The Other Press

Nov. 10, 1986 Page |5 |

 

 

DOA brain
bash lauded

By Dean McPherson

The October 16th
benefit concert was a
mixed bag, musically and
politically. The opening
band, an all female, main-
ly acoustic group named
Key Change, were actually

quite talented. They
should take~ note, how-
ever, that when DOA

headlines, it is best to stay
away from what appears
to be a countrified Jethro
Tull. The vast majority of
concert-goers greeted Key
Change with a chorus of

“Yee-haw’ and _— square
dance chants.
The next band, The

Rocking Fools, had a
somewhat warmer recep-
tion. The dance floor filled
quickly, drawn by good
ol’ energetic rockabilly.
Only a very few people

saved their energy for
DOA. :
When Keighley and

company did arrive, the
crowd went mad, spurred
on by the sheer energy

and raw power of DOA’s
own particular brand of
music. The audience ex-
ploded with “War”,
“Singin’ in the Rain”, and a
re-vamped Creedence
song, now known = as,
“Willy and the Socreds.”
The night ended with the
band singing “Roll out the
Barrel” and spraying beer
foam all over the audi-
ence. Truly a night to be
remembered.

But one must realize
that this was not just your
average slamfest, it was a
benefit to bring. attention
to the plight of B.C. post-
secondary student aid.

This definitely got Russ
Fraser’s attention even if
he was afraid of being
slammed into oblivion.

Get his attention some
more, write is office...find
his home address and
spread it around. Just
don’t let Rock For Brains
be a one time shot at
changing things.

Ry eng ‘Another Rawen sh

HOUSEMARTINS
“London 0, Hull 4”
(Go Discs AGOLP 7)

Foremost, there are two
things that you should
know about this album:

a) In Vancouver it will
cost you an awful lot of

probably well

Musically, as their name
suggests, they are irresist-
ably chirpy. They comb-
ine happy sounds’ with
hopeful lyrics and _ ulti-
mately create the pop
album of the year.

P.D. Heaton has _prob-
‘ably one of the best voices
in the popular music in-
dustry today. As it hap-
pens, the whole band is
remarkably talented in
this area. Live they do a
variety of acapella
numbers such as __ the
Hollies classic, “He ain’t
heavy”. Back to Mr.
Heaton, perhaps _ best
described as the thinking
persons Aled Jones, his
voice is rich and soulful (in
the true sense of the word,
completely unlike the
mass produced monotony
that Motown is now
responsible for.) It is his
voice that gives this
apparently lightweight

band its true depth.

“Happy Hour’, _ their
second single, starts side
one on an upbeat and oh-
so-danceable put down of
‘the ‘men’ who drink in
pubs. This is particularly
directed at the northern
English phenomenon, the
Tetley Bittermen.

“Where they open all
their wallets and_ they
close all their minds but
they’d love to buy you all a
drink.”

Pop with conscience,
it’s impossible to dislike
them. Their sound is best
likened to the Katrina and
the Waves song, “Walking
on Sunshine”, though
they also’ have _ their
slower songs. “Flag Day”
stands out as possibly the
best of these, combining
Heaton’s velvet vocals
with a vitriolic attack on
those people whose
charitable deeds serve
their ego’s rather than
their stated cause.

The only real criticism
one can make is that the
same feeling pervades
each song, and they begin
to sound a little ‘samey’.
This is more a fault in the
production as opposed to
weakness of the songs
themselves and should
easily rectified by their
second album.

 

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