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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1992)
Arts@Entertainment Reviewer undergoes change for concert . ~ - - T7,.r^>i-,rcrii'~yt?:■" Bands electrify frantic audience at East Campus The heavy sound of pounding bass filled the East Campus Union Satur day as the University Program Coun cil welcomed three electrifying bands to campus. The Dazzling Killmcn of Kansas City, Mercy Rule of Lincoln and the Poster Children of Champaign, 111., whipped the audience of about 150 people into a frenzy during the three hour show. A mass of people con stantly was crowded around the stage franticly working their bodies into an intense sweat. I originally approached reviewing this concert with some apprehension as I usually don’t listen to this type of music and as a nontraditional student by age, I was somewhat older than the average attendee. To case this apprehension, two friends helped me shed my usual at tire. They proceeded to dress me in the proper clothes for this type of musical concert. I traded my polo shirt for a concert T-shirt for the band Lard, and a tat tered blue sweater with a sleeve being held together by safely pins. My blue | jeans and casual shoes were shed for oversized brown pants and some overly worn combat boots. ; ■ Jeff Haller/DN The crowd gets wild Saturday night while listening to the Poster Children in the Great Plains Room at the East Campus Union. Once the concert began, though, my apprehension eased away as I found myself rocking my body to the Jriving music of the opening band, Lhc Dazzling Killmcn. My experiences with tcchno-ravc music helped me enjoy their sound as it was filled with a constant slamming )ass that was hard to resist. Thanks to the sound of the Daz zling Killmcn, the local band, Mercy Rule, opened to a well-primed audi ence. Mercy Rulcdidn’lgivc thecrowd any rest either as they raised the level of excitement another notch. During this set, I found myself feeling completely comfortable and even wishing that I had longer hair so I could shake my head to the music like the rest of the crowd. Also during this set, I spotted three people who looked somewhat out of place at the concert. These three guys were wearing cowboy bools, Wran gler jeans and western-styled shirts. They were standing near the back of the concert not really taking part in the excitement around the stage. Under further investigation it ap peared to me that these three indi viduals were making fun of the music and the people at the concert. The uiiicrcuccs ill siuucmsun mis campus were highlighted to me. We not only have extreme clashes over race, but also in background and personal style. Mercy Rule’s sound pulled me back into the excitement of the concert as they clearly were having a great time on stage and this enthusiasm was over flowing into the audience. I was feeling the urge to join the mass at the front of the stage and thrash and slam my body around with the rest of the crowd. Luckily Mercy Rulccndcd their set before the feeling overtook me. I now had the opportu nity to calm myself down before the next set. The featured band, the Poster Chil dren, played songs from their latest release from Sire records, “Daisychain Reaction.” 1 was somewhat disap pointed in their sound after having enjoyed the first two bands so much. The crowd seemed to differ with my opinidn as they escalated into people diving off the stage onto the , crowd. At one time there were five bodies rid ing a frenzied wave of arms. Clothes were being shed and sweat covered bodies were appearing ev erywhere. The intensity continued through out the set and the crowd appeared to have a great lime. 1 was surprised at the amount of fun I had and am look ing forward to attending upcoming UPC concerts. Future concerts include: the Dead Milkmen on Oct. 10 in the Nebraska Union with the Yardapcs and Such Sweet Thunder opening, and later in the semester, a sub-pop band from Seattle, called Seaweed, will invade the campus. Both concerts will be sponsored by UPC. Paul A. Moore is a speech communications senior and Daily Nebraskan reporter. Rainy weather pulls cloud over festival By Stacey McKenzie Senior Reporter It’s amazing how much power the weather wields. Take this weekend’s RiverVal lcy Music Festival in Lawrence, Kan. Even a fine showing by the five national acts couldn’t keep the ghoulish clouds from scaring off some ticket buyers. Reed Brinton, festival promoter, estimated that 3,500 people turned out for the eight-hour affair. But Brinton had hoped for about twice that. Just 24 hours before Saturday’s festival, the threat of rain forced Brinton to switch his setup for the stage and parking. Everything — stage, crew, lights, porta-pouics, beer booths, barbecue booths, parking — took to higher ground. That ground was a bromc field where cattle usually graze. The cows marked their terri tory; but the cowpics added to the earthy atmosphere. “Once it’s dark, who cares?” Brinton said. “ ... It’s still a great show.” And it was. Baghdad Jones, The Red Devils and Soul Food Caf6 warmed up the crowd as daylight dimmed. Temperatures seemed to drop rapidly as BoDcans look the stage. “We ’re gonna work our way up, so you can just grow with us here,” -44 We ’re gonna work our way up, so you can just grow with us here. — Kurt Neumann, BoDeans -tf - Kurt Neumann, electric and acous tic guitars and vocals, told the crowd. BoDeans played more than 16 songs—each one presented splen didly with acoustically-grounded sound. Some of the highlights: “Brand New,” “Good Things,” “Naked” and “Do I Do” from their 1991 release, “Black and White.” From 1986’s “Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams,” they cranked out “She’s a Runaway” and “Fadeaway.” They even covered Elvis and Prince. The crowd spanned the spec trum — hippie throw-backs, mo torcycle enthusiasts, western-wear ers and students. There wpre ge neric people, too. But the individuality melded into one shimmering mass as the music cut through the air. Finally, Little Feat strolled across the stage. This band, with its roadhouse rock, played a set that lived up to the band’s strong history. It was a great night, but as the concert neared its end, the rain closed in. * Courtesy ot Def Jam Recordings Proljc?"'member of the now-defunct Third Bass, has released a solo effort, “Return of the Serch proves white guys can rap MC Serch “Return of the Product” Def Jam/RAL/Chaos White guys can’t rap? Where arc you livin’? Since the break up of Third Bass, rap fans have been waiting impa tiently for the group’s solo releases. MC Serch now comes back as the “baddest white boy to ever touch a mike.” Listeners may remember Serch as the better half of Third Bass, with co leader Pete Nice and their infamous song “Gas Face” as well as the 1991 gold single “Pop Goes the Weasel.” Serch’s hardcore album features mostly live instruments over samples to add a new dimension to the style. Unfortunately, in his quest to become harder than ever, Serch has lost some of his sense of humor. Serch is still preaching his anti sellout message. He is also trying to keep hip-hop pure with blows against Hammer (“He’d be my bitch if me and him were in the slammer,”) and an l entire song,“Don’t Have to Be "where we find Scrch breaking out of stereo types. “Back to the Grill” gives us a taste of Nasty Nas’ nun-gunning style, Red Hot Lover Tone’s quick longue, and of course, Chubb Rock’s fat flow rollin’ with Scrch. And finally, Scrch realizes his sport is hockey. An underground flavor is shown on “Hard but True,” a song backed by acoustic bass and street beats and fronted by Serch’s rock-solid voice. Scrch saves the big guns for his politically tinted rap, “Social Narcot ics.” Arguments over whose land is America make up the chorus while Serch takes aim at the “Crooks of Culture” and spits, “You never taught me true history/Thcy killed the Indi ans and showed it as a victory/They brought the com and the bread/And in return we gave ‘cm muskets to the head?" On the lighter side, Serch breaks out with two fat tracks, “Here It Comes,” the first single, and “Return of the Product,” the title track. Both songs (low, especially the title track, a tribute to ’80s underground hip-hop. When Scrch comes back with the second half, listeners will be buggin'! Some might find the “we don’t need no watcr/lct it bum” chants corny in “Here IlComcs," but it won’t ruin the song. More rem i n i sc ing occ urs about the old school days of hip-hop and rap’s origins on “Scenes from the Mind.” Scrch flows slow and mellow with “Once upon a time ago/long before commercialized beats became Syn thesized/And little girls were mes mcrized^There was one mic and light in a hip-hop shack/And you moved the masses or they moved you out the back.” So who says white guys can’t rap? MC Scrch proves ‘cm wrong again! —Greg Schick