B-S Syracuse Herald-Journal, Wednesday, September 7, 1983 ENTERTAINMENT
Review — Music David Bowie's new look tops concert series for year ByDaleKasler But maybe Bowie's best song Tuesday night, and cer- Staff Writer . tainly one of the best he's ever done, was the har- rowing "Ashes to Ashes," from 1980's "Scary Monsters" David Bowie trotted out the personas Tuesday night album. Trapped on a moving platform surrounded by a at the Carrier Dome. No, not so much the Ziggy Stardust curtain of light, Bowie sang about picking up the pieces and Thin White Duke characters. Rather, he brought of his life. out Bowie the actor, Bowie the director, Bowie the "Major Tom" is still part of his act thinker and, most importantly, Bowie the rock 'n' roll "We know Major Tom's a junkie," he sang over Earl star. Slick's percolating guitar — and then moved into his The ultimate musical chameleon, the British star ran very first single, "Space Oddity," the eerie 1969 hit through a spirited set of rock and funk stitched together about Major Tom, the alienated astronaut. Bowie was with dramatic staging that made the two-hour concert reminding the audience of where he's been, and it something to look at as much as something to hear. With isn't quite as simple as the chorus in "Let's Dance." only a couple of exceptions, the show was an energy- In addition to the customary state-of-the-art lighting charged tribute to Bowie's 17-year career. that has become almost mandatory at these big shows, The Dome was a stop on Bowie's first concert tour in Bowie put on perhaps the most meticulously choreo- five years, the massive "Serious Moonlight Tour" that graphed rock concert ever. The left speaker was de- coincides with "Let's Dance," the most commercial and corated with a hand reaching out to the silvery crescent accessible album Bowie has made. moon adorning the right speaker. Everyone in Bowie's fine band, which included a Sellouts everywhere... except Syracuse three-man horn section, wore some sort of unusual cos- The mega-tour is following in the gilded footsteps of tume. The backup singers did more than just provide the Rolling Stones and the Who tours of the last two harmonies. They were, at times, silent actors in little years, and is selling out everywhere. Well, everywhere stage plays used to dramatize the songs. Without any but Syracuse. The crowd was 28,820, and the Dome real gimmick, like videos that some performers are could have seated 40,000. using for accompaniment, Bowie turned his concert into Still, Tuesday night was the concert event of the a visual feast. summer here. Following an uninspiring set by the warmup band, Rochester's Duke Jupiter, Bowie shook Bowie sounded tired singing "Modern Love" the big stadium with enough music to last the rest of the Musically, it was a show with only a few disappoint- year. He also demonstrated his influence and impor- ments. Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment came tance in rock 'n' roll. Most of today's New Wave bands, Superstar David Bowie releases the passion of his music at the Carrier Dome. last. Bowie saved one of his best songs for the final from Talking Heads to ABC, owe Bowie their thanks for encore, "Modern Love," from the new album. Despite blazing the trail years ago. druggy, near-fatal decadence of Los Angeles and the But don't get the idea that this was some blue-eyed the song's obvious high voltage, the band seemed to Now, at 36, Bowie has become rock's Rcnnaisance empty, haunting semi-retirement of Berlin. funk simpleton out for a good time. Sure, the big crowd- race through it a bit, and Bowie's voice sounded a little man. He paints, he stars in movies, he performs on Blonde hair, simple dress — even a smile pleaser was "Let's Dance," the chunky beat pumping tired. Broadway. Musically, he has shed his earlier on-stage With his hair bleached blonde, Bowie commands the like blood through the crowd's veins. Yes, there was no Nevertheless, it was a concert to remember, the up- images — the bizarre, ambisexual characters like Ziggy stage these days in a simple suit and smiles occasionally denying rockers like "Scary Monsters," "Rebel Rebel" beat rockers along with the unnerving ballads. And Stardust — for a more straightforward approach. at the crowd. The new Bowie, like his new album, is and "Stay." And who in the world could resist "Young that's what makes Bowie so interesting. He gives people Calmer and less alienated, Bowie is years beyond the brassy and a lot warmer than what we're used to. Americans" with its sexy saxophone? something to think about while they're dancing. Robeson Co. pays 'Tribute to Motown' honoring Ross, Wonder, Gaye, Jackson
The Temptations. Smokey Robinson and the Other hit numbers will be "Ain't No Mountain Miracles. Diana Ro^s and the Supremes. Stevie High Enough," "For Once in My Life," "Baby, I Wonder. Marvin Gaye. Michael Jackson. Need Your Love," "Stop, In the Name of Love" and "Mr. Postman." The sounds of these and other musicians The show was written by PRPAC execu- which made the Detroit sound famous will be tive director William Rowland and Herald- reproduced on stage at the Landmark Theater Sept. 24 and 25 in "A Tribute to Motown," to be Journal feature writer Saundra Smokes. presented by the Paul Robeson Performing Vivian Howard will play the community cen- Arts Co. ter director, Mrs. Howard, with Jacque Wash- ington as her assistant, Alice, and Byron Clark The plot focuses on a group of adults and as the athletic director, Drew. Joseph Edwards, youth who decide to save their community cen- who played the central role in the company's ter from financial ruin by staging a production "Home" last season, will appear as David, the of Motown music. While auditioning per- youth director. formers for the star roles, the young people The 60-member cast will be directed by Roy discover a new perspective on the sacrifices that must be made to attain show business Delemos, the company's artistic director. Musi- fame. cal director will be Bobby Hamilton with Traci Hinton-Peterson creating the choreography. In addition, they learn about the music and Performance times will be 8 p.m. Sept. 24 the motion picture industries. Among movie and 7 p.m. Sept. 25. A special performance will hits that will supply tunes are "The Wiz," be stageSepd Septi. 2323 for SyracusSyracuse PniversitUniversityy 01 Director Joseph Edwards admires "Lady Sings the Blues" and "Mahogany." alumni. dancer Annette Adamds inT "Tribute.sm"p ^^CTug^as^ aar *• ttS^t&^SSS^^ *"*' 'Nightmares' is a unique, horror anthology that may be big winner at box office PANGERFIEW HOLLYWOOHOT T YWOOD (UPI)) — When movie napa- the publicity surrounding the helicopter deathdeaths gethegetherr ththee foufourr 25-minut25-minutee minipictureminipicturess iiss JoJo-- diencdiencee appealappeal.. IItt can'can'tt offenoffendd anyoneanyone,, eliminelimin-- *.'• EA$y trons clunk down their money they expect the of Vic Morrow and two children during ththe seph Sargent, who directed them all. ating controversial subject matter and deep irontrons piunKaowntneiplunk down their monemoneyy , ineyexpecLLmthey expect the. . ™;c^ «Mi«>,fn, r«» h« nn ctarc hut HOPS nffpr conflict, not to mention sex. violence and pohti- MOMEy usual two-hour filmfare with a beginning, mid- filminnntnnog of one episode0 . "Nightmaresa " has no stars but does offer conflict, not to mention sex, violence and politi- PENN CAN «8 303? I dle and end, whether it's comedy, drama, ad- "Creepshow," a sophomoric horror anthol- some familiar faces with Christina Raines, Emi- cal concepts," he said. _At 7:00,9:00 ogy, made a bit of a splash with youthful audi- lio Estevez, Richard Masur and Veronica None of the four stories in "Nightmares," he venture, horror or musical. says, features the slice and dice gore of such CINEP.iA EAST 14B-3II80 It is, therefore, a rarity when they get four ences. Cartwright. ,At7:30,9:30__ beginnings, middles and ends, each about 25 But historically celluloid anthology has puz- In defense of anthologies, Crowe, an appeal- juvenile movie hits as the "Halloween" or "Fri- Son minutes in length, with different stories, casts zled and confused filmgoers more than it has ingly bright young man, says, "There are some day The 13th" horror flicks. 'here's a time for playing it He describes each of his four playlets, "Ter- safe and a time for... and settings. pleased them. legitimate stories that should not be made to go Movie anthologies are rare for several rea- Even such high-powered stuff as the star- two hours on film. It's liberating to explore ror In Topanga," "The Bishop of Battle," "The sons, primary among them is the fact that none laden "The Yellow Rolls Royce," "O'Henry's ideas that are eloquent in short form. Benediction" and "Night of the Rat," as corn- has ever broken box office records.. Full House," and Somerset Maugham's "Trio" "Some stories are little jewels that deserve temporary morality tales. None is set in the Earlier this year "Twilight Zone," Steven and "Quartet" were neither critical nor box-of- telling, like Hemingway, Maugham, O'Henry, age-old gothic Transylvanian tradition. fice successes. Hammett and de Maupassant. "Spielberg took the horror genre into con- Spielberg's quartet of mystery stories, enjoyed temporary times ('Poltergeist' and 'Twilight PLUS AT THE DRIVE-IN! considerable success, perhaps partly because of But past history has not deterred producer "It's too bad the short story has disappeared Christopher Crowe, 32, from stitching together from literature. Most short story magazines no Zone') which makes it more immediate and The Outsiders ii identifiable when something goe's askew and Need an expert evalu- "Nightmares," a new Universal four-part hor- longer exist. And TV has few if any half-hour LAKF.SHCREUI 157-1120 2 CARROlS CINEMAS ror and occult anthology due in theaters across drama shows." eerie," Crowe said. ^ SGOBY. WJ PASS! ! ation on the happen- Crowe knows some prospective ticket- _0pens At 7:45 ings within your area? the country this month. Crowe distinguishes between TV and movie 'AR.WART Crowe, in addition to producing the quartet, anthologies, saying budget and censorship buyers may be weary of short-form films. He's CAMIUUS 488-1122 RETURNOFTHE JEDI El! Read the Herald- not sure if "Nightmares" will attract young At 7:00.9:00 At 7:00,9:30 Journal/American wrote three of the scripts. The fourth was writ- strictly limit TV's effectiveness. ten by Jeffrey Bloom. Another thread tying to- "Television suffers constraints of mass au- horror fans or more mature audiences. MINI ONE 4