The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 26, 1980, Page Page 8, Image 8
The 'Gam
to full he
By Terosa Weaver
Qanwcock Staff Writer
A crowd of more than 12,000 at
V/i?uuna ^uiiseuiu was nu iimicn
for the gambler Sunday night, and
Kenny Rogers walked away with
all the hearts.
THE SILVER-HAIRED singer,
along with Dottie West, appeared
before a sell-out, foot-stomping
group Sunday, with his own brand
of country rock that has made him
a top attraction in both fields of
music.
The country trio of Dave and
Sugar opened up the evening with
" The two opening
more enthusiasm an
generally afforded to
was apparent that th(
see the man who trat
musical classification.
some enthusiastically-received
hits off the country charts. The
best songs of their set, however,
included an upbeat, unreleased
single called "New York Wine,
Tennessee Shine," and a song
dedicated to the country giants,
Waylon and Willie, that made a hit
out of "Good-hearted Woman In
Love With A Two-Timing Man."
DOTTIE WEST has only
rwpntlv pnmp tn tho widpcnrnaH
attention of the music world as
Kenny Rogers' duet partner, but
she has been a top-selling artist in
country music for a number of
years.
Dressed in black satin and
sequins, West appealed to every
musical interest in the audience
beginning with an earnest if
somewhat ill-fated rendition of
Chicago's "Alive Again." She
followed with a song she wrote
herself that was more suited to her
smooth southern voice, "Raised
Hn ^Aimirir Cnnchina "
vyu vvuiivi j uunoiiiitv.
Mods at
By David Baker
Gam?cock Film Critic
Franc Roddam's Quadrophenia,
produced by and featuring the
music of the Who, comes on like
gangbusters. Its first hour or so is
fresh, witty, insightful and full of
brilliantly conceived scenes, all of
which are acted to the hilt by a
dazzling array of talented young
3
* X' < VK
The Ace (Sting, of The Po
mods. ff? V
'Si- frxsv.itJO#, -tarn*!*
RWIgaajl i | yy
bier' deals
>use at Col
West's Tennessee roots were
apparent in several of her other
songs, including a rousing number
11 1 l(Dn/>l... ?*n.,n?n{n ' '
trtuai I\WR^ muuiiwiii music,
which gave the crowd an opportunity
to clap for a few minutes
without having to think about any
serious lyrics.
WEST PERFORMED several
songs from her new album, Special
Delivery, but her shining hour
came with an emotional medley
she learned from the King, Elvis
Presley.
Much of the audience stood in
silent tribute as she sang her
acts generated much
tona the crowd than
warm up artists, but it
9 people were there to
nscended nearly every
n
version of "Dixie" and "Glory
Hallelujah," and some even cried
along with her as she ended in a
crescendo of southern pride.
The two opening acts generated
much more enthusiasm among the
crowd than generally afforded to.
warmup artists,i t was apparent that1
the people were there to see the'
? ?,Un V * 1,1 1. .
man wuu iictb uciiiscciiucu neai ly
every musical classification.
KENNY ROGERS got his start
in music playing with several
locally popular groups in the Texas
area. He was hired as a
replacement member of the
touring New Christy Minstrels, but
stayed only long enough to meet
people with whom he formed The
First Edition in 1967.
From that time until 1976, Kenny
anchored the group that had a
string of commercial successes,
including the monster hit "Ruby
Don't Take Your Love To Town."
Rogers settled into his country
ctulo oftop thn cfrnun flirV\nn/-) Ar)
OVJ IV u&vvft VIIV gl vup UlOMOilUtU,
nd Rocke
Englishmen. It's a veritable
British American Graffiti, with
dozens of golden oldies (by groups
like the Chiffons and the Crystals,
in addition to the Who) pulsating in
and out of the soundtrack.
UNFORTUNATELY, the movie
changes from beine a li0hth#?nrt#?H
look at the problems encountered
*" w..;; tr
)Nce) arrives with his group of
, r VA : iV.. . ? ? '1? ?V
J* ***& V." ' A**'.* ?* ** ? ^
his cards
liseum
but has since welded two forms of
music into a unique blend of
sophisticated country rock. That
style has earned Rogers awards as
Entertainer of the Year, Top Male
Vocalist and has won his records
honors as best country albums and
song of the year. On the closing
night of a sellout two-week tour,
Rogers seemed to live up to all
expectations the crowd may have
had. '
HE OPENED the set with a
couple of numbers from his latest
album, Kenny, called "You Turned
The Light On," and "She's Still A
Mystery To Me."
The easygoing entertainer spent
nearly fifteen * minutes chatting
casually with fans, accepting
flowers and underwear from
adoring women before going
through a fast-paced series of
songs taken from various stages in
his career.
"I,ove or Something ! .ikp It" was
a modest hit for Rogers two years
ago and "You Decorated My Life"
was a phenomenal hit off the most
recent album. Ending the set with
an early First Edition rocker,
"Reuben James," Rogers performed
all the songs with his
characteristic closeness to his
fans.
THE STAGE was a specially
constructed one set up in the
middle of the Coliseum floor to
allow Rogers to walk around near
his audience.
Dottie West reentered the picture
in white spangles to join Rogers on
several numbers, and the two
demonstrated the chemistry that
made them one of the top-selling
country duos in the business.
The team began with a version of
an old Sonny and Cher tune, "All I
Ever Need Is You," that made
everyone forget who the Bonos
were. The duo ended with two of
their blockbusting country hits,
"Till I Can Make It On My Own,"
TQ rJnch f
f g/ ?. ^ ^ j nby
English youth circa 1964 to
being a document about the violent
confrontations between the Mods
and the Rockers (youth gangs to
which most of the teenagers
belonged). At that point, fun flies
out the theatre exits and is
replaced only by a sinking feeling
in the viewer's stomach. This is
orougni about by tne realization
that, at its heart, Quadrophenia is
closer to a movie about Hell's
Angels trashing a diner than a
movie about Steve, Laurie, Curt
and Terry in their quests to find the
eternal sock hop and the invincible
street machine.
No matter how disappointed one
is with the picture's second half,
however, he can't deny Roddam's
virtuosity behind the camera. The
scene in which Roddam shows us
two young men in a bath house
(neither cognizant of the fact that
the person on the other side of th<
partition is an old friend), getting
into an argument over what kind oi
music ? hard rock or bubblegurr
? is the most popular in England
is exceptionally well staged am
photographed and it's one of tfo
funniest and most telling scenes ii
the picture.
TUAT TUP Turn U.?1 Ann t*.
mmmrmm inn I TfV i^vjfO v,an 51
from hatred to adoration in th<
space of a few minutes, all because
one of them likes to sing "Do-wop*
in the bathtub,, shows the!)
inherent good-naturedness am
their frightening volatility in a wa;
that is both fascinating and per
vers?
rJsm
'??s?/kaa
Kenny Rogers performs his i
rock at the Carolina Coliseum Si
and suggestive crowd-pleaser, "I
Feel Sorry For Anyone Who Isn't
Me Tonight."
Rogers had the stage to himself
again to perform the best songs of
the evening in what amounted to a
mass sing along, including the
obvious favorite "Lucille." At one
point during the song, Rogers
stopped singing but the surprised
crowd continued and he had to
remind the fans, "This is my
song."
Rogers rounded out the concert
with a collection of his recent
singles, "The Gambler," "She
Believes In Me," his most recent
riQuadro
fascination witn customized
scooters (many with eight pairs of
lights and 16 rear-view mirrors ?
motorscooter as theatre) are
equally effective and one scene,
very near the end of the picture, is
an unforgettable example of
Roddam's ability to match action
precisely to the words and beat of a
song (the Who's5:J5).
THE ENTIRE PICTURE
reverberates with a spirit not
unlike the one nrespnt in oqH?
J- - WW.IV VUH ?J * WI\
music. Revolt against England's
i social forces is what the picture
seems to be crying out for, but the
i script, by Dave Humphries,
, Martin Stellman and Roddam,
\ never bothers to explain what
\ makes the kids so dissatisfied with
; the ways in which they live. Thus,
the movie's lengthy riot scenes
t have an unfocused quality that
t detracts from the sense of having;
fun-while-surviving that Roddam
f injects into the opening sequences.
1 Quadrophenia'B other major
i setback also comes in the riot
l --
a scenes. uniiKe in tne recent spate
; of American gang movies, these
British kids don't fight in selfdefense.
They're simply
bloodlusting, and their savagery is
I totally off-putting.
B ? ? .
i I'd like to be able to recommend
1 Quadrophenla on that basis alone,
r but I'm afraid most people would
1 come back from the theatre saying
/ that the picture's debits far out -
weigh its credits. The movie Just
isn't a pleasant enough experience
J, U&wfr raapisWudiwow,, <
^m&Smk^- ^ s>. ^^joSQ|^^CTHM|K8BjB^Bj
^ V^ ".^l?k^^
^:>* vi'.^y <*&*S - - ^ "'_
liPF
Y^a^^BHB|H|HRjX}
RuimVK. Paco - GAMECOCK
inique mixture of country and
unday night.
"Coward of the County," and an
old hit "Something's Burning."
The singer introduced an
unreleased single to the crowd and
thev roared their unauestionable
approval, but the fans probably
would have approved anything the
entertainer did at that point.
For an encore, Rogers performed
"Ruby, Don't Take Your
Love To Town" to an indiscriminately
adoring crowd.
The fans had come to see the new
superstar of country music and he
could do no wrong. That was the
ace up his sleeve.
>phenia
hbi x K- $1881 "* , yv- *. |
iMi^lMPHt ikbbmuu
[]': i glHUfll^^S: '*:^^E^-;.^:' ;%jj
EBb
HB:
I fig |gj j ' W^M ||!|
'
, ^ Daniots as Jimmy in
Quadrophenfa'
, ' ' Vj'.fri'iA