist funk
Gang of Four -'Solid Gold' (Warner not led the Gang of Four to didacticism, Where do they comefrom?
Bros.) - Yeah, they called their first however. There are no speeches, just Each day isjust like a naturalfact
LP Entertainment!, not only publicly perceptions. Their subject matter is
proclaiming that it wasn't, but then topics ... or people ... we encounter And what we think changes how we
proving on vinyl that it was. Now, the daily. "He'd Send in the Army" con- act."
Gang of Four are about 90 percent cerns a reactionary, while "Outside the All of this is propelled by a funk-
correct in calling their second record Trains Don't Run on Time" portrays a -oriented sound, which the Gang of Four
Solid Gold. The title not only contains a blatant fascist. Jon King is almost adapts to its own purposes by
biting comment on popular culture, but screaming when he sings "He want his disassembling its structures and using
an accurate description of the contents wife/to fetch./Order./He's obssessed its components as they see fit.
of the LP. with order," as the guitar and bass So listen; it's fresh, cynical, and you
Upon first listening, Solid Gold didn't reach a point where they seem to be hit- can even dance to it. -Regina Myer
seem quite as dynamic as the band's ting against one another.
debut effort. I was expecting something The Gang of Four finds its excellence TONIGHT
in the same vein as "Damaged Goods," in repetition. In what I consider the
but I heard nothing as immediately strongest track of Solid Gold, "Why P
catchy. Similarly, there's no song with Theory?," the refrain .comes more of- EE
as scathing a metaphor as "Love is like ten than the verses. The lyrics are
a case of anthrax." The music isn't as minimal, but to the point;ys. 516 E. LIBERTY 994-5350
strikingly sparse as it was on Enter-
tainment!, and therefore is not always t
as clear.th'AA orwor rumcooperciue I
However, these misgivings prac- THURSDAY, JUNE 11-
tically fade away when one realizes the T
strengths of this record. The Gang of I MIRACLE Of MORAN'SCREEK-7 :00 Aud. A
Four have successfully made an album SUIVEN'S TRAVELS-8:45, Aud. A
that is a coherent statement of
relevant, urgent social commentary. FRIDAY, JUNE 12-
They are not saying anything we NW YORK, NEW YORK-:oa, MLB 3
haven't heard before, but they are
singing something that certainly has TAfXI DRIVER-9:45, MLB 3 I
not been sung in a "pop" song before. $2 Single Feature-$3 Double Feature I
ALL THIS TALK about politics and This ciupon good for E1 OFF ADULT ADMISSION for any of the above
problems within capitalist society has f "ihus.Good throughil12.
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As timely today
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CHEECH & CHONG'S
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BLUES BROTHERS
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