Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 23

Mil DETROIT FREE PRESSMONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1968 3B PARTY LINE QNJHERECORDS A perfect blend of elements V'lf 1 Pop: U2's latest is a search for musical roots -i Jii i MARY SCHROEDERDetrolt Free Press Lulu and Ernie Harwell with Marily Connor (right), president of the Understudies, a fund-raising group for Hilberry Theater. BY JOHN GUINN Free Press Music Critic ANN ARBOR Poor Philip Glass! He suffers from the same malady that afflicted Tchaikovsky. He is popular. In an era in which many view new music with the same alarm they view root canals, audiences of all ages flock to performances of Glass' music. Look what happened over the weekend.

One of Glass' most recent efforts, "1000 Airplanes on the Roof," stopped by the area on its current North American tour for two scheduled performances, one at the Music Hall in Detroit Friday night and one in Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater Saturday. All 1,710 seats in ft ''S' MiMMiMMMMMMMMMMiriniTiMii-iiiirim-Wnnniftnn--iiiwiwiirniiiitrrriininiritiiiiiitiiMMiMMMWwi Lone figure is backed by slide projections in 1 000 Airplanes on the Roof. President's Preview Particulars: If only for one night, everyone was a celebrity as they autographed baseball after baseball. David Adamany, president of Wayne State University, knows how to throw a party, black-tie, complete with baseball cap. The President's Preview was held Saturday night at McGregor Conference Center, and culminated the Understudies fund-raising campaign for the Hilberry Repertory Company.

The Understudies, celebrating their 25th anniversary, have raised more than $95,000 for the theater. More than 180 guests gathered in McGregor Conference Center for dinner and were given regulation baseballs and caps donated by the Detroit Tigers. The autographing was a contest to see who could get the most signatures and win a weekend for two at the Grand Traverse Resort, donated by Paul and Sue Nine of Bloomfield Hills. Party goers were then whisked away by bus to the Hilberry to see the opening performance of "Georgia Peach," Howard Burman's play about the legendary Ty Cobb. Chairwoman for the evening was Mary Jane Bostick.

Spotted in the crowd: Charlie Gehringer, Tigers Hall of Famer and his wife Jo; Kathryn Martin, WSU's dean of fine arts; Elliott Trumbull with Patti Faris; Dr. Arthur Johnson, vice-president of community relations for WSU, and his wife Chacona; Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell and his wife Lulu; and playwright Howard Burman, former theater director at Wayne, in from California with his wife Karen. Ambience: Tiger paraphernalia and blue and orange balloons tied to coke bottle vases. Miniature hot dogs, pizza courtesy of Domino's, beer, peanuts, bubble gum baseball trading cards, popcorn and Cracker Jack. Overheard: During opening remarks by Adamany, someone in the theatre remarked how his voice could be mistaken for Dukakis.

Consuming passions: Party goers enjoyed a southern-style dinner: Smoked catfish on salad greens, crab-stuffed breast of chicken, corn bread, yam souffle, and a peach melba chambord flambe. By Linda A. Meachum Glass is successful. He writes music that audiences find intriguing. the Michigan Theater sold out so quickly that a second performance was arranged for later Saturday night.

It also sold heavily. Obviously, Glass is successful. The reason is simple: He writes music that audiences find intriguing. "1000 Airplanes," which I saw at the first Michigan Theater performance Saturday, should further solidify Glass' popularity. The work is a three-way collaboration involving Glass, playwright David Henry Hwang and designer Jerome Sirlin.

The trio's 90-minute piece deals with the alienation felt by a person, dubbed who has been whisked away by space aliens. After performing various experiments, the aliens return their captive to earth, with stern admonitions to forget the experience. (The role of M. has been double-cast, with a male and female performer alternating from performance to performance. Patrick O'Connell was M.

at Saturday's first performance.) The work, performed without intermission, is quite Hwang's script is admirable, and Sirlin's slide projections, which place M. in a variety of three-dimensional situations, are fasci- nent as a way to achieve subtlety within the repetition of the patterns. The result is evidence of a composer who still seems happy with his basic compositional style, but who also is interested in searching out new ways to work within its confines. "1000 Airplanes," which Glass also staged deftly, was performed with dedication and skill. O'Connell played the difficult role of M.

with unflagging energy. It's not easy to develop your character when you're the only actor onstage, but O'Connell did so skillfully. The seven members of the Philip Glass Ensemble performed the score with energy and aplomb, aided by the unobtrusive but vital work of the sound engineers. Sirlin's slides were projected flawlessly. Ultimately, "1000 Airplanes" is continuing proof that Glass is touched with genius.

Meanwhile, the genius is busy with a host of projects, including an opera commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera to be premiered in October 1992 during the 500th anniversary celebrations of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. "For now, I'm calling it 'The Glass said. Should be quite a trip. nating. But the strongest element in "1000 Airplanes" is Glass' music.

The ultimate impact of the drama is so dependent on the music that if it were omitted, the work would fall apart. In that sense, "1000 Airplanes" qualifies as opera, although Glass calls it "a science-fiction music-drama." Like most of his previous scores, the music for "1000 Airplanes" is couched in the tenets of minimalism brief, rapid-fire, melodic and harmonic patterns of utter simplicity repeated at length with subtle changes. But there are differences here. Dynamic shifts, the gradual changing of volume from soft to loud to soft, become vitally important to the way the music conveys the drama. And changes in the thickness of the texture, both by varying the number of instruments performing and by altering the spacing of the melodic lines, become more promi Hi J'-l Jr 1 1 8FSWM STEVEN R.

NICKERSONDetroit Free Press The Rev. David Eberhard with his wife Beverly in Holy Trinity Church. A FEW WORDS WITH BASIA American soul a big influence for Polish singer The Irish quartet U2 RATTLE AND HUM U2 (Island): More than the soundtrack to the movie that opens Nov. 4, this two-record set is U2's new album, another musical step for the Irish quartet that's impressed and progressed since it started releasing albums in 1980. On "Rattle and Hum," the group looks for roots; it continues the conscious exploration of styles many from America that its members began on last year's "The Joshua Tree" album and talked about during their U.S.

tours. The search takes many forms on "Rattle and Hum." There are in-concert covers of songs by the Beatles and Bob Dylan Along the as well as an answer to John Lennon's "God" titled "God Part II," that castigates recent Lennon biographer Albert Goldman. The group also dives into Memphis soul of folk from Ireland Diemen's and America Rescue Me," composed and performed with Dylan), blues Love Comes to Town" with B.B. King and a live version of the anti-apartheid "Silver and and gospel 269" and a live version of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" with New York's Voices of Freedom choir). It's an eclectic pastiche of material, but U2 applies a deft hand to each song, making "Rattle and Hum" surprisingly cohesive and uniformly exciting.

With nods to its past live versions of "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and "Bullet the Blue Sky" and all the new material, the group more than lives up to the expectations of those who have labeled it one of this decade's most important bands. LAND OF DREAMS Randy Newman (Reprise): Newman's first non-soundtrack album in five years is a gem, with his always engaging lyrics given musical punch by Mark Knopfler and other collaborators. Staring At The Sun Level 42 (Poiydor): Another collection of pleasant pop melodies that may be too rich, layered and ambient for the Top 40 mainstream. TRIANGLES Garner Cole (Warner He's penned hits for Madonna and Jody Watley, so the tuneful, if formulaic, quality of this debut album shouldn't come as much of a surprise. NOTHING TO LOSE Eddie Money (Columbia): One big mid-tempo hit Wanna Go has spawned an album of beefy, workmanlike, and generally dull material in the same vein.

IMAGINE: JOHN LEMON Soundtrack (Capitol): An OK but incomplete collection of Lennon and Beatles songs, more effective with the accompanying visuals. Do we really need a rehearsal version of "Imagine?" CLOSE Kim Wilde (MCA): But no cigar. By a long shot. By Gary Graff Country: Oaks have harmony MONONGAHELA The Oak Ridge Boys (MCA): Geography teachers, salute. Hum the lines, "Gonna take the Mississippi, the MON-onga-HELA and the OH-i-O," and you'll be swimming in one of the catchiest, cleverest songs from the Oaks in many moons.

The album makes a wave with good-natured songs that feature gospel flair and deep-rooted harmony; the group seems to be swerving from previous pop-country forays. On "When Karen Comes Around" and "Heat of the Night," the quartet's voices resonate like a theater organ with the rich, vibrato bass cranked up. If they can just work the word "Allegheny" into the next album, they'll get a river of thanks from the nation's fifth-grade teachers. Western Standard Time Asleep at the Wheel (Epic): Fabulous, light-hearted stuff for retro fans. Willie Nelson chums it up with Asleep leader Ray Benson on "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" and fiddler-extraordinaire Johnny Gimble lilts his way through "That's What I Like About the South." Highway Ioi-Squared Highway ici (Warner This restless group should be pulled over for traveling, but it mesmerizes as it journeys from country standards to the rock-edged "Road to Your Heart" and back.

By Ellen Creager Holy Trinity Oktoberfest Particulars: A blessing kicked off Oktoberfest and the fifth annual black-tie fund-raiser at Historic Trinity Church Friday. The Rev. David Eberhard and John Stroh III blessed the hops before a cheering crowd of 200 party goers who paid $1 50 each to attend. Stroh looked like a true pageant winner wearing a banner for his brewmeistering (the art of keeping the beer pitchers full) and proudly carried a bouquet of hops. Monies raised will benefit the renovation efforts of the parish.

Overheard: "The support of these individuals assure the restoration of these great historic facilities Great people, for a great night in Downtown Detroit," said Mr. Eberhard. He also reported that more than $15,000 had been raised to aid the beautiful Gothic church founded in 1850. Stand-outs: Dr. Colette Belanger of Detroit was stunning in a bejeweled, paisley jacket accented with a red satin blouse and black palazzo pants; and Grosse Pointe businessman Kenneth Adler was a definite stand-out in a multicolored, fluorescent bow-tie.

Spotted in the crowd: Restaurateur Joe Muer; former "Bowling for Dollars" host Bob Allison, along with wife Maggie; Trinity program director Edith Miller; executive director of the Beaumont Foundation Boris Sellers along with wife JoAnn; F. Edward Lucas II along with wife Denise; and June Roselle, director of Civic Center for the City of Detroit along with husband Bob, executive vice-president of Campbell Ewald advertising agency. By Lavena Knott I The Polish singer, born Basia (BAH-sha) Trzetrzelewska, is on her first American tour as her debut album, "Time and Tide," rides up the Billboard charts. She'll perform with Dan Segal at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Royal Oak Music Theatre, Fourth and Washington, Royal Oak.

Call 546-7610. ON HER MUSIC: Basia co-wrote the songs on "Time and Tide" with keyboardist Danny White after the two worked together in the pop band Matt Bianco. Though they use synthesizers and other electronic instruments to create a blend of pop, jazz and Brazilian styles, she said the duo tried to keep the record from sounding too artificial. "We try to make sure we have real guitars and other instruments. It's incredible how much piano lessons at age seven, and vocal training sometime later.

ON INFLUENCES: After moving to Warsaw when she was 18, Basia joined a band that took up residency in Chicago during 1980. There she soaked up all the American pop music she could. "I was always influenced by Stevie Wonder," she said, "and Aretha Franklin, too." ON MATT BIANCO: Basia, who's in her "very late '20s now," joined the group after returning from Chicago, and its debut album, "Whose Side Are You On?" sold Yh million copies in Europe. But Basia had no say in the group's decisions. "I was like a guest.

I wasn't involved in writing or anything about production." By Paul Raeburn, Associated Press Basia Trzetrzelewska freedom we have." ON GROWING UP: Basia was raised in Jaworzno, a mining town in southern Poland. "When you come to town, you see smoke. But there's something about that town that makes me miss it." She started ri) Ti, i 7 Kfiymr TOP HITS BANDSTAND 1 NAME: The Nancy Wood Trio 1 1 mmnr PbitMi TTT1 STEVEN R. NICKERSONDetroit Free Press Don and Dale Austin (left) with Sye and Bill Vittitoe at the Recess Club dinner before opening night of "The Ballad of Baby Doe. MEMBERS: Nancy Wood, vocals; Phil Kelly, keyboards; Ken Kellett, bass.

HISTORY: The trio has been Nancy Wood performing ALBUMS Detroit current week U.S. current week 1. New Jersey, Bon Jovi (Mercury) 1 2. Appetite for Destruction, Guns 'n' Rosea (Geffen) 2 3. Justice for All, Metallic (Elektra) A.

Cocktail Soundtrack (Elektra) 4 5. Hysteria, Def Leppard (Mercury) 3 ft. Simple Pleasures, Bobby McFerrin (EMl-Manhattan) 7 7. Open Up and Say Aah, Poison (Enigma) 16 8. UB40, UB40 (A M) 9.

Power, Ice (Sire) 10. He's the DJ, Jazzy Jeff Fresh Prince (Jive) 11 Singles 1 Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin (EMl-Manhattan) 6 Groovy Kind of Love, Phil Collins, (Atlantic) 3 3. Red, Red Wine, UB40 (A M) 1 4- Wild, Wild West, Escape Club (Atlantic) 9 5. Kokomo, Beach Boys (Elektra) 16 6. Don't Be Cruel, Cheap Trick (Epic) 4 7.

Desire, U2 (Island) 8. The loco-Motion, Kylie Minogue (Geffen) 17 9. Sweet Child o' Mine, Guns Roses (Geffen) JO. One Moment in Time, Whitney Houston (Arista) 18 MOT opening night parties Particulars: Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT) supporters enjoyed two different parties before the opening night performance Friday. A glitzy cocktail party and dinner for 125 people at the Recess Club preceded a country hoedown in the Fisher Bldg.

arcade. The American western melodrama, "The Ballad of Baby Doe," inspired the theme for both festivities. The opera is based on the true story of Baby Doe Tabor's rise and fall in Colorado silver mining. The dinner was chaired by MOT special events co-chairs Dale Austin and Sue Vittitoe. Both wore dresses adorned with silver beads.

Head turners: Retired Ford Motor executive Alan Gornick, of Bloomfield Hills, was born in Leadville, and met the real Baby Doe when he as a boy. "She was a very eccentric old lady when I met her," he said. Spotted in the crowd: Marion and Addison Bartush of Grosse Pointe Farms; retired Chrysler executive Lynn Townsend and wife Ruth; Shelly and Peter Cooper, of West Bloomfield; Irene Huse and Sheila Ingwersen, of Grosse Pointe Park; Mary and Preston Happel; MOT general director David DiChiera; Michael and Betsy Friduss of Bloomfield Township; MOT staffers John Finck, wearing a string tie with his tux, Melodee du Bois and Perry Spisz; and Gloria and David Wenger, of Farmington Hills. Surprise guests: At the hoedown were singer Edie Adams and dancer Juliet Prowse, in town to rehearse MOT's next production, By Staanne Rabidcau for eight months. Wood is a prolific studio vocalist whose voice can be heard on dozens of commercials.

SOUND: Show tunes and jazz RECORDS: Wood performed the title song for "The Rosary Murders" soundtrack on the Sinadisc label. PLAYING AT: The Rhinoceros, 9 p.m.-l a.m. Wednesdays and p.m. Fridays; also, p.m. Oct.

16.. By Dana Jackson.