Arts & Entertainment.
I Red Hot Chili Peppers return with new sonss
By Mark Lage
Senior Reporter
Tonight the funky alternative rock
band The Red Hot Chili Peppers re
turns to Omaha for a live perform
ance at The Ranch Bowl.
The Chili Peppers recently re
leased “Mother’s Milk,’’ the fifth
record in a recording career that be
gan in 1984 with a self-titled debut.
The band has been known since its
beginning for playing crazed, thrashy
funk music, often enhanced on record
by occasional strings and horns.
According to band members,
“Mother’s Milk’’ continues in this
tradition, despite the fact that half of
the four-member band is new.
In June 1988, guitarist Hillel Slo
vak died. Shortly thereafter, drum
mer Jack Irons decided that he could
not continue with the band.
x Despite the sadness at the loss of
one of their best friends, vocalist
Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea de-.
cided to continue with the band, and
began the mission of finding a drum
mer and guitarist they considered
qualified to be Peppers.
Kiedis and Flea discovered John
Frusciante at a tryout for the band
Theloniuos Monster. Frusciante be
came the Peppers’ new guitarist.
Finding a drummer was a little
tougher, but after numerous auditions
they chose Chad Smith from Detroit.
After finding new members, the
band was ready to move ahead again
by recording “Mother’s Milk.. In
addition to featuring 11 new Chili
Peppers’ originals, the album con
tains covers of Jimi Hendrix’s
“Fire,” and Stevie Wonder’s
"Higher Ground.”
Red HotChili Peppers’ live shows
have been likened to an imaginary
combination of The Marx Brothers,
Jimi Hendrix, James Brown and P.T.
Bam urn. For fans of its funk-driven
music, the band is a physical, mental
and emotional workout.
Opening for the Peppers at The
Ranch Bowl will be Raging Slab, a
band whose self-titled major label
debut was released recently. This
New York band formed in 1984.
Before signing to RCA, Hit Parader
named it one of the 10 best unsigned
acts in America. The honor is based
on the strength of its two independent
releases, and the reputation of its live
show.
Doors for the show will open at 8
p.m.
Courtesy of Bull
Red Hot Chili Peppers
. —1 1 .. ■■■■ .— '■ .f—■ ■ ——* ■■■
Lincoln offers extensive variety of live music, bands
By Mick Dyer
Suff Previewer
It looks like another banner week
for live music in Lincoln, especially
for alternative rock. Here’s the way it
breaks down.
Alternative:
Thursday, Yabba Griffiths and
Traxx will perform 4 to 7 p.m. on the
BroyhiU Fountain Plaza. Yabba Grif
fiths and Traxx is Lincoln’s perennial
reggae favorite. The rain location is
the Centennial Ballroom. This free
concert is sponsored by University
Program Council.
Friday, three hard-core bands
from Chicago will perform an all
ages show at the Malone Community
Center, 2032 U St. The band Flower
features Steve Albini, who played
guitar for Rapeman and Big Black.
Jesus Lizard features two ex-mem
bers of the band Rapeman. Brick
Layer Cake rounds out the show. All
three bands play an aggressive guitar
assault style of music.
Saturday, six Lincoln bands will
perform a benefit concert for the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Art
League at the Commonplace, 333 N.
14th Sl
Red Max plays some pretty raw
guitar grunge music. The band's ten
sion on stage occasionally evokes a
subtle sense of terror in the audience.
Mannequin Beach plays punk
music from a rural viewpoint. In per
formance, the band's cynical humor
and loud urgency drives thought-pro
voking messages through the seams
between the bones in the listeners’
skulls and right through into the
brain.
Speed Wobble plays a heavy style
of speed metal music.
Such Sweet Thunder plays soul
ful, poetic and engaging alternative
rock with a reputation for its high
spirited performances on stage. Its
name speaks for itself.
Side Show plays a loud, manic
brand of alternative rock.
For Against plays dark and beauti
ful, sometimes pop-oriented, alterna
tive rock.
Also Saturday, My Life With the
Thrill Kill Kult will play at the
Malone Community Center. The
industrial-art band from Chicago
plays around musically with themes
such as brainwashing, alienation and
satanic activity. On stage, the band is
a bizarre and disturbing sonic experi
ence that penetrates the vulnerable
places of your mind — where your
deepest.fears have been accumulat
ing all your life — and shakes them
loose, to let them run amok with your
gray matter. Be sure to wear lots of
black if you plan to attend this show.
Sunday, the Screaming Trees and
Of Cabbages and Kings will play at
Duffy’s Tavern, 1412 O St. The
Screaming Trees is a four-piece,
white-noise guitar sub-pop band
from Oregon. Of Cabbages and Kings
is a four-piece act from New York
City, featuring Algis Kizys, the ex
bass player for the Swans, and Rich
the drummer from Live Skull. The
band plays intense, dark, heavy rock
and is on the leading edge of the New
York City “no-wave” sound.
Country:
Thursday, Sean Benjamin will
play acoustic folk music at 9th Street
Blues, 4213? Ninth Sl
Friday and Saturday, the Cheatin’
Snakes will play at the Mountains Bar
and Grill, 311 S. 11th St. The Ch
eatin’ Snakes is a dynamic, rough
and-tumble, foot-stomping, good
time country band that often gives the
audience more than its asks for in
terms of entertainmenL
Jazz/Blues:
Tonight, Amethyst will play at the
Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St. Amethyst is
Lincoln’s premiere women’s music
group. The band plays a variety of
styles, ranging from reggae to blues
to rock.
Thursday, the Bill Ritchie Quartet
will be playing jazz music at Julio’s,
132 S. 13th SL
Thursday through Saturday, the
Ponliax will play at the Zoo Bar. The
Pontiax is another southern Califor
nia band following the latest national
trend of young musicians playing
older, traditional blues. The harp
oriented band is straight out of the
1950s, Chicago blues scene. The
Pontiax played in Lincoln last March
and knocked the audience out with
some great shuffles. The band in
cludes rhythm guiWKr p*Wr Jon
Lawton, an Omaha native.
Friday, Fusion Force will play
fusion jazz at Julio’s.
Sunday, the Monks will play jazz
music at Chesterfield’s, Lower Level
245 N. 13th St The Monks is com
prised of an array of University of
Nebraska-Lincoln students who play
a whole cornucopia of toe-tapping
good jazz favorites.
Monday and Tuesday, Ron Th
ompson and the Resistors will play at
the Zoo Bar. Thompson loured with
John Lee Hooker and is known for
playing the guitar and the piano with
a subtle and captivating sense of au
thority. Thompson also is known as a
powerhouse performer for playing
long sets (sometimes he will play for
three hours straight) with almost no
gap between songs. Needless to say,
Thompson exhausts drummers and
See LIVE on 10
i
-am . CourUjy of Expprotted Entertelnmtnt
A scene from “Twenty-Five Wsys To Quit Smoking” by Bill Plympton.
Compilation celebrates
international animation
_By Joan Pay—
Staff Reporter
“The Second Animation Cele
bration: The Movie,” a compila
tion of 24 animated films from
around the world, is 105 minutes of
sheer delight, showcasing the
works of animators from the U.S.
to the Soviet Union to Italy.
Those who think they have out
grown cartoons will marvel (no
pun intended) at how far state-of
the-art animation has come.
The films were chosen from
more than 1,500 entered in the Los
Angeles International Animation
Celebration last year. The short
features represent several anima
tion styles ranging from computer
animation and clay animation
(claymation) to traditional anima
tion.
England’s “Umbabarauma” is
an exotic music “video” from
David Byrne’s new project
“Beleza Tropical.” Byrne's al
bum is a compilation of the Afro
Brazilian pop music that he loves.
“Umbabarauma” is an intoxicat
ing five minutes of Brazilian song
and spirit accompanied by striking
artwork and animation. It will
leave the audience singing.
From Italy there is^'Salome,”
the tale of a salami who races over
kitchen counters and paddles his
way across a kitchen sink, all in an
effort to avoid being sliced up for
snack food.
Among the American entries
are five films from Matt (Life in
Hell) Groening. “Goodnight,”
“The Funeral,,r“Burp Contest,”
“Zoo Story” and “Family Por
trait” all chronicle the misadven
tures of the Simpson Family, intro
duced to audiences this fall on
“The Tracy Ullman Show.”
4 ‘Propagandance’ ’ is another of
the noteworthy American films on
hand. It tells the story of a Russian
Cossack dancer and an American
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