daily nebraskan
monday, January 28, 1980
Bmkrn, miieme "bored
pego 12
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By Kim Wilt
Entertainment Editor
"He is now to be among you at the
calling of your hearts, Rest assured this
troubadour is acting on his part. . . "
(Paul Stookey)
"Jesus was a troubadour," Bob Dylan
told the ambivalent Omaha crowd at the
Omaha Orpheum Theater Saturday night.
And Dylan the troubadour made way for
Dylan the rock-gospel singer, complete
with acoustic and electric guitars, and the
harmonica solo. ' :
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The crowd did not seem to be able to
decide whether it approved of, disapproved
of, or was merely bored by the "new"
Dylan.
Cries of "BlowinV in the Wind" and
"Positively Fourth Street" were met by
silence from the singer, who always has
preferred to say what he has to say through
his music. Instead, he and his band, which
included four female back-up gospel
singers, turned out song after song from
Slow Train Coming, arid when that source
of inspiration ran dry, he turned to newer
religious songs. He sang of being "saved,
washed on the blood of the Lamb," and
thanked Jesus musically over and over
again for his salvation.
The show began a half-hour late, with a
bright spotlight on an empty stage. Those
who expected Dylan to come strolling out,
acoustic guitar in hand, were surprised by
the sight of a woman wearing jeans and a
sequined red shirt.
Shouts interspersed
"I want to tell you a story," she began.
But it was not the story the audience
wanted to hear. As she continued telling
the tale of an old woman trying to take a
train to visit her hospitalized son, she was
greeted with shouts of "get off the stage!",
"we want Dylan," and a sarcastic "praise
the Lord!";
The story, which ended with the old
woman being allowed to ride the train be
cause "Jesus has your ticket," was follow
ed by the entrance of three more women.
The four sang gospel songs, eventually
drawing applause for their searing singing.
When he finally appeared, opening the
show with a rocking version of "You Gotta
Serve Somebody," nobody seemed to care
much about what he was singing; the
legend, live, was enough-at least for the
first few songs. ,
"Better leave"
The members of the audience who were
waiting for the old songs and voicing their
, discontent would have done better to have
remembered the words pf "Desolation
Row": " 'You're in the wrong place, my
friend ; you'd better leave,' "
Dylan's conversion to Christianity is
obvious, to say the least. Born a Jew in the
Iron Range country of northern Minnesota,
he is apparently sincere and dedicated in
his new faith. .
Religious images are not new to his
works-"All Along the Watchtower" con
tains strong references to the Old Testa
ment. And the entire John Wesley Harding
album, of which "Watchtower" is a part,
has been described as a travelogue of
religious death and rebirth-13 years be
fore Slow Train Coming.
The new songs were sometimes un
known, occasionally stirring especially,
inspired versions of "When You Gonna
Wake Up" and the album's title song-and
always Christian.
Dylan did not interact much with the
audience, except for telling them he would
like to do an encore, but 'Ve have to be in
Cincinnati."
Continued on page 13
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21
Bob Dylan
Dylan leaves scalpers cold
r By Casey McCabe
The warnings had been out for some
time. If you expected to see the old Bob
Dylan, or thought he wasn't taking his
"born again" Christianity seriously, donH
show up for his concerts-you will be dis
appointed. The effects of the "new Dylan" publi
city became immediately apparent. Work
ing with a "surprise announcement" style
of promotion, Concerts West Productions
announced Friday, Jan.: 18, that tickets
i,
, would go oh sale Monday . for two Dylan
performances the coming Friday and Satl(
urday in Omaha's , Orpheum Theater.
The typical clamor and rush for tickets
that always precedes J3ob Dylan happened
again in. Omaha. But when the smoke
cleared there were still a few hundred tick
ets available in the ornate 2,500 seat audi
torium. More than a year ago; a Dylan
show in the 1 1 ,000 seat Civic Auditorium
produced the fastest sellout in Omaha his
tory. Continued on page 13
Comedian Walker
By Scott Kleager
Jimmy Walker, primarily recognized as
J. J. Evans from the television series "Good
Times," not only warmed up the night but
also made it clear exactly who he is and
what he really does for about 300 people
Friday in an hour of comedy in the
Nebraska Union ballroom,
"It's sort of like being a boxer, you've
got to come to every -gig and try to blow
. them out, otherwise you lose credit. Some
people, because they're on a TV show, are
supposed to have an act. They go out on
stage and they're terrible. I've always had
an act and IVe always been great, but most .
people don't know that." , "' - '.
: Stereotyped reactions seem to haunt
him whenever he performs live, and Friday
night was no exception. Toward the end of
his show, one woman asked the inevitable,
'Will you say dyno-mite?".
' Dyno-mite all night
"My main problem with touring is that
people really don't know exactly what it is
that I do," Walker said. "It's like: "what's
he going to do, just say dyno-mite all night
or what?' "
The woman's request was left for some
one else to do,
The audience was receptive, though, and
Walker obviously was well-prepared. He
said working as a stand-up comedian takes
a lot of ego building before any show,
which helps tremendously in confidence of
delivery.
"This may sound egotistical, but I think
(before a show) that Frn very good and if
they can speak English I can take them."
Walker hasn't always been a joker. He
began, as a college journalist writing for the
City College of New York student news
paper, '1 was writing some funny stuff. One
warms audience with laughter
day a guy walks up to me and says, 'gee,
this stuffs pretty funny, you look funny,
you should get up and do it!'"
He moved shortly thereafter to The
Improvisation in New York. The transition
from , writing to performing was an easy
one for him because it's "something I do
well?,
; Brenner helps
Eventually, David Brenner, a friend and
co-worker went -to Jack Paar and said 'I
got this guy who I think's pretty funny.
You should put him on your show.' And
Jack said, 'okay we'll go down and take a
look at him.' So they used me for the
ShOW. . ' f il .
From there Walker did several "Rowan
and Martin" specials and from those per
formances he landed the part of J.J. in
"Good Times", He seemed undecided on
whether the series was beneficial to his
career.
"What "Good Times" did was financial,
ly put me in a good position. Creatively it
put me in a horrible position."
Walpiirgisnacht
By Colleen Tittl
Vegas, He is, instead, currently acting in
the television show . "Bad Cats," even
though he says that he despises filming.
"I hate film. Filming is the most
boring part. . jt's too long, it's tedious, it's
tacky and it's no good. But, let's face it,
there's no big-clamor to have Jimmy
Walker come to people's nightclubs,
colleges, Vegas, whatever."
It's because he isn't doing what he likes
in cr tlini da cow 1- ,! 1 t i
trl friA r.Vknnrt a I I T I P-l l 1 f , ...
M.ai,i ui J.J...HC leu unnappy long ne'll continue to be in the entertain-
Avith the show toward the end. Its,eventual ment business. He is not pleased with the
canceling was because "our internal strife direction his career is going
hurt the show too much " 'The respect I get creatively and pro-
Walker said he would like to tour more fessionally in this business is at such alow
colleges and work as a headliner in Las level that, for me, it's not worth it "
80 like organized disco
&n though he wrote his own material
Most orgies are fun, and this year's
Walpurgisnacht celebration was no
exception.
But while the magic at this 20th century
version of a "witch's orgy in the
mountains" was certainly that of revelry
and close body contact, its scope was con
fined, not to a mountain, but within the
walls of the Nebraska Union.
Most of the building was wall-to-wall
celebrants, so setting out to travel to the
next spectacle was like entering a conga
line. You went where the crowd took you,
having fun on the way.
Painted faces and strange hairdos loom
ed into view with every few steps. Some of
the apparitions wore bright costumes and
hats.
Yes, like a disco, but a lot more
organized.
Early in the evening, a procession of
red -robed, cowled specters, some wearing
dark glasses, entered the flow of traffic
and weaved its way across the main lounge
The robed ones stared, unsmiling, unspeak
ing, at those they met. . . . .
: v -Somber stare
"Hi, Nancy!" a middle-aged man called
to one young member of the procession.
She turned silently and fixed him with a
somber stare. Those watching chuckled
delightedly, and the man tried not to
appear flustered.
Down the hall, a young man witfi'his
face painted orange and green looked at a
program leaflet, his hair bound above his
head and combed straight up like a cocka
too's comb.
There was something to see everywhere.
If the belly dancer proved too exhausting
to watch, downstairs a kilted bagpiper
drew large crowds.
In the center ring of the main lounge,
early in the evening, folk dancers stomped
their way into another time and place. The
women, their hair braided as peasants
wore pink, orange or chintz skirts. The
men' were dark, dressed in tailored white
. outfits, and boots. . . ; .
r Table' tennis
On the other side of the room, away'
from the dancers, " two young men
competed at table tennis. The comment
tor, a puckish, bespectacled man holding a
microphone, shifted excitedly from one
foot tc the other and talked nonstop about
the game and the players, occasionally
drawing laughter from the applauding
crowd.
Upstairs, when applause died down for
rope twirler Joan Wells last performance
that evening, she escaped through the
crowds into an empty conference room
-without losing or mangling either her red
rodeo hat or her rope case.
Perspiring, she opened her rope case and
removed a small blue thermos.
"It's just water," she said. "Sometimes -it's
not very accessible." She performs for
rodeos and wild west shows, she said, and
is a Guinness record holder, having com
pleted 187 successive "Texas skips."