1988_01 The Daily Collegian January 1988

              •
.   %
Subterranean Jungle
Weekly Entertainment Section
Friday, January 29,1988
Reivers sizzle at Wild Blue
By Elizabeth Coleman
Stiff Writer
Smoking like a Texas barbecue,
Austin, Texas' Reivers burned up the
Wild Blue Monday.
For an evening that also just happened
to be the first day of classes at CSUF, the
Blue was packed to tbe gills: Local faves"
the Miss Alans opened the show, which
probably didn't hurt, but when the
Reivers finally took the stage it was clear
who everyone was there to see.
The Reivers (formerly Zeitgeist) started
off with a rocking instrumental, then
jumped into some not rock 'n' roll tunes
that packed the dance floor. The bend was
wailing, but the sound man wasn't Too
much reverb on the vocals distorted the
lyrics to the point they were totally
unintelligible, not to mention the muddy
quality it gave singer Kim Longacre's
gloriousvoice. A
Terrible sound can ruin a show, but the
Reivers overcame their technical
problems by playing their hearts out, and
by playing the kind of first rate material
that has marked them as a great band from
the beginning. Lead guitarist and singer
John Crosiin and singer and rhythm
guitarist Longacre have known one
another for about six years. While both
were attending the University of Austin
in the fall of 1983, they decided to put a
band together. Kim remembered drummer
Garrett WUlians from another band they
had been in together, and he came on
board. Now ali that was left was a bass
player. What a bassist they got! Cindy
Toth is no delicate little wall flower. She
is a powerful bass player, with all tbe
muscle, and more, of any male bassist
By April of 1984 they were a complete
unit, calling themselves Zeitgeist.
Shortly thereafter, the band put
together a three song EP, released
through their own kibeL Kickwood
Records, distributing it themselves to
record stores, and to tans at their gigs.
This little gem brought them local raves
and some national recognition as well.
That year "Freight Train'', a song from
the EP, w.as voted song of the year and
best Texas single, and the band named
The Reivers onstage at the Wild Blue
Cindy Toth.
best "New Wave" group, in the Austin
Chronicles yearly reader's music poll.
With a growing base of support the
band felt the time was right for a tour.
They jumped into their 73 Impala station
wagon and headed across country.
Opening for bands like Guadalcanal and
Love Tractor.
Atlanta-based independant label D.B.
Records signed the group in the summer
of 1985, teaming them with producer
Don Dixon, who produced their first LP,
Translate Slowly.
It was around this time that Zeitgeist
discovered that another band also had their
name. Rather than face a large legal
battle they opted to change their name,
and thus the Reivers were bom. What's a
Reiver? The name is from one of
William Faulkner's novels, and means
"ruffian" in Scottish.
Finally in 1986, Tbe Reivers were
signed to Capitol Records. Their second
John Crosiin (left), Garrett Williams, Kim Longacre,
Ron lldmtnJDaOy Coto/ia*
LP, Saturday, reflects the growth of the
band, covering a range of emotions and
creative images, which was also present
in their musk on Monday evening.
The combination of high volume,
power guitars, bass and drums coupled
with the beautiful, lilting tones of
Longacre's voice makes for a unique and
sometimes thrilling live show. A
soprano, trained in opera, she sings with
soul and feeling that can send shivers
down your spine.
Vocals are split between Longacre and
lead guitarist John Crosiin. Longacre's
voice, coupled with Croslin's rough and
deep voice make for good variety, never
letting the band slip into a redundancy
common to other bands.
Vocal variety is not the only quality
the band possesses that keeps their show
hopping. Longacre jumps and moves
across the stage with energy and vitality
uncommon  to many female vocalists.
She gives a lot to Ihe audience and they
give it right back, with hoots and
applause.
Visually the high energy of the band is
set off by the fact that there are two
women in the group. Bassist Cindy
Toth, a tall miniskirt-clad blonde stood
a little apart from the others, with her
blonde mane covering her face while she
played. Although not unheard of, it's a
bit uncommon to find a band made up of
two men and two women.
The Reivers play rock and roll with a
country twist It's not rockabilly, and it's
not metal, it's very appealing and easy to
get into. The Reivers are not the kind of
band that goes around irritating large
numbers of people, like say, Twisted
Sphincter.
If you're hungry for some down home
Texas rock, Ihe Reivers will likely satisfy
your craving.
fIREHOSE weathers eighties storm
By T, James Madison
Entertainment Editor
"Better stay away from those that carry
around a firehose."- Bob Dylan, 1965
"Maybe it does take a weatherman to
know which way the wind blows. Keep
around a firehose."- Mike Watt, 1986
Indeed. In the waning moments of this
decade it is very difficult to tell which
way tbe wind blows and even if it blows
at all.  The  weatherman  lies and  the
firehose has sprung a leak, but chances
are you'll probably end up needing both
in the eye of the hurricane of the 1980s.
'It's easy lo see without looking too
far that not much is realty sacred." Dylan
also wrote that and not much else really
needs to be said. We seem to have entered
the age of No Rules, a hard and fast game
that offers a nasty fate for those who
can't or won't play.
For most in the Game, the botton>jjae
is success. And success is now derjjRI
solely by the .size of tbe winning pot
Aesthetics   have   been   cast   out   the
window, tossed in the trash for the second-
line boho nobodies to gobble up. The
lowest common denominator is the
highest common goal.
Yesiree, Massah Collins was right
after all, boy howdy. This is an Age of
Confusion, allright. But it's not
confusing for those who make their own
rules, and those who make their own
rules play the Game very well.
And the Game is played constantly.
frantically, by people in the music
industry, money freaks on a jabbering,
lunatic high, while they feed the fires of
their own ultimate destruction through
the oversaiuration of their market the
growing boredom with bland formula that
the public threatens every few years...
And it's truly not enough to be good
anymore, to succeed in the MTV version
of the Game, you must aspire "just to be
nothing more than something you invest
in." To aspire to be merely fantastic and
great is a death warrant and you'll die a
painful and ignoble death on the rocks of
some island where, if you listen real hard
when the wind is blowing right you just
Please see fIREHOSE, page 7
What's Going On..
Tonight
Rcrnernber those horrible shag rugs that
haunted your youthful dreams in the
I^h/esterAge?WeIL they're back, creeping,
crawling, taking over the world. Whew! It's
agoodthingthisGreenShaglsabandand
ncrt a caiprt/Waft BIcuAbfrd Stories; 9:30
p.m., Ohfinpk:Tavern(l426VanNess)
Admission $3,2 land over.
Tomorrow
After fighting back an invasion of
musical shag carpets, one might be tempted
tojusl sink into the easy chair, pop open a
cold one and stare at The Forts of Life for
awhile. Then again, for some, The Facts of
Life is a far greater threat to mankind than
green shag rugs. Check out the Miss Alans
(with the Lone Wolf Gang), and help
preserve this great nation. 9:30p.m.,
OlynqfcTuvem(1426VcmNes$).
AcUrussion$4. 21 and over.
Wednesday
Whoopee! Hold on to your hats, gang, cuz1
a mess o' bands be headin' up the pike. Ftve,
count em'Jhx, local bands'!! climb up on
the stage of the Wild Blue to provide for an
old-fashioned band marathon. Come on
down, folks. It'll be a regular hewtenanrry!
Love Rcxi Exchange, TownCtyers. 97Tears,
Passion* and Dtna, Mike, CyndJeandVl:
WMBhie(1145N.F\ihon}.AdmlSstan$3.
21 and over.