Campus Circle Newspaper Volume 18 Issue 28

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION ASSOC TION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA RUSSELL WONG A SOMM SOMMERSRS COMPANY/ALPHAV COMPANY ALPHAVILLE LLE PRODUCTION A ROB COHEN FIFILM BRENDAN FRASER JET LI “THE THEMUMMY:TOMBOFTHEDRAGONEMPEROR” MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPERO MARIA BELLO JOHN HANNAH EDITED PRODUCTION MUSIC COSTUME LIAM CUNNINGHAMDIRECTOR AND MICHELLE CHELLE YEOH EOH BYPRODUCED RANDY EDELMAN DESIGNER SANJA MILKOVIC HAYS BY JOEL NEGRON KELLYWRITTENMATSUMOTO DESIGNER NIGEL PHELPS P LUKE OFFORD ISABELLA LEONG EXECUTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY SIMON DUGGAN ACS PRODUCER CHRIS RIS BRIGH B IGHAM BY SEAN DANIEL JAMES JACKS STEPHEN SOMMERS BOB DUCSAY BY ALFRED FRED GOUGH & MIMILESES MILLAR MI AR DIRECTED

BY ROB COHEN A UNIVERSALPICTURE UNIVERSA PICTURE SOUNDTRACK ON VARESE SARABANDE

© 2008 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

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[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

Campus Circle | 3

BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL ISSUES July 30 - August 5, 2008 • Vol. 18 Issue 28

Editor-in-Chief Jessica Koslow editor.chief@campuscircle.net

7

Managing Editor Yuri Shimoda managing.editor@campuscircle.net

August 20: August 27: September 3: September 10: September 17: September 24: October 1: October 8: October 15: October 22:

Film Editor Jessica Koslow film.editor@campuscircle.net

Art Director Alance Ward Editorial Interns Jeff Bachman, Danielle Charbonneau, Lauren Rosenblum

20 22 INSIDE

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Contributing Writers

For advertising information, please contact your sales representative at (323) 939-8477 or e-mail:

Robert Axelrod, Lori Bartlett, Elsy Benitez, Jonathan Bautts, Sarah Bennett, China Buzzelli, Alexander L. Carpenter, Erica Carter, Frank Carulli, Richard Castaneda,

4 CAMPUS NEWS 4 WOODEN NICKELS

Kantreal Daniels, Natasha Desianto, Sheila Dichoso, James Dusenberry, James Famera, Sandra Fernando, A.J. Grier, Josh

FILM

contents

Bialos, Bourbon With Brendan, Michael

Herman, Zach Hines, Joe Horton, Matthew

6 SWING VOTE

Kitchen, Jonathan Knell, Emmanuelle Lee,

Kevin Costner is the man with the final vote.

Lucia, Lynn Manfred, Ebony March, Angela Matano, Patrick McGilligan, Ryan McWhorter, Samantha Ofole, Brien

7 X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE

Mulder and Scully reunite on the big screen.

Overly, Sasha Perl-Raver, Keyvon Pierre, J.

9 BRIDESHEAD REVISITED

Poakwa, Parimal Rohit, Dov Rudnick, Sean

Love and Dysfunction in pre-WWII London

Schlemmer, Mike Sebastian, Henry Senecal, Connie Shao, Doug Simpson, David Tobin, Mike Venezia, Kevin Wierzbicki, Grady Winn

Contributing Artists & Photographers Elsy Benitez, China Bialos, Richard Castaneda, A.J. Grier, Emmanuelle Lee, Ryan McWhorter, David Tobin

7 8 8 9 9

TV TIME SCREEN SHOTS REVIEWS PROJECTIONS DVD REVIEWS

MUSIC

ADVERTISING Sean Bello sean.bello@campuscircle.net

Joy Calisoff joy.calisoff@campuscircle.net

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Assistants to the Publishers Sandra Fernando, Frederick Mintchell

Campus Circle newspaper is published 47 times a year and is available free at 40 schools and over 800 retail locations throughout Los Angeles. Circulation: 30,000. Readership: 90,000.

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August 20: NCAA Football Preview [Ad Deadline – 8/14] The 2008 College Football season is upon us, abound with themes of depth and speed. Ranking among the fastest and deepest team this season is USC, a team full of blue-chip recruits. Standing in the Trojans’ way is crosstown nemesis UCLA, looking to refresh the rivalry under a new coaching staff. With other schools joining UCLA in the quest to play spoiler, it will be a promising season in Southern California and throughout the country.

August 27: Fall Music Preview [Ad Deadline – 8/21] It’s the music issue, with the lowdown on Los Angeles’ most talked about underground artists and the hottest mainstream musicians, plus our picks for essential back-to-school CDs. We’ll even break down the season’s best concerts in an exclusive Fall Concert Preview.

September 3: NFL Preview [Ad Deadline – 8/28] The word is controversy. Perhaps the biggest off-season pickup for any NFL franchise in 2008 is the team spokesperson.

With off-the-ďŹ eld issues dominating headlines for so many teams this season, the game itself may take a backseat to a sideshow that includes issues of cheating, drug use, tampering, un-retiring and questionable scouting. Alas, the games must still be played. Will the powerhouses maintain their positions? Will a spoiler ďŹ nally turn the corner?

We’ll take a look at all 32 teams and tell you which has a shot at the big game.

September 10: Fall Film Guide [Ad Deadline – 9/4] Because you can’t make it through a movie-going season without some kind of direction, read our Fall Movie Guide to get a look at the best upcoming movies to cure your back-to-school blues. ;MX\MUJMZ " 4WKIT /ITTMZQM[ )Z\Q[\[ /ZINĂ…\Q /]QLM C)L ,MILTQVM ¡ ! E From Culver City to Silver Lake, we’ll take you on a tour of the hippest galleries in L.A., plus uncover local artists working in their hideaway studios. We’ll also showcase the city’s beautiful murals and grafďŹ ti masterpieces.

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16 KILLER MIKE

The Many “Sides� of the Rapper

SPIN CYCLE DVD REVIEW CD REVIEWS L.A. UNDERGROUND FREQUENCY LIVE SHOW REVIEWS MUSIC REPORT

INNER CIRCLE 10 10 13 13 19 20 20 21 21 21 22 22 22

L.A. MOVES PAGES FASHION101 CAUGHT AROUND TOWN SPORTS: X Games 14 LIFESTYLE ON THE MENU THE ART OF LOVE CURTAIN CALL COMEDY THE 10 SPOT ESSENTIAL L.A. FASHION FOCUS

ON THE COVER: Jason Samuels Smith

CREDIT: Eduardo Patino, courtesy of BLOCH & Divine Rhythm Productions; www.epatinophoto.com

September 24: Public Transportation/Bike Guide [Ad Deadline – 9/18] With astronomic gas prices, we provide readers with a comprehensive guide to public transportation. We’ll also point out where the discount pumps are, and if you’re a cyclist (or want to be one), look no further for everything on two wheels, including fun group themed rides.

October 1: E for All [Ad Deadline – 9/25] From October 3 through 5, E for All Expo lands at the LA Convention Center. Created for gamers of all types, enthusiasts can view the latest games and gadgets, tournaments, pro gamers and more. According to their site, it’s about connecting great game companies with gamers, and gamers with great games.

October 8: Annual Photo Issue [Ad Deadline - 10/2] By this point in the year, the last thing you need is something else to read. We understand, so ip through the pages of our photo issue to give your brain a break as you get informed on what’s hot in ďŹ lm, music, art and fashion.

October 15: How to Be a Hollywood Star [Ad Deadline – 10/9] Everyone (OK not everyone) wants 15 minutes of fame, and there’s no better place to chase stardom than Tinseltown.

Check out our insider tips and tricks for breaking into Hollywood — where to study your craft, take headshots, seek an agent, be seen and more.

October 22: Halloween Issue [Ad Deadline – 10/16] In preparation for Fright Night, we’ll go over the best Halloween costume ideas, and the best places to make your dream costume a nightmare reality. Additionally, we’ll get you the low-down on all the craziest Halloween parties around town; scary but true.

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4 | Campus Circle

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

campus news | B Y

JEFF BACHMAN

Strike Over, But Disagreements Still Loom Over UCLA Workers striking at University of California facilities as part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) wrapped up their five-day protest with a rally on July 18.

Speakers included one state senator, five assemblymen and Maria Eleno Durazo, the executive secretary-treasurer of the L.A. County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. They were all Democrats, and they all spoke in support of the striking workers, despite the fact that the workers’ exhibition taking place at UC facilities was prohibited by a court order.

Though the visible strike may be over, little has been achieved. The University of California schools are still hoping to reach an agreement with the workers but intend to provide uninterrupted service should their employees strike again. The five-day strike did not affect the UCLA hospitals where a number of the AFSCME employees work.

L.A. Price Tag Pain in Neck for Would-Be Doctors Dr. Thomas Calcaterra, a UCLA professor emeritus of head and neck surgery, along with his wife, Ellen, have donated $2 million to the Head and Neck Surgery Division at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, in order to bolster faculty recruitment. Dr. Calcaterra served on the UCLA faculty for more than 35 years and hopes to preserve the Head and Neck Division that he felt was one of the most preeminent training programs in the nation.

The retired professor cited the cost of living differential between Los Angeles and other big medicine school cities as the factor that might attract great doctors away from the teaching hospitals at UCLA.

NAACP/NBC Screenwriting Fellowship Awarded

UC Regents

Michael Hazzard, a screenwriting student at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, has been named the second recipient of the annual NAACP/NBC Fellowship in Screenwriting.

The fellowship is a $20,000 package awarded to a graduate student studying screenwriting who may help give a voice to more underrepresented minorities in the entertainment industry. The recipient is required to hold internships at NBC and the NAACP’s Hollywood bureau, with executives at each business acting as the winner’s mentors.

The NAACP/NBC Fellowship is one of the many awards that have been Graduate screenwriting student at created as part of the university’s UCLA, Michael Hazzard, recipient of the NAACP/NBC fellowship overarching Ensuring Academic Excellence initiative launched in June of 2004. It is a five-year plan which hopes to garner $250 million in private funding, which will be invested in recruiting and retaining the best faculty and graduate students, as well as $50 million of that going to fund fellowships and scholarships in the various UCLA schools.

wooden nickels | B Y

JOE HORTON

NIGHT HOWLS Go for the Last Showing IN THE SWIRLING, OVERCROWDED maelstrom of inhumanity that is Los Angeles, a city with seemingly more movie theaters than libraries but not a spare seat to be found on opening weekend, it is essential for the last of us sanity-loving survivors to find our cinematic fix at the edges of the crowd – yes, I speak of the Last Showing.

The Last Showing carries, naturally, its own mystique. It is the final frontier of daily movie-going, stuck at the end of the timetable of offerings, the undiscovered country of finality until the kiddie-saturated 10 a.m. popcorn freakfests that are, wholly and inescapably, worse than death.

Those who make the late-night journey are either drunk, dreaming, stoned, crazy, lonely, cartoon clannish, wanted by the law or disinclined to the stenches of the masses. Most are all of these.

We are the under- and over-classes in Los Angeles, the anything-buts and the definitely-nots, those who’d rather sell a big toe than be trapped at the Grove at 8 p.m. on a Saturday night.

Our only interaction with the likes of the Macaroni Grill or Ruby Tuesday’s is the moment of relief found on their respective back alley walls.

Do not think for a moment that I champion those nutters that line up every year or so for a haphazard midnight opening, be it Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean or otherwise.

That’s akin to coming to church only on Christmas, looking at all the pretty lights, singing the few carols that you know from the Chipmunks X-Mas Xtravaganza and calling it a night.

No, those charlatans are cinematic night owls of opportunity, also-rans of celebratory, self-congratulatory rebelliousness. The real moviegoers of the night go not for the special, the unique, the spectacle of the event, but for the

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sheer inborn requirement to live life on terms other than those so painfully described in the pre-show entertainment.

The addiction to arriving exactly as the movie begins, catching all of the previews and none of the putrescent chaff that comes before and sitting in a decent seat not slammed against the 100-foot tall screen, is not one to be taken lightly. The logistics of the night – relatively proximal parking, a decided lack of the under-16 crowd, generally smaller crowds and shorter lines – make true believers out of all of us who see better at night, who breathe a bit deeper after the sun goes down.

Beyond the logistical there is also the sensory, the metaphysical. What of the fear of seeing the terrifying on screen and then multiplying the anguish by walking to a lonely car?

What of the excitement of an action extravaganza coupled with the empty, race-ready freeways heading home?

What of comedy when you feel free to act out your favorite moments, quoting inappropriate lines to the quiet wind?

There is something more than a little bit excellent about leaving a dark theater, entering a dark, silent night, going to bed where every so often the story continues.

Several years ago, I left the confines of The Sum of All Fears, an otherwise forgettable foray into the ramifications of a nuclear strike on Baltimore, to find the air outside the theater filled with ash. The sky, orange, glowed with heat. Cars parked in the vicinity were all a mottled gray.

In between previews and credits, the world had destroyed itself. I was alone, the sole witness to the end, the sole architect of the future.

This empty night, the accidental collaboration of Ben Affleck and a house fire next to the AMC, made the

Joe Horton

experience more than the sum of its parts. The Last Showing endows meaning where there might be none, a memory that stretches beyond the frame.

Responsibility, of course, is the enemy of fantasy. Early meetings and classes castigate the possibilities of the Last Showing. As years progress, the sun seems to set earlier and the night falls darker. Work leads to dinner and dishes and bed.

Late is a regressive state – 2 a.m. becomes the Leno monologue, Leno becomes the first half-hour of “So You Think You Can Dance.” One fine day, late is the lavish expense of dinner after the early-bird specials at the retirement buffet.

But for now, suck it up. Get out there, late, and enjoy being one of the few. Enjoy the closest connection you’ll ever feel to the silver screen. Remind yourself why theaters dim the lights.

#### A MASTERPIECE. T M I F

“

HE

OVIE NTELLIGENT ILMGOERS HAVE WAITED FOR ALL YEAR.” 鵷 Rex Reed,

鵷

“ TERRIFIC! ONE OF THE

’S BEST MOVIES. SUMMER Emma Thompson gives the most arresting performance of her career.” 鵷 Karen Durbin,

鵷

####

“

Emma Thompson and Matthew Goode are outstanding.” 鵷 Marshall Fine,

鵷

####

“

”

鵷 Andrew Sarris,

鵷

PrivILEGE. AMBITION. DESIRE. AT BRIDESHEAD EVERYTHING COMES AT a PRICE.

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ISSUE 28 • campuscircle.com

FILM IN LOS ANGELES

SWING VOTE

Every Single Voice Counts

BY SASHA PERL-RAVER

“...THE FUNNIEST FILM“... ...”I’VE SEEN THIS YEAR...”

Ben Glass

- Kyle Smith, NEW YORK POST -

SWING VOTE IS A FILM ABOUT an election in a hotly contested election year, one that is already historic since, as one of the film’s stars, George Lopez, explains: “We’re either going to get darker or a lot lighter in this next election. The change that’s out there, the fact that every vote does count and the re-ignition of people’s hope for change couldn’t land in a better place than in Swing Vote.”

The film centers around one average man named Bud (Kevin Costner) who becomes the final decision maker in a presidential election where one ballot makes all the difference.

The film’s director, Joshua Michael Stern, says, “We thought that if [the 2000] election could come down to a district in Florida, some 500 votes, we could create a believable election that came down to one.”

Many people buck the responsibility of voting, thinking that a single voice can’t be heard in a

When asked how he felt about playing someone so far removed from his Blue Velvet roots, he laughs,“I was miscast,” and then explains, “I just tried to keep my hair combed and be as stiff as possible.”

But Swing Vote is about more than who will occupy the Oval Office; it’s about a family struggling to survive.

“In the end,” Costner says, “it’s about a man and his fifth grader with politics as the backdrop.”

Stern adds, “This movie isn’t about politics, it’s about citizens.”

And in order to appeal to the populace, Stern knew they “needed an actor with a general sense of sympathy that sells it.”

That actor was undoubtedly Kevin Costner.

“Kevin is very good at playing the anti-hero and he’s very American. He drinks cold milk with all of his meals,” reveals Stern.

But he also needed to be able to be the movie’s villain.

“Bud [embodies] the enemy of democracy; complacency,” reveals Costner.

Bud’s guiding light is his daughter played by preternaturally talented

Kevin Costner and Madeline Carroll in Swing Vote

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crowd, a feeling Costner understands.

“When you do the math, you think ‘I don’t matter.’ But that’s when we’re thinking selfishly. When you start to think of yourself as a whole, as part of the fabric of America, that’s when you realize your vote does matter.”

It was a realization he came to several years ago following Florida’s hanging chad debacle.

“I saw a billboard about eight years ago and it struck me,” Costner recalls. “It said, ‘92 million people in last year’s election made a difference.

They didn’t vote.’ It was so profound it was devastating.”

Kelsey Grammer who stars as President Boone says, “I’ve never had the chronic low self-esteem that America seems to hold onto, I think everybody’s vote counts, and I always have. That moment in the voting booth is still a sacred one.”

In a surprise turn, Dennis Hopper plays his opponent, Donald Greenleaf (Is that an Easy Rider reference?).

newcomer, 12-year old Madeline Carroll. The role required a tremendous amount of emotional depth and intelligence from the young performer, and Carroll more than rises to the occasion.

“The reason she’s as good as she is,” explains Costner, “is because she has awareness, and she realized she had the opportunity to score with this role and [she did].”

Madeline is quick to compliment her co-star and mentor: “I’ve learned so much from him. It’s been a blessing.”

But the question must be asked; is America tired of election talk? Will this film be met with voter fatigue or box office returns? That uncertainty excites Costner.

“That’s what I like, when it’s not a sure thing. If I was in the Sure Thing Business, I would’ve done Dances with Wolves 3 or The Bodyguard 3.”

Swing Vote releases in theaters Aug. 1.

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

actor immersed himself fully in his role. Although he admits that his onscreen counterpart was a bit “stodgy.”

“He doesn’t take no for an answer,” says Xzibit. “And he has no time for Mulder’s strange ideas. Because if Agent Drummy can’t see it, feel it, touch it or kill it, then he doesn’t believe it.”

As for Mulder and Scully, the pair has evolved into a much more The FBI utilizes him for its search.

B Y E B O N Y M A R C H But the real question is: Is he truly emotionally demonstrative couple since the last film. Gone is the rampant psychic, or just knowledgeable about sexual tension between the two. That the crimes because of where and how AS THE CREATORS OF THE X-FILES has now been reserved for Duchovny’s he lives? launch into a heartfelt explanation onscreen exchanges with Peet. behind their latest offering, the “[My character] is an FBI actor known as Fox Mulder agent who may – or may not – storms into the press room and begin to feel a connection with jokingly asks, “I have a question: Mulder,” says Peet.

What was it like working with Duchovny acknowledges his David Duchovny?” The whole counterpart’s growth as well: room roars with laughter. It is in “Mulder and Scully are meant for this moment that one realizes the each other, but there’s always an dynamic duo is back. obstacle that threatens their In The X-Files: I Want to relationship. This movie is very Believe, the late 1990s cynicism much about that obstacle.” found in the statement, “Trust no As for Anderson, she enjoyed one” has been replaced with a the reunion with her old cohorts, newly optimistic mantra. Fox The always complicated relationship between Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) undergoes but also enjoyed the new twist on Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana unexpected twists in The X-Files: I Want to Believe. their well-visited formula.

Scully (Gillian Anderson) have “Playing Scully was less about returned a little older, a bit wiser and always referring to the script and more About his complex new role, still chasing down things that go about going back to the history and Connolly offers up some of his “bump” in the night. Only this time memory of the character. So getting infamous humor to describe the honor around, that spooky goblin is tied to a back into character was much more of working with creator Chris Carter: suspicious priest and the Catholic work than I had anticipated.”

“When [Chris] told me about Father Church.

As for Duchovny, he reveled in the Joe, I knew I must do the part and thus Scottish character actor Billy return to the frosty, snow-laden streets horrify my family and friends.”

Connolly gives a daring performance of Vancouver to reprise his role.

In addition to Connolly, there are as Father Joseph Crissman. He’s a Although the actor is a star on the hit some other familiar faces that help fallen member of the clergy who Showtime series “Californication,” he carve out this unusual story. Actress succumbed to the lure of sex scandal. was still itching to return home – to Amanda Peet and rapper Xzibit have Living in a halfway house with Mulder. joined the cast, playing skeptical FBI other sex offenders doesn’t exactly “It was important to allow time to agents that snuff out Mulder and make him an endearing character. go on in the world of The X-Files as it’s Scully for their sleuthing services.

However, Crissman finds himself on gone on in the world at large.”

Xzibit, a longtime fan of the series, the right side of the law when he claims says,“Being a part of the lineage of this to see visions of several women who The X-Files: I Want to Believe is great phenomenon is incredible.” The have been abducted by a violent currently in theaters. rapper-turned-ride-pimper-turned attacker.

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE

Diyah Pera

Do you still lack trust, or are you a believer?

t.v. time

‘SUNSET TAN’

How real is reality TV?

BY LAUREN ROSENBLUM “SUNSET TAN” IS A REALITY TV show that follows the lives of staffers and clients at “L.A.’s most successful upscale tanning salon.” The show has become the E! Network’s most watched reality show of the year.

After the first season came to an end, the fans felt a connection with the “Baywatch”-style babes and the bronzed businessmen on the show.

But nobody received more attention than the Manager of the Hollywood salon, Nick D’Anna, and Sunset Tan’s sales associate, Ania Migdal. Nick and Ania fell in love on the first season and will be back for round two in the

second season.

“The new season is going to be bigger and better with more drama, more travel and more trouble,” Nick says. “It’s getting the characters out of the salon and into their homes.”

Unlike many “celebreality” The madly in love employees of “Sunset Tan,” Ania and Nick shows, Nick says everything on be made.

“Sunset Tan” is authentic – especially “I feel like I am portrayed fairly the fact that he and Ania are madly in accurately because I don’t take too love. much bullshit,” Nick says. “Ania gets a However, Nick admits that reality bad reputation, though, because of the television is, in fact, an altered reality. way it’s edited. She’s actually very It’s all edited to spur more drama so humble and not a spoiled brat at all.” that ratings can soar and money can

Campus Circle | 7

t.v. time | features

film

‘MODEL LATINA’ Top Modeling with a Latina Twist

BY DANIELLE CHARBONNEAU JUST WHAT WE NEED – ANOTHER MODELING show. Between “America’s Next Top Model,” “Australia’s Next Top Model,” “Make Me a Supermodel,” “The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency” and “Project Runway,” I thought maybe the world had had enough, but I guess I was wrong. “Model Latina,” a “Top Model”esque reality show premiered July 27. Ten Latina beauties compete for a modeling contract with Q Management, exposure in Latina magazine and $10,000.

The premiere episode followed a panel of judges, including Q Management’s Jeffrey Kolsrud and fashion photographer Franco Lacosta, as they searched for the right starlets in New York City. The show hopes to “redefine what it means to be a model” by scouring for a woman who can represent Latinas not only in a beautiful way, but in an intelligent, sophisticated and cultured way – or so they say.

But it seems promising enough. To my pleasant surprise, the 10 final contestants will compete in challenges more akin to “The Celebrity Apprentice” than “Top Model,” writing public Yuria Espinoza of Antioch, Calif. service announcements to encourage young Latinos to vote, creating magazine layouts, creating advertising taglines, cooking an authentic Cuban meal – challenges that aren’t just putting a pretty little face in front of a camera only to have Tyra Banks rip it to shreds.

Don’t get me wrong though, the show will still have hormone-crazed drama mixed with a good dose of superficiality, so don’t worry all you “Top Model” fans. And by the way, are you people seriously still watching that show? It’s on its 10th season – are you friggin’ kidding me?

But putting judgment aside, “Model Latina” is at least trying to step it up a notch. And the diversity of the models – wealthy and poor, short and tall, tiny and plussized - is a good start to breaking the standard Linda Moreno of Baldwin Hills mold for models. Give it a shot. You might be surprised.

“Model Latina” airs Sundays on Sí TV at 9 p.m. For more information, visit www.sitv.com/shows/model.

The first season ended with Nick and Ania on the rocks, and picks up right where they left off. But viewers will quickly see that the couple is still going strong.

Nick will be busy working on franchising Sunset Tan while Ania is starting her own fashion line called Lock-It.

“Having my own clothing line has been my dream since I was a baby,” Ania says. “The show was just a catalyst.”

The second season of “Sunset Tan” premieres Aug. 3 on E! at 10:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.sunsettan.com.

8 | Campus Circle

film

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

screen shots | B Y

ZACH HINES

Eight Miles High

Heath Ledger stars as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight Rules I am not a reviewer nor am I a critic. As a screenwriter and a filmmaker, I don’t feel it’s my place to critique and analyze other people’s work aside from the position of being a simple movie fan.

I don’t read reviews or pay much attention to people who consider themselves movie critics, but I will agree that there is a skill set for it. The only thing I feel comfortable doing is expressing my excitement, skepticism, nervousness, confusion or disappointment about future projects, all overscored by my more important hope that the movies will all turn out great, because who doesn’t want to see a great movie?

However, as of late I have been so moved by a particular film that I simply had to use my column to voice a reaction to it after the fact. It was only after my second viewing of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight that I felt compelled to express my feelings in written form. This is not a review; it’s a reaction.

Holy brilliance, Batman! This film is hands down the best film of the year, and the best comic book film of all time. Not to mention that Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker is the best comic book movie villain of all time.

I was so blown away by this film that it literally took me 15 to 20 minutes after exiting the theater upon my first viewing to be able to voice my opinion about what I just saw. I hadn’t started writing this column before The Dark Knight and the casting of Heath Ledger was announced, and I remember that a lot of peoples’ reactions to it were mixed and mostly skeptical and confused.

However, in my gut I knew that something truly special was about to happen. I just knew that whatever had transpired between Nolan and Ledger to create the vision they had for this character was going to be nothing we had seen before, and lo and behold … Not to downplay anyone else in the film, because every performance is spectacular, but every moment the Joker is onscreen is electrifying.

Everything from the script to the action to the cinematography to the music is masterful in its composition. This film has transcended what one could possibly consider a comic book movie and eats lots of other really good films as a midnight snack.

This film has cemented the idea that Nolan’s Batman Begins started, which is that if taken seriously, comic book films can become classic pieces of cinema. Of course, there are going to be people with criticisms, but unless you have some sort of excuse like you only like romantic comedies, you don’t like action, you just plain don’t like movies, or you’re a movie critic, you better not show your face in my city if you have anything negative to say about The Dark Knight.

I mean, for crying out loud, how perfect does a film have to be for you to shut up and marvel at a film where so much was done right? You can be sure that Satan has a very “special” area in hell reserved for anyone who has enough audacity to hate on The Dark Knight.

Favreau to Direct Iron Man Sequel More cause for celebration: Jon Favreau has signed on to direct the inevitable sequel to Iron Man. I don’t think there was any doubt that this was going to happen, but sadly, you never know.

He did an incredible job with the first Iron Man, and it’s definitely in the upper echelon of comic book films. The character of Tony Stark could have been taken in several directions, but I think Favreau, Robert Downey Jr. and the whole creative team behind Iron Man put a really great spin on it.

I’m excited for the sequel, but I really hope they don’t name it Iron Man 2. Adding numerical suffixes to the sequels of films is just boring.

Naming a film The Dark Knight or Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is better than just adding 2, 3, 4, etc. But hey, as long as the script is awesome, I don’t care if they name it Girlie Man.

Eleven

film notes | reviews (Dokument) Uschi Obermaier was a beautiful young woman living in a stifling house in Munich until the day her mom called her a slut. Following her wanderlust aspirations, the sexually precocious hot thing fled to Germany’s notorious Kommune 1, where she learned free love and anti-establishment ideals.

Next, the nude cover model hooked up with the Rolling Stones, namely Keith Richards. But limos, concerts, sex and drugs began to bore her, too, so she joined an international traveler in a luxury van for a 10-year escapade.

Uschi Obermaier (Natalie Avelon), pictured here with Keith Richards (Alexander Sheer), is a Rolling Stones groupie in Eight Miles High.

Based on Obermaier’s life, hers was a wild ride that you’ll love being on, but you’ll also be thankful to get off. Her motivations often seem empty and selfish, and in the end, she learns that pursuing freedom sometimes has a price: loneliness.

Grade: A —Jessica Koslow Eight Miles High is currently in select theaters.

Frozen River (Sony Pictures Classics) Ray Eddy (Melissa Leo) is not unlike the majority of downtrodden heroines that populate independent film. A mother of two, her husband is a compulsive gambler who leaves town with the money they were supposed to use on their dream home.

Now desperate and broke, Ray is recruited by Lila, a Mohawk smuggler, to transport illegal Chinese and Pakistani immigrants across the frozen St. Lawrence River and into America.

The money is easy and if all goes well, Ray will have her doublewide trailer by Christmas.

Should I be the compassionate reviewer and empathize with Ray and her trying situation? It would be shameful not to.

But after viewing Frozen River I was hesitant to feel any degree of emotion

CHRISTIAN BALE

aside from disgust. In a scene involving a Pakistani couple and their week-old infant, Ray chooses to wallow in selfpity rather than display compassion for someone in a similar set of circumstances.

When Ray finally does become enlightened, we’re too indifferent to care.

Grade: C —James Famera Frozen River releases in select theaters Aug. 1.

Love Comes Lately (Kino) In the opening scene of Love Comes Lately, we’re introduced to the overactive imagination of Max Kohn (played effortlessly by Otto Tausig), a once prominent literary writer now reduced to a delusional geriatric burdened by his failing libido.

On a train to Miami the conductor asks Max what type of stories he writes. “Truth stories,” Max replies.

It’s these same “truth stories” that are to serve as the basis of the film, an adaptation of three stories from Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer. From there, director Jan Schütte takes several missteps in trying to be faithful to Singer’s erotic imagination.

We’re never fully aware if the writer’s life is reality or an excerpt from his fiction. Did a misguided sexual encounter with a Mexican cleaning woman actually take place?

Or is it the beginnings of a new story?

Who’s to tell? The audience is never forewarned when the “fictional real world” of Max Kohn has been breached.

Grade: C+ —James Famera Love Comes Lately is currently in theaters.

Step Brothers (Columbia) Don’t let “The Brady Bunch” fool you; divorce, remarriage and combining families is difficult. But not nearly as demanding as trying to find the laughs in Will Ferrell’s new film, Step Brothers.

Ferrell stars as Brendan Huff, a 39year-old who still lives with his mommy, Nancy, the ever charming and

staff pick Diamonds in the Rough July 30 @ Laemmle’s Sunset 5 This year the Dances with Films Independent Film Festival runs through July 31, so if you haven’t already stopped by Laemmle’s Sunset 5 to catch any of

Movies to Rent:

1) Velvet Goldmine 2) The Prestige 3) I’m Not There 4) The New World 5) American Psycho 6) Rescue Dawn 7) Empire of the Sun 8) Laurel Canyon 9) The Portrait of a Lady 10) Metroland 11) Little Women —Angela Matano

supremely patient Mary Steenburgen.

When Nancy marries Robert Doback (Richard Jenkins), a doctor whose 40year-old son Dale (John C. Reilly) still lives at home, the two families, both pillars of dysfunction, are forced to learn how to live under one roof.

Dale and Brendan start out as mortal enemies but quickly realize they’re perfectly suited for one another and become best friends. Their ensuing hijinks are meant to keep the audience entertained for two hours, but there are only so many laughs a set of prosthetic testicles and the licking of dog excrement can provide.

When you remember that Reilly was nominated for an Oscar and Ferrell was once hailed as the most brilliant comic talent of his generation, the lack of laughs goes from annoying to depressing. What happened, guys?

Grade: D —Sasha Perl-Raver Step Brothers is currently in theaters.

Take (Liberation Entertainment) Minnie Driver (Ana) is compelling as a mom trying to help her son navigate an educational system that won’t cater to his special ed needs. One day, her life is altered forever when Saul, a gambling addict with a debt hanging over his head, takes a desperate leap to get money. Fast-forward to the day of Saul’s execution and Ana is traveling to witness it.

Take switches back and forth from that tragic day to the present one, following both complex characters as they wrestle with their fate. Though heart wrenching, Take is completely creepy, and the soundtrack doesn’t help at all.

Grade: C —Jessica Koslow Take is currently in select theaters.

their flicks, here’s one to watch.

Michael Franti of Spearhead narrates Diamonds in the Rough, a documentary about the Bataka Squad, a revolutionary Ugandan hip-hop group.

Laemmle’s Sunset 5 is located at 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood.

For more information, visit www.danceswithfilms.com.

Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell and Ben Whishaw in Brideshead Revisited

BRIDESHEAD REVISITED Poignant Study of Love or Bizarre Love Triangle?

BY EBONY MARCH The inner-workings of these complex relationships are set against the backdrop of WWII, as well as the Catholic Church. It would be highly important for filmmakers to find actors who could appear contemporary to modern-day audiences, while being able to display – with ease – the breadth of emotion needed to carry out Waugh’s work.

“I think for the part of Charles, you need to be a good back-footed and front-footed player, and Matthew does that extremely well,” remarks producer Kevin Loader. “He’s passionate when he needs to be passionate, playful when he has to be playful and slightly mysterious when he has to be more opaque, and that’s hard to do.”

Ben Wishaw, who plays Sebastian, is not only a favorite of English audiences, but also of his cast mates and those behind the movie’s production.

Brideshead’s director, Julian

dvd dish | reviews My Blueberry Nights (Weinstein Company) I can’t think of another example of a film best watched with the sound off than My Blueberry Nights.

Transcendently filmed by cinematographer Darius Khondji and director Kar Wai Wong, each frame of the movie is beautiful enough to be a piece of art in itself. The attention to detail in the colors and compositions is breathtaking to behold.

Of course the cast of actors, Norah Jones, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz and Natalie Portman add

projections | film events

film

HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY Aug. 1-2 @ Cinespace

BY SARAH BENNETT SURE, YOU COULD MAKE SPAGHETTI AND RENT A MOVIE, BUT that takes effort; and summer is all about relaxing, taking a load off and letting the food and movies come to you. That’s why Cinespace’s ongoing Friday and Saturday night “Dinner & a Movie” series is perfect, pairing up high-class meals and recent films for the lazy housewife in all of us. All you have to do is show up (and pay for your meal)!

From the street, Cinespace is just a staircase hidden by an excessively tall awning and guarded by what looks like a former iron maiden door, but if you make it past the front stoop, you’ll be John Cho and Kal Penn return in Harold & Kumar Escape from whisked through a Guantanamo Bay luxurious club and into the plush back theater, where Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay anxiously awaits.

That’s right. Order the crab cake appetizer and pan-seared chicken breast (or maybe a green salad) and watch as collegiate pot-smoking’s eponymous duo are caught in another zany adventure. On a flight back from – where else – Amsterdam, Kumar’s brown skin (and smokeless bong) make him a terrorist suspect and the pair end up detained at the infamous Camp X-Ray by the Department of Homeland Security.

Thanks to another Neil Patrick Harris cameo, multiple hookers and, of course, marijuana, Harold and Kumar spend an hour and a half hilariously surviving the ordeal (and living to tell about the time they smoked weed with George Dubya).

So although today’s political climate is almost scary, take a night off from CNN nightmares and make a reservation for Cinespace’s D&M. Feel free to show up a little buzzed and enjoy a romantic evening full of candlelit munchies and a light-hearted look at racial profiling.

Cinespace is located at 6356 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. For more information, visit www.cinespace.info.

Brideshead Revisited is currently in select theaters.

to the eye candy.

Unfortunately, the performances in My Blueberry Nights fall embarrassingly flat. Odd accents and flat delivery sink this otherwise gorgeous ship.

Grade: C —Angela Matano My Blueberry Nights is currently available.

Join the fun in a TV studio audience!

Your applause and laughter can be worth BIG BUCKS.

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The Mummy/ The Mummy Returns (Universal) With the upcoming third Mummy film, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Universal is re-releasing CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

«

NOWADAYS, IT’S NOT UNUSUAL for a young person of limited means to find him or herself tangled up in the exciting world of those more fortunate.

However, this wasn’t always the case in jolly old England. It is the battle of the classes and elitist social divisions that inspired writer Evelyn Waugh’s poignant study of love in Brideshead Revisited.

Brideshead stars Matthew Goode (Match Point) as Charles Ryder. Charles is a young Oxford student who befriends the troubled homosexual brother of a beautiful young socialite named Julia.

This dashing young man’s life is forever transformed by his lifelong love for Julia and his friendship with Sebastian, her sibling. But instead of being accepted into their dysfunctional fold, Charles spends years under the watchful and discriminating eye of the pair’s mother, Lady Marchmain (played by the incomparable Emma Thompson).

Jarrold, who helmed Becoming Jane and 2005’s Kinky Boots raves about Wishaw: “I’d seen him in Perfume, and I knew he was a brilliant actor.

Sebastian is a very difficult part because you can easily overplay the feminine elements of his character, and make him too ‘camp.’ But Ben is a superb actor and has a very gentle, beguiling quality which shone out early on.”

Wishaw extends his admiration to his counterpart’s sister, Julia (played

by Hayley Atwell): “I’ve just completely fallen in love with Hayley,” he says. “She has such amazing style and grace, and she’s also got an enormous soul and sensitivity, which I think is a rare and wonderful thing.

She’s also very sexy, as a person and in her performance as Julia. I think Hayley and Matthew’s part of the story will be really moving.”

For Goode, he has fallen on the radar of nerds everywhere with the impending release of the comic-toscreen adaptation of The Watchmen.

However, a large portion of his career thus far has existed in the world of the complex English drama. With Waugh’s intense prose anchoring him, he commits to Charles with true abandon, adding sensitivity to his character’s bizarre love triangle.

“When I first read the script, I found it quite hard to love Charles,” confesses Goode. “I think he can be quite selfish and weak at times. But then you look at his upbringing.

When you see he had no love from his father and no motherly influence, it gives you an understanding of this guy. He’s very messed up.”

While that may be true of his character, Goode appears the picture of actor perfection. He’s tall and striking and every bit as charming in person as the men he plays in movies – with one surprising difference: the guy is incredibly funny.

Goode is aware that he is not quite a household name now: “I’m 30 and not really in the limelight. No one really knows who I am back home.”

But after his breakthrough performance of Charles Ryder, that’s bound to change.

Campus Circle | 9

Jamie Trueblood/New Line Cinema

Nicola Dove/Courtesy of Miramax Films

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

Audiences Unlimited, Inc. 818.753.3470 x 321 tvtickets.com Fundraising opportunities for groups of 10+

10 | Campus Circle

film

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

dvd dish | reviews « CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

l.a. moves

dance performances

L.A. TAP FEST

Jason Samuels Smith brings the noise.

BY DOV RUDNICK

Eduardo Patino, courtesy of BLOCH & Divine Rhythm Productions; www.epatinophoto.com

JASON SAMUELS SMITH HAS BEEN ACCUSED of making tap dance look easy. Watching him dance you’d think he’s floating on air, wearing an expression of unconfined joy. The apparent ease of his movement belies nearly 20 years in the world of tap, a journey that began as an amusing diversion and developed into an all-consuming passion.

“Tap dance has become for me one of the greatest ways to communicate my ideas and feelings,” the Emmy winner offers. “If there is something on my mind I can express it with my feet. Or I can try, because, honestly, you don’t always get the thought out.”

Smith’s most direct influence is Savion Glover whose class he took for many years. But his inspirations are many, and he doesn’t hesitate to spout an endless list of tap legends: “Chuck Green, Jimmy Slyde, Honi Coles, Buster Brown, Dianne Walker.” His original inspiration came from watching Gregory Hines: “He was the whole package, a smooth dancer and a great personality.”

He also makes special mention of elder tap legend Dr. Bunny Briggs: “When I saw the show ‘Black and Blue’ on Broadway I was blown away. The emotion [Briggs] was able to bring, the energy and musicality, it was just magic.”

In recent years Smith, who appeared in Idlewild and “So You Think You Can Dance,” has become a spokesman for the art as a producer, performer and educator.

“Our tradition is oral,” he begins. “You can’t just read a book and know how to tap. You have to be next to a tap dancer to get a feel for what it is.

That process is very important.”

Smith is passionate about sharing the art with his students.

“It’s exciting because you’re teaching someone to use their instrument, giving them a foundation, a vocabulary, and once they have that they can be their own individual artist.”

During our conversation, he repeatedly speaks on the value of community.

“One of the reasons I got into tap was because of the people – how nice they were, how positive, how eloquently they spoke. I was really caught by the generosity of tap dancers. I try to continue in that spirit because its gotta be about more than the art. It’s gotta be about the people.”

This August will mark the sixth anniversary of the L.A. Tap festival, a week-long event which Smith helped create with his cousin Debbie Allen as a way to promote the present day vitality of the art and to bring together the tap community scattered around the city. The festival takes place at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy featuring some 90 master classes for all levels, jam sessions, cutting contests and a culminating performance.

Despite challenges over the years, Tap Fest has continued to grow, attracting some of the world’s greatest living tap dancers. The challenges have been financial and emotional. Gregory Hines, an invited guest and hugely inspirational figure in the tap world died on the first day of the inaugural festival in 2003. The festival became a tribute to him and continues to honor his memory.

“The art is about carrying on the tradition regardless of the situation,” Smith muses. “Even in hard times we pull together and continue to support each other.”

Tap dancing is no stranger to hard times.

“Sometimes it feels like we’re the kid nobody wants to play with. The dance world, the music world … no one takes us in, so we’re out there by ourselves. The challenge is to not be discouraged about the fact that there is a void of opportunity and to realize that the situation at hand is not what it will be tomorrow. You have to be an optimist. So we don’t have TV shows, movies, stage productions … we can create them. We all have to do our part to expand the awareness and appreciation of the art. We can’t just be frustrated that it isn’t happening. We got to bond together, realize our power and take advantage of it.”

For more information, visit www.latapfest.com.

the first two films in two-disc deluxe editions that are loaded with extra features.

The 1999 film rebooted the Universal classic as a sci-fi actionadventure with Brendan Fraser as a kind of Indiana Jones and Rachel Weisz as the love interest. The mummy itself is actually more of a rampaging CG monster.

Bigger but less effective, the sequel added Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson and Billy Zane to the mix and upped the CG mayhem.

All in all, it’s a fun, albeit a little soulless, series.

Grade: B/C —Mike Sebastian The Mummy/The Mummy Returns are both currently available.

The Mummy (1932) (Universal Legacy Series) Complete your Mummyfest by checking out the original 1932 classic starring horror legend Boris Karloff. Karloff is genuinely creepy and the make-up is excellent. But, be warned: it bears little resemblance to the raucous remakes.

Universal’s excellent Legacy Series treatment comes loaded with revealing featurettes, original promotional materials and commentaries by film historians.

Grade: A—Mike Sebastian The Mummy (Universal Legacy Series) (1932) is currently available.

The Ruins (Paramount) Four Americans vacationing in

pages | reviews Ar’ Back Yard (Athena Press) The mind of a teenage boy is no easy place to inhabit, but author Anwar Dharma makes it humorous with his compelling tale of a young lad growing up in one of England’s worst estates. A career criminal who spends his days sniffing glue or smoking “freshly imported skunk weed from Amsterdam,” Chopper realizes from an early age that the world is against him and articulates his scorn for authority at every opportunity.

Dharma’s prose, channeled through Chopper’s voice, is funny, dead on and full of cheekiness. His foolproof comic timing and apt descriptions will have you in stitches. “The potent fumes,” he describes of Chopper’s glue sniffing, “were making their way

Mexico set off for an archeological dig at some Mayan ruins. But, the site is abandoned and covered in a strange vine. Natives surround the ruins and won’t let them leave.

Based on the bestseller

by Scott Smith (A Simple Plan), the film version retains little of the book’s creeping dread or bleak tension, opting instead for a more typical horror formula to accommodate a quick run-time. It’s a decent horror flick in a genre full of mediocrity, but doesn’t approach Smith’s ominous work.

Grade: C —Mike Sebastian The Ruins is currently available.

Stop-Loss (Paramount/MTV) A group of soldiers suffering from posttraumatic stress returns to their small Texas town. On the day Sgt. King is supposed to get out of the Army, he’s notified he has been “stop-lossed” and is being sent back to Iraq. In a rash decision, he goes AWOL. Paint-by-numbers scenes are dragged further down by uninspired direction and annoying stylistic quirks.

The serviceable cast, made up of Ryan Phillippe, Joseph GordonLevitt and Timothy Olyphant, can’t save it. It tries to be

through my mouth and nose like a pack of hungry wolves.”

With colorful colloquial language and plenty of good ol’ British slang (there’s a glossary in the back), it’s a catchy nihilistic look at life in ’80s Britain as seen through the trials of a teenager.

Grade: A —Samantha Ofole Ar’ Back Yard is currently available.

The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming (Broadway Books) The good, the bad and the ugly fact of reading memoirs is spending a considerable amount of time

the Coming Home of Iraq but isn’t particularly convincing or engaging.

Grade: C—Mike Sebastian Stop-Loss is currently available.

Xanadu – Magical Musical Edition (Universal) Delightfully tacky and totally unrefined, the magical world of Xanadu comes gliding back into our lives like a hot blonde Greek goddess on roller skates. If ever there was a classic of sheer wacked out ballsiness in filmmaking, this is it.

There seems to have been a zero restraint policy in the making of this fantastic freak show. Starring a young Olivia Newton-John at her most spicy and the legendary Gene Kelly in what may have been his last musical, Xanadu can rightfully take its place among the most awesomely awful films.

The sheer abandon shown by the entire cast and crew is dazzling. Crazy costumes, wild dance numbers, insidiously sappy love scenes and hokey dialogue capture the dream world of SoCal beach culture in the late ’70s like no other picture.

Grade: A —Dov Rudnick Xanadu – Magical Musical Edition is currently available.

with the writer. Unlike novels, where the narrator may be more or less charming than the writer, the main character serves the overall narrative.

The Unlikely Lavender Queen, unfortunately, showcases this to offputting perfection by presenting the life and times of Jeannie Ralston, whiner extraordinaire. While her premise begins promisingly enough: city girl forced to adapt to country life and succeeds smashingly in the incredibly unlikely field of farmer, Ralston shows difficulty in stopping to the smell the lavender.

Instead, she must be dragged kicking and screaming. A little more gratitude and a little less entitlement would have served Ralston well.

Grade: B—Angela Matano The Unlikely Lavender Queen is currently available.

“ TOGETHER

AGAIN.

For Duchovny And Anderson, These Roles Are Their Own. They Still Love Each Other, And Still Believe They Would Never Work As A Couple.

Or Should I Say They Want To Believe?”

ROGER EBERT

RICHARD CORLISS

“ THE MOVIE

HAS MANIFOLD PLEASURES...

As Much For The Interplay Of Mulder and Scully – The Soulmates Who Were Afraid To Become Lovers – As For A Story That Concentrates On Human, Not Astral, Malfeasance.”

MICK LASALLE

“DAVID & GILLIAN MAKE IT

LOOK EASY.

It’s All About These Very Full And Rewarding Lead Characters. The Beauty Of Their Interplay Is That Each Recognizes The Value Of The Other’s Approach. The Emotional Details Are There.”

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caught around town | P H O T O S

inner circle

& TEXT BY ELSY BENITEZ

THE MAGICAL RAINBOW PONY SHOW July 12 @ L’KEG Gallery Eight artists and several musicians came together for the opening reception of The Magical Rainbow Pony Show. The exhibit features paintings, videos and installation work that are as interesting as they are colorful.

As soon as you enter the gallery space the color explosion creates an aesthetic that’s difficult to ignore. Upon inspection of the work on the walls it becomes clear that each artist took the theme of the show and created their own unique vision.

The eight artists are Nancy Chan, Walt Gorecki, Eri Hawkins, Chihiro Higaki, Mike Poll, Allison Smith, Paul Solis and Jasper Wong. The show is a collaboration between Los Angeles and Bay Area artists. The closing reception will be on Aug. 9 at 8 p.m. and will feature music by DJ Jim Smith, Don Hellions, Magic Johnson and comedy by Dave Sirus.

L’KEG Gallery is located at 1170 Glendale Blvd., Echo Park. For more information, visit www.lkeggallery.com.

fashion 101 | T E X T

& PHOTOS BY EMMANUELLE LEE

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW Amongst the blues and the greens search for the yellows Found in the sun and from everyday hellos.

Letting go of disappointment and the weight it carries While holding onto past dreams of Cinderellas and fairies.

Start today! Going outside is where you must begin The yellows can never be found if you’re staying in.

For more information, e-mail campuscfashion101@yahoo.com or visit www.ajmorganeyewear.com.

Melissa wears a Carol Ling dress with A.J. Morgan sunglasses.

Desiree wears a Fairy Happy T-shirt.

Jen wears an Ultra Hoodie and A.J. Morgan sunglasses.

Campus Circle | 13

Sasha wears a P.Y.T. dress.

14 | Campus Circle

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

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spin cycle | l.a. dj culture

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music

MOBILE DEATH CAMP Former GWAR Bassist Marches On

Eric Coleman

888: Peanut Butter Wolf vs. LA

Campus Circle | 15

If ever there was a week to go big in Los Angeles, this is it. Stones Throw Records’ founder Peanut Butter Wolf and world-renowned DJ Peanut Butter Wolf ups the ante from last year’s 777 tour by adding a night, and throwing some visual stimulation into the mix.

That’s right, all music video sets, each night a different genre, with no song (or video) repeated. And each club is chosen by PB Wolf, so this is pretty much a guide to his (and potentially, your) favorite L.A. spots.

No need to try and figure out where to go or what to do this week – all of the guesswork is done for you. Go to one night, or be a trooper and hit ’em all, but whatever you do: get there early.

FRIDAY, AUG. 1 Disco Videos Firecracker @ Grand Star, 943 N. Broadway, Chinatown; myspace.com/fckr 21+/9:30 p.m./$10

SATURDAY, AUG. 2 Oldies Videos Funky Sole @ Jimmy’s Lounge, 6202 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; myspace.com/funkysole 21+/9 p.m./Free

SUNDAY, AUG. 3 House Videos Do-Over @ Crane’s Tavern, 1611 El Centro Ave., Hollywood; thedoover.net 21+/2 p.m./Free/RSVP required via Web site

MONDAY, AUG. 4 Boogie Videos Funkmosphere @ Carbon, 9300 Venice Blvd., Culver City; myspace.com/funkmosphere 21+/9 p.m./Free

TUESDAY, AUG. 5 Party Rock Videos Dim Mak Tuesdays @ Cinespace, 6356 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; myspace.com/dimmaktuesdays 21+/10 p.m./$5

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 6 Reggae Videos Dub Club @ Echoplex, 1154 Glendale Blvd., Echo Park; myspace.com/dubclubla 21+/9 p.m./Free before 10 p.m., $5 after

THURSDAY, AUG. 7 Hip-Hop Videos Rootdown @ Little Temple, 4519 Santa Monica Blvd., Silver Lake; rootdownclub.com 21+/9 p.m./$5 before 10:30, $8 after

FRIDAY, AUG. 8 Movie Music Videos

BY FRANK CARULLI FOR YEARS HE WAS KNOWN AS Beefcake the Mighty, gargantuan leader of the immortal blood-spewing, traveling uproar known as GWAR. Now, he is more commonly known as T, guitarist and singer of the black swamp speed metal trio Mobile Death Camp.

“I left GWAR, and now it’s full bore!” declares T. “I’ve wanted to play thrash/speed since my last thrash band way back in ’89. So after trying out about eight or nine drummers, Killer B and I found Cracker. With him on board we put out a demo together and decided to make a real run at it.”

MDC is a vicious throwback to the true days of metal. With influences including Slayer, Black Flag, Stormtroopers of Death and Cannibal Corpse, they’ve just released their first effort, Black Swamp Rising.

“Our tunes are full of heavy riffs, shredding leads and bass backed by some thunderous drumming.” says T.“The lyrics are based on our life experiences, daily observations, TV, dreams, beliefs and nonbeliefs. It’s speed and thrash combined to make you shake your groove thing while also vying to be pit boss.”

Black Swamp Rising was recorded and produced at Karma Productions in Richmond, Va. with Corey Smoot and Dave Gibson of Mensrea.

“It was a laid back atmosphere with killer studio equipment,” says T. “Killer B is my rock and the best musician I’ve ever worked with in my career. Cracker is a wisenheimer and a bad ass speed metal drummer, so it went really smoothly.”

Black Swamp Rising features guest shredders including Devin Townsend, formerly of Strapping Young Lad and accompanying guitarist on Steve Vai’s Sex and Religion tour.

“I met Devin in 2005 on the Sounds of the

Underground Tour,” explains T. “We [GWAR] asked him at that point if he’d be interested in working on our next album and he agreed. He is an amazing talent and a genuine freak! I mean that in the BEST way possible!”

The Toledo, Ohio based MDC is currently on its own headlining tour but recently guest spotted on several larger festival sized shows including the Jägermeister Music Tour with Hatebreed and Type O Negative.

“The crowd response has been awesome,” says T. “Anyone who is not familiar with us can expect a very high output, speed metal onslaught. After the summer we’re hoping for a big tour. Something with Cannibal Corpse or 3 Inches of Blood would be great …… anybody out there listening?”

MDC will perform Aug. 3 at Knitting Factory, Hollywood. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/mobiledeathcamp.

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staff pick

music dvd | review

BUDDY GUY/GEORGE THOROGOOD

Lamb of God

Aug. 1 @ Greek Theatre I have one weakness when it comes to music. Whenever a song includes slide guitar, I’m hooked. So, you better believe I’ll be at the Greek for this incredible night of blues-rock.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Buddy Guy was the highlight of the Rolling Stones/Martin Scorsese IMAX documentary, Shine A Light. And if Eric Clapton referred to him as “the best guitar player alive,” you better believe it.

Along with “Bad to the Bone” George Thorogood & the Destroyers, this will be one night of complete and utter guitar-gasm.

—Yuri Shimoda

Walk with Me in Hell (Epic) Here’s an opportunity to really see how Lamb of God got to be one of the most in-demand metal acts today. Walk with Me in Hell is not only the title of this two-DVD set; it’s also the title of an in-depth documentary that follows the band as they tour behind their Sacrament album.

It includes lots of fun footage like the band bungee jumping in New Zealand, touring the Grand Canyon and shooting watermelons out in the desert. But there’s also serious stuff like singer Randy Blythe getting

his toe sewn up after an accident with a knife.

The real enlightenment comes in the form of commentary from band members as they open up about the rigors and rewards of being in a rock band that finally makes it big.

A second documentary shows the band as they write and record the Sacrament album, and there’s also a full concert performance. Recorded at the Download Festival in 2007, the live set features thundering versions of eight tunes, including “Pathetic,”“Again We Rise,”“Laid to Rest” and “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For.” Grade: A —Kevin Wierzbicki Walk with Me in Hell is currently available.

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

music

cd reviews MAKING THE GRADE: A EXCEPTIONAL B WORTHWH I LE | C MEDIOCRE D SAVE YOUR MONEY F WILL BE ON HELL’S JUKEBOX

Anthem In Self-Titled (Quiet Loud) I think mediocrity is harder to deal with than when something is straight up despicable. If you don’t love it and you don’t loathe it, well … what is there to talk about? I’m waiting for the words “meh” and “blah” to be added to the dictionary so that I can use the blasé sounds of indifference to describe how I feel about Anthem In’s new self-titled release.

Allen Or’s airy vocals float lazily across a wall of guitar laden sound on an album that lacks memorable songs and meaningful lyrics. After repeated spins, the only track that hasn’t granted me total song-amnesia on this release is the album’s opener “Down,” after which it’s a bland and lackluster journey downhill.

Grade: C —Natasha Desianto Anthem In is currently available.

The Black Watch Icing the Snow Queen (Eskimo) John Fredrick has steered Los Angeles art-pop ensemble the Black Watch for two decades and 13 albums, which means Fredrick could probably construct finely riffing pop music in his sleep. Unfortunately, on his latest studio sojourn, Icing the Snow Queen, Fredrick has, doubtlessly unconsciously, crafted material that will leave some listeners somnambulant.

Fredrick’s literary background and pop/rock smarts help start the CD nimbly on the C.S. Lewisinspired dream-pop title track and “Jenny Holly Wally Martin.” Other songs don’t fare so well. Both mid-tempo “Oh Death, Death, Death” and

AMOEBA

music 101 | artist feature

BESTSELLERS

6400 SUNSET BLVD. (323) 245-6400

NOMO

Creating Their Style by Defying Expectation B Y R I C H A R D C A S TA Ñ E D A NOMO’S UNDENIABLE APPEAL and intrigue stem not only from casual associations to the great Afrobeat master Fela Kuti, but also from their own skill, talent and, more than anything, originality. In a world polluted with generic, overcommercialized, radio-friendly bands, Nomo emerges – a band that owes nothing to its fan base other than amazing tunes and innovation. Greek gods couldn’t fathom such perfection, yet we are blessed with this band.

Nomo is Elliot Bergman’s brainchild. Bergman’s unique vision, from its humble beginnings in Ann Arbor, Mich. to its artistic fruition in the present, remains a testament to the fact that true art is not yet dead.

Many epic bands of our time have extraordinary explanations of how they formed through chance encounters and random applications through classi-

fieds. Not Nomo though. It all began on a dare.

Legendary producer and His Name Is Alive cohort Warn DeFever one day dared Bergman to get as many musicians together in one room to record a one-off project. No one knew then that this would be the genesis of great things to come.

It spurred Bergman’s inspiration to continue this unique vision into a fullblown band. Nomo would eventually release the now-out-of-print Nomo EP, which later led to the self-titled debut.

Around the same time, Nomo found a home at Ubiquity Records and laid down the masterpiece New Tones.

The album became the platform from which Nomo would launch their career and expose their unique take on the Afrobeat genre. No stranger to comparisons to Fela Kuti, Nomo carried on.

KILLER MIKE Stop Faking the Funk

BY J. POAKWA AFTER AN EARLY CAREER FULL of success and heartache, from Grammy Awards to rockin’ tracks with Jay-Z to fall-outs with friends, Killer Mike – the “Mic Killa” – is back on his grind in a real way. At the helm of his label, Grind Time Official, Mike has the freedom to do as he feels creatively not only for himself, but for the new generation of music.

“I like giving young people the opportunity because, honestly, nobody gave me the opportunity except Big and Dre [of OutKast],” says Mike.

“So I wanna be an opportunity or advantage for as many young people as I can, because none of them other

n***as in Atlanta gonna give them the opportunity.”

However, with power comes responsibility, and Mike is taking it upon himself to lead as an example.

Directing the charge against fakeness in the industry, Killer Mike has released two singles from his new album, I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II. His first single, “2 Sides,” featuring Shawty Lo, addresses the emergence of fake “West Side” Atlanta rappers.

“I ain’t really goin’ in on a n***a yet, but I’m definitely letting them know that there’s a line drawn.”

“Après Lisette” offer unobtrusively atmospheric rock/pop, but like much of the 11 cuts, they don’t carry the proceedings forward to any marked degree.

Grade: C —Doug Simpson Icing the Snow Queen is currently available.

“We get that a lot,” states Bergman.

“It was the blueprint of the band in the beginning.”

Although Bergman doesn’t resent people name dropping Kuti in association with Nomo, he does find it limiting.

“We get that a lot as an Afrobeat band,” explains Bergman, “but I feel that with each record, we move further away from it.”

Every good tree pays homage to its roots and that’s exactly what Bergman strives to do. He yearns to create an identity for Nomo so unique that comparisons to it would only trivialize its mission: a band so unique it defies classification.

It’s human nature to classify and organize things into groups and subdivisions, but put on New Tones or their recent, one might say, magnum opus, Ghost Rock, and trying to classify or compare it to anything else on the musical map nowadays is next to impossible.

Songs like “My Dear,”“Ghost Rock” or “All the Stars” send you on a voyage

The discipline doesn’t end there. The politically charged second single, “Pressure,” featuring Ice Cube pulls no punches.

“I don’t fear no man/Not Bush, Not Clinton, Not Osama/Ask ya Uncle Thomas how he choose Master over Obama.”

With the very powerful and controversial street video making its way around the Internet, as well as the recent release of the “Insert Fuck Boy name here” freestyle over Lil’ Wayne’s Bangladesh-produced “A Millie,” the Atlanta representative, West Side to be exact, is leaving no room for the skeptics’ imaginations to roam.

With few major guest appearances, Mike’s powerful wordplay and bangin’ beats that kick the listener in the head from start to finish, I Pledge

Buddahead Ashes (Fear of Cheese) Buddahead’s frontman, Raman Kia, is a native of Iran who as a young boy fled that country and the violence of its Islamic Revolution. Certainly many years have passed since then, so don’t expect songs like “Ruin” to be

1) Beck — Modern Guilt 2) Nas — Self-Titled 3) Melvins — Nude with Boots 4) Coldplay — Viva La Vida 5) The Hold Steady — Stay Positive 6) Sigur Rós — Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust 7) Ratatat — LP3 8) Immortal Technique — The 3rd World 9) Lil Wayne — Tha Carter III 10) Fleet Foxes — Self-Titled 11) MGMT — Oracular Spectacular 12) Wire — Object 47 13) My Morning Jacket — Evil Urges 14) Portishead — Third 15) Soundtrack — The Dark Knight 16) Jean Grae — Jeanius 17) Flight of the Conchords — Self-Titled 18) Dennis Wilson — Pacific Ocean Blue 19) Soundtrack — Mamma Mia! 20) Bonnie Prince Billy — Lie Down in the Light

through a melodic paradise. In fact, it’s recommended you listen to Ghost Rock under a blanket of stars to truly understand its concept and beauty.

Escape the city, sit under the stars and pop in Ghost Rock. You’ll find satisfaction only if you open your mind enough to envelop it. Its instrumental nature might be off-putting to some, but if you favor music that isn’t bound to lyrics and give the loose, raw and unpredictable notes the chance to overcome your ears, you’ll uncover a treasure most leprechauns would envy the opportunity to protect.

Ghost Rock is currently available. Nomo will perform Aug. 3 at Spaceland, Silver Lake. For more information, visit www.nomomusic.com.

Allegiance to the Grind II stands as one of the best albums to grace hiphop in a while. Oh yes, it’s time to take out the trash, folks.

I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II is currently available. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/grindtimeonline.

about ruthless regimentation; it’s about a faltering love relationship.

“Sour Grapes” is equally emotional but much more powerful in its delivery; Kia sounds more sincere when he forgoes the shaky high notes and here his regular singing voice is fraught with CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

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16 | Campus Circle

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

B Y R I C H A R D C A S TA Ñ E D A

AMOEBA TOP 10 6400 SUNSET BLVD. (323) 245-6400 1) Karen Dalton — Green Rocky Road 2) Giant Panda — Speakers Pop 3) C.R.A.C. — Buy Me Lunch 4) Sexto Sentido — Mi Feeling 5) Or the Whale — Light Poles & Pines 6) Psycho Realm — War Story Book 2 7) Slackers — Boss Harmony Sessions 8) Goddamn Gallows — Gutterbilly Blues 9) Jail Weddings — Somebody Lonely 10) Malo — Dos

INSTINCT OF AGGRESSION Beyond All Control WHETHER THE POWERS-THAT-BE crafted the current incarnation of Hollywood’s own Instinct of Aggression with hands of fate or coincidence, one thing remains certain: Chemistry like theirs cannot be easily found or replicated.

Comprised of lead singer Carl Bensley, guitarists Tony Santi and Colin Reed, bassist Jon Becchina and drummer Phil Gonyea, Instinct of Aggression has overcome many hurdles to stand proudly where they’re at.

In the summer of 2005, Reed met Santi and Bensley at a random bus stop in Los Angeles. The three struck up conversation and within weeks began writing songs together.

Equipped with a singer and two guitarists, Santi, Reed and Bensley went in search of the remaining appendages to build their monster: Instinct of Aggression.

The search for an adequate drummer left the band unable to play live shows for roughly a year. Gonyea responded through an online ad for the gig and won the job.

Three bassists later, the band found Becchina through a friend. The rest, as the cliché goes, is history.

The first shows were rough. Their sets would begin when venue staffs were still getting ready to let people inside. The group’s reputation as a furious live band began to pick up steam.

Their first headlining gig at the Keyclub led to more headlining gigs across the Sunset Strip and as far as San Diego, Santa Barbara and New York. After top billing just a few shows, they caught the attention of legendary guitarist and producer Mickey Doling.

The former guitarist of such notable bands as Snot, Soulfly and currently Invitro asked the quintet if he could

frequency | essential concerts | B Y Paramore/Jack’s Mannequin July 30 @ Pacific Amphitheatre You readers have surely been beaten to death with my unashamed love of Paramore by now, and surely there’s not much more to say that I, or others, haven’t already said. My favorite Tennessee natives have been working tirelessly these last many months on honing their musical skills, and they are without a doubt always worth the price of admission because of that commitment.

Jack’s Mannequin, on the other hand, haven’t seen quite as much Frequency love as our headlining act here, but I assure you it wasn’t for a lack of talent on their part. Pretty much anything Jack’s frontman Andrew McMahon has a hand in will tug at your heartstrings in the most endearing of ways, with the solid

Chromeo July 30 @ Henry Fonda Theater Let me just start out by saying that upon first listen, Chromeo was not at all how I had envisioned them to be based on all the buzz I had picked up on in passing beforehand. I think I half expected them to take themselves too seriously, half expected them to be novelty joke, maybe even both at the same time, but lo and behold the hype has once again proven itself an unreliable and untrustworthy source.

While being fun and playful, the boys of Chromeo bring a skillful hand to the production of their infectiously dance-able tracks.

Conor Oberst Aug. 5 @ The Troubadour

“We give our best performance whether we’re playing for two people or 1,000,” states Reed.

It’s not uncommon to drive through the Sunset Strip on a random night and see their name on a marquee. They have headlined numerous gigs at the Roxy, Whisky, Keyclub and Knitting Factory, just to name a few.

Although the local audiences have been great to them, they’re ready to expand their boundaries.

Instinct of Aggression is currently working on setting up an East Coast tour later this summer to give the other coast a taste of bonafide West Coast metal.

It’s their hope that through their music, the Hollywood music scene won’t just be known for producing the glam metal scene of the ’80s and dime-a-dozen pop bands.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/instinctofaggression.

B R I E N O V E R LY Slightly more forceful and intrusive than Andrew McMahon with his ability to claw into the innermost depths of your soul via his lyrics, Conor Oberst is just a pro at this whole music thing.

Joe Bonamassa

Steel Train/ The Hush Sound

Joe Bonamassa

Aug. 5 @ El Rey While their sounds and styles are pretty different, there’s just something that fits together about Jersey natives Steel Train and the Illinois-bred Hush Sound. While the Hush Sound leans just to the right of pop with the delicate melodies of frontwoman Greta Salpeter, Steel Train is slightly left of classic rock, bringing a distinct jam band vibe to the stage, but both bands bring it together with a shared attention to craftsmanship and a very indie credibility.

Aug. 5 @ Henry Fonda Theater Normally I’m not the kind to put a straight-up blues solo musician in here, just because, like shitty pre-teen emo bands with awful hair, blues guitarists jamming behind black Ray Bans in a cloud of usually cigarette smoke are a dime a dozen novelty. But this one’s actually legit enough to counter even my jaded cynicism.

Soulful like the great blues icons while still being contemporary, Bonamassa hasn’t been called the best guitarist of his generation without good reason.

Chromeo Fancier Footwork: Deluxe Edition (Vice) Chromeo’s critically acclaimed album Fancy Footwork just got a lot fancier. The Deluxe Edition of the album, entitled Fancier Footwork, incorporates the original album, videos, greatest hits and a slew of

remixes into two sensory overloading discs of uncompromising fun.

Disc one is the original synthdriven ’80s throwback, rebuffed with all of their videos including “Tenderoni,”“Bonified Lovin” and the title track “Fancy Footwork.” Disc two CONTINUED

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drama. “Rescue Us” is a slow tearjerker set to acoustic guitar that when performed in concert will no doubt be a favorite sway-and-cuddle moment for couples, while “If I Tried” sounds like the band’s best bet to get radio airplay.

Grade: B —Kevin Wierzbicki Ashes is currently available.

musicianship to make the songs as worthwhile as his words.

produce their debut album.

Needless to say, they accepted the offer. It’s taken three years to complete their debut, Beyond All Control, but it’s been a worthwhile ride.

“Every time I listen to a new mix, I get butterflies,” states Becchina, “I really dig this album.”

Given the current state of the music industry, Instinct is in no rush to sign a label contract.

“Record labels don’t know how to sell records anymore,” says Becchina, “so why rush it?”

Label or no label, they’re ready to unleash Beyond All Control on iTunes and at every tour shop.

“We consider ourselves a live band,” Gonyea states. “We’re trying to capture that energy on our debut album.”

It’s their unquestionable confidence and in-your-face attitude that’s made this quintet one of the most talked about heavy metal bands to come out of Hollywood in a long time.

music

Independent Local Artist Releases

starts off with a few of their greatest hits like “Needy Girl” and the DJ Mehdi collaboration “I Am Somebody,” then switches over to remix mode.

MSTRKRFT, Crookers, DFA and Yuksek all took part in the “refancification” of Chromeo tracks, and did a phenomenal job at that, but no one did it better than Laidback Luke with his ground shaking, siren blazing remix of “Fancy Footwork.”

Grade: A —Ryan McWhorter Fancier Footwork: Deluxe Edition is currently available.

Everlast Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford (Martyr Inc./Hickory/SonyATV) Everlast returns with a strong album filled with equally strong commentary. “Kill the Emperor” is a very thinly veiled rant against the Bush administration that cites a litany of bad decisions and failures: wars, the struggle for oil, the government’s reaction to hurricane Katrina and even a mention of the Asian tsunami thrown in for good measure.

As usual, Everlast demonstrates his talents beyond rap; a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” is a fun side trip into electric-cowboy land complete with a synthesized horse whinny, while “Anyone” is a slow tearjerker that makes the huskyvoiced singer sound extremely vulnerable.

Lots of variety here over the course of 16 tracks, including “Letters Home from the Garden of Stone,” a soldier’s eye view of the Iraq war that’s generating a bit of controversy.

Grade: B —Kevin Wierzbicki Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford is currently available.

Katy Perry One of the Boys (Capitol) Katy Perry’s One of the Boys is my guilty pleasure this summer. Pop music has taken CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

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l.a. underground |

Campus Circle | 17

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

nothing has really been the same.

His stage presence was top notch as always, but his new backing band was often trying to keep up. Guitarist Mitchell Marlow seemed to be falling asleep during the slower numbers like “Cancer” and their seminal hit “Take a Picture.”

It seemed more like a Title of Record release party than anything with all the songs played from it. I loved that, but I wished the band could have been more into it. Even John 5’s random appearance and contribution to “The Take” couldn’t save the seemingly lackluster performance for a comeback band.

—Richard Castañeda

China Bialos

UPCOMING IN-STORES at AMOEBA!

live show reviews

All shows are FREE and ALL AGES! For full calendar of events visit: AMOEBA.COM

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The first Saturday of every month, Amoeba has a good time and raises money for great causes!

IkdZWo 7k]kij ) (fc

NOMO

Their new CD Ghost Rock is out now on Ubiquity.

“This Detroit-area Afrobeat band makes huge strides on its second album... The funky music of Fela Kuti remains NOMO’s bedrock, but the octet now carefully integrates soul riffs, jazz-flavored solos, and more instruments” — Chicago Reader Playing live at Spaceland later that night!

CedZWo 7k]kij* ,fc WEBCAST LIVE ON AMOEBA.COM

CONOR OBERST

Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) celebrates his new self-titled CD with the Mystic Valley Band in a live performance at Amoeba!

The new album was recorded in Mexico and has an upbeat, jangly vibe while touching on mysticism, the open call of the road and our collective mortality.

Playing live at the Troubadour, August 3rd.

J^khiZWo 7k]kij- -fc

DR. DOG

Join us for s special acoustic set at Amoeba!

Their new album, Fate (out now on Park the Van Records) sees Dr. Dog filtering the gamut of American popular music into its own brand of blue-eyed, dilated-pupil soul.

Playing live at the El Rey on Friday, August 8th!

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FLYING LOTUS

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AMOEBA.COM

Rockstar Mayhem Festival July 13 @ Glen Helen Pavilion From pounding drums to ear-shattering guitars, the grounds at Glen Helen were consumed with brutality of the highest caliber.

Since Ozzfest is doing just a single show this year, a vacancy in touring summer metal festivals has opened up for something leaner and meaner … a line-up with groundbreaking acts like Suicide Silence and Walls of Jericho on the smaller stages. As the clouds of dirt rose from the pit, the bandanas came out and excitement just kept building to the event’s main attraction: Slipknot.

After two years of writing and taking time off, the eight boys from Iowa were ready to bring metal back to the mainstream. From song to song, the tight-knit groove of a band ready to take the reigns of the metal world made you feel like you got your ass kicked for 90 minutes and loved every moment of it.

—David Tobin

Matmos July 13 @ The Echoplex Wobbly played before Matmos, and it made me question my taste in music. Not in

King Khan and the Shrines July 10 @ The Echo So. Everyone’s dancing, close and cuddly, and then Khan throws on his gold cape, gets his cobra-headed staff in hand and starts laughing wickedly like an Indian Lord Sutch. He walks up to his organ player, who could be Chris Kattan but is Freddy Rococo, and when he strokes Rococo with his cobra (in the G-rated sense, thanks), all he gets in return is a mouthed “I love you.” Or maybe it’s “olive juice.”

At that moment, if you’d turned toward the brass trio on stage, you’d have noticed sax player Ben Ra looking like he was going to vomit any minute. He didn’t.

King Khan might just be the leader of the best live band in the world. Go-go dancer Bamboorella worked the pom-poms all night, and the Shrines beautifully covered David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” and the Saints’ “Know Your Product.”

Khan made miserable bastards of us by preceding “Welfare Bread” with the story of how he and his wife had been on welfare for four years, so a few pretended that they too were on welfare, perhaps in sympathy, and we all doo-wopped along for a couple of minutes.

Then the Shrines went back to tearing up some horns per usual.

—China Bialos

A.J. Grier

CHARITYAUCTION

Slipknot’s aural brutality was felt at Rockstar Mayhem.

King Khan and Bamboorella dance and doo-wop.

You just have to see Matmos for yourself.

my appreciation of one style over another but rather what I consider to be music.

Throughout the performance it seemed that rhythm was avoided and any beat that did occur was an accident and didn’t last very long.

I found Matmos a lot more enjoyable.

Their show started with an instrument that was played/triggered by flashlights they used as they crossed the audience to get to the stage. I know, you kinda have to see it to really understand it.

Once onstage, they engaged the audience both in conversation and music, comfortably.

N.E.R.D.’s Pharrell got the HARD crowd moving.

Supreme Beings of Leisure July 10 @ Viper Room Supreme Beings of Leisure is a band some people have heard, but may not have known it was them. With songs frequently used in commercials, movies, TV shows and even video games, this L.A. trip-hop band with chilled out sonic grooves may not be a household name yet, even though they’re frequently heard in households everywhere.

SBL brought their funk home to a packed Viper Room with songs from their first album in five years, 11i, as well as some older tunes.

With their trademark soulfully lush arrangements, SBL’s Geri Soriano-Lightwood and Ramin Sakurai whispered, swayed and sang about the finer things in life, as well as the heartaches that come along with them – something everyone could relate to.

—Emmanuelle Lee

Filter July 12 @ The Roxy Chemistry is everything. Sure, they belted out all the hits and made the crowd yearn for more after the expected encore. Something was missing, though. After mainman Richard Patrick fired Geno Lenardo and Matt Walker,

HARD Summer Music Festival

Rich Castaneda

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David Tobin

music

Ryan McWhorter

18 | Campus Circle

Richard Patrick of Filter was top notch.

They also provided video accompaniment with every song ranging from patterns of black dots moving in rhythm to a looped segment from an ’80s porn video featuring a man in a hot tub by himself. Basically, it all falls in the category of “you have to see it for yourself.”

—A.J. Grier

Aug. 19 @ Shrine Expo Center The line-up for HARD was pretty impressive: MSTRKRFT, Steve Aoki, Bloody Beetroots, Spank Rock. It was held on two stages at the Shrine, and the partying lasted past 4 a.m.

But the most exciting part of the night happened when N.E.R.D. took the stage.

Pharrell, Chad and Shay got on around 1 a.m. to give the over-excited crowd exactly what they wanted: some good dance music.

Pharrell had the crowd following his every command. He said get low, we got low. He said wave your arms, so we waved them. Pharrell is as good as a frontman as you can ask for.

Toward the end of the set about a dozen girls rushed the stage, half of them gathered around Pharrell, dry humping him, trying to rip his clothes off. I don’t know how N.E.R.D. continue to flawlessly blur the lines between genres and bridge the gap between obscurity and popularity, but they get my vote for best new band of the Millennium. Oh yeah ... and MSTRKRFT was good, too.

—Keyvon Pierre

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

inner circle

sports | B Y

M AT T H E W K I T C H E N

July 31, running through Aug. 3. ESPN also plans to air 14 hours of coverage on all of their affiliates as well as on ESPN360.com.

While all fan favorites from the original X Games Shaun White put in a gold medal performance in last year’s will be on display, as well as Men’s Skateboard Vert final of X Games. the recent addition of Rally the popular skateboard street Car racing, the X Games have always competition, and women’s Motocross, been about improving the experience which many of the female for both the fan and the athlete. This competitors, including 17- year-old year, the X Games will add a professional rider Ashley Fiolek, see as transition-focused discipline for both an excellent chance to further the skateboarding and BMX called demographic for women’s action SuperPark. sports.

SuperPark will blend a variety of Adds Fiolek on her sponsor different terrains and obstacles into a Oakley’s Web site, “This is a huge step single seamless course. The idea is to forward in women’s professional highlight the all-around abilities of motocross. I feel honored to be asked some of the best skaters and BMX to participate in the X Games and I am riders in the world. looking forward to a great race.”

“We are constantly striving to Though some have feared that the present new sports and disciplines at over-saturation of the X Games the X Games that accurately reflect the biannual schedule had begun to state of action sports and participants,” damage the sport, the X Games and states Chris Stiepock, X Games their sponsors hope that the evolution General Manager in a press release on of different sports, as well as the EXPN.com. “The proliferation of athletes continuing to challenge public skate parks has fostered new themselves and the boundaries of their athletes who excel on large park sports, will keep people coming back features, leading us to develop the for many years. While action sports SuperPark discipline.” have yet to find their place amongst the Though SuperPark will likely be “Big Four,” it’s clear that there still one of the more popular events of the exists an audience and a voice that week, this year marks the first time that enjoys seeing what people can do with the X Games will not have a stand a big hill and a small piece of wood. alone vert ramp.

Also being added to the field this For more information, visit year will be BMX Street, which will www.expn.go.com. follow much of the same template as

cd reviews « CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 itself far too seriously for far too long, and Perry’s quirky new release has plenty of what should be pop nonos but are somehow so right.

It’s got her hits, the metro-sexual ex write-off “Ur So Gay” and the risqué (for the daughter of a preacher) “I Kissed a Girl,” but there are plenty more equally catchy and smartly comical numbers to choose from, including the title song “One of the Boys” in which she confesses “I strap these suckers down ’cause they get in my way” as she breaks free of tomboy status to woo her sweetheart.

“Waking Up in Vegas” is a campy tale of the aftermath of drunken antics in the city of sin that could have been a total cliché if not so well executed.

“Self-inflicted” is the last of the must-haves on the recording, but

music

Timmy Curran Flips for Word of Mouth

Eric Lars Bakke/ESPN Images/Shazamm

IN THE EARLY AND MID-’90S, A major movement began taking place in American sports. While people sat at home, angry at the baseball strike and bored by the lack of top tier talent (read: Michael Jordan) in the NBA, distinct and radically new sports began capitalizing on the youth and their need for change in their parents’ sports world.

Though mixed martial arts and all it’s ensuing legal battles were at the forefront of this movement, extreme or action sports like skateboarding, BMX, motocross and surfing took advantage of adolescents addicted to the thrill of seeing something they had never witnessed before.

When the “Extreme Games” first debuted in the summer of 1995, teenagers everywhere were glued to their TVs as ESPN dared to air skateboarders and BMX racers pulling dangerous tricks and stunts while asking their audience not to try the same. In the process, they helped to breed the next generation of sports fans and athletes.

The last 13 years have seen the now “X Games” evolve from the unknown, to the obscure, and finally to the culturally relevant. With athletes like Shaun White and Travis Pastrana becoming household names, the X Games have quickly become one of the premiere sporting events being showcased around the world each year.

This year’s X Games 14 will kick off at the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles and the Home Depot Center in Carson on

music report

BY KEVIN WIERZBICKI

X GAMES 14 Newly Added: SuperPark and BMX Street

Campus Circle | 19

Songwriting in the Mountains A two-day songwriting seminar including a songwriting competition is being held Aug. 22 and 23 at the Wolf Creek Resort in Eden, Utah. On hand will be several Nashville-based record business honchos as well as Grammy Award winners Kim Williams and Doug Johnson. Amanda Williams will be in attendance, too; she’s written hits for country artists George Jones and Garth Brooks.

The contest winner will have their song shopped to labels and will also be invited to participate in a Nashville demo session in front of three high-level industry professionals. Contestants do not have to be present at the seminar to win.

Details and an online registration form can be found at www.wolfcreekutah.com/register-songwriter.html. Deadline for submitting entries is Aug. 15.

DiNG! You certainly don’t want a ding on your car but a DiNG on your cell phone is not a bad thing. In fact it’s pretty cool!

DiNGs are custom-fitted device-specific decals that you can apply to your cell phone, mp3 player, laptop, gaming system or controller. The decals feature artwork, logos and such from a wide variety of artists including Linkin Park, No Doubt, Slipknot, Fall Out Boy, Nine Inch Nails, Rise Against, H2O, Blink 182, Underoath and Taking Back Sunday.

The decals are easily applied and leave no adhesive residue when they’re removed. The accessories are priced $15.99 to $39.99 and are available at www.dinglife.com.

Is There Something I Can Do?

thankfully we’re in the mp3 age where you can truly take what you want and leave the rest.

Grade: B+ —Natasha Desianto One of the Boys is currently available.

Tiesto In Search of Sunrise, Vol. 7: Asia (Black Hole/Songbird) In the latest installment of his In Search of Sunrise series, Tiësto brings to life the tranquil and vibrant energies of Asia, recorded and mixed over three days in Thailand.

The first disc showcases his calmer side with slower, mesmerizing beats (“Get Lifted,” “Yohkoh”). The second disc is more upbeat and delivers what Tiësto fans know and love: fast beats that you

Professional surfer Timmy Curran, known for his flawless execution of the aerial maneuver called “The Flip,” has turned his career on its head, too. Curran can now add “singer-songwriter” to his already impressive resumé as Adeline Records has just released his musical debut, Word of Mouth.

Currently on hiatus from competitive surfing, Curran admits his newfound talent didn’t develop easily: “From 16 to 27 I wrote all these songs and tried to sing them, but I was horrible.” But during a weather delay at a surfing contest in Brazil, Curran had 10 days to sit and write songs, and that’s when things started to work out.

“I showed my wife and my brothers, and they enjoyed it,” says Curran. “It was a surprise and a blessing to sing a song that didn’t turn people away!”

Since then, Curran has toured with the Foo Fighters, Eisley and Switchfoot, and he has also shot a video for Word of Mouth’s first single, “Blue Eyes.”

can’t help but dance to (“Kenta,” “Rush”).

Although the production might seem rushed, the finished product sounds anything but. In fact, it can even be argued that the album benefits from its spontaneity.

Grade: A —Richard Castañeda In Search of Sunrise, Vol. 7: Asia is currently available.

There sure is! IsThereSomethingICanDo.com is a social action portal and resource Web site designed to help those who want to get involved in the movement for positive change in the world.

The site features information about organizations such as Global Giving, Youth Noise, Volunteer Match and region-specific information like news about California’s upcoming (Oct. 4) A Day of Rest, a day to fight air pollution by not driving. Composer and philanthropist Peter Buffett and singer Akon founded the site.

Buffett is until now best known for his contribution to the score of the film Dances with Wolves, and Akon is known for having sold over eight million copies of his albums Trouble and Konvicted. Akon also helped Buffett out with his new album, Imaginary Kingdom, which is due Sept. 9 from BeSide Records.

Eye Alaska EP Redo Orange County band Eye Alaska has re-recorded the EP that they released earlier this year. Yellow & Elephant now features spiffed-up new versions of the five songs it originally contained along with one totally new cut, “Cheetah and the Tiger.” Yellow & Elephant is available now on disc from Fearless Records and as a download at iTunes.

20 | Campus Circle

inner circle

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

lifestyle | B Y

LAUREN ROSENBLUM system, two computers, a high frequency radio, a satellite phone and a stereo system.

“The hardest thing was saying goodbye to my friends and family whom I’ve seen every day of my life,” Sunderland says. “I don’t even think I’ve been alone for a whole day, let alone an entire year.”

But with Sunderland’s boat suped up with the latest technology, he says he hasn’t felt too lonely. He befriended a father and son at sea and set up a single side band radio net with them so they could regularly check in on each other.

Sunderland has also been talking to his family over the phone and corresponding with friends and media through e-mail. And yes, he’s bringing his homework with him.

Sunderland had a slow start learning the unpredictable ways of the water and developing a routine for himself. He spends many sleepless nights plotting routes, studying weather charts and cleaning the Intrepid while waves ruthlessly crash against his boat. And booby birds, which Sunderland calls “the dumbest birds known to mankind,” have recently been giving him a run for his money.

But after his first month alone, Sunderland made his first stop in

SAILING THE DREAM HE TRADED IN HIS FOOTBALL pads for a life vest; his driver’s license for a boating license; and his junior year of a high school for the adventure of a lifetime. Zac Sunderland, a Thousand Oaks teenager, departed Marina del Rey on June 14 hoping to become the youngest sailor to solocircumnavigate the globe.

He was not yet old enough to drive a car alone when 16-year-old Sunderland waved goodbye to a 200plus crowd of supporters as he set sail and faced the open waters.

“Football season was over, and I was looking for something else to do,” Sunderland says. “I’ve always had this goal to go out and do something amazing on the ocean. That’s my background, so I decided to try to make it happen.”

Sunderland comes from a sailing family. His father is a British-trained shipwright and manages yachts. The family, which includes seven children, spent three years cruising through

Lisa Gizara

A local 16-year-old hopes to break the world record.

Zac Sunderland set sail June 14.

Mexico when Zac was only 10. He was home schooled throughout his childhood, and the ocean was his playground.

Sunderland purchased his boat, the Intrepid, a 35-footer with $6,500 he had saved since he was little. But with the help of his family and some sponsors, he’s spent more rigging it with sophisticated equipment, including a state-of-the-art navigation

IT’S OK TO PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD (actually, we encourage it)

Honolulu on July 11. Greeted by family, press and plenty of fans, he docked his boat and spent a few days recuperating and restocking the Intrepid.

Before he got too comfortable, Sunderland kissed his parents goodbye and continued his journey.

He plans to make over a dozen stops as he makes his way around the world.

Sunderland intends to write a book while he’s on his trip and record footage for a potential documentary upon his return. He’s far-sighted and mature enough to acknowledge this adventure could set him up for a career in sailing. In fact, he has already met with recruits from Harvard and Yale who are eager for Sunderland to

break the record and eventually head off to college.

Sunderland will be at sea for as long as 18 months. He will study on board and finish his junior year of high school all while circling the globe. All he has to do now is stay on course for the next 40,000 miles to complete the journey. And to return as the youngest person ever to do so, he needs to get back by January 2010.

“If there’s anything I want to teach people it’s that you can’t just dream your whole life,” Sunderland says.

“You just have to go for it – press hard and see if you can make it happen.”

For more information, visit www.zacsunderland.com.

site pick

event pick

STEREOGUM.COM

About the Nothing Men

Like a snarky best friend, Stereogum.com is the prime Web destination for rock ’n’ roll gossip and breaking Britney news. Despite its trashy celeb obsession and often-goofy tone, the music is no joke. Stereogum picks next-hot-bands with uncanny accuracy. Count on the site to point you toward the latest indie-rock crushes, fun covers and pre-release singles.

—Lauren Rosenblum

Aug. 6 @ Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall, USC The USC School of Cinematic Arts and RED Digital Cinema invite you to view one of the world’s first feature-length films shot entirely on the RED One camera. Free and open to USC students, faculty, staff and alumni. Q&A to follow.

Reservations required at cinema.usc.edu. 7 p.m.

—Jessica Koslow

on the menu | a taste of l.a.

sugarFISH 4722 1/4 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey

BY ERICA CARTER

You choose your meats, grab some tongs then start BBQ’ing!

Not to worry, thanks to our state of the art smokeless grills, you won’t smell like you’ve been sitting around a campfire.

323 549 0760 5115 wilshire blvd los angeles, ca 90036

STUDENTS ON THE WESTSIDE HAVE A pretty big range of sushi joints they can visit when they’re in the mood. But how many places can proudly claim they’re derived from one of the top sushi restaurants in the city?

So far, only sugarFish holds the title, coming straight from the famed Nozawa family. sugarFish by sushiNozawa stays true to omakase, or “trust the chef” philosophy, and offers a no-frills, strictly high quality seafood experience. The fish is centrally shipped from the South Pacific, Japan and stateside where it’s cut according to Chef Nozawa’s strict standards.

One of the first things you’ll notice as you step through the doors is the vibrant and stylish décor, teal and white walls, West Elm-style chairs and artsy light fixtures. The welcoming and

positive vibe definitely sets the tone for the experience.

You can choose to sit at the “sushi bar,” but keep in mind that there are no sushi chefs in front of you. It’s not a big loss once you see the fresh, precisely cut fish that you’re served after you pick from one of the three “Trust Me” selections. Every day the menus vary according to the best available selection from the sea.

In early July the menu consisted of tuna sashimi, toro and salmon with sesame rolls. They also offer yellowtail, albacore and rare daily specials when available.

A unique twist to the ordering process is that the prices, which range from $19.50 to $38.50, are tax and tip inclusive. There’s an additional à la carte menu if you require even more pieces.

For more information, call (310) 306-6300.

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

Dear Lucia, I have a male friend whom I quarreled with a few months ago. He works in the Catholic Church.

We exchanged bitter words because he doesn’t want me to join the organization in the church that he is in charge of. From that time on I haven’t gone to church, and we have not seen each other.

We are not lovers, but I think he has feelings for me. I want him to open up his feelings, and I would like to be closer to him.

My question is: How can I be friends with him again in the future?

Should I call him? Should I go directly to him? In which case it will seem as if I am begging. Should I make a third person be a bridge between the two of us, or should I write a friendly letter?

—Rommela Dear Rommela, Your question is how can you be friends with him again? My question is: Why? He certainly didn’t behave like a friend. Who is he to tell you that you cannot join the church organization that he runs? How can you expect him to “open up his feelings” and get closer to him if he doesn’t want you around?

I suggest you start going back to church and join the organization. If he doesn’t like it, that’s his problem.

You don’t need friends like this.

Never try to keep someone who doesn’t want to keep you!

Dear Lucia, Why is it that when I meet a gal I like, we get along great, but she gets sort of needy and expects me to spend more time with her than I can at the moment? I realize she wants more

curtain call

BY LUCIA right away in a two to three month period, rather than take time and let the relationship grow.

She reads more into what I e-mail or say and thinks I do not want to be connected. She wants more time, but when I mention that perhaps I should find a job near her (she’s 50 miles away) and move in with her, that is not something she would want.

It’s difficult to spend a weekend together if I have other things I need/want to do, like trying to clean up, finish jobs, etc. She wants more, is unhappy about not getting it and then mentions moving on.

—Mike Dear Mike, She is making the classic female mistake of the “instant relationship.”

Even though it’s only been a few months, in her mind you already have a full relationship. That’s why she gets upset when you don’t behave as if you are already in one.

Though she may want a relationship, she doesn’t want to live with you yet, and you shouldn’t even be thinking like that anyways after only a few months.

When she says she wants to move on, she is trying to manipulate you into spending more time with her.

You’re smart to take it slow.

The next time she mentions moving on, tell her that you want her to be happy, and if that’s what would make her happy, you won’t stand in her way. More likely than not, she won’t bring it up again.

Dear Lucia, We are both in different cities. He spends money and time on me. He

curtain call | live on stage

‘REFUGE FROM THE STORM’ comes to meet me once every two months.

He doesn’t let me go out anywhere. He doesn’t want me to make friends. I can’t do any work without his permission.

He has a dominating nature but shows lots of love. I listen to him because I love him, but sometimes I get irritated.

What should I do? Is it true love?

Should I go further or should I stop?

—Zee Dear Zee, The intelligent part of you reached out to me for help. The foolish part of you lets you think you are in love with a control freak.

I don’t know where you learned about love, but anyone who tries to keep you from living your life does not love you. Listen to the intelligent part of you and stop seeing him immediately!

Remember: Love inspires, empowers, uplifts and enlightens.

Write to Lucia at www.theartoflove.net.

Now-Aug. 10 @ The Actors Group Theatre

BY ROBERT AXELROD SET IN AN IRISH TAVERN ON THE SEA CLIFFS OF MAINE, “Refuge from the Storm” centers on a couple, Tom and Doris Dexter, who seek refuge from a howling storm after their boat is dashed upon the rocks. Their marriage is also on the rocks.

It’s after hours, and the owners of the pub have gone home. The place is hardly deserted though, as Tom and Doris meet five characters.

Bill Murphy wrote and directed this decent one-act that’s been stretched to full-length via a gratuitous second plot line. The performances are uneven, the best being Chase McKenna as the hooker The cast of “Refuge from the Storm” with a heart of gold and David Love as her chainsmoking trick.

A cute plot twist towards what should be the end scores a plus.

The Actors Group Theatre is located at 4378 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. For more information, visit www.plays411.com/refuge.

Read an excerpt from Lucia’s Lessons of Love at www.lessonsoflove.net.

Listen to Lucia live every Sunday at 3 p.m. PST on www.latalkradio.com.

friendship that develops between Elphaba, who becomes the “Wicked” Witch of the West, and Galinda, who becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North, is more than just a clever opposition of conflicting personalities.

“She [Glinda] has never had anybody tell her that she’s doing things wrong. She has always been adored, then all of a sudden this woman [Elphaba] comes, and she realizes that BRENDAN she does do things wrong and that she needs to own up to them. I think by the universal themes of tolerance, the end she’s learned from Elphaba acceptance and friendship. Or … what it actually is to be maybe audiences connect so good; that it’s not just well with “Wicked” because passing like you’re good in its simplest form it’s a and smiling and being story about a controversial funny and being loved. bond between two girls, one It’s about searching for born green and one born justice and those things blonde. that are incredibly “I think that’s a important to society, beautiful part of the show, humankind, and in Oz, the exploration of Erin Mackey animalkind.” friendship and what that means in our lives,” says Erin Mackey, “Wicked” stages six days a week at the who, to Los Angeles’ great benefit, Pantages Theatre located at 6233 recently transplanted from the Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. For more Chicago “Wicked” company to play information, visit Glinda the Good on sunnier shores. www.wickedthemusical.com.

Mackey points out that the

‘WICKED:’ THE PROPAGANDA OF GOOD

comedy | B Y

Joan Marcus

Now-Aug. 30 @ The Open Fist Theatre

Nicole Disson

PERHAPS IT’S THE CONTEXTUAL relevance of “Wicked” that’s making it the latest worldwide phenomenon in musical theater. All too familiar is the Swift Boat-esque OZ-ian smear campaign carried out against the “Wicked” Witch of the West in this reinvention of the telling of Oz and its inhabitants. Frighteningly close to home is the story of mediocre minds (the Wizard, Madame Morrible) manipulating their way into positions of great power, distorting and ignoring truth left and right in order to create a topsy-turvy world of discrimination, injustice and propaganda that benefits the few by misleading the many.

Or perhaps the play owes its success to its subtle and effective use of

ROBERT AXELROD

‘THE COMEDY OF ERRORS’

Erin Mackey, Los Angeles’ Glinda the Good

BY BOURBON WITH

inner circle

Penny L. Moore

the art of love |

Campus Circle | 21

THE OPEN FIST THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS A NONintimidating interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identity. Set in the Venice Beach-like town of Ephesus circa pre-hippie 1964, this comedy of errors falls short in terms of handling the language, but is strong on visual slapstick.

Two sets of twins, the Dromios and the Antipholuses of Syracuse and Ephesus respectively, create havoc regarding a necklace, a sum of money and who is whose “The Comedy of Errors” husband. Director Ron West breaks with tradition by casting two actors in each role instead of having one actor play both Dromios and Antipholuses, and it’s very effective in clarifying the action.

West’s ensemble staging gets pretty wild towards the end of this piece that comes in at 90 minutes with no intermission.

The Open Fist Theatre is located at 6209 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood.

For more information, visit www.openfist.org.

22 | Campus Circle

inner circle

[JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 ’08]

essential l.a. | cool hot spots

GET WAXED

I CAN’T THINK OF ANYONE, MALE OR female, that’s excited to go in for his or her waxing maintenance. Still, Elisha Reverby and her team of estheticians at Get Waxed manage to make you feel like it’s a walk in the park with their warm personalities and fast technique.

From the moment you walk around the corner from Venice’s Abbot Kinney Boulevard and into the newly remodeled boutique, it feels like you’re amongst friends. The treatment room looks like a comfortable bedroom with bright walls, floor lamps and soothing classical music.

Reverby’s intent is to make your service, from a not-for-the-shy Brazilian Wax ($60) to a simple brow shape ($35) as painless and non-embarrassing as possible. Her cheerful demeanor and thorough instruction on what to expect are sure to put you at ease.

She’s very adamant on providing a very clean “green” experience as well. There’s a strict no double-dip rule for the wax, and she makes her own environmentally-friendly

BY FREDERICK MINTCHELL

WEDNESDAY, JULY 30 Beerfest in the Garden Justin Jackson

A Cheery Side to a Not-So-Cheery Service

BY ERICA CARTER

10 spot |

Feel at home at Get Waxed.

products by hand, called Elique.

These products aim to offer you only the best ingredients geared to soothe your mind and body. From the eye cream, Taut ($35) – which contains avocado oil, rosehips and green teas – to the popular body cream, Whipped ($20), there’s no denying that these products are superior to those you would find in your local beauty store.

After being in the company of such a delightful person as Reverby, you’ll probably forget you just had hair ripped off your body.

I can almost guarantee there’ll be no screaming or crying. For those of you who want to take that bold statement as a challenge: run, don’t walk, to Get Waxed.

Get Waxed is located at 300 Westminster Ave., Venice. For more information, visit www.getwaxedvenice.com.

Kyoto Grand Hotel & Gardens, 120 S. Los Angeles St., Little Tokyo; www.kyotograndhotel.com If you can’t host your own backyard barbecue due to the lack of a backyard, Kyoto offers ribs, beer pitchers, key lime pie and more on their garden terrace. Starts at 5 p.m., Tues-Fri.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 30 Soles4Souls twenty two shoes, 8304 W. 3rd St.; www.twentytwoshoes.com Bring in gently worn shoes for charity and get 50 percent off a new pair. Also Thursday.

THURSDAY, JULY 31 X Games 14 expn.go.com The Super Bowl of X Sports featuring the best and brightest in men’s and women’s Motocross, Skateboard, BMX and Rally Car. Through Sunday.

FRIDAY, AUG. 1 “Soundtrack” Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 5919 Franklin Ave., Hollywood; www.ucbtheatre.com Improv based totally on music from audience members’ iPods. 10 p.m. $8.

fashion focus | B Y D A N I E L L E C H A R B O N N E A U

DERMAdoctor

cream that leaves your skin feeling soft, looking freshly powdered, smooth and healthy. The only downfall … the price. It’s $30 for a 4 oz bottle. But I think it’s worth it.

Ain’t Misbehavin’ Medicated Emergency Acne Spot Treatment: Believe it or not, this stuff actually got rid of that annoying zit in the crevasse of my chin and the red blemishes plaguing my cheeks. Although it took two or three days (so not exactly 911 emergency status), I was truly impressed. Its pleasant little tingle, non-oily finish, scar-free, non-drying formula make it a must – again, for a price though ($36 for 10ml).

Feet Accompli Ultimate Antifungal Pedicure Cream: Fungus, scaled feet, yellow toenails, peeling heels. No one wants that. This antifungal pedicure cream kills candida, yeast and fungal infections.

It makes skin super-smooth and has a nice floral aroma despite being fragrance-free.

Sandal wearing time isn’t over quite yet (or ever in California for that matter) so make your feet look nice with this satisfying pedicure cream ($34 for 4oz).

From faces to feet, the 411 on the beauty beat.

AH, THE TINGLY, SEMI-BURNING sensation of an acne-cure cream seeping into your pores and zapping up those pesky zits. Ooh, the silky smoothness of freshly pedicured, soft, healthy feet.

And woo-hoo, the non-oily, moisturizing sunscreen that protects you from the future face wrinkles perpetuated from too much sun. Here’s a rundown of the DERMAdoctor products I tried and how they worked.

The Ain’t Misbehavin’ Skin Clarifying & Mattifying Sunscreen SPF 30 PA+++: There’s nothing worse than sunscreen that makes you look like you just smeared melted butter all over your face – that oily, greasy stuff that’s so shiny it almost offers your friends a reflection of themselves when they look at you; those types of sunscreens, which run in your eyes and mouth when you get in the water so when you get out, not only do you have oily skin, you now have bloodshot eyes and a look of disgust from the bitter taste.

Now think of the exact opposite – a lightweight, moisturizing, mattifying skin

First Fridays on Abbot Kinney www.abbotkinneynow.com All the shops on the popular Venice street stay open ’til 10 p.m. the first Friday of every month.

Shoppers enjoy drinks, snacks, entertainment and, every shopper’s favorite word, sales.

SATURDAY, AUG. 2 Undiscovered Chinatown Tour (213) 680-0243; www.chinatownla.com This two and a half hour walking tour takes place the first Saturday of every month and takes visitors to a number of off-the-beaten-track points of interest. 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. $20.

SUNDAY, AUG. 3 Naked Crow Mountain Bike & Running Challenge Loma Alta Park, Altadena; altadenanakedcrowmtnbikechallenge.com This second annual event features a course for elite athletes and a course for, well, the rest of us.

Proceeds go to Altadena Meals on Wheels, Ronald McDonald House Altadena and Lance Armstrong Foundation. Come out and cycle for a good cause. 8 a.m. $47, $57.

Trivia Night Busby’s West, 3110 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica; www.busbysonline.com See what knowledge you have retained in some brain cells while killing others. They also have TV sports packages, video games, pool, ping pong, foosball and board games. Sundays at 8 p.m.

MONDAY, AUG. 4 Countrywide Classic Los Angeles Tennis Center, UCLA; www.countrywideclassic.com Los Angeles’ only pro men’s tennis tournament. Scheduled players include Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, Tommy Haas, Mardy Fish and Carlos Moya. Through Sunday.

TUESDAY, AUG. 5 Sword Fighting Class

For more information, visit www.dermadoctor.com.

Academy of Arms, 14547 Erwin St., Van Nuys; www.academyofarms.com Touché! Now you can really impress the casting directors at your next medieval movie audition.

Just don’t hurt somebody – or yourself. Classes are Mon, Tues, Thurs: 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

“A WICKEDLY FUNNY SCARY-CABIN-IN-THE-WOODS KILLER THRILLER!” -Karen Durbin, ELLE

“VERY FUNNY! IT’S SMART! IT CAN BE REALLY SCARY!” -Richard Roeper, EBERT & ROEPER AT THE MOVIES

“AN INSPIRED DERANGED GEM OF A MOVIE! VIBRANTLY SATISFYING AND HAD ME SMILING TO MYSELF CONTENTEDLY ALL THE WAY HOME.” -Dennis Dermody, PAPER

“CHILLS AND THRILLS TO BOOT! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A GOOD LAUGH, THIS FILM IS FOR YOU.” -AIN’T IT COOL NEWS

a duplass brothers movie A SONY PICTURES CLASSICS RELEASE A DUPLASS BROTHERS MOVIE STEVE ZISSIS ROSS PARTRIDGE GRETA GERWIG ELISE MULLER “BAGHEAD” producer JOHN BRYANT co-producer JEN TRACY DUPLASS original music J. SCOTT HOWARD editor JAY DEUBY directed, written and produced by JAY DUPLASS MARK DUPLASS WWW.BAGHEADMOVIE.COM

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NOW PLAYING IN NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES!