IDES OF MARCH RETURN FOR FOURTH CONCERT AT LEWIS COLLEGE

IDES OF MARCH RETURN FOR
FOURTH CONCERT AT LEWIS COLLEGE

   The Ides of March from Chicago proved once again that they were first-rate entertainers in their fourth Lewis College appearance. For those of you who didn't attend the Ides of March concert, your friends who did aren't exaggerating. The six piece group staged what was probably the best all-round concert the college has ever seen.
    On stage for almost two hours before an enthusiatic audience of about 1,500 in the J.F.K. gym, the six rock musicians presented a well-rehearsed and varied show. Their repertoire ranged from a hilarious old rock medley to a moving poetic folk song.
    Lead singer and guitarist, Jim Peterik, stole the show visually with his acrobatic antics. A seemingly tireless performer, he jumped, twisted and danced all over the stage. He is a talented musician and composer. He also plays the saxophone and piano and writes all the songs for the group. The other musicians include leader Larry Millas on the organ, Mike Borch on drums, John Larson on high trumpet, Chuck Soumar on trumpet and Bob Bergland on bass and sax.
    A sensitive folk song, Freedom Sweet, about a boy in East Berlin was sung and played beautifully by Jim and Larry on acoustic guitars. An amusing highlight was Jim's solo "lecture on - teen bopper music." The audience roared with laughter at his description of the characteristic of that genre. "The first is that it is insipid" he remarked and demonstrated with the repetitious nasal whining of the typical "bubblegum song." The second characteristic, he said is that it relies on old opera for melody lines. He showed the surprising resemblence between the chorus from Figaro and a song called Chewy, Chewy.
    Jim then went into his version of a Bobby Sherman concert, ("a few perfunctory screams, please"), a very clever imitation of that particular singer. "The third characteristic of teeny-bopper music is that it's suggestive", he drawled; sang a few lines from Yummy, Yummy and quipped "that's hard core pornography."
    Many agree that the Ides version of "Eleanor Rigby" was the most beautiful free-form interpretation that they have every heard. When they broke into "Vehicle" the place went wild, and the band loved every minute of it. At its conclusion, the Ides were obviously overwhelmed at the standing, cheering ovation they received.
    After cries of "more, more," they bounded back on stage. Jim asked the audience to gather around the stage and they proceeded to break into a boogie. Lewis will never be the same. Kids everywhere were dancing, jumping and cheering. And the band played on.

BY: Edward Czarobski -
December 3, 1971   Vol 3 No. 13 in the Lewis school paper