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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1990)
£ « ^iratv v? wrrHi tp 1 flf 3 I U If lit i a I $12 PUBLIC I i»\AILABLL Al. tAMiMi r ai v wr i? ratm j’mmr 11ty IIlli i K1IJH ii u 11 Jill i ji Thursday, October 25, 1 990 The Battalion Page 7 Musically eclectic Basia melts Houston audience with icy voice, presence By JOHN MABRY Looking like Paulina Porizkova and sounding like an iced-down Aretha Franklin, the London-based jazz vocalist Basia gave a pleasantly refined performance to enthusiastic Houston Music Hall goers. Although Basia (pronounced Ba- sha) was fairly cool throughout the hour-and-a half set, she was exactly what the bohemian crowd wanted. Even though she limited most of her physical movement, it was Ba- sia’s voice, in absolute top form, that dazzled the audience, prompting loud applause on those incredible high notes from “Time and Tide” and “Promises.” It’s a refreshing change, I must say, from those dancing dolls all over MTV these days like Paula Abdul or Janet Jackson, who focus all of their energy in concert into slick choreog raphy and leave what’s left for their vocals. Basia, however, has none of that superimposed artificiality and con trivance. Onstage, she is real and un affected, speaking impromptu to the audience, keeping her friendly cool even when tripping over a box of wires during a break. Her vocal ability is all she needs to stand on. Her two albums, the mil lion-selling Time and Tide and her latest, London Warsaw New York, showcase her flexible chords against an optimistic and relaxing tempo of Brazilian music, jazz and Euro-synth pop. And while she ain’t got a whole lotta soul, Basia is one performer who is just as commanding in con cert as she is on vinyl. From “Freeze Thaw” to “Cruising for Bruising” to “Best Friends,” her vocal acrobatics lost none of their appeal that is so prominent on the records. In fact, REVIEW her singing got better as the set pro gressed. Her performance was a far cry from the disappointing perfor mance Madonna gave last spring on her “Blonde Ambition” tour. Poor Madonna couldn’t sing to keep up with her over-ambitious dancing. When her vocals got bad, it was ru mored that she depended on pre-re corded music to finish the set. Basia, however, is a heavyweight vocalist who doesn’t need to depend on flash to cover up studio-masked vocal deficiencies. She’s simply great. This is not to say that her musi cians aren’t outstanding, either. The nine-member jazz band showed they could stand on their own during the solo peformances given to each member. Particularly entertaining were Ba- sia’s backup singers: two sequined, spirited soul mamas who came to the front with Basia with “How Dare You” and later did a little rap for the audience during the encore. Their voices blended beautifully with Basia’s, creating just the right volume and intensity on the har monies. The performance won over the initially frigid crowd. Each number received generous applause. And when Basia called for the crowd to dance during her remake of Stevie Wonder’s “Until You Come Back To Me,” the audience immediately did so. Her last number received a vigor ous standing ovation, followed by two encore numbers, the popular “New Day For You” and “Prime Time TV.” Selleck’s Quigley goes down under for western action By CAROL GLENN If trying to find a job in the 1990s is difficult, imagine the challenges employment seekers faced in the 1880s. Just one century ago, Matthew Quigley (portrayed by Tom Selleck in the western thriller “Quigley Down Under”) encountered an em ployment opportunity that he couldn’t pass up. After answering an advertisement in his local western newspaper for the best long-distance marksman in the world, enduring a three month ocean voyage, and a long, dusty wagon ride through the sweltering heat of the Australian terrain, his ability as a sharpshooter is put to the test (or an interview as we would call it today). After amazing his comrades and his potential employer, Marston, (portrayed by Alan Rickman, known for his bad-guy role in the film “Die Hard”) with his extra-long rifle and his precise sharpshooting abilities, he is granted the job. But what his job duties would include as a sharp- shooter, he has yet to discover. Marston invites Quigley to dinner that evening to discuss what his job would entail. But after Quigley throws Marston out the nearest win dow during dinner, the audience mickly learns that Quigley is not lattered by Marston’s offer. An offer that included Quigley killing local aborigines who have managed thus far to stay out of the firing range of most rifles. Marston wants Quigley because he could shoot targets from a incredibly far distance, and with incomparable ac curacy. Marston, who is now embarrassed REVIEW and angry, has Quigley severely beaten and dumped out in the de sert with a recent acquaintance of his, Crazy Cora (portrayed by Laura San Giacomo, known for her role as the sultry lover in the film, “sex, lies and videotape”). Marston does not expect Cora and Quigley to befriend each other and the aborigines during their journey to find civilization and their struggle for survival. Nor does Marston ex pect Quigley to seek revenge. Directed by Simon Wincer (who also directed the miniseries “Lone some Dove”) and written by John Hill, “Quigley Down Under” ends up being an interesting western movie with humor, thrills, chills, sus pense and action. Selleck does a good job of making Quigley believably come to life in a role that he hasn’t encountered thus far in his acting career. He does such a good job in fact that he is compara ble to the Duke in some of the scenes. The music by composer Adrian Carr encourages a western style am bience through his eight bar melo dies similar to those found in many western movies. The incredible breath-taking scenery of Australia further adds to the enjoyment of “Quigley” giving the audience an alluring vision of the setting. Even if you aren’t an avid western movie lover or a Tom Selleck grou pie, you’ll still enjoy “Quigley Down Under” which is rated PG-13 and is now showing at Schulman 6. Panjandrum returns to Front Porch Cafe Panjandrum returns to the Front Porch tonight in support of its new release. The funk-based group from Houston has steadily usurped Ten Hands as local funk monsters, punctuating the switch with its great show in September. Within the broad spectrum of funk, Panjandrum is more upbeat than a Ten Hands, yet less vociferous than a Sprawl or a Joe Rockhead. The group eases on the ballads, but also preserves melody over aggres sion. As always, a portion of the proceeds of the weekly funk jam goes to KANM, Texas A&M’s student-run, cable radio station. The show is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. For more information, call 846-LIVE. Re-elect MCDONALD Judge 85th District Court Judge Tom McDonald’s average yearly disposition rate of cases is 97% while the state average is 46%. Paid for by the Committee to Re-elect Judge W.T. (Tom) McDonald, Jr, Caroline McDonald, Treasurer, Box 1085, Bryan, TX. 77806 FREE BAGHDAD T-SHIRTS $14.95 SWEATSHIRTS $19.95 Three Colors Screened M, L, XL — White, Navy, Gray Add $2.00 Shipping & Handling Send check or money order to: C.R. Burdett _S 3550 South West Temple Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 Specify Size & Color •B-Q SANDWICH U) I Purchase of Another •‘Tfl&squite. Fired! nm 846-LIVE H MBAlL AWll MSC MBA/Law presents Symposium 1990 Nov. 10,1990 8-5 p.m. MSC Rudder Tower Various presentations in business law Guest speakers include former students and CEOs of multinational corporations For more information call 845-1515 STEVE SMITH PROMOTE JUDGE STEVE SMITH TO COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 2 • Asst. Municipal Judge - College Station • Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney • Married for 12 years with two children • Fair, honest and conservative • Republican M Pol Ad hy Stmvm Smith Campaign, Box 0042, CS, TX. TEXAS HALL OF FAME Your #1 Live Country Night Spot! Thurs. Night “ A n y single shot bar drink, longneck, or margarita $ 1.00. Music by Special F/X Fri. Night - .25 Bar Drinks & Draft Beer. Music by Full House Sat. Night - SWITCH-OFF FOR KICK-OFF. Any single shot bar drink, longneck or margarita $1.00 Music by Johnny Lyons and the New Notes, with special guest McBride and The Ride. College & Faculty I.D. Discount 822-2222 2309 FM 2818 South TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY STUDY ABROAD OFFICE * ^ Explore the World! Be an Exchange Student Study in Mexico, England, Scotland or Germany for TAMU Credit!! Find out how YOU can be chosen Informational Meeting Friday, October 26,10:00-ll:00am 251 West Bizzell Hall Study Abroad Office • 161 Bizzell Hall West • 845-0544 Texas A&IW's First Comic OrIentecI Convention October 26 - 27 at DeWare Fieldhouse SpecIaI Guest; SCOTT IMcCuLLaR (From ThE BauaIJon's "WARped") Events; Guest SpeaLers, DeaLer's Room, ComIc RslATEd GAMiNq, LasfrTac,, CoMic FreeMe TaBIe, a Japanese AnImation VidEO Room ANd more... Plus: TIie PremIer oF tIie SImpson's VidEO Game ANd a LIFe'SIze Transformer! TickETS are oNly $1 per person For borh dAys! (Laser TAq not iNcludEd) For More InFormatIon, PIease Contact: CspliEid VarIaBIe at (409) 845 1915 and don't foryet to join us tor a mstt Quest is a live, role-playing fantasy mystery. The Qyest tirill Be held on Oct. 27tfL Tlayers should meet at 6:30pm in 310 !J(jidder. Ticket prices are $3per person, and will Be availaBle at the ComiCon Admissions TaBle. Ofumj! Spaces are limited, and they're poina fast!