arts & entertainment November 7, 2002
WE GOT THE BEAT Grub It’s time to celebrate at the Cheesecake Factory for the return of the Pumpkin Cheesecake. Since it’s seasonal, eat all you can handle because it will be a year until you can grab a piece of the most devouringly delicious dessert known to humans. Besides the pumpkin cheesecake, the avocado egg rolls and the chicken Madeira are equally enticing. Order a mojito, a Cuban beverage, to compliment the meal perfectly. The Mexican Village in Los Angeles was founded in 1965 and has been offering delectable entrees as well as dancing and cultural art ever since. A platter to invest in between friends is the Mexican Village Botona that is big chunks of carne asada, carnarones al mojo de ajo, quesadilla, taquitos, sticks of jack and cheddar cheese and guacomole. The restaurant also has a wide variety of tequilas from Patron to Herradura Anejo.
Pubs The Crooners Lounge at Azteca Mexican Restaurant in historical downtown Garden Grove is open until 2 a.m. seven days a week. Elvis fans beware–the bar has over 1,000 pieces of memorabilia spanning the King’s lifetime. The first Saturday of every month the bar has Elvis karaoke night and Elvis bingo is coming soon on Tuesdays. Off Campus located on the outskirts of Cal State Fullerton is a cozy place that offers sanctuary between classes and sometimes even after. The bar has plenty of television sets to catch any shot of any sport at all times. The fancy memorabilia that cover the walls often serve as a distraction for pool table participants and dart throwers alike so be wary of where you decide to pull up a chair. Tuesdays eat tacos and sing at the Karoake bar untill closing.
Clubs
The creators of Cherry and Velvet have joined to form Sucker at Ultra Suede in West Hollywood this Saturday. DJ Bruce Perdew and Mike Messex will spin a little bit of Rock & Roll, ’80s and a whole lot of funk.
Events The Vandals, Tsunami Bomb and Audio Karate will perform at the Palace this Friday and Saturday. Adore, Contra and Dirty Laundry will be at Hard Rock Café in Newport Beach this Friday. Electric Frankenstein, CoDependents, El Nada and The Dragons will perform at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa this Saturday. 562 Winter Music Festival featuring Copouts, Its Casual, DYF, P.F.R., Normandie Blue, Deadmocrasy and other special guests will be at Ibiza this Sunday at 4 p.m.
George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic Could’ve Gone All Night By Eugene Park
Daily Titan Staff Writer There was some confusion as to which of the dread-locked costumed funk freaks in the band was George Clinton when the Parliament/ Funkadelic played at the Anaheim House of Blues. The diaper-sporting “Starchild” Gary Shider strutted on stage and immediately led the band. His charisma, no doubt because he wore only a diaper, and his place on center stage led many to say “Look, P-Funk is a baby tonight!” Then there was Robert “P-Nut” Johnson, who certainly looked to be around Clinton’s age. But he never took center stage, and seemed more interested in carousing with the women at the bar. Without Clinton, the band and audience looked like a leaderless motley crew of costume-clad iconoclasts, not that the band wasn’t holding up well on its own. Shider and other lead guitarist Dewayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight led the sometimes menacing, mostly joyful jams that got the crowd screaming, “We want the funk! Give up the funk!” Then after a little more than a half-hour, a man dressed in a pink overcoat and rainbow dreads made his way on stage, and it became very evident to the crowd who the real P-Funk was. An extended jam of “Cosmic Slop” thunderously announced the arrival of George Clinton, as he hobbled his way to the front of the stage like Moses coming down from Mt. Sinai. The urgency of the chugging guitar riff and drums ensured that people knew who was the leader of these renegades of funk. And in his hands were the 10 Commandments of Funk, which included, “Free your mind and your ass will follow,” “Make my funk the P-Funk” and “S***! Goddamn! Get off your ass and jam!” The concert took place on the one day of the year the band’s dress code is considered normal, and that was Halloween. The crowd was also dressed accordingly, mixed with uppity Anaheim socialites, hardcore funk fans and white boys dancing to that funky music. For some, they had heard it all before, but that didn’t make them jaded. Those who sported virgin ears to the glory of a P-Funk concert were rocked, socked and had
their mind blown. Funk is the foundation of hip-hop, and Clinton is certainly one of the cornerstones. At least Dr. Dre has a job now, thanks to his early incessant sampling of P-Funk hits. Each song of the non-stop four-hour set segues right into the other, with barely time to breathe. But every song was tight, every rhythm was its own rhythm, and yet one with the music. Save for the bodyguards and the pot-smoking trick-or-treaters (who were promptly thrown out), everyone couldn’t help but dance. “Flashlight” had Carlos “Sir Nose” McMurray dancing up a storm, slithering and threatening to grind every single female in the house. It was order out of chaos, and it seemed evident that there was no real set list. Some of the bass lines to classic songs like “Bop Gun” are different from the original recordings, but that’s because the bass player felt like doing his own thing. In any other band, when a band Photo courtesy member does their own thing the entire song folds in on itself. But this is Parliament/Funkadelic, and they are truly out of this world. They retain a sixth sense of knowing when song changes happen, and how to deal with them. And for playing four hours straight, they must be aliens. When a 15-minute rendition of “Maggot Brain” came on, bathroom breaks and smoke breaks were in order. The music sounded much clearer on the smoking balcony speakers than inside. It’s a sad thing when the greatest live band of all time doesn’t have equipment that can live up to their excellence, and the sound at the House of Blues Anaheim was inadequate. The vocals could hardly be heard and the guitar tones were too muddled. At least the electrifying mandolin
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solo was crystal clear, and pitch perfect. With its infectious “bow-wow-wow yippee yo yippee yay” chorus, “Atomic Dog” had about 30 people, including the audience, on the stage, dancing, groping, rapping and smoking. It was the night’s closer, and the House of Blues, being the corporate venue that it is, threatened to close down if the band didn’t get off the stage. Clinton, soaked in sweat, screamed the entire concert and he wasn’t going to stop. Neither was the audience. The house lights switched on, and band members started to shuffle off the stage. Guitars were unplugged, horns put back in their cases and female singers looked eager to give their songbird voices a rest. Yet the drummer kept a
beat going, and Clinton egged the audience on, making sure that nobody would have their voices by night’s end. “We want the funk! Give up that funk!” The drummer stopped the beat and signaled for Clinton to get off the stage. But all cues to leave were non-existent to Clinton. He remained steadfast on center stage, while the four-hour marathon excitement of the audience would’ve kept them going until dawn. The microphone turned off, and the curtains started to close in on Clinton. But until the last crack of the curtains closed, Clinton chanted and chanted, enforcing with extreme prejudice the Golden Rule of Funk, which takes precedence over all the commandments. And the Golden Rule is: Ain’t no party like
Twists and Turns Reveal “The Truth About Charlie” By Thu Do
Daily Titan Staff Writer The bad guys are the good guys, the good guys are the bad guys, but then the bad guys are the bad guys, and the good guys are the good guys and there was a crazy old woman. Let’s just say that there were a lot of twist and turns and you don’t know where to begin in “The Truth About Charlie.” Regina Lambert, played by Thandie Newton (“Beloved,” “Mission: Impossible 2”), is married to a man that she thought she knew for three months. One day she comes home from her vacation and finds that he was killed. Then she discovers that her husband Charles Lambert had many different identities and that he had six million dollars that was stolen. There was also a bag that contained all of Charles’ belongings: an agenda book, a camera, a wallet and a letter to Regina. Then there’s the mysterious stranger by the name of Joshua Peters played by Mark Wahlberg (Rock Star, Planet of the Apes) who finds out about Charles’ death through the media, so he claims. Peters comes just in time to be Regina’s knight in shining armor. He was there to protect, to help and to love her. But is he really? Then there is the trio of bad guys that used to work with Charles. All they want is what they feel they deserve – the money. Despite quarrels surrounding the search for the money, the group befriends and tango dances with each other. Another mysterious man comes along, Lewis Bartholomew, played by Tim Robbins. He claims to be working for the U.S. Government. Bartholomew tells Regina to solve the mystery, get the money and bring it back to the United States where it belongs. But the question of whether he want the money too arises. Then there’s the French Commandant Dominique played by Christine Boissons (Cop Story, The Vagina Monologues). She’s helping Regina with the case, but somehow she knows a little bit more than others. And who can forget about the crazy old woman who claims
to be Charles Lambert’s mother, who wanted to kill anybody involved with her son’s death. Charles Aznavour, acclaimed French singer, appears as himself in random scenes singing his beautiful love songs. Many identities were revealed during this wild goose chase. The camera does not stop moving which gives the feel that the viewer is actually witnessing the story as it progresses.
The cast was great. Tim Robbins (Shawshank Redemption, Jacob’s Ladder) was witty as ever. The story line and the directing by Jonathan Demme (Beloved, The Silence of the Lambs) was unusually refreshing. The film was slightly reminiscent of the French movie “Amelie.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL
Lambert finds herself intrigued by the charming Joshua Peters but trust is another issue.
PARADIGM CONVEYS LYRICS ABOUT LIFE By Odeen Domingo
Daily Titan Staff Writer
Imbisouls will be at The Whisky in Los Angeles this Sunday. Johnny Cash: A 70th Birthday Tribute will be on exhibit at the Richard Nixon Library through Dec. 31.
Photo courtesy of Paradigm publicity.
One thing is certain – Paradigm is ready for primetime. That is evident in the melodic lyrical patterns and musical rhythms in Paradigm’s recently released first album, “Standing In Line.” Although Steve Stratton, who co-wrote the songs with Shannon Curtis, confesses that none of the band members are melancholy types, the mood of the album is exactly that. The band was born to play ballads. The tones of the songs are slow and smooth, but Curtis’ voice and the gutiar riffs mix in high pitches that make the songs extremely catchy. Listeners won’t be able to fight the urge to bob their heads or tap their feet or both. The deep, emotional experiences of life are the theme of the album. Curtis said she wanted the songs to talk
about real life, not about the ex-boyfriend or the party tonight unlike the songs currently being spun on the radio. Friendship, hope, faith, daydreams and dependence are some of the themes. Paradigm covers the 1987 hit, “Hazy Shade of Winter,” which was written by Paul Simon and performed by The Bangles. Curtis and Stratton have an interesting writing style. The song makes audiences feel what it conveys, be it sadness, envy, desire or optimism. The lyrics are mature and thoughtful. For example, in “Not the Only One,” “In the corner where the child still cries/ Our quiet tears, our lullabies/ Don’t have to be alone this time/ I’ll take your hand if you put yours in mine.” Metaphors are prominent in the tracks. In “Last Night,” “Winter’s buried dreams were wakened, by your lips the kiss was taken / Spring my heart was yours completely, blooming
full and rooted deeply / Summer burned through fields of passion, left behind our blackened ashes/ Last night August winds unseen came, blew it all away.” Curtis’ voice doesn’t have that Mariah Carey pop-music sound, but its perfect in today’s alternative rock genre of female lead singers. She is able to project her voice to captivate an audience either in a low or high pitch. But putting out an independent album surely has its negatives. The sound quality of the CD does not do justice to Curtis’ voice and the band, which has proved its brilliance in live performances. Signing with a credible label will definitely help. The album title implies that the band is waiting for their turn to shine in the mainstream. But it’s just a matter of time. Paradigm won’t be standing in line any longer.