The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, March 22, 1991 Page: 19 of 20
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THE RICE THRESHER FRIDAY, MARCH 22,1991 19
Twins play at trendy club
BY LUKE POND
T
le Cocteau Twins' concert at
Avalon on March 14 was typical
of this trendy club: the crowd was
unusually attractive, overdressed,
and well-shorn. The crowd's
apparent indifference to the
opening act, Galaxie 500, was
shocking given the band's
obvious talent. However,
indifference may be a valid way
to appreciate their laid-back style
of music.
The songs began quietly,
featuring Dean Wareham's
plaintive singing and a repeti-
tive but dominant bass line.
The voice subsided as the
guitar and drums assumed a
harder edge and gained inten-
sity, coming to a climax in a
screeching wall of feedback.
Their short set was over all
too soon.
NDrita
FROM PAGE 15
becomes the clearest by the end
of the film. a
Once released from her
indoctrination at the academy
and into the real world, Nikita
becomes a woman trying to build
a new life from scratch. She finds
herself a sort of goofy boyfriend
played by Jean-Hugues Anglade
who can put up with such
idiosyncrasies as her complete
lack of a past and her tendency to
disappear for unspecified periods
of time with little explanation.
Needless to say, the pressures of
killing people on command and
trying to make this relationship
work are strong.
Despite my distaste for the
intense violence that seems to be
all the rage in movies these days,
I enjoyed Nikita. The film takes
the James Bond genre and casts it
in a Catch-22 light where we
cannot trust the motives of
anyone who is in control and
telling Nikita what to do. It is
above all an action movie with a
high body count and intense
action sequences. However, the "
violence depicted is more a
senseless manifestation of the
power of the state than a crusade
against evil like we would see in
Rambo or Robocop. Nikita kills
strangers and no one ever tells
her how killing these people ties
into the preservation of the world
order. All of this amounts to a
fine twist on the action movie
genre.
Meanwhile, the nightclub
denizens milled around, at-
tempted to converse over the
noise, and stole glances at each
others' watches to see how
expensive they were. Soon, the
floor began to fill up and we
sensed a growing excitement for
the music yet to come, which
surprised us since we had thought
that the Cocteau Twins were
relatively obscure. I was totally
unprepared for the joyful outburst
that greeted vocalist Elizabeth
Fraser's arrival on stage.
She was flanked by four
serious-looking guitarists, one
of whom bore a remarkable
resemblance to professor
Bruce Duba.
Accompanied by a drum
machine, the guitarists fed their
sound though synthesizers to
create interesting effects never
before heard from a guitar. Two
of the guitarists played short,
repetitive, percussive-sounding
layers, while the other two played
harmonizing melodies.
This deeply-layered music
hypnotized the crowd, and we
were further entranced when
Elizabeth began to sing. For the
uninitiated, Ms. Fraser's
singing is completely unique.
She sings sounds instead of
words, using her voice as an
incredibly versatile musical
instrument. This may seem
inaccessible, but her choice of
"lyrics" and her beautiful voice
combine with the guitars to
create truly memorable music.
Despite the lack of recogniz-
able lyrics, I found myself and
others attempting to "sing
along" to the familiar songs
from albums Treasure, Blue
Bell Knoll, and the recent
Heaven or Las Vegas.
The band succeeded in
convincingly performing their
recorded sound, something other
critics have pronounced impos-
sible. On some songs I did notice
the absence of multi-track vocals,
where Elizabeth harmonizes with
herself. However, the Cocteau
Twins proved that their talent,
not that of a recording engineer,
makes the songs worthwhile.
Along with the trendy
clubgoers, we enjoyed the
show more than we thought
possible. Perhaps the Cocteau
Twins' policy of striving for
beauty rather than the pseudo-
intellectual posturings of many
other current artists gives
them a universal appeal. I see
no reason why a diverse and
international audience could not
appreciate their music as did
the young adults on the club
scene.
At Rice this week...
The Black Student Union Coepel Choir will be in concert with the
Mt. Hocetn Baptist Chinch Choir Friday, Match 22, at 7*30 p.m. in
Hamman Hall
Lectures
James D. Wright, professor of Human Relations at Tulane Univer-
sity, will present a lecture entitled "Guns, Crimes, and Violence"
today, March 22, at 1 p.m. in Sewall 301.
Khetsan Sangbo Rinboche will present "Changing the Rains,"
Tuesday, March 26, at 4 p.m. in the Kyle Morrow Room of Fondren
Library.
Theatre
Sid Richardson presents the Second Annual Dinner Theatre
Saturday, March 23 from 7 to 10 p.m. The Italian dinner will be
catered by Birra Poretti's. The musical presentation will be You're a
Good Man, Charlie Broun. For more information, call 630-8691 or
630-8750.
Baker College's presentation of Shakespeare's Macbeth closes this
weekend. The final performance will be March 23 at 8 p.m. Call
669-0574 for tickets.
The Spanish Department presents Flores De Papel by Egon Wolff
March 22,23 at 8 p.m. and March 24 at 5 p.m. in the Jones
Commons. For more information, call 527-4863 or visit the
Spanish Department.
Hie Rice Players' production of one-acts closes this weekend.
Performances will be March 21 -23 in the Farnsworth Pavilion.
Admission is $6 for the general public and $4 for students. For more
information, call 527-4040.
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TUESDAY, MARCH 26
7:30 PM
RICE MEDIA CENTER
FREE SCREENING
Brought to you courtesy of
Mk
Lis Claiborne
sponsored by
RICE PROGRAM COUNCIL
RICE UNIVERSITY/HOUSTON
Seating is on a first come basis and not guaranteed
Please arrive early to ensure a seat.
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Moeller, Kurt & Yates, Jay. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, March 22, 1991, newspaper, March 22, 1991; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245780/m1/19/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.