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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 1993)
Nebraskan , August 30,1 ARTS@ENTERTAINMENT Travis Heyinq/DN mn Mahoney (left) and SA of the band 311 perform in the Nebraska Union Friday night. The band, which formed in Omaha, la based in California and flew Into town for three Lincoln performances. Problems riddle but don’t cancel Friday’s APU, Chi Phi concert Fans ignore it all, bands rock union Concert review The Nebraska Union rocked to a multi cultural beat Friday night as Les Exodus, Bigga and 311 took the stage for a sold out concert. The show, which was sponsored by the Afrikan People’s Union and Chi Phi Fraternity, was plagued with difficulties from the start. The featured act, 311, almost didn ’ t make the show. The band, which is originally from Omaha, is now based in California and didn’t even cross the state’s border when it ran into vehicle trouble. “The radiator was bonked,” said 311 vocalist SA. “We tried to get someone to fix it, but they couldn’t fix it in time. We wanted to cancel, but everyone here (in Lincoln,) said no, and they flew us in.” In order to pay for the last-minute airline tickets, 311 agreed to play a Sunday show in addition to the two shows already sched uled. However, the troubles didn’t end with 31 l’s arrival Friday night. Before the night was over, fans, organiz ers and bands would deal with intense heat, poor sound quality, broken equipment, un ruly spectators arid incredibly slow equip ment set up. Les Exodus took the stage at 8:20 p.m., and the crowd cheered and surged forward knocking over sound monitors, Chi Phi Pres ident Brain Mass said. MFor a time, the band couldn’t tear them selves play,” he said. The crowd didn’t seem to notice the problems as Les Exodus’ lead singer, Inno cent, lead them through the band’s impres sive list of songs. Fans almost immediately began riding the top of the crowd, even during the mellow numbers. Security tried to discourage the practice, but it continued throughout the nignt. Maas said he understood the crowd’s reaction. “It’s a concert. Everyone’s having fun. As long as no one gets hurt,” he said. Thirteen songs and 75 minutes later, Les Exodus slowly cleared the stage. Biggaand his Earth People Posse took the s text. large man managed to mellow the crowd a bit with his own brand of raggae. After 45 minutes Bigga left the stage. Students stretched and crowded in front of floor fans, Imping to catch a cool breeze in the sweltering ballroom as they waited until almost midnight fw 311 to take the stage. As 311 set up their gear on stage, band members tossed an occasional bucket of water on a grateful, sweat-drenched audi ence. A concerned security man, with micro phone in hand, cautioned fans to be careful and not get too crazy. See 311 on 10 Fugazi storms Kansas City with dazzling show D.C. band takes stand against sky-high concert ticket prices Concert review The Washington, D.C., band Fugazi has built a loyal national fol lowing with its strong live perfor mances. Saturday, in Kansas City, Kan., the band played a brilliant show that will undoubtedly increase its num ber of fans in the Midwest. The band, which is touring in sup port of its third full-length album, “In On the Kill Taker,” played to a youth ful crowd of about 3,000 in Kansas City's Memorial Hall. In keeping with Fugazi's tough stance on overpriced concert tickets, admission to the show was priced at the band’s standard fee of $5. Unfor tunately, the tickets were sold through Ticketmaster, which tacked on a han dling charge of $ 1 .SO at the doer. The band members made it clear during the set that they were not pleased witn the extra cost. The band opened with several of its older songs, including “Exit Only” off the album “Steady Diet of Noth ing” and “Merchandise” off the al bum “Repeater.” The reserved seating, unusual for a Fugazi show, made for some tense moments between security and fans. That tension became obvious when the crowd took action during “Mer chandise.” As front man Ian MacKaye pro phetically sang “We owe you noth ing, you have no control," dozens of fans jumped over the guard rails onto the main floor, overwhelming the small group of security personnel and flooding the area in front of the stage. The mosh pit doubled in size and seconds later the house lights were turned on. They remained on for the rest of the evening. The lights did little to slow the show’s growing intensity. In fact, the extra light helped to demonstrate Fugazi’s abilities. It showed a strong band pulling off a spellbinding show without the usual lighting gimmicks and stage props. The third song, “Public Witness,” was the first song from the new al bum. The track, which is one of the LP’s strongest, showcases the band’s evolution from the earlier anthem like, in-your-face lyrics to the more subtle, thoughtful approach it now employs. The newer songs dabble in word play without getting lost in ambigu ities. Listeners are forced to find their own message in the lyrics MacKaye and Guy Picciotto forcefully deliver. Musically, Fugazi’s members con tinue to improve at what they do best. They effortlessly move between me lodic, swaying, bass-dom inated sound into rip-A/our-head-off, wall-of-guitar sound. The band's approach achieves an almost perfect balance on “Kill Taker.” ThesongwritingskillsofMacKaye and Picciotto have also improved. The two know what works for the band, and they aren’t afraid to use it. Marcel Duchamp, a prominent 1900s artist, theorized that art lay somewhere between the artist’s intent and the viewer’s perception. In es sence, nobody sees the same thing in a given situation. Fugazi invites listeners to explore their own perceptions. —Malcom Miles Zoo to feature two shows by blues guitarist After a too-long, two-year absence, Austin guitar player Ian Moore returns to Lincoln’s Zoo Bar tonight. Moore, 25, has made two appearances in Lincoln, each time to enthusiastic, capacity crowds. His style is blues-rock, with a base in soul. Moore has often been compared to the late, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Billboard magazine described him as “Aaron Neville playing Jimi Hendrix riffs.” He takes the comparisons as compliments, Moore said, but is firm in his belief that he is his own musician. “I know that if somebody truly listens to my music, they’ll find me. I come from Austin Texas and I’m proud of that—but that’s all we have in common. Past that, I’m Ian Moore.” Moore said people often used comparisons as a way to understand and categorize music. But he said he didn’t think of himself as a genre player. ' We re a multi-dimensional band, he said. “And we’re a very soulful rock and roll band. But any really good band has to be more than one style of music.” Moore is more than one kind of musician. He began his string-playing career at the age of six when he was introduced to the violin. Ten years later, Moore picked up the guitar. He said he had always wanted to play, but he had concentrated on the violin instead. The guitar was a gift from his parents and a way to rehabilitate his left hand, which had been injured man accident and trapped in a cast for two years. Moore recently added a keyboard player to his band. He’s pleased with the results, which he said “takes it to another level.” His songwriting has reached a new level also. Moore has been writing his own music as long as he’s been playing guitar, he said, but his focus increased ami he became “really hardcore” about three years ago. “Like anything else, it takes a while to really be able to express vourself,” he said. With his type of music, Moore said, wordi ness is a problem because it can “bog down the grooves.” The inspiration, he said, is there in everyday life. “It’s there for you — if you put some effort into seeing it.” Since Moore’s last Lincoln performance, he has signed a deal with Capricorn Records and issued his first, self-titled release. All tracks are Moore originals. While the progression from live perfor mances to recorded ones can be tedious, for Moore there was no where else to go. “There got to be a point where I felt I couldn’t go any further, without putting some thing out. When we would play in a new town, people were not aware of who we are. We had to get our music out there.” Moore was first courted by Warner Brothers five years ago. He didn’t pursue a contract at that time, he said, because he didn’t feel he was ready. See IAN on 10