The Herald-Sun from Durham, North Carolina • 34

DURHAM MORNING HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 2 1987 PAGE 4D Holiday Allstars Pickup Band Worth Catching Gordon Lewis lise that he can be a stunning lead guitarist in other forms of music as well His work throughout the evening was masterful you had to be there to believe it And Andy vocals were devastating perfectly displayed on In The Midnight HourMustang Sally Three Hard Men played a few numbers but leaned a little too much toward heavy meatal for my tastes They seemed a bit out of place though they played welL The Pearls played more rhythm and blues with Steve Runkle handling the vocals Their version of Lawdy Miss Clawdy was tough' When the Allstars returned for their final set Barry Herndon's James Brown numbers brought the crowd to its feet as did their renditions of Rolling Stones tunes It would be impossible to recount all the killer moments Suffice it to say that the audience and the musicians all had a blast The guys accomplished what they set out to do which was to have a good time So next year catch the Allstars when they perform between the Christmas and New holidays After they played one set Three Hard John Custer on guitar and vocals Steve Adams on bass and Kenny Soule on took the stage They were followed by the Steve on bass Keith Taylor on guitar Lindsay Rosebrock on keyboards and Doug Cain on drums The Allstars returned with Barry Herndon on drums and vocals and Eddie Weaver on bass The main musical ground covered was the rhythm and blues of the 1950s and A horn section such as the one that played Saturday makes this kind of music shine Few bands however can afford to travel with horns The first set was hot the horns providing excellent muscle the rhythm section providing the beat and the guitars key-' boards and vocals providing the substance Chuck Berry's Nadine Van Domino and Bos Runnin' Blues (a little-known classic from his early days) were hot Though all personnel did a tremendous job I want to make special mention of two Individuals Bernie Pettiway is well known for his work with jazz yet few rea- Music Between Christmas and New there is usually a dearth of live music in the Triangle That is why the Holiday Allstars who appeared Saturday at the Brewery in Raleigh were such a pleasant supnse The Allstars are a group of friends who got together during the holidays one year and performed with little rehearsal for their own and enjoyment During the holiday seasons of 1979 through 1981 they played at the Pier They sat 1982 and 1983 out returning in 84 to the Deja Vu right before that club closed In 1985 they began playing at the Brewery continuing the tradition this year The emphasis here is fun with a capital Nothing is meant to be perfect the idea is to get together for a good time and hope the audience has the same And that's exactly what happened Saturday night So many of the musicians switched instruments that to list everything each participant played would be almost impossible: The best thing to do is list the personnel by their main instruments The basic group of Allstars were Andy Swindell Bemie Pettiway and Hall Ashmore on guitar Eddy Johnson on bass Glenn Edwards JP Mitchell and Scott Davidson on drums: and Phil Mazarick on keyboards Mitchell who also played congas and Swindell were the vocalists Other pickup groups joining in the fun included the Holiday Don Eagle on trumpet Rodney Marsh on baritone sax and David Youngman on tenor sax British Rockers Offer Dark Moods Eclectic Styles Album Reviews By CORSON LEWIS Herald correspondent relaxed time that lopes along like a cowboy song talking about red live case of too much falling in Actually these guys are the most uplifting of the four groups mentioned here Featured throughout are previous two While an interesting album nothing here that grabs you The Suicide Twins Silver Missiles And Nightingales (PVC) Andy McCoy and Nasty Super-star (formerly with the glam rock outfit Hanoi Rocks) are the Suicide Twins a duo that sounds like a cross between Mark Bolan (T-Rex) and Ray Davies doing country music mm traces of jazz stylings (more the supper club variety) brush-stroked drums muted guitar chords and relaxed vocals On the whole however this record excite me like the end of Sun And Moon This well thought-out album is full of great music and is highly recommended The Mighty Lemon Drops Happy Head (Sire) Some say these guys sound too much like Echo And The Bunny-men but that is not the case While there are some similarities between the two groups such as Paul vocals and the fact that both of these bands hail from Liverpool the Lemon Drops produce harder louder rock and roll Also like the Lucy Show they include those Byrdsy chords that give them such a pleasant melodic twinge (as in My Biggest Thrill and Hypnotised) For the most part though they are harder faster and louder than The Lucy Show Songs like All the Way and Like an Angel art literally bursting with energy and enthusiasm Yet these guys are definitely are not happy-go-lucky In Pass You By they talk about someone who always seems to miss out on the opportunities of life because AN DARIN H0U56 the time is right you let it all pass by" Happy Head ex- lores the conflict between appy and sad' with the extremes never smoothing out "Sometimes up so high sometimes down one lyric says remember having my feet on level ground" Get the picture? Besides Marsh Keith Rowley on percussion David Newton on guitar and Tony Line-han on bass Newton and Line-han wrote all the songs Despite the dark lyrics this LP sizzles Once you get caught up in it never let you go Fantastic The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy Distressed Gentlefolk (Bigtime) Whew! The name of this band is enough to deter most people from getting within 20 feet of this LP Though the name of the group suggests chainsaws and painful wailing nothing could be further from the truth Check out the opener Falling In Love a ililaew Ilcsteaituit l- umckusnm i S8ssr- gjj SSI MISASW1MM HumcMetiM SOUTH SQUAM HALL WHI 454119 Regardless of what heard about merry old England the British are not alwgys so very merry For a good while now a number of British bands have had a rather desperate sound Though some are a bit hard to listen to this movement has produced a wealth of talented musicians A fascinating array of musical styles converge in the recordings done by these groups Blues jazz country psychedelia avant garde classical and other genres float in and out like pieces of dreams This can make for some interesting listening so the spotlight this week is on four recent releases all of which generally fit in this category The Lucy Show Mania (Big-time) Two musicians Rob Vandeven and Mark Bandola divide the songwritng chores for The Lucy Show Vandeven plays bass and Bandola plays guitar and keyboards They blend dark melodies and the wonderful folk-rock chords of the Byrds to produce a collection of stirring tunes that are catchy yet full of substance Fueled by a powerful rhythm Vandeven and drummer Bryan they charge through some absolutely dynamic material Bandola and Vandeven handling the main vocals layer their voices richly in the backround Their songs can take on a lush sound as in Fart Of Me with its Bryds-like chords ringing throughout (reminding me of The Church) Or as with the anthemic A Million Things their music is almost uplifting (heaven forbid!) There are some nice touches such as the horns on New Message and the psychedelic guitar riff at the Open Pit Charcoal House Southern Country Buffet Two minutes is too long for Calabash Every second counts hen ynu're cookin' Calabash When the color Is perfect you're done and that's alwqsless than two minutes why Calabash seafood has so much taste and tenderness heaped up high on your plate! Butter Bsanu Creamed Potatoes Turnip Greens Potato Salad Macaroni Salad Cote Slaw BUFFET FEATURES: Fried Chicken Country Style Steak ChiSt Macaroni Cassarais Tuna Salad PoifcBSQ Chicken Sdad Spaghetti wMoat Sauce ButtarBam FMi Shingbeans Creamed Potatoes Homemade Vegetable Soup Complete Salad Bar Homemade Banana Pudding Fruit Cobbler Cake Children Under 2 Eat Free Beverage Tea Not Included 323 Blackwall St -n Tnhanco Qbl 688-6828 SEAFOOD RESTAURANT when the eoottnh timed in seconds Dinner: 5-9 7 days a week Lunch: Monday-Fridsy 493-8096 967-8227 Major credit cards BiR1MsH9.