Arts
The Michiaan Daily
Tuesday, June 15, 1982
Page 7
Yes, Virginia,
you too can
Dnly Poto Oy tLIABETH SCO T
Julie Austin played at the Ark Friday night.
Simple folk perform
simple folk at the Ark
'Pan Gr
By Richard Campbell
ONE OF THE problems of being
a movie reviewer is that you are
supposed to write about the bad films
along with the good.
Most of the time, that is a perfectly
reasonable expectation; most of the
time, I find something in any movie
that is worthit alking about.
But I really don't want to review
Grease 2.
I mean really.
The film could be called "obscene"
because it has no redeeming social
value whatsoever. The stars, Maxwell
Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer, could
be jailed for inflicting cruel and
unusual punishment; the cameraman
for indecent exposure.
But I really don't want to spend any
time thinking up cute phrases to
describe its imcompetent script, inept
choreography, insipid music, and in-
sulting acting.
The original Grease became a
polished musical after many perfor-
mances in front of a live audience.
Grease 2 was manufactured in the in-
tellectualy arid offices of movie
moguls in Los Angeles.
So, for the first time anywhere, in
celebration of this singular movie, you
Records
Nick Lowe -'Nick the Knife'
(Columbia)
I have always had the utmost respect
for Nick Lowe - singer, songwriter,
producer extraordinaire. His
"borrowing" from old pop or rockabilly
tunes may seem blatantly uninventive
to some, or just trashy nostalgia to
others, but Lowe does it with such in-
nocent charm that I can't help but love
it.
Nick the Knife is another solid Lowe
effort, but it doesn't have the same zest
that characterized Labour of Lust and
Pure Pop For Now People. Instead of
twisted humor ("Marie Provost"),
Lowe concerns himself with guileless
love songs. If you're Squeeze, love can
be funny, but poor Nick seems to be
taking it all too seriously.
The album is rich with fun pop hooks,
and the generally dominate rhythm
section is typically Nick, but the most
fun you can have with Nick the Knife is
to sit around and play "Name that
Hook" with your friends. It just takes
too much work to like this album, and
that's not what pop should be.
-Michael Huget
By Robert Weisberg
T WAS ONE of those 'good time
was had by all' nights at the Ark
Friday. Julie Austin, accompanied by
Gary Reynolds and Bill Barton, treated
a few dozen folks to a wide variety of
songs touching on bluegrass, jazz, six-
ties-ish folk and lots of things in bet-
ween. The response was so good that
the surprised trio had to perform an ex-
tra encore.
Austin began each set alone on
acoustic guitar, and while the pace was
slower, her solo work was stronger than
the ensemble playing. As entertaining
as the group was, they weren't com-
pletely together all the time, primarily
because only Austin and Reynolds play
together regularly, I would guess.
Her original compositions were par-
ticvlarly enjoyable. One of the most in-
teresting was a jazzy instrumental dues
with Barton joining her on violin. The
interplay of the two instruments on this
Paul Winter Consort-influenced piece
was beautiful.
Also very nice was 'Don't Have the
Time,' an upbeat solo piece about how
she resigned herself to leaving British
Columbia and eventually came to living
in Ann Arbor. The song makes use of
vivid images of late winter in Ann Ar-
l bor, such as "Spider webs of silver
light" and "Snowflakes dancing to the
earth."
ease 2'
Austin also performed a nice in-
strumental, originallywrittencas a
Valentine, which led into an Archie
Fisher piece. The instrumental, quite
complex and pretty, conjuring up men-
tal images of waves or echoes - at
least in this brain.
The group also did a good number of
covers, relying heavily on Canadian
and midwestern musicians. I enjoyed,
among others, "I Don't Know What I
Want From You But I Ain't Gettin' It
Blues," cute little fast thing from Jim-
my Riley, which featured Austin on the
make-believe trumpet; a Bob Lucas
waltz which featured nice harmonies
from Reynolds and Austin; and Alice
Hogan's "Pinto Pony," which I con-
sidered the high point of the evening.
Among the biggest crowd pleasers
were a rather raunchy poke at beauty
contests, and a fast and difficult
bluegrass piece by Lucas called
"Spring Peepers," featuring Reynolds
on banjo and Barton on mandolin,
which drew the most applause.
All in all, it was the kind of warm,
friendly show that makes the Ark a fun
place to go. Musically, there was
nothing terribly unique, but that didn't
really matter. Austin showed that she is
a fine singer and performer and deser-
ves to be heard. Her originals were
thoughtful and well-performed. I
couldn't ask for a whole lot more.
crease 4
... fill in the blank
are invited to "Pan Grease 2."
That's right, until Friday, June 18, at
3 p.m., I will accept reviews of Grease
2. It's up to you to tell me how bad a
musical extravaganza it is.
Write as much, or as little as you
want. Go for the abstract analysis of
Pauline Kael, or for the boffo b.o. lingo
of fab flick weekly Variety.
Come on film majors and
cinemaniacs everywhere, do your wor-
st. Winners will be printed in Satur-
day's paper.
L2 INDIVIDUAL THEATRES
5* An mae of beuty 761.97
no doub co WEntrovrSia .o
. Taia Shire
TUES-6:00, 8:00, 10:00
WED-12::002:00, 4:00, 6:00,PG
. .. an image of beauty .. .
original, compelling and
no doubt controversial."
-Newsweek rnog:
TUES-5:15, 7:30, 9:45
WED-12:45, 3:00, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45
(R)