Monday, August 27,1990
The Battalion
Page 7
appers entertain with bold sets
Battalion FilePhm
> a furious version
he Terrordorat
signature Raiders
nensity high
f “Bring The Hoi
it A Pause," “Who
and the anthemit
While D was rat-
nd juicing at full
and joker, Flavor
king sure that the
led over,
lav was quick to
dissin’ on his gal
performed at the
beforek as svedis
me of D’s zealous
tdded a lifetime's
mark “Yeah boy,
i is two children
Continued from page 6)
nstage for cameo “Yeah boys.”
The only complaint I have against
E.’s set is that D and Flav had a
ndency to run long with their ver-
al baggage.
Dtook time out to catch his breath
nd condemn the U.S. military’s in-
olvement in the Middle East and
re discriminatory policies of the
ederal and T exas governments. He
Iso used the platform to speak out
gainst rap censorship and to plug
,ouis Farrakhan’s appearance in
douston next month.
Flav went w'ay overboard ham-
nmg it up with the audience and
hen smarting off tea D when D tried
o hurry him along. Flax ’s comments
m pursuing an education and loving
our family were well-put and nice,
rut could have been said in half the
ime. The enjoyable part of Flav’s
hirty-minute stint were his solo jams
)f “Cold Lampin’’ and “Can’t Do
Nuttin’ For Ya Man,” before return
ing for a camped version of “91 1 Is
|oke,” complete with the Flavor
Flav limbo.
The most interesting segment of
P.E.’s set was the ending. Instead of
creating mass chaos with a second
performance of the previously
shortened “Welcome To The Ter-
rordome,” the audience actually
walked out with the finale’s an
nouncement. By the time P.E. fin
ished “Terror,” three-fourths of the
crowd had departed. There was no
blind faith here.
Buffeting P.E.’s electrifying set
were a host of rap and hip hop per
formers that represented every seg
ment of the modern African-Ameri
can scene. The Afros, Kwame,
hssanova
lacks sparkle
of Pixies style
-By JOHN RICH TER-
Hs strange as it may sound, some
;roups actually deteriorate as they
nature as musicians. Unfortunately,
think the Pixies, one of the most
xcidng groups of the late ’80s, falls
ntothis paradoxal category.
Bossanova, the Pixies' third album
their first release, Come On Pil
grim, h really just an FIT.' is a good
album, but the sense of ^venture
and eccentricities found on Come
On Pilgrim and Sut ler Rosa are not
here.
To be upfront, Bossanova is too
wlished and overproduced. It sacri-
icesthe group’s adorable sponta-
niety. A Pixies album is not a Pixies
album if Black Francis (singer and
guitarist) doesn’t hip, hep and holler
at least a hundred times. And where
are the Spanish ad-libs, sexual faux
)aus and sweltering groans of an in-
leat Kim Deal (bass player and back
up singer)?
Except for the absolutely insane
Rock Music,” a torrent of screams
and undecipherable adjectives, Bos
sanova is boring.
It does have its catchy moments.
“Velouria” (its single package with
two unreleased tracks is actually bet
ter than the album), “Dig For Fire”
and "The Happening” are solid, safe
singles that deserve their equal share
of radio airplay.
The wispy “Havelina,” the instru
mental “Cecilia Ann” and Deal’s
Blown Away” are also good tracks,
but again, lack Pixies spunk.
The saving grace of Bossanova is
11 the Francis/Deal partnership,
the best male/female tandem
around. Francis’ scaled harmonies
mix wonderfully with Deal’s sexy
slurs (Kim Gordon witFi a voice).
The very busy Deal, contributor to a
hodge-podge of alternative releases,
may be spreading herself too thin. If
so, the group needs you, Kim.
Young and Restless, Kid ’N Play, Ice
Cube and Digital Underground
added to the evening’s excitement
and diversity, moving the festival
along between the Five-minute set
changes (five-minute set changes! —
try that at a rock festival).
The surprise of the night was the
acrobatic and infectious set of Kid ’N
Play. Bolstering the pair’s PG-rap
style and fun-loving bravado was the
night’s best dancing. These guys can
move.
Kid ’N Play’s set blended well-cho-
reoraphed dance steps with sponta
neous jams and macho verbal wars.
At one point the two rappers dem
onstrated to the audience how they
would treat a Houston lady by simu
lating intercourse on the floor with a
strobe light going. As embarrassed
as 1 am to admit it, the childish romp
and tongue lashings were hilarious
(and yes, the female attendees
laughed as hard as their male coun
terparts).
Even bolder than Kid ’N Play was
the X-rated set of hip hoppers Digi
tal Underground. Here’s a group
that brings well-built blow-up dolls
onstage, turns them upside down
and performs oral surgery on them.
Now that’s sexual revolution.
Unfortunately, Digital Under
ground’s set was erratic, looking
splendid on “Freaks Of The Indus
try” and “Packet Man,” but unsteady
with hits “The Humpty Dance” and
“Doowutchyalike.”
Ice Cube was distressing, at best.
The ex-N.W.A.er strutted like a
street thug, brandishing his gang
mentality and overstrung chauvi
nism. Cube’s ignorance and sexism
did set the stage for the night’s fun
niest and most humbling number,
“It’s A Man’s World,” with female
rapper Yo-Yo. Ice Cube did his best
to put Yo-Yo “in her place,” but the
unflappable Yo-Yo ate him up by-
turning Cube and his chauvinism
upside down.
It was nice to see throughout the
night the solidarity and communion
between the performers. The
groups made cameos during each
other’s set, with the best cameo be
longing to Flavor Flav. Flav wore a
Mardi Gras-styled “freak” mask dur
ing Ice Cube’s set, prancing around
and fooling with the audience, only
to discard the headgear in front of
the surprised fans at set’s end.
The groups also condemned rap
censorship (blaming the problem on
rap’s crossover into white suburbia)
and asked for support of Houston’s
Geto Boys, the rap group involved in
a 2 Live Crew-type controversy with
Geffen Records.
It was interesting that even
though the audience rocked
through! most of the evening, it was
never afraid to boo the performers
and even literally tell a whiny Ice
Cube to f— off. Again, there was
little blind faith within this crowd.
It was also a trip to see how under
produced the sets were, forcing the
groups to make the most of gimmick
props (blow-up dolls, cut-out carica
tures, whipped cream), tlieir rhymes
and some amazing dancing. Luckily,
there was no dearth of the above.
It’s really hard to explain the feel
ing of a rap performance, but trust
me, its different. The whole mental
ity and direction is unique. Aside
from Public Enemy, the emphasis
was on entertainment, not the music.
Music elitists have long complained
about the lack of musical focus
within the rap industry, but that’s
just musical snobbery. It’s a different
format, apples and oranges, and this
orange must be tasted to be under
stood.
My advice to you for the year is to
take a bite. If nothing else, you’ll
agree — it’s a tangy trip.
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Battalion File Photo
Joey Santiago, David Lovering, Kim Deal and Black Francis
make up the the Pixies.
All in all, Bossanovd is not a bad
album, and I even recommend it —
but with a warning label (and we all
love those warning labels). It simply
reads — WARNING: This fine,
over-polished release has no hope of
causing cranial harm or sexual frus
tration within you. Sadly, there are
no shredded eyeballs, Spanish paens
or broken sexual taboos to report.
We apologize for such a gross dis
play of normalcy.
If you’ve never heard the Pixies
before, keep an ear peeled. Bossa
nova is safer and more accessible
than their past work, which will ap
peal to the average listener, and I
still feel the Pixies are one of the
brightest young groups around.
But for now, I’ll wear my shades.
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