12 -- The Michig an Daily - Wednesday, July 9, 1997
Rain kings: Counting Crows rocks
storm-drenched Pine Knob crowd
By Elizabeth Lucas
Daily Arts Editor
Counting Crows has won many fans
for its introspective, emotional song-
writing, qualities which don't always
translate well to live performances. But
at Sunday's sold-out Pine Knob show,
the band met and exceeded its audi-
ence's highest
expectations.
Bettie Serveert, a p
band from Holland,
opened the show to COu
a lackluster
response from the
crowd. "What's it
called? 'Tone-
Deaf?"' inquired one audience mem-
ber, after a song title was announced.
The band's droning guitars, repetitive
lyrics and nasal singing failed to
enthrall the audience, many of whom
played cards or wandered around the
hill, ignoring the band.
Fortunately, the Wallflowers played
an hourlong set after Bettie Serveert
left the stage, and the group succeeded
in changing the audience's mood.
R
ur
Though not the most original or inno-
vative band, the Wallflowers provided
fun, poppy songs that the audience
enjoyed.
The band was somewhat lacking in
stage presence. The Wallflowers' per-
formance style hadn't changed a bit
since it played at Hill Auditorium in
November; the
members simply
E V I EW stood in one place
and strummed
nting CroWS their guitars.
Pine Knob However, lead
singer Jakob
July 6.'1997 Dylan made fre-
quent comments
to the audience and even gave one fan
his guitar pick. The show became
more interesting with this interaction,
though Dylan's comments didn't
always make sense: He announced
that the band would play "Asleep at
the Wheel," paused, and then decided,
"There's too many words in that one."
The audience remained seated for
much of the Wallflowers' set, only
becoming enthusiastic about the
band's best-known singles. (As Dylan
noted wryly, "They can't all be hit
songs.") One 40-year-old fan, however,
danced ecstatically for the entire hour,
in a style somewhere between a Tom
Jones imitation and Garth's "Foxy
Lady" strut from "Wayne's World."
Audience members in his vicinity soon
began to imitate him, to the amuse-
ment of all.
The Wallflowers closed with its latest
single, "The Difference," ending the set
on a lively note. A sudden downpour,
complete with thunder and lightning,
struck as this song began, but the audi-
ence members were undaunted. They
calmly opened their umbrellas and
stood on the muddy hill awaiting
Counting Crows.
Half an hour later, the storm had
passed and a rainbow spread from one
end of the hill to the other. In this aus-
picious atmosphere, "California
Dreamin"' began to play, signaling the
start of Counting Crows' perfor-
mance.
"Is it dry up there, or is it still rain-
ing?" Counting Crows frontman Adam
Duritz asked the crowd on the hill.
"Well, here's a song for you." The band
launched into "Rain King" as the newly
animated audience danced and sang
along.
Like its two albums "August and
Everything After" and "Recovering the
Satellites," the band's set was a mix of
lively pop-rock tunes and brooding
minor-key melodies. One highlight of
the evening was a short acoustic set that
included a Mexican-tinged version of
"Mr. Jones" Duritz's performance was
frenzied and emotional, and he occa-
sionally put a new spin on old lyrics:
"We all want to be big big big big stars
/ But we got second thoughts about
that."
Counting Crows played equal
amounts of old and new material,
ensuring that there was something to
delight every fan. Mr. "Tom Jones,"
perhaps the ultimate fan, danced and
sang along throughout the show, with
such energy that he fell backward onto
the grass at one point.
But despite such minor mishaps, the
band proved that its live shows should
not be missed. If Counting Crows
decides to play longer sets (this show,
an hour and a half long, seemed much
too short) and teams up with better
opening bands, the band will no doubt
sell out every venue it plays.
"
r
qw
'Ann Arbor Speaks' on spoken-word poetry compilation
Various Artists
Ann Arbor Speaks
***I
Spoken word poetry is a lot like
country music; you either develop a
taste for it, or you don't. Those who
are fans usually can't get enough,
while opponents have been known to
run from a room screaming at the
mention of an open mic.
Unlike poetry read on the page, the
effect of spoken word on its audience
relies heavily on how it is presented by
the reader. An incongruous voice or
rhythm may end up sounding as
abrasive as a scratched
record. On the other
hand, a good perfor- !
mance may lend
unusual depth and
texture to a poem
which, if read on
paper, would be
simply ordinary.
"Ann Arbor
Speaks" is a spoken
word compilation of 10 Ann
Arbor poets, pieced together over
three months by audio produc-
er Doug Cameron and
poets Lisa Mueller
1 and Todd
Spencer.
The CD
offers a
view of the dif-
ferent flavors of
spoken word
around the area. It
ranges from Decky
Alexander's neurolic one-
woman monologue to Ken
Mikolowski's low-key jam with the
Big Enigmas, and lots in between.
The performances on the CD are hit-
and-miss. Some poems are aurally
beautiful, going straight for the gut,
while others try hard, but end up as just
disembodied words, floating in the air.
Some highlights are Todd Spencer's
imaginative and humorous "4 AM at
Meijer," which envisions the supermar-
ket as a cowboy-laden frontier; Steve
Marsh's "The Bond' which thoughful-
ly probes the emotional aftermath of a
man's mugging; and Elise Bryant's no-
nonsense "One Thousand Cranes,"
which addresses the question that
almost all artists ask at one time or
another: Why am 1[doing this?
This collection offers a comfortable
foray into spoken word poetry, which
even the wary should find relatively
painless. At the least, it will give you
a sampling of these talented poets'
work, and a chance to see if you
would like to explore the medium
further.
- Sairh Beldo
ore
Bis and
Kenickie to .7,
perform at
Magic Stick
Fans of Britpop, your
weekend is coming up! UK
pop groups Bis and
Kenickie (right) will play
at the Magic Stick July
24. You can spend hours
on the phone with
Ticketmaster to get tickets ... or you can get them free from The
Michigan Daily. That's right, we said FREE. The Daily is giving away three
pairs of tickets to see the Bis and Kenickie show, and we know you want
to win them. Simply come to the Daily Arts office (420 Maynard St., sec-
ond floor of the Student Publications Building) and enter your name, phone
number and e-mail address in our contest drop box.
\OF
[! J'ravel
1220 S. University, Ste.208
Above McDonald's
Ann Arbor
Tel : 313-998-0200
DAILY ARTS.