The Battalion
LIFESTYLES
The 1
Wednesday, May 30,1990
Lifestyles Editor Todd Stone 845-33i w
Tempers, heat flare in short fIREHOSE sho\t
By JOHN RIGHTER
Of The Battalion Staff
HOUSTON — Blending the ag
gression of its post-punk roots with
the passion of the more traditional
fROMOHIO, H REHOSE blistered
through a short, interrupted set Sat
urday night that left the audience
sweating for more — literally sweat
ing for more.
The small, poorly ventilated
Showbar On Washington, in Hous
ton, seemed a blessing with its cozy
confines and fIREHOSE’s extra
adrenalin of playing the final show
of a 55-night consecutive tour.
Opening the night’s activities were
a promising local band, Peglegaus,
and Agitpop, a hard-edged east
coast band that altered between psy
chedelia and hardcore. But it was
apparent by the end of Agitpop’s set
that the night was to be a scorcher,
with tempers ready to flare.
After a short interlude, fIRE
HOSE hit the tiny Showbar stage
around midnight and casually
worked into “Another Theory Shot
To Shit” from their groundbreaking
debut (and best of three LPs), Ragin’
Full-On. Watt proceeded to snap
away on bass, leading the group into
a ripping duo of “Honey, Please”
and “What Gets Heard,” with Ed
Crawford (alias Ed fROMOHIO —
get it, from Ohio) lending vocals.
The group intermixed new
material from their forthcoming fall
release (“First Cuss,” “Down With
The Bass” and “Steady As She Goes”
are a few to look forward to) with
standouts such as “Chemical Wire,”
“Me and You, Remembering” and
“For The Singer Of R.E.M.”
But about thirty minutes into
their set, problems began to arise be
tween the band and the audience.
PA1
Battalion file photo
From left to right, George Hurley, Ed fROMOHIO and Mike Watt are cruising the music scene with their group, fIREHOSE.
First off, it was hot as sin inside the
Showbar with a suffocating level of
humidity and smoke lying in the air.
The heat and cramped confines
were made worse by a small group of
punks in front of the stage that were
determined to slam through the set.
Now I can handle slamming at a
Suicidal Tendencies or D.R.I. show,
but slamming to fIREHOSE, irre-
gardless of their Minutemen ties
(which are no longer relevant), bears
no logic at all. Unfortunately, with
underground music a familiar say
ing rings true too often — “You’ll
Slam To Anything.”
Apparently, the members of
fIREHOSE were in agreeance, be
cause they abruptly stopped the set
midway through a song and asked
certain audience members to leave.
iepar-
ture. Watt was especially ticked, hav
ing his microphone knocked over
and then run into by an audience
member, breaking a bass string.
“You think this is the army or be
ing like a marine,” Watt screamed.
“This is no TV, my teeth real]’,;
you asshole.”
Moments later, several aur.
members did leave. After thel;
five-minute tirade, they startt^
again. But it was obvious mutt
been lost in the incident.
Just as obvious was the pnfe
fIREHOSE was having with the k°ns
and humidity. Watt was sweati'Mj ^ e
hard that he could barely opd ~f e y .
eyes while playing, and hehad|rx ^ sc
ble finding the microphoneio
into. Finally, Watt got fed up. ^
laid down his bass. H 6 ® 5 ’
“We’ll never treat HoustonnJBjr unc
this way again,” Watt said. “nM§ owl !
ridiculous. You pay $10, you o; T 3 ' ° (
air conditioning. I can’t evensla;
washboard (bass). It’s not right A . n
Having spoken with thegrou; ? S1 ^
fore the show, I realized how r. |
the set had been shortened. At it" V
10 songs were cut out, and f« - ^ ’
encore, fIREHOSE rushedthrt|g > 2 slaV
a two-minute version of T *
roads.” tht'ti
But Crawford came back out; ^
an acoustic solo of “In Memor w
Elizabeth Cotton,” before apoti ^
ing again and quickly escaping ^ '
hind the curtain.
It was extremely unfortunate c]^ nl ,
the heat derailea the mommas? ov
that boiled during the set’s first;, ” .■ j
hour. The contrast of Crawft^FTjp
country twang with Watt's p-;
spiels worked great behind \t : «jr vt , n
nick snaps and heavy thumps.,
rummer George Hurley’s conigT^
trated pummels that idled tk* g et
energy at high throttle. fberu I
I can sympathize with the
discomfort, especially being umk t h ,
customed to the extreme huittcBj^ j
But sometimes you got tosuckw s p n „
guys. As it turned out a raging g ut |j,
hour was unforgivingly left to*)
on the ceiling with all that sit*
and hot air.
H
Third 4 Back To The Future’ film
offers same fun, thrills of original
Back To The Future III
Starring Michael J. Fox,
Christopher Lloyd and Mary
Steenburgen
Directed By Robert Zemeckis
Rated PG
By DON ATKINSON JR.
Of The Battalion Staff
“Back To The Future” fans who
loved the original film and were dis-
sapointed by part two will be pleased
with “Back To The Future III.” In
fact, most anybody will be pleased
with this latest and final installment
of the popular series.
“Back To The Future III” marks
a return to the same elements that
made the original film so enjoyable.
Director Robert Zemeckis does a
masterful job of combining sus-
"" d ; ’
pense-filled action with comedy and
romance.
More importantly, “Back To The
Future III” is a complete film in the
sense that it has a beginning, middle
and end. One of the biggest prob
lems with the second film was it had
no beginning or end, just one big
middle.
“Back To The Future II” started
exactly where the original film left
off and ended right where “Back To
The Future III” begins, leaving the
audience with a hollow feeling.
“Back To The Future III” works
well not only as another chapter in
the series, but as an independent
story, able to be enjoyed whether
you’ve seen the first two films.
In “Back To The Future III,”
Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) must
go back in time to the old west to res
cue Emmett “Doc” Brown (Christo-
f >her Lloyd), who is stranded there
ollowing an accident involving the
infamous time-traveling DeLorean.
Shortly after his arrival, Marty
discovers that he has to contend not
only with a malfunctioning time-ma
chine and an old-west version of Biff
Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) known
as Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen, but
also with Dr. Brown falling head
over heels for the local schoolmarm,
Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen).
Marty also stumbles across an
early ancestor of his, played by Mi
chael J. Fox with a “Lucky Charms”
Irish accent.
Once the basic plot threads are es
tablished, “Back To The Future III”
takes off at warp speed and doesn’t
stop until the film is over.
However, the movie not only fea
tures good directing and a clever
story line, but good acting as well.
Fox and Lloyd have done an incredi
ble job of maintaining the integrity
of their characters throughout the
trilogy.
Wilson, as the evil bully Biff, has
added a whole new dimension to bis
character. In fact, some of the best
moments in “Back To The Future
III” involve him and his gang of wild
west ruffians.
Mary Steenburgen, the only new
comer to the series, does a credible
job as Doc Brown’s love interest.
Steenburgen brings a certain
amount of innocence and strong will
to her character. It’s easy to see why
someone could fall in love with her
at first sight.
The only problem with “Back To
The Future III” comes at the end. I
can’t say much without giving the
ending away, but I can tell you there
is a minor jump in logic in the last
few moments. Even so, it does not
take away from the film and proba
bly won’t bother many audience
members.
One final note: during the town
dance scene, watch for a cameo ap
pearance by ZZ Top.
“Back To The Future III” is an
enjoyable film and will probably be
the first hit of the summer movie
JVart extinguishes pain with fIREHOSEprojeci R;
Mike Watt, bass extraordinaire from the Minute-
men, Dos and currently fIREHOSE, knows a little
something about long tours, tough setbacks and cre
ative indecision. I spoke with the talented writer and
musician about his views and opinions on fIRE
HOSE, underground music and the tragic death of
former Minutemen, D. Boon.
It’s been a long tour for fIREHOSE. Your 55th
night in a row. Are you ready to see it end?
“This is the last night, and it’s a very happy day.
But I got to tell you, Tm very grateful to have 55
shows to do in a row. I don’t want to make it sound
like a burden or something. It’s really neat to know
there are people in 55 towns that want to see us this
bad and have us work for two months straight. ”
You’ve been working with your wife Kira (for
mer bass player for Black Flag) with Dos. Are there
plans for another release?
“Kira and I will be going into the studio in about
two weeks to work on a full-length album (the first
two were EPs). I bought a tuba in Champaign that I
want to learn, so maybe there will be some tuba on it
(the previous albums have been all bass). ”
From what I understand, you and George
(Hurley, fIREHOSE and Minutemen drummer)
weren’t planning on another project after the tragic
end of Minutemen. What changed your mind?
“After D. Boon died it was like a whole part of me
was gone. Ed (Crawford, guitarist and lead singer of
fIREHOSE) heard that I was auditioning for guitar
ists — which I wasn’t. But he called me up, and I told
him to come out. It was very difficult. We’d tried
something with Elliott Sharp (SST alternative artist),
but it was terrible. There was no communication be
tween George and I. ”
Was fIREHOSE then orthopedic, a way to play
and put the past behind you?
“Not orthopedic, because I wasn’t planning on
doing HREHOSE. I had already done the Madonna
single (Ciccone Youth’s single of‘Into The Groovy’)
and had also worked with Kira on Dos before D.
Boon’s death. The first two years (with HREHOSE) I
was paranoid. Very paranoid. I stayed back by the
drums. It will be four years that we’ve been playing
together in June, but the first two years were fear
ful. ”
“If it wasn’t for those guys, I don’t know if I woti:
have ever, ever played again. I thought it was owl
for me. I know music is a very private thing, like (fit
cover on the front of ‘iEn’ (fIREHOSE’s secondt:
bum) with a picture on my wall of me dreaming. B.
on the other hand, without other people ... 1 dmiU AF
think I would have had the nerve.” Ming
How did Sonic Youth help you get involvto {{nip
again? g Bubo
“Ciccone Youth was the way I got back intomusii gay w
It was after (D. Boon) got killed. The Madonna sir. mour
gle was the first thing I did. Kira had to do an inter Ry
nship at Yale and I stopped in New York andsawtn day d
friends Thurston and Kim (Moore and Gordon nally
husband/wife team of Sonic Youth). They had list in
come into the studio and record on their albm ■ forni;
Evol. ’ I told them I wanted to do a Madonna record Bu
to laugh again ...I was very depressed. It was abac with
time. Bitch
Tell me something about ‘Ragin’ Full-On,’ yow at Ar
first album with fIREHOSE. It’s the most aggrts So
sive bass playing I’ve heard you do. * i||| Bans
“I didn’t really know Ed, and what J tried to do 1st, n
was to play as intense as possible. I learned to pit; June
the bass and he in a band with D. Boon. I hadn'if Ga
played with any other people. Ed had only been t. ing f
my house for live months. I had to buy him hisfmi on tl
amp. It was very intense ... but that should beinspir place
ing to kids to start bands and not to think that we’rt
some select group of gods ... it’s for everybody.”
What do you make of the punk scene nowadayii
How does it compare to the early days when you
and Kira were active with the Minutemen and
Black Flag?
‘Well, that lady was at the beginning of pud
wen, mat taay was at me beginning ot pum
rock. She was just 16-years old in ’76. She ran the
mask. I wish the spirit won’t die. I hope kids still
I understand that Sonic Youth had a great part in
helping you return to music.
spirit won’t die. I hope
make bands that do things that haven’t been tried
To me that’s what it’s all about. Tm counting oc
them, ’ca use I’m getting older. ’’
Do you see the same level of energy today? What
level of spirit do you think exists?
“Yeah I do, but you have to work to find some’
thing that is happening. That’s what’s so great about
watching someone like Sonic Youth stick i
screwdriver in their guitar and play. It’s real. That’s
the spirit. That’s what music needs.”
* JOHN RICHTER “\
^ dene
New Fleetwoood Mac release features solid pop-rock
chae
Fleetwood Mac
Behind The Mask
Warner Bros.
vhe:
By TODD STONE
Of The Battalion Staff
Personnel changes are a fact of
life for the pop group Fleetwood
Mac. But when innovative guitarist,
producer and musical leader, Lind
sey Buckingham, left the group,
Mac’s musical future seemed in
doubt.
But the group’s latest release, Be
hind The Mask, proves that Mads
future is bright with 13 songs of di
verse and inventive pop-rock.
Original members Mick Fleet-
wood and John McVie return with
long time members, Stevie Nicks and
Christine McVie. But it’s the addi
tion of guitarist Billy Burnette, and
lead guitarist, Rick Vito, that will
keep Fleetwood Mac musically dy
namic.
Burnette and Vito are more than
just studio stand-bys. They wrote or
co-wrote many of the tracks, and
their harmonies can be heard on ev
ery song. The entire album is more
guitar, and less keyboard oriented
than past Mac efforts Such as Tango
In The Night.
However, the album begins in a
traditional Fleetwood Mac manner
with a Christine McVie tune entitled,
“Skies The Limit.” The song is typ
ical Christine McVie optimism —
“The ski is the limit now, we can hit
it on the nail, and when we do, I’ll
think about you.” Musically, it’s com
mon McVie — up-tempo beat, heavy
keyboards and mushy harmonies.
However, McVie isn’t all mush.
On “Behind The Mask,” her tone is
cautious and untrusting — “It’s a
devil’s disguise, Angel in black, and I
recognize the face behind the mask.”
The “dark” undertones are also felt
with a gothic chorus arrangement.
The surprises begin with the sec
ond song, “Love Is Dangerous” — a
clever little-rocker written by Vito
and Nicks, featuring some slick gui
tar licks and harmony by Vito. This
is also one of the rare moments
where a song sounds better with
Nicks singing.
Another surprise is “When The
Sun Goes Down” by Burnette and
Vito. This is a snappy country-pop
tune with fun, laid-back vocals by
Vito and Burnette.
“In The Back Of My Mind,” a Mc-
Vie-Burnette duet, is a slow-rocking
gem, featuring quality harmonies
and strong leads from Vito at the
end of the tune.
• Stevie Nicks gets “the weak sister”
award for the most forgetable song
on the album, “Affairs Of The
Heart.” This song fails to distinguish
itself because of weak chord pro
gressions and melodies.
Her song “Freedom,” written with
Mike Campbell, guitarist for Tom
Petty and the Heartbreakers, is a
stronger, up-tempo effort with qual
ity harmonies.
Still, Nick’s lead vocals often
sound like she’s been gargling bat
tery acid. Of course, that’s nothing
equally as strong as Fleetwood’s per
cussive efforts, but his bass playing
was occasionally drowned out by
over-mixed synthesizers.
Unfortunately, Fleetwood Mac’s
pop-rock style puts Fleetwood and
McVie’s rhythmn section role in the
background.
p*M
‘
‘'^11* j |
Fleetwood Mac
It wasn’t always like that. Mac was
founded by McVie and Fleetwood
with blues guitarist Peter Green in
1967. To say that McVie and Fleet-
wood could thrash the blues is an
understatement.
PMRHmp TMt MASK
But critics of Stevie Nicks will
have to accept that her harmonies
mix well with the other Mac singers
on this album. Most of the tracks
have solid backing vocals from Mc
Vie, Nicks, Burnette and Vito. The
strong harmonies show off Mac’s
greatest musical strength: memora
ble melodies.
Drummer and percussionist, Mick
Fleetwood, anchored Behind The
Mask, and he was especially support
ive on Burnette’s “In The Back Of
My Mind.” Fleetwood’s tight, snappy
beat, and subtle percussion, using
cymbols, gongs, chimes and congas,
highlight the song.
John McVie’s bass-lines were
McVie can slap out bass lines with
the best, and Fleetwood is one of the
tightest and most reliable drummers
around.
I would love to see Fleetwood Mac
return to some of their blues roots.
They have the personnel. Christine
McVie use to play with The Spencer
Davis group, and if you ever heard
Burnett and Vito re-perform old
Fleetwood Mac blues, you know they
are perfectly capable as well.
But Fleetwood Mac seems content
to continue with pop, and although
they do not have Buckingham lead
ing the way, Mac remains creatively
strong with Behind The Mask.
Ti
V