Campus Circle Newspaper Vol. 21 Issue 13

“THE SCARIEST MOVIE IN DECADES!” -Ed Douglas, COMINGSOON.net

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DVD GAMING SPORTS MEDIA BLOGS Barfly Colors of Culture D-Day The Greener Side Trend Blender The Wing Girls

inside campus circle 19 10

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03 BLOGS D-DAY 05 BLOGS COLORS OF CULTURE 24 BLOGS BARFLY 27 BLOGS TREND BLENDER 06 FILM PROJECTIONS

campus circle March 30 - April 5, 2011 Vol. 21 Issue 13

Editor-in-Chief Jessica Koslow editor.chief@campuscircle.net Managing Editor/Art Director Yuri Shimoda managing.editor@campuscircle.net Film Editor Jessica Koslow film.editor@campuscircle.net Music Editor Yuri Shimoda music.editor@campuscircle.net Editorial Interns Dana Jeong, Cindy KyungAh Lee

06 FILM DVD SPECIAL FEATURES 08 FILM MOVIE REVIEWS 10 FILM SUPER Ellen Page plays right-hand gal to Rainn Wilson’s Crimson Bolt.

12 FILM DVD DISH 14 MUSIC A DAY TO REMEMBER You’ll be “Better Off” with this band on your iPod. 17 MUSIC REBELUTION Prep New Album and Party at the Wiltern 18 MUSIC CD REVIEWS 19 MUSIC LIVE SHOW REVIEWS 19 MUSIC ANARBOR Arizona rockers are On Your Side.

20 MUSIC REPORT

DIRECTED BY FRANCO DRAGONE

20 MUSIC NOTES

PRESENTED BY

21 MUSIC FREQUENCY

Photo: Al Seib Costume: Dominique Lemieux © 2004 Cirque du Soleil

04 CULTURE LIFESTYLE

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23 SPORTS DODGERS411 27 SPORTS THE COLLEGE PITCH 26 EVENTS THE 10 SPOT

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Cover: Matt Kemp of the Dodgers Photo Credit: Steve King/Cal Sport Media/AbacaUSA.com/ MCT

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QUI – LONG BEACH – ANN JRNL – MARCH 02 – MARCH 16 – MARCH 30 NO annonce :

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Contributing Writers Tamea Agle, Zach Bourque, Mary Broadbent, Erica Carter, Richard Castañeda, Lynda Correa, Deepthi Cauligi, Nick Day, Amanda D’Egidio, Natasha Desianto, Sean Fitz-Gerald, Stephanie Forshee, Jacob Gaitan, Denise Guerra, Elisa Hernandez, Josh Herwitt, Zach Hines, Da Ron Jackson, Alexandre Johnson, Angela Matano, Stephanie Nolasco, Samantha Ofole, Brien Overly, Ariel Paredes, Sasha Perl-Raver, Rex Pham, Eva Recinos, Dov Rudnick, Mike Sebastian, Doug Simpson, John Stapleton IV, David Tobin, Drew Vaeth, James Violette, Kevin Wierzbicki, The Wing Girls, Candice Winters

Contributing Artists & Photographers Tamea Agle, Jacob Gaitan, Josh Herwitt ADVERTISING Sean Bello sean.bello@campuscircle.net Joy Calisoff joy.calisoff@campuscircle.net Jon Bookatz Music Sales Manager jon.bookatz@campuscircle.net Ronit Guedalia ronit.guedalia@campuscircle.net

Calendar Editor Frederick Mintchell

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D-DAY

GroupMe keeps pals connected at music festivals, like April’s Coachella.

GROUP TEXTING The Next Tech Evolution by denise guerra What haven’t we experienced in technology? It’s just crazy the way communication continues to change and evolve. I can bet you that right now by the time you’re finished reading this sentence, a new app has been developed for an iPad or a mobile phone. It’s just crazy how fast people come up with new ideas that change the way we communicate with one another.

Yes, we can sit down at our desk (or favorite coffee shop like me) and turn on a computer, but now tech developers are thinking wireless, communication anywhere and everywhere.

Just the other day, I was riding the Metro Gold Line and checking both my work and personal e-mails, my Facebook and reading the latest The New York Times ... all on my phone! It’s pretty amazing at how far we’ve come, and how the simplest of ideas can turn into big money-making discoveries.

This past month, press from all over the country seemed to be fixated on the concept of group texting as the newest (and biggest) trend hitting mobile technology. From CNN, The New York Times, Fast Company and TechCrunch, media continue to tell the same story about GroupMe and other smartphone group texting applications that have hit the market.

(It may also help that GroupMe had a featured booth at the infamous South by Southwest Festival in mid-March, a renowned music and tech festival that helped launch Twitter and Foursquare. Big deal for a startup company, right?)

Jared Hecht is a co-founder of GroupMe, which he started after his fiancée needed a better way to coordinate with her friends at Red Rocks Music Festival. So Hecht called cofounding partner Steve Martocci, and in 24 hours they created a prototype for GroupMe. So what is GroupMe exactly? It’s a free application. Think mobile chat room wherever you go, even in a location without Internet service. When you send one message out, the same message automatically gets sent out to a group of people. People can coordinate and converse with each other all by smartphone. To get the cool features of the app you have to have an Android, iPhone or Blackberry – all other phones are just not worthy, but wait…

The cool thing about GroupMe is that messages can get sent via SMS text message, which is great when you’re lost in the woods with no Wi-Fi or simply have a really old phone which texts.

GroupMe isn’t the only one in the market vying for venture capital and mad respect from the community. Other similar apps like PingChat!, Yobongo, Kik, Fast Society or Beluga (which was just acquired by Facebook, showing just how big group texting has become) have a similar “group chat” concept.

And this is great when you think about how we communicate with groups currently.

Communicating one-on-one we’ve got down, but groups are a different story. The only thing close to a real group conversation, without actually having to be in the same room, seems to be the local Twitter feed or Facebook wall. Even that gets a little sketchy when it comes to personal matters. Plus, you have to sift through all the chaos and spam. Who has time when suddenly you need to gather the forces for a last-minute meeting?

I’m totally liking this concept of group texting. For GroupMe, there are even unique features such as conference calling and map locations of everyone in your group.

For students, this is a great way to organize study sessions, meet ups and have group discussions while on the go. For groups going to events together (like say … Coachella), everyone can keep tabs on each other as you separate, instead of having to do the old phone tree method of you call Sam who calls Amy, who calls Bob, who sends a text message to Jill and Sara, who are too busy to check their messages.

With these group texting applications, everything happens in real time, period.

Communication is changing, people; time to get with the program.

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Campus Circle > Culture > Special Features

Working the line in the Homegirl Café

HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES A Place of Healing

by Alexandre johnsoN California is no stranger to the disad– vantaged or underprivileged persons trapped in neighborhoods afflicted by poverty and violence. Some become at-risk youth and often join gangs, which often has a negative influence on their lives.

The homeboys and homegirls who go to Homeboy Industries understand these challenges. Living by their mission statement, “Nothing stops a bullet like a job,” Homeboy Industries seeks to find ways to help the men and women who come to it to find the right path.

Homeboy Industries began with a job program called “Jobs For a Future” (JFF), which Father Gregory Boyle (known as Father G.), the founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries, began at Dolores Mission parish in 1988. In 1992, Father Greg opened a small bakery in a rundown warehouse across the street from Dolores Mission, launching the Homeboy Bakery.

A mission was set to create an environment that provided training, work experience and the opportunity for rival gang members to work side by side to counter the civil unrest in Los Angeles. Homeboy was a place where difficult-toplace young people could be hired into a safe environment.

Thus, it allowed them to gain job skills, to better prepare for

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permanent employment and become stronger individuals.

Homeboy became an independent nonprofit organization in August 2001. It has since grown, moving from its original location to the current headquarters on Bruno Street in downtown Los Angeles, near Chinatown. In its nearly 20 years, Homeboy Industries has had an impact on the Los Angeles gang situation, with young people from over half of the region’s 1,100 known gangs seeking a way out through Homeboy.

Art, who recently began working at Homeboy, has seen its impact as it has grown.

“I’ve seen this place and heard about its progress since it was on 1st and Boyle, in just a regular office, and now it’s ...

I can’t believe it.”

Since its original small office, the program has attracted people who want to change, like Art. “I’ve known [about] Homeboy for years,” says Art. “Since I was a teen, but Father Boyle finally saw some changes in me.

That I’m ready to do a turnaround. Before I was out there gang-banging and stuff like that. This place helps you change your life. It’s a place of healing. [It] helps you stay away from gangs, drugs and stuff.”

Homeboy has a policy of unconditional love. It wants to see that people are ready for change, and it has open arms for those who are. Even for those who are not ready, it still tries to help.

The Homeboy name is taken from the street term “homie” and related monikers that people use when referring to friends and often fellow gang members. Homeboy Industries seeks to spin the slang in a positive way. As soon as you walk through the doors of Homeboy Industries, everyone there is your homeboy or homegirl.

This creates an environment that is the opposite of gangs. In gangs, they receive conditions, based on warnings,

where one false move can leave you on the outside. It is hard to recover from this state. Homeboy Industries seeks to be a community of unconditional love.

At Homeboy, people can come in and talk to people who want to help them with their problems, instead of putting them down or mocking them.

“I don’t feel any negative vibes in this place. I’m used to negative. That’s all I’ve had in my life,” Art says.

He credits the positive energy of Homeboy with his motivation and opportunity to change.

“That’s why this is my first time changing. I’m not perfect or anything. This is a start. You have to start to change,” he offers.

The goal of Homeboy today is not only to aid people in leaving gang life, but also to do so by providing them with a new outlet that gives them hope and self-worth.

This year, Homeboy Industries celebrates its 20th anniversary. The program has stood strong even after the bakery burned down in 1999 and the economic struggles last spring. It continues to focus on the original goal of assisting at-risk youth to become contributing members of their communities. Admired for the work it does, the communitybased program receives support from many organizations and individuals who volunteer. Today Homeboy Industries’ nonprofit development enterprises include Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy/Homegirl Merchandise and Homegirl Café.

Homeboy Bakery, the founding business, has continued to be a symbol of hope and possibility for Homeboy Industries. Available at farmers’ markets across Southern California, it provides several varieties of handmade baked goods, from hearty loafs of breads, croissants and bagels to delicious sweets like cakes and cookies. The fresh goods are available at the Homeboy headquarters, and the team is also available for contract work and special orders.

Homegirl Café, located at the Homeboy headquarters, features baked goods daily. The café serves as a place to pick up a quick breakfast or lunch or have a nice sit-down meal.

With an unique menu that puts a nice spin on seemingly simple dishes, it boasts some great sandwiches and salads as well as more complex dishes. Homegirl Café is starting to flourish, releasing a line of chips and salsa in Ralphs stores in Southern California.

Homeboy Silkscreen and Embroidery does custom promotional items for teams, schools and businesses. The largest business of Homeboy Industries, it creates a large variety of items from clothing apparel to pens and calendars.

All of Homeboy’s businesses are valuable for providing jobs. They are just steps in the process – places to build skills and gain work experience. The goal remains to find permanent, meaningful employment for its participants.

While many of those who come to Homeboy have concrete skills and are ready to work, others need job training to become strong employment candidates. People who might be hard to place in the workforce are hired into Homeboy’s transitional jobs to learn job skills and build experience.

As it has grown, Homeboy has seen the need for different services to support those seeking to move beyond gang life.

Free classes and services are provided to meet different participants’ needs. These include: employment counselors working to find local jobs and talk with potential employers to tell them the benefits of hiring homeboys and homegirls, an on-site charter high school, GED preparedness program, tattoo removal, anger management, baby classes, substance abuse meetings and counseling and vocational training.

Homeboy Industries helps former gang members receive a second chance, something that otherwise might never happen. Those who have experienced it see that Homeboy gives a new life, opportunity and a future.

Art notes, “This place is my future. There was no future before.”

For more information, visit homeboy-industries.org.

Become a CAMPUS CIRCLE Fan on Facebook http://bit.ly/dhFhEE COLORSOFCULTURE Introducing our new

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at the Aquarium of the Pacific!

Theme Restaurant, by William Leavitt

WILLIAM LEAVITT: THEATER OBJECTS Now-July 3 @ MOCA

by cindy kyungah lee All OF you art lovers out there, brace yourselves, because William Leavitt – one of the most famous first-generation conceptual artists – is finally having a solo exhibition at the MOCA. Even if you don’t know who he is but you enjoy observing reality with a twist of illusion, then you will be incredibly entertained by the exhibition of Leavitt’s work.

This huge solo exhibit contains 90 works from the artist, produced between the years 1969 until today, in his 40 years as an artist. Well-laid out in the exhibition space, expect to see just about anything from pastel works to paintings to large installations you only see in a theater or on stage. A truly multifaceted artist, you can also view collections of photographs and drawings of performances from the late ’60s to the present.

Leavitt is the master of creating pieces that overflow with stillness, making the installations seem so close to being lifelike that it creates an illusion. Inspired by Los Angeles’ play between nature and artifice, Leavitt loves and explores “the theater of the ordinary” as his works are ordinary and theatrical at the same time in their own individual ways. Real, but surreal would be the perfect description for Leavitt’s work.

Color tones are definitely something to look out for in this exhibition. His works have interesting tones that resonate a feeling of the ordinary, but also give off interesting vibes that you can only feel and not quite identify.

Nostalgic? Not quite, but there is something more to these works than a sense of familiarity.

On the other hand, some of the pieces you just end up questioning his intentions no matter how much his work seems real. You have to see for yourself to fully grasp what I’m trying to say here.

Such qualities of Leavitt’s works are what make him an intriguing artist with many faces. He is extremely versatile in his mediums and subject representations. Keen with detail, he makes it seem effortless to be so detail oriented.

Many of the works are reflective of the artist’s career in stagecraft, narrative and theater. His work contains ordinary subjects familiar to the people of Los Angeles with a sprinkle of his take and view on the city, making the pieces relatable, but questionable.

I don’t know if Leavitt attaches two contradicting ideas to his pieces on purpose, but I think this artist just loves dichotomies too much – it’s quite confusing. Nonetheless, the work on display accurately shows us culture lovers that Leavitt is one of the most valuable artists to revolutionize art.

William Leavitt was born in 1941 in Washington, D.C., and began his career as a conceptual artist along with a string of other artists who rose to fame in Los Angeles during the 1960s and 1970s. Looking at his solo exhibition, you can definitely understand why he is considered one of the major contributors to conceptualism.

Join today and get these great benefits: • Individual membership for 1 year, no blackout dates!

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PROJECTIONS

DO SOMETHING REEL FILM FESTIVAL April 2-May 1 @ Various Locations by candice winters I just want to put this out there so that readers who don’t go out of their way spending surprising amounts of time, money and energy to attend a film festival will now be aware. There are certain misconceptions about attending a film festival. Certain press and entertainment shows (ahem, “E!”) glamorize everything, so it shouldn’t really be a shock to find that film festivals are not all celebrities and movie hopping and dining in the swanky parts of Park City or Cannes or Toronto.

I was recently in Austin for the South by Southwest Film Festival and had an amazing time. I loved the mood the city set for the festivalgoers, the way that 6th Street was overtaken by people proudly wearing their badges and socializing with each other. The festival itself and the people who attend are not what must be factored into the hardest part of attending a film festival. These are elements that become tricky.

First, creating your schedule. Major festivals screen

Campus Circle > Film > Projections hundreds of films over the span of a week or two. There are plenty of films that have already been hyped out of the water, and there are the big studios that are premiering their star-studded blockbuster hit or low-budget comedy they developed through their independent film branch. Typically there are one or two documentaries that are worth seeing, and it’s worth it to attend at least one seminar, even if the topic is completely out of your area of study.

So you’ve narrowed down your list of films, the ones you cannot wait to be bought by a distributor and released in theaters to see. Once you have that list, you must take into consideration the times they are showing. It’s always a tease when one film ends just five minutes after another begins.

And even if you wouldn’t mind missing the first few minutes, these films are shown in different theaters all over the city, not just in one large cineplex.

You’ve managed to get your schedule together of the films you are going to see, but you may also want to keep a list of those you’ve sacrificed because of their conflicting showtimes.

The second hardship for a festivalgoer is the line. Just because you have a press badge or you’ve paid for a badge does not mean you are guaranteed entrance into any movie you feel like seeing. If only it were that simple. Every festival runs a little different, but on the whole, getting into a screening takes time. You would think you could technically fit five films in one day, but realistically that number is more like three. Such a rough life us film nerds lead.

What has become more of a trend for big festivals like Sundance and Tribeca is to have outreach programs that screen a few of their films in other major cities. Well, the Whole Foods Market Do Something Reel Film Festival is taking that idea a step further. Beginning Saturday, April 2, and running each weekend into May, this new festival

DVDSPECIALFEATURES

EDDIE GRIFFIN You Can Tell ’Em I Said It by samantha ofole Comedian Eddie Griffin wants to have sex with the First Lady, and he doesn’t care who knows it. In his stand-up comedy special, You Can Tell ’Em I Said It, the Missouri native admits his controversial desire.

With over 40 minutes of raw and raucous humor, the outspoken comedian, who started his career on stage on a dare, riffs on everything and everyone from religion and Viagra to basketball player LeBron James.

“I didn’t vote for Obama because of him,” he says, as he leisurely strolls around on stage. “I voted for him because of her. This is the first First Lady that is fuckable!”

The comedian turned actor, who has built an ever-growing fan base since entering the comedy scene in 1990, has starred in films such as John Q, Undercover Brother, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Date Movie, Norbit and Beethoven’s Big Break.

Best known for his long-running television show “Malcolm and Eddie,” in which he starred alongside Malcolm Jamal Warner, Griffin has been criticized for his constant use of the n-word, yet has no remorse for his bold deliveries.

“There is no such thing as out of bounds,” says the comedian. “If you make something taboo, then it just kills freedom of speech.”

Offering education through humor, the uncensored stand-up special, which made its television debut on Feb. 22 on Comedy Central, follows the world of current events,

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Urban Roots screens April 30-May 1 at Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex. will allow audiences across the country in 70 markets to participate in local screenings at the same time. The festival will premiere six environmentally themed documentaries in several U.S. communities, including our very own Santa Monica, Pasadena, Encino and Claremont. The theme of the festival, if you couldn’t tell, is to raise awareness for issues and programs that take care of our environment and our bodies.

Mark MacInnis is a director from Santa Monica who has a film in the festival, Urban Roots. George Langworthy and Maryam Henein are also from Los Angeles and have codirected a film, Vanishing of the Bees, that is included in the film lineup. April is Earth Month, so there couldn’t possibly be better timing. And with 2012 right around the corner, it’s about time we shape up and act like we care a little about our health, our body and our world.

For more information, visit dosomethingreel.com.

Campus Circle > DVD > Special Features politics and entertainment through Griffin’s eyes.

“Would you want to live till you’re 199 years old, shitting on yourself?” Griffin asks the audience, as he perches on a stage stool, a cigarette dangling from his right hand. “You come in the world in diapers, and if you’ve got to leave in Depend, then you’ve stayed too long!” he riffs.

In a society where sensitivity plays a huge role in comedy, Griffin’s certainly not perturbed about a backlash for what some may deem as a disrespectful sexual comment directed at the First Lady.

“Comedy is what I do. I had a lot of things to say, and it’s my best work to date,” he proclaims. “It’s brutally honest, raw and in-your-face kind of comedy. When I met with Comedy Central, I told them that I am not doing it if I can’t do it my way. As far as me saying I want to have sexual relations with the First Lady, it’s also a compliment. Now, if I said I want to have sex with Julia Roberts, nobody is going to say a damn thing. The point that I am making is that George Bush’s wife wasn’t desirable or sexy, and I am telling you Michelle Obama is desirable. The woman is sexy!”

Widely known for his award-winning comedy standup special DysFunktional Family, which grossed over $2.2 million at the box office, Griffin will next star alongside Penny Marshall in The Buddy Bradley Story, a dance musical based on the famous dancer and choreographer who grew up in New York during the late ’20s and early ’30s.

“It’s dealing with my dance background, so I get to show off those skills. There will be a lot of dancing going on,” says Griffin, who is also a gifted dancer, choreographer and singer.

He also has a small cameo in the upcoming Hillbilly Highway and character voice work for the live-action, animated film Bunyan and Babe starring John Goodman and Jeff Foxworthy.

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NEWS

With an upcoming European tour, Griffin plans to take his brand of comedy on the road and is relying big time on social networking for face time with fans.

“It gives the fan base a direct line of communication when I am performing on stage. People can comment on Facebook and tweet and communicate,” says Griffin, who cites Katt Williams and Mike Epps as two of his favorite comedians.

“With comedy, you either have it or you don’t. If everybody had the ability to be a race car driver, everybody would be a race car driver,” he offers.

You Can Tell ’Em I Said It is currently available.

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John Darko, courtesy of FilmDistrict and Alliance Films

Campus Circle > Film > Movie Reviews

Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson star in Insidious.

Cat Run (Paladin) Cat Run is the latest theatrical release from actor-turneddirector John Stockwell, and it feels vaguely familiar. It may find an audience upon release, but in the end, Cat Run is just another post-Pulp Fiction crime film, where all the killers have funny quirks and goofy conversations, all the while dishing out sporadic and sadistic violence. Of course, what felt so fresh in 1994 now feels slightly typical.

The story, more or less, is about two young Americans abroad who decide to play detective in order to help out a beautiful and desperate escort that is the only living witness to a murder, and its subsequent cover-up. Hijinks ensue, as does violent mayhem, laced with morbid humor, not all of it particularly funny, but I chuckled a time or two. What salvages most of the film is that it is so self-aware regarding its absurdities that it becomes endearing to watch it try to one-up itself.

The film does feature some lovely work by a select choice of character actors. Janet McTeer is probably the standout of this particular ensemble, portraying an ice-cold contract killer. Karel Roden is a welcome sight in any movie, but especially any movie where he gets to be the bad guy, because he’s just so damn good at it. He’s someone whom you keep expecting to be cast as a James Bond villain. Audiences should be so lucky. Then there’s a semi-serious turn for Christopher McDonald, known widely for his comedic work, but here he plays a United States senator that just happens to be a murderous pervert. Unfortunately, it continues to baffle me as to why Paz Vega keeps getting roles that completely squander her acting abilities, aside from her innate ability to be beautiful, which she simply can’t help.

John Stockwell certainly goes for something different with this outing. Cat Run is a pretty far cry from Blue Crush.

The action is staged competently, none of that “shaky cam” business to be found here, and some of it is even, dare I say, inspired. It’s too bad that I couldn’t shake my Snatch-like déjà vu.

Grade: C —Nick Day Cat Run releases in select theaters April 1.

Con Artist (Argot/New Yorker/Ovation) Last year’s Oscar-nominated documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, directed by the subversive Banksy, gave viewers an inside look at the world of street art, where the creators thrive on the inventive anonymity of their work. Con Artist is a doc that looks at the other side of the industry, where fame and fortune can blind an artist of his contrived personality.

As the film chronicles Mark Kostabi’s rise from teenage talent to legitimate star of the ’80s New York art scene, you see the light and dark sides of his rebellion and his eventual

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evolution into a self-described “business artist.” By the end of the decade, not only is he no longer painting his own paintings, he also openly tells those who buy them how he doesn’t even come up with the concepts. They don’t care.

He’s a brand that people consume because of his antics of self-promotion. He even declares while appearing on a talk show that, “Modern art is a con, and I am the world’s greatest con artist.“ Twenty years later those antics have worn thin. His paintings, to which his only contribution is still just his signature, can fetch a king’s ransom, but Kostabi has gone bankrupt. He’s aged, yet never matured. He goes years without painting, and he gets his kicks by hosting a public access game show, “Title This,” where contestants name his works for cash prizes. It’s all part of his desperate attempt at a return to prominence, and watching his perpetual failure as his staff mocks him can be as hilarious as it is tough to watch.

Kostabi is an entertaining caricature and a devastating train wreck you can’t look away from.

Con Artist captures his story in great detail and succeeds at making you like Kostabi even though you’d never want to be in the same room with him. It details his rise and fall but, just as fascinating, also his impact on the art world. For all he’s done to destroy his name, his effect and his talent still show whenever he pushes brush to canvas. Much like Gift Shop, the wink and smile at the end of Con Artist makes you question whether anything you’ve just witnessed is real.

You wonder if Kostabi’s lunacy is just part of his act. I guess every good con needs a mark. This film might just be his latest grift.

Grade: B —Matthew Kitchen Con Artist releases in select theaters April 1.

Insidious (FilmDistrict) The thing about a horror movie is that it either gets to you, or it does not. Insidious is one of those movies that gets to you with its impressively creative plot, unpredictable scenes and scary moments.

Insidious pays tribute to Carnival of Souls, The Exorcist and Poltergeist. More importantly, the creators of Saw and Paranormal Activity team up for this new haunted horror flick. The cast, led by an attractive Patrick Wilson and beautiful Rose Byrne, features Lin Shaye, Ty Simpkins and Barbara Hershey. Josh (Wilson) and his wife Renai (Byrne in perhaps her best performance thus far in her career) have moved into a new home with their two sons, and one of the boys seems to be possessed by a spirit.

After having suffered a minor accident in the attic, young Dalton (Simpkins) screams for help. Josh and Renai run to him, but everything appears to be fine. That is until Dalton does not wake up the next morning. Three months pass

by and Dalton is in a severe coma, but that is the doctor’s opinion.

Several supernatural attacks produce shock and stress to Renai. Eventually, after witnessing terror and frightening images, Renai convinces the skeptical Josh to move out and find a new home. But that does not help much, because their previous home was not haunted. Dalton is, and this is determined from an apparent family friend, Elise (Shaye), who has experience with such supernatural events. Elise soon discovers that Dalton is in “The Further.”

Hoping to heal the broken family, Josh finally agrees to Elise’s methods of reconnecting the actual world with Dalton’s body and spirit. An attempt to bring back Dalton’s spirit goes well in the beginning, but it ultimately turns into a diabolical war between Josh, Renai, Elise and her crew against one particular evil soul trying to capture Dalton’s body.

What the audience soon learns is a shocker. Insidious’ unexpected sound effects add tension to its storytelling. James Wan’s directing and Leigh Whannell’s script captivate your attention. As Wan points out, Insidious is this generation’s Poltergeist.

Grade: B+ —Marvin Vasquez Insidious releases in select theaters April 1.

Orgasm Inc. (First Run) When Viagra, the first FDA-approved drug effective in treating male sexual dysfunction, hit the market in the 20th century with its hilarious commercial encrypted with the song “We Are the Champions,” it revolutionized the lives of many men. Setting aside the problem of male sexual dysfunction, then drug companies latched onto the question of the female orgasm, creating a disease that isn’t actually worthy of being labeled a disease. They called it Female Sexual Dysfunction.

Organism Inc., produced and directed by Liz Canner, is a documentary focusing on the race of pharmaceutical companies to develop a drug equivalent to Viagra for females. When Canner took a job editing erotic videos for use in a drug trial for a pharmaceutical company, she became concerned that innocent women were being targets of possibly dangerous and life-threatening clinical research trials, all in the name of treating a disease that perhaps did not even exist. This documentary gives viewers a witty and educational look into the cash-fuelled pharmaceutical industry that works so hard to plant in our brains that we are riddled by all sorts of “diseases” in order to sell its products.

The documentary attacks the unjust nature of the pharmaceutical world. Women are not supposed to climax every single time they have sex; doing so would be a bit abnormal, apparently. Not being able to reach orgasm every time does not mean you have a disease called Female Sexual Dysfunction. Then why are drug developers working so hard to create an aphrodisiac that will give women that pleasure they cannot fully describe? Why are women even attracted to such drugs in the first place? Are we sexual addicts? Are we that deprived because men do not know how to bring it in the bedroom?

Well, Orgasm Inc. steps in to educate and answer such questions that women might have. We are in a modern world where we expect every single one of our problems to be fixed by a small dosage of something … but really, how far will we go for pleasure? Are diseases that only seem like a disease simply conditions that are manufactured and marketed as a disease by pharmaceutical companies? Are we being lulled into the drug industry’s brainwashing to justify our embarrassment for seeking sexual pleasure?

Watch Orgasm Inc. to find out.

Grade: B+ —Cindy KyungAh Lee Orgasm, Inc. releases in select theaters April 1.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 >>>

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SUPER

Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page aim to fight crime. by ariel paredes Writer-director James Gunn had an idea back in 2002 about a superhero with no superpowers. Years later, the character Crimson Bolt came to life with his kid sidekick Boltie in the feature film Super. Their motto is simply, “Don’t steal, don’t deal drugs and don’t molest kids.”

This adult superhero story is a tale about good versus evil, morality and personal relationships with God. “I just kept coming back to this script that I couldn’t ignore anymore,” recalls Gunn. “This is a film I felt called to make, and I loved the idea of a superhero without powers.

It was initially a short film, but I kept writing and writing, making it bigger.”

When easygoing Frank (Rainn Wilson) fears he is losing his wife Sarah (Liv Tyler) to a local drug dealer, he decides to fight back and win her affections again. He decides to become an everyman superhero named Crimson Bolt. With a homemade maroon suit of spandex and a pipe wrench, he sets out to rid the world, or more specifically his local town, of crime — all this in hopes of keeping his wife. He soon gets a kid sidekick named Boltie (Ellen Page) whose berserk eagerness can sometimes help but also hinder him along the journey. The film takes on a life of its own, and you can’t quite put your finger on which category it falls into, which

Campus Circle > Film > Interviews was intentional.

Wilson reflects, “James sent me the script, and I was 22 pages in and I remember saying I’m in, I love it, my hands are trembling. I thought it was so cool. It’s a dark comedy, it’s sort of a romance, but sometimes it’s serious.”

In absolute agreement is Tyler: “I loved the script and was compelled by the characters, and it made me laugh my ass off. It was wrong and right, happy and sad. I was just moved by the story.”

When all of the characters were mostly cast, Wilson and Gunn were hoping for Page but never actually dreamed of getting her. Wilson passed the script on to her and she loved it.

“I love Rainn Wilson,” states Page. “I adore him, every moment working with him is an absolute pleasure. I’d write a puppet show with him! I’m such a total dork about working with him, because he’s so much fun, and I loved the writing.”

Wilson brags, “She was perfect for the role. She really makes me laugh and sometimes it was hard to keep a straight face.”

They are quite an onscreen duo, and the chemistry is apparent.

“Libby, aka Boltie, from the get-go is very exuberant and uncensored,” Page describes, “and doesn’t have a great concept of personal space. As the film progresses, she goes towards psychopathic tendencies. Her thirst for violence becomes really apparent.”

The violence in the film has been a much-discussed topic, since it is so graphic and at times jarring. Page comes to the film’s defense: “What I like about this film is that it’s real and grounded. If some person decided to be a superhero, it shows what the impact would actually be – the reality of violence.”

MOVIEREVIEWS-CONTINUED <<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Rubber (Magnet Releasing) A movie for audiences “tire”-d of the same ole, same ole, Rubber is another film in a growing sub-genre that could be described as post-modern, ironic or self-referential. For years, movies were written as if the characters were in a bubble, as if they didn’t watch movies or television themselves. Now movie characters know the “rules” about horror movies, action flicks or sequels, and the films themselves wink knowingly at the audience, letting people know that the movie is in on the joke, too.

Back in ancient Greece, a chorus of actors was used to help narrate the action to the audience. Now that movies can provide voice-overs, Greek choruses are thrown to the wayside.

Not in Rubber. Playing with the conventions of moviemaking, not only is the third wall broken, it’s demolished as the characters not only speak to us, they speak to an audience who also become characters in the film and watch the movie unfold in front of their eyes. How meta.

Rubber is the story of a tire (Robert) that suddenly comes to life in the desert. As Robert roams the desolate landscape, he discovers that he possesses telepathic powers that give him the ability to destroy anything he wishes without having to move.

At first content to prey on small desert creatures and various discarded objects like scorpions and beer bottles, his attention soon turns to humans, particularly a beautiful and mysterious woman who crosses his path. Leaving a swath of destruction across the desert landscape, Robert becomes a chaotic force to be reckoned with: a true movie villain for the ages.

Critics love to bemoan the fact that Hollywood doesn’t have original ideas anymore. Well, not only will Rubber probably be the most original movie of the year, it might be

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Steve Dietl

FILM

Ellen Page and Rainn Wilson in Super “We take for granted what our idea of violence is,” Gunn stresses. “Batman knocks people out unconscious and you never see anything. With Super, you see what the ramifications of violence actually are. When you club someone in this movie you see their skull split open because that would naturally happen!”

Not all of the film centers around blood and guts, there was a lot of fun to be had.

“OMG, It was so cold in Shreveport, La.,” Page remembers, “and the first day we shot I was outside in spandex and a bra.

It was rough, but always still really fun.”

“The bodysuit was freezing, and it was like being naked running around in the cold,” says Wilson. “Oh, and it was stinky! Stinky spandex, running around in the mud.”

Ultimately, the film is about a superhero/vigilante, and Wilson asks, “Is he a psychopath or a hero?”

That’s up to you to decide.

Super releases in theaters April 1.

Campus Circle > Film > Movie Reviews the most original movie of most years. If Charlie Kaufman had dropped acid and written a self-aware sequel to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, you’d have Rubber.

Grade: B —Frederick Mintchell Rubber releases in select theaters April 1.

Queen to Play (Zeitgeist) As the name implies, Queen to Play (or Joueuse as it’s known in its native French) is a story about one woman’s quest to find herself by taking up the game of chess. Though there have been a few films that have taken on the subject, like Searching for Bobby Fischer, chess is a difficult and intimidating game that most audiences find boring or confusing when incorporated into a feature-length movie. Known as a tricky game of strategy, chess requires experience and intelligence, if not genius.

In Queen to Play, Hélène (Sandrine Bonnaire) is an overworked maid for a local bed and breakfast, though she does clean for private houses as well. She is in a dwindling marriage to a hardworking man who doesn’t bring home as much bacon as the family could use. Hélène is first intrigued by the game when she catches a mysteriously sultry guest of the hotel playing it with her significant other. This causes her to buy the board game for her ungrateful husband who has no interest in learning it.

Which is why they start fighting, and she begins to come home later and later. She is having a chess affair with Dr. Kröger (Kevin Kline) who is also one of her clients. He teaches her the ways of the game that no instructional book can offer.

In turn, he is brought out of his curmudgeonly shell. They aren’t doing anything but playing chess, but when friends start to assume more is going on, Hélène makes the choice to save

Patrick Glaize

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Kevin Kline and Sandrine Bonnaire in Queen to Play her marriage at the price of her passion.

Eventually, it becomes clear that she can’t stay away. Kröger feels that she is good enough to enter a tournament, the prize being some 1400 euros (over $2,000). Up against only male competitors who have been playing for decades, Hélène is most certainly the one to beat.

Co-written and directed by Caroline Bottaro, Queen to Play is a sweet and endearing foreign language film that isn’t purely centered on the game. Like all great dramas, it allows the game to be another character, to be the sidekick. In this case, Hélène is the lead who, played by Bonnaire, is someone we enjoy watching. Kline doesn’t do too badly with the French, and he plays his character with the utmost sincerity. Overall, the game may not be what draws you to watch, but the characters and their plight are more interesting than many of the films in our theaters at the moment.

Grade: B+ —Candice Winters Queen to Play releases in select theaters April 1.

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2011

SPECIAL FEATURES by mike sebastian

See It! Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) tries his hand at real-life espionage with Fair Game, the story of CIA agent Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) who was outed by the Bush Administration to silence her dissent going into the Iraq war. Sean Penn is her husband, a former ambassador who fought back against the ensuing smear campaign. It’s an intelligent, tense telling of a jaw-dropping true story.

Darren Aronofsky crafts another ambitious and original film with Black Swan. Oscarwinner Natalie Portman is an elite ballet dancer whose drive for perfection sends her to the brink of madness.

Also available: Part two of the French gangster epic, Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 Easter Viewing: Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause) brought the life of Christ to the screen in the epic King of Kings, remastered on its 50th anniversary for Blu-ray.

Follow it up with a Charlton Heston-athon starting with the new Blu-ray release of The Ten Commandments, starring Heston in one of his most famous roles, as Moses. Then take a tour of the Holy Land with the four-part series Charlton Heston Presents the Bible.

Dirty Apes! Kick off the secular half of your Heston-athon with the Blu-ray release of the sci-fi classic Soylent Green. Then check out the DVD debuts of the gold mining thriller Mother Lode and the historical drama Antony and Cleopatra, both directed by Heston.

From the Vault: Another batch of forgotten gems from the MGM archives arrives from online retailers via DVD-on-demand. Highlights include the creepy thriller Return From the Ashes by the underrated J. Lee Thompson, John Forsythe investigating mob corruption in The Captive City and Billy Two Hats, a western with Gregory Peck and Desi Arnaz.

Ben Gazzara and Sylvester Stallone star in the Roger Corman-produced Capone (1975), also making its DVD debut.

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The Idiotbox: Find out what happened with Don Draper after the cliffhanger ending of season 3 as John Hamm and co. return for Mad Men: Season Four. Following a company of hotshot Manhattan ad execs, the series remains one of the best hours on television.

David Simon followed up “The Wire” with Treme: The Complete First Season, an ensemble drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans that touches on the lives of everyday people – musicians, restaurateurs and a college professor – whose lives were turned upside down by the tragedy. It’s chock full of local color and some great jazz.

Perhaps the most famous British TV show ever, Upstairs Downstairs: Series One comes to DVD in a new 40th Anniversary Edition, which features over six hours of new bonus features. The award-winning series contrasts the aristocratic Bellamy family with their servants during Edwardian England.

Frank Sinatra and Ethel Merman star in Cole Porter’s Anything Goes.

Also available: Tom Cavanaugh in the mini-series The Capture of the Green River Killer, the original neighborhood pest in Dennis the Menace: Season one, Apocalypse: World War II, In Plain Sight: Season Three, Emergency: The Final Rescues Stranger Than Fiction: The author of The Skeptical Environmentalist suggests a new approach to saving the planet in Cool It. Questioning conventional wisdom and the old throw-money-at-it approach to problem-solving, Bjørn Lomborg asks if there isn’t a better way.

The Human Experience travels the world shedding light on rarely seen human stories, from homeless New Yorkers to Ghanaian lepers. This touching film reminds us of our shared humanity.

Also available: local food doc Ingredients and bee doc Colony

Also Available: Who’s the Caboose? with Sarah Silverman, The Swimsuit Issue, One Week, Beneath the Dark, No One Knows About Persian Cats, Heaven Ain’t Hard to Find

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A DAY TO REMEMBER

Won’t Forget Where They Started From by zach bourque Few bands have shaken up their designated genres quite like A Day to Remember. Over the past several years they have garnered an enormous underground following with their high-energy live shows and unique blend of catchy and heavy.

Their sound is more or less a mashup of pop punk of the past, i.e., New Found Glory with some heavier hardcore elements of a metalcore act like Underoath or Killswitch Engage. The result is almost embarrassingly catchy, mixing sing-along choruses with massive power breakdowns and Cookie Monster vocals. While the mainstream potential of such a seemingly odd mixture proved initially impossible, A Day to Remember broke the ground into the airwaves of mainstream America with their single “Have Faith In Me” from their third release Homesick.

The band’s hybrid heavy/poppy style remains the band’s most unique contribution to the current music scene. Bassist Josh Woodard notes that “whatever kids get from it is cool with us. Some people come just to mosh in the pit, but if there are kids that just want to sing along and have fun during

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Campus Circle > Music > Interviews the pop parts that’s cool, too. We don’t like to pigeonhole ourselves with labels.”

Their latest album, What Separates Me From You, has taken the band on the road for what has become their biggest headlining tour to date. The album, which has already garnered some serious airplay on KROQ with its first single “All I Want,” has seemingly done the impossible by conquering both the mainstream and underground. What Separates Me From You peaked on the U.S. Billboard 200 at No. 11, quite an achievement for anyone let alone a young, hard-touring punk band.

A Day to Remember’s recent radio play has opened them up to a wide variety of new fans. Woodard remarks that What Separates Me From You has become their best-selling record to date and that this newfound mainstream potential has attracted new sets of ears.

“It’s been crazy,” begins Woodard. “There’s a lot more girls at our shows. We also noticed that about a year and a half ago a lot of people in the military started coming out for our shows. I’d imagine that they like to have something real heavy or aggressive to get them pumped to work and go on tour.”

The influx of female band love hasn’t jaded the young guns in the band. In fact, Woodard says that the band is hardly as full of Casanovas as one may expect.

“You’d think that as a band you’d get that kind of stuff that you see on TV or hear about from other bands, that that stuff would be more accessible, but it’s not anything like that. We are nerds,” explains Woodard. “After this, I’m going to go into the back lounge and play video games. Trying to hook up with girls is not our bag at all.”

Regardless of how the band feels about their recent success, they are most certainly not a small underground act any longer. A recent billing on the KROQ Almost Acoustic

Adam Elmakias

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Christmas along the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins, Social Distortion, Vampire Weekend and the Black Keys would normally drive a band through the ego universe. This is apparently not the case.

“It’s one of those things that you’ll really have to meet us to get a grasp on it. It’s easy for people to say I’m not a diva and I’ve never let anything go to my head, but really we’re the same nerd loser kids that started this band,” Woodard says.

The juggle of pleasing both new and old fans will prove to be a challenge as the band grows and matures, but what can be assured (at least for the meanwhile) is that A Day to Remember will maintain their unique sound regardless of mainstream pressures.

Woodard concludes, “We’re going to continue to do what we’re doing regardless of what people say.”

A Day to Remember perform April 6 at the Palladium. For more information, visit adtrofficial.com.

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REBELUTION Take It to the Next Level by lynda correa Located in the heart of Los Angeles’ Koreatown, the historic theater on Wilshire and Western will host one of Southern California’s homegrown reggae bands, Rebelution, set to perform on Friday, April 1.

Rebelution has its beginnings grounded by the beaches of the University of California – Santa Barbara, where the original members met and formed a reggae band in 2004. Now, Eric Rachmany (guitars, vocals), Marley D. Williams (bass), Rory Carey (keyboards) and Wesley Finley (drums) are finishing up the last leg of their Winter Greens Tour with stops closer to home. Williams is glad for the homecoming.

“We love the West, it’s where we’re from. We’ll try and soak up as much Santa Barbara and the vibes there as much as possible,” he says.

But before heading up the 101 Freeway, the boys stop to play in Los Angeles. Williams feels the prestige of performing at the Wiltern.

“We’re looking forward to the Wiltern show a lot. I think it’s one of those shows we’ve been talking about all tour. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. I’ve been told it’s the spot to play at.”

Not only does word of mouth get him pumped for the show, but he also recognizes that this is the next step up for the band.

“It’s going to be a big show for us because usually we’ve done House of Blues and before that it has been the Roxy. The Wiltern is a big step for us.”

Joining Rebelution at the Wiltern show are Iration and Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad.

Williams states, “It’s going to be cool to have that crew together again. We had a lot of fun on the first leg.”

But the fun doesn’t stop on stage. As if a rocking concert was not enough to satisfy people, Rebelution wants to say thanks to fans for all their support by partying with them after. All concert ticket holders 21 and over are eligible to attend the after-party in the Wiltern lobby, featuring a set by DJ Yeti.

After their last show in Ventura, Rebelution go global, heading to Brazil for a brief tour. Then, it’s back to the States for music festivals in June.

However, just because their tour stops doesn’t mean the music has to. Rebelution is taking this time to work on a third album.

“We’ve got a few songs, and we’ve recorded them. But this time we’re trying to expand our sound. We’ve really established ourselves these first two albums, so we want to try and take that to another level,” Williams shares. Kicking it up a notch is “the mode we’ve been in for everything, our music, our tours, it’s our time to become better than what we already are.”

When asked further about how they plan on changing their sound, Williams adds reassuringly, “We don’t want to change everything. This is what got us here. This is what our fans like. We have a formula where we found something that is unique in the reggae/ rock/hip-hop hybrid world. Because we are equipped with that, it’s OK to try and have fun. I would say we’re trying to push it a little bit to go in this direction or that direction a little bit more, not just what we’ve already been doing. People know our sound, and we have a unique one. So why not give something more with an R&B or a swing twist? It’s something we feel like we can reach out to more people who might have not listened to us before in the past.”

Though their sound might be expanding, Rebelution stays loyal to their motivational message: “We have a few love songs but also a few personal inspirational songs,” says Williams. Nothing quite as politically charged as “Wake Up Call” though. Concert attendees can expect to hear a sampling of a few of their new songs at each show.

So when can fans expect this revolutionized Rebelution?

“When we feel it’s as good as it can be,” assures Williams. “Summer would be nice. It could be fall. You never know.”

I do know one thing, though: I have a feeling it’ll be worth the wait.

Rebelution perform April 1 at the Wiltern. For more information, visit rebelutionmusic.com.

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NEWS FILM MUSIC

CULTURE EVENTS DVD GAMING SPORTS MEDIA BLOGS CD Reviews Frequency Interviews Live Show Reviews Music Notes Music Report Special Features

CDREVIEWS Deadlock

Hyro da Hero

Bizarro World (Lifeforce) German death metal band Deathlock has released their fifth studio album, Bizarro World, living up to its title. The record begins with a strong display of power as it quickens blood flow with intensity and adrenaline.

Each instrument can be identified without complications, which often becomes a very difficult task in death metal.

Johannes Prem provides the aggressive vocals that provoke a series of uncontrollable tantrums and madness. Sabine Scherer sings in a softer and melodic manner, adding peace and tranquility that balances the direction. John Gahlert joins the lineup on bass, adding a dark and heavy layer throughout the album.

The production of the album has a crystal-clear sound with a rich texture in the guitars. Every song includes vast layers of synthesizers and techno beats that are beautifully mixed with violent percussion bursts. Bizarro World expands across unreachable extremes with wicked head-banging tracks and light orchestral dynamics.

Grade: B —Jacob Gaitan Bizarro World is currently available.

Birth, School, Work, Death (Stereo Bang) For years, Houston has established itself as a hotbed for hip-hop, but punk rock?

It’s not really synonymous with the city of candy slabs, chopped ’n’ screwed and lean.

Houston native Hyro da Hero breaks convention with his new album, Birth, School, Work, Death, effectively fusing hip-hop with punk rock.

Hyro grew up listening to artists such as UGK and Z-Ro, but became weary of hip-hop when artists became more concerned with making simple, catchy songs than penning insightful lyrics. “I just changed the station,” Hyro states, and he started listening to bands like the Clash, Bad Brains and Fishbone.

He makes it clear that he’s not a gimmick like other artists who try to cross genres. “I’m not trying to be anything I’m not. I grew up a big fan of both hip-hop and rock, so this is me.”

With the help of renowned producer Ross Robinson (Korn, Slipknot), Hyro puts together a well-blended album, combining sharp lyrics about his upbringing, social issues and the state of music, with aggressive, rebellious instrumentals.

In a day where artists try to achieve commercial fame and success by following a blueprint, Hyro is set on doing it his own unique way.

Grade: B —Rex Pham Birth, School, Work, Death will be available April 3.

Wolf + Lamb and Soul Clap DJ Kicks (!K7) Two of America’s prominent disk jockey duos, Wolf + Lamb and Soul Clap, have released a highly addictive collaboration filled with electro beats and techno elements. The four members responsible for the album have created a controlled musical experience filled with layers of hip-hop, R&B and vintage electro pop.

The 27-track list demands dance floor attention with warm funk samples and space-like synthesizers. Originally developed as a battle album, the four creative minds shifted their attention towards a common vision and included material from both crews adding a different approach to a highly addicting album.

Throughout, experimental sounds are manipulated and pushed out of this world to create a fusion of urban sounds and synthetic chemistry. Vocal glimpses appear on rare occasion, which echo along with heavy bass riffs that linger.

The album exposes something out of the norm and dares to provide something rare and imaginative.

Grade: A —Jacob Gaitan DJ Kicks is currently available.

Five Eight Your God Is Dead To Me Now (Iron Horse) Athens, Ga., rock group Five Eight have released their latest studio album, marking the return of the original members after a 14-year separation.

The fearless record holds no bars with its lyrical content, as they continually push the envelope. Sung from the deep chambers of Mike Mantione’s mind, the 14 tracks travel with intense content full of religious undertones and political views sowed tightly wth songs of love and loss. The contagious guitar riffs and bass lines linger long after the last string is strummed, channeling small traces from their earlier albums.

Your God Is Dead To Me Now speaks louder than the daring title itself. Manitone bleeds his self-doubts of a lost spiritual relationship filled with false hopes and empty promises. Yet with all the dark material, it’s perfectly balanced with heavy musical interpretations of ’90s rock. The group has recaptured their essence from earlier releases and isn’t pulling any punches this time around.

Grade: B —Jacob Gaitan Your God Is Dead To Me Now is currently available.

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Campus Circle > Music > CD Reviews

Campus Circle 3.30.11 - 4.5.11

Jag Panzer The Scourge of the Light (SPV/Steamhammer) The last studio release from metal juggernaut Jag Panzer, 2004’s Casting the Stones, was not exactly a high point for the band; fans and critics alike were not pleased with the fact that the group had veered away from the melodic sound they were known for. Since then, the group has had a lineup change; guitarist Chris Broderick was poached by Megadeth and replaced by Chris Lasegue, who not only brought his ax-slinging skills to the table but also his songwriting talent, helping Jag Panzer return to form with The Scourge of the Light.

Lasegue and original guitarist Mark Briody play so fast on “Condemned to Fight” that at first, before the rest of the group’s thunder kicks in, it seems like they’re doing a take on the classical piece “Flight of the Bumblebee.” But as good as the two guitarists are, listeners (at least those familiar with rock’s most famous voices) can’t help but focus on the vocals as singer Harry Conklin often sounds eerily like the late great Ronnie James Dio. With that ace in the hole, it doesn’t matter much whether the music here is leaning towards that of Dio, Iron Maiden or even Guns N’ Roses; melodic metal fans are going to gobble this one up.

Grade: B —Kevin Wierzbicki The Scourge of the Light is currently available.

Orchestre Poly-Rythmo Cotonou Club (Strut) Perhaps inspired by all the hoopla driving the current interest in the music of the late Fela Kuti, fellow West Africans Orchestre Poly-Rythmo have come out of a 20year retirement to record Cotonou Club. The Benin-based

big band that few Americans have heard of until now should have no trouble appealing to the Fela fan base; with a bold brass section and a penchant for going off on jazzy tangents, there are many similarities between Kuti’s work and songs like “Ne Te Faches Pas.” About half the album swings this way, but there are also pan-African sounds to be heard on the Zulu-ish “Ma Vie,” the heavily percussive Afropop of “Gbeti Madjro,” an Orchestre Poly-Rythmo blast from the past redone here with Angélique Kidjo, and standout track “Mariage/Ou C’est Lui,” a fascinating stew of African styles featuring Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara. “Von Vo Nono” uses instrumentation that Santana nicked for many of his hits, and “Pardon” sounds a lot like Creole music straight out of Louisiana; Western listeners may not realize that Africa is the origin of these distinct sounds.

Bonus track “Lion Is Burning” features the band jamming with Franz Ferdinand.

Grade: A —Kevin Wierzbicki Cotonou Club is currently available.

The Sounds Something to Die For (SideOneDummy) This Swedish band is very adept at writing catchy pop tunes.

Their talent for doing something very well, however, has gotten the Sounds into a bit of a bind.

Listen to any of the band’s albums prior to this one and you’ll mostly hear songs that channel popular femalefronted “new wave” groups like Blondie; a beloved sound to be sure but not one that’s going to get a group out of the underground in 2011. So now lead singer Maja Ivarsson and crew have tweaked things a little bit and taken square aim at today’s pop charts by moving toward a more dance-oriented sound.

“It’s So Easy” begins with an electro gurgle and a thudding bass drum beat that together clear the path for sparkling synth riffs and a hooky robo-pop-meets-ABBA vocal chorus as it segues into “Dance With the Devil.” “Something to Die For” also features fuzzy synth and a heavy dance beat, but the Sounds are sort of easing their fans into the realm of higher B.P.M.s and not completely abandoning their fondness for new wave, evident on songs like “Diana” and “The No No Song,” tunes that could have garnered major airplay in the early ’80s.

Grade: A —Kevin Wierzbicki Something to Die For is currently available.

Storms Lay Your Sea Coat Aside (PLJK) Storms members Lori Scacco and Eva Puyuelo have created a beautiful record titled Lay Your Sea Coat Aside. Filed with peaceful bells and dream-state guitars, this album travels smoothly across the air providing a soothing atmosphere.

Together, Scacco and Puyuelo develop a complete state of relaxation through their lullaby renditions and gentle humming vocals. During the opening track “Wolves and Bells,” experimental elements are instantly detected by warping backward vocals that blend magically with the raw layers of acoustic instruments.

The album is inspired by 1970’s psych folk that is executed perfectly. Nine tracks transcend into each other, appearing highly exquisite and fundamental. The song “Forest Year” includes lingering echoes with soft vocals that expose a frail, limber side, but evolves into a melancholic ambience that floats with a cool breeze. The obscure climate vibes are felt with every word but are controlled with a minimum percussion presence, which isn’t greatly necessary.

Grade: A —Jacob Gaitan Lay Your Sea Coat Aside is currently available.

Follow CAMPUS CIRCLE on Twitter @CampusCircle LIVESHOWREVIEWS March 17 @ House of Blues Sunset Strip As we eagerly waited for the lights to dim and the curtain to drop, a familiar chant erupted from the sea of clad-green bodies filling the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard from wall to wall: “We want the Umph! Gotta have that Umph!

We want the Umph! Gotta have that Umph!” From that moment, you could tell that this wasn’t going to be just another evening with Umphrey’s McGee. It had been more than a year since Umph had come to Los Angeles, but they didn’t waste any time getting into a few classics, first showcasing their prog rock roots with “Nothing Too Fancy” before transitioning into “In The Kitchen.” Four songs later, and the band had inconspicuously shifted back into “Nothing Too Fancy” to close its first set. Highlighting the second set were more staples, including “The Bottom Half,” a guest appearance from Big Gigantic saxophonist Dominic Lalli on “Ringo” and the face-melting guitar licks of “Miss Tinkle’s Overture,” compliments of lead axeman Jake Cinniger.

After beginning the encore with the 2003 track “Glory,” percussionist Andy Farag joined lead singer Brendan Bayliss in surprising the crowd with their own version of “Regulators” as a tribute to the late Nate Dogg. Though a cover of the 1994 West Coast rap single may not have been what some overzealous fans initially wanted to hear before heading home that night, it proved once again that after more than 14 years on the scene, the limitations still remain endless for Umphrey’s McGee. —Josh Herwitt

Kids of 88 March 21 @ The Satellite Coming all the way from New Zealand, Kids of 88 made quite

the appearance. The crowd felt like they had time traveled to a 1980 electronic new wave show. Singer Sam McCarthy was dancing his heart out, jumping off the stage into the middle of the dance floor and getting into the groove.

The synth-pop band kept the energy in the crowd high with their rhythmic drumbeats and catchy lyrics. This blast from the past ended with the hit song, “My House,” which had the crowd singing along. With their recent EP, Just a Little Bit, the funky electro-pop band will definitely bring more dancing and time traveling along with them to their upcoming shows. —Amanda D’Egidio

Girl Talk March 21 @ The Palladium While the legality of making a living from looping samples from Miley Cyrus with the Aphex Twins may be in a bit of a grey area, the sold-out performance of Girl Talk should alleviate any financial troubles. The packed arena was brewing with energy as fans from all walks of life headed in.

Girl Talk’s massive stage setup was dwarfed by a sea of fans who joined Greg Gillis on stage. His set was, in a word, a party. Massive streamers, balloons, elaborate LED lighting and a giant sea of dancing fans set the mood. You’d be hard pressed to find a single person in the audience not having an amazing time. —Zach Bourque

City and Colour March 22 @ El Rey Though it has been nearly a year since City and Colour played an official L.A. show, it seems it was still business as usual for mastermind Dallas Green. Though he maintained his status quo for this tour, Green’s is still a business that’s very much worth investing in. Playing most of the fan-favorites

MUSICINTERVIEWS

ANARBOR Old(ish) Souls

by brien overly Bands these days, they grow up so fast.

One day they’re posting their first self-financed live performance video on YouTube for the five people who will see it, and the next they’re enrolled in rehab for substance abuse. In a music scene increasingly marked by as much excess and vice as one might expect to find in mainstream pop and hip-hop, the pop-punk foursome of Anarbor have somehow mastered the art of aging gracefully. What’s more, they’re all only barely over 21 years old.

Despite their young age, the members of Anarbor have a pretty clear grasp on who they are and where they want to be, even if the rest of the music industry has other opinions about it. Vocalist/bassist Slade Echeverria, drummer Greg Garrity and guitarists Adam Juwig and Mike Kitlas just might bring some old-school influences to their genre, regardless of whether audiences can really appreciate it.

“It’s never been our concern,” Kitlas responds. “A lot of bands right now just want to sound like what’s out there already, whatever that up-and-coming sound is. We’ve always stuck with our roots and the type of music we like to play, and we plan on keeping it that way. If someone’s going to like our music, then they’ll like our music. We’re not out here to try and write songs for other people.”

Though they carry an air of blasé nonchalance and general apathy toward all that might be deemed popular in

Amanda D’Egidio

Umphrey’s McGee

Campus Circle > Music > Live Show Reviews

Kids of 88 brought Kiwi electro-pop to the Satellite. off of Bring Me Your Love, Green’s set was surprisingly light on older material or ace-up-the-sleeve surprises. From “The Death of Me” to “Waiting…” to “Body in a Box,” the setlist was slightly predictable for anyone who has been to Green’s last three L.A. performances, though that didn’t stop the rabid fan response to each song as he started.

While it would have been nice to hear some of the lessplayed but arguably more viscerally emotive tracks in Green’s oeuvre, the preview of new material from his forthcoming album more than made up for any shortcomings. “O’ Sister” made for one of the more poignant moments of the night, showing Green at his most vulnerably evocative while armed only with his acoustic guitar and hauntingly raw vocals as he stood solo on stage. It was a prime example of why Green is so revered by fans and peers, turning a very soldout 700-person venue into the smallest, most intimate club in all of L.A. for that three minutes, where audience chatter was met with more sideways angry glances than one would garner for interrupting in church. If the brief sampling he gave is any indication of what Green has in store for his next album, he’s going to need to find some bigger venues next time he’s out here. —Brien Overly

Campus Circle > Music > Interviews music, Kitlas and Echeverria are more enlivened when talking about their own music and just how divergent it is from “popular.” Even when covering and borrowing from actual hit pop club jams, as seen on their just released The Mixtape EP, the Phoenix-bred foursome still sound like seasoned rock ’n’ roll veterans. If the hints of big-sounding rock that The Mixtape suggest are any indication, the band’s next album could be a game-changer for their scene.

“We took a two-month break after the VersaEmerge tour, then started writing for our new record,” says Kitlas. “We have about 10 new songs, and we’ve been at home demo-ing and recording stuff on our own, trying to get a feel for what our next record’s going to be like. We’ve been busy writing.”

While Kitlas promises the new album won’t be too far a cry from their previous full length, The Words You Don’t Swallow, he and his band mates do have a few tricks up their sleeves to let loose while recording.

“Every day we’re getting older and experiencing new things; this record goes with what we’ve always done with our music in trying to be real and tell it how it is. We explain what we’re going through in our lives so kids can relate to it,” says Kitlas. “We’re a very guitar riff-driven band. Adam and I both love classic rock bands, the people who just get up there and shred. One of my favorite guitarists is Jimi Hendrix, and most of our influences come from older stuff rather than newer.”

Given the current state of the pop-punk scene that has yielded their audience, touring partners and genre brandings, Kitlas might have his work cut out for him if he plans to bring some Hendrix in his shredding to the mid-teens of today.

That said, Kitlas and his band mates do love a good challenge.

“Life doesn’t hand you anything. You’ve got to go out and get it. That’s like the definition of touring. You’re not just going to get big off of MySpace,” he says. “It sucks when bands

do get big like that, but what are you going to do? Bitch and whine and not tour? No, you’re going to keep your head up, keep touring and hope for the best.”

And sometimes, all it takes is a quick reminder from fans to put things in perspective.

“Seeing kids singing along at the shows, that’s what makes us want to keep going,” says Echeverria.

What might at first have sounded like disinterest on Kitlas’ part is in fact quite the opposite. Anarbor simply have a clearer view of things than those around them. For them, in the end, integrity and authenticity are king.

“We’re real dudes playing music that we like to play. We’re not faking anything,” says Echeverria.

Echoing this, Kitlas adds with a laugh, “We’re the same band on CD that you get when you come see us play live. We don’t have all this crazy stuff going on, we’re just a little garage band from Phoenix.”

The Mixtape is currently available. Anarbor perform April 2 at Chain Reaction and April 5 at the Roxy. For more information, visit anarbor.net.

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CULTURE EVENTS DVD GAMING SPORTS MEDIA BLOGS CD Reviews Frequency Interviews Live Show Reviews Music Notes Music Report Special Features

MUSICREPORT by kevin wierzbicki Free Soulja Boy Mixtape Platinum rapper and viral marketing maven Soulja Boy has released a new mixtape called 1UP, and you can have a copy for free. Soulja Boy put the 20 unreleased tracks of 1UP together just for his fans and comments on its video gameinspired title thusly, “If I was in a video game, this mixtape would advance me to the next level with an extra life!” Grab your no-charge download at datpiff.com.

Epigene’s Epic Rock Opera: A Wall Street Odyssey

Campus Circle > Music > Music Report Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood and Loretta Lynn, the Stagecoach Festival has announced the addition of k.d. lang and her band the Siss Boom Bang to the lineup. The country music festival takes place April 30 and May 1 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, the same venue that hosts Coachella.

Others scheduled to appear include Darius Rucker, Steel Magnolia, Jerry Douglas Trio, the Punch Brothers, Phosphorescent, the Cleverlys, Leon Russell, the Gourds, Rosie Flores and many others. This year also marks the debut of Lake Eldorado, a “ready to go” camping site positioned against the serene setting of a redeveloped lake. Find all the details at stagecoachfestival.com.

Sean Bigler and Bonnie Lykes, the husband and wife duo also known as Epigene, have created a rock opera for our times inspired by the main character in Joseph Heller’s book Catch 22. A Wall Street Odyssey: The City, The Country and Back Again follows the rise and fall and rise of its hero Yossarian, who has a high-stress Wall Street job that destroys him physically, emotionally and spiritually. Drug addiction and homelessness play into the story, as does salvation in the form of being rescued by a family member and taken to the country to experience a different way of life – communal living. After being completely transformed, Yossarian seeks to tell his story.

A Wall Street Odyssey unfolds to a prog-rock soundtrack, and the two-CD set is packaged with a hardcover minibook holding all the lyrics and lots of cartoon-style illustration. The effort drops April 5 through Amammi Music (epigenemusic. com).

MusiCares Benefit Concert to Honor Lyman, Gahan

k.d. lang Hops on the Stagecoach

Tindersticks Soundtracks Box Set

Already stacked with big name acts like Kenny Chesney,

Constellation Records will release a special five-CD/five-

The seventh annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit dinner and concert is to be held at Club Nokia May 6 and will honor Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman and Depeche Mode lead singer Dave Gahan. The event will be hosted by comedian Greg Behrendt and will feature a special performance by Gahan along with sets from Jane’s Addiction, Ozomatli, an acoustic show from Paramore and a DJ set from Adam Bravin and Justin Warfield of She Wants Revenge. Lyman and Gahan will be recognized for their unconditional support of the MAP Fund and receive MusiCare’s From the Heart Award and Stevie Ray Vaughan Award, respectively.

Balcony seating for the alcohol-free event is available through Ticketmaster; proceeds will aid MusiCares’ efforts to provide addiction recovery treatment within the music community.

MUSICNOTES

SXSW’s UPAND-COMING ARTISTS by eva recinos

Austin, Texas-hosted SXSW has come and gone, but you don’t need a full-blown music festival to check out some great, lesser-known or up-and-coming musicians from across the nation. Running the gamut from sultry vocals to strange band names, the appearances at this year’s SXSW can offer some variety to your current playlist. Only listening to some of the songs from these bands proves that they’ve got quite a bit of personality that they’re ready to give the music world – and you can experience it however far you are from Texas. The following artists are moving on up in the music world and prove they’ve got what it takes to stand out.

DOM: Massachusetts-hailing lo-fi band DOM has already created a track with Gucci Mane after releasing a debut EP titled Sun Bronzed Greek Gods, but it doesn’t seem like the fame is going to the guy’s heads any time soon. The messyhaired, jean-wearing quartet presents a sound both bouncy and melancholy in its unfolding. DOM’s “Bowl Cut” is anything but cookie cutter as it has you debating whether you want to dance or delve into the deeper issues of life. The band’s laid-back yet musically intriguing sound is bound to

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Christian Lantry

NEWS FILM MUSIC

Soulja Boy is giving away his new mixtape, 1UP. LP box set compiling all six soundtracks that members of Tindersticks have created for the films of French director Claire Denis over the past 15 years. Four of the six soundtracks are previously unreleased, including the score for Denis’ most recent and widely acclaimed White Material, and all of the film scores recorded since 2002 are issued in this set for the first time.

Claire Denis Film Scores 1996-2009 Box Set drops on April 26 and to accompany the release Tindersticks will be performing a live score retrospective to a 70-minute montage of scenes from the films at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex on the campus of Cal State L.A. on April 30.

Johnny Rawls: Memphis Still Got Soul If you saw Johnny Rawls’ recent Hermosa Beach show, you know that the bluesman is the real deal, a fact also confirmed by the Blues Music Award Rawls took home for his 2010 Ace of Spades album. Rawls may be in line for another award when his new one, Memphis Still Got Soul, drops April 5 on the Catfood Records label. Johnny is headed out on a tour of Australia now, but more California dates should be announced soon at johnnyrawlsblues.com.

Campus Circle > Music > Music Notes keep them moving up in the music world, but hopefully their low-maintenance personality stays intact.

Esben and the Witch: The band’s name sets up immediate expectations, and Esben and the Witch don’t fail to deliver.

With echoing vocals and a dark yet engaging mesh of lazily played guitar chords and rhythmic drum beats, the band’s track “Warpath” feels a little shoegazer and a little Charlotte Gainsbourg. But the velvet texture of the lead singer’s voice blended with simple and sweet guitar riffs can draw any listener in. The trio got its name from a Danish fairy tale, but their sound is far from fairy tale friendly. If you’re looking for something that’s a little dark and a little soul-searching with just the right amount of easy-to-follow melodies, Esben and the Witch might do the trick.

Jessica Lea Mayfield: Glad that she didn’t attend college and fully aware that she is a bad influence on the people she goes on tour with, Mayfield has got quite a personality to back up her lulling vocals. The feisty female’s single “Our Hearts Are Wrong” is a combination of a smooth yet commandeering Regina Spektor-esque vocal performance and a wooing and jazzy musical setup. Mayfield has all the parts of an alluring, dreamlike songstress but her background and lyrics show she’s got her amount of toughness underneath the pretty-girl image. See her at the Troubadour April 29.

The Vaccines: For the foursome that could be in the running for least attractive band name, it was a pretty woman who got the songwriting juices flowing. But “Norgaard” isn’t the only trick the band has up its sleeve. “Wrecking Bar (Ra Ra Ra)” is a short and fun track that makes it sound like these guys are out to just have fun and make music. The song’s melody

Yuck’s fuzzy guitars are anything but icky. comes easily, creating a nonchalance that gets you in the mood to either start skanking or just sit back and head bop a little.

The quartet’s obvious chemistry provides a solid backdrop for their debut, What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? (available May 31), and might certainly even woo the heart of a supermodel or two. See them at the Palladium June 3.

Yuck: Shoegazer itching but not so much into dark melodies?

Yuck’s OK with that. The band might compete with the Vaccines when it comes to strange names, but their fuzzy guitar chords and laid-back vocals are anything but icky. “Holing Out” sounds like it could almost be on a sitcom save for the gleeful use of feedback and the crunch pedal. What results is a track that doesn’t have a problem giving the limelight to the bass and that lets the song unfold as if nothing more natural could happen. Equal parts self-confessional and noise loving, the song proves Yuck’s chosen name is the only thing a music lover can immediately be repulsed by. See them at the Echo April 13 and the Satellite April 14.

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Murs, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, P.O.S. and company throw it down at Paid Dues April 2.

by brien overly Travie McCoy March 30 @ El Rey I was a little skeptical of this whole “Travie” thing at first, not going to lie. Charming as Mr. McCoy is on his own, a big part of the appeal of Gym Class Heroes is, y’know, the other three dudes in the band who are all really good at their respective instruments. So to see McCoy on stage without them was a worrisome concept for me as a supporter of the Gym Class dynamic. And though “Billionaire” took a good deal of time to warm to, the rest of the tracks of McCoy’s solo debut proved to be much easier to swallow. In an unexpected twist of irony, it turns out McCoy can T-Pain through a song better than … well, T-Pain. One Supergrass-sampling track later, and I was conceding this round to Travie. Just as long as he doesn’t stay separated too long from Disashi, Eric and Matt.

Lady Gaga March 31 @ Honda Center I’m sure some of y’all are sick to death of the Gaga-stanning that happens in the lines of Frequency every week, along with that which happens in every other facet of existence. I know, it’s inescapable. Huddled in a foxhole in Libya, it would still find you. So don’t fight it anymore, just join. Besides, fearsome as it may be, it’s a fandom that has a much higher concentration of intelligence than say, the Team Britney cult of followers.

Paid Dues Festival April 2 @ NOS Events Center I’m certainly a ways away from being anything even close to a hip-hop aficionado, but even I, in all my skinny-jeaned, flannel-shirted and shaggy-haired awareness, know how incredibly legit this fest is. As if it’s not enough that the incredibly talented Mos Def and Talib Kweli are reuniting under the Black Star banner, there’s a host of other acts that are worth the price of admission for casual hip-hop listeners and for those fully entrenched in the underground scene. Though, to be fair, with the likes of Murs, P.O.S. and Eligh on the bill, this is not the show you go to expecting to hear the trite and banal club bangers that Top 40 radio wants to pretend is hip-hop. Be prepared for a hard dose of reality amid the beats and the rhymes, because these dudes are quintessential “artists,” not “rappers.”

Talib Kweli April 4 @ Detroit Bar Just in case you’re not so much the ginormous daylong hip-hop festival person, there is a little something for you this week as well. Or maybe you just really dislike Mos Def ’s film career, like, on a very personal level. Either way, a hip-hop icon of his own right, Talib Kweli in a tiny intimate venue is the kind of stuff that only the sweetest brags are made of when tweeting about where you’re at. Feel free to pre-emptively attach a “DontHate” hashtag in preparation for the replies of rage-filled jealousy you’ll surely incur from your absent friends.See, aren’t you stoked? Now I, on the other hand, am forced to deal with the lowly plebeian population at Coachella, where VIP looks increasingly pedestrian every year, without any club show alternatives for the headlining acts. #FirstWorldProblems.

Anarbor April 5 @ The Roxy How is this the first and only real rock show I’ve got this week? I know, it’s weird, right?

I think so, too. Luckily, the Phoenix natives of Anarbor bring more than a week’s worth of rock ’n’ roll in every set they play, and I’m more than confident in their ability to hold down the rock front in this week’s Frequency. Though looking at their tour mates on this outing is admittedly enough to discourage most grown adults from wanting to attend this show, I promise, on all my journalistic integrity, that Anarbor is very much a grown-up appropriate band. Yeah, they’re infectiously catchy, and yeah, they put on a dynamically energetic live show, but they’re anything but children’s music. The foursome can bring some riff-heavy hard rock edginess with that pop sensibility. So yeah, they’ll get you to sing along, but no, you won’t have to feel guilty about it when you do.

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L.A.PLACES

Campus Circle > Culture > L.A. Places

BASEBALL CENTRAL

5746 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles

For more information, call (323) 954-0200.

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Dov Rudnick

Baseball Central offers sanctuary to the baseball dreamer.

Pint-size little leaguers and full-grown adults seem to be struck by the same bug of baseball fever.

Dov Rudnick

It is a busy time of year at Baseball CenTRAL. The batting cages located just off Venice Boulevard are abuzz with activity as the season gets underway. A longtime favorite among Westside baseball fans, Baseball Central is enjoying a renaissance with a new owner, a young staff and a new location to call home.

On visiting the cages, one is immediately struck by the pervasive enthusiasm for the game. The walls are adorned with photographs of baseball greats and landmark stadiums. Gangs of pint-size little leaguers jockey alongside full-grown adults as they wait their turn to hit in the cages. Everyone seems to be struck by the same bug of baseball fever.

Baseball Central has six cages for swatting balls from the hand-fed pitching machines. They can be rented at bargain prices by the hour or by number of pitches. Another lane reserved just for pitchers has a standard height turf mound where you can try out your wind-up. They even have a blow-up Dodger doll that poses as a batter. With good aim you can actually knock the Velcro-attached head clear off! Giants fans love this feature.

While any and all are invited to try their stroke in the cages, the principal focus of Baseball Central is personal instruction.

The staff of instructors includes owner T.J. Runnells, a former professional player, and a crew of young enthusiasts.

Judging by the crowd of men beyond their baseball “prime,” I imagine that my own story is not unusual. I am among the multitudes who abandon their dreams of baseball stardom on some distant field years ago. Whenever I pass a ball field I am touched by a subtle bittersweet nostalgia as I watch kids engage in the pastime. Yet one can always dream, and that practice I have never ceased.

Dreaming itself is integral to the mystique of baseball. Inside the heart of every baseball fan is the desire to be a hero, the star at the epicenter of glory. Our fantasies are composed of makebelieve moments in which the most common stage is the batter’s box. It is that fundamental circumstance of the game: the batter alone at the plate facing off an enemy, a hopeful crowd watching closely, the game on the line. “And here’s the pitch…”

There is something else about hitting, beyond the fantasy aspect, which makes it so appealing to body and soul. First of all, there is the physicality. The pulling back and release, a combination of strength and grace as the spine twists, limbs and muscles united in common cause. Occasionally the ball will be struck by the sweet spot on the bat. Combined with a smooth swing the ball explodes, and it feels like the most casual thing of all. A nonchalant twist of the wrist and “see ya’ later.” You can watch the pros achieve this confluence of forces nightly on the highlight reel but to experience it for yourself is something that can never be adequately described.

True, most of us will never live the glory moments of our baseball fantasies in real life, but that is not to diminish their value. On the contrary, our dreams are precious stuff, they keep us young at heart, a flicker of magic yet living. They are to be celebrated.

Baseball Central offers sanctuary to the baseball dreamer.

Here, one can hit to their heart’s content. At a speed of your choice, pitch after pitch comes flying down the barrel. The machines here tend to vary in pitch location, just enough to make it exciting. The unpredictability adds a certain drama and makes those moments of solid contact feel all the more well earned. It’s actually kind of addicting. The closer you get to the divine swat, the more you hunger for it. And I suppose that is the best thing of all, to find the fire of desire still lit in our baseball-loving hearts.

Dov Rudnick

by dov rudnick

The principal focus of Baseball Central is personal instruction.

Follow CAMPUS CIRCLE on Twitter @CampusCircle DODGERS411

Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/MCT

Campus Circle > Sports > Baseball

Andre Ethier and the Dodgers set their sights high this season.

WITH NEW FACES, THE BOYS IN BLUE PREP FOR 2011

by Marvin vasquez

There is a lot of hype for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2011 opening day game against the 2010 World Series Champs, the San Francisco Giants.

It could be because of the intriguing pitching matchup between aces Clayton Kershaw and Tim Lincecum. But it can also reflect on what the Dodgers will start offering and producing to the L.A. fan base after a poor 2010 showing.

Last year, the Dodgers finished two games below .500 at 80-82, landing in fourth place in the National League West. They did not make the playoffs. They traded Manny Ramirez, and now Joe Torre has retired.

Former hitting legend Don Mattingly is now the manager, and as he approaches his first season of managing, Mattingly does bring something that Torre could not offer.

With no disrespect to Torre, Mattingly is younger and might connect better with the players.

At 49 years of age, “The Hit Man” sure has his hands full.

One thing is certain, however, after he announced Kershaw as his ace early in spring training: Kershaw, who is 22 and has two years remaining before becoming arbitration eligible, is their No. 1 go-to pitcher.

Kershaw possesses the necessary tools to be called a true ace, especially with “Public Enemy No. 1” (a devastating curve ball that hitters can rarely hit). In 2010, he led the Dodgers with 13 wins, 212 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.91.

The remaining starters can be slotted thereafter with Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda and Jon Garland, respectively. Arguably, this is one of the deepest starting pitching staffs that general manager Ned Colletti has assembled in his career. The Dodgers even have right-hander Vicente Padilla as a potential starter, but he will most likely see innings as a reliever.

Yes, Mattingly is inexperienced at managing, but his six All-Star appearances, nine Gold Glove Awards, three Silver Slugger Awards, 2,000-plus hits and one-time AL MVP honors speak for themselves. Sure, Mattingly’s inexperience

will certainly hit the down side at times this upcoming season, but he has enough knowledge and fuel in his system to surpass expectations while surprising many as a potential National League Manager of the Year contender.

Mattingly’s starting pitching is set, and so are the relievers. However, one question does remain unanswered.

Will power pitcher Jonathan Broxton ever find his true closer form on the mound? Quite frankly, Mattingly might be as perplexed as you or me about the answer to that question.

Broxton, 26, can only recover from past mental lapses if, and only if, his confidence comes back. We can rest assured that Mattingly knows this and will attempt to revive this young gun into a deadly weapon. Ultimately, the process truly lies with how Broxton approaches the situation. If all goes bad, the Dodgers have Padilla, Hong-Chih Kuo or Curacao newcomer Kenley Jansen to step into that situational role.

Kuo pitched in 56 games last season, made 12 saves, collected 73 strikeouts and recorded a 1.2 ERA. The lefty is as dominant as they come. Broxton, on the other hand, had 22 saves, but the 4.04 ERA is what worries many.

The Dodgers are awaiting other questions to be answered.

Can right fielder Andre Ethier step into a leadership role?

Will center fielder Matt Kemp return to top form both defensively and offensively? And is the ongoing legal fight over ownership going to serve as a distraction to the rest of the organization? The answer is yes to all three questions.

During his third season as a full-time starter, Ethier had a .292 batting average, 23 home runs and 82 RBI on 151 hits. Yes, his stats dropped from 2009, but he missed a lot of games last season due to injury.

Ethier can be the leader the Dodgers need, both statistically and vocally. He has the will and skill to do so. In fact, he admits it.

“I think that’s what we’ve been lacking here to be successful. We’ve always had the personnel and players to be successful,” Ethier said to the Los Angeles Times back in late February. “We lacked the sturdy head figures. You look at all the best teams, that’s what they have.”

At 28, Ethier is the Dodgers’ best all-around hitter even as a lefty. His 2009 stats read 31 home runs and 106 RBI. And he believes in himself, which is very important.

“I believe in my head I’m a really good player, I’m a great player,” he added. “You overlook yourself as a presence on the team. I have to come to grips with that and accept that.”

Ethier’s success may very well depend on how Kemp rebounds from a poor 2010 season. He struggled at the plate and on the bases, not to mention defensively.

“Everybody gets criticized. Kobe gets criticized. LeBron gets criticized. The best players in the game get criticized. It’s part of being a professional athlete. It’s part of being a human being, basically,” Kemp tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick. “Of

course, you kind of care what people think. But at the end of the day, it’s the people closest to you that matter most. It’s what they think about you.”

Kemp, who is no longer dating pop star Rihanna, looks very thin this spring training after having lost nearly 15 pounds. Part of that weight loss was because of his attempt to modify his approach toward playing baseball.

“I can’t make excuses for any mistakes that I’ve made.

I’m 26 years old. I’ve been up here for five years,” Kemp says.

“It’s time to cut out all those stupid little mistakes that I’ve made, whether it’s baserunning or whatever. I have to be more consistent and play my game the way I know how.”

Kemp was one of two outfielders to play all 162 games last season, along with Seattle Mariner Ichiro Suzuki. Kemp posted 28 home runs, 89 RBI, 82 runs scored, but with a troubling batting average of .249.

“You look at a guy who’s 6-foot-4. He can run, and he throws good; he has power, and he’s hit for average. And he steals bags, too. You see all these pieces,” Mattingly remarks.

“But that ‘potential’ word is dangerous, because with guys like this, people will say whatever they do isn’t good enough.

I saw it with Darryl Strawberry in New York. It’s tough for guys coming in with these kinds of labels.”

This is his year, however. Kemp looks speedy, healthy, motivated and hungry.

“People make mistakes. Of course, I’m not going to be perfect. But I want to try to be as perfect as I can be,” Kemp states.

Mattingly has kept a good eye on both Ethier and Kemp this spring.

“Matt has been good, and Dre was actually swinging the bat well the last three or four times out,” Mattingly states to ESPN.com. “His contact point has been better and his at-bats have been better. Dre really isn’t a guy I worry about, and I really don’t worry about Matt, either.”

But what about the other bats? Shortstop Rafael Furcal and third baseman Casey Blake aim to produce their similar, if not identical, solidly consistent offensive production. Both Furcal and Blake, who may begin on the disabled list come opening day, are automatics at defense, but their offense can be in question due to their aging bodies.

This is where first baseman James Loney and new second basemen Juan Uribe, formerly with the Giants, fit in well.

Loney’s potential is there, especially with a bat in his hands.

Torre once compared him to the Yankees’ Bernie Williams, but Loney has yet to deliver on the expectations of the organization.

With Mattingly as his main coach now, the muchawaited production from Loney can finally arrive this year.

He just needs to find a rhythm and should bat above par thereafter. He hit 10 home runs and plated 88 RBI with a .267 batting average.

Nonetheless, Uribe is the new bat on the Dodgers lineup that could truly solidify the run production now that Manny is gone. With the Giants last year, Uribe hit 24 home runs, averaged .248 in batting and drove in 85 runs.

If Uribe, along with Loney, Ethier and Kemp, hit consistently well, the Dodgers will contend for a playoff spot.

More importantly, if the pitching staff performs at or above par, Los Angeles could see a World Series berth. Only the Philadelphia Phillies stand in their way.

Kemp aims to use the following strategy.

“I’ve pretty much grown up to hide my emotions for the most part. When I do something good, you’re gonna see I’m happy,” he says. “But when something is going wrong, I’m not going to get crazy and slam my helmet or whatever it is that some people do. I’ve never really been like that. Your opponent wants to see you frustrated. And I don’t want them to think I’m frustrated when I’m not.”

Kemp and the Dodgers face their archrival Giants Thursday, March 31, at Dodger Stadium on opening day.

Kershaw is scheduled to throw the first pitch at 5 p.m.

For more information, visit losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com.

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GETUPGETOUT

Universal Studios Hollywood

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS & CITYWALK

Awesome Deals & Dates by cindy kyungah lee Fun-seekers in Los Angeles should be jumping up and dowN. At Universal Studios Hollywood, the Entertainment Capital of L.A., you can save $19 on your next general admission ticket purchase. Better yet, you can get your second day free if you decide to hoo-hah it one more time within a year of your first visit. Tickets expire at the end of 2011, so hurry up and purchase them while you can.

Get your kicks on “King King 360 3-D,” the largest, most intense 3-D experience on the planet, explore the largest movie set street expansion in Hollywood history and experience “The Simpsons” virtual roller coaster.

Right next door, Universal CityWalk offers another killer deal. Those who want a sizzling date night with sparks of romance, pay attention! For only $25 per person, Universal CityWalk is giving lovebirds “The Awesome Date.” Included are: dinner and movie for two as well as valet parking. Even better? The deal is extremely flexible. You can choose where to dine as long as it’s in CityWalk and watch any of the latest Hollywood blockbusters sitting in plush seats. Book reservations Monday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. by calling (818) 508-0711, ext. 305. Head to CityWalk Cinemas to redeem your love-ly package. Oh, and if dinner and a movie are not enough, you can keep the night going by indulging in the many attractions, shopping and nightlife experiences that CityWalk offers year round.

For more information, visit universalstudios.com and citywalkhollywood.com.

BARFLY

11700 National Blvd., Los Angeles by john stapleton iv

Big things come in small packages. You can’t judge a book by its cover. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. These are all pearls of wisdom, but not ones anyone particularly abides by anymore – in fact, the only time people use them anymore is in retrospect (i.e., “Well Ray, she was definitely hot, but now this damn rash won’t go away. I guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover.”).

But allow me to break tradition by telling you – beforehand – that if you go to Lost & Found and think it’s a shithole, you shouldn’t count your chickens before they hatch.

Lost & Found has been sitting on the corner of Barrington and National for 38 years, and pretty much spits in the face of pandering to new patrons. Contemporary music?

Nope. Dance floor? Nope. Beer on tap or energy drinks or decorations that don’t look like they were purchased at a garage sale in the late ’70s? No, no and holy crap you should SEE the stuff they have hanging on their walls – it’s like a time capsule!

But Lost & Found proves that big things come in small packages by offering huge pours and huge discounts, serving up wells for $3.75 all the time, while most bars don’t even offer that level of alcoholic awesomeness during happy hour.

Of course, this kind of pricing in this kind of town doesn’t

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exactly bring out the best of Culver City’s up-all-nighters.

And that’s kind of its appeal.

“The clientele’s shit, but fuck it – it’s a dive bar,” says Brian, a regular with the kind of blunt honesty that cuts right to the chase and the kind of vernacular usually reserved for sailors. “It’s full of scumbags. But it’s four dollar drinks and I don’t hafta deal with any assholes – except the bartender,” he adds with a laugh.

Said bartender’s name is Steve, and he looks old enough to be rife with pearls of wisdom. Not that he would share them with you. Steve has the personality of wet sand, but I am not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. His heavyhanded pours more than compensate for his gruff demeanor, and after just a little conversation, he turns out to be less of a grump than I originally assumed. I guess you can’t judge a book – oh, you get it.

Lost & Found isn’t the kind of place you’ll want to take a girl out to (unless you’re trying to get rid of her), it’s not exactly the kind of place where everyone knows your name (They really couldn’t care less.), and a dive bar this somber probably won’t be on your list of places to throw a raging party (unless it’s a pity party, in which case, you’ll be in good company), but staying off the nightlife radar is something the bar does intentionally. It keeps the regulars regular by staying mostly word of mouth, making itself found to those who need a place to unwind, and keeping the wound-up party animals relatively lost.

The bar especially caters to military veterans (from any era – Steve looks long in the tooth enough to have started bartending some time around the Civil War and was one of the youngest guys in the joint) and promotes itself as a bar for locals who have very little spare time and even less spare cash. With an outdated jukebox, a sparse bar and only a single

Brian White

LOST & FOUND

Campus Circle > Blogs > Barfly

pool table to save it from being empty, Lost & Found keeps its coolness hidden by offering a no-frills (Seriously, there are NO frills.) dive bar experience with the cheapest drinks and most numerous smoking areas in West Los Angeles.

“It’s fun. It’s all fun,” says Brian. But he doesn’t mean the kind of fun you’d feel if you were bouncing off the knickknacked walls with all your friends. He means the kind of fun you’d feel if you finally found a parking spot on campus or if you just got out of prison. “It’s Lost & Found – and not often found,” he says.

So there might be a little dust on the bottle, but don’t let that fool you about what’s inside. (Ha! And you thought I was all idiomed out!)

For more information, call (310) 397-7772.

Become a CAMPUS CIRCLE Fan on Facebook http://bit.ly/dhFhEE CURTAINCALL “Rent”

Stephanie Pick

Now-April 23 @ Hudson Backstage Theatre Known for its rock ballads and its bohemian propensity that everyone should “live your life in love,” “Rent” is a musical that resonates with audiences as much in 2011 as it did when it first opened in 1996. With music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson, “Rent” centers on a Angel (Benjamin Alicea) in “Rent” group of friends, living and working in New York City. Some of them are artists, but most of them are proponents of the ‘hippie’ lifestyle, and they are all dealing with the AIDS epidemic, which in the early ’90s was still a relatively new and hushed topic. Mimi and Roger are a couple struggling with the disease, as are Angel, a drag queen, and Tom Collins.

Mark is busy trying to get over his ex Maureen who left him for Joanne. As is the case with most stage productions that gain fame, “Rent” has been done in cities all over the world, and on stages as large as the Hollywood Bowl. Well, it is now back in Hollywood, but at a much smaller venue. With no more than 50 audience members facing the stage, this production of “Rent” is a bit more personal. As you can imagine, the stage is not concurrent with Broadway stage dimensions, but the set decorations make use of every square inch. Like any good play, this production forces us to use our imagination a little; give them a little leeway and we are repaid with very good performances. Josie Yount is the standout as Maureen, and Benjamin Alicea as Angel manages to do some spectacular stunts in heels. The passionate performances and direction and intimate setting make it worthwhile to see this rendition of the beloved musical.

—Candice Winters Hudson Backstage Theatre is located at 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. For more information, visit plays411.com/rent.

“The Mercy Seat” Now-April 24 @ [Inside] the Ford Neil LaBute sandblasted a career out of the gender wars like nobody’s business. In early films, like In the Company of Men and Your Friends & Neighbors, the politics of relationships reached a fever pitch, causing some critics to label the writer a misogynist.

More recently, LaBute’s plays have been delving into broader questions of faith and humanity in plays like “The Break of Noon” – recently at the Geffen – and his latest to show in Los Angeles, “The Mercy Seat.”

“The Mercy Seat” uses the calamity of 9/11 to perversely showcase the inhumanity of man. While the rest of the world sentimentalizes tragedy, LaBute goes for the jugular, exposing the dark side of our nature. In the case of “The Mercy Seat,” Ben, played by a chillingly sniveling Johnny Clark, sees the World Trade Center disaster as an opportunity to abandon his family and begin a new life with his mistress. Meanwhile, the Other Woman, a searing Michelle Clunie, wrestles with his proposition, struggling to perceive it as romantic, rather than cowardly. This is a thoroughly entertaining and thoughtprovoking work.

—Angela Matano [Inside] the Ford is located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. For more information, visit fordtheatres.org.

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Agoura Hills (818) 707-2121 • Camarillo (805) 389-4700 • Culver City (323) 296-1543 • Encino (818) 990-8820 Glendale (818) 247-1946 • Granada Hills (818) 831-1245 • Huntington Beach (714) 964-5926 Koreatown (213) 386-6884 • Lawndale (310) 214-8704 • Mar Vista (310) 398-0180 • North Hollywood (818) 766-7184 Pacoima (818) 890-5515 • Palmdale (661) 947-4545 • Pasadena (626) 577-1723 • Saugus (661) 259-3895 • Simi Valley (805) 522-2586 Torrance (310) 792-4604 • Van Nuys (818) 786-3204 • Wilshire/Highland (323) 939-7661 • Winnetka (818) 700-0509 Expires 6/30/11 Campus Circle 3.30.11 - 4.5.11

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CALENDARTHE10SPOT

by mike sebastian

BY FREDERICK MINTCHELL

Ditch the earbuds in favor of these great new docking stations:

Laptop Stands The problem with most laptop stands is that they’re not very portable, which is after all the purpose of a laptop. The AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand (aviiq.com) revolutionizes its field. Like other stands, it elevates your laptop to a more ergonomic angle while letting air circulate beneath to keep it cool.

But where other stands end, the AViiQ is just getting started. It collapses and folds down to an incredibly thin 1/4 inch plate, which you can easily slide into a laptop case or even your pocket if need be.

It is made of a lightweight aluminum, coming in at only 2.7 ounces (lighter than a lot of DVDs), so you won’t even notice the added weight.

It comes in four sleek monochromatic shades from white to black to match your laptop. It also includes a microfiber shammy case to protect from scratches, and which also doubles as a screen cleaner for your computer. It includes replacement silicone grips, so you won’t need to buy another stand any time soon.

Plus, it comes with a 30-day money back guarantee for a no-risk trial.

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Roll AIDS 2011 Travis Heying/Wichita Eagle/KRT

The Cool iPig (speakal.com) is the latest in Speakal’s line of novelty docking stations, which includes the iBoo (a ghost) and the iPom (potted flowers).

Aside from being adorable, with a 23-watt output and a 15-watt subwoofer, these little docks pack a surprising punch.

They’re a perfect way to listen to music while adding some color to your room and avoiding the need for bulky The adorable Cool iPig packs a surprising stereo equipment. punch of stereo sound.

The Cool iPig takes the previous stations to a new level of functionality.

The biggest new feature is the motion sensor controls.

Wave your hand over the sensors on top of the iPig to turn the volume up and down or go to the previous or next track. Like other Speakal units, this one also comes with a remote control with full command of your portable device. You can even adjust the EQ with it. This model also features a rechargeable/removable lithium battery with a sixhour lifetime.

The iPig is made for an iPod or iPhone and plugs right into the top and charges while they play. But it also features a 3.5 mm input so it can connect to any MP3 player or other sound source with a line out.

This is also handy for connecting to a wireless Internet router to stream your computer’s iTunes library via AirTunes.

The SuperTooth Disco (supertooth.net) is a totally wireless speaker solution that utilizes Bluetooth technology to stream music from any A2DP device, be it a smartphone, MP3 player, computer or tablet.

Add to that the Disco’s compact, sleek design and you have a very attractive package.

Tuck it into a bookshelf or set it on your desk and stream from whatever device you need to as you move throughout the house.

The Bluetooth technology makes the Disco a particularly versatile speaker, whether you’re using it to boost your laptop’s audio for a quick video on YouTube or listening to an entire album on your iPod. People with a finicky Internet connection will also find added reliability in Bluetooth rather than Wi-Fi streaming.

You can also take the Disco with you anywhere you go. Its sleek design means you can easily slip it into a bag.

It features a rechargeable lithium battery with a life of three to four hours at full volume and approximately 10 hours at lower levels.

But with 28 watts of sounds, including a 12-watt subwoofer, it doesn’t sacrifice sound for size.

Because it has a streaming range of 10 meters, you can keep your iPod on you as you move around and use it to control what you want to hear. But the Disco also has a convenient control dial mounted on its front, with a one-touch bass boost and battery indicator.

Of course, wirelessly streaming your tunes is going to drain the battery on your iPod faster. A solution would be to keep your iPod plugged in while you stream, which sacrifices having controls at hand, but you can’t have everything.

TUESDAYAPRIL 5 Ackerman Union, 308 Westwood Plaza, UCLA; happenings.ucla.edu “Make AIDS Disappear” with roller skating fun. There will be free T-shirts, refreshments, prizes and performances by local artists. All proceeds go directly to One Heart Source benefiting HIV/ AIDS education and care in Tanzania. 6 p.m.-10 p.m. $10 skate/blade rental.

WEDNESDAYMARCH 30 TV 101: Business of Television Bovard Auditorium, 3551 Trousdale Pkwy, USC; usc.edu A panel of Hollywood pros has a memorable discussion on the legacy of American television past and present with a keen focus on the inner workings of the TV industry as a whole. Panelists include Michael Wright, Executive Vice President of Turner Entertainment Networks, Kim Niemi, Senior Vice President at NBC Universal and actors Erica Hubbard, Jerry Mathers and Scott Baio. Moderated by Matthew Blakely, chairman of the Blakely Legal Group. 7 p.m. FREE.

various workshops and two huge raffles. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Also Sunday.

SATURDAYAPRIL 2 Rihanna Night Echoplex, 1154 Glendale Blvd., Echo Park; bootiemashup.com/la Rihanna songs mashed up throughout the night by resident DJs Adrian & the Mysterious D and DJ Paul V. With special guest DJ from Brazil, Faroff, and a midnight mashup show from resident dance crew R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dance). Free Bootie mashup CDs to the first 100 people. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. $5 before 10 p.m., $10 after.

THURSDAYMARCH 31 Dodgers Opening Day

SUNDAYAPRIL 3 Grand Ole Echo

Dodger Stadium, 1000 Elysian Park Ave., Los Angeles; losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com The first 50,000 fans receive a magnet schedule when Los Angeles takes on the San Francisco Giants. 5 p.m. Tix start at $6.

The Echo, 1822 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park; attheecho.com See some of the best country/roots bands in Los Angeles. Relax out back on the patio and enjoy the warm weather while eating delicious barbecue and listening to acoustic music and DJ Cuz’n Roy spinning some great old classic country in between the main acts. 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m. FREE. Every Sunday through September.

FRIDAYAPRIL 1 Heavy Metal Film Festival Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main St., Los Angeles; heavymetalff.com Time has come to bring together the films that the metal community wants to watch on the big screen. Runs through Sunday.

SATURDAYAPRIL 2 Dangerous Curves Ahead: Burlesque on the Go-Go 3 Clubs, 1123 Vine St., Hollywood; threeclubs.com The superstar team of Anita Cookie, Clams Casino, Darlinda Just Darlinda, GiGi La Femme and Minnie Tonka are hitting the road with a squeal of tires and a cloud of glitter. They’re leaving the Big Apple behind with the top down and their tassels twirling, bringing the tour’s killer moves, sexy glam and hilarious hijinks to Los Angeles. 9 p.m. & 11:15 p.m. $20.

SATURDAYAPRIL 2 Marine Aquarium Expo OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa; marineaquariumexpo.com The largest marine aquarium event in North America features a vast marketplace of nearly 100 exhibit booths, 10 speakers,

MONDAYAPRIL 4 Latino Night Laugh Factory, 8001 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; laughfactory.com Featuring Monrok and more of the hottest Latino comedians around. 8 p.m. $20, plus two-drink minimum.

TUESDAYAPRIL 5 “God of Carnage” Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown; centertheatregroup.org Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden star in the winner of the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play. Runs through May 15.

For more events, visit campuscircle.com/calendar.

To submit an event for consideration, e-mail calendar@campuscircle.net.

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CameFirst

THE LONGER, THE BETTER

Which

by dana jeong

25% OFF

The RabbiT oR The egg?

What’s new, what’s in and what’s hot on young L.A.’s fashion scene.

Has the fashion world turned upside down? It was only a couple seasons ago that designers were absolutely in love with everything short and fitted, from micro-mini shorts and bottomless looks to skinny leather pants and thighhigh boots. Suddenly, models donning floor-length skirts have taken over the runway.

Whatever the reason might be, this is good news for us: maxi-skirts can easily lengthen our short legs and hide the extra winter pounds unlike skinny jeans and miniskirts. All you have to do is to follow these quick tips, and you are all set to hop on the maxi trend!

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Marcio Madeira/style.com

Belt It All The universal rule of styling: You should never be fitted or oversized all over, you have to mix up the two. Since maxi-skirts tend to be loosely fitted, they definitely call for tight tops or belts to even it out. Throw on your favorite cardigan or sweater from this winter and tie them all together with a statement-making belt – you get to stay comfy while showing off your curves.

(ADAM Collection photo)

Cal Exotic Rabbits and Tenga Eggs!

Your Pleasure is Our Passion 19 CA Locations — 1.800.34.adult Call for locations or visit www.RomantixOnline.com to find a store near you!

THECOLLEGEPITCH

As I constantly mention in my styling tips, balance is key when it comes to fashion. Balance out the maxi-skirt’s feminine vibe with chunky lace-up boots or booties. The ironic twist adds an edgy feel to your outfit. Always remember, however, to stay in heels when wearing maxiskirts – unless you would like to sweep the entire street with your precious clothes. (Peter Som Collection photo)

Marcio Madeira/style.com

Throw On Some Chunky Shoes

BRUINS GAIN BRAGGING RIGHTS OVER TROJANS by marvin vasquez

uclabruins.com

Ever been jealous of Barbie’s long, slender legs? I know I’ve always been. Luckily, there is a way to somewhat resemble Barbie’s golden proportion – maintaining the top-to-bottom 3:7 ratio.

High-waisted maxi-skirts successfully carry out this mission. Tuck in your top or opt for cropped shirts for maximum lengthening effect. Fitted vests are also great for transitioning from winter to spring! (Reed Krakoff Collection photo)

Marcio Madeira/style.com

The Golden Ratio

UCLA’s Trevor Bauer

With two wins during a three-game series at USC, the No. 24-ranked UCLA Bruins had lifted spirits after their Pac-10 opening weekend. The Bruins, who earlier in the week won one of two against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, began with an 8-4 victory Friday. Junior pitcher Gerrit Cole (2-2) tossed 6.2 innings, surrendering four runs on eight hits but striking out seven Trojans. Junior first baseman Dean Espy propelled the Bruin offense, collecting three hits, one run and an RBI. Saturday’s game featured more of the same for the Bruins (11-8, 2-1). Junior righthander Trevor Bauer tossed a complete game, a one-hit shutout in UCLA’s 4-0 victory.

While recording his second career complete game, Bauer threw 120 pitches. He carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning; he is now UCLA’s strikeout leader in all of school history.

UCLA scored three times atop of the fourth inning with three RBI singles. They then added their fourth run in the seventh.

Despite two wins in the first two games, the Trojans managed to avoid a sweep in the series finale with a 6-2 triumph. Junior All-American first baseman Ricky Oropesa had a three-for-five day with a home run and three RBI to lead USC (9-15, 1-2). Senior Logan Odom pitched seven solid innings, allowing one run and fanning seven.

UCLA hosts the Washington Huskies for three contests over the weekend, starting April 1. The Trojans, on the other hand, travel north to square off against Cal for a threegame showdown in Berkeley.

Campus Circle 3.30.11 - 4.5.11

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