Arts & Entertainment
Thursday, December 3,1992
The Battalion
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Toad the Wet Sprocket
Band brings ‘fear’ to Texas A&M
By JENNY MAGEE
Reviewer of THE BATTALION
Todd Nichols, a guitarist for Toad the Wet
Sprocket, said he recalls the band playing in College
Station in a pizza parlor packed with about 50 peo
ple. Tonight Toad the Wet Sprocket returns for a live
performance in DeWare Fieldhouse.
The band, brought to Texas A&M by Town Hall,
is probably most commonly recognized for their Top
40 hit "Walk on the Ocean." However, the band's
name (which was taken from a Monty Python skit)
also attracts a certain degree of attention.
"I think the band's name shows you where we
were when we formed the band," Nichols said. "I
don't think we would have named the band Toad
the Wet Sprocket if we had had any real aspirations
of succeeding."
Nichols was reluctant to classify the band's music
into any specific category.
It is rock; it is pop; it is folk; we just do what we
do," he said.
In 1985 four young musicians from Santa Barbara
came together to form Toad the Wet Sprocket. The
ineup consists of Dean Dinning on bass/key
boards/vocals, Randy Guss on drums, Nichols on
guitar/vocals, and Glen Phillips on
vocals/ guitar/ mandolin.
Their entrance into the music world began with
heir self-produced album "Bread And Circus" in
1989 and the follow-up album "Pale" in 1990.
Nichols said the music on "fear", the band's most
ecent release, is different from the first two album's
because this is the first time that the band has used
the studio as an instrument in the recording process.
Bread And Circus" and "Pale" were recorded live
at a friend's studio.
Nichols said Phillips is responsible for the lyrics
)ut declined to comment on where the band gets in-
ipiratipns for the music that they produce.
"It is a secret," he said. "But, we want people to
nterpret our music they way they want to; they can
wen misinterpret it if they want to."
The members of Toad the Wet Sprocket have
onging aspirations for the immediate future.
'Jichols said, as his voice betrayed a tinge of content-
Toad the Wet Sprocket plays at DeWare
Fieldhouse tonight. The Gin Blossoms will open.
ed exhaustion, that the band is going home after 14
to 15 months on the road. However, plans for a trip
to Europe in February and work on a new album are
in the band's extended agenda.
Nichols said the band hopes to see the new album
about out by late summer. While they are perform
ing three new songs in their live show, the album-to-
be is still in the idea stage of development.
He said that the band has played at a lot of uni
versities prior to tomorrow's concert in Deware
Fieldhouse.
"Playing at a college can sometimes be a real
drag," Nichols said. "A lot of the time you get a lot
of people at the show who are only there because it
is the cool thing to do that night."
Tickets for the concert are $10 for students and
$13 for the public. The Gin Blossoms will be
opening.
Baryshnikov, Tharp dazzle crowd
with dancing and
raphy
By ANAS BEN-MUSA and
JULIE POLSTON
Reviewer and Feature Writer of THE BAT~TAUON
Twyla Tharp, Mikhail
Baryshnikov and. a marvelous
troupe of dancers performed a
dazzling display of intricate and
interpretative dance Tuesday
night at Rudder Auditorium.
The production, "Cutting
Up," was not the traditional or
classical repertoire. Instead of
extravagant costumes and im
mense set designs, the perfor
mance was a casual, laid-back
interpretation of various eras of
music.
Tharp choreographed the en
tire production, demonstrating
her ability to coordinate a vari
ety of dance styles. She utilized
Baryshnikov's classical form in
a very contemporary perfor
mance.
Baryshnikov was never con
fined to a certain technique; he
was able to blend his traditional
ballet techniques with modern
dance.
In addition, "Cutting Up"
showed the contrasting styles of
the two famous dancers.
Baryshnikov floated through
the air with graceful leaps and
beautiful poses revealing his
training in classical dance.
Baryshnikov's background in
ballet is displayed by his ele
gant posture and presence.
Even the most basic dance steps
were impressive.
On the other hand, Tharp
was whimsical and carefree, re-
Mikhail Baryshnikov, along with
Twyla Tharp danced at Texas
A&M Tuesday and Wednesday.
vealing her contemporary style.
At times when she danced
with Baryshnikov, the same
dance took on a new meaning.
Both dancers had the same basic
steps and rhythm, but interpret
ed the routine differently.
The second act, "Bare
Bones," exhibited Tharp and
Baryshnikov's contrasting styles
in a refreshingly comical rou
tine set to selected works by
Pergolesi. It was like looking at
backstage antics between two
good friends.
Throughout the act, Tharp
and Baryshnikov were playfully
challenging each other. Tharp
would dance a few steps and
then Baryshnikov would try to
outdo her. But, it was never a
serious or tense duel.
For example, at one point
while Tharp was dancing,
Baryshnikov stopped dancing
to tie his shoes and readjust his
clothes.
Tharp and Baryshnikov were
not concerned with impressing
the audience with grandiose
routines. They created an at
mosphere for the audience to
relax and enjoy the act.
Like a piece of modern art,
"Cutting Up" was individualis
tic in nature. Each performer,
including the dance troupe,
contributed their own unique
style to the performance.
The dance troupe wore
brightly colored costumes re
flecting a variety of dance
styles. Pairing up, the dancers
jitterbugged, waltzed and tan
goed simultaneously into an ex
plosive finale.
The finale, "Morton's L.A.-
1992," demonstrated the vast
talent of the entire dance com
pany. Switching from ragtime
to modern movements, the
dance troupe exhibited the evo
lution of social dancing during
this 'century.
Tharp, Baryshnikov and the
company danced a breathless
performance. The audience was
left standing in ovation for ten
minutes. It was not a serious or
deeply emotional production,
but rather a light hearted and
exhilarating look at two great
performers in their element —
creating and developing a new
understanding of dance for the
audience to enjoy.
Solutions from your Apple Campus Reseller
The Apple Computer Loan.
“Why should I wait in line at the
computer lab when I can own a Macintosh
Kevin Campbell for *15 a month?”
Aerospace Engineering Major
What allowed Kevin to own an Apple® Macintosh® PowerBook" 145
computer for such a low monthly payment? The Apple Computer Loan!
Kevin knew that owning the power and portability of a Macintosh
PowerBook for his full course load and his work in the Civil Air Patrol
was a smart thing to do. And the Apple Computer Loan was the smart
way to do it: easy application, fast turnaround and low, flexible payment
terms. So Kevin went to the only place that offers the Apple Computer
Loan, his Apple Campus Reseller.
Macintosh. It’s more than a present, it’s a future.
M icroComputerCenter
/ *** ■** *<•- , ** v ** &? ** '&; '** ££'** Xs ** 8$''*^
/ ^ i. r r.
Located in the Memorial Student Center
Open Monday - Friday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. Phone 845-4081
© 1992 Apple Computer, Inc. Apple, the Apple logo and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. PowerBook is a trademark of Apple Computer. Inc.
•Based on Kevin Campbell’s Apple Computer Loan of 12,342.40, his monthly payment was (15 (interest only) as of 10/12/92. Principal payments may be deferred up ton years. The interest rate is variable, and ts based on the
average of the higher of the 30<iay or 90-day commercial paper rates as reponed in the Waff Street Journal, plus a spread of 535% (not to exceed 5.6%). The term of the loan is S years with no pre-pavment penalty. The total
finance charge on every U,000 borrowed will be $543.38. Each applicant pays a 135 00 non-refundable application fee. Approved borrowers will be charged a-t“o loan origination fee. The loan origination fee will Iv tikled to the
requested loan amount and repaid over the life of the loan. For the month of October 1992, the interest rate was 7.6% with an APR of 8.85%.