ENTERTAINMENT

620 CLUB

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·

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Downtown between W. 6th and W. 9th Just steps West of Public Square and the Mall "Carter Nite" Sun thru Thurs Phone 241-9719

Free Parking Sunday Thru Thursday Attendant at All Times

Gaslight Inn

638 W. Main St. Springfield, Ohio LIQUOR BEER FOOD

Springfield's only Gay Cocktail Lounge serving your favorite mixed drinks

OPEN DAILY AT 1:00 P.M. TIL 2:30 A.M. EXCEPT SUNDAY

HELP WANTED

PAYROLL CLERK

Computer Experience Essential

Bookkeeping Experience Helpful

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Largest Health Care Insurance Firm in area

Excellent Benefit Package, Downtown location

Day: 637-647

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HIGH GEAR/JUNE 1977

PAGE 18

MIDLER AND CLEVELAND LIVE AT LAST!

By John Nosek

(Live At Last, Bette Midler, Atlantic Records, recorded live at The Cleveland Music Hall, Cleveland, Ohio)

With Live At Last Bette Midler has come full circle from the infamous albeit star-launching N.Y. Continental Baths to the elegant and, oh, so "tasteful" Cleveland Music Hall. Given the healthy gay crowd that strategic weekend this LP was recorded.

many patrons, no doubt, were hard pressed to see much dif-

ference between the two.

That Live At Last happened in Cleveland, sports a romantic irony. "Friends," Midler's anthem was written by Clevelander Buzzy Linhart. And like Bette, "the city is coming alive in a rush that would make even the most seasoned Locker Roomer tremble.

Live At Last easily emerges as Midler's best LP simply because we see the complete entertainer: the irreverent comedienne sporting the vulnerability of a Judy Garland, yet mastering the I toughness of a Glenda Jackson. The set: a lavish cabaret with staggering Harlettes and props

SO

campy they exude preposterousness. The music: ah, here lies the beauty heart rendering ballads, Latin laden calypsos, 30's and 40's novelty tunes, disco-rock, ad infinitum.

Many selections stand out: Neil Young's "Birds," a richly horned "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," The Vicki Eydie Show "Istanbul," "Fiesta in Rio" and "South Seas Scene," 2 hot: "Long John Blues," thehaunting "Shiver Me Timbers" and Bette's own "Mr. Rockefeller" and "You're Moving Out Today," Night: 961-6523 a Paul McCartney, early David Beed Bowiesh type tune co-written

con-

with Carol Sager who is an up and coming performer in her own right... Actually, there's really not a bad cut on this double LP set. In terms of delivery, production and tent, Live At Last is impeccable. Bette's comic interludes pop up throughout. If indeed, all humor occurs at the expense of someone or something, Midler proves it here. Nothing is sacred. She pokes fun at herself, her lovers, Barbra Streisand, Cher, the audience and

challenges every sexual Puritan in the woodwork. Midler peaks with "Those Wonderful Sophie Tucker Jokes" which refreshingly satirize straight men with a sharp vulgarity that releases a political twist on the

sexes.

As for the audience, well Cleveland, you did yourself proud, and Bette gracefully returned the favor, doing more for this town than the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce ever could. The audience effect was that of a sophisticated, hip "in group," in tune and thirstily receptive.

Every gay (and straight) Clevelander should own this album. Live At Last feels like it was made just for us. Euclid, Garfield, Seven Hills, our sister cities get a mention. So do the downtown hotels, The Bond Court Hotel and Swingo's Celebrity "Motor Lodge" where the Vicki Eydie Show sparks "a global review." Bette talks about Cleveland incessantly, and the audience speaks well on behalf of itself.

Live At Last is an incredible tribute to a performer who surely will rank as the major gay male cult figure of the seventies. Her roots are imbedded deeply in our sub-culture. From the flippant "fag hag" approach to the campy humor to the self-pitying love songs, Bette retains much of her original style from the Baths. Her appearance at a past Gay Pride March in New York City was a warm gesture of her appreciation to all of us.

Midler appeals to a vaster spectrum of folk than just gays now. But she won't forget her past, how can she?... Live At Last is hot, and for that matter,

so is Cleveland.