Calgary Herald from Calgary, Alberta, Canada • 53

THE CAl GARY HERALD Wed May 27, 1981 C9 Asleep at the Wheel The sound is still familiar A review ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL, at the University Theate, May 26-27, with Diamond Joe White. By Brian Brennan (Herald staff writer) There isn't much resemblance between the Asleep at the Wheel that opened a two-night stand at the University Theatre last night and the band that performed here about three or four years ago. This band has had more personnel changes than Lougheed's cabinets over the past few years. Ray Benson, the six-foot-six bandleader on whose rent-free West Virginia farm the group began life about 12 years ago, is the sole survivor of the 11 -piece medicine show that opened at The Corral for Jerry Jeff Walker once, and subsequently played what was laughably called a bam dance at the Springbank hockey arena. And yet the music sounds almost the same, even though the new members of the group have different styles from the people they replaced.

The current edition of the band includes singer Ma-ryann Price, formerly with Dan Hicks and Hot Licks, steel player Wally Murphy and fiddler Paul Anastasio, who gigged around Calgary with various bands a few years ago. Price has brought some of Hick's influence to the sound of the new also when Benson attempted to play fiddle on Take Me Back To Tulsa using an untuned instrument, and a bizzarre sequence toward the end when Benson tried to give the old fundamentalist preacher introduction to his version of Am I High? and ended up tripping over himself (literally), losing his microphone and running into problems with the sound system. The show was opened by the returned exile Diamond Joe White, who showed excellent form after his time spent farming on Vancouver Island. He was accompanied by his former colleagues, pianist Ron Casat and bassist Kim Kramer, and a new lead guitarist who plays well but has yet to find a comfortable niche for himself in the group. There was a little conflict on the back line last night, the result of each musician trying to show a little flash instead of showing a little respect for one another.

But White's raspy voice was as invigorating as ever and the few songs he has added to the old repertoire were quite catchy, particularly a pretty balled called I'll Never Have To Go Away Again, written for his baby daughter. The show will be repeated tonight at 9:30. group, which doesn't make for a major departure because Benson and Hicks share a common interest in the pop music of the '30s and '40s, and Price sounds much more comfortable with this kind of music thatn former Asleep vocalist Chris O'Connell ever did. Some of the high-lights of last night's program included a strong duet by Price and Benson on After You've Gone, 'some nice solo work by Price on Fats Waller's Ain't Misbehavin' and I'm An Old Cowhand, and a powerful solo by Benson on the old Frankie Laine hit, Lucky Old Sun. There were also a couple of good instrumental numbers, including Sugar Foot Rag, where Benson, Murphy and Anastasio traded lead lines and played as tightly as if they'd been practising together for years.

But there were a few lapses, particularly when the musicians played an inordinately long rock song that bore no relation to any of the other music they were doing. 1 fid iW When you dal wtth the dfvtl somebody's I fa la kiftd 11 WM.J0KNCY I JT 1 1 i I ff restricted Adult II I'M i I I fl Fm'iV I darning: Gory twttlescenes 18 1 1 Evenmas at 7 15 9 15 i 3 VmVfWi JTTIlX- tX 1 i I I I i MtMftj-'atMM Evenings at 7 15 8 9 30 I I JmB 4P il Mst Run. al 200 tt Bir.hAkD A BOTH mm P'OCucer SIANII i f. ifl1, jgySJuf MM jj J'-" "6" a ht-incieo Mu; v.dm.nq u't1 ft viU'U'iu; Ml i ly ii CIS Dai iv at 1 4i 4 no 7nnQ Evpmnqs 7 00 15 II I 4 AWARDS 2 I i i 1 1 1 1 1 sssi iiFn-" iiJ'-o I I I I VMS Ma, Sun 2 00 IS I 1 1 i i I 1 1 ii mw3 Daily at 2 30. 5 30 9 00 I RV.

MOVES FRIDAY Ji Theatre teams to vie for rubber chicken nightly, with series tickets at $12 and $10 for students. Call 264-7129 for reservations. The Loose Moose TheatreSports All-Stars will take on the Vancouver All-Stars in a three-day tourna ment Friday through Sunday at the Pum-phouse Theatre. The Loose Moose team played every Wine collects gold NIGHTLY AT 7:30 PRIVATE BENJAMIN ful handling of challenges issued by an opposing team. Penalties are accessed for inaudibility, obscenity and scenes judged to be boring.

Members of the losing team are roundly booed after the match and suffer the added humiliation ooff having pies thrown in their faces by selected audience members. Show times for the all-stars tournament is 8 p.m. Tickets are S5 and $4 for students Sunday night at the Pumphouse during the past year. The thea-tresports game begins with singing the national anthem; a commentator then calls the play and the teams of improvisers compete against one another for a rubber chicken trophy. An elaborate scoring system has been devised for theatres-ports.

Points are given for inventive improvising, good use of time on stage and success MONTREAL (CP) April Wine, the Montreal-based rock group, has picked up two gold records after its latest releases, Harder, Faster and The Nature of the Beast, sold more than 500,000 copies in the United States. The band is currently headlining a U.S. -wide tour and plans to launch a seven-week Canadian outing in late July, Aquarius Records said in a statement. AtXfL Not suitsoiQ to cmidren 2S3E You are what you eat. UMBER ARTISTS presents LICfiAEOYD First Lady of The Guitar fjf MM MAM I Daily at 7:30 and 9:30 Restricted Adult Coming Monday to the SCOTCH ROOM THE BOOS BROTHERS First time in Canada June 1-20 Daily at 7 00 and 9 00 Restricted Adult tiMinsa max 81 i PIP The comedy for everyone who's had it up to s.v.- Robert Hays hasn't had this much fun since JAZZ Thursdays 430-730 Four Seasons Hotel CALGARY vth ApniK at Ontv Stvet MErRfttJWKZOHlY Friday, June 5 at 8:30 p.m.

jbiiUiAysncfiiuM DwdY.H.Lui Prestation i fefciSfl ItTTl tr-y 1 I 4 Hfif? SUNDAY AT 7 00 ftfr llff II 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 WATINFESAI. AND SUN. AT 2 00 uftTllT 11 I "THE INCPEO'BLE I 1 SHRINKING WOMAN" auuit not suitabli; 'on children i QaTf 3P -SHOW AT DUSK 24 6Ai KBqpMMBpMPWpWBW I WSkf aW i--'- 1 I a hiitabuiuh I PFSTpieTro aoult Ti't taf.MiLi's CAILY AT 5 AND 9 -IS E-'-AYj II 1 -I fr7 5 9 MATlNffE SUNDAY AT 2 00 JTff Apjy I ASgfc SSII GATFSS30 SHOW ATOUSK I I 18 6000 I 1 1 1 CIV I jOtl 1 1 TKSS' I I MARIETTE HARTLEY suiTrs 8 I IMPROPER Eiiii: CHAHHELS I ACADEMY AWARD WINNER 1 Zja3 9 1 AVV t) L- FAVUYtNTERTAINMFNT J'fcl slt.ik I DAILY AT 7 Vj AN0 1 BjlVl 1 i.T'i'I.O -gi I i''W i S-Hiy I MATINEE SUNDAY At 2 00 I 1 i i iiji I i MATINEE SUN 2 JQ L' "j'jt, MIW-S STHl CRAZY 5VWf: -SD, Trusts 1 ADL1.T NOT fQW. CHH.QWLN IftAPNING COARSE LANGUAGE THPQUGHQUT SHOWTIME DUSK till II ilr.ai gk RYAN AND BRYAN CHERYL KEYLA 1 Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday Evening it Jil Jiff BUCK WEIL -TWCE TUG J08 WD SHCVT R08QT KftS BARSASA HOtSHTV WTM KEITH TIM THOHOSON ALK3T PDG2i WJVXS CHAM RSCH MAKTia WiUU. UAKTCAJrT-n WVIOAILAMDOE EAJCTY SCHNOCffl JBtWLl BGSiiM SCHNG3ER MSHAPAUl BARAHA ummSXC BUUXKrBi i WILUMJ IMMERMAN i.

DAV13 MARKS ADULT ENTERTAINMENT STARTS FRIDAY.