The Coat Puller

MISTAKES & RE-TAKES:

We're sorry' if we gave anybody the impression that Bob Bageris and Bamboo Productions stood to make a mint off the Who spectacular at Ponmet last week. We figured it this way: with a gross of some $576,000 ($8 times 72,000 humans), the Ponmet Stadium Authority should've taken off $88,560 (at a stated $1.23 per ticket), leaving something like $487,440 before expenses. Set the expenses at 40% to be generous and you get a net of $292,464, which was probably split 90-10 between the Who and the two promoters permitted by the band to handle the detüils for the date Bageris and Bamboo from Detroit, and Mike Belkin Productions from Cleveland. The Who's 90% would then come to some $263,2I8, with Bamboo and Belkin splitting 10% or $29,246, coming out with the considerably more modest profit of less than $15,000 each. Not too bad for one show, but certainly not half a million dollars like they say it sounded in our article last issue... We just wish the folks at Bamboo would've read Frank Bach's stories all the way through before cancelling all their advertising with the Sun, that's all. Evidently it's been so long since anyone took a critical look at the local concert-promotion scene that the people involved take anything less than an ass-lick for a slam. Geez. Bob, what if we woulda said something really nasty, like your grandma wears combat boots? The morning Free Press says worse shit than this but your ads don't stop over there, and we know our circulation ain't goin' down, either. What the fuck?...Actually Bamboo needs that money to help make up tor their recent losses-some of which, like the LaBelle show and the Herbie Hancock, have been exceptionally tasty programs. And then there's the matter of attorneys' fees, appeal bonds, and other legal costs incurred in the course of the federal government's persecution of Bob Bageris, which, rumor has it, has come down to prison sentences of at least three years tor the battling young promoter. That's enough of a beef for anybody to have to deal with, and we weren't trying to add to the grief, honest... What got us, and we'Il repeat, was the Who walking off with over a quarter of a million dollars worth of Motor City money which nobody from around here will ever see or hear of again. That's a lot of cakes, pal, however you cut it. Sure, they play real good, and their moves looked pretty hip on the big screen over the stage, but that kind of money could go a long way with a lot of people who live and work making music for a living around here, which is what we were trying to say last time. Aw, shucks, maybe we're just old-fashioned...

BLUES NEWS: At the other end of the economic spectrum, where the music can get even more exciting, Clarence Carter graced Ethel's Lounge last weekend, with Shirley Brown in town thru December 14th and Albert King coming up the 19-20-21st at the eastside blues palace. The Detroit Blues Club Revue (reviewed in our Vortex complex) is there every Thursday night now.and Detroit's own Little Sonny has been around to fill in when he's needed, one weekend a month or so, which is always worth catching... Mack Collins takes his edition of the Detroit Blues Revue, with Little Jr. Cannady, Joe L. ("Please Mr. Foreman"), Johnnie Jones, Jesse Williams, Mr. Bo, and a host of others into the Bonfire Room of the beautiful 20 Grand the weekend of the 19-21 -the perfect music track for this year's "Blue Christmas"... Meanwhile, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells left the U.S. November 19 for eight weeks in West Africa, including stops in Zaire, Liberia, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Dahomey. BG & JW were in Ann Arbor last month with Bonnie Raitt's super blues show...

RE: MEDIA: Dudley Randall and Broadside Press, black Detroit's pride and joy in the poetry publishing ploy, are being honored by Central Michigan University with a special exhibition, 'The Broadside Press: 1965-1975," in the Mt. Pleasant town's Clarke Historical Library through January. One doesn't have to be black to pick up on Broadside's many thrilling books of poetry, as the CMU people up in midstate are demonstrating-unless one is simply a racist, in which case the poetry's wasted anyway. Pearls before swine, and like that... Lotus Press, another westside grass-roots publishing house (Randall started Broadside Press on $12.00 ten years ago),has recently issued Pamela Cobb's Inside the Devil's Mouth, a book of well-made verse offered for $1.95 but cheap at any price. Also available from Lotus are two books of the widely-recognized poetry of Naomi Long Madgett, Pink Ladies in the Afternoon (1972) and Star By Star (1970), plus a package of 20 poster-poems titled Deep Rivers: A Portfolio. Contact Lotus Press at Box 601 , College Park Station, Detroit 48221, and tell 'em the Coat Puller pulled your coat... Ditto when you send in for one or both of the following Ann Arbor arts publications: TheseWeeks magazine ($2.00 for 3 issues from UAC/THOT Productions, 2nd Floor, Michigan Union, Ann Arbor 48104), which even has a poem from Detroit's own beloved Faye Kicknosway, now a San Francisco resident; and Lightworks, (118 Glendale, Ann Arbor) a free street sheet which "is for those who are tired of reading reviews of Ragtime or plowing through discussions concerning the future of Bruce Springsteen." Send 'em some money, dear readers, some poems and works of art, and let 'em know we ain't that bad here at the Sun... Let a hundred flowers bloom, a thousand schools of thought contend, as our Chinese friends have been known to say- the more poetry and magazines, the better!... In fact we wish we had 50 more pages a week to bring you a wider picture of the kulchur of the area and the age, but we have to limit our scope to fit the paltry 6 1/2 pages we're given until more advertisers start to pay for more pages more often. So tell the people where you buy your stuff that they should advertise in the

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THE COAT PULLER

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SUN, if you would, and we'll start adding on the pages as soon as they start calling us up. And if you don't like it at all, please read something else, won't you? Thanks just the same... 

AROUND TOWN: Guitarist Grant Green and his group relieve the Lyman Woodard Organization at the Pretzel Bowl (Woodward north of Davison) thru Dec. 24th... All Directions remains at J.J.'s Lounge Fris and Sats, $1.00 cover, contrary to our report last time. Sorry! All Directions is also hosting the Sunday afternoon jam sessions which started last week at the Savoy Room, in the basement of the Shelby Hotel (downtown at First & Lafayette). The sets go from 3:00 p.m. until the musicians split, drinks are served, cover is $2.00 (a buck for musicians with instruments), and it's an Alexis Production... Chuck Lowman, proprietor of the lovely Lowman's Westside Club (Livernois north of Ewald Circle), has done some more remodeling inside the joint, enlarging the Regency Room and raising the floor in the rear for higher visibility. Kim Weston, the Westside's talent coordinator and m.c, made her first appearance as a singer in 2 1/2 years last week, joining Brook Benton and the incredible Jimmy Wilkins Orchestra as a featured performer thru this weekend (Dec. 14). Kim was well supported in performance by Ronnie McNeir and the Instant Groove Band, hut this week she'll be out in front of the Wilkins band with Brook. The Originals are next, over the holiday, and Eddie Jefferson, Roy Brooks, and the Artistic Truth will be in after that... And look here. Capt. Cliff, I told you I would put your name in here. so here it is... Charles Earland has been in at Watts' Club Mozambique, on the Fenkell Strip, with Stevie Wonder dropping in one, Sunday to' help out at a benefit for black blind children in Detroit organized by Cornelius Watts and associates. Laura Lee will be back at Watts' for the holidays... In Abraham's Bosom, a play by Paul Green, is playing at the Detroit Repertory Theatre on Woodrow Wilson near Davison Fri-Sat-Sundays thru January. Please call for details, and don't forget Ron Milner's Season's Reasons, plus Val Benson's Little Red, finishing their run at the Langston Hughes Theatre this month. Little Red, according to co-star Kim Weston (that woman gets around!), hopes to move its Sat-Sun matinees over to Lowman's after the holidays, but to see Milner's play again you'll probably have to go to the Fisher in a few months.if you're lucky... Prominent local guitarists Ron English and Paul Boulliet played an acoustic set at the Cass-Forest First Unitarian Church Dec. 8th as part of the "Community Musicians Play for Community People" program there. Sounds good, huh? Call the church for details... Singer/songwriter Lori Jacobs will visit town for a one-woman show at Ford Auditorium Dec. 20... Rufus and Billy Preston at Masonic Dec. 14 (a Bamboo Production)... Chuck Mitchell (Joni's ex-) at the Raven Gallery Dec. 16-21 , followed by Josh White Jr., who'll stay through New Year's; Steve Martin later in January, with Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee back again after that... The mighty Count Basie and his Orchestra will hallucinate themselves in Allen Park, Sunday, December 21, at the Allen Park Municipal Aud. on Southfield SOUTH of l-94: for ticket info cali the A.P. Recreation Center at 928-9192... The Thad JonesMel Lewis Band with Highland Park's own Pepper Adams, NY studio legends Al Porcino and Jerry Dodgion, and a host of young stars as well, rolled into the Clarenceville (Livonia) H.S. auditorium last Sunday (7th) for a gorgeous concert, produced by the indefatigable Midge Ellis and her crew... We said last time that Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes would visit Henry's Lounge for Thanksgiving, hut word has it that the group officially broke up aftef 15 years or more! - shortly before they were alleged to be coming to town. And with their new LP and single, "Wake Up Everybody," just hitting the streets-a sad affair... Meanwhile, the Four Tops celebrated their 21st anniversary together last week as they prepare for their Christmas concert at Olvmpia Stadium. Highest regards, gentlemen

TREETOWN TREATS: Heard that the great saxophonist Rusty Bryant, one of the giants of the Organ-Tenor Belt of America, was at Ann Arbor's Ramada Inn last week, playing to very sparse crowds. With Richard "Groove" Holmes and his organ band in there now, people should start paying attention or they '11 miss some funky stuff... And speaking of that funky stuff, Ann Arbor's own Radio King and his Court of Rhythm, fresh from their current home in Boston, will bring it back home for the High Holidays with an appearance at Chances Are New Year's Eve. Don't miss them... Also at Chances Are this month: Sky King ("Secret Sauce") thru the 13th, Mojo Boogie Band (now rumored to be helmed by former Commander Cody/New Riders of the Purple Sage manager Joe Kerr) (Dec. 16), Lightnin' ( 1 7-20), and a flood of others... Speaking of floods, Mr. Flood's Party and the Blind Pig are getting too hot to handle -check out their schedule in the calendar, the goodies are too numerous to mention!... the Ark Coffeehouse (1421 Hill) is hosting a benefit for the Summit Street Clinic Dec. 1 3-14 with the Skunk's Misery String Band and the Aging Children. Proceeds go to buy toys for kids who won't get anything for Xmas otherwise. for info call the Ark at 761-1451... Trotter House, the black students' center on Washtenaw Ave., has been hoppin' lately, hosting an after-party for Gil Scott-Heron following his Ann Arbor appearance at the Michigan Theatre last Friday. The outstanding Detroit-based jazz ensembles Griot Galaxy (Dec. 13) and Shoo-Bee-Doo's Principles of Utility (Dec. 14) are there this weekend, and the Trotter House Choir will back up poetess Nikki Giovanni at the Power Center in AA Dec. 16th for an evening of "Poems & Conversations." Call 763-2071 for more information... Finally, congratulations and highest regards to Paul Katona and Ron Brooks and their associates at the Ann Arbor Creative Music Center, which held its grand opening November 30th at 336 1/2 South State. Cali 994-0800 any day between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. for details on their program of study...

FINE ARTS: The Pittsburgh Ballet - forming the "Nutcracker Suite" at the Music Hall, through Dec. 14th, followed by Maurice Bejart's Ballet of the XXth Century, a Belgian dance company which is the subject of a 20page feature in the current issue of Dance Magazine (Dec. 19-20-21)... The Detroit Chamber Ensemble presents J.S. Bach's "Musical Offering" at WSU's Community Arts Auditorium Dec. 21st at 8:30 p.m.... The Harbinger Dance Company can be seen in Ebenezer Is a Geezer, "a 20th Century Christmas Carol," in the Detroit Youtheatre series at the Detroit Institute of Arts Auditorium, selected dates between Dec. 18th and Dec. 28th. Cali 832-2730 for performance information; tickets are only $1.75... And the Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum is featuring its bi-annual "Graduate Degree Shows" from the 12th thru the 20th, at 500 Lone Pine Rd. in the Cranbrook complex between Woodward and Telegraph Rds. Sixteen graduating artists in design, painting, fiber, ceramics, sculpture, photography and print-making will be exhibiting their degree work to their faculty and the public. Also, the "Knoll/Herman Miller: The Development of Modern Furniture" show continúes to run in the same building, and the Lyman Woodard Organization will appear there January 4th for the fourth concert in the Detroit's Jazz Today series produced by Bud Spangler. See you there...