Page 16
The Battalion Monday, February 13,1989
Reviews
Reba gives Aggies an evening of great music
eta
By Keith Spera
REVIEWER
In the interests of ethical journa
lism, it must be stated that this re
viewer is writing with two sizeable bi
ases, one positive and one negative.
On the negative side, I am not a
fan of country and western music.
The sound of the quintessential
C&W instrument, the steel guitar,
can be found nowhere in my music
collection. Quite honestly, I went
into last Friday’s Reba McEntire and
Ricky Van Shelton concert not ex
pecting to enjoy it.
On the positive side, I was able to
spend some time talking to Reba
McEntire both before and after the
concert. She is, without a doubt, one
of the most friendly, sincere people
I’ve met in a long time, performer or
otherwise. Writing something neg
ative about her show would not be
easy.
Having made this disclaimer, I
feel no qualms whatsoever about
making the following statement:
Reba McEntire put on a show that
was nothing short of stunning. For
an hour and a half, she mesmerized
a crowd of 7,000, including a few
who are not big fans of country mu
sic.
Reba’s show was not, by any
means, a typical country show, musi
cally or otherwise. The songs she
performed reflected her growing in
terest in expanding her repertoire
into other musical areas, including
pop, jazz, and the blues.
Her musicians, four of which are
new to her band, are not exactly
your standard C&W musicians (key
boardist Kirk Cappello, dressed in
black and wearing his hair slicked
back into a ponytail, said after the
show that he was brought up on “e-
verything but country”).
Reba obviously put a good deal of
money and effort into the design of
her stage set. Her multi-level stage
and sophisticated light show (which
included several dozen high-tech ro
botic lights) enhanced the stellar
performances of Reba and her band,
and did not in any way overshodow
them. It was, quite simply, a musical
extravaganza.
The event kicked off with rising
star Ricky Van Shelton. He and his
four-piece band delivered a set built
around Shelton’s voice and his songs
about love and its loss, a potent com-
biantion that has propelled both his
albums to gold status.
Shelton’s set, while not character
ized by a whole lot of on-stage ac
tion, provided accurate renditions of
his hits, which seemed to be just
what the crowd wanted.
Reba McEntire was not content to
let her amazing voice be the only at
traction. She not only sang; she put
on a show. Spotlights panned over
the crowd and then converged on
the highest point on the stage, where
McEntire appeared in a cloud of
mist to kick off the evening with “Let
the Music Lift You Up.” She then
moved to center stage and pro
ceeded to justify all those awards
she’s received in the last few years.
After allowing the thunderous ap
plause that followed the second song
to wash over her for a while, Reba
introduced herself to the crowd.
That may have seemed a bit unnec
essary, but Reba was about to spend
an intimate evening with a group of
people she was meeting for the first
time. It was only appropriate that
she introduce herself.
She then began to endear herself
to the A&M crowd. An Aggie
softball jersey was tossed onstage;
she picked it up, displayed it to the
crowd, and asked,“Does this make
me an Aggie?” Judging from the au
dience’s response, she could start
taking classes tomorrow.
Throughout the show, McEntire’s
costume changes reflected the mood
of the music. Her first outfit, a
burnt-orange pantsuit complete with
silver fringe, matched the more tra
ditional country sound of the set’s
first numbers. Following a sweet,
blusey sax solo by Joe McGlowhon,
during which he was silouhetted
against a blue-lit backdrop and
shrouded in mist at the top of the
stage, Reba strolled onstage in an el
egant, blue-sequined dress. She then
performed the jazz-flavored “Sun
day Kind of Love.” She was now the
diva, and gave the very personal ly
rics of “New Fool at an Old Game”
added poignancy with her emotional
performance of the tune.
The gospel-sounding “Somebody
Up There Loves You” served as a ve
hicle for backing vocalist Susie Wills
to take a turn at centerstage, giving
Reba an opportunity for one more
change of clothes. After a fun little
fiddle solo by Glen Duncan, Reba
emerged in casual attire of boots,
blue-jeans, and an A&M sweatshirt.
She was now among friends and
could get a little more laid-back.
Sitting on a stool, she launched a
tribute to some of her favorite vocal
ists. She spoke to the crowd about
her days growing up listening to a
host of singers, saying she was going
to repay some of them for the joy
they brought her and her family.
She sang one for Merle Haggard;
at the song’s end, she gently pleaded
“Sing me back home/ before I die” as
the piano cradled her voice. A story
about her early adoration for Ray
Price and his blues led into a fine
blues performance of her own.
The last three songs McEntire
performed were tributes to some of
the female vocalists she admires.
Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” was followed
by a stunning a capello performance
of Patsy Cline’s “Sweet Dreams” that
brought the crowd to its feet for a
richly deserved standing ovation.
Aptly enough, Reba closed the show
with Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.
Reba’s show gave pure enjoy
ment; it showcased the awesome vo
cal abilites of a lady who, in her on
words, considers herself a singer
first, a songwriter second.
Apparently, the audience mem
bers weren’t the only ones who had
fun. After the show, Reba, quite ex
cited and happy, told me with all sin
cerity, “Tell the A&M folks that I
loved this crowd. I felt a lot of love
out there. It was a great place to start
the tour.”
Her most telling statement had
been spoken a few moments earlier.
As McEntire left the stage at show’s
end, she was heard to exclaim to one
of her managers, “That was great!”
Reba, it certainly was.
[(Continued fn
‘Liaisons, ’ ‘Fly II’ share similar themes,
packaged in superb stories, plots, acting
“The Fly II”
Starring Eric Stoltz and Daphne Zu
niga
Directed by Chris Walas
Rated R
'k'h'k
By Shane Hall
REVIEWER
I’ll be honest with you: when I sat
down to watch “The Fly II” at Cin
ema Three, I really was not expect
ing much.
However, I was pleasantly sur
prised because “The Fly II” is a well-
made work of sci-fi/horror and a re
spectable sequel to David Cronen
berg’s grisly 1986 remake of the
1958 horror film.
Eric Stoltz stars as Martin Brun-
dle, the son of scientist Seth Brundle
(Jeff Goldblum in “The Fly”). Born
with the mutant insect traits of his
father, Martin grows up at an enor
mously accelerated rate (by age 5, he
looks full-grown) in the clinical sur
roundings of Bartok Industries.
Recognizing Martin’s scientific
brilliance, Anton Bartok (Lee Rich
ardson) assigns Martin to solve the
mysteries of the teleportation de
vices Seth invented. Bartok, how
ever, is also aware of Martin’s mu
tant genes and has sinister plans for
him.
Slowly, Martin begins his meta
morphosis into the fly creature he is
destined to become and realizes Bar-
tok’s betrayal and manipulation of
him. This leads to a bloody revenge
against the people who have done
him wrong.
That brings us to the main differ
ence in theme between “The Fly”
and its sequel. The 1986 remake
showed Seth Brundle to be a victim
of his own scientific ambitions rather
than of anyone else. In this movie,
however, Martin is a victim of other
people’s evil, rather than anything
within.
This approach provides “The Fly
II” with a more defined conflict be
tween good and evil, but, On the neg
ative side, the sequel lacks the depth
of its predecessor.
“The Fly II” is directed by Chris
Walas, the man behind the special
effects of 1986’s “The Fly,” for
which he won an Academy Award.
This film marks Walas’ directing de
but, and he shows promise. Consid
ering Walas’ background in special
effects, it is not surprising that this
film has its share of grotesque scenes
that make for some honestly scary
moments.
The fly creature itself is gruesome
and terrifying. The filmmakers
made a first-rate effort at creating
such a monstrous creature.
Not surprisingly, “The Fly II,”
like its predecessor, is a film with
gore aplenty. From the grisly birth
scene at the beginning to-the fly mu
tant’s violent rampage, the movie is
filled with scenes that are long on
scare and shock value and low on
subtlety. In fact, the movie often ri
vals its predecessor in terms of the
number of scenes requiring a sick
bag. In other words, this is not a
movie for the squeamish.
Stoltz’s performance as Martin is
one that shows us a young man who
has been lied to and betrayed by oth
ers all his life and who must find the
truth about himself on his own.
Daphne Zuniga plays Beth Logan,
an employee of Bartok Industries
who becomes Martin’s girlfriend
and, by her love, gives Martin his
first real desire to live.
“The Fly II,” with its gruesome
special effects and violent action, is
sure to find favor with fans of the
1986 film. In fact, if you have not
seen “The Fly,” the sequel is not
likely to make a great deal of sense.
But despite frequent sequel failures,
“The Fly II” demonstrates that
sometimes there can be good se
quels.
“Dangerous Liaisons”
Starring Glenn Close, John Malko-
vich and Michelle Pfeiffer
Directed by Stephen Frears
Rated R
By Shane Hall
REVIEWER
“Dangerous Liaisons,” a spectac
ular film, can fairly be considered an
18th century version of “Fatal At
traction.” This movie is two hours of
decadence and seduction set in 18th
century France, and it is no less than
a work of art.
In an attempt at revenge on a for
mer lover who has left her to marry
a virgin, the Marquise de Merteuil
(Glenn Close) asks the Vicomte de
Valmont (John Malkovich), a man
known for his skills at seduction, to
sleep with the young woman before
she gets married. Laughing off the
idea as too easy for someone of his
reputation, Valmont sets his sights
on a woman who is married and
faithful, the virtuous Madame de
Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer).
The young virgin, through Mer-
teuil’s arrangment, is staying at the
same villa as Valmont and Tourvel.
Here, the stage is set for Valmont’s
seductive activities.
Valmont, with the help of the ser
vants. discovers that the virgin’s
mother has been sending letters to
Tourvel warning her about Val
mont. To get back at the mother,
Valmont beds her daughter, the vir
gin, with little trouble. The seduc
tion is as easy as he boasts it would
be. Thus, Merteuil has gotten her re
venge.
While pursuing Tourvel, how
ever. Valmont trips up by falling in
love with her, which he hadn’t
planned on. Here, the seductive Val
mont’s weakness is revealed: he is ca
pable pf falling in love after all. Mal
kovich plays the role with conviction.
Glenn Close, who terrified movie
goers in “Fatal Attraction” as the
menacing Alex Forrest, is equally
malevolent in this film as the treach
erous Merteuil. Trapped in an infe
rior social standing because of her
gender, Merteuil is driven by the
need to dominate others and has
over the years become, in her words,
“a virtuoso of deceit.” Close’s perfor
mance alone makes “Dangerous
Liaisons” worth seeing. She lost a bid
for the best actress Oscar last year to
Cher, but definitely deserves to win
it this year.
Directed by Stephen Frears (“My
Beautiful Laundrette,” “Sammy and
Rosie Get Laid”), “Dangerous Liai
sons” features lavish set designs and
equally impressive costuming, both
of which give the film an authentic
look. The film also features catchy
dialogue that reinforces the primary
themes of sex and revenge (and
shows us how related the two can
be).
Adding to this the casting of stars
with the talents of Close and Pfeiffer
(two perfect specimens of their gen
der), “Dangerous Liaisons” is Frears’
most commercially accessible film to
date and one that is highly recom
mended.
Metallica does ‘Justice’ to trademark speed metal,
leaving Dallas arena rocking, stomping for more
By Chuck Squatriglia
CORRESPONDENT
Metallica’s popularity spread pri
marily through word-of-mouth, and
the performance in Dallas’ Reunion
Arena will keep both fans and critics
talking for a long time.
Almost 13,000 people braved ice-
cold weather to see Metallica’s “Da
maged Justice” concert Feb. 5. The
audience got its money’s worth; Me-
tallica rocked through Dallas with a
beat that will be felt throughout
Texas and the rest of the nation.
Metallica hit the stage with both
barrels blazing and assaulted the au
dience’s senses for almost two-and-a-
half hours.
Metallica’s stage presentation and
musical skill made the concert a feast
for both ears and eyes, presented
with all the grace and subtlety of a
Blitzkrieg attack and the unre
strained energy of a nuclear explo
sion.
Metallica opened the set with a
majestic, brassy-sounding keyboard
introduction to “Blackened.” Oddly
enough, the keyboard texture didn’t
sound the least bit out of place in a
Metallica song — it was used to ac
cent the introduction to the song.
Included in the performance was
a barrage of classic Metallica songs,
including “For Whom the Bell
Tolls,” “Welcome Home (Sanitar
ium),’’“Leper Messiah” and “Harves
ter of Sorrow.”
No expense was spared in design
and construction of the set. It resem
bled a delapidated courthouse, com
plete with broken columns and a gi
ant copy of the Lady Justice statue.
She was tied and bound, her scales
tipped to one side, overflowing with
cash. The set reflected the theme of.
. .AndJustice For All.
Vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield
stopped the attack long enough to
greet the zealous crowd and intro
duce bassist Jason Newsted.
Newsted played a bass solo that
was more noise than music, but did
manage to showcase his talents. Bass
solos are generally boring, but his
skill and energy made the solo excit-
in g-
One of Newsted’s best qualities is
his never-ending supply of energy.
While on stage, he did not stand still
for a second — he was constantly
running around, shaking his head
like a banshee, his long hair obscur
ing any view of his face.
As the final booming notes of
Newsted’s solo were echoing
through the arena, the other mem
bers began playing a rather sedate
introduction to “Master of Puppets.”
However, the slow melodic guitar
passages were merely the calm be
fore the storm; the song received the
best response of the evening.
At one point, Hetfield’s vocals
could not even be heard during the
chorus — the audience was singing
along so loudly, his voice was com-
pletly dominated.
However, the frantic mood
calmed down quickly. The spotlights
were shut off and the arena became
pitch black. Through the darkness
came a scream, then another,
louder. Suddenly there was a huge
explosion and flashes of light, fol
lowed by more explosions and the
sound of machine gun fire accompa
nied by strobe lights. It was a perfect
Metallica-esque introduction to “O-
ne.”
Never ones to remain too serious
for any length of time, the band
See Metal/Page 17
A conversation with Reba
By Keith Spera
REVIEWER
If all performers were like Reba
McEntire, journalists’ jobs would be
a lot more pleasant.
McEntire’s Feb. 10 concert was
the first of her latest tour. She was
about to debut for the general public
a new stage show, a new set list, and
some new musicians. During the
sound check, she had problems^
some of the instruments. She ®s|
have had a lot on her mind.
Despite all that was happenit
she made time in her busyschedi
to sit down with me a couple
hours before she went onstage.
She and I sat in her dressing
and talked for about 20 minutes,
came to the interview dressed
ually, in a Hard Rock Cafe stvej.
shirt and black sweatpants.
See Reba/Page 18
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Battalion reviewer Keith Spera talks with Reba McEntire before
her performance Friday at G. Rollie White.
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Previews
Plots entwine in 6 Diva’
By Shane Hall
REVIEWER
“Diva,” a 1981 French film, is this
week’s feature in MSC Aggie Cine
ma’s International Series. The movie
will be shown Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Admission is $2.50.
Set in Paris, “Diva” has two stories
that dive into one another.
Jules, a young postman secretly
records a concert by Catherine
Hawkins, a beautiful American op
era singer whom he adores. It seems
Hawkins refuses to record albums.
The second situation in this sus
pense work involves a prostitute who
makes a tape naming a Paris police
inspector as one of the men in
charge of an international prostitu
tion and white slavery ring. Before
she is gunned down in the streets,
she manages to slip the tape into
Jules’ delivery bag.
Her last action sets the stage for
the rest of the film, which is mainly a
chase with gangsters and policeafc
the prostitute’s tape and Taiwanes
men who make pirate recordingsoj
to get the recording’s of Hawb
concert.
While on the run from alloftto
men, Jules has a semi-romance
Hawkins and an odd relations!!
with a young Oriental girl. Onti
the film’s most romantic seem
comes when Jules gently touclii
Hawkins’ shoulder while she sits®
der a large umbrella.
Several other scenes in the filmtt
in force the idea of Paris as theidti
romantic city.
However, this film has its daii
side as well, particularly in thechii
scenes. A chase through a Parissut
way station involving Jules and
punky-looking gangster is especial
effective.
The film’s dialogue is in Freud
with English subtitles. Overall, “li
va” is a good movie and a worth#!
way to spend your Tuesday eveninf
iff (Capitol)
7.“She M
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9.“Walkit
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10.“You
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TOP LPs
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4. “Shoot
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Pianist plays New Age
By Shane Hall
REVIEWER
lightened the mood a little for the
next song.
“You guys thirsty?” Hetfield
asked the audience. “I am — it’s time
for a beer,” he said. “I’ve only got
one, so you’ll have to share it.”
Hetfield then handed a beer to a
fan in the front row, asking him,
“Hey! You got an ID? You look too
young!”
Continuing with the joke, he told
the crowd, “You guys take small sips,
’cause everyone’s gotta get some.”
Hetfield then led the crowd
through a rousing rendition of their
speed-metal anthem, “Seek and De
stroy.”
“. . .And Justice For All” served as
the zenith of the madness. Near the
song’s end, the entire stage began to
fall apart. Lady Justice was “blown
up,” columns fell over and crum
bled, the courthouse backdrop fell to
the ground and parts of the lighting
rigging fell apart. It was the perfect
image to complement the theme of
the record.
Metallica’s first encore featured
“Creeping Death” and “Fade to
Black,” both from Ride the Light-
An evening of solo piano music
will grace the interior of Rudder
Theater on Valentine’s Day, cour
tesy of RCA/Novus recording artist
Liz Story.
Story is touring in support of her
fourth album, Speechless.
The concert, at 8 p.m. Tuesday, is
a presentation of MSC Town Hall.
Like pianist George Winston and
guitarist William Ackerman, Story is
often categorized as a New Age art
ist, but the vagueness of the tag re
veals little, if anything, about the
music. Most of her works are solo pi
ano compositions, although other in
struments such as percussion and
synthesizer have been featured on
two of her previous recordings.
Story’s music draws upon a di
verse array of influences, including
classical, pop, jazz, folk and a cen
tury’s worth of popular keyboard lit
erature. In her words, she likes El
ton John as much as she likes
Vladimir Horowitz. Considering
such a range of influences, her mu
sic often is difficult to categorize.
Although the music itself may be
hard to label, Story’s playing has
won the raves of fans and critics.Sfi
phen Holden of The New lot
Times wrote that “Harmonically!!
rhythmically, her pieces suggesti
austere, formal flavor of flamem
music and its keyboard extensionsi
the classical jazz of Chick Corea.''
Ron Welburn oi Jazz Times 9
Story “has the breadth of image
tion that distinguishes many oft
day’s pianists/keyboardists who-
classical pedagogy has been f
through light pop and jazz.”
Story studied piano at NewYorl
prestigious Juilliard Music Scto
and at Hunter College, also inHf
York.
She recorded two albums of p
compositions on the Windham
record label, Solid Colors and U$
countable Effect. In 1986, St»
signed with Novus and recorded!-
third album, Part of Fortune,
eclectic selection of music that
tures other instruments as wellasf
Dan
kan
ano.
Story returned to solo p
works in 1988 on most recentaW
Speechless, an exploration of the)
ano’s tonal, dynamic and express
capabilities.
Tickets for Liz Story’s Te<
A&M concert are on sale for"
the MSC Box Office.
BVSO to feature solos
The Brazos Valley Symphony Or
chestra will perform “First Chair En
cores” at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Rudder
Auditorium.
Penny Zendt, principal flutist, will
play Andante for Flute in C major by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Oboe
principal Philip Alexander will per
form Concerto for Oboe in C major
by Franz Joseph Haydn.
Claude Debussy’s Sacred and Pro
fane Dance will be performed by
harpist Shana Norton. Principal
trumpet player John McSpadden
will be featured on Concerto for
l rumpet in D major by Giusefl
Tartini.
Conductor Franz Anton Kraf
also will lead the group in perfod
ing Ludwig van Beethoven's S) !
phony No. 8 in F major. Theorcl*
tra’s associate conductor, Geoi]
Calvin Adams, will conduct Mozat
Overture to Clemenza diTito
Tickets are on sale in RudderF
Office. Prices are $8 for childtf
$10 for students and $12 fod
general public. Texas A&M stuck!
may purchase seats in the upper!
cony at a special rate of $5.
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