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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 1995)
Emerald -I -S' ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE October 77, 1996 The Eugene Hilton Ballroom is the place to he on Halloween By Les Zaczek it's Halloween night and you're (onsidering going to a couple of parties and stopping bv a friend's house. You're not quite sure where the most happening spot is, so you're just going to chec a little bit of everything Well, save yourself some walking on a cold autumn night because on Halloween the best party in town will be the Psychedelic Halloween Masquerade Ball at the Eugene Hilton Ballroom. What makes this event so exciting? The Psychedelic Halloween Ball is a costume party that will feature five great bands, a multimedia show as a visual background to the music, a costume contest and a vendor's fair. The show will begin with Zero, a San Francisco-based band that plays psychedelic jazz rtx; The group will perform its tasty blend of songs, which were written in part hv the Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter This six-piece outfit consists of great | Hay area mush ia'ns. such as h.i'.sist Hobby Vega, whose career includes playing with the Sly and Family Stone, Ktta James and Joan Baez, who bring years of playing experience with them Next on the bill is local hand Calobo, who will play their special zest of diinceable folk rock The hand has been playing their acoustic groove sound at various locations, including the Portland Folk Festival and the Willamette Valley Folk Festival. Recently, the band has been on an extensive tour and has been selling out more than 80 percent of their shows, Calobo has also recently released on album. Running with the River, that has been at the top of local charts. Tom Constanten. the fonner Grateful Dead keyboard player, will do a solo show, providing us with a display of musical mastery and a good groove. Constanten will play an eclectic, mix of sounds from his extensive musical career Higher Ground will hit the stage with their own blend of fired-up acoustic backroots rock. While this Portland foursome hasn't been together for as long as some of the other bands on the bill tonight, they will draw from some 50 original songs that they have written. This energetic group is known for a great live show, playing with a variety of instruments such as the banjo, the mandolin and even the fiddle. If this is not enough, Artis the Spoon Turn to BALL, Page 10A Grunge culture on the way out In business there are market indicators which mav signal ( hanges in consuin nr txthnv ior. Certain indic ators can be used to determine tint sliort teems outlook for travel, retail clothing, housing starts, etc That's why « < certain announcement recently on the ('NUT television business < han nel caught my attention It said orders from retail« lothmg Wot** i"! the holidays haw* been tilted more toward preppy stsles and away from the grunge look that has been expe neni mg brisk business on the* back of the alternative music phenomenon. Another ON THE SCENE possible indi cator to catch my attention is the rise of artists like Alanis Moris set In and her damnable hii single, "You Oulta Know" on the billboard < harts In the concert indu.Htry.Tnmt Kn/nor of Nine Ini h Nails fame has teamed up with David Howie for a lour • Does all ibis spoil the end of grunge imisu and its pop ml turn? CiiHl. I hope so! I had begun In wonder if I would see the end of the three chord bandwagon while I’m Mill old enough lo stage dive. Ah Hutthnad would say. lei me count the ways in which this sucks First, il takes no talent lo play. Any first year guitar stu dent could play Courtney lane s rhythm parts in Hole The demise of grunge means real musicians can get jobs again. Second is the hypocrisy of the alternative movement. Denizens of this counter-cul turo speak of peace, conserva tion, and liberalism; but where were all these neo-hippies in the 1994 election that gave Republicans the majority in the legislature with which to turn back the clock on environmen tal laws and civil liberties? Three. Alternative to what? Flannel shirts, baggy jeans, and Nirvana albums are the main stream, If corporate America spends billions to package it and promote it. and then you buy it. you are pari of the main stream yourself. Indicators of a commercial decline in grunge music and fashion mean either people are finally beginning to < aten on to the fact that the alternative movement is nothing hut a well-marketed fad. or people are just plain losing interest in a genre that never had much substance to begin with. Ted Hinds is an entertainment columnist for the Emerald
