Page 8
Daily Nebraskan
Tuesday, October 19, 1982
Arts & Eeteriisiiiriinnieinit
Romeo Void: They "just played well'
f 1
8
Staff photo by Dave Bent
Debora Iyall of Romeo Void
By Pat Higgins
It was a good, entertaining concert at the Nebraska
Union Sunday night. The band was tight - pardon
the cliche, but it's true in this case.
Ben Bossi's haunting saxophone would be an
appropriate backup for Tony Bennet. Frank Zin
cavage rumbled bass lines Gang-of-Four style. Debora
Iyall is a subtle singer who can belt it out when the
occasion calls for it. They didn't do much for show
manship, just played well.
The highlights were opening tune, "Chinatown,"
and the last song of the scheduled set, "Never Say
Never." The crowd of 300 brought 'em back for an
encore, which peaked with "Wrap It Up" the old Sam
and Dave hit.
"Do I like Roxy Music?" drummer Larry Carter
said, "Check this out." Lifting the lapel of his leather
jacket, he thrust out a Roxy button.
"Yeah, I can see the comparison between us and
them. It's kind of a romantic view of anti-romance,"
Carter said. "Most people have compared us to Talking
Heads because of the way Frank plays the bass and
the way I drum."'
All of the members of Romeo Void have back
grounds in art - so did Roxy Music and Talking
Heads. It must be something to do with theory that
the left side of the brain is used by creative people
and right is used by down-to-earth folks.
"To a certain extent, I think that if you're able
to creatively express yourself in one area, you can
do it in another," Carter said. "I'm still involved in
sculpture."
A future of rock'n'roll and soul music is envisioned
by Carter. The generally accepted date for the begin
ning of the New Music Era is 1976-77. Carter thought
that the last two years have been the real boom time,
though.
"The alternative music scene didn't have a focus
until the last couple years. It took the Police and the
Go-Gos hitting number one before the whole punk
stigma was lost. What I would like to do is something
along the lines of Rick James' approach. I don't know
if the rest of the band will want to do it that way,
though," he said.
Along with their new deal with Columbia Records,
Romeo Void retains a hookup with 415 Records.
"We deliver the final product to Columbia. It's
in our contract that we have complete artistic con
trol," Carter said. "415 is very helpful dealing with
colleges. Columbia is too busy with Loverboy to
promote us." .
'I
Photo courtesy of Caravaglia
Sara and Jerry Pearson
4 the
Modern dance team
to perform at UNL
An innovative modern dance team will
be in residency at UNL until Wednes
day. On Wednesday night, Sara and Jerry
Pearson will perform in the Centennial
Room of the Nebraska Union at 8.
The program, sponsored by the Uni
versity Program Council, is free to UNL
students. The Sara and Jerry Pearson
Dance Company will meet today for
discussion with interested dance stu
dents. The couple has performed with major
modern dance companies like Murray
Lewis and Alvin Nikolais. The Pearsons
met in 1966, began dancing together
in 1968 and married in 1970. It wasn't
until 1979 that they decided to devote
themselves completely to their own work.
By combining humor and professional
insight, they have given birth to a new
type of dance theater.
'La Cage aux Folles'
is classic laugh riot
By David Wood
"The International Sitcom Writers' Handbook" no
doubt has a list of the greatest all-purpose comic situa
tions. It surely mentions the old "parents of child meet
child's fiance's parents" standby.
Obviously, the formula isn't a guaranteed laugh riot.
You don't just have the kids' folks hang out and pass
around jokes. The whole setup should be ludicrous,
and the charcters should be walking punch lines.
Take for instance "La Cage aux Folles," which is
showing with "La Cage aux Folles II" tonight and
f Movie
ycsgN Review
Wednesday night in the Nebraska Union Rostrum. La cage
aux folles is French for birds of a feather. The movie is
French and subtitled, but great all-purpose comic situa
tions know no boundaries.
The boy and girl are normal and thus insignificant.
They are only in the plot to get their ridiculous parents
together. At one absurd extreme, the girl's dad is, of all
things, deputy of the Department of Moral Order. Natur
ally, the boy s dad must be at the other absurd extreme,
some potentate of moral, shambles. Oui, il est He runs a
preposterous transvestite nightclub called La Cage aux
Folles.
Renato, the dapper club owner, lives in a posh flat
upstairs with Albin, stage name Zaza Napoli, the whining
star of the show. The aging homosexuals Renato (Ugo
Tognazzi) and Albin (Michel Serrault) are a textbook
example of an "affable straight man and innocent loonie"
team with enough comic punch to impel a formula a good
way toward being a laugh riot. "La Cage aux Folles"
has been called "the greatest drag comedy since 'Some
Like It Hot.' "
The deputy and his wife have been led to believe that
Renato is Cultural Attache to the Italian Embassy. Renato
has stripped the rooms of any garish furnishings that
might give him away. The deputy compliments him on
the austerity of his home. But soon the fabric of deceit
begins to unravel at the seams and before long is ripped to
tatters.
The black butler, whose usual attire is a sheer blouse
and embroidered leather hot pants, isn't used to shoes
on his feet and falls down or walks around like he is on
the moon. He uses the wrong china and has to ladle out
cheese soup faster than anyone can notice that the classic
al picture at the bottoms of the plates is of Grecian boys
engaged in non-athletic sport.
When Albin unexpectedly arrives in drag as the would
be groom's gushing, hairy-wristed mother, the butler
splits a rib tittering. Then the boy's estranged real mother
shows up, then a parade of hermaphrodites from down
stairs sashay through, then the press arrives, and so on.
Continued on Page 9
"Up went the newly released figure:
10.1 percent. It "was the first double
digit jobless rate since the dark days be
fore WW II." - Newsweek
Trixie put her glass of powdered pro
tein on the breakfast table. Only 2VA
more pounds and she would "heat the
T. Marni
?JI Vos
streets." She folded the newspaper. The
day had begun.
Looking in the hallway mirror, she
could tell that the AVi pounds she had
lost so far had come right off her . . .
well, maybe not.
"Today I will find a job. I am young
and almost healthy. I will do anything
within reason . . .and then maybe some.
I have worked in a fast-food restaurant
for five yeari and I babysat before that.
I took care of my brother's paper route
when he went to camp. I can handle
responsibility, Today I will find a job."
Trixie practiced various smiles as she
walked up the stairs. She slipped on her
mother's skirt. "I am young and almost
skinny. I need a job." Her sister's blouse
was next. "I am usually on time, I mean,
I really try." Last, but not least, her
best friend's shoes. "I'll blow this place
up if you don't give me a job."
In the bathroom, the cat played with
the bobbing cord as Trixie curled her
hair with the iron and sang "Nine to
Five" with Dolly Par ton.
She stepped out the front door and
set the cat next to the frostbitten, green,
black philodendron. "I read it in the
newspaper. We're on the road to recovery.
We gotta be patient. The president knows
what he's doing. Violence is not the
answer. You can go to jail for stealing.
I need to lose weight anyway." The cat
purred at her feet. "I could eat you."
Puff cut across the lawn and disap-
peared under a Chevy Impala.
Trixie arrived at the Fast Food Mexi
can diner. One hundred and eighty-six
people sat at booths and tables filling
out applications. She walked toward the
counter.
"Today I will find a job . . . today I
will find a job... today..."
"Hello, are you here to apply?"
"I took Spanish in high school."
"So you are here to apply?"
"In eighth grade we took a trip to
Mexico. I saw a bullfight."
"Did you bring a pen with you?"
nyihtag0" 3 diC1, 50 ' W0U,dn,, be catin
"OK, Miss . . ."
"Trixie."
"OK, Miss Trixie, do you want to bo
ahead and fill out this application. WVU
interview you in three Sf four hourt."
"Sure ... my cat hasn't eaten in a
week."
Trixie sat down in the first booth and
looked at the girl across from her. This
particular rival had greasy hair, dirt under
her nails and an ugly shirt. Trixie felt
warm inside. She began to fill the empty
squares on her application.
"Excuse me, excuse me." A man came
out from the kitchen area. "I would like
to thank you all for coming here and
applying for our job opening today. Un
fortunately, we don't have 186 openings.
We have one and that has gone to my
wife's sister's aunt's son.
. Tfixie Joined the crowd in destroying
the Fast Food Mexican diner. She came
home with a box of plastic spoons. Her
hair had fallen, her sister's blouse was
ripped in the sleeve and she was hungry.
"Tomorrow I will find a job." Her
stomach growled. She heard a rustling
in the bushes. "Here PuiT. Here kitty,
kitty, kitty."