Arts & Entertainment
‘Pacific Heights’ displays inadequate plot
By Julie Naughton
Senior Reporter
“Pacific Heights” is the story of
Patty Palmer (Melanie Griffith) and
Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine),
a nice couple that decides to buy a
beautiful old Victorian mansion. They
mo?Mnn
can’t afford to pay the mortgage on
the $750,000 home, so they decide to
turn some of the rooms into apart
ments and rent them.
That is where the trouble begins.
At first, it appears that all will be
well with the tenant business. The
couple’s first tenants, Toshio Watanabe
(Mako) and Mira Watanabe (Nobu
McCarthy) are a model couple, quiet,
reserved and polite. They pay their
rent on lime and do not cause prob
lems.
It’s the next tenant, Carter Hayes
(Michael Keaton), that very nearly
rums the lives of the young couple.
Carter moves in a wallctful of $ 100
bills, a black Porsche and a promise
to wire his rent money into the young
couple’s checking account. Patty and
Drake tell Carter that they need the
money before he moves in, but come
home the next day to find him com
pletely moved into the previously
locked and bolted apartment.
Despite Carter’s moving in with
out the couple’s consent, at first he,
too, appears to be a perfect tenant.
But weeks go by, and still Carter has
not paid his rent. The couple begins to
notice strange noises from Carter’s
apartment and strange events surround
ing their newest tenant. When they
try to evict him, he begins a psycho
logical game with Patty and Drake; a
game that they cannot possibly win.
However, Patty and Drake cannot
afford to lose Carter’s war. If they do,
they will risk losing their home, their
relationship and, quite possibly, their
lives.
Griffith is believable as Patty
Palmer, the young equestrienne in
love with her boyfriend. It’s fun to
watch Griffith as she redecorates the
home and as she exacts revenge against
Hayes.
Modinc displays charisma — and
a great left hook — as Drake Goodman.
He oversees a kite-making company
and tries to get rid of Hayes.
Keaton is completely creepy as
See PACIFIC on 13
Melanie Griffith stars as Patty Palmer and Michael Keaton is Carter Hayes in “Pacific Heights.”
Duffy’s to host benefit show
for underground publications
By John Payne
Senior Reporter
Some of Lincoln’s more promi
nent bands, as well as a couple of new
ones, will be featured Tuesday night
as Duffy’s Tavern hosts a benefit show
for two local underground publica
tions. Profits from the 10 band show
will go to support the entertainment
magazines Broadside and Static.
Tom Jensen, creator and editor of
Sialic, said that the benefit will be a
good opportunity to sec a variety of
bands. Dirty old favorites like Flesh
Petal and Leafy Green Things are
slated to appear, along with newcom
ers like the Whiskey Sour Notes.
“We got a good mixture,” Jensen
said, “Some industrial rock with Sam
the Butcher, some pure grunge, and
even a little folk with the Dutchmen
playing. I think it’ll be interesting and
hopefully a little different.”
Jensen, along with Broadside edi
tor Michael Davis, even plans to have
poetry readings between sets.
A similar benefit was held for
Broadside last year, and Jensen be
lieves that such fund-raisers arc im
portant to keep their magazines afloat.
“Broadside and Static are platfonns
for Lincoln writers and poets,” Jensen
said. “1 think it’s important that local
talent have some sort of forum to
display their work.”
Static is a quarterly magazine that
has been in existence for about a year.
It features music reviews, as well as
band interviews. According to Jensen,
the overall focus of his publication is
looser than that of Broadside.
“We have pretty much the same
intent,” he said. “I guess the only real
difference is that Static is generally a
little more deviant.”
Other bands scheduled to play at
tomorrow night’s benefit include the
speed metal merchants Red Max,
country tongue-in-chcekers Whiskey
Sour Notes, loud grungers Sideshow
and Sawhorse, Kcamey-bascd quar
tet The Return, and the Crossing,
formerly Elysium Crossing.
The show starts at 7 p.m., with
bands scheduled to play about 1/2
hour each. Tickets arc $3.
‘Blue Leaves shamefully funny,
deranged, dark and dramatic
By Michael Deeds
Senior Editor
Walking into “The House of
Blue Leaves,” which opened Fri
day at Howell Theater, is like get
ting the giggles after your dog dies.
Twisted, clever and, most of all,
saddening, the play is a high-cali
ber example of the entertainment
found at the University of Ncbraska
Lincoln.
Devon Schumacher stars as Artie
Shaughnessy, a New York City
zoo keeper with dreams of star
dom. Shaughnessy is a hopelessly
amateur songwriter of greats such
as “Where is the Devil in Evelyn?”
who hopes to see his work in Hol
lywood someday.
The tragic comedy lakes place
almost entirely in his small, dusty
apartment. But the walls do little to
confine the play. “The House of
Blue Leaves” is a depressing slice
of life that envelops as it progresses,
forcing the audience to accept
unrealistic situations on an emo
tional level.
Shaughnessy spends time car
ing for his insane wife, Bananas
(Jennifer Anne Lewis), and absorb
fKeato^.
ing the vocal onslaught of Bunny
Flingus (Kristy Breen), his plump
Jersey girlfriend. It is Bunny who
drives Shaughncssy’s dreams, and
she keeps the mood light with her
nonstop gabbing. But playwright
John Guarc uses this innocence to
his advantage, sprinkling Bunny’s
gibberish with cruel humor, directed
mostly at Bananas.
Shaughnessy finally has real
ized he is “too old to be a young
talent,” and takes one last stab at
success by calling Billy Einhorn
(Eric Thompson), a childhood friend
who is now a famous movie maker.
From this point on, Guare’s play
becomes complex and involved;
Einhom, Shaughnessy’s son, three
nuns, a military policeman, a
Marilyn Monroe look-alike and a
bomb that eliminates several of
these characters, attack the scenes
in a coherent, but confusing, bar
rage.
A strange focus on Shaughnessy
keeps the dark mood constant, and
there is never a doubt that no mat
ter what happens, he will fail. But
this depressing aura is a necessary
force in creating humor where it
shouldn’t exist.
The disturbing thing about “The
House of Blue Leaves,” is that al
though it creates laughs, most of
ten they are uncomfortable laughs.
It’s funny, but you feel rotten for
See LEAVES on 14
‘Stinky Grooves’ smells sweet enough for now
By Michael Deeds
Senior Editor
Limbomaniacs
“Stinky Grooves”
In-Kffect Records
At worst, the “white boy funk rage”
has produced unoriginal bands like
Psychefunkapus, Big Hunk ‘O’ Cheese
and Soda Can, and occasionally, irre
sponsible crossovers by the likes of
Jane’s Addiction.
More importantly, the mini-revo
lution has created a molten core of
rock hard l unksters who are too fun to
ignore. The Tar Babies, Fishbone,
and of course, the Red Hot Cnili
Peppers take audiences by the hips
and show them what funk can do to a
body.
The Limbomaniacs arc a San Fran -
cisco foursome that make the big boy
cut through slick steals, snatching Chili
Pepper groove tactics and blending
them with Urban Dance Squad rap.
“Slinky Grooves” is an exercise in
unoriginality, but an entertaining one,
and proves that borrowing can be
viciously infectious if the right sources
arc involved.
The Limbomaniacs lean heavily
on the Peppers not only in music, but
in lyrics. Tunes like “Porno” lake the
sexism one step further: “Magazines,
yeah, you know I got ‘cm/Full of
young naked women w ith young naked
bottoms.” And rapper/bassist Bul
thousc strains to maintain a cool, not
necessarily tough, voice — much like
Chili Pepper vocalist Anthony Kie
dis.
From there, the Limbos lake occa
sional Hendrix chords and simple,
rcpeuuous brass lines, mold them with
Dance Squad samples, and empha
size the anthems with multi-voice
choruses.
Humor plays a big element in the
Limbo attack, and funky wildness
lends well to its use. The Limbos
stoop to kindergarten funnies on “The
Toilet’s Flooded/*
Guitarist Mirv unleashes a metal
chord periodically while Bullhouse
hollers: “The Toilet’s Flooded/The
load won't fit/Thc Toilet’s Flooded/
With a great big shit!”
Some sort of anal obsession plagues
these Limbomaniacs, who open
“Stinky Grooves” with the catchy,
chauvinistic "Butt Funkin’.” But this
affliction can be understood and pit
ied — the Limbos make no secret of
their love for Dark Brothers porno
movies.
But all crap aside, in funk, musi
cianship is the bottom line. These
guys are gixrd, though not incredible.
Mirv is a competent guitarist, drum
mer Brain knows the beats, and Pete,
the resident computer dude, samples
and dixxlles effectively.
But Builhousc lacks the bass slap
ping skills that propel the Tar Babies
or Fishbone to iunk orgasm.
A nice line of bass pops can make
the lips purse, the head bob and the
fxxly writhe — even when the song- '
writing isn’t fantastic. Luckily, these
tunes are reasonably well-written, and
Builhousc escapes virtually unscathed.
A few lessons from C'hili Peppers
bassist Flea would make this band
more fearsome, however, and if But
thousc is smart, he’s already practic
ing. Meanwhile, “Slinky Grooves"
holds its own for now, keeping these
guys’ heads above water in the rising
tide of funk bands.