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^ Rwl a»d Black. Wednesday. October u. i»7»
Buffett concert ‘moving, triumphantly fun evening’
By BOBBY BYRD
Entertainment editor
It’s been interesting to watch
Jimmy Buffett over the last
seven years or so. His musical
style has gone from country-
rock to his now-trademark Car
ibbean pop. but he really hasn't
changed all that much.
Buffett is far more than a
singer of novelty songs about
boats and dope. His music is
consistently dichotomous, com
bining the dreams of a young
man and the wisdom of an old
man. much like the hero in Bob
Seger's ‘ Beautiful Loser." His
is music of faith, love and
exuberance, in a world where
squalls on the Gulf become
prophets of doom, and a Bloody
Mary becomes a red badge of
courage.
The exuberance and wisdom
come through onstage, as an
adoring throng of 14.000
cheered Buffett's every move
Monday night at the Omni.
Atlanta has long been Ins best
city, and it was a homecoming of
the finest order. The show was
the last in a six-month tour, and
top
Onstage
Buffett and The Coral Reefer
Band responded with a loose,
joyful performance—as he told
the crowd. "It’s been a wonder
ful tour, and we couldn't have
picked a better place to end it . "
Even after such a long stay on
the road. Buffett was
l.'im lb sang ' Survive. a
touching love song from Vol
cano, the new LP. with a voice
filled with emotion and soul. His
rich baritone also added to a
stunning rendition of Tom
Waits' haunting "Shiver Me
Timbers." sung in a duet with
Deborah McColl. the "Reefer-
etter" from Decatur. Ga.
McColl also opened the show
with a fine half-hour set at the
piano. Her lovely vocals come
across well even in a hockey
arena, and she even managed to
grab the crowd’s attention with
a scat-sung version of "Georgia
On My Mind"—a formidable
feat in itself.
Nonetheless, the night be
longed to Buffett. He sang
seven songs from the new
album, several he rarelv sings
anymore, and they all came
across well. What really made
the night, though, was the old
material. Early in the set. he did
a fine version of "Pencil Thin
Mustache." a favorite front
living and Dying In Three
Quarter Time that he didn't plav
here last April. It was followed
by a slowed, more intense
version of "Trying To Reason
With Hurricane Season" (from
AIA). a pensive attempt to make
some sense out of it all.
Also impressive, as always,
was the now-obligatory acoustic
set. as Buffett and his guitar go
it alone. The songs this time
through included Steve Good
man's "Banana Republics.” the
customary raucous send-up of
Lord Richard Buckley's "God's
Ow n Drunk" (this time complete
with references to Waycross and
Stuckey's—"Buy 700 gallons ol
gas and get a free pecan roll,")
and his effective, subtle stab at
the horrors of racism. "African
Friend." As he sang these
songs in the mammoth hall. I
got the feeling that he was doing
them for himself as much as the
crowd, and as far as those goons
who screamed and ran for the
beer stand during the quiet
part. well, to hell with 'em.
Ihioiigh ii all. Buffett's ( oral
Rteler Band was in fine form.
As always. Mike Utley on piano.
Harry Dailey on bass and
lingers favlor on harmonica
hacked their chief well, while
Barry Chance on lead guitai and
Deborah McColl added superbly
to tin sound.
III!
thing that makes Buf
fett's music so special is his
ability to take a wise set of
sensibilities and a true sense of
fun. and make the two work for
him. The same guy win* wrote
"A Pirate Looks At Forty," a
stunning lament of frustration in
today's world, can turn around
and do an anthemesque version
ol "Cheeseburger In Paradise"
and it all works. He blends an
insight into what's important in
lile with an appreciation of
what s lun in life—thus songs as
different as “Pirate" and
"Cheeseburger"—and heknows
that the fun and the important
often turn out to be the same
thing.
it
What
Daydreaming." Toasi of Mar
seilles." "Door Number
"Three." "Migraiion") but
didn’t martcr loo much
«c all got «»» a muving.
triumphantly fun evening from a
man who. in his own words,
lives his "life like a song."
The show Monday was a trifle
shnrt —105 minutes as opposed
to 150 at the Fox Theatre in
1*178—and several standouts
didn't get plavcd ( "Havana
Those who denounce Buffett
as a singer of novelty songs
about boats at.d dope are dead
wrong. He uses the sea meta
phorically. lo express his mas
terfully woven dreams and
imagery. We get a chance to
revel in those dreams of his and.
in so doing, revel in our own.
•JG
SCillington
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SGA t nion Memorial Hall
542-7174
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Five nights lod&in&
(quad, occ.)
Five day lift/slope ticket
Roundtrip bus
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Five hearty Vermont
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Four full course dinners
Disco contest with prizes
Live entertainment
Movie ni&ht
Ke& party
Ski Maintenance Clinic
Much more!
Charity fund use
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Sign-up forms available in
Memorial Hall Business
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Atlanta Rhythm Section to perform
The Atlanta Rhythm Section will make
one of the first stops on their Are You
Beady? tour tonight at 8 p.m. in the
Coliseum. The album is a double record set
of most of the band's hits of the past several
years, some of them recorded at the
Champagne Jams of the last two summers.
The Rhythm Section has been performing
as a unit since the early 70s. when the
individual members left session playing to
form their own band.
Their earliest success came in 1974 with
the hit "Doraville." Their successive
albums have each received at least a strong
commercial reception, and their shows have
drawn increasingly loyal followings, most
notably at the Champagne Jams
While not a band noted for their stage
presence. ARS does faithfully reproduce
their material in concert, and their recent
hit cover version of the Classic Four’s
"Spooky" should provide a fitting theme for
tonight's Halloween show
Tickets for the concert are still available
at the Memorial Hall Business Office and at
the door before showtime Tickets are
priced at $4 for students and $8 general
admission.
ATLANTA (UFD—The state’s consumer uuice Tuesday called
for tough new laws to prevent bogus charitable organizations
from soliciting donations from well-intentioned Georgians.
I)r. Tim Ryles, head of the Office of Consumer Affiars. said his
investigators uncovered numerous charity drives where the
money was diverted to the pocketbooks of the organizers instead
of the charity.
Testifying before a Senate committee investigating counterfeit
fund-raising activities. Ryles proposed a new state law requiring
that all charitable organizations be required to file disclosure
statements and spend at least 70 percent of the amount raised on
the purpose for which the money was collected.
The only exception, he said, would be church-sponsored fund
raisers.
Ryles said a "substantial" amount of the money donated to
various charities in Georgia each year is not going for its
intended purpose
In one case. Ryles cited a group promoting itself as a charity
for the blind which collected some $800,000 "There is no evidence
that the blind got anything." he said
Many times. Ryles said, drug smuggling rings “hide" behind
the facade of a charity to launder their money And. he said,
there is evidence suggesting that organized crime is also
involved in some of the fraudulent schemes
But at least one lawmaker. Sen. Richard Greene. D-Macon,
said he feared the proposed legislation would merely create
"another level of government bureaucracy” that would do more
harm than good.
Greene also cautioned that legitimate charities might be hurt if
the state cracked down too quickly on the fraudulent operations
"A lot of legitimate charities will indeed suffer in the long
run," Ryles conceded. "This could hurt the well-established
charities."
However. Ryles added the legitimate organizations would
eventually rebound and might actually benefit in the long run by
collecting money that would have otherwise gone to bogus
operations.
‘ Comedy Is Not Pretty ’ a mediocre album
B\ STEVE DEEB
sents something of a come-dow n
for Martin after his olher sue-
I heard Steve Martin's new
album the other day. That’s just
about all you ean say about it.
too. The album is entitled
Comedy Is Not Pretty, and.
while it's not too bad. it's not so
great either. In fact, it repre-
Not Pretty was
at the Boarding
*
I
You’ll meet the most
interesting people at a
HALLOWEEN PARTY
•••
The Mad Hatter Annual
Halloween Costume Party
Wednesday, October 31st at 8:00 pm.
S100.00 cash prize for the best costume. Those in
costume are admitted free. Our specialty drink-
“Witch’s brew'This party not recommended for
those with weak hearts.
Friday Night iVs
THE ORIGINAL DRIFTERS
The Drifters will be singing your beach favorites••
u Under the Boardwalk”, “Up on the Roof” and more.
Two great shows Friday night.
Shows at 9:00 and 11:00
‘THE <£MAD HATTER3
cesses.
Comedy Is
recorded live
House in San Francisco where
Martin got his real start. Given
that, you’d think it would be a
great show and a good album
Nope. Now. it has its moments,
and some of it is really hilarious.
But in general, the album is
very mediocre.
For one thing, not all of the
material on the album is new.
There is a cut entitled "Cruel
Shoes" from Martin’s book of
the same name; it's good to hear
the material done live but it's
still a bit repetitious. And
Steve Martin
Comedy Is
Not Pretty
Warner
Brothers
remember the "Ramblin' Guy"
routine about coming into town
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and marrying a girl and buying
a house and having some kids
and then leaving everything the
next day? Well, it’s not only on
Wild and Crazy Guy; it’s on this
album too. And it’s not any
funnier the second time around.
There’s also a cut called
"Drop Thumb Medley" that’s
nothing but two minutes and
nine seconds of banjo music.
Now the banjo is a fundamental
element of Martin's act. but a
little of it goes a long way. The
"Drop Thumb Medley" repre
sents a significant chunk of an
album side that is only seven
teen minutes long; it looks like
the producers were just trying to
fill space. Of course, the music
is enjoyable, but it seems a little
out of place on a comedy album.
But 1 said that Comedy Is Not
Pretty has its moments, and so
it does. The best of these comes
near the end of the second side.
Martin has just finished a good
routine about "when the world
blew up" and is waiting for the
audience response to die down.
There is a moment of silence
and then a shout. Martin has
discovered someone illegally
taping his show. The ensuing
jokes and confusion are great.
In general, the second side of
Comedy Is Not Pretty is better
than the first. It has one really
good routine about "Jackie O.,
and Farrah F." and a couple of
others entitled "How To Meet A
Girl" and "Comedy Is Not
Pretty" which are decent. The
best cut on side one is probably
"Googlephonics." which jabs at
sound systems and the stereo
industry.
There’s also a potentially
good routine aboJt McDonald's
and men's underwear that
somehow falls short of the mark
and never quite comes off. Then
there are two cuts, "Born To Be
Wild" and "The All Being,"
which just plain aren't funny.
"Born To Be Wild" is particu
larly bad. Martin goes through
a big. long spiel about a number
of things, none ol which are
notably funny, and at the end of
it all he sings one line: "Born to
be wild."
All of this leaves you feeling
just a little disappointed when
you finish the album. Not so
disappointed that you can act
ually label the thing as a waste
of money, but still it’s a
letdown. Of course, you can’t
expect an artist to consistently
turn out masterpieces, and. in
the same sense, you can't
expect a comedian to consistent
ly be a riot But it is sad to sec
someone of Steve Martin’s
caliber slip even a little.
r
—m
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