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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 1990)
^ptyriicl^a n _ Page Thursday, January 11,1990 Arts & Entertainment 11 Local,national acts welcome students back By MICK uyci Senior Editor Some fine local and national mu sicians will be in Lincoln between today and next Thursday to welcome you back for second semester and to iclp make the transition back to the academic grind a little easier. Alternative: Wednesday, The Millions will play at Duffy’s Tavern 1412 O St. The Millions play guitar-pop music with a dark tormented edge, featuring pow erfully beautiful vocals. The Millions play songs that gel into your spine and run around in there until you just can’t stand it anymore and you gel up and dance. Blues/Jazz: Tonight through Saturday, Lucky Peterson will play at the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St. Lucky Peterson, a blues man since the tender age of three, effortlessly has made audiences laugh and dance and have a good time for most of his 26 years. As a child prodigy of his father, a musician/club-owncr from Buffalo New York, you might say performing is in his blood. For those who arc old enough to Itmcmuer, rctcrson pcrlormed as a boy on the Ed Sullivan Show and What s My Line? For those too young to remember, or for those who needed a gentle reminder, Lucky Peterson made his debut as a young man at the Zoo Bar last October. And as he knocked the socks and shoes and hats and things off the audience, he earned instant recognition as the musician and showman he is. At any rate, it was quite a show. He played the guitar on the stage and the sidewalk and all moderately stable points in-between. During a drum solo he ran and hid off stage, then jumped back to the organ to hit a chord with out missing a breath, then ran off stage again and again and again. On a slow blues standard, he slowly sunk down in his chair in front of the organ until he was sitting on the floor play ing the organ with his hands above his head. He even played the organ with his toes while lying on his back. It was mad. The audience loved it. Friday and Saturday, The Legen dary Blues Band will play at Bourbon Street, 2(X) N. 7()lh St. The Legendary Blues Band features the last musi cians to play in Muddy Waters old band. Monday, The Tablcrockcrs will play at the Zoo Bar. The Tablcrockcrs have long been Lincoln’s premiere blues band. With last summer’s addition of lead singer See LIVE on 13 Courtesy of the Zoo Bar The Fortune Tellers, of Czechoslovakia by way of Oklahoma City, will play at the Zoo Bar Thursday. 4Born on the Fourth of July' role shatters pretty-boy image Cruise proves his acting talent as Vietnam vet By Troy Falk Staff Reporter ' Omigod, Tom Cruise can act. Glimpses of his talent shone through in “Rainman” and “The Color of Money,” but cnlics could pin Cruise’s success on his accomplished co-stars Dustin Hoffman and Paul Newman. Cruise now has proven he is not just another pretty face. In “Bom on the Fourth of July,” Cruise plays lead character Ron Kovic, a real-life Viet nam veteran whose story has been adapted to the screen. The movie depends entirely on Cruise to carry it off. He does so beautifully as Kovic metamorphoses from an all-Ameri can boy to a long-haired protester. At the movie’s beginning, Kovic has typical small-town views. He loves his country and blindly accepts what ever the government spews out. Kovic is influenced by his reli gious mother who tells him: “As long as you try your hardest, that is all God asks for.’’ She supports his decision to fight in Vietnam, a choice influ enced heavily by a Marine recruiting officer, played by Tom Bcrcngcr. Early in the movie, Kovic and his friends talk about war and their chance to make it into history books like their fathers and grandfathers. They con sider it their opportunity for glory. The setting then switches from the small town to a beach in Vietnam. Kovic, a sergeant in his second tour, is setting up defenses when his pla toon unwittingly starts shooting at unarmed, innocent civilians. When Kovic is sent to check for dead and wounded, the Victcong attack and chase Kovic’s platoon across the sand dunes where he accidentally shoots a fellow Marine. In January, 1968, Kovic is shot in the chest and becomes paralyzed. He considers it punishment for his “mistakes” during the war. Kovic begins to drink heavily, and his mother eventually throws him out of the house. Kovic goes to a Mexican resort inhabited only by paralyzed Vietnam veterans. There he meets another wheelchair-bound vet played by William Dafoe. Kovic’s emotional strain contin ues to grow, resulting in a plunge into a group of Vietnam vets who oppose the war. They raid the Republican National Convention in 1972, attempt ing to speak out against war. Kovic begins and continues to grow as a political figure. Especially strong supporting-cast members include Raymond J. Barry as Kovic’s father, Frank Whaley as Kovic’s best friend and Kyra Sedgwick as the girlfriend Kovic hopes to return to. “Bom on the Fourth of July,’’ an Oliver StoneNRon Kovic production, is destined to become a classic in the league of “Platoon” and “Wall Street,’’ both directed by Stone. “Born on the Fourth of July” is playing at the Cinema Twin, 201 N. 13th St. Voivod cripples ltselr witnout discernable message or style By Troy Falk Staff Reporter__ Voivod “Nothingface” . MCA Records Voivod at first looks to be a new punk rock group with a message. As it turns out, they arc a punk\acid\ncw-wave\mctal band with no discernible message. The sound they have is a mixture of Hanoi Rocks, The Cult and The Flaming Lips. One of the major problems with their sound is that they don’t know what they want to play or to be. They need to decide who and what they arc and stick to it. “Nothingface” starts off with “The Un known Knows,” which leads in with a slow drum and guitar beat, then explodes. The sud den change is so abrupt that it makes you think the record has skipped. As the song progresses the sound quality doesn’t. Following along with this album becomes a tedious and ominous task, from the blaring music that changes tempo after each stanza to the lyrics that are coded in an alien language. With the end of each song and the start of a new one, you hope for something to grasp to give the album some credibility. But, alas, no such relief is found. Even the cover of Pink Floyd’s “Astronomy Domine’’ is no help. Voivod is crippling itself by not being able to pick a style and slick with it. The album describes itself as the “Newest chapter in Sci-fi saga -- spun by Canada’s most inspired futurists.’’ This is the type of music a guy would expect to hear if he were living on the streets of New York during the movie “Blade Runner.” Voivod is made up of Denis Belanger (Snake) on vocals, Denis D’Amour (Piggy) on guitars, Michel Langevin (Away) on drums and Jean Y ves Theriault (Blacky) on bass. Piggy, Blacky and Away wrote the music while Snake wrote • all of the lyrics. Snake has an unknown voice quality; you never get to hear him sing. Sure, he screams occasionally, but no qual ity check can be made. Piggy’s ability to make his guitar screech is admirable. His ability to make listenablc music so far is not displayed. Blacky’s bass cuts through the noise and delivers a solid bass beat. He does give the band something to build from, but as ol this album he doesn’t take charge and lead the musicians. Away has two credits to his name; one is drums and the second is the cover design and the artwork. The artwork is very creative and powerful. It brings up emotions of fear and loneliness. Too bad the music can’t do the same. Courtesy of MCA Records