ARTS
4
Page 10
Thursday, June 16, 1983
Dixon at Rick's
By Doug Laurin
T HE CELEBRATED storyteller,"
j "the blues rock catalyst," "the
mastermind of masterpieces," "the
Hoochie Coochie Man," himself, Willie
Dixon brings his blues guitar to Rick's
Friday night.
Dixon's vibrating bass and deep,
resonating voice have been legendary
in the Chicago blues scene for the past
40 years. "Willie's got a distinctive,
growling voice," said Nancy Meyer,
Dixon's tour manager from Los
Angeles. "He preaches the blues as
much as he sings them."
Dixon, of course, is better known as a
songwriter. The author of more than 200
classics, a partial listing of his most
noted compositions looks like the
nucleus of blues rock. "Spoonful," "I
Just Want to Make Love to You,"
"Back Door Man," -"Wang Dang
Doodle," "I Can't Quit You Baby,"
"Built For Comfort," and "I'm
Ready," represent a few of Dixon's hits
which made uptempo blues popular.
Nearly every blues playing band
sings Willie Dixon originals. Dixon's
scope and impact on generations is
illustratedby the range of vocalists who
use his material, including such artists
as Muddy Waters, George Thorogood,
Van Morrison, Johnny Rivers, Bo Did-
dley, Otis Redding, The Doors, and
Delbert McClinton.
Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi,
Dixon felt his calling in the wind as a
teenager and settled in the city of the
blues. He has headquartered in Chitown
ever since, building a collection of
stories dating back 50 tears and singing
the blues for as long as they've been
around to be sung.
Dixon served many years as staff
producer, songwriter, and sesson
player in the now legendary "Studio of
the Blues," Chess Records. During his
reign The Rolling Stones dropped in to
record his, "The Little Red Rooster."
They went on to cut more of Dixon's
songs and dedicated one of their own to
2120 South Michigan Avenue - the ad-
dress of Chess Records.
An album of Dixon's most recent
compositions including the popular "It
Don't Make Sense (You Can't Make
The Michigan Daily
Bars and Clubs
The Blind Pig (208 S. First; 996-8555)
Willie D. Warren and the Brush
Street Blues Band take to the stage
Friday and Saturday nights with
hoppin' blues to keep you singin' and
swingin'.
Joe's Star Lounge (109 N. Main; 665-
JOES)
New Orleans-based blues band John
Mooney and his Blouisiana Band per-
form Friday and Saturday nights
while Beat Rodeo takes over Sunday
with rock and classic pop by Steve
Almaas.
The List
Mr. Flood's Party (120 W. Liberty;
995-2132)
George Bedard and the Bonnevilles
bring rousing rockabilly to Flood's
Friday and Saturday nights but get
ready for Bob Cantu and the Blues
Nuts Sunday night as they bring wild
entertainment to Ann Arbor.
Rick's American Cafe (611 Church;
996-2747)
Willie Dixon performs Friday night
- see today's preview on page 10. The
Falcons fly in Saturday night with
boppin' rock and Leizer Goldsmith
DJs WCBN's benefit at Rick's Sunday
night.
4
Willie Dixon
...the original soulman
Peace)" was just completed at Univer-
sal Studios. Another collection, Willie
Dixon's Peace Album is also planned
for future release. But Dixon said, "The
best of my songs haven't come out of
the drawer yet, I write songs about
everyday or every other day. I just look
at the various parts of life and the songs
are there."
Wear your best blues and your blue
suede shoes cause old Willie is gonna
bring the news singing Chicago's finest
tunes.
4
am
WE MAKE
TRAVEL EASIE
THE CONCORDE BY
WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE
A roomy front-opening
internal frame pack. Converts
to a piece of soft luggage. Perf
for light backpacking or Europeai
travel.
Visit Our International
Travel Department.
" SOFT LUGGAGE
" MONEY BELTS
" LIGHT WEIGHT RAINGEAR
" TOILETRY KITS
" DAY PACKS
" VOLTAGE CONVERTERS
" SWISS ARMY KNIVES
Martin's two brains
are better than one
4
G ep"S
SUmoo"
V.EpMEPAGKs
bfa 0100/0
CV0 to
By Joshua Bilmes
I N STEVE MARTIN's case, the third
time really is the charm. The Man
with Two Brains, his third screen
comedy after The Jerk and Dead Men
Don't Wear Plaid, is by far his funniest.
It is the Martin film that does not
become too difficult to sit through
until the end.
Martin and Carl Reiner, his director
in all three, have finally shed the excess
baggage. With The Jerk, the need to
make a popular, well received film led
to too much conventionality. In Dead
Men Don't Wear Plaid, the two were so
busy using 'detectovision,' they forgot
to add jokes. The Man with Two Brains
is just Steve Martin in a Steve Martin
film.
Martin plays Dr. Michael
Hfuhruhurr, a neurosurgeon who inven-
ted the cranial screwtop method of
brain surgery, which allows people to
have brain surgery without having
their scalps shaved. He is a widower
who has yet to get over his wife's death.
He questions the fates that caused it
while driving his car, and his inatten-
tion to the road causes him to hit
Dolores Benedict.
Benedict is played by Kathleen Tur-
ner, and she is not at all a nice lady. Her
looks are splendid, but her personality
is frigid. She lives to make men upset,
and she loves to take their money, (her
favorite pastime is watching their veins
on their foreheads pop out). But all
Martin sees is her beauty, and the
dreadful brain injury his hitting her has
caused. He rushes her to the hospital
for a brain operation andfalls in love.
They marry while she is still
recuperating, and she uses the
recuperation as an excuse-to frustrate
him sexually by always having
headaches when Martin wants some ac-
tion. His frustrations cause his work to
slip, and the hospital sends him off to
Vienna for a conference.
In Vienna, Martin meets Dr.
Necessiter (David Warner), who has
some very ambitious ideas in the
neurology department. His experimen-
tal material comes from the victims of
the elevator killer, a murderer who
uses window cleaner - a method which
causes the brain to die last.
Martin falls in love with one of the
brains. And when he finally discovers
his wife's conniving, he decides to use
Dr. Necessiter's assistance to put his
beloved brain intoher body.
The above summary really does not
do justice to the movie's humor. It is the
little things, the embellishments, that
make this film funny. The cat that
always hangs around during Martin's
operations, the sobriety test Martin is
given when rushing his brain to
Necessiter's condominium,
Necessiter's condominium, which looks
like something from Frankenstein, the
identity of the elevator killer (which is
cleverly foreshadowed and funny), and
even the instructions to the young girl
who Martin asks to notify the hospital of
his coming in with Dolores - these are
the embellishments that create the fun.
The acting is nice too. Steve Martin is
more himself. Kathleen Turner is
See CRANIUM, Page 11
I
4
MENS AND WOMENS
Summer CLEARANCE SALE
IN PROGRESS
330 S. State 761-6207
4
4