12 FOUNTAINHEAD/VOL. 52, NO. 2/16 SEPTEMBER 1976 rr ar a Dylan succeeds, in spite of visual problems By MICHAEL FUTCH Assistant Trends Editor The Bob Dylan ‘‘Hard Rain concert presented on NBC Tues- day night has to be praised because of the visual similarity to his studio work. Dylan is known for recording an album in a very short span of time, trying to achieve a raw and primitive but concrete tone on his efforts. This concert, taped last May at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, appeared to visually attempt this same mood The live concert, plagued by poor camera work in many places, clicked in others. There were some fantastic shots focusing on Dylan’ s back with the audience in full view - this has always been an intimidating angle with his lyrical genius. The sound was quite good for television recalling ABC's In Concert, Don Kirschner's Rock Concert as terrible examples of TV sound reproduction Dylan, performing with old friend Joan Baez, and backed by The Rolling Thunder Revue, looked somewhat healthy and energetic. The Charlie Chaplin mannerisms were there from the beginning; humorous, sardonic and somewhat biting. He said only four words during the show - Joan Baez’’ and ‘‘Thank you”’ - and failed to play his usual accompaniment, the harmonica To my delight, it was all music and to Craig stereos expense, there were only three ad breaks This was Dylan's third tele ViSiON appearance; appearing on the old Johnny Cash Show and last year’s “PBS tribute to Columbia Records executive John Hammond Se ‘Hard Rain’’ was not origi- nally planned for television view- ing by NBC. Dylan, however, displeased with the original plan, offered this concert in its place Needless to say, NBC grabbed it The special opened with two of Dylan's old protest songs: ‘‘It’s a Hard Rain Going to Fall’’ and “Blowing in the Wind’’. The revivalist vocal tone used on the Before the Flood was missing here, but it still remained hard- hitting. Dylan surrounded himself with some fantastic people for his recent tour and they were seen on the opening number: Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Mick Ronson, Scarlet Rivera and many more. The poor camera work was initiated here and there was a great deal of reliance on Close-ups (Dylan's chops are about as bad as Keith Richards used to be) After the first commercial break, Dylan and Baez joined for a short acoustic set. After giving ‘Blowing in the Wind’’ an unusual sporadic vocal treatment, they harmonized further on “Railroad Boy’’ and ‘‘De- portees’’. | felt it was ironic that Channel 7 flashed a run-off election result wire over the once hero of political radicals. Baez Beatles tribute Away With Words is the world’s largest traveling multi-media production. This unique production is not a movie and is not a rock-n-roll show, it ismost nearly Gassed with productions such as ‘'Godspell’’ and Jesus Christ Superstar Away With Words’’ has played more than 800 individual performances, and has without incident drawn more than 600,000 people, breaking 36 all time house records. The show utilized 32 slide projectors, 3 film projectors and 360 degree sound, that creates a panoramic voyage of sound and sight Come to Wright Auditorium for two unforgettable performances of the most beautiful Beatle tribute ever presented, on Wed. Sept. 22, 1976 800 10:00 Advance tickets are Students $2.00 Public $2.50 Tickets at the door will be Students $2.50 Public $3.00 Advance tickets are on sale at the Central Ticket Office in Mendenhal! Student Center and The Record Bar. This evening of ‘‘mind boggling’ entertainment is sponsored by the Student Union Special Entertainment Committee. Roll up for this Magical Mystery Tour. Step right this way! Stood out on the last number with vocals as beautiful as she has ever delivered. Again, however, shaky camera work plagued the num- ber The Rolling Thunder Revue reemerged for one of the high- lights of the Dylan special, ‘'! Pity the Poor Immigrant’, definitely electric Dylan at his best with a bit of funk. Baez acoompanied with caracas while Dylan display- ed evident influence. Another high point was ‘Shelter from the Storm.’’ Dylan temporarily replaced his Fender for a Guild, playing some slide with conviction, although not authority. He was seen alone in front and playing like electric Dylan can; not brilliant but moving. He sang solo on this number, with eyes closed. Mick Ronson, David Bowie's Fun parks By BARBARA LEWIS A generation ago, amusement parks consisted of not much more than a roller coaster and a milk bottle toss. And no one really expected much more. But, amusement parks have evolved into multimillion dollar playgrounds, offering almost every type of entertainment imaginable. And during this summer of the Bicentennial year, turnstiles are twirling at these parks at the record pace. Still, although parks ranging from Sea World in San Diego to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va. are enjoying enormous suc- cess, some have nevertheless discovered that their elaborate formats are not enough to lure everyone--particularly young people in large numbers. ‘Most theme parks have a terrible time attracting the 18 to 25 visitor,’ admits David De Motte, president of Sea World, which has parks in San Diege, Orlando and Aurora, Ohio, 30 miles from Cleveland. ““Our experience is that teenagers like parks with rides and active participation, like Disneyland. But they aren't near- ly as interested in a park which requires them to sit and watch a whale or a group of dolphins perform for them.’ Of course, the marine shows featured at Sea World have tremendous appeal, even to those young adults, who attend. Sea World's biggest market is fami lies with children up to age 13 And they have made it possibile for Sea World to grow into a $7 million a year enterprise in slightly more than a decade Still, amusement parks are well aware of the immense ex-guitarist, added some Chuck Berry licks on ‘‘Maggie’s Farm’’. The way that Dylan looked humorously lost on this one can only be justified by his hanging around Clapton too much. It was done in a joking manner with his band of misfits plugging along behind their leader in comic form. More out of focus camera work presented ‘‘One Too Many Mornings’ but was balanced by some great angles. Dylan's fiddle player on Desire, Scarlet Rivera, was featured on this tune as well as the next, ‘‘ Mozambique. "’ This cut, off of Dylan’s last LP, was given'the full treatment and was a great reproduction of studio work. Dylan delivered his ‘‘Messiah Will Come Again’’ vocal energy on ‘‘Idiot Wind’’. The guy has been around a long time and his sheer vocal strength was never more apparent. The camera re- mained in a primitive position for the first half of the song; close up of Dylan’s face. He's not getting any younger as lines showed around his eyes. He did show an unusual amount of physical energy on this tune as he pranced around the stage. For some stupid reason, WITN-TV broke into ‘Knocking on Heaven's Door’’ with a spitfire of commercials. McGuinn was sounding very good on backup vocals and it could have been the high of the night. Overall, ‘‘Hard Rain’’ was good, not great but enough. Although at times visually poor, the sound was solid. It was enjoyable if only for Dylan's presence, or mystique as some call it. change with times market that the 18 to 25 age group encompasses. Some, like Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J., have the types of rides that already attract these young people. But other parks are just now making attempts to lure the youth mar- ket. Sea World in San Diego and Orlando have added a few rides in keeping with the park's theme. Several, for instance, are booking pop music acts into their outdoor amphitheatres, ranging from The Miracles to Three Dog Night. Others, like Opryland in Nashville, have date nights, during which a section of the park is roped off for dancing to rock music. Disney World recerily added River Country, a water recreation complex specifically designed to attract the 18-25 set Some parks have added dar- ing rides to attract young people The Texas Chute Oou ride has gained almost instant popularity among the young at Six Flags Over Texas in Dalias. On the ride, patrons are raised at the top of a 235-foot tower, from which they are dropped 30 feet in just three seoonds. At that point, a para- chute opens, and they drift gently to the ground At the new Enchanted Village in Buena Park, Calif., which features 32 acres of natural tropical setting and hundreds of animals, visitors may ride on a live elephant or a live Arabian camel or pet a wandering llama Among the nation’s most successful parks are those that combine both rides and animals Great Adventure has adopted this concept, merging a drive-through animal preserve where lions and tigers roam at will with a series of trained animal acts and rides, including the popular log flume ride. The park also features date nights on the weekends (two admission for the price of one), as well as live concerts featuring major rock acts. Interestingly enough, al- though some parks do not have mass appeal among the youth market, many of their executives are quite young. John Baltes, general manager of Sea World of Ohio, is 29 years old, and began working for the Sea World parks nearly 11 years ago when he was hired as a sweeper. He eventually was promoted to operations manager then assistant general manager, and finally two years ago to general manager of the Ohio park Sea World has offered career opportunities to a lot of people who started out at the low rung of the ladder,’ explained Baltes And we're a big source of summer jobs for young people There are 800 students working at Sea World of Ohio this summer, ranging from ticket takers to animal keepers.” Bruce Stevens, the training manager at Sea World of Ohio, is also 29 and initially began working at the park overseeing the music for the marine mammal shows. Not long thereafter, he asked to be transferred from the park's production staff to the training department, and he has been there ever since Most trainers get into the training business by accident, remarks Stevens. ‘They have to show ability as not only trainers, but as showmen as well. And it's difficult to find someone good at both. To be a good trainer, a person must be patient and steady. To be a good showman, he has to be an extrovert and an Those qualities aren't often found in the excitable-type individual ine person