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Show I The Newspaper Thursday, July 1, 1982 Page B3 by Jay Median 2fe Hank Jr. and the Bama Band A great night of Southern Rock It was back to good ol' Evanston last weekend. This time, Billy's, the cavernous western-music night-spot just out of town on Over-thrust Over-thrust Drive, had booked in Hank Williams, Jr., and the Bama Band. And what had originally promised to be a good night of honky tonkin' turned out to be a great night of Southern Rock. Williams has surrounded himself with some awesome talent. The legendary Merle Kilgore is along just for intros and outros and to sing a couple of songs. The Bama Band, a seven-piece seven-piece group without Merle and Hank, Jr., is almost scary in its tightness and picking ability. And Hank, Jr. is a creative songwriter, excellent singer, and a much-more-than adequate guitarist and pianist. But hanging over these superlatives, and at some points even drowning them out was the seemingly phony posturing of Hank Williams, searing version of "Wabash Cannonball". Mellow vocal harmonies showcased Alabama's Ala-bama's recent hit "Love in the First Degree" but from then on it was a return to the up-tempo for "Orange Blossom Blos-som Special", Folsom Prison Pris-on Blues" and the Allman Bros, classic "One Way Out." Next it was Kilgore's turn for a trio of tunes which almost highlighted the entire evening: The Terry Fell standard "Truck Driving Man", "Mr. Garfield's Been Shot Down" and the song by which Kilgore brings out the star of the show, "I ain't gonna call Hank Williams, Jr. Junior Anymore". One thing became immediately imme-diately clear. Williams knows the genres of southern rock and blues. "Old Habits Like You Are Hard To Break" led into a John Lee Hooker full tilt boogie-woogie which he milked even more than Canned Heat used to. Otis Spann and the Ferriday, Louisiana style of Jerry Lee Lewis. The Bama Band then exited, leaving Junior to hillbilly raunch of "Good Old American Ways", a rather nice uptempo "O.D.'d in Denver" and "A Country Boy Can Survive." But hanging over these superlatives was the seemingly seem-ingly phony posturing oj Hank Williams, Jr. himself. perform what became a much too elongated solo set with his guitar. The macho-chauvinistic macho-chauvinistic "I Got Rights" in which he lambaste disco and "queer guitar players" led into a version of Greg Allman's "Midnight Rider." It was funky enough, but the word pedantic kept coming to mind. His blues taste was much in evidence at this juncture with the dirt-road sex and Finally, following a few down tempo unintelligible mumbling efforts, the band returned to rock away the rest of the night. Two more from Hank Sr. "Move It On Over" and "Hey Good Looking", Look-ing", southern rock classics "Can't You See" and "Sweet Home Alabama", and two of Juniors own, "Family Tradition" Tradi-tion" and the hilarious "Nobody Wants To Get High On The Town" wound it up. Williams has surrounded himself with some awesome talent ... The Bama Band is almost scary in its tightness and picking ability. Jr. himself. Following a rousing Kilgore introduction that would have seemed overbearing at the "Second Coming", Williams sauntered saunter-ed on stage bedecked as a psychedelic General Custer, complete with wire-rimmed sunglasses that must have been manufactured for the viewing of solar eclipses. His manner remained one of separateness throughout, but, in the end mone of this could detract from the excellent excel-lent music performed by the tremendous talent he has chosen to surround himself with. From the onset you could tell it was to be a rock 'n roll evening as the Bama Band kicked things off with a Then, during an autobiographical autobio-graphical number performed perform-ed to the tune of Johny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans", the club lost all the main fuses, shutting down the entire P. A. system. Junior decided he would leave the stage until it was repaired. But he was to regain any lost momentum. In the voice of a TV pitchman, he introduced his '50s piano set with "K-Tell proudly presents". "Blueberry "Blue-berry Hill" and "Whole lot of Shaking Going On" preceded a beautiful treatment of a medley of two of his father's finest blues "Your Cheating Heart-Cold, Cold Heart". His piano style is almost a fusion of the Chicago style of Trivia Test Stevans stumps stars Park City's geniuses apparently had no taste for the trivial knowledge of local architect Peter Stevans. Stevans submitted two of our questions last week. He knew that Peter Ronson played the guide, with a pet duck named Gertrude, in "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (that's because he met Ronson back in the early 1960s) ; and that Jose Iturbi started the Mambo craze. We think most of you knew, however, that the Singer family's lawyers are Robert Schuster, Kathryn Collard and Gerry Spence. The free sandwich at the Main Street Deli went unclaimed this week. But if the following queries are more to your liking, contact The Newspaper in its offices at 419 Main St. or call 649-9014 before Tuesday noon. The questions are: 1. Which of Henry VIII's eight wives gave birth to the legendary Queen Elizabeth? 2. What was the Prime Directive in "Star Trek"? 3. What position was David Chaplin appointed to? Jllill at Prospector Square The Best of Steaks, Prime Rib, and Seafood July 4th Weekend - Enjoy dinner before or after the show "The Imaginary Invalid" in the Prospector Theatre (8 p.m.) SUNDAY BRUNCH A Buffet Extravaganza! 10:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m., Adults $7.95, Children $4.95 Dinner: Mon. - Thurs. 6-10 p.m., Fri. &Sat. 6-11 p.m., Sunday 5-10 p.m. Lunch: Mon. - Friday 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Located in Prospector Square, Highway 248, just off Park Ave. For information, call649-8060. unicoRn theatRe Presents Moliere's The I Invalid maul nary "a foolish French farce" DIRECTED BY WM. A. EARL PROSPECTOR SQUARE THEATRE FRI., SAT. - JULY 2, 3 Park City 8 p.m. Tickets at the door Prospector Square Conference Center Theatre: Highway 248 - Just Off Park Avenue, Park City. For more information, call 649-7100 mm |