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inn
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Keep warm:
Don’t let chill
freeze plans
Blink. The weather’s different.
Welcome to late fall/early win
ter. The days of sand volleyball and
sunbathing are out—sweaters and
shivering are in. So, instead of get
ting icicles on your extremities, en
joy the following alternatives.
As for movies, Spike Lee’s “Get
On the Bus” opened Tuesday, which
marked the first anniversary of the
Million Man March. The film is the
story of a bus ride to the march and
the stories of the people on it.
The movie doesn’t have any big
name actors, but it is, as Lee says,
“A Spike Lee Joint,” and people
may very well go for his name.
Good directors are bringing in au
diences as much as actors these
days.
Also opening tms weekend is
“Sleepers,” the tale of four boys
who grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, a
part of New York City, during the
1960s. Fifteen years later, the four
reunite and discover they* are
plagued by the same shady mob fig
ure who haunted them when they
were children.
“Sleepers” stars Kevin Bacon,
Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman,
Bruno Kirby, Jason Patric and Brad
Pitt. Talk about a star vehicle. The
plot looks complex, though, so
don’t go expecting a fast-paced
shoot-’em-up.
The Mary Riepma Ross Theatre
will show “The Kingdom” this
weekend. The film is nearly five
hours long, so be sure to use the
restroom BEFORE the film, not af
ter (you won’t make it). Shows will
begin at 1 and 6:30 pm. Saturday
and Sunday. Admission is $5.50,
$3.50 for students.
Musically, Lincoln’s got as
much to offer as it ever does, with
stages packed full of sounds from •
blues to rock. You’ve got several
choices as to the who and where,
however.
The Zoo Bar features crazed act
The Self-Righteous Brothers with
their crazed glam-rock R&B to
night. The band, featuring Ben
Kushner, formerly of the Millions,
claim to be from Scotland. Cover is
$4.
Saturday, two acts from Chi
cago, John Primer and The Buzz,
storm the stage with alternative
blues. Cover is $5. Both shows start
at 9.
Knickerbockers keeps the local
scene alive with Des Moines band
Smilin’ Jack and Lincoln band Cad
mium on Friday. On Saturday,
Omaha band Tumult and Lincoln
band Ezra take the stage. Both
shows start at 10 pjn., cover is $3
and, like the Zoo Bar, you must be
21 or over to attend the show.
The Mueller Planetarium’s La
ser Light Show will feature the mu
sic of Nirvana, with shows tonight
and Saturday at 8,9:30 and 11 pjn.
Be sure to wear the ear plugs they
offer you.
On Sunday the 3:30 pjn. show
music will be that of ex-10,000 Ma
niacs singer Natalie Merchant.
TGIF is compiled by Daily Ne
il braskan staff reporter Cliff
Hicks.
Swing band
to set stage
for veteran
legends Kiss
By Ann Stack
Senior Reporter
OK, cool cats, here’s the low-down
scoop drop on the flip side of the who’s
got the mean feat of opening for Kiss
Wednesday night.
The band’s called Royal Crown
Revue, and they hail from the heart of
Tinsel Town.
The septet is best known for ap
pearing as themselves in the Jim Carrey
flick “The Mask.” (Remember the
scene where Carrey danced with
Cameron Diaz while defying gravity?
That was Royal Crown Revue perform
ing their original tune, “Hey
Pachuco!”)
Royal Crown Review is comprised
of seven 20-somethings who, when
taken individually, have been in nearly
every type of musical outfit known to
man—ska, punk, soul, rockabilly, big
band and swing—and these influences
show up in their 1996 debut album,
“Mugzy’s Move.”
The band’s sound is pure swing—
complete with zip guns and zoot suits,
bebop and blues. It’s a slick and pol
ished sound, but with a young and en
ergetic vibe.
“The hardest thing is to describe
what it’s about,” trumpeter Scott Steen
said. “It’s swing, jazz, rhythm and
they don’t know what to do with it,”
he said. “But little by little they’re pick
ing it up.”
Among those who are noticing the
Revue are the Kiss managers, who
caught a Royal Crown show in Den
ver. They liked what they saw, and gave
the band front row center tickets to see
Kiss the next night.
“I was joking, saying we should just
crash the stage and open for Kiss,”
Steen said. “Then we were in Atlanta,
and she called us and said, ‘You’re
penciled in for Omaha.’”
The all-female band Fluffy was
scheduled to open both nights, but be
cause of a conflict the band is only
perfortning the second show on Thurs
day.
“The day we found out, we were
like, ‘YES!’” Steen said. “Here we are,
a swing band, opening for Kiss. How
does that fit in?”
All across the country, Kiss has
tried to bring relatively unknown bands
Please see REVUE on 13
Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers
Legends to perform at Lied
- //'-,
By Emily Wray
StaffReporter
Musical legends from two differ
ent eras will be on their best behavior
at the Lied Center for Performing Arts
tonight.
“Ain’t Misbehavin’” opens its sec
ond year on tour with an 8 p.m. perfor
mance. Saturday’s performances are at
2 pan. and 8 p jn.
The Broadway musical features
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, sing
ing songs of the 1930s, said Lonnie
Cooper, road manager for “Ain’t
Misbehavin’.”
“It’s the same producing company
that did the Pointer Sisters last year,”
he said. “Since they had other
committments, we’ve been thinking all
along they’d (Martha Reeves and the
Vandellas) be great for us in the show,
so we asked than to come on board.”
The musical celebrates 30 of Fats
Waller’s songs that he either wrote,
composed or performed.
Waller wrote and made famous all
kinds of American standards that
people recognize, Cooper said.
“He was a phenominal piano player
and composer,” Cooper said. “He in
fluenced anybody in popular music.”
Waller’s jazz show in Cincinnati
drew audiences from the musical elite
of the time, including composers
George Gershwin and Irving Berlin.
“(Gershwin and Berlin) learned
about black music through him,” Coo
per said.
(Martha Reeves’s)
got a tremendous
t ’ ‘ a
voice and incredible
presence. She’s
fantastic for the,
role.”
> Lonnie cooper
“Ain’t Misbehavin’” road manager
Cooper thinks Reeves comple
ments the performance, with both Her
star quality and style.
“Her star magnitude brings life to
it,” Cooper said. “Her style isn’t much
different than Fat’s ideas.
“She’s got a tremendous voice and
incredible presence. She’s fantastic for
the role,” he said.
Cooper said audience members Will
have fun and won’t be able to sit still.
“Fun, aside from the celebration, is
what Fats Waller was really about.”
James McShane, associate profes
sor of English and director of the Uni
versity Foundations program, will
speak 55 and 35 minutes before each
performance. The talks will be in the
Lied Colter’s Steinhart Room.
Tickets are $36, $32 and $28. They
are half price for UNL students with
IDs and can be ordered by calling472
4747.
Carbaret showcases talent
By Liza Holtmeier
StaffReporter
Students will have a chance to
showcase their hidden talents to
night during an event called Caba
ret sponsored by the University of
Nebraska-Iincoln theater group, the
Masquers.
Cabaret was started a couple of
years ago by the Masquers to pro
vide “a care-free environment
where people can go to try new
things,” Masquers President Amy
Rohr said.
“It’s a safe environment that pro
vides a release for everybody,”
Masquers officer Jude Hickey said.
“Ibere are no standards to live up
to, and there is no fear of rejection.”
Hickey will also be the master
of ceremonies for the event.
the perrormers tor cabaret are
mostly made up of UNL theatre stu
dents who will be performing ev
erything from singing to mono
logues to poetry readings. It is a
chance for them to escape the rou
tine stress of auditions and rehears
als to have fun performing.
In the past, the event has lasted
anywhere from half an hour to 1 14
hours. There are 10 people sched
uled to perform for this year’s Caba
ret, but Hickey and Rohr said that
there is also an open microphone
period after the scheduled perfor
mances in which anyone can per
form.
When asked what he enjoyed
most about Cabaret, Hickey said,
“It's nice to watch people sing, be
«
It’s nice to watch
people sing,
because we don’t
get much of that in
the theatre
department.”
Jude Hickey
Masquers officer
cause we don’t get much of that in
the theatre department.”
Rohr said she enjoyed the vari
ety of performances that she has wit
nessed in the past, including
storytelling, movement pieces,
comic skits and guitar playing.
Hickey will be reading poetry
for the event. He said he was en
couraged by an English professor
to attend and participate in poetry
readings, and he thought Cabaret
would be a good place to try his
poetry out.
Those who can’t attend or who
missed the sign up to perform
should watch for announcements
for the next Cabaret in November.
The Masquers usually post signs
near the Temple Building.
Cabaret starts at 10:30 tonight
in Room 301 of the Temple Build
ing. Admission is free.
blues jumpm punk energy. We can t
be pigeon-holed.”
That’s apparently been the case.
“The Mask” didn’t get them a record
deal, but they later hocked up with a
producer from Warner Bros. Records,
who decided to take a chance with the
band.
“We’re a risk, but we found a guy
who loves rhythm and blues and
swing,” Steen said. “He was smitten.”
But getting the music to the people
has proven to be more of a challenge.
“Radio people say it’s great, but