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Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, May 8, 1984
Bill Nelson lights
up city audiences
By Larry Dean
THERE WILL BEtwo marvy shows
occurring in the vicinity of Ann Arbor
tonight and Wednesday, two shows
which, I'm told could singe even the
bristliest of chest hairs off of Mr. T.
Tonight, Bill Nelson will be swinging
through Detroit, with an erstwhile ap-
pearance at historic St. Andrews Hall,
located in the heart of the Motor City.
Nelson is best-known for his early
guitar wizardry with Be Bop Deluxe, a
semi-glitter, futuristic foursome who
matured into the best art-rock combo
this side of Moby Grape. However,
when he though his reputation as an
"axe victim" began to preceed Be
Bop's band status, he called an im-
mediate halt to the group to pursue a
solo career.
After.one album under the name Red
Noise, Nelson released Quit Dreaming
and Get on the Beam, The Love That
Whirls (Diary of a Thinking Heart),
and numerous other instrumental and
import-only LPs which quickly cemen-
ted his place as a synthesizer player of
at least as good quality as his guitar-
manship.
With the domestic release of
Vistamix, a compilation album of
tracks from Nelson's overseas solo ef-
forts, he has decided to tour. Whether
or not it will be with a band, or just Bill
by himself, remains to be seen, but if
you want to see a modern music
maestro at work, don't miss Bill
Nelson, tonight, at St. Andrews Hall in
Detroit. Starts 'round 9:30 p.m.
Down home in Ann Arbor-town, the
Violent Femmes are returning for their
third show before gape-jawed Ar-
borites, who hailed the last two Fem-
mes performances at Joe's with
bouquets of symbolic roses.
Led by cherubic Gordon Gano, the
Femmes' serio-folky attack and smart
songwriting have carved neat niches in
both critical hearts and the hearts of
their fans. Rounding out the band are
Victor DeLorenzo on drums, and Brian
Ritchie on bass, with a fourth musician
set to help beef up the live sound.
Promoting their soon-to-be-released
second album on independent Slash
Records, Hallowed Ground, the Violent
Femmes promise to bring a hot stage
show to the unlikely locale of the
Michigan Union Ballroom. Wed-
nesday's the night, 8:00 p.m., and fur-
ther info's 763-2071. Don't miss, if you
value either the ideoligy of Mr. T, or
dandy musical chops.
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Bill Nelson is just one of the musical delights on tap for the Ann Arbor area
this week. Also about town are the Violent Femmes, tomorrow night at the
Michigan Union Ballroom.
Blind Pig gains new look
B Byon ullfrom the older front section. Whereas
By Byron Bull the latter is a comfortably small alcove
of wood and brass surrounded by a
T HE OLD Blind Pig on 208 S. First forest of hanging plants, the Back
will never be the same, though Room is a spacious art deco styled af-
nere may be no less to mourn. This fair of cream colored walls and crome.
Thursday night marks the grand A large carpeted stage sits in a corner,
opening of the Back Room, an addition with a long wooden dance floor before
to the bar that more than tripes the it. A black and white checkered tile
amount of space and moves the Blind floor rims that, with cafe tables and
Pig into the dance club arena. refurbished antique church pews for
The Back Room is markedly different seating. The sound system is a 1200 watt
triamp arrangement designed by Apex
Systems, that is loud but clean as op-
posed to the older make-shift set up in
the basement.
The owners, Betty and Roy Goffett,
are making a careful but most definite
move to broaden the Blind Pigs audien-
ce. While they will still favor blues,
they're opening the music format up to
include more accessible styles like
fusion jazz, rock and reggae. In ad-
dition, there will be a video system in-
stalled, and WCBN/WEMU disc jockey
Tom Simonian will be playing records
every Wednesday night. Special events
will be staged, such as a live broadcast
of a performance there by the fusion
band Lunar Glee Club on May 14th over
WCBN.
By catering to a larger audience, the
Blind Pig does run the risk of alienating
some of its older clientele. But Dave
Faber, who books acts for the bar
through his Blind Pig Productions says
the old crowd has nothing to fear. The
quiet intimacy of the old front and glass
patio will remain intact, while the ex-
panded Back Room facilities will
enable them to bring in larger more
prestigious acts, and do them with the
style and technical proficiency the
basement could never accomodate.
And the variety of the new format
should be appeal enough, "Ann Arbor
really doesn't have anything to com-
pare it to," boasts Faber. The Blind
Pig afficionados will have their say this
Thursday, when George Bedard and the
Kingpins officially inaugerate the
stage.
Interestingly, the Back Room seems
to be at the front of a sudden resurgence
in the local bar scene. Next month John
Carver opens a high fashion glitter club
called The Nectarine Ballroom at the
E. Liberty location where the Second
Chance once harbored the out of town
leather and tatoo crowd. And in Sep-
tember Ron Brooks plans to open his
Bird of Paradise live-jazz club. Faber
says there are no fears of competition
at the Blind Pig, and that he in fact
thinks a surge of new bars will only
generate a more active crowd to ac-
comodate them all.
- Byron L. Bull