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Retarted Elf funks
up College Station
By Rob Newberry
The Front Porch Cafe rocked Col- est tape, Respec', including "House
lege Station audiences back into of Funk,” "Thunder Pimp,” and "Will to
school with two of Austin's hottest Power.” They mix metal and rap into
funk acts. Retarted Elf and Joe Rock- their blend of funk, and the result re
head brought their contribution to calls black dance music more than
Texas’ crowded funk scene to town on most of the "white-boy” funk College
Saturday night. Station usually gets. But College Sta-
Retarted Elf opened the show tion is used to the funk it normally sees
around 9:45, marching on stage to the at the Front Porch, and Retarted Elf
heavy beat of their drum machine, didn't get the audience reaction they
They quickly jumped into the sound normally see.
that made them famous in Austin, but Next up was Joe Rockhead, an-
caught College Station audiences off- other of Austin’s funk leaders. Their
guard. music was a little more suited to the
The Elf sports four of their own College Station taste, or maybe the
dancers: Fuflex, Stork, Pickles, and audience was finally ready to really
Madame Scorpio. They try to help get dance. Nevertheless, as soon as the
the audience off their feet with their band kicked off their set just after 11,
choreographed moves in front of the the floor was packed,
stage, but actually only intimidated the Rockhead had played a show here
B-CS crowd. Local audiences have a few months ago which was plagued
been pretty good about getting into with problems. "Everything that could
the funk groove on their own; when go wrong did,” vocalist MC Bobby
they saw these guys dance, they de- Rock said. The last show lasted only
cided to stay seated awhile and catch 22 minutes before the band had to call
the show. it quits. They made up for it this time,
Eventually, the crowd made it onto playing for a solid hour and 45 min-
the floor, but only after some prodding utes.
by Elf rappers Wubba Dis and Twink. Rock is joined on the stage by R.T.
Retarted Elf’s sound also features Sinister the Keyboard Minister, Stevie
Wonderbred on guitar and Slestak on B. on bass, Brewski Salmidio on guitar
bass, and possesses a hot horn duo and Mark Salmonella on drums. When
with Ricky Dis on trumpet and Dave possible, Rockhead is joined by John
Savage on sax. The horns are good, Nelson who is a member of Poi Dog
supposedly some of the best in Aus- Pondering on percussion, and Nelson
tin, but they didn’t stand out as much managed to make it to Saturday
as some others I’ve heard, namely night’s show.
Houston’s Sprawl. "We wanted to have music with a
The Elf threw in songs from their lat- good groove so we could have fun,"
Top: Twink and Wubba Dis of Retarted Elf show off to the audience. Above: Joe Rockhead’s
guitarist and singer also performed Saturday.
Rock said. "So that we could have they wanted to slam a little. And slam
some seriously fine babes come up they did.
and dance." The audience seemed to enjoy
"We like the positive vibes," Sinister Rockhead’s set a little more than Re
added, "not all the violence and ag- tarded Elf's, and frankly I did, too. With
gression associated with hard-core the funk scene in Texas as crowded
and punk shows." as it is, it’s hard to find acts that really
stand out. Retarted Elf’s humorous an-
And for the most part, Rockhead tics show lots of potential, and Joe
got what they wanted. The audience Rockhead has some serious musi-
bounced around the floor for "Space clanship to contend with. The show
is the Place," "Sister Twister" and on was definitely a good night at the
through Rockhead’s funked-up "Ho- Front Porch, but the bands themselves
key Pokey" just fine. But by the time need a little more maturity to really be
they cranked through "Don’t F... .k successful and rise above the clutter
With Me," the crowd had decided in the regional funk junkyard.
pages
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Dr. Sayer (Robin Williams) tries to understand why one of his patients, Lucy (Alice Drummond), is unable to take one more step in "Awake
nings.”
Movie awakens audiences
With her newest project,“Awake
nings,” the actress-turned-director
Penny Marshall has again success
fully managed to bring an incredible
story to the screen, making it real and
believable, while infusing it with
warmth, humor and touching human
ity.
This astonishing film is based on
neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks’ 1973
book recounting his experiences with
post-encephalitic patients in a chronic
care hospital in the Bronx.
Adapted for the screen by Stephen
Zaillian, it tells the story of reclusive
medical researcher Dr. Malcolm Sayer
(Robin Williams). Sayer is a man more
comfortable with invertebrates than
with people who applies for a job in
the neurology lab of the Bronx Bain-
bridge Hospital and ends up with a
clinical position in charge of chronic
care patients.
He is baffled by a number of these
patients’ statue-like demeanor, un
changed for 30 to 50 years, and con
fronted with an apathetic system. Nev
ertheless he insists on trying to unlock
the secret to their long imprisonment.
He discovers that they were all sur
vivors of the encephalitis epidemic of
the '20s. Although an elderly scientist
(Max von Sydow) is convinced that
they are not “alive inside," Sayer dis
agrees because the alternative is un
thinkable.
In an incredibly moving sequence,
he is able to communicate with one
patient, Leonard Lowe (Robert DeN-
iro), via Ouija board and becomes de
termined to help them. Noting that the
By Julia Spencer
symptoms are similar to those of Par
kinson’s disease, he petitions to use
L-DOPA, an experimental new drug,
on Leonard, and finally receives per
mission from the sceptical director
(John Heard).
Miraculously, Leonard awakens
from his long sleep and begins to en
joy the simple pleasures of life he has
Awakenings
starring: Robin Williams,
Robert DeNiro
now playing at Post Oak 3
rated PG-13
been missing for the past 30 years,
and even pursues a friendship with a
young woman (Penelope Ann Miller)
who is visiting her father in the same
hospital.
Encouraged by this success, Say
ers and his sympathetic assistant El
eanor Costello (Julie Kavner) adminis
ter the drug to the other sufferers, and
one night, these patients too, come al
ive. Their re-entry into the world is
more exhilarating and spellbinding
and especially more touching than
any slick time-travel fantasy simply be
cause it is true.
Fictional elements were added for
the movie - such as the tentative
relationship between Sayers and Cos
tello, but the film never resorts to pat
solutions for the dramatic situations it
establishes. Everyone involved also
showed admirable restraint in hand
ling the story, which was extremely af
fecting, but largely due to Williams’
and DeNiro’s masterful, carefully con
trolled performances, never becomes
maudlin or pathetic.
Too, the film honestly addresses
the down side of the miracle: the
drug’s side effects, and the limits
which the disease continues to place
on its victims. The contrast between
the close, imprisoning atmosphere of
the hospital and the open freedom of
the outdoors is beautifully underlined
by noted cinematographer Miroslav
Ondricek’s carefully composed
images, and by the director’s many
shots of barred windows and caged
rooms, which Sayers continually
makes a point of opening.
This film reminds me of the pre
ciousness of life and health, and of the
importance of living it to the fullest and
being thankful for the many blessings
we do have instead of always covet
ing what we do not have. It also em
phasizes that the essence of a person
is on the inside, not in the face that
they present to the world.
It refuses to compromise its integ
rity as an inspirational life lesson, while
retaining its impact and value as en
tertainment. I highly recommend this
film; despite its PG-13 rating, I found
nothing offensive about it. On the con
trary, I believe its gentle message
makes it appropriate for everyone
from children to grandparents. It is
perfect for anyone who is tired of
mindless violence and ready for a poi
gnant, thought-provoking experience.
‘Awakenings’ is now playing at Post
Oak Three in College Station
■
Godfather
III
worth
seeing
By Kevin Robinson
You know, you almost have to
feel sorry for Francis Ford Cop
pola. In 1972, he created what
would become a movie blockbus
ter, the original "Godfather.” He
followed it two years later with a
The Godfather III
starring: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton,
Andy Garcia, Talia Shire
now playing at Cinema 3
rated R
sequel that many people (includ
ing myself) believe to be better
than the original.
After this, however, Coppola
never again received the same
mixture of critical and public ac
claim. The filming of "Apocalypse
Now” threw Coppola into bank
ruptcy, and he was forced to turn
his attention to a handful of small
films — many of them failures.
Not once did he give in to the
temptation to exploit the God
father saga. He claimed he could
never find the right script or the
proper reason to bring the Cor-
leone family back to the screen.
That is, until now.
Unfortunately, in the lag be
tween the second and third instal
lments, the previous two films
have grown into movie classics in
the manner of “Casablanca” and
"Gone With the Wind." Any at
tempt, no matter how good, to do
a follow-up was bound to be over
shadowed. And judging from the
critical reception to the film since
its Christmas opening date, that is
exactly what’s happened.
In its own right, the third instal
lment of the Godfather saga is an
excellent film. It doesn’t live up to
the grandeur of the first two, but
what it lacks in epic scale, it more
See Godfather/Page 11
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