The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 11, 1992 Page: 8 of 16
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Rice University Woodson Research Center.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
8 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1992 THE RICE THRESHER
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Those of you who missed the
KTRU concort this weekend
missed out not only on somo
Incredible (and accessible)
bands but on some of the beat
peoplew atchlng on campus.
Cafe Nolr, the Jazz band from
Dallas, and the "Wuegrasslan*
Bad Livers deserve special men-
tion.
i
The first orchestra concert of the
year Is free, but you must have
tickets to attend. The concert
promises to be one of the most
impressive ever, due to the
largely new string section. Ex-
perience the new music building
while listening to Stravinsky's
Petroushka. Tickets for the Oct.
1 concert will be available start-
ing Thursday. Call 527-4933.
Stop by the Alabama Theater
Book stop tonight and meet Sarah
Weddlngton, the original attor-
ney for Roe vs. Wade. She will be
signing copies of her new book, A
Question of Choice, at 7 pun.
Susan Son tag will read from her
new novel, Volcano Lovers, at
Brazos Books on Thurs^ Oct. 17.
Call 523-0701 for the time.
A demit miss for avant-theater
types: the artistic directoi^of the
LAPD (Los Angeles Poverty De-
partment) will offer a free perfor-
mance workshop at
Dlverseworks this Sun. at 5 pjm.
The LAPD Is a group of artists,
homeless and formerly homeless
people who have come to Hous-
ton to Involve the homeless here
in a theater production to be
performed Sept. 26 and 27. To
participate in the workshop, call
223-8346. Also at Dlverseworks:
tomorrow night Is the opening of
a four-artist dhow: Hicks, Petiey,
Schbyer, Smith. The show in-
cludes sculpture and two Instal-
lations. This season's reading
series kicks off with two Hous-
ton writers, Jennifer Knox and
Thomas Meioncon. Tues., Sept.
15 at 8 p.m.
Mice art professor Karln Broker
will present a solo show of new
works at McMurtrey Gallery.
The show opens Sept. 12 at
6 p.m., and Is on view
through Oct 17. 523-
8238.
If you're won-
dering what happened to the cool
basketball game at the Pub, It
broke. The manufacturers de-
cided It wasn't worth fixings so
they cruelly removed It. And we
haven't had balls for the Foozball
for years. Never fear, Pubsters
claim to be obtaining a pool table.
If we print It, maybe it'll come
Something new about the Holocaust
Film premiere, exhibit exonerate Gentiles who resisted
by Gavin Drummond grounds: apart from the predictable old-school
aristocrats, there is Julius Leber, a former
The Museum of Fine Arts is showing a Reichstag Deputy; Dr. Carl Goederler, a political
Houston premiere of The Restless Conscience in conservative and former mayor; and Dietrich
conjunction with a photography exhibit, Rescuers Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran priest.
from the Holocaust Both deal with the Holocaust Most of the interviewees are at pains to stress
and, more importantly, the Resistance movement that the resistors were not necessarily unpatriotic,
during the tragedy, but there is an interesting But they could not stand idly by when human
difference of perspective. justice had simply disintegrated. A common
The pictures are of a varied collection of theme of the film is that most of the resistors
people who helped the Jews' passage out of Nazi became resistant only gradually.
Germany; whereas the film deals with those on One, Captain Axel von Bussche, tells of his
the inside, as it were; non-Jewish Germans who breaking point when he witnessed the systematic
became so disillusioned with the Third Reich that killing of 1,800 Jews in one day. In the present
they felt compelled to fight it day, he nervously toys with a cigarette, and
What unites the exhibition and the film is a explains how it became necessary to exterminate
sense of moral justice within the people Hitler.
concerned. It is people which really count in Discussion can "repair" certain things, he
these two media: this is obvious in the case of the says, but "you cannot repair it when that
pictures by Block which are, by their nature as innocence is gone." He knew at that moment that
portraits, about people; but it is part of Beller's he had lost his innocence and became an
strategy too. outraged human being.
The film moves between a chronological Von Bussche went on to join the group who
survey of 193345, backed up with some were known to the Gestapo as "The Kreisau
excellent original footage, and color interviews Circle." These were men, generally in the army,
with those left today: the friends, the relatives, who were dedicated to the extermination of
husbands and wives. All of these people are Hitler. They tried often enough, too. So many
named on screen, every time they appear on bungled attempts are charted by Beller that you
screen. This is a documentary, yet there is some get the impression that Hitler was incredibly
other point to the constant naming, which is to lucky to survive them all.
remind you that this really happened, these There are other resistors too: closer to the
are not just funny old black and white faces. theme of the photo exhibition is the story of
This is made very plain at the end: a ' officers of the German intelligence organiza-
long roll-call of the dead, lit ^on—Abwehr—who sympathized with the
names on screen in Jews. Admiral Canares, who was also part of
the Kreisau Circle, was the chief of this
organization. Resistors within the Abwehr
consistently helped Jews to escape the
clutches of the Nazis, illegally issuing
passports which stated that the holder
was on an intelligence mission.
In some ways this film seeks to set
the record straight: to gain recognition
for these people, most of whom died in
pursuit of what they knew was right One
of the interviewees says, near the end of
the film, that the "moral life" of a person
begins only when "he is ready to lay down
his own life for his .convictions."
Look, the documentary seems
to say, there are Germans
who did seek to curb the
injustices which they daily
saw around them.
No TEENYBOPPERS AT M.O.D.
silence for such a long
time that many of the
audience began to
shuffle around
uncomfortably.
The piling up of
people also
reinforces the
diversity of the
movement The
resistors to Hitler's
dictatorship are
notable for their
different
back-
This is most forcefully conveyed by a friend
of Adam von Tolt, one of the executed resistors,
who pointedly says, 'There is another Germany'.
It was a Germany which, the film implies
strongly, was totally ignored by the Allies. The
In some ways this film
seeks to set the record
straight. Look, the
documentary seems to
say, there are Germans
who did seek to curb
the injustices which
they saw around them
daily.
French Maquis was recognized: so were partisans
in Greece and Yugoslavia.
But what of the Germans? Beller is quite
convinced that the Allies were not convinced:
they mistrusted the cries for help from German
resistors. The director picks choice cuts from
Radio Path6 News which show Neville Chamber-
lain, the British Prime Minister, with an blithe
smile on his face, telling crowds what a nice man
Herr Hitler is.
Rationally, I feel like saying, now come on,
where's the flip side to all of this? Doesn't it
seem likely that both Britain and America should
have had good reason to consistently dismiss the
requests of the resistors? This thought may well
come to you if you see this film, but it will
quickly be overtaken by powerful emotion,
which seems throughout the film to suppress any
desire to question the historical authority of the
director.
It is hard not to think of Chamberlain exactly
as a smiling fool, and a callous one at that when
you are told that he denied aid to the doomed
student resistance organization at Munich
University—the so-called "White Rose." Then
(Or, as Beller implies, thus...) these young people
were eventually rounded up...and decapitated.
This film makes no concession on violence.
Just as we should know that these people really
see Holocaust, page 10
New after hours club heats up with bayou mamas
by Stan Hsue
You won't find Kelly or Brandon sipping
milkshakes at Houston's new bar and music
showplace, M.O.D., although a few of the
customers could guest star on "The Heights."
Just over one month old, the newest joint in town
to feature local bands is the place your mother
warned you to stay out of. With bands like The
Sinister Sirens, Dashboard Mary, and Toxic
Karma, M.O.D. is
frantically swimming
against the main-
stream, which means
you shouldn't expect
to hear Bobby
Brown's newest cut.
The clientele
tends away from the
thick-necked, crew-
cutted frat boys, or
the thick-belted
George Strait look-
alikes. The appropriate haut couture of M.O.D. is
studied, attractive grunge with a hint of skank.
Tattoos, long, gel-free hair, and downscale
dressing seem to be the norm for this crowd. The
customers are quite young, college age though
not necessarily college bound. It would be
intriguing to find out.what some of these people
do during the day, because one wouldn't go to
M.O.D. to relax after a tough day at Daddy's law
firm.
M.O.D. is small—their claim of a 150
capacity seems ambitious. It features a tired-
looking pool table, a CD jukebox, and a friendly
bar manager named Ossie. The dark, smoke-
infested bar is punctuated with glowing faces and
innovative paintings that create an atmosphere of
underground angst. The bar could use a lot more
seating and at least a few tables. The "patio" of
M.O.D. is a graveled area with a couple wooden
barrels to sit on. It served as the mudpit of the
gay leather bar which used to occupy the
building.
Despite any physical shortcomings, the
lifeblood focus of M.O.D. is to support local
bands. Only open for four weeks, M.O.D. has
already been host to some of Houston's hottest
altemative/grunge/metal groups.
Dashboard Mary, which played last Sunday,
seemed to exemplify highly energized and barely
coherent grunge rock. When the lead singer
asked "Who was on acid during Lollapalooza?"
many of the clients at least grimaced in the
affirmative. Unfortunately the stage is a tiny
platform scrunched into an even smaller space
that doesn't allow for any room for dancing, and
somehow the acoustics are slightly better in the
bar and even the parking lot
M.O.D. is an ideal hangout place to listen to
local music, which usually runs on Wednesdays,
Fridays and Saturdays at 10 or 11 p.m. When
there is a band, there is often a two dollar cover,
but otherwise M.O.D. is free. It might just be the
place to go for any non-moussewearing, non-Gap
shopping, underground sort of person who can't
stomach the latest episode of 90210.
M.O.D., 1732 Westweimer at Woodhead
Daily 7 p.m.-2 a.m.
21 and over
Faces is starting to advertise this week with
104 KRBE, which already tells you a lot about
the place. The only after hours club in Houston
other than the Lizard Lounge, Faces is a techno
night owl's dance dream. The dj keeps the music
going from midnight to 6 a.m„ which means 18
and up, no alcohol, and more specifically, scores
of teenyboppers scurrying out to the
parking lot between dances to take a sip
of dad's sherry.
The music mix is techno with a
capital O, a spattering of alternative,
and a determined avoidance of rap. The
high energy, low melody, beat-intensive
mixes are the premiere attraction of
Faces. Sunday is the Save the Wave
80's dance music night when the club
is heavy on New Order, OMD, and
other songs that we listened to at high
school dances.
The crowd at Faces is young, and
with the sparse attendance on Sunday
night it was as awkward as a high
school dance. In fact a group of five or
six spent 20 minutes huddled around an
arcade game. However, after their radio
mFj campaign, I predict Faces to become a
Wjdgj& hot spot for clubbers to flock after the
doors have closed on Numbers or
Bayou Mama's. The people are preppy,
clean-cut and sweat trickled down more than just
a couple sideburns on the dance floor.
The club is large enough to run a few laps
between dances, and it looks about twice as
spacious because of mirrors that line one wall.
The complex, multicolor light set up enhances
the dance experience, almost transforming the
clumsiest Clearasil novices into MTV regulars. If
see night Owl, page 10
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Kim, Leezie & Carson, Chad. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 11, 1992, newspaper, September 11, 1992; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245817/m1/8/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.