Over The Edge Page 2

October 19, 1999

A Night with The New Earth

By Michelle Dubuc

Jack Tripper took the
stage and performed
one of the cardinal sins
of rock & roll - they
opened with a slow
song. However, they
managed to pick things
up shortly, with the
infectious single
“Sounds Familiar”,
(imagine a _ cross
between the Kids in the
Hall theme song and
the Killjoys and you’ve

about got it), as well as | Mother Earth’s new lead singer, Brian Byrne,
a few other riff heavy captivated his audience during the band’s October

numbers. These were
the exceptions rather than the rule
though; Jack Tripper’s style is mellow-
er than that. Jack Tripper definitely
have a very good thing going - their
songs have thatPink Floyd/Smashing
Pumpkins meandering melody you
can listen to for hours. | could tell by
the audiences’ head bobbing and
attentiveness that the music was def-
initely appreciated - it just didn’t suc-
ceed in getting anyone dancing.

| have to admit: | wasn’t sure what to
expect waiting for | Mother Earth to
take the stage. The addition of a new

7th performance

singer is a transition that many bands

have not survived in the past. But
Brian Byrne has very effectively risen
to the challenge. Whether or not |
Mother Earth will continue produce
the hits that ‘they used to with Edwin
remains to be seen- but they certain-
ly proved they can still put on one hell
of a good show. They made sure to
promote the new album (Blue Green
Orange, released earlier this year),
playing the singles “All Awake” and
“Summertime in the Void”, as well as
a few others. But they didn’t shy away

from playing old IME, roaring through
“Used to Be Alright’, “Levitate”,
“Another Sunday”, “One More
Astronaut” and others with amazing
accuracy and power. One definite
standout in the show was an extend-
ed version of “Three Days Old”, with
U2’s “I Will Follow” incorporated as an
interlude. Certainly Brian Byrne is to
be credited for a job well done in
keeping the songs true to form, but |
think that a large
part of their ability
to do this is due to
the fact that IME is

rooted in musi-
cianship. Bassist
Bruce Gordon,
touring percus-
sionist Daniel

Manilla, and gui-
tarist Jagori Tanna
are all phenome-
nal musicians,
and are an

to listen to and watch. More than one
spectator was yelling “You f@!ing
rock Jag!” and | had to agree. As with
most bar shows, there was no short-
age of drunken morons, one decided

What do criminals, deadbeats and students have in common?

By Gary Russell

WINNIPEG (CUP) -
Okay, here’s a quiz.
Let’s say you’re design-
ing legislation to give
deserving people a

records?

ments?

1. People with criminal

2. People who dodge
child-support

cy. You live high off the
hog by refusing to sup-
port your children and
you get into trouble. The
Bankruptcy Act won't

pay-

But their tight grip was
just beginning to break
in that decade, and the
student loan system
was part of the move-

he really wanted to hear “Not Quite
Sonic” and clambered onstage to yell
his request into Brian’s mic. The band
was good-natured about it, had a
laugh and continued on. They never
did play “Not Quite Sonic” though;
proving that was probably not the best
way to request a song. But for the
most part the show went off without a
hitch, and at the end of it all Brian and
Jag were reaching into the audience

Guitarist Jagori Tanna and Brian Byrne make musical
absolute pleasure [Magic at the Munk.

shaking fans hands, and had played a
energetic 1 1/2 set that left everyone
tired, drenched, and above all, happy.

| VISIONS
| for the .

means of coping with
unmanageable debt.
But you want to make
sure that the more
unsavoury elements in
our society don’t hone
in to take advantage of
it.

So you have to write
exclusions into the leg-
islation. Who would you
exclude?

stop Feeding the Foxes, or
they will have to be Shot!!!

When Foxes lose their fear of humans
through feeding, they become brazen
and may bite someone. Any fox that
bites a human will have to be executed.

3. Students?

How many of you are
aware that all three of
these disreputable
groups are explicitly
excluded from our coun-
try’s bankruptcy
legislation? You rob a
bank and blow it all, and
the government won't
let you get off the hook
by declaring bankrupt-

Ne Foxes, or

bail you out. You invest
$40,000 to make your-
self more valuable to
society and you have
trouble making the pay-
ments - tough luck. We
don’t do any favours for
your type, either.

Let me digress. When |
first came to the
University of Manitoba
in the 1960s | felt like
the only working-class
kid in the place. My
father was a railroad
engineer, a union man
who saved his money
so his son could receive
the education his father
couldn't get. We didn’t
have student loans back
then. For a long time,
university had been a
place for the affluent
elite to send their chil-
dren - so they could
remain the affluent elite.

ment to make the
opportunities afforded
by a good education
available to everyone.

The movement was
largely successful. In
the following decades,
the university became a
more diverse communi-
ty. It was one in which
people from a wide
range of social and eco-
nomic strata could final-
ly participate at the
leading edge of society.

Yet, | guess I'd better
cool the fine rhetoric a
little here. Ask any sin-
gle mom on welfare
whether she'll ever be
able to educate her chil-
dren beyond — high
school - if even that far -
and you'll get a quick
reality check.

FUTURE

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DEVELOPMENT
CONFERENCES FOR
ABORIGINAL
YOUTH

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Register in advance for the Conference in your area:

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Contiuned on page 13