Hot town for alumni this weekend
Alumni coming to town to recapture the
rapture of their college days are in luck this
weekend, for, if the joys of playing at college
pale, there is still a wealth of entertainment to be
found in Lincoln.
First place in the entertainment picture is the
Ramsey Lewis Trio at the Rendezvous Lounge,
56th and Cornhusker Highway.
Lewis, whose latest album, Sun Goddess, is
selling briskly, is a pianist of remarkable
versatility who puts on a fine show appealing to a
wide range of tastes.
Pop-jazz
His music includes both avant-garde
improvisations and solid pop-jazz fusions. Lewis
is at his best in pop-jazz, the recognized melodies
providing him with a base for his sharp
improvisations.
He seems less, at home in his free-form pieces
which become overlong. Flashes of searing
virtuosity from Lewis and his
flutistpercussionist crop up from time to time.
In these compositions, the pace lags, but the
musicianship of Lewis and her merry men holds
the interest of the audience.
Lewis has been playing since last weekend at
the Rendezvous and, to put it bluntly, his
audiences have not been what they could be.
Considering the size of the turnout for his
Community Concerts performance a while back,
the small audiences at the Rendezvous have
surprised me.
Location, cover charge
Possibly people are put off by either the
location of the Rendezvous or the cover charge.
Yet they continue to travel more than 50 miles
to hear acts in Omaha (for which they also must
pay a healthy cover charge) and allow new
entertainment enterprises in Lincoln to wither
away.
The more I think about it, the more I am
puzzled by it and the less I like it.
For those alumni whose bag is not jazz, there
are the two live theaters in town, each presenting
a "Neil Simon comedy. At the Radisson
Cornhusker Hotel there is Come Blow Your
Horn, performed by the Colonnades Dinner
Theater. The , Lincoln Community Playhouse is
presenting Plaza Suite. The Colonnades offers the
better show, but Plaza Suite reportedly has
picked up a lot of polish since opening night and
should be thoroughly enjoyable as well. Either
show is a good bet.
People watchers
For those returnees who would simply like to
go to a nice bar to talk or watch people, my
prescription is to try Barrymore's, located behind
the screen of the old Stuart Theatre.
People who have not been in Lincoln for a
few years may be dismayed to find the grand
interior of the Stuart gone, but a bit of the feel
of the old place is retained in the bar. The
entrance is in the alley next to the theater.
Drinks are well-mixed and the wine list is
pretty fair, although I will not vouch for the
mediocre-to-poor Zinfandel that they served up
one night. In any case, it is a comfortable
establishment. You can do far worse.
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24 HOURS A DAY
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Besides the party size fifth,
Rumdinger's 10 natural, tropical
flavors and light, bright Puerto
Rican rum come in handy 8
ounce bottles. That way you can
have a little party all your own.
Eumdiitger. The new way to drink.
Made with rum and natural flavors, by Calvert Dist. Co., Phila., Pa. 25 Proof.
Another cup of Dylan (weak)
Review by Steve Cogley
Fifteen cents or a copy of Bob Dylan's new
album, Blood On The Tracks, will get you a cup
of coffee anywhere.
I wouldn't say the album isn't any good; it's
simpler to just say it's bad.
I had trouble from the start. I couldn't get the
record out of the liner (I should have let well
enough alone). Once I accomplished that, my
stereo seemed to go wacky. It's not an expensive
setup, but even I know something's wrong when
the needle falls asleep in the middle of a cut.
However, it's true that Dylan wasn't satisfied
with the album's music (that makes two of us).
The album credits such musicians as Eric
Weissberg and Deliverance, among others. But in
fact, it was five Minneapolis-area musicians who
teamed with Dylan. In other words, you don't
even have to play the record to find mistakes.
The music, you say, can't possibly be that
bad. In reality, it's not. It just isn't what I would
expect from one of the all-time giants of rock.
Dylan has influenced so many artists and
groups that it's hard to keep track of them. His
lyrics and music have always been
exceptional-but not this time. Dylan's worst,
however, is better than many will ever do.
Perhaps I was expecting too much. But when I
know how good someone can be, it's hard to
keep from building expectations. Sometimes, too
many.
Perhaps like wine, the album will improve
with age. Or perhaps, like mold on bread, it will
grow on me. The best thing now is to have a cup
of coffee.
161
presents
singer guitarist
of the
ike Ooual
8:00 to 12:30
rcvf & jkm ... Ft
rituautmann s Lounqe
Information sheets
for
F.10RTAR BOARD
due Feb. 5
Available from Union
Program Office, ASUN,
Panhellenic Office,
Women's Resource Center,
and Student Affairs.
( K.WIlllW!
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Have Some Fun With Your Friends at
the
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Lounge
It's a great placo to relax and enjoy a drink at reasonable prices.
Come see our University talent. Janne Cooper,
singer and guitarist, will be performing nightly
Wed. and Thurs. Fob. 5-6 9-11 p.p.
Fri. and Sat. Feb. 7-8 10-12 p.m.
are now in stock
con board;
still rrt
iust 0 7 each
1 " in rrr r- -
Cornhusker Hotel
301 So. 13th
friday, january 31, 1975
daily nebraskan
page 9
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