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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 1987)
Page 4, Portland Observoi, Nuveinbei 25, 198/ THE ENTERTAINMENT Melisa Morgan: T*— _ A c t O ne Double No. 1 Y JY By Ken Covington Eddie Murphy/The Way It Really Was Panda Productions out of New York City rolled into Portland, Oregon, last Monday to tickle the funny bone of over 5000 Rose City residents, saw moms dads, kids, grammas and grampas come out to see ol Ed do what he does best. I, along with a good number of people I knew in attendance, were well prepared for the four letter vocabulary that Mr. Murphy is known for, but I have serious complaints about one of the two opening acts, t his name was Paul Mooney Why am I not sure, you may ask? It's because even as I write this article, I'd like to forget him. u ^ ^ i Shortly after 8 00 p.m. the lights dimmed and a voice from nowhere wel corned us to the show and introduced the f.rst act - "Christopher" Chris came out "kickin' ” along with the other four life-size marionettes (two on each side) that mimicked his every move in the 10-mmute Jackson 5 revue. There was never a dull moment, and everyone seemed to enjoy this innova tive sytle of "Christopher". Even when one of the puppets head came o , As of Novem ber 16. 1987 M eli'sa M organ s duet w ith Kashif was bul leted at 39 on the Black charts and M eli'sa's single on her ow n was bulleted at 33 Both were am ong the fastest m oving singles of the week Meli sa Morgan, the 23 year-old singer songwriter/producer who scored two number one Black singles last year, is up to her old tricks Mor gan is currently bulletmg up the charts with two singles simultaneously. If Vou Can Do It, I Can Do It Too," the first release from Morgan's upcoming Capitol Recoids album, is moving swiftly in the Black top fourty. And Love Changes, a duet betwee Meli sa and Kashif that also appears on Meli sa’s new LP, is rising rapidly in the top 40 as well. The strange circumstance of concurrent singles is the result of an invitation Meli'sa couldn t resist While Meli sa was writing and producing songs for her own album, Kashif asked if she would join him in the studio for a duet. Mel. sa had toured with Kashif in the days before her solo career. So she set aside her own work momentarily to lend her voice to the project And Kashif agreed to let Meli'sa put the track on her LP as well as his. Curiously Ansta Records Kashif s label g ot excited by the duet chose it as the first single fro m Kashif s new album , and released it just as M eli'sa's new single was em erging Ansta s enthusiasm may come from a simple fact cited by Dennis H u n t in I he LA lim e s : W ith all due tespei t ; m IW h .tn e y l H ouston and Sade M oruan m ay be the best young soul Singer the bus less. Cans Film Festival Tuesday, Decembei I, 1987 all Moyer Luxury Theaters in the Portland metro area and other sponsoring 1 uxury Theaters throughout the Northwest will be participating in the 7th annual Cans Film Festival to benefit member agencies in the Interagency Food Bank and Oregon Food Share and their agencies The food collected truly goes to the hungry in the area of the col lection. See a first run movie FREE with you contribution of canned foods. Please bring high protein foods and more than one can per person. It all goes to feed hungry i hildren and families I he reques’ for emergency food boxes are up 21 % from last year We need your help to respond to the grow ing need Your donation will help others have a happier holiday while you see a the show rolled on. . _ Then came the part I'd like to forget. Mr. Paul Mooney. This is a Black man who really knows how to make bad matters worse. One of my favorite comedians is Don Rickies, the master of put-down or controversial comedy He puts down everybody. Paul Mooney comes into Portland (which ,n my opinion is one of the most racist communities I’ve ever lived in) and talks about his own people like dogs. On top of poor subject matter the word r" was repeated throughout his 15-minute dialogue. He said ,t enough times that I wanted to climb on stage and show him what one really acts like. And, Paul, about your apology - forget it, Brother. The damage had already been done. In your own words "They think it and you say it. Please, please, take your act to St. Louis or Philadelphia where the Brothers will do what needs to be done. . . . , . . After Mr Mooney, the lights came up for another intermission in which everyone was treated to the music of Michael Jackson and Prince in wall- to-wall stereo. (It really sounded kind of good.) Now the lights went down for the main attraction. You could feel the audience preparing themselves for the Master of Black Magic. Singing, act mg or stand up comedy Eddie captivates and motivates, and Portland, Ore gon was ready to be moved The music came up "Fake" by Alexander Oniel. A theatre screen was lowered and for five minutes we saw clips of Eddie from Saturday Night Live, footage from all of his movies that seemed to transform the superstar into a super-hero. The audience was pumped to the pomt of no return, so by the time the clip was over and the «silhouette of Mr Murphy appeared from behind screen, the crowd lept to.their feet as SEEN ABOUT TOWN 626 S W. Park, 224 5552 Brasserie M ontm arte............ ..................... Fii Sat., Big Bangg Band „ , 555 S W Oak St . 228 8486 Wed , Inner Balance, 5:30 8 30 Wed Fri Sat , Tom Grant Band , „ L v ■ 511 N W. Couch. 223 5048 Cisco Et Pancho ................................................. Fri.-Sat., Sylvester Cousin's M . B a ,.......................................231 S W Ankeny St- ■ 274-7006 F„ -Sa, Don Alben's Quai.e, wZ Le,oy ¿3-4241 Eli’s .............................................................. .. ' ' ' Wed., Fri., Sat., Cool R S.E 39th & Holgate, 771 0742 H obbit...................................................... . Fri Sat. Mel Brown Quintet J.B . Paradise...................................................3530 N Vancouver. 288 ,196 Thurs. Sat., Benny Wilson & Co. 31 N W. 1st. 223 9919 Key Largo............. • ............................................... Sun., Allegre .. , D. 5700 N E. Union, 281 1176 Mary s Place........................................................ Fri.-Sun., Staple Bros. ii wcrr, . 615 S.E. Alder. 232-2759 Melody Lane B a llro o m ......................................... Fri Flirt Romeo, The Untouchable Krew O’Caltahan's........ .......................................... 11650 S.W. Canyon. 626 2223 Mon , Linn _ , c 1204 S.E Clay, 235-7831 d Thurs., Dick Blake Trio „ Ti 221 S.E 9th, 230 0661 Pine Street Theatre............................................... Fri. Curtis Salgado & The Mayther Bros _ 1425 N.W. Glisan, 221-1150 Remo ................................................................... Sun., Ron Steen Jam Shanghai Lounge............................... 0309 S.W Montgomery. 220 1865 Sun., Calvin Walker Band _ ... . . 8 N W 6th, 227 0071 Starry N ig h t................................................................ Sat., Ladysmith Black Mambazo «M F a - o '5 ONE FROM THE STOP p f flCE ’i n n r RECORD SHOP the magic began. The subject matter was pure Eddie, and no matter what other critics might write, it was good, even great: and just what we, the people, ex- n o r t o r i it n n t a lit t le hit more. Portland's Premier New Year's Eve Celebration Dan Reed N e tw o rk 14,000 balloons, champagne, a full bar, party favors: the most electrifying 1988 New Year's Eve show in the Northwest is at Starry Night. On the verge of national stardom, Dan Reed Network will usher in the new year with his latest material — some of which he has composed in Van couver, B C., for his long-anticipated album release this February. While Reed is slated to embark on a national tour this March, this special perfor mance will offer his hometown fans an exclusive glimps of the music soon to hit the world by storm. Starry Night owner Larry Hurwitz says the evening will be a blockbuster. "There'll be more balloons than the Rolling Stones show in the Seattle King- dome 11981)," he promises. Limited tickets are now available at G.l. Joe's and Galleria Jean Mach ine. Each ticket costs $15.00 and is subject to a $1 00 service charge (21 and over please.) great movie for free Your donation will go to more than 63 agencies which feed the hungry through emergency food boxes such as; St Vincent de Paul. Salvation ft€y LdRG(^~ Army, and Life Center Giver, generously of your canned foods and remember high protein foods such as meat fish, peanut butter and baby formula are the most 31 NW FIRST Color of the Week: Smoke Grey Word of the Week: occlusive — shutting off, obstructing J butch cours M a .r D e s ig n F o r M e n S. W o m e n gg! I I Relaxers $20.00 TCB Curls $35.°° 1227 S.W . MORRISON • I I I r- i 00 I I 2l to 0- X 222-0994 DOUBLE TEE PRESENTS M 3 -W 1 * NIGHTLY ENTERTAINMENT needed. Join your neighbors at the movies and help feed the hungry. See you LAD1SMI111 at the movies! BLACK MAMBAZO NEW DIRECTIONS AND DOUBLE FEE PRESENTS ATLANTIC STARR j kA1 pim : si ri it Mill HI llll tllSIl. S.L 9lh VI IS tll\E THEATRE 'SAMU HIM». M ic r o b r e w e r y F e s tiv a l W IT H / «r v- S P F C IA l G U E S T S COOL R DECEMBER 3, 1987 STARRY NIGHT TICKETS Gl JOE S GALLE RIA JEAN M A . MINE IV E R Y B O D V S RECORDS HOUSE OE SOUND SUBJECt TOSERVH E CHARGES Curtis Salgado AND The Mayther Bros. Portland's Largest Dance Floor Phone: 235-0027 Advance Tickets on Sale Now! Usual Outlets I £l I i