Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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Group members vocalize with lead singer Vince Gill as they perform their hit Amie. Pure Prairie League brought the crowd to its feet with old and new songs alike. 24 Spring Concert

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om f-W ii Wizards on court The clown princes of Basket- ball, better known as the Harlem Globetrotters, played their unique style of basketball wizardry to a capacity house crowd in Lamkin Gymnasium last March 16. The world famous Globetrotters dribbled their way into the hearts of both young and old by showing their skills of out-shooting and out- smarting the California Chiefs, by more than 30 points. I had never seen the Globetrot- ters in person before, said Sandie Morgan, but I ' d heard a lot about them and I really enjoyed getting to see them. While performing in 97 countries in their 55 year history, the Trotters have performed in more than 1,500 games and delighted more than 98 million people. Sweet Lou Dun- bar, a replacement for the ex- Trotter Meadowlark Lemon, now playing for the Buckatteers, v as the master prince of the court. He pro- vided most of the laughs, by tangl- ing with the referee over who should get the ball, singing songs over the loud speaker and dancing with the fans. They ' re going to be missing something wi thout some of the old players, said Karl Steele. But times change, and I thought their new players were just as amusing and excellent ball players. Twiggy Sanders, Dunbar and the Harlem Globetrotters bench serenaded the crowd with their own rendition of a Stevie Wonder hit, while St. Joseph ' s own Larry Gator Rivers and the rest of the team, gave the old Trotters routines seen on television. I thought it would be nice if they had some new routines, but the routines they used were still funny, said Steele. The Trotter ' s world famous magic circle to Sweet Georgia Brown was performed as it has been since the team was formed and still received the same smiles it has always created since the team first whistled to that famous tune. Harlem Globetrotters 23

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Country of Fields «i Prairie The news that Pure Prairie League had been selected for the 1981 spring concert did not take the Northwest campus by storm. But when Pure Prairie League rode into town on March 20, their good old foot stomping music entertained a near capacity crowd in Lamkin Gymnasium. I thought that considering the concert was on a weekend and was the first concert in a year and a half, Pure Prairie League was a big suc- cess, said Phil Clausen, Student Union Board president. The Student Union Board is responsible for arranging concerts for Northwest. At registration, each student pays a $5 Student Union Board activity fee that goes for S.U.B. productions on campus. This was the first year that such a fee had been applied. Arranging for a group to appear on campus can be a complicated procedure, Clausen said. The Student Union Board first contacts a booking agent from New West, a Kansas City booking agen- cy, and expresses their wish for a show. New West must be informed of the desired date for the concert and the amount of money that the Board wishes to spend. In turn, they will make a list of available groups for the desired date, Clausen said. The list is put before the Student Union Board and board members vote on who they want to appear, including the opening act, and then inform New West of their decision. New West then sends a contract for the appearance to the Board, who then must approve the con- tract. Along with the contract, a writer is sent. This specifies the type of security provisions that must be used for the concert and the general wants and don ' t wants of the group. Security forces consist of two men from each Northwest fraternity for backstage security, a twenty-five man stage crew, as well as the Maryville police force and the Nodaway County law enforcement agency for crowd patrol. At this point, the production is, for the most part, set. The Pure Prairie League concert was opened by Fields, a group from Kan.sas City, Mo., who turned out to be an unexpected crowd pleaser. They played updated versions of songs like Dead Flowers original- ly done by New Riders of the Purple Sage and Fade Away , an old Rolling Stones tune. They also entertained with several of their original songs including Love Me If You Dare and I ' ll Be Gone which appeared on the latest Kansas City KY102 Home Grown album. The Fields set was short but live- ly, ending with the crowd dancing and clapping to a long jam session on the classic Orange Blossom Special. Pure Prairie League quickly took the stage and was greeted en- thusiastically. With a refined pro- fessionalism, they eased the crowd into a relaxing mood with their smooth country-rock sound. Everyone on the floor remained on their feet throughout the entire show, clapping and singing to old favorites including Two Lane Highway , Amie and Pickin to Beat the Devil. They also perform- ed more recent songs like Almost Ready. I thought it was a great concert, said Sara Drummond. It was the first concert I had been to on campus and I was very satisfied with it. Pure Prairie League didn ' t use any flashy gimmicks, they just played their music and the crowd showed their satisfaction by calling them back for an encore. The con- cert wasn ' t an earth shattering one, nor did it bring down the house. But for country-rock lovers it was a hit. Spring Concert 25