10- The Michgan DaiySummer Weeky-Wednesday, July 7,1993
-~I
'College is just high school with ashtrays.'
-Kevin Bacon in 'She's Having a Baby'
4
Primus scream
Hot trio headlines Lollapalooza Festival
4
By NIMA HODAEI
"When we started out," remem-
bered Primus guitarist Larry Lalonde,
"we'dcomeout(forashow)andthere'd
besixpeople there.We'dbelike, 'Hey,
we're Primus and we suck!"'
Oh, how the times have changed
indeed. Coming along way from play-
ing to near-empty clubs in the trio's
nativeSanFrancisco, Primushasbuilt
quite a name for itself in the past sev-
eral years.
From Les Claypool's innovative
bass style (earning him numerous
awards in music publications) and bi-
zarre twangy vocals, to Tim
Alexander's tribal drum pattems and
Lalonde's knack to turn aharsh guitar
riff,Primusis finally being acceptedas
a major force on the music scene. A
quick glance at its recent accomplish-
ments would indicate as much.
In just the past two years, the band
has toured with the likes of its child-
hood heroes Rush, Public Enemy and
U2.This culminated with therelease of
its fourth album, "Pork Soda," and the
announcement that the group will be
the closing act on this year's
Lollapaloozatour, which Lalondesaid,
"was pretty much a total surprise."
Ironically,inatime when the group
is earning its greatest success, "Pork
Soda" further distances Primus from
eventhe"mainstream"alternativemu-
sic scene. The majority of the album is
harsh and raw. Itputs forth a live feel
that brings to mind the spontaneity of
the band's concerts. This is not glam
rock;itis,in fact, wellunder-oroduced.
"Weweren'treallyafteranything,"
said Lalonde. "But it was definitely
what we were happy with as far as
sounding live. We didn't want it to
sound like Def Leppard or anything
like that - all polished and perfect.
Most of the stuff on ('Pork Soda') is
pretty much first takes of things."
Primus has fortunately managed
toescapemostofthepitfallsthatawait
bandsuponsigning withamajorrecord
label. Rather than performing less-
than-glamorous opening slots which
often lead to ending up in the "where
are they now?" category,the bandhas
had the opportunity to perform and
learn from other bands it had always
admired.
"It's more of a thing that keeps
touring exciting," Lalonde explained.
"You get home from a tour and you
say, 'Okay, let's relax andnotdo any-
thing.' Then someone says, 'Hey, you
want to tour with Public Enemy?' You
get all excited again."
Despite the level of adulation the
group has received recently, Lalonde
and the rest of Primus have still stayed
fairly level-headedanddown-to-earth.
They don't want to take part in the
crash-and-bumrisetosuccessof bands
such as Nirvana or the Red Hot Chili
Peppers. Lalonde even confessed he
had half-expected "everyone (in the
audience)would begeneafterAlicein
Chains" on the current tour.
Quite the contrary, Lalonde re-
ported that crowd reaction has been
0
a
Primus eschews the alternateen crowd-pleasing anthems of other bands to do their own thing.
follow a prime time spot of this magni- thing!' This is basically just music for in Chains, Dinosaur Jr., Fishbone,
tude? us." Arrested Development, Front 242,
"I think for us it looked like some- And so it should be ... Babes in Toyland and Rage Against
thing that was fun," Lalonde said in LOLLAPALOOZA FESTIVAL '93 the Machine. Tickets are still
regard to Lollapalooza. "Because we will be at the Milan Dragway available. Parking lot opens at 7:00
definitely don't ever look at stuff and (Milan, MI) this Friday, July 9th. a.nm and the show begins precisely at
say, 'Oh wow, we're doing this huge Performers include PRIMUS, Alice 12:00 p.m.
I
RuPaul
Supernodel Of The World
Tommy Boy
stunning sofar. And how exactly wilt Are youreadyfortheRuPaul expe-
Primus turn down the offers that will rience?This6-foot5-inchcross-dresser
has been promoting his butt off ever
since his smash single "Supermodel
(You Better Work)" started climbing
the charts and getting heavy rotation on
MTV last December. The album is
SMALL CLASSES-
7 Ann Arbor Civic Theatre
I E Second Stage Productions
BIG SCORES
BILOXI
GUARANTEED
RESULTS LIL
by Neil Simon
directed by Tim Morley 1
THE mJuly 8-24, 1993
PRINCETON Thurs. thru Sat. at 8:00 p.m.
REVIEW Tickets are $7.00 Thursdays 2-or-i
Ann Arbor Civic Theatre, 2275 Platt Rd.
we score more Tickets & reservations, call 971-AACT
every bit as full of fun and positive
ideas - traits that seem to very much
be a part of the personality of RuPaul.
The disco-powered music might turn
some people away, but this stuff is
fierce. It has a real hip-hop groove to
back the disco-esque horn sections
and violins.
Music trade journals such as Bill-
board have said the biggest test for
RuPaul will be whether or not middle
America (yes, us!) is ready for music
from an openly gay cross-dresser to
become a part of their music collec-
tions and to be played on their radio
stations. If middle America loves to
dance to music with a touch of humor,
then it should certainly love RuPaul's
"Supermodel Of The World."
Jim Whitaker
Andrew Logan
Show Me Your Heart
Motown
Get on your feet, people! The first
track of "Love Can Be Enough," is
pure '70s disco.Puton that whitesuit,
smile like John Travolta and point that
finger high! Heavy beats,rapid tempo
-all that's missing is the strobe light.
Well, that was fun. Now sit back
down. This is where "Show Me Your
Heart" begins its descent downward
into the abyss called boring. As the
tempo decreases, very over-produced,
R&B-flavoreddancemusicarrives.The
mixtures of repetitive choruses, back-
groundsingers,rapanduncomplicated
pseudo-motivational lyrics (nine of 11
are about love) are almost reminiscent
of New Kids on the Block - though
most of the time not as good (never
thought you'd hear that sentence,
didja?). I will say, however, that one of
the ballads, "All Because of You,"
qualifies as cute.
And hey, thecoverofferssome fun.
The beautiful, long-haired, lip-sticked0
Andrew leans forward Sears Portrait
Studio-style - and let me tell you, he
would have been really cool back in
like 1982.
Unfortunately,whileyouandIboth
know thatweare in the '90s now, poor
Andrew hasn't caught on. The flash-
back might have worked if his songs
were strong enough tosustain it. Butas
it stands, all he's got is an outdated
sequined leather jacket. Sorry, but that
ain't gonna do it.
-Kristen Knudsen