Joni, Records, BQ's, Weber
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4; ,v <>'■1 m Joni, Records, BQ's, Weber Bee Gees, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, intense balance to his song far greater so that it was tedious or, more positively, dream —she's versatile and that makes her September 14,1979 than anything heard on his acclaimed exceptionally professional. Yet the more real than all singer/songwriters. I After five glittering nights on Broadway, . ECM recordings. tightness and the vocals in "Starry Eyes" mean, maybe if Laura Nyro didn't turn her been heard before with the Byrds. The or thereabouts, the Bee Gees lit up the Besides Weber's stunning command as a has back on it all, and maybe if Ricki Lee Aud Friday with a vibrant, almost two bassist (disciplined fire), the Music's grit lead vocalist John Wicks does not will be more than a fluke, and if hour long set. came from the bright siftings of renowned compromise the sweetness qf Jones so elite, I'd be saying Barry Gibb's ventilated moans brought Soft Machine drummer John Marshall, and "Teenarama" for ninny-ness and the Carly Simon wasn’t the high school girls to vocal orgasm Charles Mariano (remembered for his fine bassist keeps a rhythm which exudes easy the same thing about them. while the rest of the well mixed crowd work with Mingus & one-time wife Toshiko fun combined with wonderful adolescent In Cleveland's Blossom Music Center, delighted in a fluid medley of Bee Gees Akiyoshi) summoning spirited quiet on sorrow. Mitchell exuded an egotism which never & Lackawanna rockers and Alyn Syms classics. Dressed In their customary silver curved soprano saxophone wood flute. bordered on borrowed hype from her male and white skin-tights, which mirrored their Weber's keyboardist was a German Group, began the evening with a blend of fellow influence's. I thought that onstage, she was dazzling show, approach delightfully simple, Zeppelin and Jeff Beck type white blues rainbow light the Bee Gees whose w£s basically asexual, or only wanted to have opened with "Tragedy," their latest hit- displaying how constructively electronics and R&B. The performance was only fair- sex with her audience. This wasn't so from Spirits Having Flown. can be made to sing. His equally simple to-good because the influences of much a power trip as it was a shared In a night filled with special verbosity on the acoustic piano could Zeppelin and Beck were becoming creative daydream. effects, "Tragedy" featured two range at times into deceptively complex emulation. And emulation leads to She smiled at the dozens of roses thunderous explosions and the striking stormfronts. v copying which will get them nowhere. colors of the 2001 dance floor turned The combined result was a glowing Somehow though, with Symn solos that thrown to her after "Big Yellow Taxi" which was played on an electric guitar. stage. impressionism full of lyrical force, easily weren't particularly innovative but marvel, For their second song, the group jumped among the finest of Weber's intricate, with drums that weren't always She was the the genius and her backdrop—however good they back in time and out into space with performances. The capacity audience at in synch, and one or two mistakes in band just a like Of The Universe," a number made the Tralfamadore Cafe roared a Calus' vocals, they still managed to rock. were. Pat Metheny picked his guitar "Edge and mpre vivid by a sparkling disco baft that tumultuous approval, and the Songs like ''I Remember" have great he wanted to make the deaf hear cast a starry field on the huge crowd. Tralfamadore/ jazz Report series listenability and l;m willing to believe the Weather Report bassist Jaco Pastorius which Alternating between soft stuff and is—obviously— on. band had an off night since I've seen pulled £ Hendrix parody/tribute his bass the stage disco, they continued with "Night Fever," — Michael F. Hopkins them really cook in practice sessions. If included throwing to off Mitchell needed one of three number one songs from their they intertwine the jazzy demos they and jumping an amp. which are record setting album Saturday Night Fever. compiled last year with the harder rock, no football rock theatrics, cross-cultural digs only. It was then that the group's weakness in a The Records, Stage 1, August 27, 1979 don't fuse it but keep it eclectic, and if interesting as live concert emerged. Though the light My idea of the Records' performance is they realize the value of identity, they'll Mitchell's stunning three-octave voice "Coyote," trip to show impressed, the lack of movement on that they are striving to be a pop group be a supergroup deserving of a national gave us a movie with a stage weakened the upbeat numbers. when they don't have the vocal range to audience. If not, they'll be another Molly the past with "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" Without John Travolta's athletic give harmonies a well-rounded sound. The Hatchet, as one local critic told me. But I sung with the Persuasions, and jazz with Mingus stuff. Mitchell displayed the gyrations, the disco floor looked emoty, —Rubinoos, ABBA, even Pink Lady have the hold high hopes for the Alyn Syms Croup. her — Goldberg of the century's popular music in and the beat failed to excite me. Robin ability to harmonize using every note in Harold legacy of hour and a half. jazzy Gibb's rigid attempts at animation were a the scale and the result is true melody. the space an A "Woodstock" topped it off. We poor substitute. Conceptually, the Records have the version of without sex but with The moving ballad "Love So Right" fashion of New Wave but think only pop, |oni Mitchell, Blossom Music Center, were speechless, plums tap dancing restored the mellow mood, only to be much like their company mates, Sniff 'n August 16, 1979 sensual thoughts, sugar our —Harold Goldberg jarred again by the disco blockbuster the Tears. The set was very cohesive, not joni Mitchell is more than just a in heads. "Staying Alive." Then it was medley time. The Bee Gees touched on 11 songs in their time trip back to 1967, highlighted by "Massachusetts," "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart," "I Started A Joke" and "Nights On Broadway" comprising the. backdrop of soft pastels. The disco image has followed Barry, Robin and Maurice since 1976, but the group's strength lies more in its flawless harmony than its disco sound. While Barry and Robin handled the vocals on "Holiday," Maurice hammed it up for an appreciative audience. Acting left out, he paced across stage, checked his watch and fixed his hair to kill time. While the balding Maurice supplied the.* comic moments, Barry was clearly the sex symbol. His rapport with the crowd was the strongest, although his soft solo "Words" got the poorest reaction from the audience, which must have expected more. • Though Robin's singing was faultless, he was totally colorless on stage. He doesn't speak during the act or move well, and he is neither funny nor good looking. Personality seemed less important on the later numbers, as attention focused on skillful drummer Dennis Bryon. Suprisingly among the missing was "How Deep Is Your Love," perhaps the Bee Gees' best song. It was a mainstay on the current tour which began in June and will run to the beginning of October, but apparently they got tired of it. — Mark Meltzer Eberhard Weber, Tralfamadore Cafe, September 16, 1979 Last Sunday was the first time I had ever heard bassist Eberhard Weber live, and the experience was quite pleasant. His music was as wispish and mystical as ever. Here, however, the floating otherworldliness was underscored by an earthy insistency which brought a shining,.