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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1988)
T Arts & Entertainment ^ Courtesy Rhythm Kings Rhythm Kings Eddie Kirkland Phil Guy First Mid-Week Blues Festival begins at Zoo tonight By Ken Havlat Staff Reporter The Zoo Bar is having a Mid Week Blues Festival with the Rhythm Kings from Lawrence, Kan., tonight; Eddie Kirkland from New York Wednesday; and Phil Guy from Chicago Thursday. Walter “Wolfman” Washington was originally scheduled to perform tonight, but canceled because he didn’t have enough dates for a tour. The Rhythm Kings, a five-piece group with a Memphis style of the mid-’60s, played at the Zoo last month to a responsive audience. Eddie Kirkland tore up the Kansas City Blues Festival last fall and will be making his first visit to the Zoo. During the 1950s he toured for seven years with John Lee Hooker. In the 1960s he played three years with Otis Redding. He made a pair of outstand ing recordings for Trix during the ’70s. In 1981 he won the W.C. Handy award for “Pick Up the Pieces,” on JSP Records. At 62, Kirkland isn’t about to stop performing. He is well-known for high-energy, high-octane blues, of fering lots of inventiveness. Phil Guy may be the younger brother of Buddy Guy, but that doesn’t mean he is treading in his famous brother’s footsteps. He is often in demand as a guitarist for his sweetly flowing blues guitar. In the past six years he has established himself in his own right. The Mid-Week Blues Festival at the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St., begins at about 9 p.m. each night. AC /DC s new album best one in a while i James Harman Band, “Those Dan gerous Gentlemens” (Rhino) San Francisco’s James Harman Band has always been popular when it’s played in Lincoln. The band’s next Lincoln appearance will be in June at the Zoo Bar. In the meantime, we’ll have to be content with their second album, “Those Dangerous Gentlemens” — their first effort in four years. Since their first LP, “Thank You Baby,” they have been pulling in more than 300 performances a year. Naturally, their delivery has become smoother. John Bruce/Daily Nebraskan Many of the songs were recorded before or during 1986, when Holly wood Fats (Michael Mann) was still the lead guitarist. Fats left the band in fall 1986 to replace Dave Alvin in the Blasters. Thus only two of the seven songs on the album were re corded by the current band. The band seems to be drifting toward a rhythm and blues sound reminiscent of the Blasters and the Dynatoncs. Judging from the (rhythm and) blues renaissance of the moment, this would be a nice trend as long as the band doesn’t get loo bland and start sounding like the Fabulous Thunder birds. The songs on the album with Bonnie Bramlctl (of Delaney and Bonnie fame) hold up the best. They are “Find You A Love” and “I’ve Been Lovin’ You.” The latter offers sizzling rhythm and blues and some wonderful multilayered vocals that arc a consistent source of energy, it makes me curious as to how the band would sound with a female vocalist backing Harman up. This album leaves me indifferent. While the band has its act together, the album is too clean for the work ing-man’s band it really is. If it had a stinging blues guitar that could make me feel the way I do when the band plays live, both of us getting sweaty and drinking beer, it would have my loud approval. Instead, applause is quiet and reserved. AC/DC, “Blow Up Your Video” (Atlantic Records) OK, OK. So AC/DC is not the most versatile band in the world. Whoever said it was? The boys from Australia have fi nally released a new album, “Blow Up Your Video.” The album cover shows Angus Young getting wild — just like the last zillion albums — but the record itself is different. It’s good. It’s not the commercialized “Fly on the Wall.” It’s not the computerized Who Made Who.” This album has power. Granted, all AC/DC sounds about the same, no matter how it is pro duced. But true AC/DC fans will know what I mean when I say that a few songs on this album have a little extra voltage — the kind that makes your pets run out of the room even when you’re listening on head phones. The first single released from the album, “Healscckcr,” is a taste of the bone-shaking that is going on. Brian Johnson still sounds as if he gargles with sulfuric acid. Angus Young still wreaks havoc with the pentatonic scale when he plays his leads. But that’s the whole point. Most of thesongson thisalbum arc simpler than those on their last few. They remind me of the days of Bon Scott. But don’t get the wrong idea. Brian Johnson still sounds like Brian Johnson. It’s just that many of the songs arc based (Mi simple riffs instead of chords. Of course, the choruses are still typical AC/DC three-chord pro gressions, but everybody expects that. It wouldn’t be AC/DC without them. S trong tracks on the album inc Iude “Meanstreak,” ‘‘Kissin’ Dynamite,” “This Means War’and"Some Sin For Nulhin’.” Angus is still kicking out original-sounding leads and is finally changing with the times by slowly becoming a bn more of a speed guitar ist. Even when he does this, though, he still sticks to the blues. Brian Johnson’s vocals are fairly typical, as are the lyrics, which al ways maintain at least a junior-high school level of complexity. But what else can Brian do? He already does a good job screaming. Basically, it’s the music that makes this album better than the last couple AC'/DC has turned out. Angus and Malcolm Young’s songwriting comes through, the production comes through, and thus the album comes through with some pretty decent sounds. AC /IX has always been a guitar oriented band. When the band mem bers decide to push this to its full extent, they always succeed in mak inga fircd-upalbum. II you’ve forgot ten why you hale Bon Jovi, listen to this album. You’ll remember. _ — Michael Deeds Blue Hippos,“Forty Forty" (Twin/ Tone Records) Alter an excellent debut EP Iasi year, ihc Blue Hippos’ first full length album shows the Minneapolis band's confused identity brought on by the direction it’s leaning toward. They should start over. While "Forty Forty” isn’t without its mo ments, the Hippos waste loo much space on it trying its darnedest to move in the direction of white Iunk, which the band seems to feel is an innovative style. It isn’t. It wasn’t innovative or all that interesting when the Red Hot Chili Peppers started doing it. It wasn’t innovative or even interesting when Parliament was doing it 15 years ago, before the word "white” was added. It definitely isn't w hat the Hippos do best. When the band plays ii straight, as it occasionally does here, the Hippos can be one of the most passionate and endearing bands al ternative music has to offer. On their first record, the Iunk dabblings seemed like a typical EP excursion — a w ay to have lun on a record you don’t want to commit your best songs to. 11 ’ s no w bccom i ng pa in ful I y obv i ous that Iunk was the direction they were leaning toward all along. It’s unfortunate because the Hip pos’ first record, the brilliant self titled first EP, showed remarkable promise, especially in Paul Osby s (ex-Otto’s Chemical Lounge) song writing and vocals. “My Shoes, from that EP, remains one ol ihc decade’s classics. This over-reliance on a style that doesn’t fit the band is loo much. While two songs sound like they belong there, the rest sound skittish and strained, especially on vocals. Osby is one of the great deadpan throated w hiners of our day but abo one of the worst funk moaners ol all time. After listening to the whole album, there may be a dozen ques tions, but the one that stands out is. “Can you say ‘Schizophrenic ■ — (Jeoff McMurtrv See REVIEW on~7