=============================================================================== The Peak Simon Fraser University's Student Newspaper since 1965 =============================================================================== Simon Fraser University | Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6 e-mail: peak@sfu.ca | phone: (604) 291-3597 fax: (604) 291-3786 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume LXXXVII, Issue 4 -- May 23rd, 1994 -- -- Arts -- ******************************************************************************* Awesome Aussies: Yothu Yindi, Things of Stone and Wood, and Colin Hay By Katarina Throrstrand ******************************************************************************* Equipped with a bright purple wristband, I headed out into the dreary drizzle (Vancouver's version of Spring on this Saturday past) to the Vogue Theatre where Music West 94 presented a bunch of bands from the sunny side of the world. Colin Hay (Men At Work), Things of Stone and Wood, and Yothu Yindi all hail from Australia. The odd one out was Waskesu, from Kamloops. But their place on this bill was quite fitting since the night also had a First Nations theme. Waskesu played a mixture of European-based and Canadian aboriginal music, and Yothu Yindi mixed European-based and Australian aboriginal elements. Due to the late arrival of Yothu Yindi, the show was delayed more than an hour, and the theatre management solved this problem by letting people in far later than was announced, thereby shortening their seated waiting time...Fortunately, the first act out, Colin Hay, was so personable and funny that the audience quickly seemed to forget the long wait outside. Mr. Hay did an acoustic solo set, playing his self- penned songs with feeling, although they were quite unremarkable as songs go. However, he made up for this between songs with his outrageously witty monologues. He would, no doubt, be able to make it big as a stand-up comedian if he gets fed up with trying to make it solo in the music biz. After a brief wait, Waskesu hit the stage amidst a lot of smoking incense and rolling drums. This BC. band has successfully managed to blend traditional Canadian aboriginal music with folksy rock, and they're not bad at writing catchy tunes either. Gutsy upbeat songs about street children and the search for ties between one culture and another were mixed with ballad-type creations about late- night regrets and such. They were followed by the next Aussie act, Things of Stone and Wood, who started their set with eerie, haunting flutes and soft, plaintive singing. Gradually the tempo increased, and the rhythms got heavier until, halfway through the set, the floor in front of the stage was packed with people pogoing happily. Grinning widely, the lead singer led the audience into a sing-a-long spree, which was no problem as there were many Aussies in the crowd who knew all the words. You have to keep in mind that Down Under, this band is big and their songs play on the radio everywhere. Which is understandable, if Saturday night's show was anything to go by. They play a very catchy variety of folk rock, crafting their own songs with skill and imagination. Finally, after another longish pause, the incredible Yothu Yindi took the stage. Enter: three dancers, white-painted and dressed in loincloths, onto a darkened stage accompanied by the curious sound of the didgeridoo (a 6-feet long wooden tube). They performed a traditional song, enacting the story with fluid, sensuous movements. Whatever restlessness there was in the audience dissipated completely, and they were greeted with thunderous applause. After a couple of songs they were joined by the rest of the band, front man Mandawuy Yunupingu took over the microphone, and the house began to rock in a serious way! As a previous band had shown, it is quite possible to mix aboriginal music with European-based sounds to create something that is more than its parts. Yothu Yindi has taken this art form to its perfection, creating stunning songs with the steady, driving rhythm of good rock n'roll enhanced by the didgeridoo and a variety of aboriginal percussion instruments, overlaid by melodious and imaginative harmonies. They mix English and Yolngu, the language of their own tribe, often in the same song. Most of their songs deal with aboriginal or spiritual issues and are based on their own experiences as Aboriginals in constant conflict with the surrounding European-based society. The result is a feast for the ears, the eyes, AND the brain. Many of their songs were from their new CD, and they were at least as good as those of their previous one, "Tribal Voice", from which they took the rest of the songs they performed that night. Again, the crowd's large Australian contingent knew all the words, and they sang along with gusto. Only half the audience remained seated. The rest were standing and dancing in the aisles! Sweat was pouring down the dancers' naked torsos as they leaped and twisted in illustration of the highly emotive contents of the songs. The temperature got so hot that one of the speakers caught fire, and smoke billowed around bass-player Stuart Kellaway.He only grinned and played on, unperturbed! I was totally overwhelmed, unprepared for such an onslaught on the senses. Incredible, spectacular, and absolutely awesome! Rumor has it Yothu Yindi will return to Vancouver in the near future, and all I can say is, CHECK THEM OUT!!!