Melanie gets through the barriers

By BILL GRAY

News Amusement Writer

Musical energy doesn't have to be channelled through tons of electrical amplifiers, raspy voices and thunderous drum rolls.
Energy of a more subtle variety was displayed last night when singer Melanie Safka graced the University of Detroit Memorial Building stage.
It would be incorrect to call the event a concert -- that term merely denotes public entertainment.
What happened was more like an intimate meeting of minds and souls between a girl who sang and played guitar and a few thousand of her closest friends.

The usual barrier between star and fan was demolished and in its place reigned an atmosphere bound by mutual admiration.
It set the rather bleak-looking basketball arena aglow.
"They say go out and sell them, but selling's not my aim," she sang in an early number. "I'm going to sing the life I'm living and try to ease the pain."
Under most circumstances, such a phrase would most likely be a cheap way of trying to woo an audience of young long-hairs.