Arts ^Entertainment
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Raves offer alternative
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Emphasis for Omaha-based experience
includes appreciation for individuality
By Lori Witte
Staff Reporter
II sounds prcuy average — danc
ing until dawn inaroom filled beyond
capacity under intense strobe lights.
At least that’s what I expected as I
headed to Omaha for the Rave ben
efiting the Abogar Dance Theater.
But Rave has a life of it’s own.
“It’s the next biggest youth move
ment to the hippies of the ’60s,” said
Justin Oldham, a University of Ne
braska-LincoIn sophomore business
major and frequent Raver.
Unlike the Raves of Europe, the
emphasis for Omaha-based Raving
Mad productions is not drugs, such as
Ecstasy, but gelling people together
of every race and creed to experience
the music and to be who they arc, said
Disc Jockey G-3.
“We don’t condemn or condone,”
said G-3. “If you feel it, do it.”
Raving is better sober, said Mat
thew Jancm, a junior mechanical en
gineering major.
“There arc so many people that
you can’t focus if you’re drinking,”
said Jennifer Jaskolka, a junior politi
cal science major.
Rave music has evolved over the*
years. Ithasroolsinhip-hopanddisco
and allegedly began in the Chicago
and Detroit areas around 1984.
The music traveled across the At
lantic to England and was known as
acid house. The drugs associated with
acid-house culture prompted a change
in California.
The music was sometimes sped up
to 136 beats per minute, and ilbccamc
Rave music. Once again, England
picked it up, and the drug Ecstasy
became an essential ingredient.
Rave moved back to the states, and
the phenomena picked up in the Mid
west.
G-3, who spent five years in Lon
don, said Omaha docs not have true
Rave.
Oldham agreed.
“They’re techno parlies, not
Raves,” said Oldham.
“If you want to do drugs and
naughty things, don’t come,” said G
3 at 3:30 a.m. The Rave was cut short
from the advertised 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
times because of such behavior.
The average Raver “has a normal
professional life but is seeking an
abnormal social life,” said O-Scar,
Rave producer.
Ravers said a successful Rave has
essential ingredients. c
• Respect for individuality. Ravers
do not care about what is socially
acceptable in dress or dance. J. Crew
is not part of the regular Rave ward
robe, if there is such a thing.
• Props. Anything goes. Favorites
arc whistles, hats, laminates, body
piercing and necklaces of all types.
Creativity is the key.
• Televisions. Lots of them.
• A good DJ. They must know how
tomix. The DJ isadislinctivcclcmcnt
of Rave.
• Location is key. Warehouses are
preferred, but a bar was used Satur
day. “We’ll never have it at a bar
again,” promised O-Scar. Tremen
dous applause.
Raves arc not for the socially up
tight. Open minds and the uncontrol
lable urge to gyrate endlessly to ex
tremely fast techno music in endless
smoke under strobe lights arc the ba
sic prerequisites.
I ——
Travis Heying/DN
A dancer does her own thing at a Rave in Omaha Saturday.
Young paves road
Courtesy ot Reprise Records
“Harvest Moon”
Neil Young
Reprise Records
By Matt Silcock
Staff Reporter
Let’s lace it, Neil Young is a leg
end. He’s made great music for more
than 20 years, and he’s still on the
cutting edge today.
Forget Pearl Jam, Nirvana and all
of those grungy types. Neil was turn
ing his amps up to 10 and wearing
flannels while those guys were still in
diapers.
Young, 47, has just released “Har
vest Moon,” the long-awaited follow
up to his classic and most popular
album, “Harvest.”
Released in 1972, “Harvest” was a
mellow, country-tinged work that
gained Young a lot of fans and paved
the way for the laid-back sound of
’70s stars like the Eagles and James
Taylor (who sang backup on “Har
vest”).
Il also featured Young’s only No.
1 hit, “Heart of Gold.”
About that song and its success.
Young later wrote, “'Heart of Gold’
pul me in the middle of the road.
Traveling there soon became a bore
so I headed for the ditch. A rougher
ride, but I saw more interesting people
there.”
Written in 1978, this statement
could today be a manifesto for the
“slacker” generation — for people
who are happier outside the main
stream of society.
It also explains the direction
Young’s music took after “Harvest”
— a direction the many fans of that
album weren’t entirely happy with.
Young began further exploring the
electric side of the guitar on grungy,
intense albums such as “Zuma” and
the superlative “Tonight’s the Night.”
In the ’80s he went even further,
experimenting with styles as varied as
old-time rockabilly (“Everybody’s
Rockin’”) and Dcpcchc Mode-like
synth-pop (“Landing On Water”). In
fact, he was actually sued by hisrccord
company Gcffcn for making
“unrepresentative” albums.
But Neil Young never was predict
able; in fact, after all of his experi
mentation, his finally releasing a se
quel to “Harvest” is, in itself, some
thing of a surprise. A welcome one,
however; “Harvest Moon” isevery bit
as good as its 1972 predecessor, full of
gorgeous acoustic songs about na
ture, love, loss and growing old with
grace.
Artist’s work spans 20 years
A brief Discography of Young:
“Everybody Knows This IsNo
where” (1970) This might be the
first grunge rock album; Neil even
sports a flannel on the cover. Con
tains the classic “Cinnamon Girl.”
“Tonight’s The Night” (1975)
A haunted love letter to a dead
heroin addict. The vocals arc out of
tunc, the music isn’t always pretty,
but it is Neil Young’s masterpiece.
“Zuma” (1975) Featuring his
recurring backup band Crazy Horse,
Neil turns up the guitars again.
, Contains “Cortez the Killer,” an
eight-minute song in which Neil rails
against explorers who “discover”
cultures and then destroy them.
“Rust Never Sleeps” (1979)Two
sides of Young: The first half is soft,
acoustic heaven and the second is
loud and fast, practically punk rock.
Appropriately, the classic “Hey Hey
My My” sings the praises of Johnny
Rotten.
“Ragged Glory” (1989) The per
fect title for this album of heavenly,
loud guitar rock drenched in feed
back.
Choreographer produces intimacy,
leaves interpretation to audience
Courtesy of Michael Slobodian
Fortier
By Sarah Duey
Staff Reporter
His world is a 6 x 8-foot plat
form.
Paul-Andre Fourtier, premiere
artist at the Carson Theatre this
weekend, took his audience on an
hour-long journey through his en
closed world.
With his audience on all four
sides of the platform, Fourtier, a
choreographer from Montreal,
played a character who had arisen
from an ancient world and entered
a new world.
“Usually choreographers want
many dancers and lots of space,”
Fourtier said. “I wanted to do some
thing in a confined space with only
one dancer.”
With the audience so close to
him, members could easily become
involved in the inner struggles of
the character’s journey.
“When the audience is so far
away,” Fourticr said, “they don’t
sec the effort, the exhaustion.”
Witnessing the sweat, the shak
ing knee and hearing the breathing
and the shouts of joy intensified «
the moments of failure, ecstasy,
vulnerability and isolation the au
dience felt with the character.
The work, “LA TENTATION
DE LA TRANSPARENCE,” was
not supposed to tel I a story, Fourticr
said. Speaking in longues at mo
ments during the performance,
Fourticr said, keeps the images
open.
Fourticr said it pleased him
when people create their own im
ages and story.
Fourtier said he changed little
things about his piece to keep it
alive. He dedicated this work to
Betty Goodwin, a visual artist he
collaborated with to create the
work.
Brady pens folk album
Songs and Crazy Dreams”
Paul Brady
Mercury/Fontana Records
You might be a Paul Brady fan
and not even know it.
The Irishman from County
Tyrone wrote two songs for Bonnie
Raiu’s 1991 ‘‘Luck of the Draw”
album, the title track plus ‘‘Not the
Only One.” He also penned “Night
Hunting Time" for Santana in 1982.
He counts Rain, Bob Dylan, Dave
Edmunds and Eric Clapton (who
accompanies Brady on occasion)
among his admirers.
His traditional-based music has
been popular in Ireland for nearly
two decades, although he only ap
I peared on the U.S. scene in 1991.
“Songs and Crazy Dreams” is a
compilation of Brady tunes re
corded in the 1980s, some in
remixed lorm. The songsarc a paean
to dreams realized and broken.
“Nothing But the Same Old Story”
tells of the suspicion an Irish immi
grant must live under in Britain.
“Pulling up with the hatred and fear
in theireyes/You can see that you’re
nothing but a murderer.”
Brady’s roots in folk and tradi
tional Irish music arc displayed
throughout the albuta. Nowhere arc
they better showcased than with his
arrangement of a traditional Irish
ballad, “The Homes of Donegal.”
The tin whistle alone is enough to
stir the heart of anyone with lies to
the old sod.
“Songs and Crazy Dreams” of
fers an opportunity for those al
ready familiar with Brady to catch
up on his work, and also provides
an excellent introduction to neo
phytes.
— Sam Kepfield
Les Exodus rocks
If there were any doubts that Les
Exodus is a reggae band on its way up,
those doubts arc now gone. The Min
neapolis-based band hit the weekend
Rockin ’ Robin crowd with more posi
tive musical vibrations than have been
felt in the Midwest since Steel Pulse
was here last year.
Few unsigned bands with little
name recognition can go on stage and
draw an audience into a frenzy the
way Exodus did Saturday night. Even
fewer bands can keep an audience
involved in a show that is riddled with
technical difficulties.
Midway through the last set, Les
Exodus had to keep its composure as
feedback tore through the system.
Most bands would have called it
quits with only 20 minutes until clos
ing, but Les Exodus, led by front man
Innocent, ripped through covers of
Bob Marlcy and kept the audience
jammin’.
As Innocent sang Marley’s famous
lincs“Don’t worry aboula thing,cause
every little thing gonna be all right,”
it became clear that professional mu
sicians were on stage.
— Carter Van Pelt
