Bands unite
for Live Aid
From United Press International faced with the challenge of using a
Organizers of the Live Aid concert revolving stage, which will be
to help fight African famine braced moved by stage hands, to set up the
yesterday for the challenges in- equipment for one act while another
volved in staging the world's largest act is performing.
televised rock concert, with "I'M NOT unduly nervous about
thousands expected to view the it," said Keith Bradley, one of the
event live in JFK Stadium in show's three production managers.
Philadelphia and Wembly in London '"But if I wasn't nervous, I'd be in-
today. sane"
Abou 1. bilionpeole wrldide The concert is also a television and
are expected to view the event on radio event and will he transmitted
television, according to the in its entirety over the cable
television network MTV and radio
stations around the country. ABC
television will broadcast from 8 p.m.
to l p.m.
Detroit FM radio stations WRIF
101.3 and WHYT 96.3 plan to cover
the event from 6 a.m. to its con-
clusion.
The 16-hour concert will also be
beamed live by satellite to about 90
nations in Europe, South America,
the Middle East, Japan, India and
Australia. Some Eastern-bloc coun-
tries including Russia, also will
receive the live concert but there
was no indication when it would be
shown to television audiences.
The JFK Stadium stage, which is
nine stories high and as wide as a
football field, also features a giant
b anner hearing the Live Aid symbol,
the neck of a guitar emerging from
the African continent, so that those
in the audience can't forget why they
are there.
"To band together at this time
means a lot not just to the perfor-
Dylan mers, but to all the people who are
... making a better day making it happen, that this power,
producers. Fifty top ranking which is usually used commercially,
musicalacts will takepart. can be harnessed to further inter-
In one way or another, aheut 550 national understanding," said Bill
million of the world's 600 million McManus, a Philadelphia concert
television sets will have access to promoter responsible for providing
the concert, said a spokesman for electricity for the show.
Worldwide Sports and Entertain-
ment in Philadelphia.
Checks of the massive sound
system at Philadelphia's JFK,
which includes 120 speakers stabked
on both sides of the stage, were
made yesterday as performers and
concertgoers began arriving in the
city. Some 90,000 were expected to
jam into JFK.
GATES ARE scheduled to open at
7 a.m. today and the first act, singer
Joan Baez, is scheduled to take the
stage shortly after 9 a.m.
A similar concert is to get under
way before 72,000 people at London's
Wembley Stadium at 7 a.m. Eastern
Daylight Time. The performances
on both sides of the Atlantic,
featuring the likes of Mick Jagger,
Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Paul Mc- Jagger
Cartney, and an unprecedented host
of others are expected to raise up to ...will perform with Tina Turner
$50 million for African famine vic- SIXTY COUNTRIES had confir-
tims. med yesterday morning they would
The National Weather Service be receiving the television signal
reported there was a 30 percent and another 40 were expected to con-
chance the Philadelphia crowd could firm by the end of day.
be dampened by afternoon thunder- man a y.
storms.A aya 0ohe onre il
Those responsible for staging the receive four-hour videotaped
show, which involves 38 separate ac- highlights through the U.S. Infor-
ts and 30 equipment changes in 14 mation Agency immediately after
hours, were not worried, however, the broadcast, according to Richard
about the weather. They will be Lukens, international director for
World ide.
The Michigan Daily - Saturday, July 13, 1985-- Page 9
The only blackheads you'll ever love: (left to right) Angela Frucci, Renee Kayon, Jennifer Holt, Cyn-
thia Bartell, Polly Alexander, and Camille Gage. The Tetes Noires will appear at the Blind Pig Mdn-
day night at 10 p.m.
Tetes Noires breakout
By Julie J s wittily addressed, on their 1983 EP and another a former Miss South
y urrjen Tetes Noires and their 1984 LP Dakota! You figure out which.
American Dream, topics ranging
B EFORE I FIRST heard Min- from Reagan to bingo to male Live, the Tetes are a hoot. Look
neapolis' Tetes Noires when they prostitution to wacko drivers, and are forward to renditions of the Cookies'
opened for the dB's at Joe's last refreshingly up-front in their songs "Chains" and "Don't Say Nothing
summer, I didn't know what to ex- dealing with relationships. For in- Bad About My Baby" in perfect girl-
pect. The few members of the audien- stance, in "True Lover," group form - right down to the
ce who'd heard of them were at a loss leader/singer Jennifer Holt recounts slightly ridiculous choreography. In
to describe precisely what they'd every love in her life in under three their own subtle way, these two num-
heard. "I hear they're kind of minutes, never devoting more than a bers hint at the misogyny of a lot of
feminist," I remember one guy couplet to any single one. In "Can't early rock - that the Tetes are trying
saying. Eyes rolled - most of the Even Dance," guitarist/singer Polly to do away with in painless-and-even-
people didn't even know they were Alexander doesn't dodge the fact that fun ways!
girls, let alone (gasp!) feminists. her former boyfriend was "a real
Probably sent more than a few asswipe," and that her current geek Bolt is dervish with her violin
patrons skittering and built up no beau may even be worse. during "American Dream," and
ma i nc a o u o rske ti d in anyA lexander m enacing during
audience geared up for a goo goofy Musically, the Tetes run the gamut, "Roadhog," about a driver so
time with the dB's. from the folky protest of "Peace, aggressive she threatens to make
Despite the fact that the Tetes had Piece By Piece," to the loopy pseudo- highway pizza of anyone in her way.
their work cut out for them the six Family Von Trapp yodeling of The Tetes also set quite a precedent
women performed with considerable "Moonie," to the gypsy wail of with their version of "White Wed-
aplomb and had won justdabout "American Dream." Despite the ding" last time, so there'll probably
everyone's ears by the set's diversity, certain threads - con- be something equally keen this time
hilariously cataclysmic end - an An- sistently excellent vocal harmonies around - after all Billy-boy has done
drew Sisters-ish a capellarendition of and unusual instrumentation (the some new tunes recently, hasn't he? I
favorite minor-league fascist Billy band has no drummer, only oc- didn't check.
Idol's "White Wedding." casional found-object percussion like
trashcan lids) run through the music
It became rapidly evident during to give the Tetes a signature sound. If you go for no other reason, go to
the Tetes' set that the "feminist" tag listen. The Tetes Noires (If you
(with its militant connotations towar- Each member comes from a distin- haven't caught on by now, it's French
ds the male-dominated rock world) is ct musical background: leader Jen- for "black heads" - all the members
ill-deserved. The fact that the Tetes nifer Holt founded the band on the are brunettes) are as good a vocal
are not a "girl group" in the cutesy- premise of it becoming a performance group as you're likely to find passing
pawns-of-a-corporate-guru senseorart group and has influences from through. The fringe benefits are, of
mega-militant and preachy, makes Fripp to folk; sisters Camille Gage course, (if you're a scene-junkie) the
them impossible to pigeonhole The and Renee Kayon were folkies, too; fact that they're from hotbed of hip-
band cites the Raincoats, the Roches Cynthia Bartell played bass with local ness Minneapolis, their endearingly
and the Bangles as contemporary i'- rock bands; Angela Frucci plays good bargain-basement garb (at another
fluences; not surprisingly, these ban- cheesy Farfisa organ and digs '60s gig they all wore secondhand wedding
ds are ground breakers as well. garage grunge, and Polly Alexander dresses for "White Wedding"), their
joined on guitar after stints with local humor, their sharp but not pushy
While not quite feminist in the thrash bands. Non-musical commentary, and the opportunity to
angry sense of the word, the Tetes, backgrounds also vary widely - one see an excellent, independent band
who play the Blind Pig Monday night, menber't a mom, another a former beginning to get the attention they
are by no means apolitical. They have accountant, another an art student, deserve.