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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1996)
Arts ^Entertainment Monday, April 22,1996 Page 9 Cliff Hicks Acoustic groove hits Ranch Bowl Those of you who have read my writings with any regularity (Mom, pul your hand down) may recall that last semester I wrote about today’s lack of acoustic music. I stand corrected. A week ago, 1 sat in Omaha’s Ranch Bowl and listened to some of the most beautiful music 1 have heard in years. Sean Kelly ofThe Samples, from Boul der, Colo., was playing acoustically. In a world surrounded by loud, dis torted rock, acoustic music finds itself lacking an audience, and that’s really depressing. bands like bush, ureenDay, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains continue to sell tons of records with blaring gui tars and screaming, squelchy voices. Maybe I’m crazy, but I think there’s more than enough angry music in the world for now. Let’s get back to the beauty of life. I want to thank Sean. Not only was he great to talk to before the show (and gave me t he royal treatment), he put on one hell of a show. Scan and Rob Somers (his friend and backup guitarist) played some of the most beautiful music I have heard in as long as I can remember. The show ran about 80 minutes, and I wished it could have gone on forever. I was singing with the gentle melodics of “On The Losing End of Distance.” During “Stillwater” and “The Last Drag,” I was too entranced to do anything but listen. The Ranch Bowl wasn’t too packed, which was nice. There would have been nothing wrong if the room had been full, but there were chairs put out for us and we could sit and enjoy the music without getting tired of stand ing. The main thing was the music, though. It wasn’t loud, harsh, grating and everything else that the music I hear on the radio is. Music is a thing of beauty. Yes, there is beauty that can be found in the wailing,crunching guitars that inhabit the airwaves now, but consider this analogy. There is a pile of diamonds and a sapphire. Everyone gets to take a stone from the pile and I am first. I’ll lake the sapphire because everyone else has a diamond, and I’m the only one who has something that isn’t common, value aside. All forms of music are valid, but acoustic music is too much of a rarity in today’s world. If I ran the world, there would be acoustic musicians play ing good pop music of their own on the airwaves regularly. Maybe I’m the only one who feels this way, though. I couldn’t get a date to the show (I even did what Sean told me to and said I was with the band) and, judging from the crowd size, most everybody else there had the same luck. Still, this is the time when everyone gets the fair share of air time, and 1 think it’s about time we get more bands who arc willing to play acoustically. If you know of a band that plays good acoustic music, please mail me a copy of its stuff courtesy of the DN. I honestly won’t believe it exists until I hear it. Thanks to Sean and here’s to hop ing acoustic music will never die. Ilicks is a freshman news-editorial and English major and a Daily Nebraskan stafT reporter. Photo courtesy of Discovery Records Too Much Joy (l-r: Tim Quirk, William Wittman, Tommy Vinton and Jay Blumenfield) will single-handedly conquer the stage at Mudslide Slims, 1418 O St., Tuesday night. Too MuchJoy ‘owns’ the stage By Cliff Hicks Staff Reporter They were talking about oral sex in movie theaters long before Alanis Morrisettc was. They were sarcastic -1 way before bands Concert like Pavement am Drairiaui GreenDay learned rreview how to smirk. lhey are Too Much Joy and they will “own” Mudslide Slims’ stage Tuesday night. “You have to un derstand, the place may own the stage, but we rent it,” said Tim Quirk, lead vocalist for TMJ. “For the 90 minutes or what ever that we’re on stage, it’s my stage. I own it.” TMJ is touring in support of its new album “...finally.” The title may seem fitting to fans of the band, i since TMJ’s last album, “Mutiny,” was released in 1992, four years ago. When asked where the band had been for the past few years, Quirk responded with a dry chuckle. “In the pits of bitterness and frustration and occasionally poking our heads out for a few moments of optimism and joy.” In those four years, a lot hap pened. First, the band changed la bels. “Mutiny” was released on Gi ant Records, and “...finally” was re leased on Discovery Records. “It had everything to do with the sales and general music business scumminess,” Quirk said. Once TMJ’s contract came up for renewal with Giant, the label offered to renew with changed terms, Quirk said. TMJ refused and left the label, hoping to be picked up by another relatively soon. Instead, TMJ found itself with out a label for a bit longer than expected. “We were damaged goods. It was like we were in medieval times and we’d already been married. No one wanted to (expletive) us, which is strange, because the music industry thrives on (expletive)-ing bands,” he said. “We could’ve put out the new record at any time on a dinky little label, but we real ly wanted it to be in malls.” Besides changing labels, the band also changed bass players. Sandy Smallcns, the original bass player, picked up a job at Atlantic Records and eventually left the band. “For a little while he was at At lantic and in TMJ,” Quirk said. “It became unworkable, trying to play shows and schedule rehearsals. Sandy eventually said, ‘I don’t get the thrill I used to.’ It was the pro verbial split.” See TMJ on 10 Crowd unmoved by Cajun beat By Lane Hickenbottom_ Music Critic When BeauSoleil took the stage again tor an en core perfor mance, it was the first time the Cajun musical group’s music made sense. It was proved . Saturday night that Cajun mu sic belongs no where near the Concert | Review Lied Center. The upbeat style of Michael Doucet and BeauSoleil be longs in a place where dancing and feet st ompingisa likely probability. After two sets of music, BeauSoleil left the stage to a half hearted ovation. Returning for an encore, Doucet told the crowd to keep standing. Finally. The members of America’s pre miere Cajun band were for the most part peppy and upbeat, except for Acadian accordion player, Jimmy Breaux, who didn’t move a muscle or crack a smile the entire night. Just getting paid appeared to satisfy him. The Lied Center audience mem bers associated best with Breaux— they would have rather been trap ping alligators in the mosquito-in Tested bayousof southern Louisiana than stand for the duration of two encore songs. The music was indeed great. Doucet can play a mean fiddle, and the rest of the group knew what it was doing as well. Only the groups would have been better to see at an open-air, open-floor,not-so-conser vative venue. All in all, the night was like going to a Bush concert where the vast majority of conccrtgoers were on a field trip from a retirement home. There were a few among the audi ence who were happy to be there, but for the large remainder, BeauSoleil was just too damn loud. ‘Substitute’ predictable, ' acks plot By Gerry Beltz Film Critic It ain’t “Lean On Me.” Not even close. On the heels of such “classroom feelgood” films as “Lean On Me” and “Dangerous Minds,” director Robert Mandel takes a different ap proach with “The Substitute.” No rewards. No candy bars. Just the subtle things in life, such as a Wjistlock and dislocated fingers. Shale (Tom Berenger) is a sol dier of fortune with a conscience, so he is having a problem finding work for himself and his team. His schoolteacher girl friend, Jane Helzko (Diane Venora), is attacked and hospitalized on the order of gang leader Juan Lucas (Marc Anthony), one of her students. Shale forges teaching credentials and goes after the gang members responsible for her pain, but soon finds himself hip-deep in drugs and corruption, as well as dealing with the cop-turncd-principal-running for-mayor Claude Rolle (Ernie Hudson). Uooooo. ine tension. 1 can t (yawn) fight it. Anyhow, the film boils down to armed, stupid gangsters against Shale and his band of better-armed testosterone junkies battling it out in the halls of the high school. Predictable? Somewhat. Fun? You betcha. This film also has more B-movie stars than you can shake a dead rhino’s butt at. Cliff DeYoung (“F/ X”) shows up as a weenie ... well, he’s just a weenie, and Glenn Plummer (“Speed”) plays the ideal istic teacher who wants to help the kids and wholeheartedly believes in the administration. (Yep, he’s got “Star Trek Secu rity Officer” written all over his body.) It’s surprising this Hick didn’t go straight to video, considering the simplicity and execution of the plot, but throwing it into theaters on the heels of films like “Dangerous Minds” was a good marketing strat egy Bercnger always has fun in the tough-guy roles, and this role amounted to a lighthearted version of his role in “Platoon,” complete with the battle scars. Director Robert Mandel (“F/X,” “School Tics”) keeps the action go ing, while providing some laughs and drama at the right times, and sometimes even overlapping them. A worthwhile effort overall, but not worth more than a matinee price, “The Substitute” shouldn’t be ig nored. Film: “The Substitute” Stars: Tom Bercnger, Ernie Hudson, Diane Venora Director: Robert Mandel Rating: R (language, violence, brief nudity) Grade: B Five Words: Mercenary goes back to school