Concert with cookies lacks Chicago edge
By John Payne
Senior Editor
They weren’t serving cookies at
the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago
Saturday night. At least I couldn’t
see any from the lobby, which was
as far as I was going without a
ticket to the sold-out Anthrax/Public
Enemy/Primus concert. The show
was nearly half over and Public
Enemy’s promoters, Set to Run
Publicity, still hadn’t given the PE
guest list to Aragon security. That
left a lot of people, myself included,
waiting for press passes that would
never come.
For the have-nots there were
two choices: Get fleeced by oppor
tunistic scalpers or wait until the
following night in Champaign, 111.,
where the unlikely triple bill would
perform for a much younger, much
whiter crowd. There would even
be cookies.
One hundred twenty miles and
a galaxy of attitude separate the
safe college town of Champaign
from the Windy City. And a concert
lineup featuring genres as different
as rap, speed-metal and funk turned
out to be a great way to gauge the
differences between a big city and
small one.
First, I w’as amazed that less than
two hours before the concert in
Champaign, plenty of good seats
were still available. The Chicago
venue, on the other hand, had
been sold out for weeks. That was
understandable. Hyped by MTV as
one of the most provocative tours
of the year, the Anthrax/PE col
laboration had a lot of people curi
ous. Yet things were pretty calm
outside of Assembly Hall in Cham
E. A little too calm for my
Assembly Hall, home of the
probation-plagued University of
Illinois basketball program, left me
with a lot to remember, or at least
it should have. It was certainly a
powerful show, culminating with
PE and Anthrax sharing the stage
for the finale, the impossible rap./
metal fusion “Bring tna Xoize.”
Even if the show had been a
bust, Primus front man Les Clay
pool and PE crowd-pleaser Favor
Flav would still have provided
enough entertainment for 10 gigs.
But what really sticks in my
head is the concert I didn’t get to
see. The one without the cookies.
The scene in front of the Aragon
in Chicago was a perfect example
of what a rock show' ought to be:
chaotic, understaffed and danger
See COOKIES on 12
Lingerie Show
Everu Thursdau
1823 'O'St.
Home of Lincoln's
Finest Dancers
Tourist misses point of trip
By John Gardner
Staff Reporter
The main tourist attraction in
Chicago is probably the world-fa
mous Scars Tower. It is, as many
know, the tallest building in the
world. The observatory, which is
on the 103rd floor, is more than
1,300 feet above the streets of the
Windy City.
When a few friends and I de
cided to road trip to Chicago to sec
the Primus/Public Knemy/Anthrax
concert, all I could think about was
going to the top of the Scars Tower
— and, of course, going to all the
clubs that stay open until 5 a m. I
swear, that building is so tall I
thought I could sec it right out of
Lincoln. Anyway, about 10 hours
later, we were in Chicago.
Driving through Chicago at night
is quite a thrill, to say the least.
Lights can be seen for miles and
miles, and the city i,s simply beau
tiful. And enormous.
It was about 2 a m when we
pulled in, and tons of cars still were
zipping around at about 80 mph.
One oft he first things 1 saw was the
Scars Tower. I nearly ran off the
road looking at it. It was incredible!
A short lime later, everything
was gone and we were in northern
Chicago. Just two hours earlier, we
had set up a place to stay with an
old Daily Nebraskan acquaintance.
After sleeping on the floor for what
seemed like a day, we got up and
headed for the city, via the el.
before setting out on this won
drous journey, we slopped at a
pizzaria called Chicago’s Pizza. I
ate enough there to practically lose
my lunch, but everything turned
out all right. After that near stom
ach explosion, we walked a few
blocks and boarded the el, which
cost a mere $1.25.
Beforehand, we were given
specific directions to take the el to
Quincy Street, then look straight
up to see the Sears Tower.
The ride into Chicago provided
many beautiful sights and enlight
ening graffiti. I was awestruck and
it apparently look my mind off our
destination. When we finally ar
rived at the Quincy Street stop, we
got out and started walking, failing
to "look up.” I just wanted to see
Chicago, all of it.
After lollygagging around for
about half an hour, I realized I
definitely had the wrong shoes on
for walking in Chicago. And it was
kind of cold, too. Anyway, we
walked by many bookstores, posh
hotels and lots of Burger Kings.
I then spotted the Sears Tower
and began walking a little faster.
On the way, I dropped bits of
change into street musician’s dreams,
laughed at taxi drivers who repeat
edly screamed at each other about
stealing clients and kept my eyes
glued to the top of my destination.
When we finally got there, the
sign out front read “John 1 lancock
Center." I just figured it was the
“official title" of the Scars Tower.
After a short wail at the observatory
elevators, we were on our way to
the lop.
About 35 people packed into
the elevator and it took off. And
did it take off! The pressure quickly
built up inside my head until I
thought it would explode.
Next thing 1 knew, we were
there. 1 asked the attendant how
fast the elevator climbed. She said
about 40 mph.
We paid our $3.50 and headed
for the windows. The view' was
utterly breathtaking. On one side,
Lake Michigan extended to the
horizon. On another, Lakeshore
Drive bordered several skyscrap
ers. In the distance sat Wrigley
Field.
Then came the real shock. 1
looked out the south window and
saw Soldier Field, the new Comi
skey Park and two very tall build
ings, one of which looked very
muchliketheonewewercin. After
pondering this for a moment, I
realized it was the Sears Tower. We
were in the wrong building. We
had walked more than two miles
and went into the wrong building.
Well, it wasn’t all that bad. We
were still more than 1,100 feet in
the air, and from what I’ve heard, it
cost a lot less to be up there. So, we
continued togazcacross the Windy
City, pinpointing all the different
places we had been. But the time
was slipping by and we needed to
start thinking about going to the
concert.
So, I went to Chicago for the first
time and didn’t even go inside the
Sears Tower. Nor did I go to any of
the famed night clubs. But I did sec
a great concert even though wc
had to drive to Champaign, 111., to
sec it.
I hope to return to Chicago soon.
This lime, I will plan ahead. I now
know where the Scars'l ower is, so
ilwillbcihcfirslplacclgo. I would
also like to go to a Bears game, a
White Sox game, a Cubs game, sec
the Art Institute, go to the Hard
Hock Cafe, etc., etc., etc.
W.C's W.C.'si
TAKE A STUDY BREAK! \
I $2.80 Pitchers
$1.15 WeU Drinks jk
Q *4* W.C.'S Downtown M7 /•
1228 ’P' Street
Coupon Not Good With Any Other Offer w.c/sj
■ ---
i -- ,
The Computing Resource Center is offering free microcomputer
seminars to UNL students. The seminars will feature an introduction to
Microsoft Word and SuperPaint for the Macintosh and WordPerfect for
IBM machines.
Lab Location Dates Times
Introduction to Microsoft Word for Macintsoh
Andrews Tuesday, October 15 3:00 to 4:00
Advanced Microsoft Word for Macintosh
Bancroft Monday, October 21 1:30 to 3:00
SuperPaint for Macintosh
Andrews Monday, October 28 1:30 to 3:00
Intro to WordPerfect 5.1 on IBM
Sandoz(lBM) Tuesday, October 8 3:00 to 430 \
Advanced WordPerfect 5.1 on IBM J
Sandozf IBM) Thursday, October 10 3:00 to 4:30 /
Big Johns
has it all!
399 Sun Valley Blvd.
Next to Kerrfeys
•Free Pool Hour: 11-1:30 pm Tuesday & Friday
•Import Night Thursday Night
Heineken & Corona $1.75
• Happy Hours: 4-6pm Monday-Friday
Pitchers $3.25 Draws 65C
•Daily Lunch Specials
Hours: Mon-Fri. 10:30am-lam Sat-Sun. 12pm-lam
Required Age 19