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ARTS
Sunday, July 8, 1984
Page 10
The Michigan Daily
Los Lobos don't cry wolf
a
By Byron L. Bull
TRYING TO come up with the words
to praise Los Lobo's Friday night
concert at the Union Ballroom, I find
myself unable to grasp any adjectives
that could do this wonderful L.A. quar-
tet justice. With an overabundance of
energy and heartful soul, Los Lobos
delivered its exotic blend of rock in
grand, eminently dancable form.
The evening got off to a stilted start.
The opening act, the local King Kong
and the X-cons, started over an hour
late, and though they played with ear-
nest enthisiasm, they never generated
enough excitement to set the proper
mood for the main act. They were all
very competent musicians, but their
repertoire of Carribean and ska songs
sounded a bit white washed and a little
overly sweet to be anything but an-
noyingly cute.
The scene quickly improved when
Los Lobos mounted the stage, and in
only a few songs succeeded in elec-
trifying the audience with their unique
synthesis of fundamental rock-and-Tex-
Mex sensibilities. The pure infectous
joy of the band magnetized the audien-
ce, which spilled out of their chairs and
packed the space immediately in front
of the stage for the entire length of the
ballroom.
Los Lobos is a band that clearly has
learned to fashion music with craf-
tsmanship and soul. They are
musicians who hold a reverential love
for music. From their cover version of
Richie Valen's classic "Come on Let's
Go" through "Let's Say Goodnight",
ONE NIGHT ONLY
DETROIT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Presents
"TAMBOURINES
TO GLORY"
A Musical Comedy by Lanston Hughes
Featuring a Cast of 25 Singers
and Dancers in a
LIVE ON-STAGE EXTRAVAGANZA
SATURDAY, JULY 21
8:00 P.M.
Michigan Box Office
Theatre 668-8480
Reserved Seating: $7, 8.
Students & Seniors: $5, 6.
THE DAILY
CL ASSIF IEDS
ARE A GREAT
WAY TO GET
FAST RESULTS
CALL 764-0557
every song of the set was a gem of the
essence of unbridled dance music, and
all without the cumbersome high-tech
embellishments so in vogue today.
The material, which heavily featured
adjunct Steve Berlin on saxophone,
were particularly engaging. A love
song entitled "A Matter Of Time" had
some marvelous basslines by Conrad
Lozano, and the sort of catchy lyric and
melodic hooks that once personified
popular radio music many years ago.
An instrumental called "Soul Twist",
with its throbbing rhythm and driving
beat, was nothing less than hypnotizing.
Assorted songs in Spanish were
sprinkled throughout the evening, for
tasteful spiciness. Another Mexican
blues number was good enough to give
any Mississippi legend a run for his
money, and a definitive cover of "La
Bomba" sent the crowd into an ecstatic
frenzy.
While all of the bandsmen were first
rate musicians, two in particular stood
out. The towering, barrel chested David
Hidalgo was a master vocalist, and
played mean electric and slide guitars.
Even more surprising was his use of the
accordian, which added such flair and
color to the sets that one wonders how
the squeezebox ever got relegated to
mere polkas.
The band would also do well to fully
integrate saxophonist Berlin, whose
work more than enliven the songs-it
dominated many of them. Berline
stayed to the far end of the stage as if to
avoid intruding on the ensemble, when
he should have been brought to the
forefront of the activity.
The sound system was for the most
part adequate, though perhaps a little
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Los Lobos put on a hot show, chock full of dancing tunes, at the Union
Ballroom Friday night.
too loud for the ballroom, and ended up spaciousness of the place. Until they're
a little muddled by the halls toilet bowl a little bit more prominent, Los Lobos is
acoustics. And while the audience was better off in more intimate surroun-
fair sized, it was less than capacity and dings.
seemed swallowed up by the cavernous
Repertory production is
scandalously well done
By Joseph Kraus
YOU EXPECT the best out of the tap
professionals, and A.R.T.
delivered.
The American Repertory Theater is
the country's foremost touring reper-
tory company, having just appeared at
the Olympic Arts Festival in Los
Angeles. In Ann Arborfor a briefnthree
days, the company concluded its stay
with presentations of Richard Brinsley
Sheridan's School for Scandal Thur-
nn rbor
miner
Estilal
sday and Friday nights.
The play concerns a group of
aristocrats in 18th century England.
The central figure is Sir Peter Teazle,
an elderly bachelor for all but the last
seven months. His young, disobediant
wife stands in contrast to his ward,
Maria, a wealthy heiress willing to obey
her guardian in every way, with the
single exception of marrying a man she
despises.
The man Sir Peter has chosen for her
to marry is Joseph Surface. Joseph's
uncle was Sir Peter's good friend who
entrusted him with the care of his two
nephews while he went to make his for-
tune in the Indies. Problems arise,
though, when Maria prefers the other
nephew, Charles, who has wasted the
money sent him by his uncle.
When the uncle returns from the In-
dies, he decides to put each of his
nephews to a test by disguising himself
alternately as a creditor and im-
poverished relation. Joseph, who ap-
pears to the world to be a young man of
high moral worth, turns out to be an un-
charitable womanizer while Charles,
the wastrel, turns out to be generous
amidst whatever other faults he may
have.
Throughout the play, a group of
gossipers, led by Lady Sneerwell and
including the likes of Mrs. Candour, Mr.
Crabtree, and Sir Benjamin Backbite,
continually spread malicious rumours
with the intent of completely ruining
Charles' fortunes and forcing him to
marry Lady Sneerwell for her money.
Done in a spirit of large stage
comedy, School for Scandal is a well-
paced show with quite a bit of laughs.
Featuring outstanding direction and
several fine performances, it is solid
evidence that repertory theater can-
not be allowed to fade away as trends
seem to suggest it will.
Director Jonathan Miller was
probably the star of the show, although
he never once stepped foot on stage. His
characters moved across the set in
ways that seemed almost
choreographed. Ordinarily he saw to it
that the performers used the entire
stage, but occasionally he would
desert center stage and focus the
audience's attention on some corner of
the room. More subtly than a spotlight,
he was able to underline what he wan-
ted the audience to be seeing.
See TIME, Page I1
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