Arts & Entertainment
War film delivers clear, intense message
By Troy Falk
Staff Reporter
Intense, invigorating and yet de
pressing, “War Requiem” takes you
on a ride into battle.
“War Requiem,” being shown at
the Sheldon Film Theater, is like
watching “Pink Floyd - The Wall”
set to opera.
The film has no dialogue, yet its
message comes across loud and clear:
War is a painful nightmare that has no
innocent bystanders and leaves no
one untouched.
The movie stars Laurence Olivier
as an old soldier clutching to memo
ries of his medals and war glories.
Nathaniel Parker plays Wilfred Owen,
a poet who fought in World War I.
Owen Teal plays a wide-eyed volun
teer whose death and resurrection
provides one of the film’s more obvi
ous religious images.
During the course of the film, the
action switches from present to past
to dream to fantasy. The main story
1 inc fol lows the m i I i tary I i fc of Owen.
He meets the volunteer at a British
basic training facility. They form a
friendship that lasts throughout the
movie.
Owen eventually becomes an offi
cer. He shows himself to be a com
passionate man. He takes the troops
- •
some coffee and makes sure they arc
comfortable.
While this is occurring, the scene
switches back and forth from Owen
to a hospital. In this hospital, the
nurse, played by Tilda Swinton, tucks
in wounded soldiers and cares for
them. She and Owen send letters to
each other.
Eventually Owen is wounded. As
he lies dying, he dreams of being in
hell. With hi" hands tied, a man rep
resenting Satan tries to cut his throat
but is stopped by a child dressed in
angcrsgarb.Thcdcvilgrabslhcchild
and sends him on his way in order to
get on with the killing of Owen’s
soul. All of this occurs as a group of
whilc-faccd, suited, overweight men
watch and applaud the killing.
From this point on, “War Re
quiem” becomes very symbolic. A
barrage of pictures, images and col
ors invade the screen in a collage of
war, pain and death. This collage
starts with World War I footage and
includes clips from every major con
flict in the 20th century, climaxing in
symbolic style.
Derek Jarman directed “War
Requiem.” He does a marvelous job
of showing the horror and pain of
war. The camera angles were inven
tive and fit in perfectly with the film.
The soundtrack was composed by
Benjamin Britten. He was influenced
early in life by the poems of Wilfred
Owen; this movie is a tribute to Owen
and his poems.
“War Requiem” is being shown
tonight and Saturday, and March 1 -4.
Screenings arc at 7 and 9 p.m. Satur
day matinees show at 1 and 3 p.m.
and Sunday matinees show at 3 and 5
p.m.
Brian Shallito/Daily Nebraskan
Bullies' psychotic sound graces stage
Vocalists’ metamorphosis surprises Duffy’s crowd
By Michael Deeds
Senior Editor
The Minneapolis-based God Bul
lies look an enthusiastic crowd of
Lincolnites and bounced their skulls
off the walls of Duffy’s Tavern, 1412
O St., Wednesday night.
Rarely docs a show of such inten
sity and sweet sound grace the Mid
west, and The God Bullies played
like the wide-open prairie was its
only limit.
The Bullies look the stage in leaps
and bounds, but the big shock was its
appearance; drummer Adam Berg and
guitarist David Livingstone looked
normal enough, but bass player Mike
Corso wore a “Little House on the
Prairie”-style dress.
Then there was vocalist Mike Hard.
The tall and gangly Hard looked
like Nebraska’s finest retired rancher.
He wore a polyester western suit,
complete with supreme cowboy hat.
“What’s a Husker?” he drawled
immediately to the confused crowd.
“What’s a God Bully?” would
have been a good response, because
the band exploded immediately with
a raging, psychotic, splattering, grunge
ridden answer.
The God Bullies, off the Ampheta
mine Reptile label, ripped out songs
off their LP ‘‘ Mama Womb Womb.”
Songs like ‘‘Red Blood” and ‘‘Sex
Power Money” took the surprised
Duffy’s crowd and turned them up
side down.
Guitarist Livingstone was an ef
fects wizard, cranking out warm dis
tortion that floated in ethereal, waft
ing clouds of scaring sound. Bassist
Corso and drummer Berg carried the
rhythm section nicely, never domi
nating. But undoubtedly, vocalist Hard
was the focal point of the evening.
Hard metamorphosed from retired
John Wayne to rabid Fee Waybill in a
matter of minutes.
His eyes bulged out of his head in
deranged knots, his hands gripped his
crotch and scratched his body, search
ing for imaginary maggots. His voice
wavered up and down in pain-ridden
howls. By the end of the show, he
wore only unzipped pants, his under
wear hanging out as he laughed psy
chotically and nodded at the crowd.
Gee wiz, Lincoln, we don’t get too
many of these, do we?
For once, a crowd came alive, loo.
Instead of sitting at tables like they
were watching an opera, the Duffy’s
folks came alive, dancing and stand
ing in the band area.
Opening act, The Big Thing, played -
a standard thrash set that was by all
means respectable, but no compari
son to the glory of The God Bullies.
Hurray for the Bullies. They can
beat up on Lincoln anytime.
Acrobatic stunts, possessed playing make for dangerous show
Madman Williams attacks piano in Lewis style
By Matt Burton
Senior Reporter
Jason D. Williams gave the Zoo
Bar, 136 N. 14th St., a piano lesson
that will not be forgotten for a long
time to come. The lesson everybody
learned was what rock ‘n’ roll piano
was meant to be.
Williams performed his purely
madman piano antics for a packed
crowd Wednesday night at the Zoo.
Touted as the quintessential Jerry
Lee Lewis impersonator, Williams
proved himself much more than that.
He had the moves down pat. Whai’s
wrong with a Jerry Lee Lewis imper
sonator anyway?
To justify using his virtuosity for
that unmistakable Jerry Lee sound,
Williams gave that little extra some
thing that could be seen by the sticky
sweat he worked up in the process.
The show was filled with acro
batic stunts such as kicking his chair
back, pounding the keys and jumping
on his piano. He also proved he could
play like he was possessed by the
devil.
Williams played many styles —
straight-up country and western, blues,
classical and some screaming boogie
woogie.
Often, Williams would pervert the
songs by going into some wild piano
solos as his support band looked on.
At one point, the drummer started to
fan Williams’ spastic hands to pre
vent heat exhaustion.
On one of these solos, Williams
cased into an emotional rendition of
“Lynnsong,” off of his debut RCA
record, “Tore Up.”
Other favorites of the evening were
“Good Golly Miss Molly,” his “Silent
Movie Medley,” also off “Tore Up, ’ ’
and Jerry Lee standards such as
“Breathless” and “Great Balls of
Fire.”
Toward the end of the show, Wil
liams announced, “I’m gonna play
the piano like a banshee through a
gaping maw.”
And play he did.
One witness, who had seen the real
Jerry Lee Lewis three times, noted
the only difference between Jerry Lee
and Jason D. was that with the “Kil
ler” there was an clcmcntofdanger
you know, Jerry Lee could pull a gun
on his drummer at any point during
the show.
In that sense, Jason D. Williams is
safer, but to the piano, Williams is
just as dangerous as the man himself.
Ant returns with album
of high-tech, ’90s sound
By Matt Burton
Senior Reporter
Adam Ant
“Manners and Physique*'
MCA
One gets the idea that Adam
Ant has changed his look.
Adam Ant, one of rock ‘n’ roll’s
most image-conscious individuals,
has shed his war paint, pirate cos
tumes and tribal rhythms for black
leather and drum machines.
“Manners and Physique” is
Ant’s fust album since 198.Vs “Vive
le Rock.”
Musically, this could be consid
ered a comeback album for Ant.
MCA is dubbing the album “The
new sound for the ’90s: Pure Ant -
pop built around the Minneapolis
R&B sound.”
Ant tries to make it clear that he
is back with the opening track,
“Room at the Top.” It opens with
a strong drum machine, screeching
guitar noises and a synthesizer --
always a winning combination. The
song has a feel of inspired change
for Ant; it’s apparent that he has
found himself. , ,
Ant changes gears back to a
new-romantic vein with “If You
Keep On.” It still has some of the
“Minneapolis sound," butismuch
more poppy. It’s like Duran-Duran
with soul.
“Bright Lights Black Leather,"
sounds Tike it belongs in a porno
movie.
Overall, Adam Ant’s attempt at
this “’90s, sound" is admirable.
Despite all of the high-tech-inspired
rythyms, “Manners and Physique”
has a uniquely human feel to it.
Helping Am achieve this sound
is one of Prince’s former buddies,
Courtesy of MCA
Ant
Andre Cymone and Ant’s veteran
member of the Ants, Marco Pirroni
on guitars. On the record sleeve,
Ant is credited with vocals, Pirroni
with guitars and Cymone with
“everything else.”
-Can the world take more “Ant
mania?” Who knows, but after a
five-year hiatus from the music
biz, Adam Ant seems to think it
will.
Band creates haunting sound
as well as optical pleasure
By Michael Deeds
Senior Editor
Los Angeles-based Red Temple
Spirits will bring its psychedelic post
punk to Duffy’s Tavern, 1412 0 St.,
on Sunday night. This is yet another
display of admirable music magnet
ism by Duffy’s and next-door neigh
bor, Project Import, 1418 O St.
Over the past three years, the Spir
its has created a unique sound in t he
world of alternative music and phi
losophy. Drawing on inspiration from
the cultures of the American Indians
and Tibetans, the Spirits bring a deep
message and heavy sound.
Its debut double-album, “Danc
ing To Restore An Eclipsed Moon,’’
is a testament of exotic musicianship
and strange, spiritual imagery.
In songs like “In the Wild Hills,’’
the Spirits draws its ethereal land
scapes:
“In the wild hills, the spirits never
slecp/But the willow weeps/Oh mother,
hear us/Thc mountains once spoke as
loud as thundcr/We can hear them
still... “
The Spirits prides itself on its
wonderful warpishness and insight
into things surreal and haunting.
Its live shows in L.A., featuring
ancient rituals, elaborate stage decor
and projected visuals that make for an
eye feast as well as ear treat, have
won them a devoted following of
fanatics.
The Spirits takes its roots and melts
them into a spaccy siren of gloom and
exotic feelings, sometimes even cor
rupting other tunes, like Pink Floyd’s
“Nile Song,” in a beautiful and natu
ral way.
The band’s prototype noise-rock
should make the Spirits’ visit to
Nebraska a very entertaining one.
Cover for Red Temple Spirits is
S5. The show starts at 10 p.m. Open
ing will be Lincoln’s own For Against.