Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 2-3

123456 TRIBUNE 3 TEMPO By Steve Darnall Special to the Tribune To coin a phrase, it was 20 years agothat Men at Work were on top of the pop world. Thanks to the breezy, paranoid pop of Can It be and the joyous singalong the Australian debut album as sold 10 million copies, won the group a Grammy, and led to a surge in the sale of Vege- mite. Meanwhile, the band was preparing to record their second album and lead singer Colin Hay found new songs were coming thick and fast. He was particularly excited about a tune written called really thought written something that might Hay recalls from his home in Los Angeles, prior to leaving on a national tour with Ringo All-Starr Band, which plays the Rosemont Theatre on Tuesday. was really quite excited, and when I said to I really get a reaction my band- So I just decided to demo it myself and play everything, because I want to wait for them to get He pauses to reflect on the event.

guess that planted the fact in my head that if all else failed, I could have a go at doing this by a principle proved useful to Hay in more ways than one, particularly since communication problems caused Men at Work to crumble in 1985. Although the Scottish- born, Australian-raised singer- songwriter moved straight into a solo career (starting with For it was only in the last decade that Haytruly decided to do it himself, playing a series of solo acoustic gigs and forming Lazy Eye Records to release his own albums. Things seemed to pick up from there: In 1996, Hay and saxophonist Greg Ham revived Men at Work in front of 100,000 people at the Rock in Rio festival. Last year, Hay self-released the smart, easygoing of and turned up on confirming the staying power of by singing it from a slab at a hospital morgue. This summer, as Hay rehearsed with Ringo, Nashville-based Compass Records released at a collection of songs from seven solo discs.

In what Hay jokingly calls blatant grasping attempt to get the album includes new versions of five Men at Work songs, including a remake of (performed with wife Cecilia Noel) more carnivale than outback. While interesting to hear songs such as Can It Be and without the sunny production of the original versions, also encouraging to hear post-Men at Work output: songs such as Be and are catchy and well- crafted enough to confirm that musical skills diminished with age. Indeed, if Hay has any complaint, that a one-man record label always possess much pull with distributors, no matter what your last band did; is available only through the Internet and at solo shows. Hay may not feel compelled to sell 10 million copies (one suspects the Men at Work royalties will keep him in Vegemite no matter what) but he admits that running own show is awful lot of work. think going small is a good he admits, getting some kind of small company got some kind of infrastructure why quite happy to hook up with Still, while Hay calls his career stumbling one could argue that taken some very deliberate steps ever since the release of when it became apparent that Columbia Records either or promote the record properly.

got the distinct impression that it so much that they like what I did, but they really know what to do with me Hay recalls without a trace of bitterness. take it personally, particularly I just thought, maybe this is not where supposed to A number of performers from generation have come to the same conclusion. With the seismic changes and consolidations in the record industry, a lot of capable songwriters (including John Prine, Aimee Mann and longtime Squeeze frontman Glenn Tilbrook) have realized that they can live and even make a profit without the support (or interference) of a corporate- owned major label. muscle of a major label, when behind you, is undeniably great and everyone loves it when it says Tilbrook, who plays a solo acoustic show at the Abbey Pub on Aug. 24.

when it work, spending lots and lots of money to achieve no sales and build up a huge mountain of debt debt that means you see money back from record sales. Surprisingly, the first album on which Squeeze made a profit was the last one released in England on That was a little The budgets are certainly different running your own label, and the big arena gigs of the 1980s have been replaced with a steady stream of one-man presentations at intimate clubs, but the goal remains the same: getting people to hear the music. Colin Hay plays with Ringo Starr and his All- Starr Band at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Rosemont Theatre, 5400 N. River Rosemont; 847-6715100.

MUSIC Decision to go solo has paid off for Men at Colin Hay Photo by Toronto Star Colin Hay calls his career stumbling but one could argue taken some very deliberate steps. ARTS ENTERTAINMENT TUESDAY EVANESCENCE 6 p.m. at the Congress Theatre, 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave. HOW MUCH: $25.

312-559-1212. WHAT: This band burst on the scene with Me to a track featured on the soundtrack to the movie and its album has been a fixture near the top of the charts, thanks to the sensitive, pained lyrics and souring voice of singer Amy Lee. 7:30 p.m. at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.

HOW MUCH: 312-335-1650. WHAT: A fascinating, mixed-up provocation from Tony Kushner. The author of in began this piece as a stand-alone monologue, delivered by a hermetic London woman (superbly played in director Frank production by Amy Morton). An encounter with an Afghan shopkeeper prods her into life-changing action; the rest of the play follows the husband and daughter to Kabul, in search of the missing (dead? alive?) homebody. The full of outlandish gaps in logic, and some strangely pulpy detours, including a panty-sniffing episode that belongs in no known play.

abrasive lost souls are tough company. Yet the rhetorical and political eloquence is often dazzling; at its mournful best, the play reminds you how good Kushner can be. It continues through Aug. 31. WEDNESDAY LION 2 and 7:30 p.m.

at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151W. Randolph St. HOW MUCH: 312-902-1400. WHAT: Director Julie visions of the African food chain giraffes, elephants, cheetahs, mice and, of course, a pride of lions were worth the wait. Tay- mor and gorgeous, supple visual achievements take your breath away.

Half the lovely, too; arranger Lebo one-ups the weak Elton Tim Rice songs without even trying. own Larry Yando snarls artfully as the villainous Scar; Rafiki the baboon, played by South African performer Thandazile A. Soni, is pure delight. It continues through Nov. 23.

8 p.m. at United Center, Parking Lot 1901W. Madison St. HOW MUCH: 800-678-5440. WHAT: The newest tented attraction to arrive in Chicago departs from the Cirque du dominant aesthetic.

The quiet thoughtfulness of such gorgeous early shows as have been replaced by a loud, dazzling and thoroughly beguiling family show with several brilliant acts that whipped its opening-night audience into a veritable frenzy. It continues through Aug. 31. PLANNER Lion an interpretation well worth the wait, is playing at the Cadillac Palace Theatre and continues through Nov. 23.

By Joshua Klein Special to the Tribune Tori Amos and Ben Folds are calling their joint summer venture the and for obvious reasons. Yes, a play on but it also heralds their unwieldy instrument of choice. Pianos come and go on the pop landscape, like a fashionable accessory. But whether in sync with current trends or not, Folds and Amos tickling the ivories has always been a welcome respite from the typical bass-drums-guitar monotony of alternative rock. Right now Folds and Amos are pretty far out of the pop spotlight, though you could hardly tell at the sold-out Auditorium Theatre Sunday night, where the pair convened for a hipper take on Elton John and Billy frequent arena couplings.

The big difference is that besides playing piano, Amos and Folds have virtually nothing in common. She plays earnest, mystical, fantasy-filled art- rock. He plays loosely satirical crowd-pleasing ditties, part Randy Newman, part Victor Borge. But fortunately the divergent sets each met with favor from the audience, about evenly split between fans of Folds and fans of Amos. Folds, who played first, noted how the opening slot gave him the chance to relax on stage.

Just when is Folds not relaxed? In concert the a constant goof, pounding at his piano and flashing silly grins. Before his song Folds coached the crowd like a patient piano teacher into providing horn-approximating accompaniment. the took aim at rap-rock poseurs, and Give No mocked the crass materialism and hypocrisy of upper- class America. Most impressive, the multi-instrumentalist Folds segued from one song into a full-on drum solo, pounding away on a single drum as roadies assembled a drum kit around him, piece-by- piece. Still, Folds can be serious when he wants to.

His song a hit for his old band Ben Folds Five, concerned the confusion and pain of getting an abortion, and was a straight-faced, sentimental love song. After that it was back to in case meant goofing intriguing to know that beneath the mugging false modesty of his on-stage image lies a talented musician with impeccable pop instincts. Tori Amos, on the other hand, could never sell false modesty, let alone the real thing. A quirky virtuoso, she long ago set her own rules and has lived by them ever since. Watching Amos perform is like being sucked into someone world for a while, and admittedly the prospect can be daunting.

Particularly queasy is most recent disc, an ambitious and panoramic take on the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, that is at once surreal, profound, pretty, whimsical and more than a little bit solipsistic. Yet placed in the context of her rapidly expanding back catalog, several of her newer tracks worked wonderfully Sunday night. Sorta played up the almost too intimate vocals, the anthemic chorus, the rhythmic pulse of her band (in this case longtime bassist Jon Evans and drummer Matt Chamberlain). creative polyr- hythms helped enliven the offbeat country styl- ings of and on older songs like and he and Evans locked into elastic funk grooves that both supported and enhanced flights of fantasy.

But as usual, Amos was at her best when she sat along at her piano and played sans accompaniment. Though her voice was laden with too much reverb to make much of her lyrics, her singing remains supple and distinctive, and her unconventional melodic sense is that times ten. The beautiful shimmered in stripped-down form, with Amos straddling her bench and delivering her song like she was channeling her spirit directly into the souls of her rapt fans. MUSIC REVIEW Unlikely duo hits pleasing chord Earnest Amos, wry Folds share double bill on the Photo for the Tribune by Yvette Marie Dostatni Several of Tori newer songs worked wonderfully Sunday night during her set at Auditorium Theatre. She performs Monday at Navy Pier.

Now appearing on Metromix.com. (As well as recent theater reviews.) Michael Phillips reviews and at Chicago Dramatists. In Metro, Page 2 More entertainment news and reviews. NEW REVIEWS Alexander Norris famous. But in the mid-19th Century, he set his sons-in-law on the road to becoming household names when he urged them one named Proctor, the other Gamble to go into business together.

common knowledge that President James Garfield was shot in 1881and died two months later. But Beyer informs us that the wound was not life-threatening and that death was largely due to the incompetence of the physicians attending him, whose inability to remove the bullet led to fatal complications. And we might be writing monthly checks to the Reis Telephone Co. if Philip Reis exhibited some stick-to-itiveness. He had invented a crude telephone 24 years before Alexander Graham Bell patented his, but Reis became frustrated and hung up on the idea.

By Ron Berthel Associated Press Lesser-known details of history are the subject of Greatest Stories Never (HarperResource, 224 pages, $17.95) Author Rick Beyer arranges 100 tales in chronological order, and the text is accompanied by hundreds of photos, drawings and maps. Stories tell how a note wrapped around three cigars might have helped the Union win the Civil War; how New first subway was built in secret; how the and Eiffel Tower was saved from destruction by the invention of radio; and how film actress Hedy Lamarr helped invent a system of constantly switching frequencies that is still used in cell phone and satellite transmissions. BOOK REVIEW all about details.