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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 1997)
Ryan Soderun/DN IVAN JULIAN, lead guitarist ii the backlog band far Matthew Sweet, nearly stele the shew at Sweet* Tuesday night concert with both his musical talent and his manic onstage movements. Sweet gives audience a show to remember By Cliff Hicks Music Critic Five years from now, Lincolnites will say, “Concerts just aren’t the way they used to be.” Matthew Sweet’s performance at the Royal Grove on Tuesday night will be that reason. Maybe it was the cameras from NETV that made the band play a little harder. Maybe it was the fact that it was Sweet’s hometown. Six cameras bobbed and weaved through the audience and on the stage, recording the show for posterity’s sake. And what a show it was. From the opening riff of “Dinosaur Act” to the crashing closing noise wave of “Holy .War,” at the end of the second encore, it was the kind of show people talk about for years afterward. Sweet was in prime form and seemed to be having a great time. Ric Menck’s drums were lit with an eerie glow, illuminating the words “Blue Sky On Mars,” the title of Sweet’s up coming album, on them. What took the show beyond being a great show to a “you-missed-it?!” show was Ivan Julian, Sweet’s lead guitarist. There are a lot of bands and a lot more gui tarists, but there is only one Ivan Julian. He was in top form, a leopard shirt clinging to his thin frame, dancing around the stage like his leg was connected to a live wire. Julian’s leads raged from a slow swagger to a blistery bum as his long fingers danced up and down the neck of his battered off-white Stratocaster. /-i> For a few songs, Julian even played lead guitar on a 12-string guitar, which is, at best, very uncommon. Usually a 12-string is rel egated to rhythm guitar, but Julian had it sing ing like a choir boy. All the staple songs of a Sweet concert were there: “Girlfriend,” “I’ve Been Waiting,” “The Ugly Truth,” “Time Capsule,” “Sick of Myself ’ and “We’re The Same.” Sweet also played some songs off “Blue Sky On Mars,” which sounded really good, if not a touch bleaker than fans are used to. Sweet also played two cover songs, one by The Kinks and one by David Bowie. Past con certs have included songs by The Troggs and Neil Young. Opening act Fastball put on a solid perfor mance as well. They weren’t fantastic, but it was a good start for a refreshingly different band. Watch for them in later years. Still, Sweet dominated the show. And this was just the warm-up tour. So, after “Blue Sky on Mars” is released March 25, Sweet should be coming through the state again, and it is something not to be missed. Ryan Soderlin/DN MATTHEW SWEET, curreatly a mlal-tsar, retamed te his hemetowa ef Uacela Tuesday eight aad gave the cmwd at the Reyal Grave a preview ef his aew albam, “Blue Sky ea Mars.” The albam will be released March 25, aad will be fellewed by a fall-scale tear by Sweet. ‘Marvin’s Room’acting strong; script lacks closure, completion By Cuff Hicks " Film Critic Despite several good performances, “Marvin’s Room” suffers from the same thing as does the play upon which it is based — a lack of closure. “Marvin’s Room” is a tale of two sisters, separated by time and family. Bessie (Diane Keaton) is the sister who stayed with their father, Marvin (Hume Cronyn), who has gotten infirm with time. Bessie is diagnosed with leukemia. Lee (Meryl Streep) is the sister who fled the state and has spent her life raising her two boys, the older of which, Hank (Leonardo DiCaprio), burned down her house recently and was placed in a mental institution. It’s easy to understand why Keaton is up for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Bessie — it is convincing and heartwarming in its own way. Bessie is the kind of character the audience cares about from the start, and Keaton focuses on that aspect of her character to the point of perfection. if Streep’s performance is solid as well, but there are brief moments wher6 her performance slipsr. Amazingly enough, DiCaprio also displays some acting talent. After several flat perfor mances, he characterizes Hank with the effec tiveness of a skilled professional. Maybe he’s finally trying to act instead of just reading the words. The main problem in this film isn’t with Please see MARVIN on 14 UNL dancers toperfonn with troupe ByLizaHoltmeier Staff Reporter In collaboration with the UNL dance department, Tenth Street Danceworks will perform this weekend at the Johnny Carson Theater. The performance combines University of Nebraska-Lincoln dance students, music stu dents and members of the company in a con cert of contemporary dance. The show opens with “Desert Sextet,” a piece the company commissioned Nancy McCaleb to choreograph. The piece is set to Vivaldi’s “Concerto Grosso in D Minor” and is very design-oriented. The first and final movements are danced by a quartet, while the second movement consists of a roman tic duet. Following “Desert Sextet” is “Everlast,” a humorous look at a relationship in decline. Choreographed by Thom Lewis to music by Lyle Lovett, the piece contains sorrowful un dertones as playful anger is soon accompa nied by boxing gloves. The third piece, choreographed by asso ciate artistic director Kevin Schroder, is “Field.” The piece, danced In silence, is meant to conjure the image of the peace and stillness of a field on a summer day. The last piece before intermission is “One More Time” danced to Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.” Artistic Director and UNL dance program director Charlotte Adams choreographed this piece when col laborating with a string quartet in Tucson, Ariz. “I had an idea about two friends who are clowning around when they are rehearsing,” Adams said. ‘“One More Time’ refers to when a choreographer says one more time, but usually means 10 or 20 more times.” Adams will dance the piece with Lewis, whom she has worked with for about 12 years. “We’re really comfortable with one an other in terms of partnering,” she said. “The piece is constructed from a lot of lifts we’ve done in the past.” The first piece after intermission is “If Love Could Die With Death.” Adams cho reographed this piece in tribute to a close friend who died of cancer. “It’s about the process of people accept ing each others’ deaths,” she said. After Adams’ piece is “Mauriccio Cappriccio,” another piece choreographed by Schroder. This piece is a humorous look at the odd things that happen at late-night parties and uses UNL dancers, faculty and company members. Please see DANCE on 13 Photo courtesy of Miramax Films DIANE KEATON (taft) aap Meryl Strup star latte Jerry Zaks-Siractea*aaa “Manta's Rita.’