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