Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1979)
paga8 daily nebresk&n monday, October 8, 1979 Logs ins keeps pace bouncing by mixing old and new By Michael Wiest be an institution in transition. Gone ire the ftavt nf ihm f?iflmrtr nf nivn tHno mnA uninhibited audience behavior. The rock concert teems, at least in the Nevertheless, certain held-over mores of context of Kenny Loggins performance, to this tradition persisted last Thursday night, Photo by M. Biilingsley Kenny Loggins, in concert at Omaha's Orpheum Theater Thursday, energized his audience with songs from his latest album Keep the Fire. such as hooting and the encore ritual of lit cigarette lighten, all fascinatingly contrast ed by the opulent splendor of Omaha's Orpheum Theatre, and the well-dressed crowd who paid $9.50 per ticket to stand in its lobbies and swirl high-priced champagne around in plastic wine glasses. Loggins, for his part, gave a tight, pol ished performance, mixing old and new material, including several songs from his new album Keep the Fire. He opened his act with characteristic energy, and kept up the pace throughout the show, bouncing and running across the stage, possessed by his music, faintly resembling a friendly and excited Afghan puppy. He then brought out a stool and an acoustic guitar, and sat still for some old favorites, such as 'Pooh Comer," and "Danny's Song." The audience was encouraged to sing along. Several times Loggins stopped suddenly and the crowd, as though from momen tum, would finish the line out perfectly, just like the record, and then act slightly astonished with themselves, as if realizing they had just been made to do a trick. That says something for the amount of air-play Loggins' music has received. o The warm-up group, Sniff and the Tears, served the star of the show well, act ing almost as a foil to Loggins. Their music had. much to offer inst rumen tally, but lacked vocal talent. Their style seemed, half-formed, hovering expectantly some where between punk and clean rock, this decade and the last. Loggins began his show with several numbers from his recent album Night watch, along with a well-received ballad from Keep the Fire. Later, the band took a short break, and then the light-effects screen came down and mist rolled pnto the stage. This set the r?fyt1Bfm1 atmosphere for the synthesized, techno BuULJU rock material of Loggins' new album, featuring imaginative percussion and horn work bordering on fusion jazz. The last four numbers of the concert were encores, which slowed the pace down considerably, but to the -time interval necessary for the crowd to begin stomping and lighting lighters. The state lights were never raised; no one was really fooled. The crowd was well! behaved and for the most part people stayed in their assign ed scats. All things said it was a good con cert, sure to please the Kenny Loggins fan, and even, the casual observer. 'China Night' lends rare exposure to Eastern culture By Mary Kay Wayman ' "China Night" was a rare and enjoyable exposure to the great depth of Chinese culture. Members of the UNL Free China Association shared their colorful, musical cul ture with a standing-room-only crowd of more than 500 people in the Nebraska Union Friday night. What the members termed an amateur production was as rich and varied as costumes modeled in the show. The evening program and displays in the Union earlier Friday were part of a celebration of the 68th anniversary of the founding of Taiwan. Friday's celebration was the first ever on campus, and also the first since the United States broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan last year. Hie American flag and Taiwanese flag decorated opposite ends of the stage. "The relationship between the people of Taiwan should continue with the American people," said show manager Ning-Shih Chiu. "We want to promote a better relationship. Kung-Ping Shao said the people of Taiwan are trying to preserve the original art and culture of China. She said she doesn't approve of the way the Communist Chinese have westernized their culture. THE SHOW Friday night began with a traditional dance of celebration, the "Lion Dance." Hie large, bright ly decorated "lion" was teased by a "joker." His smiling mask signifies that he will "bring you happiness," one student said. f The haunting, minor-key music of Oriental string in struments such as the Ku-Chen, Nan-Hu and P'i-P'a seemed to transport the ballroom audience to a distant and ancient place. An eight-man chorus sang folk songs demonstrating the widely differing Chinese dialects. Women dressed in ori ginal peasant costumes danced a Taiwan aboriginal folk dance. Bells attached to their costumes jingled as they moved gracefully about the stage. The audience sat quietly as male students demonstrat ed the varying forms of Kung-Fu, a Chinese martial art. The quick, sharp movements of one form, like an eagle attacking its prey," contrasted with the slower, con trolled movements of another. No matter the speed, the actions of these forms of combat took great muscle ten sion and were done with the precision of a ballet ; Tie audience responded warmly with applause for all the acts, and especially for musician Lieu Chee-Min. Lieu, a former member of the Taiwan National Orchestra, per formed a similar show last year as a member of the Youth Goodwill Mission of the Republic of China. HIS SEVENTEEN years of training were evident as his fingers flew across stringed instruments and flutes, draw ing out bittersweet melodies. Costumes for the show were borrowed from the North American Affairs Coordination Center in Chicago, the former Taiwan consulate. Lieu said he believes that "music is universal." He said he has tried to convince people through his music that Western and Eastern music can combine. A show of Chinese costumes from historical times to the present was choreographed to introduce historical figures to the audience. Long, brocade gowns shown in the stage lights as students moved through dance-like steps. A veil of pearls covered the face of an emperor of 1 122 B.C. A general's wife, renowned for her intelligence and skill ip battle, wore traditional Chinese war dress, com plete with metal tunic. The "Shadow Show," a common form of entertain ment in Asia, left costume and almost everything else to the audience's imagination. Students acted out a silent comedy behind a curtain, with only their shadows visible. The audience laughed as the "All-Cosmos Doctor" operated with giant scissors and hammer. The quack doc tor puffed his pipe as his patients left in worse condition than they arrived. "The culture is still in us, a part of us," Kung-Ping Shao said. The students performing Friday night gave evi dence of how closely they value and enjoy that culture. Ax penetrates music and audience By Penelope Smith Emmanuel Ax said concentration was the most important thing an audience could bring to his perfor mance. "With classical music, the audience must have a certain will to concentrate and absorb. It demands active participation, it is not background music but the central thing-it is all there is. His brilliant piano concert Friday night demanded this absorption and it was freely given by an audience spellbound by his virtuosity. Ax played to a capacity crowd at Kimball Recital Hafl where some audience members were seated on the stage. The Lincoln audience was appreciative and atten tive, illustrating once again its support for the arts. Ax played a Haydn sonata in C minor, Schumann's "Fantasiestucke Opus 12 (Fantasy Pieces),' a Mozart rondo; and Beethoven's Sonata in F minor. Opus 57 '("Apassionata"). His repertoire represents what Ax call j the range of sound in himself. 'Though you are completely a mouthpiece for the composer, everything you do reflects your own per-sonality-from the way you bounce a tennis ball to playing the piano, it is an inescapably fundamental part of your personality. You do not consciously decide to do things when you play," Ax said. Ax's range of feeling and command is evident in his performance of Beethoven. These performances leave behind the fluid lightness of his treatment of Schumann or Haydn and become power statement. He possesses a forcefulness, dept of personality and virtuosity that does the composer justice . Ax received a standing ovation and gave two encore pertormances before the audience would allow him to leave. The level of absorption was so intense that the final silence came as a shock; th closing chords had fully disappeared before the audience realized that the pieces had ended. Ax, at 29, is a pianist of international acclaim. He won the First Rubenstein International Rano Competi tion in 1974 and numerous other prizes and awards in various other competitions around the world. His records of Dvorak and Beethoven are considered by critics to be some of the best recordings of recent years. Ax is also interested in modem and contempor ary works for the piano though he says it is basically a I9th century instrument, and intends to perform pieces by contemporary American composers in New York in the near future.
