Arts
Thursday, July 16, 1981
PSYCHEDELIA GALORE:
The Michigan Daily
Page 7
Poge 7
Warming uj
By KAREN GREEN
Daily Arts Writer
On Tuesday night the Psychedelic
Furs played at Nitro's, one of Detroit's
newest nightspots. Nitro's is situated in
the midst of a suburban mall which in-
cludes everything from a drug store to
a topless bar. -
Nitro's itself is a former disco, and
the multi-leveled floors, red and blue
lighting, and profusion of neon betray
its past. It seemed distinctly odd to be in
such a venue after becoming ac-
customed to going to Bookie's as a mat-
ter of course to see groups like the
Psych Furs, but it was actually a com-
fortable and intelligent place to see a
band.
Nitro's expansive interior provided
plenty of room to sit, drink, dance, or
just wander around, and although only
a few videos were shown (The Police
and Spandau Ballet among them), a
large screen showed a potential for
more and better videos in the future.
THE OPENING BAND, Wayne
Frost and Oasis, came from Toronto.
They were nothing short of dreadful on
the first few numbers, but ended up
being merely bad. -Although many
great vocalists are not technically good
singers, it is a fallacy to think that
anyone can sing; a certain style, in-
flection, and presence is necessary in
order to carry it off. Frost is a very poor
singer, sustaining notes interminably
as his voice explores various sounds on
either side of the note he should have
been singing.
In addition, his guitar playing verged
perilously close to heavy metal, while
the saxophonist on his right wasn't sure
if he was playing with the E Street Band
or the Boomtown Rats. Contrary to
popular belief, bringing in a saxophone
does not automatically solve all a
band's ills.
THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS took the
stage as bright lights behind them blin-
ded the audience and left the band
members silhouetted in an aura of
white. Their first song, "Into You Like
a Train," is a love song of sorts, one
that illustrates the ambiguity of the
Psych Furs' songs and stage manners.
They simultaneously engage and repel,
try to establish a rapport with the
audience, and then sneeringly dismiss
the attempt.
Richard Butler, the Psych Furs'
vocalist, is definitely the band's focal
point as well as the source of its con-
tradictions. He politely thanks the
audience after each song, and after one
particularly warm reception says, "Oh
you liked that one, did you?" with
genuine pleasure. At the same time, he
looks and acts like a John Lydon who
wasn't taunted quite as much at school,
taking a bitter delight in finding him-
Use Daily
Classifieds
self in the role of pop star.
During the first half of the set,
guitarists John Ashton and Roger
Morris and bassist Tim Butler were
stiff and nervous, hunched over their
instruments in attitudes of intense con-
centration. By the middle of the set they
were less self-conscious, playing in a
more relaxed manner and moving
around the stage.
Saxophonist Duncan Kilburn
radiated a suave easiness, punctuating
the songs with interesting flourishes,
and occasionally moving back to
provide some keyboards.
THE PSYCH FURS also used images
projected on a screen behind the band,
which were sometimes effective and
other times annoying. Images ranged
from geometric patterns to Andy
Warhol's Marilyn Monroe. During "In-
dia" they projected various splotches of
color, like a paisley print gone
mad-uncomfortably reminiscent of
the Jefferson Airplane. The back-
projection was used most effectively
during "Sister Europe" where the
song's lyrics were flashed on the screen
in disjointed bits and pieces.
But "Sister Europe" was amazing in
many ways. Vince Ely provided a
strong backbeat while Kilburn's
saxophone added a haunting edge.
"Imitation of Christ" ("this next song
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tothe
is a religious one") worked well with
stark white lighting and Richard Butler
assuming a cruciform position during
the song's chorus.
Butler's hoarse, flat voice was
sometimes half-buried in the mix, but
never became tiresome. His campy
stage antics (running his fingers
through his hair, miming some of the
songs, and sitting cross-leged on the
floor during a couple of numbers)
managed to avoid seeming cloying.
Like a schoolboy who's acting up but is
still too young to be truly naughty, there
was something deeply endearing about
Furs
him; his slight figure and boyish man-
nerisms couldn't pull off menace, no
matter how hard he tried.
The Psych Furs promptly came back
for an encore, concluding their set with
"We Love You." The band left with all
ambiguities remaining unresolved as
Richard Butler chanted "We love you"
over and over, as he dropped a light and
knocked over his microphone stand.
Love and destruction was the image we
were left with; the Psych Furs may be
angry, but they aren't humorless. They
are also too intelligent to think that we
are their target.
ENDS TONIGHII
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