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Lemonheads falter, disappoint audience
By Scott Simonson
Or<*(ton OaMy f'm&ak]
POKT1.ANI) — II was the test
when you knew the answers but
didn't fill in the < ir< les com
pletely nr erase stray pencil
marks It was the day whan you
made it to your bus stop on tune,
so the bus came early It was the
time when just trying was the
best you could do.
It was the Lernonheads' con
cert at Iji Luna last Friday It was
a show where all the harmonies
sounded like they were sung
through a mouth full of oatmeal
It was n show when? even the fast
songs sounded slow
It was a frustrating, eiugmatn
performance. The Lemonheads
stumbled more often than they
shone It left some fans wistfully
remembering the bend’s last Port
land performanc e, a show with
Soul Asylum, when the launon
heads' cover of "Mrs Robinson"
hadn't hit MTV and magazine
covers hadn't tiecome infatuated
with the comely visage of Kvan
Dondo. the band's singer, gui
tarist and sometimes-songwriter.
It was a sociable, energetic show
that made listeners into fans and
sent them off to record stores
This time around, the hand
w as neither unknown nor lack -
ing fan support. But. from the
time Dando, bassist Nit: Dolton
and drummer David Ryan
opened with "Confetti." some
thing was missing
The hand seemed to sound all
right, but the first five songs were
forgettable Typically. Lemon
heads songs are only about two
and-a-half minutes long, but even
that length seemed interminable
in thi* early going,
Dando’s vocals sounded weak,
and he appeared listless and
sullen, which may he fine
demeanor for on hestrn bassoon
ists but normally isn't a way to
magnetize a < rowd of teen-age
pup music fans.
The up tempo songs were
noisy and uninspired Neither
Dando s vocals or guitar were
especially distinctive Ryan s
drumming didn't fit in the mis
()ne had the hading that, if Dan
do wore a watch, he would hove
boon looking at it through most
of the first half-hour of the hand's
performani e
Things pi< ked up as the songs
slowed down Lemonhtsads songs
often get better the i loser they get
to an or oustic. arrangement feu
Hiring Dando alone. The earnest,
heartfelt lyrics and Dando'* often
subdued but melodic voc als are
what propel most of the band’s
good material.
1 laving disjrosed of guitar noise
for a time, the I>and played win
ning versions of mid-tempo and
slower songs, including "It's a
Shame about Kay." "Hig Gay
Heart" and "Hannah and Gobi "
When the Ixind turned the vol
ume hac k up for the second half
of the show, it seemed a little
more earnest and intense. Dalton
stopped playing his Iwss over by
the T-shirt stand and started to
throw himself around stage a lit
tle bit. Dando started to exert
himself vocally.
For a while, the pop hand that
has always wanted to rock actu
ally did roc k serving up inspired
versions of "Kcst Assured" and
"Down About It ' Unfortunate
ly. the hand couldn't maintain
this level of musical energy for
the rest of the show
Nobody had as much fun as
thm should have had. It wasn't
that the Teinonheads weren't trv
ing. although how hard they were
trying was debatable
Fans were hoping to see the
stage version of the persona that
Dando projec ts on I.einonheads
albums As Ins songwriling stv !e
alternates between glib and pen
sive. between dippv and roman
tic.. Dando presents an intriguing
portrait of the artist as a young
rock star
On tins night, though. Dando
did littli' to break barrier*
between himself and the audi
ence The fan* ( heered appre
ciatively when he donned a
baseball lt.it thrown on stage for
o slat k rendition of "Being
Around."
Opening bands Walt Mink and
Hole fared better Walt Mink
worked hard to make some
detent songs come to life.
Although not n typical Min
neapolis band, Walt Mink has
adopted the city s "throw your
self into performing and put on
a good live show even if your
stings aren't very good because if
you struggle long enough you'll
be able to write gotxl songs about
being a struggling band," ethic.
After two albums, the band has
become far more formidable live
than in the studio
By the time the Lemonheads
finished, fans were yelling for an
encore, but there wasn't much to
hear. The band returned for a
good version of "Dawn Can't
Decide," went through the
motions for two more songs and
left.
The lights came on, the fans
applauded some more and then
they started to leave. As the line
formed at the exit, the hand
returned and played "Rudder
less." It was one of the best songs
of the evening.
It may have been a second
encore, or maybe it was an apol
ogy It sounded most like a
promise ('nine ba< k next time.
We i! do oetter.
CINEMA
Continued from Page /A
However, make no mistake, for
die hard animation (aunties.
Spike and Mike's -Kl has equal
lv amazing work as well as ter
vent I v c ool ideas to matt h nnv
past produt tion Yet for the ani
mation layman, it lands in the
realm of somewhat less than sat
isfying
In earlier festivals, we got a
taste of the future with "Heavis
.nul Butt-head n Frog Baseball
or the wildly original T’limp
loons." Hui in this latest collet -
lion of win ky animation, what is
truly lat king is that one partic
ulur skcti h that stii ks with you
when all is said and done.
Although there are some per
fei 11v entertaining piei es. such
as "The French Lover's" or the
MIT computer-animated "Cap
tain Mighty-O." these scarce
highlights cannot completely i-ar
rv the entire show.
Look for sr\ itral clever British
clavmntion” s|Hits to spit*
up dull moments, hut even their
infrequent appearances are few
and far between.
Overall, Spike and Mike s 'il l
is not quite the caliber we've seen
before, but there are several
appealing segments that stretch
the imagination and keep things
lively enough to be worth your
time.
See Spike and Mike's Anima
tion festival if you dare.
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