Guitar band Lir brings
mellow rock to Omaha
By Patrick Hambrecht
Music Critic
Lir — a nice Irish band with a
soulful, promising album named
r—-“Nest” — stops
COnCBrt at Omaha’S
Preview ShBowlt°
Nest is an
album of songs
that are sweet,
semi-tuneful
guitar rock that
often splat when
they should
grind, dangle
when they are meant to swing.
Interestingly, though, the songs
get better instead of worse halfway
through the album. After 15 min
utes of dull alternative guitar, the
album switches to a soft “lite-rock”
sound.
The pleasant laid-back earnest
ness of Lir’s“Shrine” and “More to
me” bring to mind the easy-going
bands of the ’ 80s, 1 ike A-ha and Mr.
Mister. There’s something almost
seductive these days about a band
that doesn’t hit you over the head
with its small portfolio of clunky
guitar riffs.
There’s nothing wrong with be
ing unexciting, as Lir demonstrates,
as long as the band doesn’t insist
that its blandncss assault the lis
tener.
By accepting their boringness
and learning to work with it, the
members of Lir are miles ahead of
bands like Fugazi and Bad Reli
gion, who may never realize their
own uniquely dull persona and con
tinue to Fight against it in vain.
“Railroad,” a rollicking instru
mental, is the only song that really
shineson “Nest.” It hasa mod sense
of bravado, like the theme to a good
action/adventure TV show. Listen
ing to it, one has visions of James
Bond jumping from a jet fighter, or
Steve McQueen dragracingthrough
the middle of a beach party.
“Nest” is a good album, but not
as great as its cover art.
On the cover, there ’ s a big, beau -
tiful Barbie doll floating on a lotus
flower like some sort of Hindu god
dess. This eosmically cute transcen
dence of pop culture is the best
thing about “Nest.”
If only Lir had thought to put
words to “Railroad,” they might
have found their first successful
radio single. Though this band’s
music may never be compelling, it
is at least listenable, showing a tal
ent far ahead of most guitar bands.
Tonight’s show at the Ranch
Bowl begins at 9. Tickets are $4,
and the show also features the Mus
tard Men and the Mighty Plastisolfs.
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Contact: 1033 "O" Street, Suite 120, 474-2274
HEY PUMPKIN HEAD,
COME SEE US FOR YOUR
HALLOWEEN THREADS!
Second
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Now located in the St. George Antique Mall.
I 1023 "O" Street Downtown • 477-4400
Performances carry opera
By Brian Priesman
Theater Critic
Although Aaron Copland’s opera
“The Tender Land,” which opened
Tuesday night at the Johnny. Carson
mmsmmsm Theatre, doesn t
: "'s'J jgg , s
Theater
| contain any mspir
I ing music or “on
I the edge of your
I seat” plot, it does
l contain a simple,
| coming-of-age
| story about love.
“The Tender
Land” is the story
of Laurie Moss and
her family on the
day before her high school gradua
tion.
Two wandering vagabonds, Mar
tin and Top, arrive at the Moss family
farm looking for work. Laurie and
Martin find themselves attracted to
each other and soon fall in love, much
to the chagrin of Laurie’s grandpa and
mother.
Aaron Copland’s music is
uninspiring and quickly forgotten. The
lack of repetitive melodies keep the
story from becoming warm and famil
iar, and Horace Everett’s lyrics seemed
unimaginative and plain.
But despite the weak libretto and
score, the cast turns in some fine per
formances.
Dawn Doverspike’s portrayal of
Laurie captures the wistful spirit of a
trapped teen. Her soprano voice is
more than able to handle the vocal
requirements of the part.
Steve Kohtz’s portrayal of Martin,
the innocent vagabond, is strong. His
excellent tenor voice handles the mu
sic with ease, with the exception of
some cracking on higher notes.
Other fine performances come from
Brett Hyberger as Laurie’s over-pro
tective grandpa, Kenneth Floyd as
Martin’s comic compatriot, Top, and
Rebecca Kouma Shane as Laurie’s
loving but wary mother.
“The Tender Land” continues
Wednesday and Friday through Sun
day. Performances are at 8 each
evening, with a 3 p.m. matinee on
Opera: The Tender Land
Stars: Dawn Doverspike,
Rebecca Kouma Shane and
Steve Kohtz (Oct. 24, 27
and 29 matinee); Tamara
Ensrude, Kim Harris and
Robert D. Miller (Oct. 25,
28 and 29 evening)
Director: William Shomos
Company: UNL School of
Music
Grade: C
Five Words: Unimaginative '
score but fine performances
Sunday. “The Tender Land” is double
cast to provide the audience two var
ied interpretations of the same opera.
Tickets are on sale at the Lied Center
box office for $8 or $4 with a student
I.D.
Music Reviews
Smashing Pumpkins
“Melon Collie and the Infinite
Sadness”
Virgin Records
Grade: B+
Just when you think you know a
band, they have to go and turn their
image upside down.
Billy Corgan and the Smashing
Pumpkins used to take themselves
about as seriously as any band pos
sibly could. They never smiled, they
always got way too deep in inter
views and they sold lots and lots of
albums.
And then they had to go and
release an album with the enig
matic title “Melon Collie and the
Infinite Sadness.” Playing with
words rarely indicates a grim out
look, especially on a rock ‘n’ roll
album.
And it seems as though Corgan
and Company are perfectly happy
to oblige, churning out two solid
hours of new music (on two com
pact discs) that doesn ’t break much
Shorty
Continued from Page 9
Palmer, a Miami-based loan shark who
ends up making a long distance col
lection trip to Los Angeles via Las
Vegas.
One of his targets turns out to be
Harry Zimm (played by Gene Hack
man), a B-movie producer famous for
his Roger Corman-like science fic
tion/horror films. With the help of
Zimm’s girlfriend/former star Karen
Flores (played by Rene Russo), Chili
decides to make his entry into the
movie business.
But, as it turns out, Zimm also owes
money to local drug kingpin Bo Catlett
(played by Delroy Lindo), and Chili
finds himself in deeper trouble than he
had expected.
new ground, but still manages to
hold attention.
The first disc opens up with an
overly lavish piano instrumental that
seems to indicate that the Pumpkins
may not be totally tongue-in-cheek
just yet. And that track is followed
with a few songs that contain simi
larly rich musical accompaniment.
But, by the time that disc is half
way through, the Smashing Pump
kins have reverted back to the hard
rockin’ roots that they exploited so
well in “Gish” and further compli
The main flaw with this film lies in
the approach that director Barry
Sonnenfeld seems to have taken to the
characters and the action. Whereas
Quentin Tarantino made “Pulp Fic
tion” into a dark gangster film that
ended up being hilarious, Sonnenfeld
tried to make “Get Shorty” into a
bright comedy about gangsters.
The only problem here is that noth
ing in the film is really funny.
One good point is the film’s visual
style. Thoroughly magnificent cam
era work, undoubtedly monitored
closely by Sonnenfeld (who worked
wonders with the Coen brothers as
director of photography on films such
as “Raising Arizona” and “Miller’s
Crossing”), makes every scene jump
out visually and turns otherwise drab
sequences into exciting, eye-catching
cated with “Siamese Dream.”
Songs such as “An Ode to No
One” and “Bodies” drive with full
force, distortion-laden guitar nug
gets that sound like the ’70s arena
rock Corgan so proudly emulates.
And that fear seems to drive the
Smashing Pumpkins more than any
other band to work their creations
into near-perfect gems, with flaws
that are only intentional.
Corgan and guitarist James Ilia
form the blistering front, layering
guitar line over guitar line and
blending them with distortion lev
els that usually only occur because
of a frayed speaker wire.
Bassist D’Arcy and drummer
Jimmy Chamberlin provide solid
backing, driving the points home
with steady rhythm.
The result is two hours of music
that will confuse, define and so
lidify the Smashing Pumpkins’
musical reputation and public im
age for at least a little while longer.
— Jeff Randall
Film: “Get Shorty”
Stars: John Travolta, Rene
Russo, Gene Hackman
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Rating: R (language, violence)
Grade: D+
Five Words: Gangster comedy
misses its target
moments.
But the lack of good content to
back up the visual proves to be the
film’s downfall. By the end of the
film, a dozen loose ends are left and
hardly anyone seems to care.
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Tired of the laundromat? We sell used washers, dryers,
refrigerators, and ranges for only $100 or 4 payments of
$25/month, no interest, free delivery and guarantee.
Hoffman’s Appliances, 466-6252.
'95 bikes are going fast. Hurry in while the good ones are
still available. All '95 models are on sale including full
suspension, front suspension and rigid bikes from Trek,
Specialized, KHS, Klein and Fat City.
Cycle Works, 27th & Vine, 475-2453.
New and used bicycles, expert repair on all brands.
Wheel'n & Deal'n Bike Shop, 2706 Randolph. 438-1477.
For Rent; CREATIVE COSTUMES. Unique and reason
able. 423-9241.
Discounted Software. Microsoft office, $99.95; HP48GX
$189.95; Call HAS Collegiate Express, 1-800-332-1100,
ext 5.
Gateway 2000 4DX-33
4MB RAM, 540 MB Hard drive, 15" CRYSTALSCAN
Monitor, MS Mouse, USRobotics 14.4 external fax/mo
dem, MS DOS 6.0 and MS Windows 3,1 (w/disks)
$1,500.00, call 488-7126 or 477-2405.
Couch for sale. Moving, MUST SELL!! Decent condition.
$15 or best offer. Free beanbag w/purchase. Call 464
8572, leave message.
MOVING! No longer have room for 2 matching chairs,
hide-a-bed couch, kitchen table(two leaves), dresser,
entertainment center, others.. Best offer, Call 435-5742,
leave message.
For Sale:Olypmia Scientific Keyboard, electric typewriter,
only needs a new ribbon, $15. 466-2082/call anytime.
NATALIE MERCHANT in Minneapolis! Main-floor seats.
Sun, Oct 29, 7:30, 2 tickets available. Call 466-4534.
NU vs. Colorado Tixs
(303)430-1111.
1984 Pontiac Fiero SE. $1800 OBO. 477-6103.
200s Notices
Enhance that cover letter! Attend a “Cover Letter Writ
ing” workshop, Thursday, October 26th, 10:30 am, East
union.
**Flu Shots Today**
Ru shots for student, faculty/staff and general public.
Nebraska Union, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. _
‘ si