Daily
Nebraskan
Wednesday, April 13, 1994
Arts oEntertainment
Page
7
Sweet, Etheridge show
pleases Omaha crowd
Concert
review
The pride of the heartland rang through the
Orphcum Theater in Omaha Monday night as
native Midwesterners Matthew Sweet and
Melissa Etheridge roeked the stage.
Although Etheridge was billed as the major
act, she was in heavy competition with Nebras
ka fans from Sweet’s home soil. The dynamic
duo worked together in an odd sort of way,
playing to one of the most diverse crowds in one
of the oddest venues for a rock concert.
Plowing at his guitar with the vengeance of
a real altered beast. Sweet performed popular
hits such as “Devil With the Green Eyes,”
“Superdcformcd” and “Girlfriend.” A manner
ly Sweet cordially welcomed the audience to
listen to him as he narrated a little explanation
before each piece.
Even in the formal setting of the Orphcum
Theater, the crowd turned ecstatic during “Ugly
Truth Rock.” Sweet’s sound system was a little
overbearing and his bassist a little drug out, but
his backing guitarist and drummer made up for
any Joss.
Sounding much better live. Sweet’s persona
came through with a passion. The intensity of
his emotion and sincerity was never more pure.
Following Sweet’s performance emerged one
of the greatest groundbreaking female rock
artists ever. As if set on fire, hundreds of
Etheridge fans jumped from their seats, and in
the Orphcum this is a monumental event. Born
and bred in Kansas, Etheridge proved to lie a
true performer.
With a sound so unique and gut-wrenching
and a style so Tom Pettyish, Etheridge really
knew how to please her audience. Her inner
strength came out in her vigilant attacks on her
guitar, as she took it down to the ground and
pleaded with it on every note.
“Come to My Window” opened the set, with
Etheridge under complete control of her envi
ronment and emotion. Her performance was
full of spontaneity. “Bring Me Some Water”
kicked off the action, as Etheridge plunged into
the vitality reflected by her fans.
She played a few songs solely to the beat of
her hands on the back of a guitar, producing a
hauntingly passionate sound.
Etheridge performed a wide variety of hits,
many from her most recent release, “Yes I
Am,” to a crowd of screaming fans of all types.
She came oil as sly and clever, while maintain
ing a down-home attitude.
Aside from cajoling the audience with her
“shiny blue shirt,” Etheridge used that Mid
western kindness with her band in an almost
family-style performance. Etheridge and her
two guitarists created a pseudo-trap set out of
their guitars and surrounded the drummer for
an interesting drum solo. They proved to be a
band truly greater than the sum of its parts.
Speaking of interesting, the last concert I
went to at the Orpheum was Mannheim Steam
roller. Now, Chip Davis is a stud and all, but
he’s not a rock star. So the initial thought of a
rock concert at the Orpheum was like having a
ballet performance at the Ranch Bowl. Howev
er. the diversity of the audience and an excited
yet controlled crowd explained the reasoning
behind this choice.
From tlannel-clad teen-agers to glit/y, for
mally dressed middle-age women, the crowd
spanned all subcultures and ages. There was a
teen-age guy in jeans and a T-shirt there with
his best friend’s mom.
11 was quaint but emot ional 1 y moti vat ional at
the same tune. Both Sweet and Etheridge re
laxed in their home environment, performing
all the way down to their roots.
— Paula Lavigne
Jay Calderon/DN
Melissa Etheridge performed at the Orpheum Theatre in Omaha Monday
night. Etheridge, a Kansas native, performed after Lincoln native Matthew
Sweet.
Landis adopts dual role as both actor, senator
By Paula Lavigne
Senior Reporter
With a conniving sneer, pointing a
finger toward his colleague. Sen. Dave
Landis of Lincoln spat out the warn
ing, “I have always relied on my
hunches, always. And I have never
been wrong.”
No. Landis wasn’t debating with a
fellow senator on the lloor of the Leg
islature. He was on stage at the Studio
Theater as Saul, a trendy, cheesy film
producer shouting at his client, in
Sam Shepard’s play “True West.”
On an average weekday, Landis
spends his daytime hours in business
attire debating and proposing legisla
tive bills. When the session ends,
Landis sheds the suit and tie for a
costume and is ready to perform again,
this time on stage.
Aside from serving in the Nebras
ka Legislature as a representative from
the 46th district and acting, Landis
teaches at three area colleges, hosts a
weekly nostalgic rock radio show and
is a father and husband.
Landis leads what would seem to
be a life full of contradiction. Howev
er, he said it was a simple — even
enjoyable — task.
“I find that my stress level is less
when I have (this) as a source of
rejuvenation,” he said. “Although it
creates its own tension, it’s usually
quite a positive image, since it’s so
remarkably different than how 1 spend
my time (in the Legislature).”
Landis has carried major roles in
about 60 plays and musicals, includ
ing*^. Butterfly,” “Big River,"“Thc
Tempest” and “AM idsummer’s N ight
Dream.”
“It’s so refreshing,” he said.
Although acting and politics may
not “compute from the outside,” on
- it
I think I want to
carry with me an
integrated whole —
teacher, actor,
senator, father,
husband. The whole
can be expressed in
many ways, but it’s
not like channels of
a television where
you go ‘click ’—
politics, ‘click’ —
different person
involved in theater.
— Landis
??
the inside “it creates a nice sort of
balance,” Landis said.
Landis said his acting interest start
ed in high school where he was a
member of the debate team. As a
sophomore, he participated in high
school plays, where he learned the
egalitarianism of acting.
“Wc were all equal in the eyes of
the enterprise,” he said, because of the
friendships he made with uppcrclass
students. Thesamecquality exists with
his work today, he said.
“It’s not like other actors say ‘He’s
the senator. Let’s keep our mouths
closed and not say certain words around
him.”’
Landis said young actors either
decided to act as a full-time career or
they dropped it completely. His deci
sion to take the middle road was a
vivid memory.
“I sat in a restaurant next to this
building, Dave’s restaurant, and I
asked myself if I wanted to sell... this
(his acting talents).”
He didn’t want to become a profes
sional actor, he said, because it would
cheapen the aesthetic value of acting.
William Lauer/DN
State senator and actor Dave Landis wipes weariness from his eyes during the final
reading session of the Legislature on Tuesday. Landis’ ability to speak in public is
balanced between performing on stage and debating on the floor.
While maintaining his acting ca
reer, Landis said he took on the family
traditionofpraclicing law. After work-*
ing as a lawyer and judge, Landis
researched for a legislator and said, “1
can do that.”
From then on, Landis has been
making two seemingly uncommon
interests, acting and politics, into a
harmonic combination.
“I think I want to carry with me an
integrated whole — teacher, actor,
senator, father, husband,” he said.
“The whole can be expressed in many
ways, but it’s not like channels of a
television where you go “click” —
politics, “click” — different person
involved in theater.”
He said the two activities actually
had a lot in common. Their differenc
es arc what keeps Landis on his feet.
He said he also used his acting abili
ties in another part of his life —
parenting.
“You can participate as equals, not
as just father and child. You can play
with their imaginary friend,” he said.
Last year in the musical “Baby,”
Landis played the father in a 40-year
old couple, while his son played the
father in a 20-year-old couple.
“We were singing a song about
fatherhood on stage and saying how
weird it was,” he laughed. He said his
wife and daughter were actresses as
well.
If anything, Landis said, good act
ing tells the truth.
“You’re finding the truth in a cer
tain character and having the guts to
summon that truth and making others
feel the force of that truth.”
He said his many roles in life had
never conflicted.
“People don’t come up to me and
say‘I don’t agree with your politics, so
I think you’re a lousy actor,’” he said.
Landis will be performing in the
Nebraska Repertory Theatre’s pro
duction of “The Cocktail Hour” this
summer.
