page 10 . | THE OTHER PRESS ~ Thursday, February 16, 1984, They’re at their best when they’re at their liveliest, at least that’s what Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal showed at by ROBIN ROBERTSON its premier performance February 2nd. Clad in bright red track suits, the dance group greet- ed its audience in a humanis- tic and comic opening num- ber entitled Hors D’Oeuvre. With the use of symbolic gestures and abstract body movements, the _ piece seemed like a parody on human relations. It pointed out all the funny little quirks we human beings experience when trying to relate to each other and sometimes to our- selves, and worked well as an introduction. Yet the most impressive number performed _ that night was J’Freak Assez. After a lively introduction, _ the audience was then -con- fronted with a dramatic black stage against artistic lighting of bold cross beams. Sud- denly the stage erupted in frenetic primeval leaps and bounds like that of a war dance. The native-like music (Michelle Seguin) combined with the dancer’s jagged rhythmic movements ‘like an angry... release of emotion-that climaxed to a point of hysteria. It was an extremely powerful experi- ence. Unfortunately, after this last piece | was somewhat let down by the group’s next number, Jailhouse Jam. Al- Ke XX. XXXxxx. If you like powerhouse dance music, then ‘’X“’ is for you. If you like power- house dancing at concerts by NETTIE BOULANGER and having a great time, then you should have seen “X”’ on Friday, February 6 at the UBC SUB/Ballroom. _Exene Cervenka and. John X. Doe (bass) on vocals, D.J. Bonebrake on drums ~ and Billy Zoom on guitars, belted out tune after great tune that got everyone going for the entire concert. They stopped a few songs into the set because some people were spitting on them. They finally left the stage and Exene came back on to explain “‘This isn’t 1976, this isn’t Eng- land, so DON’T SPIT.’’ Fin- ally it stopped, and they all was _ though the music was enjoy- able, (a swinging jazzy com- position by Oscar Peterson) the plot wore thin and the energy seemed tranquil after the previously powerful J’Freak Assez. After a while, the piece seemed to drag on to the point of becoming boring and trite. The mood picked up with the start of the next number, Five New Waves. This end- ing piece described varying ‘moods of wondrous fantasy to detatched and fragmented abstraction. The performers ended with a portion from Five New= Waves entitled Monkeys. This last work was an ex- tremely humorous imitation ‘of a group of monkeys, and a fine portrayal of animal be- havior. Yet all in all, the second work, J’Freak Assez, was the best act out of all four pieces. With a lively intro- duction and an_ extremely powerful second number, the last two movements seemed to die out, and even the ending couldn’t compare energy-wise with J’Freak. This was unfortunate and could have been avoided had J’Freak Assez, despite not having the acclaim of Oscar Peterson, been saved until the end. Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal showed a night of professionally danced works, ‘but also unfortunately, a programme that gave _ its best too early. came back on, with that famous smile~ on. Billy zoom’s face. After playing songs like True Love part 2, Devil Doll, Hungry Wolf, Breathless, Soul Kitchen and Motel Room In My Bed, they finished and came back for a five song encore. It was obvious they were having a good time up on stage as did everyone down on_ the floor, so it was ‘‘More Fun In The New World’’ for all. The opening act The Ac- tionauts were pretty good. Their tunes were dancable but not very original. | personally liked them be- cause their drummer looked like Stewart Copeland. THe singer looks like he could use some work on his stage presence. X blew them a- way. They Gave Their Best too Early Heavy Metal Circus What do you get when you have a wild mountain man for a lead singer, a power house drummer, a by ALAN SNIDER white hot, guitarist, and a tazmanian devil for a bass player? You get none other than Vancouver’s #1. un- signed heavy metal band... Kradle. The band consists of Tod Zarkin (lead vocals), Claude Erfon (drums and_ percus- sion), Harry Degen (gui- tars), and Steve Courchaine (bass guitar, lyrics). Yes girls! These are the guys _ your mother warned you about. | had the pleasure to see Kradle at Studio’s on Fridav January 27, and was very impressed with the show. In fact, in more precise words it was like seeing a heavy metal circus. These guys have everything you would expect from the Ringling Bros. except candy apples. The. show began with lead singer Tod Zarkin holding the mike stand above his head while a brilliant special effect (using strobe lights on the drum kit) made him’ look as if he was standing on top of a mountain during a lighting storm. The show climaxed with a sizzling solo from guitarist Harry Degen, and ended with a bang (not a whimper). The entire show highlighted Kradle’s (soon to be famous) all original heavy metal tunes. This brings us to the music which the band has created. Unlike many heavy metal bands around, Kradle has escaped the influence of major heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest and Van Halen. Another thing which sets Kradle apart from other heavy metal bands is that each member is essential to their sound. Drummer Claude Erfon pro- vides a solid and precise basis for the music, with a freestyle flair. However, what | feel will become the Kradle trademark is the teamwork of bassist Steve Courchaine and _ guitarist Harry Degen. These two musicians contribute to Kra- dle’s sound with thundering bass and weaving melodic guitar work. And to top it all off are the antics of vocalist Tod Zarkin. If you are interested in seeing Kradle, the next live date is: When: March 7,1984 (7:00 pm) Where: James Cowan Theatre (near Heritage Vil- lage, Burnaby) Tickets: $5.00 available at Target Tapes & Records (Nelson & Kingsway) or at the door. Note to Police Fans - The: words to ‘I’m Hungry for* you (J’aurais toujour faime de toi)’’ fit exactly to ‘‘Ow- ner of a Lonely Heart’’, and catch the ‘‘Message in a Bottle’ riff in Yes’s ‘’Chan- ges’’. Coincidence? Hmmm.