Perceptivejazz-Roc- K

23, 1080 page 8 daily nebraskan Wednesday, april A Worthwhile films feature migrant workers, artists By Jennifer Bauman and editing, are all excellently and deliber- ately done. Lyon is particularly adept at This week the Sheldon Film Theater is capturing the atmosphere of the different presenting two documentaries: El Otro locations-t- he semi-tropic- al locale of the Lado and They Are Their Own Gifts. ejido and the desert the Careys must cross in At the beginning of El Otro Lado, the to enter the United States. The people the film seldom to be conscious of Carey family lives on an ejido, govern-mentall- y appear V7V' --allocated land, in southern the camera. It functions as an unobtrusive Mexico. In search of a better economic observer, giving a sense of immediacy to the the screen. ) situation, three of the men of the family images on n make a 1 300-mil-e bus trip north and walk El Otro Lado powerfully presents a slice k across a stretch of desert into Arizona, I . f of life. It deals with a 4 Hi where find work in a citrus general situation; X:. they large these workers a few ill are just among many. But what we see are not anonymous laborers. They are individuals. They Are Their Own Gifts is a trilogy of f sketches of American artists: poet Muriel Rukeyscr, choreographer Anna Sokolow, and painter Alice Neel. orchard. As laborers the and there, Careys Muriel Rukeyser has been nourished Photo courtesy of Sheldon Film Theater their friends live on less than subsistence artistically throughout her life by her con- outdoors under the citrus and Alice Neel is American artists featured in sketches in wages, trees, cern for retaining the dignity of human Painter one of three the film, are subject to continual harassment from existence. In 1933 she went to Alabama to They Are Their Own Gifts, being shown at Sheldon. officials. immigration attend the Scottsboro trial, and was deeply affected the she witnessed by injustices Alice Neel grew up in a small town and and Neel directly address the audience with Otro a the lives there. A trip to Europe in 1936 to write El Lado gives picture of attended the Philadelphia School of Design great vitality. about the Barcellona Anti-faci- st of the. Careys before and after their move, Olympics for Women. She married a Cuban landed in the middle painter the culture and families they leave behind Rukeyser of the and traveled with him to Havana. She final- They Are Their Own Gifts speaks of slave-lik- e exist- Spanish Civil War. Since a 1976 visit to in exchange for a grueling, ly settled in New York City, first in Green- what it is to be a woman and an artist in shows Seoul, she has been out ence. Director Danny Lyon great speaking against wich Village and then in Spanish Harlem. 20th century America. Involved in their the film. the plight of Korean such as Kim Chi sensitivity for the people of Using poets During the Depression her work was sub- artistic production, these women seem to no follows Ha, who are being there. documentary narration, Lyon imprisoned sidized by the Easel Project of the Works be denying old age its power to weaken them as they go about the business of their them. for is not a sacred cow Anna Progress Association. Neel refers to herself Art, them, lives. As much of their dialogue is not sub- Sokolow grew up in the tene- that is aloof from life's realities. Their ments of New York where she was as a "collector of souls", and her apart- stituted, audiences City, ment crowded work reflects what they see and feel. For introduced to dance in a settlement house. with canvases attests to are left to rely on studying the men's faces all three, the influences their She her dedication. many upon and actions to learn about them. The songs joined a group of neighborhood play- creations have Filmmakers Lucille Rhodes and spawned deeply significant they sing as they work in the orchard are ers, and it was there that she met Martha like let their sub- products. not only full of haunting beauty, they Graham and Louis Horst, who greatly in- Margaret Murphy, Lyon, for themselves. elaborate on the themes of the film. fluenced her. She worked with dance jects speak Recollections El Otro Lado and They Are Their Own companies in Mexico in 1939 and in Israel by each of the three women are accompan- Gifts are beautiful celebrations of the in 1953. Her travels have inspired themes ied by photographs from their pasts and strength and creativity of the human spirit. El Otro Lado initially gives the impres- for dances, such as a group of dances on examples, of their art. Neither the inter- Both films are valuable socially and art- sion of a casually-mad- e film. But Lyon's Spanish Civil War themes and a piece about viewers nor the camera intrudes into the istically. They are showing at Sheldon camerawork, the lighting, compositions, the Holocaust in Germany. film; the result is that Rukeyser, Sokolow, Thursday through Sunday at 7 and 9:15. Perceptive jazz-roc- k becomes Little Feat legacy rock-flavor- By Michael Zangari Little Feat decided to call it quits after George's death, At its inception, Little Feat was a country ed it was more a but gesture of fond respect than necessity. band with some interesting constructions built At his death earlier this Lowell was the Feat was a fine band less year, George that depended on George's around George's vocals and slide guitar. His apprentice- rock-delive- Lowell Thomas of California ring brilliantly abilities in its sunshine years, and more on the jazzy ship with the Mothers of Invention left him a more perceptive travelogues wrapped up in fable and loose textures provided by keyboardist Bill and Payne guitarist adventuresome writer, and the first album has many that were as bizarre as the Neon Park's Little Paul Berrere-- in the finest song metaphors many respects rhythm section nice on it. Feat album covers. in rock and roll. surprises The sound continues to develop, built around an airy California blues base, and finally into the most competent jazz-roc- k unit outside of Steely Dan. ion misses Sailing Shoes, their second album (Little Feat-t- he Originalproami goUi equally fine but rare LP which contained an earlier ver- By Debra L. Miller moments were provided by the enthusiastic ensemble. sion of "Willin' " being their first) is a grand tour of what By sheer energy and commitment to the moment, it Little Feat's possibilities would be. It contains a spare ver- Grimm 's Musical Sampler, which opened Friday night maintained momentum and a sense of fun throughout sion of the now standard ballad "Willin' plus a host of at the Howell Theater, is a show that tries hard to live up much of the show. styles that range from the outright blues of "Cat Fever" self-proclaim- to its goal of "sheer entertainment." Their polished and athletic use of physical comedy, the efforts Despite sincere and considerable talent of clever characterizations and some ingenious "schtick" those this is never realized. involved, goal fully often saved pieces that were inherently uninteresting. The UNL Theater Department and especially director A fault of the cast on was its Richard Nichols deserve credit for undertaking the major opening night consistent failure to hold and allow the enormous task of creating and putting together an laughter of the audience. In to observe this most elemental rule "original show. But they also bear the ultimate responsi- failing of the audience and cheat- bility for the uneven and often disappointing quality of comedy, they effectively quelled ed themselves of much of the desired and the response they d product. (piano-base- ) and the slide guitar blues of the "Apolitical The root of the lies in the deserved. problem motley assemblage The ensemble musical Blues", to the odd story lines and tight harmonies of the number, combining contempor- tired-housewi- title track and 'Trouble", a fine fe ballad ary rock with good, solid songs by Cynthia Zuby and that says more about the monotony of the wasted life Kathy Saylor, were some of the most enjoyable parts of the show. than anything else that comes to mind. Dixie the finest The ensemble singing was excellent, the performance Chicken, arguably group's effort, failed PGUE3U to real commercial success the Evident- quality was high-a- nd the choreography by Nancy Brestel, bring any to band. lost interest in and did a even if simple, provided a fun and refreshing change of ly George the band great many pace. sessions for other ptople. This gave the band a whole host modern and music tied five-piec- e of fairy tales, fables, poetry rock The band was the most complete musical of friends like Bonnie Raitt, who later appeared on Little loosely together and called a play. Many of the ingredients back-u- p group seen in a Howell production in several Feat sessions. in this particular recipe simply don't mix, no matter how years, and it performed commendably the wide range of After this time, George laid back a bit. His efforts on the enthusiastic the cast, or how clever individual bits and music and musical effects required. The Last Record Album are not quite as strong, athough comic business used to 'seU" them to the audience. Especially enjoyable was the band's direct involve- the painfully simple ballads "Long Distance Call" and in Transitions between and within the stories were a ment the show.

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