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I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL SUMMER. . . | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2004 buzz
Your 2004 Oscar Picks Grand Prize: 52 admit two passes to Savoy 16 1st Prize: 52 admit one passes to Savoy 16 2nd Prize: 24 admit one passes to Savoy 16
z buz Feb. 19 - 25, 2004
FREE!
COMMUNIT Y
Q & A w/ Boneyard Pottery owner (Page 4)
Best Leading Actor
Best Animated Feature
Best Picture
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog Jude Law, Cold Mountain Bill Murray, Lost in Translation Sean Penn, Mystic River
Brother Bear Finding Nemo The Triplets of Belleville
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Lost in Translation Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Mystic River Seabiscuit
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Director
Alec Baldwin, The Cooler Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams Djimon Hounsou, In America Tim Robbins, Mystic River Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai
City of God The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Lost in Translation Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Mystic River
American Splendor City of God The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Mystic River Seabiscuit
Best Leading Actress
Best Original Song
Best Original Screenplay
Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider Diane Keaton, Something’s Gotta Give Samantha Morton, In America Charlize Theron, Monster Naomi Watts, 21 Grams
“Belleville Rendevous”, The Triplets of Belleville “Into the West”, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” , A Mighty Wind “Scarlet Tide”, Cold Mountain “ You Will Be My Ain True Love”, Cold Mountain
The Barbarian Invasions Dirty Pretty Things Finding Nemo In America Lost in Translation
Best Supporting Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River Holly Hunter, Thirteen Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain
NAME: ADDRESS: PHONE: EMAIL: Send entries to DI Marketing, 57 E. Green St., Champaign, IL 61820 OR enter online at www.dailyillini.com Drop off entries at our 57 E. Green St. location, DI at the Y on 1001 Wright Street OR Savoy 16 Theatres, 232 W. Burwash, Savoy Deadline: Friday, February 27, 2004 by 5:00pm
Arts | Entertainment | Community
when romance met comedy:
ARTS
The write stuff: a look at online journals (Page 7) MUSIC
Mendoza Music Line with DJ Bozak (Page 11) CALENDAR
Andre Williams at Cowboy Monkey (Page 14)
Only one entry per person. IMC employees are not elligible. Must be 18 to win. All prizes won through a random drawing. Prizes non transferable. The Daily Illini reserves the right to print winner’s names. Other restrictions may apply.
FILM
City of God review (Page 23)
four movies you can both agree on
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STRONG MEN ALSO CRY. STRONG MEN ALSO CRY. | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
BY KATIE RICHARDSON | ARTS EDITOR
The Story
4 Q & A w/ local potter Boneyard Pottery Gallery owner Michael Schwegmann did not realize his interest...
Arts
6 The write stuff As a society, we are pinned as individualistic and materialistic...
Music 9 Bluegrass in C-U On February 25th, Yonder Mountain String Band comes to The Canopy...
Calendar
14 Andre Williams Rhythm and blues has been a part of Andre Williams’s life since...
Film
23 City of God review Certain stories are so intertwined with their setting that they essentially could not be told in any other part of the world ... PHOTO COURTESY OF | YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND
BUZZ STAFF Editor in chief Marissa Monson Art Directors Meaghan Dee & Carol Mudra Copy Chief Chris Ryan Music Jacob Dittmer Art Katie Richardson Film Paul Wagner Community Emily Wahlheim Calendar Maggie Dunphy Photography Editor Christine Litas Calendar Coordinators Lauren Smith, Cassie Conner, Erin Scottberg Photography Christine Litas, Adam Young, Roderick Gedey Copy Editors Chris Ryan, Jen Hubert, Erin Green Designers Adam Obendorf, Mark Hauge, Sue Janna Truscott, Chris Depa, Glenn Cochon Production Manager Theon Smith Sales Manager Jon Maly Marketing/Distribution Melissa Schleicher, Maria Erickson Publisher Mary Cory
Carlie Brucia’s murder has ignited the usual media coverage. Usual, that is, when the media is covering a child’s murder. In the last few week’s we’ve read of the family’s grief, heard the laundry list of reasons why Joseph P. Smith should have been in jail, and listened to attorneys and judges defend themselves when questioned as to why he was not. We have also seen the usual photographs of the little girl before her tragic abduction wherein she is smiling back at us, beautiful, happy, full of potential. What is different about this case is the one unusual photo we have: the photograph shown on every network of the video recording of her abduction. This is a disturbing image because it offers us some sort of synthetic hope, that we can somehow stop the tape and enter it and prevent the horrible thing that is about to happen. It’s a more serious version of when one becomes really excited about a ball game, thinking that somehow one’s cheering for one team over another will actually affect a game being played 500 miles away. TV brings a far-off reality—whether because of time or physical distance— right into our own space. It makes events that have nothing to do with us our reality, although we cannot touch them or manipulate them. Watching Carlie being
odds & end
buzz FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
editor’snote
insidebuzz
Volume 2, Number 6 COVER DESIGN | Chris Depa
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WHITE MAN led away by her murderer gives us a tangible image to put with the word “abduction.� We can see that she was scared, and that she was resisting him. We are not only told of it. Whether this incites unnecessary rage in us, or gives a deeper understanding and empathy toward those who have been victims of crime is difficult to say. What can most certainly be assumed is that that video is horrible for her family to watch. The TV age, and especially the emerging “video camera on every street corner� age, has offered us substantial pluses: Because of the video, we know who most likely abducted Carlie. However, it has also offered us a disturbing look into actual reality, not the watered down version of reality we can see on shows like The Real World or The Bachelorette. What is painfully evident when watching that tape is that Carlie Brucia is dead. We can’t call the network complaining about the indecency of the act, we can’t vote off Joseph P. Smith, and we can’t give her parents consolation prizes. Maybe, then, we aren’t ready for the “real world.� I, for one, don’t ever want to witness another “real abduction.� I’ll stick to quickie live weddings and conversation laden with sexual innuendos between people who are essentially scriptless actors looking for a little shallow, harmless fame.
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Got an opinion? E-mail us at buzz@readbuzz.com or you can send us a letter at 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL 61820. We reserve the right to edit submissions. Buzz will not publish a letter without the verbal consent of the writer prior to publication date. Free speech is an important part of the democratic process. Exercise your rights. All editorial questions or letters to the editor should be sent to buzz@readbuzz.com or 244-9898 or buzz, 57 E. Green St., Champaign, IL 61820. Buzz magazine is a student-run publication of Illini Media Company and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the University of Illinois administration, faculty or students.
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26odds & end ARIES (March 21-April 19): On February 1, six big-name entertainers took control of the Super Bowl halftime show. The result was a histrionically boring spectacle of robotic sexuality and fake emotion. If there was any saving grace amidst the monumental emptiness, it was Janet Jackson's climactic unveiling. In a New York Times article, Alessandra Stanley wrote, "The one moment of honesty in that coldly choreographed tableau was when the cup came off and out tumbled a normal middle-aged woman's breast instead of an idealized Playboy bunny implant." Your assignment in the coming week, Aries, is to be inspired by that moment of honesty. Strip away pretension and phoniness everywhere you find them, thereby exposing the raw humanity that lies beneath. One caveat: Do this ethically, and without breaking the law. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The President of Belarus has issued a mandate to his country's athletes regarding their performance in the 2004 Summer Olympics. "You should have clear-cut plans for victory," Alyaksandr Lukashenka told them. "It is unacceptable for you to win fewer than 25 medals." That sounds a bit unrealistic to me, so I won't be that demanding in my decree to you, Taurus. But the astrological omens are on my side as I command you to pull off a feat that would be your equivalent of a gold medal between now and March 20. In addition, I order you to gather a new privilege, new perk, or new title. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): After years of occupation by the Soviet Union, Georgia became an independent republic in 1991. Its new leader was Eduard Shevardnadze, who over the next 12 years brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy and became the most hated man in public life. Last November he relinquished power in the face of a "revolution of roses," a bloodless insurrection led by protestors brandishing flowers. Two months later, one of the leading "rose revolutionaries," 36-yearold Mikhail Saakashvili, was elected Georgia's new president. I suggest that you Geminis make Saakashvili your role model for the next two months.You've got a lot of status quo to overthrow, and the best way to do it is with your version of flower power. CANCER (June 21-July 22): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, it's time for you to make two corrections. First, you are suffering from an exaggerated sense of what's possible to accomplish in the short term. I urge you to deflate your grandiosity a bit. Second, your expectations of what you can pull off in the long run are way too small. I authorize you to pump up them up. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Our subject this week, class, is the aphorism, "If at first you don't succeed, redefine the meaning of success." Your assignment is to make practical use of this principle. Judging from the current astrological omens, I think the best place to apply it might be in your love life. If you agree, here's a suggestion about how to proceed. First, figure out what it is
I HOPE MY HORISCOPE IS RIGHT | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY you've been doing wrong that has kept you from getting the xact kind of love you want. (One possibility is that your soul and ur ego are craving different things and therefore working at rosspurposes.) Second, revise your definition of the exact kind of love you want, incorporating a more realistic assessment of who you are. Third, forgive yourself for having previously had an inadequate definition. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I'm grateful for my years of psychotherapy.They've been crucial in helping me shed bad mental habits and master the art of being happy. How about you, Virgo? Have you ever met regularly with an empath whose primary purpose is to listen to you and enhance your life? It's a perfect time to start giving yourself this necessary luxury. Or, if you're one of the lucky few who already has a skilled wise person working in service to you, it's a favorable time to dive deeper into the work. The astrological omens suggest that you now have the power to get more help than you've received before -- but you have to ask for it. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is a bit stiff, but his Libran wife Teresa is just the opposite. "She can be as unbuttoned in her speech as Kerry is buttoned up in his," wrote Philip Gourevitch in "The New Yorker," "with the result that she is sometimes impolitic and always worth listening to." In Salon.com, Rebecca Traister said Teresa has complained that George W. Bush "is afraid to be Socratic" and that he entered his presidency "with a lack of curiosity about the job." She playfully told one interviewer that if John is elected, her main job as first lady will be to keep him humble. I urge you to make Teresa your role model in the coming week, Libra. Be unbuttoned, impolitic, Socratic, curious, and worth listening to. Use humor to keep yourself and everyone around you humble.
your mind. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In his 1989 song, "Fight the Power," Public Enemy's lead rapper Chuck D expressed his opinion of Elvis Presley: "Elvis was a hero to most/ But he never meant sh*t to me, you see/ Straight up racist that sucker was, simple and plain." Thirteen years later, Chuck D presented a different story, telling Newsday he had "a great deal of respect" for Elvis. I suggest you follow Chuck D's example in the coming week, Capricorn. It takes courage to shift your position as radically as he did, and I hope you can do the same.It's a perfect moment to officially change your mind about at least two important issues. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The Pentagon could not account for $22 billion in expenditures last year, according to Harper's Index. How about you, Aquarius? Has your relationship with money been suffering from any ignorance or chaos? If so, the next seven months will be a favorable time to fix that. The cosmos will be conspiring to help you upgrade your financial savvy. To the degree that you co-conspire, you will get richer a lot quicker. Here's the best news: It all starts in earnest now. Respond aggressively to a hot tip that arrives this week. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You will wake up one morning and realize you're more free than you've been in a long time. Nagging ghosts will have lost their power to bug you. Stale traditions will have faded. You will have made your last payment on an old karmic debt. Through an act of grace you don't fully understand, mind-forged manacles will have vanished. So what should you do next? I suggest you celebrate. Throw a "Get Out of Jail" party for yourself.Then run wild for a couple of days.When you're good and ready to harness your adorable new independence, ask yourself, "In what area of my life is it most important that I start fresh?"
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Love may not conquer all in the coming weeks, Scorpio, but it could conquer 60 percent, and even as much as 75. The key factor in determining love's power to accomplish wonders will be your knack for avoiding obsessive perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking.You should work with love like a master politician who's skilled at compromise, not like a glory-seeking hero who thinks she can change everything overnight. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "The fishermen of the Colombian coast must be learned doctors of ethics and morality," writes Eduardo Galeano in The Book of Embraces, "for they invented the [Spanish] word sentipensante, or 'feeling-thinking,' to define language that speaks the truth." I advise you to make sentipensante, your word of power in the coming days, Sagittarius. It may help you synchronize your galloping emotions and your restless intellect. And that may be your best hope for solving the conundrums headed your way. Here's another way to describe your assignment: Think with your heart and feel with
✍ HOMEWORK:
Rob Brezsny's Free Will ☎ Astrology beautyandtruth
Compose a sincere prayer in which you ask God or Goddess for something you're not supposed to. Tell us about it at www.freewillastrology.com.
@ f r e e w i l l a s t r o l o g y. c o m 415.459.7209(v)• 415.457.3769 http://www.freewillastrology. com P.O. Box 798 San Anselmo, CA 94979
ACROSS
venue 5 Had an assignation 12 Tribune Company competitor 15 Have a tête-à-tête with 16 Store sign 17 Argues 18 Store sign 20 Matisse’s “La Tristesse du ___” 21 Initiation declaration 22 Elton John and others 23 Like some floor polish 24 Center 25 Benjamins 27 Some princesses 28 Phil Niekro and others 29 Dip into 30 Eye parts: Var. 31 Fair to middling
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silent treatment 33 “___ abed and daylight slumber / Were not meant for man alive”: Housman 34 Tabloid topic 35 Not-too-spicy cuisine 39 She’s a doll 40 In modern lingo, an urban male who devotes much time to his appearance and lifestyle 42 Provide a segue for 44 What’s left 45 Sign-up 46 Places for pilots 47 Perfume ingredient 48 Something to shoot through DOWN 1 ___ sum (Chinese flowering cabbage)
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FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | COULTER CRACKS ME UP
FIRST THING’S FIRST...
Here’s a statistic: 100 percent of me is sick of statistics BY MICHAEL COULTER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER Mark Twain has been quoted as saying, “There are three kinds of lies. Lies, damned lies and statistics.” In the 1800s, there probably weren’t even that many statistics around and yet folks were already beginning to see them as a pain in the ass. It’s only gotten worse. USA Today can make any facet of life into a pie graph. The problem now isn’t gathering statistics; we seem to be very efficient at that. The real dilemma seems to lie in understanding what the statistics mean. That, and giving a shit either way. The 2003 Statistical Abstract came out last week like my friend Bob did at his junior prom: kind of messy and extremely shocking. The abstract is an attempt to hold America up to the light, pointing out everything we do, yet making no effort at all to explain why. Some stats jump right out at you. The average american ate two pounds of lard in 2002. That really seems like a lot of lard. What makes it worse is that it’s an average, meaning some among us are taking in more than two pounds of lard annually. Granted, the sensible people don’t eat all of this lard in one setting, but it’s still a big number. What does it mean? If you go by another statistic in the abstract, we’re a country of fat asses. 58 percent of us are considered overweight, 22.5 percent of us obese. That seems like an insanely high number when you see it. The number doesn’t really seem that big, however, if you spend a couple hours at the DMV waiting for a driver’s license, or take in a lunch buffet anywhere in town. “I’ll take a small Diet Coke and the all-you-caneat lard special, please!” It’s not like we aren’t trying, though. Seventy-one million of us walk for exercise. That seems reasonable until you read the rest of it. To qualify as an “exercise walker” you have to do it at least six times a year. Jesus Christ, six times a year is all it takes to qualify as exercise? My drunk ass has to walk home about six times a month and then walk back the next day to get my car and I don’t even slightly resemble someone who’s in shape. Who knew exercise could be so easy, and so ineffective? It’s not just walking; 449,000 people wind surf. That’s a lot of dudes, but not really that big of number, considering three million of us consider muzzleloading a sport. There’s nothing like a fine afternoon of muzzleloading to really kick that cardiovascular system into shape. I can’t understand why it never caught on as a televised sport, probably because Nike
never came out with an Air Muzzleloader shoe that costs $120. Looking at the geriatric set, for folks over 64 years of age, 83,000 of them claim to enjoy skateboarding. I’m just guessing, but I bet that calculates into roughly 83,000 broken hips a year. I gotta be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone over 64 on a skateboard, but if I ever do, I know what I’ll say. “Hey, check out that drunk old guy on the skateboard that’s about to break his God-damned hip.” Women are better than men at exercising by seven million a year. A whopping 775,000 of those women say they enjoy playing tackle football. Not surprisingly, 100 percent of all heterosexual men love watching these women play tackle football. Okay, I made that stat up, but I still stand behind it. There are some other fun items. Fifty-seven million households have cell phones. I believe that. I also believe every last one of those 57 million people are driving right in front of me every time I’m in a hurry. Some 36.6 million households have a large screen TV. That works out. A large TV and a large ass to sit on while you watch it. I’m surprised they aren’t counting television viewing as exercise. A little less than one-third of Kentucky residents are smokers. I’m sure this news is shocking to Kentucky and wholly expect them to begin a campaign to get that number up to around 50 percent by the time the next abstract comes out. It’s Kentucky, after all, and they know what I’ve known since high school. Smoking makes you look cool and older. North Dakota is in first place when it comes to per-capita binge drinking. I always drink when I’m bored off my ass, so who could blame North Dakotans? I bet if you manage to put down a case of beer a couple of times a week, it’s not even that bad a place to live. It’s a big-ass book and I just hit a few highlights, but the numbers are all in there. Just numbers, no explanations. Feel free to make them mean whatever you want because you know everyone else will. If you’d like to discuss them further, feel free to call me at home. Wait, I take that back. Three thousand people were arrested last year as a result of wiretaps and I’m sure I’ll say something that’ll get me in the pokey before it’s all over.
News of the weird ART COMES TO LIFE In a 1999 episode of TV’s “The Simpsons,” Homer became a temporary multibillionaire by accidentally inventing a “tomacco” plant that sprouted tobaccobred tomatoes that were hopelessly addictive from even a single bite. Inspired (and hoping to draw attention to the show’s anti-smoking message), Rob Baur of Lake Oswego, Ore., tried to grow such a plant and has somewhat succeeded, although a forensic researcher believes that only the plant itself, and not the fruit, contains nicotine. In February, he announced that he would auction off the golf-ball-sized fruit.
UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who is widely believed by United Nations officials and Far East experts to be tolerating the starvation deaths of perhaps millions of his countrymen, launched a nationwide campaign in January to improve national health by eradicating smoking, whose practitioners, said Kim, are one of the “three main fools of the 21st century”(along with people ignorant about music and computers).
Ariel Alonso, who lives near Roanoke, Va., was indignant when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration wrongly accused him of setting up a methamphetamine lab, and asked rhetorically, after the charges were dropped in January, “How do I get my ... dignity back?” The laboratory of Alonso (and his thenpartner Jonathan Conrad) was in reality mak-
ing the so-called “fluid of life,” which they goaded customers into buying (at $20 to $40 a dose) by claiming that it is the component of human cells and can cleanse people internally and build new tissue, even though it was just potassium chloride and white grape juice. (That, apparently, is the business plan that gave Alonso “dignity.”)
RECURRING THEMES In January, doctors at the Selian Hospital, Arusha, Tanzania, removed a toothbrush from the stomach of a 54-year-old man who had become the latest person to swallow one while brushing his teeth.
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letterstotheeditor T.I.F. tax “diversion” Officials are considering extending the T.I.F. (tax increment financing) tax “diversion” district for downtown Champaign. For those without children or commitment to the long-term residents in UN-gated subdivisions, this may sound like a good thing. “Oh goody, another bar and restaurant. Finally, civilization!” It is nice to have as many choices of where to spend an evening as in the Chicago suburbs, however bringing in the driving nightmares is not as appealing. I understand Champaign does need a bar on every corner, but did you know this detracts money from the school system? According to Bruce Knight, the Champaign planning director, “it is still cheaper to build in a cornfield.” Mr. Knight, I think of you often; every Saturday.
Michael Coulter is a videographer at Parkland College. He writes a weekly e-mail column, “This Sporting Life” and has hosted several local comedy shows.
COPYRIGHT 2004 CHUCK SHEPHERD
While I attempt to maneuver the Town center/Prospect driver obstacle course—
since the area has been designed without walking or biking as an option—perhaps Mr. Knight should focus more energy on ordinance codes, making building on a cornfield require a great deal more forethought to detail, subsequently making it more costly than the type of development called “inbuilding” of downtown. The area of Bradley and Bloomington had flooding last spring that long-time residents have not experienced before? Perhaps drainage for the area, not just the particular site, should be a study issue for amending the comprehensive plan as well. In fact, as an encouragement to Mr. Knight, I propose we rename Moreland Avenue to Knight Drive. It is, after all, devoid of streetlights. Andrea Antulov Find “Life in Hell” on Page 19. It will return to Intro next week.
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FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
buzz
In the midst of controversy A look into the life of an abortion nurse
buzz
film&tv
FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | WHERE, OH WHERE, IS SCARLETT JOHANSSON??
dvdreview
Drive-thru Reviews
021904buzz0425
CONCERT FOR GEORGE ★★★
BY LISA SCHENCKER | STAFF WRITER
Sharon Johnson* doesn’t tell people what she does for a living anymore. The last time she mentioned it was a couple years ago to a member of her church who sneered at her and walked away in disgust. She doesn’t reveal her last name, even on her business cards, for fear of what might happen to her.
* The names in this article have been changed to protect sources’ identities.
Four days a week, Johnson is the smiling, friendly, blond nurse behind a desk, dispensing medical advice, condoms and counseling. It is on the fifth day that Johnson must hide. It is then that she wakes at 6 a.m., takes a shower, does her hair and makeup, and then drives to the nearest city. There, she shops for about an hour before work. By 9 a.m. she is at work. By 1 or 2 p.m., Johnson has usually assisted in terminating between 15 and 25 pregnancies. When Johnson leaves work in the early afternoon, she shops for about another hour to calm herself. She then drives back to the small Central Illinois town where she has lived almost all of the 35 years of her life. It is a town of roughly 2,000 people where everyone knows everyone and secrets are hard to keep. In this small town, Johnson, a registered nurse, must mask what she does from acquaintances. Her face and voice must remain even when she sees people she’s known her whole life enter the clinic to get abortions. She must remain stolid when she sees them in public. Few people in the town know exactly what she does that fifth day of the week. When people ask her, she says she works in a doctor’s office. If they press further, she says she works at a women’s clinic. “It’s a touchy subject and I don’t like to go there,� Johnson says. “You never know when you’re standing in some checkout line, there could (be) some insane person standing next to you. You just never know.� CHOICES Johnson finds such fear and hiding—and the job itself—emotionally draining. To relieve stress, she shops before and after assisting with the abortions. When she gets home from shopping around 5 or 6 p.m., she takes a nap or relaxes on the couch for the rest of the night. Her live-in boyfriend and his son know to leave her alone. “Usually, when I get home, I’m tired and grouchy,� Johnson said. “There’s no reason I should feel like I’ve been run over by a truck after three hours of work, but sometimes I do.� Johnson’s job involves setting up equipment, handing instruments to the doctor during the procedure, printing out sonograms and carrying a large glass jar containing the aborted embryo to the clinic’s lab for analysis. She first started assisting with surgical abortions about six years ago. Previously, she worked as a nurse in a nursing home, but got tired of working holidays and weekends. She was ready for a change. A friend of hers began
working at the abortion clinic and recommended that the clinic hire Johnson as well. The job was Monday through Friday, and best of all, Johnson would get to spend four of those days running a women’s health clinic. The catch was that one day a week she would assist a doctor with surgical abortions. The four days a week of being her own boss and working with friendly, small-town people was a dream job she could not pass up. It was a package deal, so she took it. At first, she did not mind assisting with abortions one day a week. She believed, as she still does, in a woman’s right to choose. As a teenager, Johnson spent a few years running wild—hanging out with older friends, drinking and partying—and the thought had crossed her mind before: “What would I do?� “To be perfectly honest, I always thought if I did get pregnant, I would have an abortion,� Johnson said. “It’s every single person’s choice and I do believe it’s your right. I’m just really losing my taste for it. There’s no way I would do that now. And I can’t even tell you why.� Johnson doesn’t know why she hates handing the doctor instruments, why she hates carrying the embryo across the operating room floor. It’s not because of her religion. She was raised Methodist but isn’t very religious now and never has been. She believes people get what’s coming to them in an afterlife but doesn’t believe in any conventional form of heaven or hell. No one at Johnson’s childhood church ever told her she would go to hell. It wasn’t until she started working at an abortion clinic that she heard that. “You know I’ve had people tell me when I drove into the parking lot,’You’re going to burn in hell for this,’ and you kind of ask yourself, you’ve got to wonder if you’re going to end up paying for this some way or another,� Johnson said. It’s not the procedure that disturbs Johnson either. Each abortion takes less than five minutes to perform and can be relatively painless. It’s the images on the sonogram that bother Johnson. Up to seven weeks into a pregnancy, most features of the embryo are not yet recognizable. After seven or eight weeks, it starts to resemble a person. Much of the abortion debate questions when a life begins. At what point is a person a person? Johnson isn’t sure, but when the embryo or fetus begins to resemble a human being, Johnson begins to have issues. “When you go to the sonogram of a person who is much farther along and I can see fingers, toes and I can see the spinal column and
BY ANDREW VECELAS | STAFF WRITER
G
eorge Harrison, long known as the most reserved and aloof member of the Beatles, died in November 2001 after a prolonged battle with cancer. Based on the evidence seen in Concert for George, being the “silent Beatle� did not prevent Harrison from lingering long after his death in the hearts of those who knew him best. The film captures the concert given in Harrison’s memory at London’s Royal Albert Hall exactly one year after his death. Eric Clapton heads up the concert, which also features such performers as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Harrison’s own son Dhani. With the rosy atmosphere in the hall and so many of Harrison’s friends and loved ones on stage, the mood is more like a reunion of sorts than a true concert. In between the songs, short interviews with the artists are shown, and they share their memories of Harrison. When everyone shares the stage at the end, it’s pretty obvious how much they are enjoying themselves. The DVD contains extra interviews and performances that round out the event. McCartney does a touching version of “Something,� beginning the song on a ukulele, one of Harrison’s favorite instruments to play in his free time. Keyboardist Billy Preston is all over “My Sweet Lord,� bringing a heavy dose of soul to the vocals. The showstopper here is “Isn’t It a Pity,� which has Clapton and Preston at the top of their respective games. The band really knocks it out of the park, and brings the audience to a standing ovation at the conclusion of the song. A few of the songs do fall flat; partially because Harrison’s solo material was pretty uneven to begin with. Ringo Starr’s singing has never been his strong point, and Tom Petty’s vocals on “Taxman� could bring the audience to tears, and not in a sympathetic way. And then there’s Dhani Harrison on guitar, looking so much like his father in his younger years that it borders on eerie. He may not belong on the stage with everyone else in terms of talent, but for sentimental value alone, he deserves his spot up there. Though it hits more often than it misses musically, Concert for George makes its biggest impact spiritually. The performers put their best effort into making a tribute to a man they knew and loved. Everyone else can just sit back and watch their love be displayed on screen— and there’s nothing wrong with that.
BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS ★★★ ICE CUBE AND CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER Today’s sequel has prompted the average moviegoer to dread a second edition. It’s a relief to see a sequel that doesn’t completely flop and tarnish the image of the first. Barbershop 2 accomplishes all it set out to do. The audience laughs, has a good time and leaves the theater with a big, goofy smile on their faces. (Andrew Crewell) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy BIG FISH ★★★ EWAN MCGREGOR AND ALBERT FINNEY Many critics have claimed that Big Fish is too literary for people to understand, and that the masses will grow inpatient with it. However, it’s the films inability to make the characters worthy of compassion that grows irksome. Big Fish will serve as one of 2003’s most imaginary films, but it falls short of its potential to also be one of 2003’s best. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy CONCERT FOR GEORGE ★★★ Various Artists Though it hits more often than it misses musically, Concert for George makes its biggest impact spiritually. The performers put their best effort into making a tribute to a man they knew and loved. Everyone else can just sit back and watch their love be displayed—and there’s nothing wrong with that. (Andrew Vecelas) Midnight this weekend at Boardman’s Art Theatre LOST IN TRANSLATION ★★★★ BILL MURRAY AND SCARLETT JOHANSSON Sofia Coppola’s latest work embodies the importance of a familiar face in a country full of strangers. Throughout the subtle, stupendous Lost in Translation, Bob and Charlotte discover in each other not just a friendly face but an ally in the universal game of lost and found. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy MASTER AND COMMANDER
★★★★
RUSSELL CROWE AND PAUL BETTANY Peter Weir buffs will get a kick out of watching this film and remembering The Truman Show. While Truman’s aquatic-oriented scenes introduced the director’s ability to craft stimulating scenes of sea-swept peril, Master and Commander achieves a far higher degree of oceanic fanfare. It’s a glorious tale of adventure on the high seas sure to put wind in any landlubber’s sails. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy
MIRACLE ★★★ KURT RUSSELL AND PATRICIA CLARKSON America’s victory may not have actually been a miracle in the spiritual sense of the word, but what Miracle gets right is the feeling of national desperation that was extinguished by the unpredictable triumph of 20 college-aged hockey players. It was something the country needed then and something Disney obviously thinks we need now. It’s an inspirational blast from the past, and that’s something to quack about. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy RETURN OF THE KING ★★★★ ELIJAH WOOD AND IAN MCKELLAN Even if The Return of the King doesn’t win the grand prize on Oscar night, anything short of best director victory for Peter Jackson would be an unforgivable injustice. He has raised the bar for fantasy and redefined themes of friendship, honor and courage on a grippingly grand and poignantly intimate scale. Besides its structural limitations, The Return of the King is more than a rousing ending to a celebrated legend; it’s a battle cry for epic filmmaking. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy
OPENING THIS WEEKEND AGAINST THE ROPES MEG RYAN AND OMAR EPPS Meg Ryan is a female boxing manager—not female boxing manager as in she manages female boxers, but as in she is a female who manages male boxers. This obviously does not go over well, and she has to deal with being a woman in a male-dominated field. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN LINDSAY LOHAN AND MEGAN FOX Lola is a teenager who fits in at her school in New York. Unfortunately, she just moved into the quite different Jersey ‘burbs where she is having a hard time fitting in with her new schoolmates. She tries to make the lead in the upcoming school play but runs into a problem with her newfound rival for the part. Somehow, it seems there could be an underlying morality here, but who can say without seeing the movie? (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend EUROTRIP JACOB PITTS AND MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG A gorgeous overseas online penpal causes a group of friends to travel across the globe to meet her. Brought to you by the makers of Old School and Roadtrip, Eurotrip promises good fun and plenty of male nudity. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT GENE HACKMAN AND RAY ROMANO In a small New England town, former President Hackman makes a move for the mayor’s office, and for Romano’s girlfriend. In order to defend himself, Romano’s character decides he will run against Hackman for the mayor’s job. Fun and hilarity ensue. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend
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50 FIRST DATES (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 12:40 1:00 2:40 3:00 3:20 4:50 5:10 5:30 7:00 7:20 7:40 9:10 9:30 9:50 11:20 11:40 12:00 Sun. - Tue. 12:20 12:40 1:00 2:40 3:00 3:20 4:50 5:10 5:30 7:00 7:20 7:40 9:10 9:30 9:50 Wed. & Thu. 12:20 12:40 2:40 3:00 4:50 5:10 7:00 7:20 9:10 9:30
EUROTRIP (R) Fri. & Sat. 12:50 3:10 5:20 7:40 9:50 12:10 Sun. - Thu. 12:50 3:10 5:20 7:40 9:50 PEARL EARRING (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 7:10 9:20 11:30 Sun. - Thu. 7:10 9:20 RETURN OF THE KING (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. 12:20 4:20 8:20 MIRACLE (PG) Fri. - Thu. 1:10 4:20 7:10 10:00
AGAINST THE ROPES (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 4:00 6:50 9:30 MONSTER (R) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 12:15 12:00 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 4:00 6:50 9:30 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 ALONG CAME POLLY (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 MYSTIC RIVER (R) Fri. & Sun. - Thu. 12:50 4:00 7:00 9:50 9:30 11:30 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 Sat. 12:50 4:00 9:50 9:30 BUTTERFLY EFFECT (R) Fri. & BARBERSHOP 2 (PG–13) Fri. Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 12:20 & Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:20 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 9:50 12:15 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:20 10:00 9:50 WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT (PG–13) Fri. & BIG FISH (PG–13) Fri. - Tue. Sat. 12:50 3:20 6:50 9:30 12:00 7:10 9:50 Sun. - Thu. 12:50 3:20 6:50 9:30 CATCH THAT KID (PG) Fri. YOU GOT SERVED (PG–13) Tue. 1:00 3:00 5:00 Fri. & Sat. 12:50 3:10 5:10 7:20 9:20 11:20 CHEAPER BY DOZEN (PG) Fri. Sun. - Thu. 12:50 3:10 5:10 7:20 - Thu. 12:40 2:50 5:00 9:20 CITY OF GOD (R) Fri. & Sat. STARSKY & HUTCH (PG–13) 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:40 12:10 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:40 Sat. 7:30 PASSION OF CHRIST (R) TEEN DRAMA QUEEN (PG) Fri. & Sat. 12:30 2:50 5:10 7:20 Wed. 11:15 1:15 2:00 4:15 5:00 7:00 8:00 9:45 9:20 11:20 Sun. - Thu. 12:30 2:50 5:10 7:20 Thu. 1:15 2:00 4:15 5:00 7:00 8:00 9:45 9:20 Showtimes for 2/20 thru 2/26
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ROMANTIC COMEDY: THE ESTRANGED LOVE CHILD OF ROMANCE AND COMEDY | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
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COLUMBIA PICTURES
The perfect evening at the movies 50 FIRST DATES | DREW BARRYMORE & ADAM SANDLER
moviereview
50 FIRST DATES ★
What it takes to be a good romantic comedy
BY JENNIFER KEAST | STAFF WRITER
L
et’s face it: Much like finding the perfect match, finding a truly enjoyable and entertaining romantic comedy that both girls and guys alike will enjoy can be quite a challenge. Girls love to watch them and guys love to pretend they don’t. Ever wish you could place a personal ad to find a quality romantic comedy? If one were to write an ad for the perfect “RomCom,” it might look something like this:
BY JENNIFER KEAST | STAFF WRITER
F
irst there was the romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle. Over the years, it has become a classic movie for romance lovers everywhere. Then came the Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks reunion movie You’ve Got Mail, which was neither as good nor as popular. Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore follow in the reunion footsteps of Hanks and Ryan. First they starred in the charming and funny Sandler/Barrymore hit The Wedding Singer. Now they’ve tackled 50 First Dates. Sandler stars as Henry Roth, a veterinarian who lives in Hawaii and has a tremendous fear of commitment. That is, of course, until he meets Lucy Whitmore (Barrymore) and instantly falls in love with her. Their first “date” goes well until Henry discovers that Lucy suffers from short-term memory loss and loses all her new memories. This leaves Henry to win her heart over and over and over and over (and over) again—at least once each day. Instead of this being a classic Sandler comedy, Dates ends up being a drawn-out, semi-dramatic tale of a woman who can’t remember the so-called love of her life. After the tenth (or even the second) time of hearing Barrymore utter, “There’s nothing like a first kiss,” it is no longer amusing, just depressing. The on-screen chemistry between Sandler and Barrymore was evident in The Wedding Singer, but in Dates the two appear as if they were meeting for the very first time, which for Barrymore’s character is technically true. The comical scenes in the film—or rather what were supposed to be the comical scenes— were all given away in the trailers. They looked somewhat funny there, but not funny at all on the big screen. What was hilarious, however, was watching Sam from The Lord of the Rings (Sean Astin) act as Lucy’s very dumb and very hopped-up-on-steroids older brother. Surprisingly, he made the transition from hobbit to Hawaiian bum quite smoothly. Sandler movie regulars Rob Schneider and Allen Covert both have roles in the film. It is quite amusing to see the same two actors show up in most of Sandler’s comedies. It works well in many of the films, but this isn’t one of them. And as far as hilarious Sandler films are concerned, this isn’t one of them.
These characteristics make up the typical traits most likely wanted in a romantic comedy. These traits are backed up by RomCom lover and University student Victoria Bitters: “What makes a romantic comedy good is … the quirkiness, the wit and the controlled sappiness without going overboard into saccharine drivel and classless slapstick … A hint of believability for plot is nice, too.” Needless to say, it isn’t easy to find movies that meet these high, somewhat demanding standards. In a sea of horrible RomComs (Crazy/Beautiful and Home Fries come to mind), there are some worthy ones floating about that fit the standards for both women and men:
The Princess Bride (1987) The first worthy movie fits nearly every characteristic of a quality RomCom. The Princess Bride brings to life the humorous, action-packed adventure of a love story written by William Goldman. This movie has it all: fun and sweetness with its old-fashioned “chase the girl through fire and water” motif, without being overly dramatized. The humor is uncanny and light, giving viewers the perfect balance of lightheartedness and laughs, not to mention love. While a young boy (Fred Savage) is stuck in bed, his grandfather (Peter Falk) visits to read the boy his favorite book. Soon he, along with the viewers, is whisked away into a fantasyland of heroes, princes, giants, eels, rodents, swordfights and, of course, romance. The tale revolves around Buttercup (Robin Wright Penn)—a little eye candy for the guys— who falls in love with her farmhand, the gorgeous Westley (Cary Elwes), a little eye candy for the girls. Buttercup learns that Westley’s mutterings of “As you wish” mean “I love you” just as he mys-
teriously disappears at sea as a victim of the Dread Pirate Roberts. Years later, Buttercup is engaged to Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) and is then kidnapped by three oddball characters. As the kidnappers haul Buttercup away, a mystery suitor (Westley, perhaps?) in black follows closely. Fairy tale-like adventures ensue, ending with the ultimate romance.
When Harry met Sally (1989) When Harry met Sally is the classic RomCom everyone should watch. It may be too heavy on the dramatic side, but the underlying theme is one every person can relate to: “Can a man and a woman be friends without sex getting in the way and changing things?” The movie follows Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally’s (Meg Ryan) adult lives as they experience loves and heartbreaks. They continuously cross paths as they search for that perfect someone, triggering a close friendship between them. But as they grow closer, they must decide if the opposite sex can truly just be friends. This film is a classic and it is easy to see why. After all, what guy doesn’t think of Meg Ryan as eye candy? And what girl doesn’t like to see the girl get her best guy friend, even if he does look like Billy Crystal? Ultimately, this movie shows viewers something they all unconsciously know but are too afraid to admit: Being “just friends” with an attractive member of the opposite sex is a very difficult task.
Jerry Maguire (1996) With a line like “You complete me,” this movie has to make the list of quality romantic comedies. Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a sports agent who is tired of the shallowness of his company. He wants to live a more meaningful life and wants his agency to try to do the same. This doesn’t sit well and
Jerry is unceremoniously fired. He finds himself completely alone, with no job, betrayed by his best friend and dumped by his fiancée. But there are two people who stick by him: the mousy Renée Zellweger as his accountant assistant, and Cuba Gooding Jr. as his sole client. We follow Jerry through his struggles at making it on his own, and along the way he discovers there is more to life than being shown the money, like falling in love. Jerry Maguire is a nice mix for all. The sports angle is sure to appeal to the males, along with Cuba Gooding Jr.’s humorous and highly insightful advice about love and life. The romance is sure to do it for the females. Any girl would want to be in Renée’s shoes during her love scenes with Tom. This film shows us what is really important.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999) In the remake of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, viewers will find a gem. A great cast full of attractive actors is at the very least visually pleasing to all. It goes beyond looks, however. This film has personality as well. Not often do we find a RomCom that effectively mixes both good looks and personality. 10 Things I Hate About You features the Stratford sisters: popular Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) and the bitter Kat (Julia Stiles). Their father keeps Bianca from dating until Kat has a date of her own, which is unlikely, considering her bitterness. Bianca sets out determined to find her sister a date so she can have one of her own. This leads to the mysterious Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) being bribed to pursue and win Kat’s heart so that Bianca can date. 10 Things effectively portrays the reality of dating in high school, something that is just a distant past for most viewers. Its lighthearted comedy can captivate just about any audience, tugging at the soul and reminding viewers of the trials, tribulations and excitement of falling in love. 10 Things shows viewers how hard you have to work at love sometimes, as well as how important trust is to a relationship.
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FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
eyes, I have a problem with that,” she said. “I try not to say anything or make any facial (expressions). I just use the poker face and try not to say anything.” All employees of the clinic Johnson works at are supposed to be totally pro-choice, and for the most part, Johnson is. But secretly, Johnson applauds the late-term abortion ban President Bush signed into law last November. Though she thinks the media portray lateterm abortions as more gruesome than they are, she’s glad they’re now illegal. She thinks that a woman who’s already carried the fetus that long should stick it out a few more weeks and put the baby up for adoption. “It’s wrong to wait that long,” Johnson said. “But if they try to go after all (abortions), it’s going to be disastrous. Abortion will always be done. You’re looking at legal and safe or illegal and unsafe because people will always have them.” If the clinic Johnson works for knew she was against late-term abortions, she’d possibly lose her job, though Johnson never assists with abortions past the 14th week of pregnancy. However, it still bothers her to assist with abortions when she can recognize human features. For such abortions, she comforts herself by rationalizing. She tells herself that it is the doctor, not she, who is performing the actual abortion. “The only way I ease my conscience is I just ... this is a job,” Johnson said. “As far as I’m concerned, the person who’s making the choice is the one who’s ultimately accountable.” It also helps that Johnson empathizes with certain patients. On a typical day at the clinic, Johnson runs through a marathon of emotions. She feels sympathy for those who cry through the procedure, torn by the choice they finally make. She empathizes with the older women whose children have already graduated from college and who never thought this could happen to them. She wants to scold the women she sees come back five and six times—who seem to use abortion as a method of birth control. But she says very little. Instead, she assists with abortions one day a week, hiding her feelings from patients and co-workers with an emotionless expression—an expression she calls her “poker face.” “I’ve seen people in there that if I didn’t have such a good poker face, my jaw would probably hit the floor,” Johnson said. “You just don’t know who has to make this decision to do that. People who you would never imagine would have to wind up there, end up there.” THE POKER FACE Johnson uses her poker face not just to protect herself from losing her job, but
also to protect her patients. Because she lives in a small town, Johnson occasionally runs into women who have had abortions at her clinic. Johnson knows a good portion of the town’s citizens. She and her immediate family have all lived in the town almost all of Johnson’s life. They all went to the same lone elementary, middle and high schools together. For many years while growing up, Johnson worked in local stores where she got to know even more of her neighbors. Johnson’s mother Pat is well-known and wellliked throughout the town. Pat can’t so much as go to the grocery store without getting mobbed by friends and acquaintances. Johnson is known to almost everyone as Pat’s daughter. “They were all friends,” Johnson said. “And it’s such a small community that we all went to church together. Everybody played with everybody’s kids; it was very close-knit.” Such closeness is part of the reason Johnson has never strayed too far from her home town, and never expects to. But the familiarity is also somewhat of a double-edged sword for Johnson. It makes keeping a low profile as an abortion nurse difficult and makes for some awkward encounters both at the abortion clinic with women she’s known her whole life, and outside the clinic with women she’s helped perform abortions on. She sees such women at the mall, gas stations and restaurants. Sometimes she bumps into them while she’s out with her friends or family. Some women get abortions and then Johnson sees them later that same day when she’s out shopping. Johnson says nothing when she sees them—for reasons of confidentiality and decency, she said. Usually the women pretend not to know Johnson, or they limit their acknowledgment to eye contact or a nod of the head. Johnson is accustomed to such encounters and makes light of them. “I frequently find it amusing that I’ll catch somebody out of my peripheral vision that’s trying to hide behind some clothes rack or dive behind some display in a store to keep from having to look at me eye to eye,” she said. “But if they want to do that, that’s fine. I don’t care.” Sometimes women who she sees having abortions at the clinic come up to her when they see her out. They say hello, and Johnson returns the pleasantries but tries to keep conversations short.
Such encounters are awkward for Johnson because the family member or friend she is with will ask Johnson how she knows the person. Johnson can’t say. To do so would violate confidentiality rules. Instead, the encounters force Johnson to lie to whomever she’s with. She’ll say she knows the woman from the grocery store or some other innocuous location. Her boyfriend of six years, Steve Clark, and family members eventually caught on to the lies. They’ve learned to no longer ask how Johnson knows the women. Johnson, who’s been working at the clinic for nearly six years, has had plenty of time to perfect her reactions to awkward encounters. But such is not the case for women who recognize Johnson as they walk into her clinic, her territory. “Their eyes get as big as quarters and I can usually see them pale,” Johnson said about the women who recognize her at the clinic. Johnson reassures the women by telling them that she cannot tell outsiders about the visit. She said the reassurances are usually enough to calm the women. Once, a woman recognized Johnson walking into the clinic as she parked her car outside the clinic. The woman, then recently married, was an acquaintance of one of Johnson’s acquaintances. She looked like she was about to step out of her car when she noticed Johnson walking into ILLUSTRATIONS | MARK HAUGE the clinic and Johnson noticed her. The women looked at each other. Johnson waved and kept walking. Johnson walked into the clinic and looked at one of the security cameras that monitors the parking lot. “She kind of settled back so I knew right off what she was there for and that she was thinking, ‘Oh my goodness. I’ve just seen someone I know. I wonder if I should still do this.’ “ Johnson went to put her bags away and when she returned to the security monitor a few minutes later, the woman was still sitting in her car. “I decided I would let her off the hook and go out and say something,” Johnson said. The woman rolled down her window as Johnson approached the car. “I just said, ‘If you’re considering not coming in because of me, please don’t, please come in. What happens here stays here and no one will ever know you’re here unless you tell them.’” The woman was visibly upset but decided to go through with the abortion. She had just
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gotten married and she felt her husband was young and not ready for a child. Her husband didn’t know about the pregnancy. She told Johnson that she panicked when she saw her. She was afraid everyone would find out. Johnson understood the woman’s fears. If she were in the woman’s shoes, she also would not want anyone to know. “It goes back to that small town mentality,” Johnson said. “I honestly think that they think I would repeat something, but everyone I know hates what I do. They certainly don’t want any details, not that I would ever say anything anyway.” FAMILY Not only must Johnson hide her true feelings from co-workers and patients, but also from her close friends and family. What Johnson does on that fifth day is a topic of conversation everyone close to Johnson avoids. She can’t talk with her boyfriend about how much she hates performing later abortions. She can’t discuss with her mother, sisters, stepfather, father or stepmother how angry it makes her to see women who use abortion as a form of birth control. Most members of Johnson’s family are pro-life. But Johnson’s family is very close despite a seemingly ruinous early divorce between her parents. Johnson is close to both sisters and both sets of parents. They all live within 10 miles of one another. The family deals with Johnson’s job by sweeping it under the rug. “As close as we are, and we spend a lot of time together, we really don’t talk about it,” said Tara Johnson, Johnson’s older sister by three years. The sisters talk on the phone every day and consider themselves best friends. “I don’t know why we don’t talk about it. It just doesn’t come up.” More specifically, Johnson never brings it up. Johnson doesn’t discuss her job with anyone. She keeps it to herself because she knows it makes her family uncomfortable. To Johnson, it’s obvious why some of her family members disapprove of her job. Her maternal grandparents were strict Methodists and raised her mother to be one as well. When Johnson’s grandfather was alive, he occasionally asked her, “When are you going to get a new job?” or “When are you going to get a good job?” Johnson usually answered with something along the lines of, “Oh, I’m where I want to be right now.” Johnson’s mother is also pro-life and fears for her daughter’s safety. Of Johnson’s entire
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FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
Boneyard PotteryO Gallery & A owner Michael
MichaelSchwegmann
What is your favorite part of the job? My favorite part of my job is throwing pots, which is when you use a pottery wheel to form and shape pots. It’s a very meditative and soothing experience. I am able to think about anything and really relax. At first, it can be difficult and frustrating, but once you learn how, it becomes very relaxing. What happens during a normal pottery class? I hold private lessons, not really public classes, which allow people to come in with any kind of question, and we work together to figure things out. They usually want to learn about making pots and I talk with the person to help them in their particular area. These generally work on an individual basis. When is your next show and what type of pottery will appear in it?
Schwegmann did not realize his interest in pottery and ceramics until college. After taking a few classes at Kalamazoo (Mich.) College, Schwegmann left school and accepted an apprenticeship to learn the ins and outs of the pottery business. Schwegmann moved to Champaign to finish his degree and opened Boneyard Pottery in 1999.
For the entire month of February, all of my original work is 50 percent off, which is a great deal for the artwork in the gallery. In April, there will be the annual art festival, which is the local art show and my work will appear there, too. If you weren’t a potter, what would you want to do?
I get lots of my inspiration by looking at other old pots, usually from the Chinese or Japanese style. For my sculpturing, I study the human form, industrial objects, architecture and other metals.
I would probably be another type of artist. I also like working with construction and building houses, and since I have built houses before, I would find this to be an interesting job as well. I enjoy different kinds of arts, so I would probably want a job within that area.
What style of pottery would you say you create?
What do you like to do in your free time?
I would call my work contemporary art pottery. Some of the art pieces serve a particular function and others, such as sculptures, have mainly an aesthetic content for people to enjoy.
I enjoy remodeling projects and, as I mentioned before, I have worked on building houses. I like to read and write, but I spend lots of my time working at the business. I really haven’t been bored since I was 18.
Where do you get your inspiration for creating the pottery?
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family, her mother and grandparents were the DESPERATION only ones who regularly attended church. Johnson stopped attending church as a Most of all, Johnson chooses not to talk teenager because it bored her. She believes about assisting with abortions with her people can be good without being religious. younger stepsister, Irene. Though Irene is her “She always told me when I was older, ‘If stepsister, Irene and Johnson were raised you get pregnant, you’ll have it. You’ll just put together from the time Irene’s father started it up for adoption,’” Johnson said. “I couldn’t dating Johnson’s mother. Irene was a toddler do anything that would reflect bad on her then. As with her older sister, Johnson has because she was so big around town, and I’ve always been close with Irene. always known that. I’ve never wanted to do But Irene is very sensitive when it comes to anything that would embarrass her or any- the issue of children. Irene has one child thing like that.” already but is desperate for another. She is But, as with her finally pregnant again grandparents, after three years of futility Johnson and her and fertility drug specialIt’s a touchy subject and mother have ists, but the family is always had a lovholding its breath. Her I don’t like to go there. You never ing relationship. problem isn’t getting know when you’re standing Johnson considers pregnant; it’s carrying the in some checkout line, there her mother to be baby to term. one of the nicest Johnson feels that to talk could be some insane person people she knows. with Irene about the 15 to standing next to you. Pat never has an 25 abortions she assists unkind word to say with each week would be Sharon Johnson about anyone, even needlessly cruel. her ex-husband “Sometimes I’m just on who left her for another woman before meltdown mode, and I get overwhelmed,” Johnson’s third birthday. Johnson said. “(Irene) knows basically, but I Johnson’s father began cheating on her don’t go into detail and I don’t say how bad it mother shortly after Johnson was born. He actually is. We’re light and funny. My older never really wanted children. sister is the one I dump the bad stuff on, not Johnson’s father never had much time for my little one. My little one is too lighthearted his two daughters when they were young, but and fun. I don’t ever want to pull her down.” he made up for his absence to Johnson as she And perhaps more than anything else in grew older. Now they are close. She stops by Johnson’s life—more than the choice her his house almost every day for coffee and father made to move out when she was born, conversation. more than Steve’s choice to marry the woman “My dad never wanted kids anyway and he accidentally impregnated—Johnson’s sisimagine being stuck with two girls when you ter’s struggle to have children has shaped didn’t really want kids,” Johnson said. “He Johnson’s growing distaste for helping to perdid the best he could.” form abortions. She also can’t discuss her work with Steve, “I think too that my sister’s desperate her boyfriend. He’s not religious, but he’s struggle has made it even harder to me against abortion. He once got a girl pregnant. because to (some of) these people it’s like He and Johnson were dating at the time, but taking out the trash, and I don’t see it that he broke up with Johnson to marry the girl he way,” Johnson said. “I see multiple trips to impregnated. Four years later, his wife died fertility clinics and heartbreaking miscarand he and Johnson got back together. riage and problems with her depression and Scott, Steve’s son who lives with them, was desperation. the result of that pregnancy. Scott doesn’t “I’ve never seen anybody want something know that Johnson assists with abortions. so bad as she wants that.” It’s difficult for Furthermore, Steve is squeamish. He does- Johnson to see the pain wanting a child causn’t like seeing blood or talking about medical es her sister, and then at work each week to issues. He doesn’t like any type of confronta- also see the pain not wanting a child causes tion at all. other women. Johnson gets letters regularly at “If I have some sort of problem, I attack it,” her clinic from couples hoping to adopt chilJohnson said. “I’m on top of it where he’s the dren. The letters plead with Johnson to tell opposite. He’ll just stick his head in the sand women considering having abortions to let and pretend it’s not there until it turns into a the couples adopt their babies instead. real mess. He’s the wimpy one out of the two It’s difficult for Johnson to reconcile her of us by far.” sympathies for these couples, for her sister Johnson has always been the strong one. and for women who have abortions. The best She has always done what needed to be done, she can do is just keep her feelings to herself. whether she wanted to or not. In six years, she She doesn’t say anything to her younger sister. has never called in sick to work. She doesn’t say anything to anyone. She “I just see her as being a very strong per- assists with abortions to make ends meet. She son,” Tara said of her younger sister. “She does it because she believes in a woman’s doesn’t take anything from anyone. If she right to choose. melts, she does it in private where people “You think, ‘We’re all allowed mistakes,’” buzz don’t see her.” Johnson said.
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moviereview
CITY OF GOD
★★★★ BY MATT PAIS | LEAD REVIEWER
C
ertain stories are so intertwined with their setting that they essentially could not be told in any other part of the world. Under the Tuscan Sun and The Talented Mr. Ripley are as vivid an advertisement for Italian gregariousness as any brochure—except for the murderous identity stealing, of course— and those films turn their locations into more than just scenery; in these cases, the surroundings become characters. This has seldom been as accurate as in City of God, a violently gripping portrait of Brazilian slums that makes the South Central ghettos of Boyz N the Hood look like the Magic Kingdom. Directed by surprise Oscar nominee Fernando Meirelles, this troubling story of an impoverished Rio de Janeiro community called the “City of God” has an electric firepower that’s like Boyz crossed with Goodfellas and Fresh with a splash of Y Tu Mama Tambien. That’s because City of God, which focuses on
moviereview
THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE ★★★★ BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER
W
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FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | THE FRENCH FINALLY GIVE US A GOOD CARTOON
ith Finding Nemo, Pixar cemented its affiliation with Disney and proved that a film about a fish can ride a tidal wave of critical praise into becoming the most successful film of 2003. Yet after Finding Nemo began breaking DVD sales records, Pixar and Disney reportedly split, begging the question: What’s next for the world of animated film? Hollywood critics claim that hand-drawn animated films aren’t pulling their weight anymore, and that Pixar heralded a new directive for animation: Go CGI or bust. However, those critics are prone to neglect factors contributing to each film’s success or failure. Technological marvels such as Finding Nemo and Shrek boasted brilliant writing and an unusual surge of energy that catapulted them to fame. Handdrawn animation films such as Dreamworks’ star-heavy but interest-lacking Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas are awful and worthy of critical and commercial disdain. Thankfully, foreign films such as last year’s Oscar-winning Spirited Away and this year’s The Triplets of Belleville
a young, well-intentioned boy (Alexandre Rodrigues) and the escalating gang war around him, treats Brazil as a living, breathing thing that is perishing beneath an everlasting wave of robberies, drug deals and murders. The City of God has no electricity or transportation, and there’s no running water. Instead, the sweaty, shirtless children run rampant, joining gangs and declaring themselves men long before they sprout any hair on their itchy trigger fingers. Drug lords pay police to look the other direction, and kids light up joints with the casualness of a 9-year-old drinking a juice box. Ruling over the city is Li’l Ze (Leandro Firmino), a merciless gangster who gnashes his teeth and flares his nostrils like a charging bull whenever someone challenges his authority. Based on real life events as chronicled in Paulo Lins’s novel, Braulio Mantovani’s Oscarnominated script jumps in and out of storylines, connecting the history of every misguided youth in the City of God with an unsympathetic strand of sealed fate. While many choose their own street nicknames, virtually no one chooses a different destiny than a blood-soaked life on the streets. Just as in the great American crime dramas, kingpins are only as powerful as the public is scared, and the City of God is ruled by a raging culture of fear and gunfire. This is a shocking portrayal of social anarchy, an unflinching insight into a doomed environment that’s as provocative and necessary as any early ‘90s urban drama. There’s a touch of
have arrived in America to reinvigorate the world of hand-drawn animation. Rarely does the word intoxicating serve as a compliment, but The Triplets of Belleville opens with a rousing revue that successfully mimics the Betty Boop era of Hollywood animation and never stops chugging along throughout its short 80 minutes. To call Triplets a musical would be akin to calling Spider-man an insect documentary. Although the film has an exciting soundtrack and an Oscar-nominated theme song prone to be lodged in every viewer’s mind for days, dialogue is almost non-existent, and the theme song comes out only through bits and pieces during the narrative. Although the opening features caricatures of Fred Astaire and Josephine Baker, these relics of Hollywood’s past still seem provocative, especially as Baker’s caricature dances topless in an animalistic manner worthy of a NAACP protest. The film focuses on benevolent Madame Sousa, who aims to make Bruno’s life one filled with the splendor of cycling. Training him day in and day out, she uses appliances such as a vacuum, an egg beater and a lawn mower to tone him into shape. Then one day when he is in a race, the French Mafia (caricatured as shoulderless monstrosities of men protecting small bosses) captures Bruno to create a sidebetting arena where mob bosses force bikers to race in front of a movie screen simulating a race. Madame Sousa, along with the fattest dog in animated history, makes her way to Belleville to save Bruno. The concept of losing a child and then employing a comic relief animal to find him and
Movie News Compiled by Jason Cantone
MIRAMAX
6
2/18/04
CITY OF GOD | ALEXANDERE RODRIGUES Scorcese-Singleton familiarity, but Meirelles’s film is nearly as scorching as the legendary cinematic investigations into violent underworlds to which City of God sometimes bears resemblance. In tackling a complex socio-political structure of poverty, corruption and terror, the film creates an atmosphere of spiraling futility around its characters, who have to go deeper into the city’s criminal epidemic if they want any chance of getting out. Every time a member of a gang, or anyone, really, is killed, there are more, younger kids to take his place, ready to claim his spot as the next respected killer. In one hauntingly unforgettable scene, Li’l Ze shoots a pair of young disciples in the foot and, for a moment, watches them sob, as any adolescent would after getting shot by a murderous drug dealer. Throughout City of God, you’ll wonder how this city could be real, pray that it isn’t, and thank God it’s not yours.
Penelope Cruz is petrified of being famous. She announced this week she might pull out of the Oscars because she’s afraid of people looking at her. Well, someone needs to start a pity party for her. It must be tough being considered beautiful and glamorous and rolling in millions of dollars alongside current love muffin Tom Cruise. Poor her. Russell Crowe is reportedly being considered by producers to become the next James Bond after Pierce Brosnan’s successful reign ends following the next film. It isn’t that casting Crowe would be awful, it’s just that ... well, yes, it would just be awful. In addition, Clive Owen said he was no longer interested because he has already played a similar role in car commercials. Maybe he should be giving tips to Penelope Cruz, because he’s doing a phenomenal job at ruining any chance of his becoming famous. Male nudity seems to be the newest thing in Hollywood. After the excessive amount of fullfrontal male nudity in this upcoming weekend’s Eurotrip, Ewan “I’ve already been naked in The Pillow Book” McGregor announced he will give Americans another look at his light saber in Young Adam. Expect future male nudity in the NC-17 The Dreamers as well.
C-UViews
Compiled by Roderick Gedey
50 First Dates ★★★★ SONY PICTURES
021904buzz0623
Britney Jass Champaign
THE TRIPLETTS OF BELVILLE remove him from captivity might sound like a particular fish film, but this is definitely an animated film for adults. That isn’t to say Triplets is a sexual opus like the terrible Cool World, but the film’s PG-13 rating most likely comes from the topless dance. The film also employs tongue-in-cheek parodies of Disney and American culture, particularly with a gluttonous Statue of Liberty who’s stuffing a burger down her throat. The animation continues the gluttonous depictions of people as every woman seems to weigh more than 1,000 pounds and has breasts the size of watermelons. In the opposite vein, one of the supporting characters is portrayed as a mouse of a man, both through his size and his constant squeaking. Through these humorous visuals and a plot line that brings joy into the dull world of Belleville, Triplets of Belleville is a crowning achievement of animation that Hollywood should take notice of before Americans go across the seas for the next Walt Disney-esque production.
“It was really good."
★★★★ Nikki Leonard Champaign
"The animals were cuter (than Drew Barrymore)."
★★★★ Rich Johnson Champaign
"Adam Sandler (was funnier than the walruses)."
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calendar
WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004
The Impact of Race on Theatre and Culture – Woodie King, Jr., Producing Director, New Federal Theatre, New York will give this CAS/MillerComm lecture. The lecture will be given on Mar 3 at 5pm on the Third Floor, Levis Faculty Center, 919 West Illinois Street, Urbana. All CAS/MillerComm events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the George A. Miller Committee at 333-6729 or the CAS events line at 333-1118 or web information at http://www.cas.uiuc.
Border Crossers Discussion Group – Exploring the works of international authors. Feb 26 at 7pm, the group will discuss the book When Elephants Dance by Filipino-American Author Tess Uriza Holthe. Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd in Champaign. For questions, call 351-9011.
Reinventing the Wheel: Original Capitalism in Dracula Land – Andrei Codrescu, MacCurdy Distinguished Professor of English, Louisiana State University; National Public Radio commentator will give this CAS/MillerComm lecture. The lecture will be given on Mar 8 at 7:30pm in Smith Memorial Hall Auditorium, 805 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana. All CAS/MillerComm events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the George A. Miller Committee at 333-6729 or the CAS events line at 333-1118 or web information at http://www.cas.uiuc.
Sunday Zen Meditation Meeting – Prairie Zen Center, 515 S Prospect, Champaign, NW corner of Prospect & Green, enter through door from parking area. Introduction to Zen sitting, 10am; full schedule: Service at 9am followed by sitting, Dharma Talk at 11 followed by tea until about noon. Can arrive at any of the above times, open to all, no experience needed, no cost. For information, call 355-8835 or www.prairiezen.org.
MIND BODY SPIRIT
Prairie Sangha for Mindfullness Meditation – Monday evenings from 7:309pm and monthly retreats on Sunday. Theravadan (Vipassana) and Tibetan (Vjrayana & Dzogchen) meditation practice. Meets in Urbana. For more information, call or email Tom at 356-7413 or shayir@soltec.net. www.prairiesangha.org.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Sexual Assault Crisis Advocacy – A Woman’s Fund is seeking volunteers to serve as advocates for our 24-hour hotline and 24-hour medical/legal Advocacy programs. Contact Michelle Clutts at train4rcs@yahoo.com. Camp Activity Assistants – Volunteers will assist coordinator with craft, movement, cooking and other fun activities. Thomasboro students have the opportunity to attend camp during Spring Break (March 15-18). For more information, contact Lisa Comstock at 643-3275.
By Lorraine Hansberry Directed by Shirley Basfield Dunlap With guest artist Cheryl Lynn Bruce
Mar 4-14 KrannertCenter.com 217.333.6280
Associated lecture: "The Impact of Race on Theatre and Culture" by Woodie King, Jr., Producing Director, New Federal Theatre, New York. Mar 3, 5pm Levis Center, 919 W Illinois, Urbana
Celebration of African American Month – We would like to have one or two African American fraternities or sororities come to our school and do a short "Step" performance for our children. 75 percent of the children that we serve are African American and we would like to expose them to some role models of our community and think this would be a great way to do it. We are also looking for Black males that would like to come to the classrooms and read to the children on a one time basis. Contact Maggie Rodriguez-Nieto at 351-3711. Computer Lab Assistant – Generations of Hope in Rantoul which serves at-risk youth working with senior citizens, is seeking volunteers to help the kids with computer activities in their computer lab on any weekday between 3:30-5:30. Contact Carolyn Casteel at 893-4673.
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Supported, in part, by the Frances P. Rohlen Visiting Artists Fund/College of Fine and Applied Arts and the Chancellor’s Brown v. Board of Education Jubilee Commemorative Committee.
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FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | “DOUGHNUTS ... IS THERE ANYTHING THEY CAN’T DO?”
Loose Womyn Discussion Group – Discussion topics are loose, the womyn need not be. This Thursday at 7pm, the group will discuss the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd in Champaign. For questions, call 351-9011.
Mediators Needed – Are you interested in assisting others in resolving conflict? The Office for Student Conflict Resolution is accepting applications forvolunteer mediators. We offer free extensive training for students to become Mediators. The training session will be held Feb 20-22. You must be able to attend the entire training session. The deadline to receive applications is this Friday. Please applyearly – there are a limited number of spaces available. You will be notified by Tuesday, if you have been selected to participate. Apply online at http://www.conflictresolution.uiuc.edu. Email conflictresolution@uiuc.edu with questions.
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BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER January 29: “It all begins.” Current mood: Apprehensive Current song: “Kodachrome” – Paul Simon As a society, we are pinned as individualistic and materialistic. In the wake of such business decisions as Bank One Corp. partnering up with J.P. Morgan at the expense of many—including 2004 University graduates and family members of University students past and present— the business world shows that greed is God. However, in a world where our supposed leaders are ruthless and uncaring, a new trend emerges: needy little Americans who rely on live journals to make themselves feel better. Now, before you consider this purely offensive, I ask that you read on. I have presented my bias and will now begin a week of commentary, presented in journal format, to see if indeed writing private thoughts into the public domain is cathartic, as psychology tells me. Will informing people I’ve never met that I feel sad because that girl at CO’s dissed me REALLY make me feel better? And do I really need to make it public rather than putting it in a private, personal journal? Well, I’m willing to give it a shot. What follows is a few days in the life of Jason Cantone: my thoughts, my dreams and my desire to dissect a trend taking colleges by storm. January 30: “Everything categorized” Current mood: Inquisitive Current song: “Perfect Gentleman” – Wyclef Jean Every journal has a long list of favorites somewhere. Whether about music, movies, politicians or animals, everything’s fair game for a favorite list. However, one common thread ties the lists together: they’re always wrong. No matter how closely a person agrees with you, there is always something out of
place. I had the great opportunity of publishing my list of the top 20 movies of all time in December. However, if I read in an online journal the EXACT SAME list this month, I would be disappointed. It’s our intrinsic nature to always change. We like being a mobile culture and maybe that’s why online journals are so relaxing. People get a chance to slow life down a little and actually think, which is becoming a lost art in our modern society where technology thinks for you. If you don’t agree, just try to remember the last time you did long division and didn’t complain about not being able to use a calculator. With my definition of favorite (which changes so rapidly, it’s pointless to put in print), I chose Casablanca. Maybe you agree, maybe you don’t. Either way, I’m used to people disagreeing with me. However, most people want others’ approval. Only the fanatics go out on proverbial limbs and say things such as “That Tinky Winky Teletubby is gay!” (Rev. Jerry Falwell). For the rest of us, we cling to the hope that there’s someone else out there who watches Deep Blue Sea at least once a month, enjoys the music of Journey, finds The English Patient to be one of the most boring films this side of watching paint dry, or watches 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray to turn her cooking instructions into sexually suggestive remarks. Or maybe it’s just me. The thing is: Although I’m used to people disagreeing with me, it’d be nice to know there’s someone else out there who wants to watch Deep Blue Sea tonight with Journey playing in the background. Any takers? January 31: “Love, love, love” Current mood: Happy Current song: “My Biznatch is the Shiznit” – Tenacious D Well, it happened. To all of those out there who believe they are doomed to never love again and wander the world hopeless and alone ... well, I don’t really
care about you because I’m not one of you losers anymore. I found love this semester in the most unusual of places: the men’s bathroom at the English building. Okay, that might sound homo-erotic—not that there’s anything wrong with that, as Jerry Seinfeld would quip—but in actuality it isn’t. I decided to take a chance and call a phone number scratched into the stall wall. It said her name was Amanda and that she wanted someone intelligent who was looking for a cool girl, and I figured I fit those two very strict descriptions, so I gave it a ring. In society, we’re told that we’re vain and only looks matter, so I wondered, Would I be able to carry off a relationship without even seeing the girl? Well, why not? What else would I do with my time? I had nothing to lose, so I kept calling until she eventually picked up the phone on my 47th attempt. Her voice was sweet and soft like the little bear that sells toilet paper in commercials. Her tone was sensual like one of those ads I saw in Vegas for female entertainment. Her word choice was perfect, like a 1600 on the SAT or a 0.4 blood alcohol level. Her voice inflection was ... well, you get the picture. I haven’t had a date in a while so I was excited talking to this girl. I began talking to her about movies and music. When I brought up movies, she began to tell me that we could make one together for the right price. I was confused. Why? Was she going to co-write and perform a play with me on tape? And why would I pay her to do it? When I talked about music, she said she liked to “do it” to Barry White the best. I was becoming perplexed. “Do what?” I asked her. “Make movies,” she replied. It kept going in this roundabout manner. She wanted me to pay her to make a movie with Barry White playing in the background. I mean, if she wanted to become a director, she could join one of the film clubs on campus. Then she asked my size and I told her 35. She oohed and ahhed about something but then seemed
instantaneously disappointed when she realized that was my waist size. You know, I just don’t understand girls. You tell them something and they just get confused. I was trying to have a normal conversation and I ended up calling up a possible theater major with a fetish for guys’ waist sizes. February 1: “Super Bowl Sunday” Current mood: Angry Current song: “Super Bowl Shuffle” – Chicago Bears a.k.a. “The Bears’ Shufflin’ Crew” Julie got pregnant at age 16. Bill has crabs (no, not the type you keep as a pet). These seem like rather personal stories, but are just a sample of vignettes I found while researching online journals. I have changed the names of the people involved, but this major question came to mind: Why do I feel like it’s my duty to change their names while their supposed friends blabber on about their secrets with no regard for privacy? When my grandma and I watch Jerry Springer together, she always says people should “keep their secrets where they belong: at home.” Of course, things like sexual molestation and all that jazz shouldn’t be kept at home, but there are many things meant to be held private. When fraternity or sorority members tell stories at house meetings, the stories are supposed to stay in the confines of the house ... but that still doesn’t mean the stories don’t go into personal journals which could become public displays. Sure, with freedom of speech, you can write anything you want if it’s true, but there’s a level of common decency you should display if it’s your friend. Knowing this journal can be read by people I don’t know, I would never expose secrets (whether u s i n g f a k e n a m e s o r n o t ) . B u t that doesn’t stop Bill’s friend, who even included the crab-infested buddy’s last name for further effect. continued on page 8
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Word continued from page 7 My friends will tell you that, yes, I can be a center for gossip. It’s not my fault, people just tell me everything. But even amongst my smallest, closest group of friends, I would never announce hidden secrets. So why would I put it on a Web page so that everyone could see? Bill: If you’re out there, I have two things to say. 1) Get rid of that friend with the online journal and 2) Go get some medication because pubic lice ain’t the barrel of laughs your friend made it out to be (or so I’ve heard). February 2: “Janet Jackson� Current mood: Conclusive Current song: “Sex Laws� – Beck Janet Jackson is a well-paid
“WHEN I GROW UP, I WANT TO BE A PRINCIPAL OR A CATERPILLAR.� | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 buzz
stripper. If you haven’t heard what happened at the Super Bowl with her PDN (public display of nipple), then you really need to get out from under that rock. It is inexcusable that she showed part of her nipple on television. At least tawdry and sexual soap operas, naked men on Survivor, stripping guests on talk shows and the 10,000 replays of the PDN were sanctioned by network stations this week. Because I’m sure half a nipple is more offensive than a man on a talk show talking about getting sexual thrills from masturbating farm animals (which was on television recently and was tagged with only a TVMA rating). But that will be old news by the time this prints. But Jackson family antics aside, this journal has reached its close. I’ve discussed favorite lists, over-
ly-detailed romantic encounters, the disclosure of deep secrets and the general trend to make private thoughts public. But did it allow me to achieve any kind of inner tranquility? Well, yes and no. I’ve always felt that writing down your thoughts is a great way to understand them better and writing this journal helped me to gather my ideas and put them into categories. That was wonderful and I feel slightly smarter because of it. However, that’s everything a private journal does. On the negative side, there’s a part of me that worries about the response this article will receive, despite anything I wrote earlier about having no fears of public disapproval. Will people “get� my humor? And that’s where this journal being in the public domain makes it less
effective. People shouldn’t have to worry about their true thoughts and feelings. If you feel it, write it down. Do you think that relationship turned out to be a major disappointment? Write it down. Cheat on a test and feel guilty? Write it down. You find out that your best friend has herpes, became pregnant and plans to drop out of school to become a unicycle saleswoman? Write it down. Your thoughts are your own and some of the most precious things you have. However, if you feel like writing private things about people in your online journal— whether it’s a private or public online journal—you need to think about your words before publishing them. Words have an effect. buzz
Twelfth Night BY JEFF NELSON | CONTRIBUTING WRITER
D
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he famous Russian composer Tchaikovsky, wrote music that is widely known and popular all over the world. Thursday, Feb. 19, The Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will perform a concert with an all-Tchaikovsky program at 7:30 p.m. at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. This internationally acclaimed group has toured all over the world. The group performed at Krannert once before, in 1999, while on a 34-city tour of the United States. This year, the group is touring under the direction of conductor Sergey Kondrashev with a special guest, pianist Yuri Rozum. Rozum is a well-educated musician, but for many years he had a difficult time in his career. “Soviet authorities did not allow Rozum to travel outside the Soviet bloc countries for religious and political reasons,� said Tammey Kikta, public information director for Krannert Center. After about six years, he was given permission to travel again and soon after was winning awards and competitions in several countries. Now he is recognized for the talented musician he is and continues his career on an international level. “I am very excited about the pianist,� Kikta said. “He is becoming more public in a global sense.� There will be a free concert prep session in conjunction with the performance from 6:45 to 7:15 p.m. in the Caldwell Playhouse. “It is like oral program notes,� said Kikta. “It gives the music a bit of historical context.� “Classical music events are at the core of this center,� Kikta said. “We are coming up on 35 years in town, and we have strongly supported classical music events since we opened.�
To complement the orchestra, the chorus will sing the original Russian songs from which Tc h a i k o v s k y derived his music. “The idea of creating the Moscow State Radio S y m p h o n y Orchestra and Chorus came in 1978 as an outgrowth of the need for the symphonic repertoire of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries to be broadYuri Rozum: Pianist playing with the Moscow State Radio Symphony cast throughout the Orchestra and Chorus. Russias for the benefit o f i t s c i t i z e n s , � C o l u m b i a A r t i s t s following year due to the Russians’ sympathies for the Serbian cause. The piece Management Inc. (CAMI) said. The chorus is a prized possession of was especially written for a charity conRussia’s, specializing in operatic, sym- cert that would benefit the soldiers phonic and sacred music, according to wounded during the war.� The final selection is the “1812 Festival CAMI. The orchestra, often joined by the chorus, has played in most of the world’s Overture, Op. 49.� In June 1880, capitals. They also developed an educa- Tchaikovsky’s friend and mentor, Nicolai tional program to teach young audiences Rubinstein, suggested the composer write in Russia more about “symphonic and a new work for the forthcoming AllRussian Art and Industrial Exhibition to choral repertoire.� For Thursday’s concert, there are at be held in Moscow. After much prodding, least two familiar pieces, Kikta said: the “Tchaikovsky finally decided to combine opening and closing selections, which two of Rubinstein’s suggestions and, on many people will recognize. The first Oct. 12, he began to write an overture to selection of the event will be “Marche mark the consecration of the new cathes l a v e ( S l a v o n i c M a r c h ) , O p . 3 1 . � dral (Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the A c c o r d i n g t o C o l u m b i a A r t i s t s Savior),� according to CAMI. “Tchaikovsky is a major Russian comManagement’s notes, Tchaikovsky composed this piece in 1876. They say the poser and having a Russian orchestra play piece “owes its origins to the Serbo- his music is a special experience,� Kikta Turkish war which began that year, and said. “It brings a special cultural distincwhich was to become Russian-Turkish the tion to the music.� buzz
PHOTOS COURTESY OF COLUMBIA ARTISTS MANAGEMENT INC.
Russian composer comes back to life at Krannert BY SUZANNE SITRICK | STAFF WRITER
William Shakespeare
ating from around 1600, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is one of his earliest and most enduring comedies, with a significant touch of darkness. Using a plot device borrowed from the Roman comedic playwright Plautus, Shakespeare uses the physical likeness of a twin brother and sister to cause more confusion in the kingdom of Illyria, where much distress is already in place. Add to that the subplot that the twin brother and sister each believe the other to be dead as they mix with a very devious collection of servants and hangers-on at a countess’s court, and you have confused, frustrated love with a healthy mix of antiestablishment practical, drunken jokes. Though the Bard borrowed from Plautus and earlier Italian comedies, the musical elements, poetry and humor are very much of his own idiom. With the addition of the dark, anti-establishment edge, you have a unique piece of theater; a very funny, lyrical and dark comedy. Such extraordinary material is any director’s delight and any director’s challenge. The current production at Urbana’s Krannert Center under the experienced Shakespearean hand of director Robert G. Anderson goes for the laughs with a strong sense of the lyrical and sensual. Using modern dress and modern song—after all, variations on “hey, nonnie nonnie� do seem a bit dated in any context—Anderson and his lively and musical student cast overcome a talky first scene and almost sing and run their way through the Bard’s comedy. It’s an appropriately rearranged Studio Theatre, with versatile sets that are almost props and enough room to let this young cast romp. If the darker moments don’t dominate this production, it is in the spirit of what director Anderson has found with his splendidly youthful and talented cast: Take your strong suit and play it. Here is an ensemble just bursting with song, sensuality and in-your-face humor. Why defer to the dark side when have such players? If Malvolio’s plight gets a few too many laughs, let’s remember Shakespeare was not against taking down a bloated bureaucrat who lived on his exaggerated self-importance. Sometimes, such a fall from grace can be just plain funny. Maybe the University of Houston will stage this with an Enron setting some day? Meanwhile, don’t hesitate to get in that “call� line for tickets at Krannert on weekends until Feb. 22. Call 333-6280 or visit www.kran-tix@uiuc.edu.
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FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com
MEETINGS & WORKSHOPS
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2004 Conference on Strategic Growth for Businesses & Entrepreneurs – Over 20 hours of valuable growth strategies for businesses and entrepreneurs for the average price of an hour of consulting. Feb 26. Hawthorn Suites, 8am-5:30pm. Register online at www.cugrow.biz. 2004 Art Exhibition Series Call for Artists – The Champaign Park District is seeking local visual artists to apply for this exciting new venue at the Springer Cultural Center. Exhibits strive to present artistic and ethnic diversity of Champaign Urbana and surrounding area artists. Now-Mar 19. For more information, call 398-2376. Loose Womyn Discussion Group – Discussion topics are loose, the womyn need not be. This Thursday, the group will discuss the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. 7pm. Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd. For more information, call 3519011. Bilingual Convotable – A La Casa event, free and open to everyone. Are you learning Spanish and want to practice it with native Spanish speakers? Are you a native Spanish speaker and want to improve your English communications skills with native English speakers? Try the Bilingual Convotable. Every Tue, 4-6 pm, in the Living Room of LCCL. McKinley Health Resource Site – Every Wednesday from 2-5 pm, representatives from the Special Populations Program will be at La Casa. Cold packs, wound packs, at-home pregnancy testing kits and condoms are available. It's confidential, but bring your Student ID. Will be held at La Casa in room 204 LCCL. Fiesta Committee Meetings – Tuesdays at 6 pm, the annual Latina/o cultural show that educates and entertains. If you are interested in the FIESTA committee or want to perform, attend these meetings. Meetings will be held in the LCCL Conference Room. F.A.S.T. Track Workshop – Freshman Advantage Study Tactics for high school freshmen provides tips on how to take better notes, develop good study aids and organize time. Parkland campus. Saturday, 10am-12pm. The fee is $25. Register by Fri. For more information, call 351-2546. F.A.S.T. Track Parent Discussion Group – Parents whose son or daughter is learning study skills in the F.A.S.T. Track program can explore their role in reinforcing these new skills. Participants preview students' class material and talk with other parents about ways to support the incoming freshmen during their high school experience. Parkland campus. Saturday, 10am-12pm. The fee is $20. Register by Fri. For more information, call 351-2546. Job Search Workshop: Interviewing – Parkland is offering a free workshop in job interviewing Thursday at 12pm to anyone in the district. Workshop will meet in room C123. For more information, call 351-2536. Scuba Clinics – Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventures is holding six-session clinics March 2 and April 13, 6-8pm at the IMPE pool. Instruction includes details about gear and equipment, water entries, surface dives, use of mask, fins, and snorkel, the science of scuba diving, and in-the-pool training with tanks. This class is the initial instruction to acquire your diving card. Advanced registration is required. The fee is $200 for UI students/Campus Rec members and $235 for non-members/general public. For registration and more information, call 333-TRI or, visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu. Lunch Break Strength Training – Squeeze a workout into your busy schedule by joining this noontime fitness class. This 30-minute workout will include strength training and mat-based exercises. Springer Cultural Center. Meets Tuesdays & Thursdays 12:15-12:45pm. Fee is $30. For more information, call 398-2376.
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Tai Chi Specialty classes – Tai Chi is a traditional Chinese exercise/martial art discipline that has been in existence for many centuries. The art is based on slow and gentle movements, which are designed to exercise every joint and muscle in the body, with an emphasis on internal energy development, or "Chi", for health maintenance. Develop internal energy and increase body awareness, focus, flexibility, circulation, balance, strength and coordination. Advanced registration is required. The cost for the course is $70 for 12 classes. UI Campus Recreation will hold these classes Tuesdays, 7-8:30pm in 120 IMPE. Session II will be Mar 30-May 6. To register, call 333-3806 or visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu/schedules/specialty. Iyengar Yoga Specialty classes – A form of Hatha Yoga, the Iyengar tradition places special focus on developing strength, stamina, flexibility, and balance as well as concentration and meditation. Advanced registration is required. The cost for the course is $60 for 6 classes. UI Campus Recreation will hold these classes on Sundays, 4:15-5:45pm in 120 IMPE. Session II will be April 4-May 9. To register, call 333-3806 or visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu/schedules/specialty. Beginner Racquetball Clinics – All clinics are designed for beginners. The clinics are hosted by John O’Donnell, U.S. Open Champion and certified AmPro Instructor, along with Bill Williamson, certified AmPro Instructor. Clinic participants will learn scoring, rules of the game, basic skills and strategies. Advanced registration is required for the free classes. UI Campus Recreation is holding these free clinics for UI students and Campus Rec members on Feb 24 and March 2, 16 & 30, 7-8:30pm on IMPE racquetball courts 17 & 18. To register, call 333-3806 or visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu. Spring Break Trips – UI Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventures will host two trips. Backpack through the Smoky Mountains Mar 20-27. Enjoy five days of backpacking, which includes hiking along some of the over 900 miles of trails that weave within the beauty of the many flora and fauna of these high elevation mountains. The fee for the Smoky Mountain trip is $350 for UI students/Campus Rec members and $450 for nonmembers/general public. Or, take the Canoe Trip to Everglades National Park Mar 20-28, which inclides camping and canoeing along parts of the Wilderness Waterway, a 99-mile trail from Everglades City to Flamingo, and among the coastal islands in the Gulf of Mexico. The fee for the Everglades trip is $400 for UI students/Campus Rec members and $500 for nonmembers/general public. A meeting will be held at the Outdoor Center this Tuesday, 3-5pm. To register or for more information, call 333-TRIP or visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu. Dance Workshop – Want to learn how to Salsa or practice Merengue? Come to the free workshops. No experience necessary. Workshops are conducted by Eliana Manero. Everyone is welcome. La Casa Cultural Latina (LCCL) living room. Thursdays and Sundays, 7-9pm. For more information, contact lacasa@uiuc.edu. Basic Scrapbooking – Choose a theme, organize photos, and pick one of 12 embossed scrapbooks. Hands-on instruction by Desiree Jones utilizes many scrapbook tools and accessories, such as eyelets, die-cuts, stickers, embellishments, and more. Finish the class with a completed scrapbook and the technique and skill to create many more. Class will meet Mar 6 from 1-4pm in room D105 on the Parkland campus. The fee is $50. Call 3512546 for more information. Registration deadline is this Friday.
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Home Buyer's Seminar â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Learn important steps in the home buying process including pre-qualification, inspection, and closing. Class will meet Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1315 N. Mattis Ave., in Champaign. The course fee is $20 for individuals or same-household couples and includes a workbook. Call 351-2235 to register.
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Foundation of Teamwork â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Competition demands that organizations do more, in a shorter response time, with fewer resources. Participants will identify their communication style and develop plans to build better working relationships with other team members. Class meets Thursday from 8:30am12:30pm at 1315 N Mattis Ave, Champaign. Course fee is $110. To register, call 351-2235.
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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004
ART EXHIBITS – ON VIEW NOW
MUSIC PERFORMANCES
“Distant Voices Nearer: A Celebration of American Indian Art” – Featuring paintings by DeHaven Solimon Chaffins, jewelry by Ben Yellowhorse, ceramic sculptures by Lynn Hone, ceramics by Laguna Potter and Michael Kanteena, pottery from Acoma and Mata Ortiz. On display at Verde Gallery through Mar 20. Opening reception for Chaffins and Yellowhouse Thur at 7pm. 17 E Taylor St in Champaign. Cafe: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm. Gallery: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.
The Parkland Wind Ensemble and the Parkland Community Orchestra – The wind ensemble, conducted by Greg Grove, will include in its program "The Golden Years" by Leroy Anderson and "Montmartre March" by Haydn Wood. The orchestra, conducted by Jack Ranney, will perform "Il Re Pastore Overture" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Mueller and others. First Baptist Church of Champaign in Savoy. The show will be Mar 7 at 3pm.
“Transitions” – Work from Nicole Cisne on display at Aroma Café through Mar 21. Artist statement: “The vehicle for my artwork is the female nude. The images created of the female nude have changed drastically through time. Looking back in art history you see women who by today’s standards would be considered ‘fat.’ Society and the fashion industry of today are the primary causes of an epidemic of eating disorders and false body images in many young women... Hopefully the viewer will see that the female figure is beautiful, no matter what size.” 118 N Neil in Champaign. Open 7 days a week, 7am-Midnight. For more information, contact Amanda Bickle at 356-3200 or art4aroma@yahoo.com.
Parkland and Normal Community Bands Joint Concert – The Parkland Community Band will perform in a joint concert with the Normal Community Band Feb 29 at 2:30pm at the Wesley United Methodist Church in Bloomington. The concert is free and open to the public. Musical selections that the bands will perform together include "A Festival Prelude" by Alfred Reed and songs from the musical, "My Fair Lady." Michael Wallace conducts the Normal Community Band; Greg Grove conducts the Parkland Community Band.
“Picturing Performance: Japanese Theater Prints of the Utagawa School, 1790–1868” – The focus of artistic production in 18th and 19th century Japan (Edo period) was the world of entertainment. This exhibit captures a views of this world of illusion and fantasy (Ukiyo) through richly-colored and compositionally provocative woodblock prints know as Ukiyo-e. The prints in this exhibition give visitors a glimpse of Japanese art, dress and culture that flourished over 150 years ago. The exhibition is on view through Mar 21. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860. “Bon Coiffure: Hair Signs from West Africa” – This exhibition offers viewers a glimpse into three different art forms: the art of African hair styling, African hair sign painting and African hairstyles in traditional masks and sculpture. In sub-Saharan Africa, la coiffure, i.e.“hairdressing,” is an art and a vocation. African hair designs, both aesthetic and symbolic, proclaim many things such as ethnic origin, gender, religious or political affiliation, social status, or even the profession of the wearer. Hairdressers also hire artists to hand paint signs to advertise their skills and represent their repertoire of coiffures. Bon Coiffure is on view through Mar 21. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860. “Beyond East and West: Seven Transnational Artists” – Throughout history, various cultures have been lumped together into the broad categories “East” and “West” in order to distinguish an “us” from a “them,” according to art historian David O’Brien. The Krannert Museum has put together a traveling exhibition bringing together the work of seven major contemporary artists who share a connection to both worlds. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860. Creation Art Studios – Artwork by instructors Jeannine Bestoso, Amy Richardson, and Shoshanna Bauer, and the studio’s friends and family. 1102 E Washington St in Urbana. Hours: Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 1-4pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955. “Whistler and Japonisme: Selections from the Permanent Collection” – Marking the 100th anniversary of James McNeill Whistler’s death, this exhibition highlights his works on paper and examines the influence that Japanese woodcuts had on his artistic technique. On display at Krannert Art Museum through Mar 28. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860.
ON STAGE Elysium on the Prairie, Live Action Roleplaying – Vampires stalk the city streets and struggle for dominance in a world of gothic horror. Create your own character and mingle with dozens of players who portray their own undead alter egos. Each session is another chapter in an ongoing story of triumph, tragedy and betrayal. Fridays,“Vampire: The Masquerade.” For more information, visit www2.uiuc.edu/ro/elysium/intro.html. Check site for location, 7pm.
FILM Telluride MountainFilm Tour – If you enjoy highcaliber films filled with the adrenaline-pumping excitement of outdoor extreme sports, intimate looks at real-life adventurers and experiencing films that will open your eyes, shock you and fill you with wonder, you are in luck. A selection of these award-winning films from Telluride, CO, will be showing at Savoy 16 Theatre. Mar 15, 7pm, $10. Ticket proceeds are donated to the Campership Program, BSA. To buy tickets, go to Champaign Surplus or www.champaignsurplus.com. 21st Annual Insect Fear Film Festival – Don't miss Champaign-Urbana's only film festival that features enormous, human-hungry, mutated killer insects! Experience spine-tingling chills, hair-raising screams and oversized bugs at the festival. This year features The Tuxedo starring Jackie Chan and Jennifer Love-Hewitt, and several other films. Doors open at 6pm, movies start at 7pm, and admission is free. Foellinger Auditorium. For more information, visit the UI Department of Entomology Web site or call 244-2491.
KIDS & FAMILY T.A.C.K. – The library’s Thursday Arts and Crafts for Kids program welcomes children to come make a craft. Douglass Branch Library, Conference Room. Thu 4-5pm. African Crafts with Dawn Blackman – For elementary school-age children. No registration. Douglass Branch Library. Fri, 4-5pm. Baby Time – Come to the library for a half-hour of lap-bouncing, nursery rhymes, music activities and play time for your infants. Douglass Branch Library, meeting room. Thu 10:30-11am. Family Fun Day Sunday in the Square – Every Sunday through Mar 27, enjoy interactive rides, including Bounce Houses, Screamer Slides and the Kid Wizard. There will also be food, shopping, games, miniature golf and more. Lincoln Square Mall. Sun 1-5pm. For more information, call the Urbana Business Association at 344-3872.
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Funfare – Come to The Phillips Recreation Center for Funfare Thur, 10:30-11am, presented by The Urbana Free Library Children’s Department. There will be stories, songs, puppets and films for children of all ages and their parent(s) or caregiver(s). No registration is required for this drop-in program. For more information, call 367-4069. Babies’ Lap Time – Babies and their parent(s) or caregiver(s) are invited to Phillips Recreation Center for Babies' Lap Time Tue from 10-10:30am, presented by The Urbana Free Library Children’s Department. This program is for our youngest patrons, ages 6-24 months with an adult. No registration is required. For more info, call 367-4069. O Baby! – Lap-bouncing, nursery rhymes and music activities for infants with a caregiver. Champaign Public Library, main library. Mon 9:30-9:50am or 10:30-10:50am. No registration required. For more information, call 403-2030. Tuesday Twos – Stories, songs and movement activities for 2-year-olds with a parent or grandparent. Tue 9:30-9:50am or 10:30-10:50am. Champaign Public Library, main library. No registration required. KnowZone – Homework help for school-aged children. Tue 4-5pm. Douglass Branch Library. No registration required.
UPCOMING EVENTS Parkland-ICTM Math Contest – Parkland-ICTM Regional High School Math Contest will be held at Parkland Feb 28. Over 1,100 students are expected to participate. Most events begin at 9am. The awards ceremony will be held at the Parkland gym at 2pm and is open to the public.
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BY BRIAN WARMOTH | STAFF WRITER
M
athew Green is a playwright and employee at Barnes & Noble in Champaign. Originally from Robinson, Ill., he now lives in Tuscola. His work has been performed by the Black Dove Theatre Company in Chicago. His first work to appear on the University of Illinois campus, Crazy Grandma Sings the Blues, is being produced by the Penny Dreadful Players March 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. at Gregory Hall. What has drawn you to writing for theater? What I used to write in practically every other genre. I did some poetry, tried to write a novel. The more I read plays, the more I wanted to write them. There’s something about the immediacy of it. I also like the fact that it’s a group effort. What kinds of subjects do you find yourself writing about? The plays I write always start as very personal, something I’ve witnessed, or some-
February Blood Drives – Campus blood drives for this month are as follows: Tue – LAR Main Lounge 2-6pm; Feb 25-27 – Illini Union room 314, 10am4pm. African American Issues – Panel Discussion features an introduction by Parkland College President Zelema Harris and comments from several Parkland employee panelists. Refreshments will be included. Parkland College, rm D244. Friday, 2-4pm. Soul Food Luncheon – The Parkland College Black Student Association sponsors the annual event. Tickets are $6 in advance and $6.50 on day of event. Parkland College South Lounge. Feb 26, 11am-1pm. “Turkey Between East and West” – a panel discussion featuring Martin Stokes (Ethnomusicology, University of Chicago), Maria Todorova (History, UIUC), Yasemin Yildiz (German Studies, Cornell University), Serife Genis (Sociology, UIUC), and Robert Pahre (Political Science, UIUC). Robert Ousterhout (Architecture, UIUC) will act as moderater. Humanities Lecture Hall, IPRH. Tuesday, 3pm. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact the IPRH at 244-3344 or visit www.iprh.uiuc.edu.
thing in my family. It’s after thinking about it and writing that it starts opening up. This (Crazy Grandma Sings the Blues) is actually my most recent piece. I started writing it a year ago. It’s about something that happened in my family. It was a process of taking something personal and making it into something you don’t have to be me to understand. What are your influences? Definitely (Edward)Albee. Early on, my influence was David Mamet. He would take something natural and make it into something elevated; and other than that, Tennessee Williams. It fascinates me how people can take something small and make it so complex. I don’t tend to get huge ideas. What subject do you most enjoy writing about? Ordinarily, it’s how people fail to communicate with each other. In this one, I started out with people dealing with their situation, and it turned into how people take each other for
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Sweeney Todd School of Music Opera Series
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A Musical Thriller
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by Hugh Wheeler From an adaptation by Christopher Bond
Feb 20-29 Eduardo Diazmuñoz, conductor Stephen Fiol, director Sara Lampert Hoover, associate director
18th Annual Black Women's Achievement Dinner – The Black Women's Achievement Dinner celebrates the unique achievements of six women from the Champaign-Urbana African American community. The celebration will consist of a cultural marketplace, dinner, guest speaker Dr. Ollie Watts-Davis, with music provided by Chambana. Hawthorne Suites in Champaign. Friday, 6-9pm. Advance-only tickets: $35. For more information, call 344-0721. 18th Annual Daddy/Daughter Dance – Dads and daughters, dance til dawn at the 18th Annual Daddy Daughter Dance. Refreshments, raffle prizes, and dancing are sure to please dads and daughters of all ages. Leonhard Recreation Center. Saturday, 6-8pm. Tickets: $20 per couple, $10 each additional. Tickets must be purchased by Feb 20. For more information, call 398-2550.
arts
FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | SCREW THOSE WHO EAT OTHERS’ EGGROLLS
ARTIST’S CORNER
PHOTOS | RODERICK GEDEY
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Below (from left to right): Mary Brennan, Sean Wade and Sean Paris rehearse a scene from Crazy Grandma Sings the Blues.
Mysteryand comedy, loveand hate, beautiful melody and piercing dissonance unite in this compelling story of passions, a Stephen Sondheim
Tony Award-winning musical.
KrannertCenter.com 217/333-6280
Supported in part by the Frances P. Rohlen Visiting Artists Fund/College of Fine and Applied Arts and IOTE, Illinois Opera Theatre Enthusiasts
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music
HE IS A “SHADY” SORT | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
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Yonder Mountain String Band’s tour stops at Urbana’s familiar Canopy Club
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PHOTOS | COURTESY OF YONDERMEISTER.COM
n Feb. 25, Yonder Mountain String Band comes to Canopy Club as part of their “Cabin Fever Tour 2004.” Our twin cities hold a special significance for two of the band’s members, mandolin player Jeff Austin and banjo player Dave Johnston, who grew up in the surrounding areas and met in Urbana. In fact, their former band—the amusingly monikered The Bluegrassholes—played here during the mid90s, ensuring that they remember Chambana fondly. “We’ve always had a good time there, we have tons of friends there. It’s definitely a cool fun place, the people treat us well. And we have a bunch of stories that I’d have to censor,” says guitarist Adam Ajiala. The band officially formed in December 1998 to open for a band at the Fox Theater in Boulder, Colo., at which point they immediately encountered their first problem. “We already had two gigs booked and they needed to run an ad in the local paper, and they didn’t have a name yet. So we had to come up with something, and we came to the conclusion that we wanted to be a quartet or a string band. Then there was this series of magazines from the mid-
to-late-60s called Sing Out, a compilation book of various folk artists and tunes, and there’s a song called “At The Foot Of Yonder Mountain” (by Barker Horton), so Jeff goes ‘How about Yonder Mountain?’ “ Due to the diverse backgrounds represented, Yonder Mountain has a fairly unique sound. “You can’t sum it up real quick. We are a bluegrass band but all our influences come from rock ‘n’ roll and heavy stuff, but all the energy is run through bluegrass instruments. We’re playing bluegrass but it’s not traditional,” states Adam, whose first cover song was Black Flag’s “Nervous Breakdown,” a result of his early infatuation with heavy metal and punk rock, the influences of which subtly remain with him today. Furthermore, Ben Kaufmann played rock music throughout high school, and it was only when he sat in as a sub in his father’s jazz band that he picked up the acoustic upright bass, which is now his instrument of choice. For the uninitiated, bluegrass music’s origins are shared with country music, in that both their roots lie in traditional string band music. Sometime in the 1940s, honky-tonk and country-pop became separate genres, but certain musicians, perhaps most notably Bill Monroe, remained faithful to the traditional style, while complicating the songs by making the music faster and more technically demanding. The genre was named after Monroe’s backing band The Blue Grass Boys. About 20 years later, several bands attempted to experiment with the standard structures and conventions, creating a plethora of sub-genres that would be dubbed “progressive bluegrass.” “Our music is definitely different, but not necessarily evolved,” says Adam, “because evolved is a forward motion and some people might think that what we do is a deevolution. Most traditional bluegrass consists of two- to four- minute songs with tight tunes wrapped up in a bundle. We extend things, we try different rhythmic patterns. Sometimes we’ll sandwich
songs. We’ll start with one song, go into anoth- a guitar in 1956, at the age of 11. His humble er song in the middle, then go back to the first demeanor and self-deprecating manner hide a devastatingly skilled guitarist, whose self-taught one.” Known to jam out for 20 minutes at a time, acoustic steel-string finger stylings have slowly Yonder Mountain String Band have often earned him a deserved reputation since his attracted a fan-base similar to that of a jam- debut LP, 1969’s Twelve String Blues. Arguably, though, it was Clone, his band. On the interac2002 collaboration with tion between jam Phish bassist Mike music and bluegrass, Gordon, that finally Adam shrewdly allowed him to be deduces that “it’s the heard by a larger audicommunity more so ence, after almost half a than the music. The century of playing guiterm ‘jam band’ – Adam Ajiala tar. encompasses so The band is always many genres. You “digging for the best” can say that the The when looking for someFlying Frog Brigade or Sound Tribe Sector 9 are jam bands, and we one to tour with, though they “like to find quiare not like those other bands. When I think ‘jam eter bands, because we don’t have drums,” band,’ I think of a bunch of folks that love all Adam said. The band boasts a considerable repertoire, kinds of music and love to come listen to all ranging from catchy tunes such as “Two Hits kinds of music.” To give a little background about the mem- And The Joint Turned Brown” to ambitious covbers, Adam was born in Worcester, Mass., and ers, including an 11-minute version of The took up the electric guitar at 13. He “studied Rolling Stones’ “No Expectations” and a stuntrees and stuff in college” with the intention of ning take on Pink Floyd’s “Goodbye Blue Sky,” becoming a forester, but a knee injury encour- among other covers of artists such as The aged him to concentrate on his music. Dave was Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Willie Nelson. born in Aurora, Ill., and was in an ensemble They have played in a variety of venues, and called Giblet Gravy within a year of deciding to will play Bonnaroo later in the year in a lineup learn banjo. Unlike some of his peers who chose that includes The Dead, Bob Dylan, Trey to finish school, he moved to Boulder, Colo., to Anastasio and Ani DiFranco. On Feb. 13, CNN pursue a musical career. Jeff was born in aired an interview with and a live performance Arlington Heights, Ill., and specialized in musi- by Yonder Mountain, and their album Old cal theater, voice and dance theater. He played Hands has been nominated for a Jammy for 2003 no instrument, but arbitrarily owned a man- Studio Album of the Year. All this hype is entiredolin, which Dave advised him to play, and so ly deserved, for seldom has there been a more he did. Finally, Ben was born in Pittsburgh, and enjoyable introduction to bluegrass for those was quite the prodigy, playing piano at 3. He not familiar with the genre. As for the rest, sureattended New York University’s prestigious ly little coercion will be required to get them out film school before also ending up in Boulder. to Canopy Club on Feb. 25. buzz Unfortunately, Ben will not be touring with Yonder Mountain due to a recent bereavement. However, the band is currently touring with Yonder Mountain String Band and Leo Kottke will perform Leo Kottke, one of the most revered folk gui- Feb. 25 at Canopy Club. Tickets are $15 and the show tarist of the last several decades. “We’ve all been starts at 10 p.m. fans of Leo Kottke for a while. Getting to meet him was great ... the guy was playing music before I was born.” In fact, Kottke first picked up
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When I think ‘jam band’ I think of a bunch of folks that love all kinds of music.
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FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com
CHICAGOVENUES
At the foot of Yonder Mountain BY SHADIE ELNASHAI | STAFF WRITER
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Abbey Pub 3420 W Grace, Chicago, (773) 478-4408 Allstate Arena 6920 N Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, (847) 6356601 Aragon 1106 W Lawrence, Chicago, (773) 561-9500 Arie Crown Theater 2301 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, (312) 7916190 Bottom Lounge 3206 N Wilton, Chicago, (773) 975-0505 Chicago Theatre 175 N State St, Chicago, (312) 443-1130 Congress Theatre 2135 N Milwaukee, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 Double Door 1572 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, (773) 489-3160 Elbo Room 2871 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 549-5549 Empty Bottle 1035 N Western Ave, Chicago, (773) 276-3600 Fireside Bowl 2648 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, (773) 486-2700 House of Blues 329 N Dearborn, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 Martyrs' 3855 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 404-9494 Metro/Smart Bar 3730 N Clark St, Chicago, (773) 549-0203 Old Town School of Folk Music 4544 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 728-6000 Park West 322 W Armitage, Chicago, (773) 929-5959 Riviera Theatre 4746 N Racine, Chicago, (773) 275-6800 Rosemont Theatre 5400 N River Rd, Rosemont, (847) 671-5100 Schubas 3159 N Southport, Chicago, (773) 525-2508 UIC Pavilion 525 S Racine, Chicago, (312) 413-5700 Vic Theatre 3145 N Sheffield, Chicago, (773) 472-0449
ART NOTICES National Biennial Ceramics Invitational ("Elevating the Utilitarian: Transforming the Vessel through Surface Decoration") – March 1April 9, the Parkland Art Gallery will host the 9th Biennial Ceramics Invitational. This year's exhibit includes nationally known artists Sam Chung of Michigan, Julia Galloway of New York, John Glick of Michigan, Michael Hunt of North Carolina, and others. A reception will be held Mar 16 from 6-8pm, with a gallery talk by Berti and O'Donnell at 7pm. For more information, call 351-2485. Creation Art Studios: Art Classes for Children and Adults – All classes use the spontaneous art process to demonstrate technical instruction and the exploration of materials. Personal interests, ideas, dreams and more are expressed and developed through collage and assemblage art, drawing, painting, sculpture and ceramics. CPDU's offered. Creation Art Studios, 1102 E Washington in Urbana. Call Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955 or go to www.creationartstudios.com for information.
Creation Art Studios – Featuring original art by students and members of the studio. 1102 E Washington St in Urbana. Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 14pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955. Country in the City – Antiques, Architectural, Gardening and Home Accessories. Custom designing available. 1104 E Washington St in Urbana. ThuSat 10am-5pm. 367-2367. Framer's Market – Frame designers since 1981. Ongoing work from local artists on display. 807 W Springfield Ave in Champaign. Tue-Fri 9:30am5:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 351-7020. Furniture Lounge – Specializing in mid-century modern furniture from the 1920s to the 1980s – retro, Danish modern, lighting, vintage stereo equipment and vinyl records. 9 E University in Champaign. Sun-Tues 12-4:30pm, Wed-Sat 115:30pm. 352-5150. Glass FX – New and Antique Stained Glass Windows, Lamps and unique glass gifts. Gallery is free and open to the public. Interested in learning the art of Stained Glass? Beginning, intermediate and advanced stained glass classes offered. 202 S First St in Champaign. Mon-Thu 10am-5:30pm, Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 9am-4pm. www.glassfx.com. 359-0048. Griggs Street Potters – Handmade functional and decorative pottery. 305 W Grigg St in Urbana. MonFri 11am-4pm, or call for appointment. 344-8546. Hill Street Gallery Inc. – Oil and watercolor paintings, hand painted T-shirts, handmade jewelry. 703 W Hill in Champaign. Sat 12-5pm or by appointment during the week. 359-0675.
LaPayne Photography – Specializes in panoramic photography up to 6 feet long of different subjects including sporting events, city skylines, national parks and University of Illinois scenes. 816 Dennison Dr in Champaign. Mon-Fri 9am-4pm and by appointment. 356-8994. Old Vic Art Gallery – Fine and original art, hand signed, limited edition prints, works by local artists, art restoration, custom framing, and periodic shows by local artists. 11 E University in Champaign. Mon-Thu 11am-5:30pm, Sat 11am4:30pm. 355-8338. Prairie Boatworks Gallery – Beautifully hand-crafted gift items and unique Valentine’s Day cards. Also, over 35 regional artist to choose from. 407 E Main St in Mahomet. Tue, Fri, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-4pm. 586-6776. For more information, contact Mary at 356-8228 or tangoradesigns@aol.com. Steeple Gallery – Vintage botanical and bird prints, antiques and framed limited edition prints. 102 E Lafayette St in Monticello. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. www.steeplegallery.com. 762-2924. Verde Gallery – The work of local artist Sylvia Arnstein will be on display in the halls and café. 17 E Taylor St in Champaign. Cafe: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm. Gallery: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204. Ziemer Gallery – Original paintings and limited edition prints by Larry Ziemer. Pottery, weavings, wood turning and glass works by other artists. Gallery visitors are welcome to sit, relax, listen to the music and just enjoy being surrounded by art. 210 W Washington in Monticello. Tue 10am-8pm, Wed-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. www.ziemergallery.com. 762-9786.
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Introducing...
Midnight Movie SERIE S SERIE S
brought to you by
Boardman’s Art Theatre & buzz Boardman’s Art Theatre and buzz will be hosting special midnight screenings several times a month.
This weekend, come check out:
Larry Kanfer Gallery – European Collection featured in the gallery. Both limited and open edition prints by Larry Kanfer, nationally acclaimed photographer. 2503 S Neil in Champaign. Free and Open to the Public. Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm. 3982000. www.kanfer.com.
Join Artists and Workshops at Gallery Virtu – The artist-owned cooperative Gallery Virtu invites applications from area artists. The gallery offers workshops for adults, teens and children in knitting, embroidery, photography, jewelry making, printmaking, papermaking, bookbinding and ribbon flowers. The gallery also offers original works by the members including jewelry, pottery, collages, sculptures, journals, hats, handbags and other textiles. Gallery Virtu, 220 W Washington in Monticello. Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am6pm. For more information, call 762-7790, visit www.galleryvirtu.org or e-mail workshops@galleryvirtu.org. Collage for the Soul – Learn the many aspects of collage techniques while engaging your creativity and exploring your mind and heart. Scrapbookers, it’s time to branch out from craft to art! Sandra Ahten will teach the class, in which all materials will be provided. High Cross Studio, 1101 N High Cross Rd in Urbana. Feb 17- Mar 16, Tue 7-9pm. Other drawing and painting classes are also offered. For more information, call 367-6345 or go to www.spiritofsandra.com.
Feb. 19th & 20th at
ART EXHIBITS & GALLERIES Boneyard Pottery – Ceramic Art by Michael Schwegmann and others. 403 Water St in Champaign. Tue-Sat 11am-5pm. 355-5610. Broken Oak Gallery – Local and national artists, original art including photography, watercolors, pottery, oil paintings, colored pencil, and woodturning. Refreshments served by the garden all day Saturday. 1865 N 1225 E Rd in White Heath. Thu-Sat 10am-4pm. 762-4907. Café Kopi – “Digital Evolutions,” photographs by John Sfondilias on display through February. 109 N Walnut in Champaign. Mon-Thu 7am-11pm, Fri-Sat 7am-12pm, Sun 11am-8pm. 359-4266.
Boardman’s Art Theatre 126 W. Church St., Champaign 1-800-BEST-PLACE or 355-0068 tickets are $6
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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004
FILM The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
WednesdayFeb25 LIVE MUSIC Beatles Tribute Night: Temple of Low Men, Green Mountain Grass, Two Rivers, Lucky Mlholland, Kevin Carrier Jazz, Ryan Groff, No Secret, Larry Gates – The Iron Post, 8pm, $5 90 Day Men, Pit Er Pat, TBA – Nargile, 8pm, $5 Kilborn Alley – Tommy G's, 9pm, free Yonder Mountain String Band – Canopy Club, 10pm, $15
DJ DJ Chef Ra – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Boardwalk – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, $1 Galapagos 4, d-LO and Spinnerty – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $7 Dream Sequence – Caffe Paradiso, 10pm-12am, free
MUSIC PERFORMANCE UIUC Composers Festival: Concert IV – Enjoy the music of award-winning composer Don Davis (known for his scoring of the Matrix films) and Europe's pioneer of experimental music, Vinko Globokar, along with a selection of compositions by U of I faculty composers. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2. "G" Force Karaoke – Elmers Club 45, 7-11pm
SPOKEN WORD Poetry Slam – This event features a presentation of familiar and original works by Parkland students. Parkland College Flag Lounge, 1-2pm.
ON STAGE
Tues Feb 24th Girls Gone Fly
Caged Hearts – An introduction to Tennessee Williams' early plays, Caged Hearts illustrates how characters, relationships, and themes developed over time into his major later works. The piece uses excerpts from Stairs to the Roof (presented at Krannert Center in November 2000), Fugitive Kind, Not About Nightingales, Spring Storm, and Candles to the Sun. The production uses simple props and costume pieces to suggest character, location, ad time period, and a narrator to set the scene for each play. Studio Theatre, 7pm. Free, but tickets required.
FILM The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
Fat Tuesday DJ Resonate
Spins Spins hip hip hop hop and and Down Down Tempo Tempo $2 $2 Buttery Buttery nipples nipples $4 Hurricanes $4 Hurricanes
The Year of Living Dangerously – Foreign correspondent Guy Hamilton (Mel Gibson) arrives in Jakarta in 1965 and finds himself covering the bloody Sukarno coup. His relationships with the local press corps, photographer and emerging activist Billy Kwan (Linda Hunt) and a British diplomat (Sigourney Weaver), lead to violent confrontations and hazy moral decisions amid the political turmoil of Indonesia. Krannert Art Museum, rm 62. 5:30pm. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact IPRH at 244-3344 or www.iprh.uiuc.edu.
C-UVENUES Assembly Hall First & Florida, Champaign, 333-5000 American Legion Post 24 705 W Bloomington Rd, Champaign, 356-5144 American Legion Post 71 107 N Broadway, Urbana, 367-3121 Barfly 120 N Neil, Champaign,352-9756 Barnes and Noble 51 E Marketview, Champaign, 355-2045 Boltini Lounge 211 N Neil, Champaign, 378-8001 Borders Books & Music 802 W Town Ctr, Champaign, 3519011 The Brass Rail 15 E University, Champaign, 352-7512 Canopy Club (Garden Grill) 708 S Goodwin, Urbana, 367-3140 Channing-Murray Foundation 1209 W Oregon, Urbana C.O. Daniels 608 E Daniel, Champaign, 337-7411 Cosmopolitan Club 307 E John, Champaign, 367-3079 Courtyard Cafe Illini Union, 1401 W Green, Urbana, 333-4666 Cowboy Monkey 6 Taylor St, Champaign, 398-2688 Clybourne 706 S Sixth, Champaign, 383-1008 Curtis Orchard 3902 S Duncan Rd, Champaign, 359-5565 D.R. Diggers 604 S Country Fair Dr, Champaign, 356-0888 Elmer’s Club 45 3525 N Cunningham, Urbana, 344-3101 Embassy Tavern & Grill 114 S Race, Urbana, 384-9526 Esquire Lounge 106 N Walnut, Champaign, 398-5858 Fallon’s Ice House 703 N Prospect, Champaign, 398-5760 Fat City Saloon 505 S Chestnut, Champaign, 356-7100 The Great Impasta 114 W Church, Champaign, 359-7377 G.T.’s Western Bowl Francis Dr, Champaign, 359-1678 The Highdive 51 Main, Champaign, 359-4444 Huber’s 1312 W Church, Champaign, 352-0606 Illinois Disciples Foundation 610 E Springfield, Champaign, 352-8721 Independent Media Center 218 W Main St, Urbana, 344-8820 The Iron Post 120 S Race, Urbana, 337-7678 Joe’s Brewery 706 S Fifth, Champaign, 384-1790 Kam’s 618 E Daniel, Champaign, 328-1605 Krannert Art Museum 500 E Peabody, Champaign, 333-1861 Krannert Center for the Performing Arts 500 S Goodwin, Urbana,Tickets: 333-6280, 800-KCPATIX La Casa Cultural Latina 1203 W Nevada, Urbana, 333-4950 Lava 1906 W Bradley, Champaign, 352-8714 Legends Bar & Grill 522 E Green, Champaign, 355-7674 Les’s Lounge 403 N Coler, Urbana, 328-4000 Lincoln Castle 209 S Broadway, Urbana, 344-7720 Lowe’s Big Barrel & Summer Club 14 N Hazel, Danville, 4428090 Malibu Bay Lounge North Route 45, Urbana, 328-7415 Mike n’ Molly’s 105 N Market, Champaign, 355-1236 Mulligan’s 604 N Cunningham, Urbana, 367-5888 Murphy’s 604 E Green, Champaign, 352-7275 Nargile 207 W Clark St, Champaign Neil Street Pub 1505 N Neil, Champaign, 359-1601 Boardman’s Art Theater 126 W Church, Champaign, 3510068 The Office 214 W Main, Urbana, 344-7608 Parkland College 2400 W Bradley, Champaign, 351-2528 Phoenix 215 S Neil, Champaign, 355-7866 Pia’s of Rantoul Route 136 E, Rantoul, 893-8244 Pink House Routes 49 & 150, Ogden, 582-9997 The Rainbow Coffeehouse 1203 W Green, Urbana, 766-9500 Red Herring/Channing-Murray Foundation 1209 W Oregon, Urbana, 344-1176 Rose Bowl Tavern 106 N Race, Urbana, 367-7031 Springer Cultural Center 301 N Randolph, Champaign, 3551406 Spurlock Museum 600 S Gregory, Urbana, 333-2360 The Station Theatre 223 N Broadway, Urbana, 384-4000 Strawberry Fields Cafe 306 W Springfield, Urbana, 328-1655 Sweet Betsy's 805 S Philo Rd, Urbana Ten Thousand Villages 105 N Walnut, Champaign, 352-8938 TK Wendl’s 1901 S Highcross Rd, Urbana, 255-5328 Tommy G’s 123 S Mattis Ave, Country Fair Shopping Center, 359-2177 Tonic 619 S Wright, Champaign, 356-6768 Two Main 2 Main, Champaign, 359-3148 University YMCA 1001 S Wright, Champaign, 344-0721 Verde/Verdant 17 E Taylor St, Champaign, 366-3204 Virginia Theatre 203 W Park Ave, Champaign, 356-9053 White Horse Inn 112 1/2 E Green, Champaign, 352-5945 Zorba’s 627 E Green, Champaign
CHICAGOSHOWS FEBRUARY 2/19 Enrique Iglesias @ Arie Crown Theatre 2/19 DJ Spooky @ Empty Bottle 2/19 Howie Day @ Congress Theater 2/20 Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys @ FitzGerald’s 2/20 Habib Koite @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/20 Delbert McClinton @ House of Blues 2/20 Brooks & Dunn @ NIU Convocation Center 2/20 From Autumn to Ashes @ Metro 2/21 Big Head Todd & The Monsters @ Riviera, 18+ 2/21 Bright Eyes, Jim James, M. Ward @ Vic 2/21 Escape from Earth @ Metro 2/21 Jake Fairley @ Empty Bottle 2/21 Fenians @ Abbey Pub 2/21 Robben Ford @ Martyrs’ 2/21 Carrie Newcomer @ Schubas 2/21 David Wilcox @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/21 Sergio Mendes @ the Hemmens 2/22 Jake Fairley @ Empty Bottle 2/22 Dead to Fall @ Metro 2/24 Deep Purple @ Chicago Theatre 2/25 Mary Timony @ Schubas
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2/26 Alaska @ Bottom Lounge, 18+ 2/26 Afrodisiacs @ House of Blues, 18+ 2/26 Bobby Conn & The Glass Gypsies @ Empty Bottle 2/26 Asleep at the Wheel @ Fitzgerald’s 2/26-27 Gossip @ Bottom Lounge, 2/26 all ages 2/27 Junior Brown @ Subterranean 2/27 Boris Grebenshikov & Aquarium @ Martyrs 2/27 John Hammond, Jr. @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/27 Sting @ Rosemont Theatre 2/27 Peter Case @ Schubas 2/27 Exo @ Congress Theater, 18+ 2/28 Erykah Badu @ Auditorium Theatre 2/28 Flying Luttenbachers @ Fireside Bowl 2/28 Further Seems Forever @ Metro 2/29 Academy @ Metro 2/29 Cannibal Corpse @ House of Blues 2/29 Elefant @ Double Door 2/29 Carbon Leaf @ Schubas 2/29 Ellis Marsalis Trio @ Old Town School of Folk Music
MARCH 3/1 Elvis Costello & Stevie Nieve @ Oriental Theatre 3/2 Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Metro 3/3 Red Stick Ramblers @ FitzGerald’s 3/4 Jazzanova @ Smart Bar 3/4 Kraig Jarret Johnson & The Program @ Schubas 3/4-5 Neil Young & Crazy Horse @ Rosemont Theatre 3/5 Clarence Clemons & The Temple of Soul @ Joe’s 3/5 Faun Fables @ Schubas 3/5 British Sea Power @ Empty Bottle 3/5 Richard Buckner @ Schubas 3/5 Chieftans @ Symphony Center 3/5 Bob Dylan @ Aragon Ballroom 3/5 Forty Piece Choir @ Metro, 18+ 3/5 Galactic @ Vic, 18+ 3/5 Luomo @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 3/5 Edwin McCain @ House of Blues, 18+ 3/6 Liftpoint @ Metro 3/6 Crossing @ Old Town School of Folk Music 3/7 Get Up Kids @ Metro 3/7 Rhonda Vincent @ Old Town School of Folk Music 3/10 Tara Jane O’Neil @ Gunther Murphy’s 3/11 Keb’ Mo’ @ House of Blues, 18+ 3/11 Walkmen @ Metro, 18+ 3/12 DJ SS, Grooverider, Shy FX, Twisted Individual @ Metro, 18+ 3/12 Church @ House of Blues 3/12 Antigone Rising @ Schubas 3/12 Futureman & The Isiah Williams Project @ Old Town School of Folk Music 3/12 Kid Rock @ Allstate Arena 3/12 Michael Mayer, Superpitcher @ Smart Bar 3/12 Liz Phair @ Vic 3/12 Von Bondies @ Double Door 3/13 Paul Kelly @ Double Door 3/13 Sage Francis, Joe Beats, Grand Buffet @ Logan Square Auditorium 3/13 Mavericks @ Park West 3/13 Grant Lee Phillips @ Abbey Pub 3/13 Saw Doctors @ Vic 3/13 Shipping News @ Subterranean 3/14 Liz Phair @ Vic 3/15 Cooper Temple Clause @ Double Door 3/17 Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons @ Schubas 3/17 Bogdan Raczynski @ Empty Bottle 3/18-19 Melissa Etheridge @ House of Blues 3/19 Johnny Dowd @ Subterranean 3/19 Dream Theater @ Riviera 3/19 Britney Spears, Kelis @ Allstate Arena 3/19 Starlight Mints @ Abbey Pub 3/20 Jewel @ Star Plaza 3/20 Liars, Young People @ Logan Square Auditorium 3/20 Macabre @ Oasis 160 3/21 Amon Tobin, Kid Koala @ Metro, 18+ 3/22 Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson @ United Center 3/23 Ted Leo/Pharmacists @ Logan Square Auditorium 3/23 Three Days Grace @ Metro 3/24 12 Stones, Skillet, Pillar, Grits, Big Dismal @ House of Blues 3/26 Newsboys, Rebecca St. James @ UIC Pavilion 3/26 American Music Club @ Old Town School of Folk Music 3/26 Dolly Varden @ Subterranean 3/26 Al Green @ House of Blues 3/26 Great Big Sea @ Metro, 18+ 3/26 Franz Ferdinand @ Empty Bottle 3/26 Proclaimers @ Abbey Pub 3/26 Slip @ Double Door 3/26 Southern Culture on the Skids @ FitzGerald’s 3/26 TV On the Radio @ Empty Bottle 3/27 Campbell Brothers, Calvin Cooke @ Old Town School of Folk Music
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music
FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | GOODNIGHT, BOOGER.
Hip-Hop Congress hosts awareness week MENDOZA MUSIC LINE BY ADAM BOSKEY | STAFF WRITER
H
ip-hop fans in C-U and its surrounding cities are in for a treat with the upcoming Hip-hop appreciation week, March 1-7, presented by the UIUC Hip-Hop Congress. Understanding the importance of maintaining a connection to the true school of hip hop, the Congress has assembled a wide variety of talent from indisputable legends to hot up-and-comers to showcase their skills and share their knowledge. The HHC must be applauded for these efforts during a time in hip hop where the current generation of listeners aren’t being exposed to the ideals and experiences that spawned the art and culture in the first place. The main events of the week will be held from Thursday through Sunday, with each day celebrating something different from hip hop. Thursday kicks off the festivities with my favorite element, DJing. Flying in from New York are none other than members of the almighty 5th Platoon Crew. You will be able to witness back-to-back ITF champion (‘97 and ‘98) as well as member of the Triple Threat DJs, DJ Vin Roc. He is known for having the rare talent of being able to incorporate his deadly routines within the constructs of rocking the shit out of the club while not skipping a beat (no pun intended). Also coming will be the DMC 2003 USA champion, I-emerge, who has been making quite a name for himself. If you are there on Thursday, make sure you are positioned so that you can see the mixer well. Those who have seen his performance in the What Hip-Hop Is DVD know what I’m talking about. Last but in no way least, you have Neil
TopFive
Armstrong, who I must say makes some of the best damn mix tapes I have ever heard. His latest has been catching major coverage in the more reputable hip-hop magazines (not the glossy hip-pop mags you find at the grocery store). This will be going down at Highdive. Check it out. Now I am in a pickle. I am supposed to DJ elsewhere on Friday the 5th, but admittedly, I would rather be at the B-boy battle at the Courtyard Café. The pickle comes into play because every DJ in town that I can think of who could fill in for me is already going to be there. Why? Because when a B-boy battle (Bboy = break dancing) is done right it is one of the most exhilarating sights to behold. Don’t you remember Beatstreet? If not, come on down and get reacquainted. And if you’re lucky, they may even break out a headspin or two. I have not heard of which crews are confirmed to show but don’t worry, I have been to three of the last four Scribble Jams and I can testify that the Midwest is home to some awesome talent. Legends attending will be the formidable Kujo, coming all the way from California, and none other then Pop-MasterFable himself. I personally don’t know about Kujo, but when I asked around those in the know really started to freak out. Then you have the epitome of legend in Pop-MasterFable. This guy has been putting it down since the beginning with pure style; more style than Clyde Frazier. Now that’s sayin’ somethin’! Furthermore, I had the chance to meet him at the DMC ‘98 USA Finals (a DJ battle) and chatted with him for a few minutes. The guy was really down to earth. He easily could have pulled some “I was doin’ this when you were still suckin on your mother’s tit” and brushed me off, but he didn’t. He was interested in what I had to say. It’s refreshing to encounter people that don’t let fame go to their head. Saturday I will be taking full advantage of that so that I can attend the panel discussions
Geeks of Rock
1. Elvis Costello The ultimate rock geek, and not solely due to his choice in eyewear. Before he decided that it was cooler to do classical albums (which maybe his most subversive geeky move), Mr. Costello’s thin, ready voice defiantly espoused the rage of every awkward would-be poet who got passed over for a prom date.“Mystery Dance” is the most literal, witty song about being clueless in the sack ever. Over a number of albums, he exhibited his rock nerd cred by exploring genres ranging from rockabilly, to soul, to piano bar balladeering. At heart, he was always the bespectacled album collector, far more content to stay home and listen to Cole Porter, scrawling searing lyrics about the vagaries of love, than go out to the pubs.
2. David Byrne On the opening number of the Talking Heads concert movie, Stop Making Sense, David Byrne stands on stage with just a beat box and a guitar, performing “Psycho Killer.” As he’s singing, he violently, arrhythmically jerks back and
during the day (12-6 p.m.) throughout Lincoln Hall. Panel discussions will include: women in hip hop, hip hop and education, hip hop and political activism, and hip hop and urban entrepreneurship. Personally, I am interested in hearing Will Patterson speak on the hip hop and education panel. For those of you who are die-hard fans of the Needledrops radio show, there will be a treat as Luke DeMarte (or DJ Unicorn as we used to call him on-air circa ‘98) will wax poetic on the subject of hip hop and urban entrepreneurship. He is also proof positive that good things happen to good people as he is now the attorney for the likes of the Molemen, Rhymesayers (Atmosphere, etc.), and Sage Francis. That evening, Canopy Club will have the MC showcase. Unconfirmed (but highly likely) are J-Live, who will show you how dope he is on the turntable WHILE rocking the mic, and the ever-talented Odd-jobs, whom you have probably already caught opening for Atmosphere. It must be mentioned that things are being finalized as we are going to press for updates and additional information such as cost. I would check www.uiuc.edu/ro/hiphop frequently. For example, the graffiti heads will notice that I hadn’t mentioned anything about Graf yet. That is still being decided upon. If you only know hip hop in its mainstream state, if you “live” hip hop, if you are looking to find a way to get more involved with hip hop, hell, even if you are starting to get tired of hip hop, I think these events will have something to offer you. Come out March 4-7 and support the UIUC Hip-Hop Congress for their much appreciated efforts and more importantly, to celebrate hip-hop culture and its impact on our community. Keep up with hi-tech trends here at “Hook’d on Technology.” buzz Adam Boskey (AKA DJ Bozak) co-hosts Needledrops with DJ Spinnerty on WEFT 90.1 FM Saturdays, 10 p.m.midnight. He also performs in the downtown DJ circuit.
4. Rivers Cuomo
forth, towards the mike and back from it, all flailing limbs and bulging eyes. If this cat didn’t set the template for art-school nerdiness, then Lord knows who did. He invented and refined disjointed, white rhythm music and made the world safe for all the Gangs of Four and Raptures that would follow in his wake. A legion of death disco devotees owe him their praise and thanks.
3. Todd Rundgren On the inside cover of Todd Rundgren’s masterpiece Something Anything, there is a photograph of him standing on an amp, guitar slung around his shoulder, arms triumphantly thrown up in the air, rock god-style. Instead of a sea of adoring fans crowding the edge of the stage, though, Todd’s in his living room, which is scattered with instruments and recording equipment, by himself. The photograph sort of sums up Rundgren’s whole aesthetic. A tried and true studio geek and a pop genius (Todd sometimes played all the instruments on his intricately layered albums), all he wanted to do was write songs as good as the Beatles. He came damn close.
Despite what some hipsters will tell you, Weezer is a fucking great band. It’s possible that the Weezerphobia that infects certain circles of the intellectual zeitgeist is largely due to the fact that Rivers Cuomo’s emotionally raw ruminations on love, lust, and self-consciousness—sometimes disturbing and/or embarassing in their sincerity—hit a little too close to home for discerning taste-makers everywhere. Here’s the life of a neurotic bedroom nerd, warts and all,all set to a soundtrack of punk rock/pop metal and crazy, crazy good hooks. The first two albums anyways, Maladroit did blow.
5. Ric Ocasek I would like all of our readers to please note the picture to the left and ponder the fact that this man is married to a supermodel. Rock ‘n’ roll is the great equalizer,huh? Ric was a guy who seemed totally unsuited for the frontman shtick, but desperately tried to dress the part, hence the ever-present RayBans. Saved by the fact that The Cars wrote some of the best pop songs of the ‘80s, period.
Next week: Top five songs for worshipping Satan! What’s yours? e-mail us at music@readbuzz.com
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WE HERE AT THE BUZZ LOVE THE “P DIDDY” | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
CDReviews
12
2/18/04
AIR Talkie Walkie
as to have you humming along after a first listen. There are undoubtedly some luscious blends of sounds and “Cherry Blossom Girl” will make a worthwhile single, with Jessica Banks’s vocals creating one of the highlights of “Talkie Walkie”. But the overall impression is one of a distinct deja-vu and even sometimes of ennui. Furthermore, repeat listenings reveal an underlying superficiality and an unwelcome simplicity that undermines the preconceived notions of Air as innovators. One of the best tracks is the delicate and melancholy “Alone In Kyoto”, lifted from the Lost In Translation soundtrack. That fact, combined with their successful collaboration with Alessandro Baricco on last year’s “City Reading” (when they supplied a score to the Italian poet’s readings), strongly suggest that Air is a band attempting to avoid their natural calling, and in their attempts to create an alternate focus, have created a sound that is simply not as rich in artistic merit. This is a well-produced, enjoyable and solid effort, but an uninspired record nonetheless.
Astralwerks
THE BENS The Bens EP
★★★ BY SHADIE ELNASHAI Following up 1998’s Moon Safari, one of the decade’s most impressive debuts, is a daunting task. Thus it is a shame that 10,000 Hz Legend was met with almost universal disappointment, because it is largely responsible for Talkie Walkie being Air’s least daring effort to date. It is by no means a weak album, just not a revolutionary one, which a band as promising as this one should at the very least be attempting to create. Air consists of a French duo, Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, who grew up in Versailles. Within the realm of French electronica, they were more “ambient pop” than their contemporary peers such as Daft Punk, who favored the style of dance music. Their first album generated considerable hype, as the single “Sexy Boy” became a success throughout Europe, and many of the album tracks were licensed to various advertising campaigns and other media. For a brief moment, their ubiquity was such that it transcended fan-bases, whereby familiarity through proxy was the norm. It seems that their niche was high-quality background music, which made them a suitable choice to supply the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides. One could argue that with Talkie Walkie (the French way of saying Walkie Talkie), Air are trying to avoid being defined as a band that creates background music, while bridging the gap between their debut and the darker, more brooding sound of 10,000 Hz Legend. Hence, their songs are much more predictable and stereotypical than they have been in the past. In their attempt to move in a different direction, they work with longtime Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich, who assumes the role of producer. He is surely responsible for bathing the entire album in a warm yet occasionally downbeat tone that is often reminiscent of his work on Travis’ The Invisible Band. The album is bound to win over a previously untapped demographic; many of these tracks are sufficiently catchy so
Epic
★★
studio while recording this track. The cheesiest part being the chorus, a distorted wa-wa of one of their voices droning, “You are dancing in my crossfire.”To top it off, we’re even left with a clip of someone’s voice asking,“Did we get it?”No, Ben, Ben, and ... Ben, you did not “get it.” The third effort on this compilation is entitled “Stop!” Appropriately labeled, they should have taken their own advice after mastering “XFIRE.” Hold up, I’ll give credit where credit is due. The record does take a turn. Starting out with a horse trot, three-step beat, and a questioning vocal, “Lose yourself,”the tempo picks up and all of the sudden you’ll find yourself bobbing your head in a rhythmic fashion. The fullfledged acoustic chorus kicks in and the infectious crooning of Ben Kweller’s voice brings the record back to life. The only fault being a little feedback that came through in the first 10 seconds of the song. C’mon, spot that shit, Bens! OK, the last track “Bruised,” has a definite on-the-spot recording feel, but staged nonetheless. Ben Folds displays some soulful reflections about love and its darker qualities, a wood block and a background piano medley keeps you hooked, and the other Bens step in with a harmonized/improvised and ever-popular “Ba” vocal (similar to Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life” intro). Ultimately, it’s a proper exiting track. Now if the Bens dropped “XFIRE,” we would have a tasty little EP, but ... can’t change the past, now can we? Final word: Not particularly worth spending your hard-earned dough on this one, but you can find enough licks to stretch out its shelf life if you really wanted to.
BY GAVIN GIOVAGNOLI What a clever little title. I mean, what are the odds that these three musical crusaders Ben Kweller (former member of the three piece punk group Radish, now solo), Ben Folds (also a solo act, used to front Ben Folds Five), and Ben Lee (yes, another solo act, but began in the teen-rock Noise Addict) would happen to join forces and record an EP. Well, regardless of their ability (or inability) to cash in on the whole Ben thing, they’ve produced a fourtrack quickie for our listening enjoyment. Apparently, they finished it in just four days’ time, reflecting,“... We didn’t overthink anything, just followed the good feeling and let the music appear.” With that said, I think it’s safe to say that as a whole, the record lacks pure, focused intensity (probably due to their approach). However, breaking down each track, we’re ironically given a thought-provoking first attempt. “Just Pretend” is a folk-inspired and harmony-induced sing-along; piano medleys flourish, acoustic guitar rhythms keep you grounded, and each Ben belts out his own respective lyric about “pretending” in the “end”. Thus, you’re left feeling inspired, so to speak. Just take a gander at the album cover. If “Just Pretend” were to have a visual companion, that would be it. Conversely “XFIRE”, the second track, is where your listening enjoyment begins to deviate. Using the ‘80s classic college flick, The Revenge of the Nerds, we could draw some striking similarities. For instance, in the original movie, the boys of Lambda Lambda Lambda put on a musical/theatrical show for Greek Week. Now remember the keyboardist that comes out with his hair all frizzed up like Don King, the spotlight shines down from afar, and techno synthesized tunes rock the crowd? The Bens must have emulated that scene in the
The Hurly-Burly Sifting through the commotion and crap of music culture COMPILED BY LOGAN MOORE
Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Wilco, The Dead, Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews, My Morning Jacket, The Black Keys, Primus, Kings of Leon, Taj Mahal and David Byrne are just a few of the acts scheduled to peform at this year’s Bonnaroo Festival. The festival will be held June 11-13 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn.
This week Tiwary Entertainment Group, the Broadway production company responsible for the recent musical The Producers, is readying production of Lorraine Hansberry’s classic tale of three generations of AfricanAmericans living under one roof during the ‘50s, “A Raisin In The Sun.” The lead role of Walter Lee Younger, generally considered one of the most challenging roles in the history of theater, and formerly played by Sidney Poitier and Danny Glover, will be played in this version by ... Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. I give up. I really do.
VARIOUS ARTISTS Definitive Jux Presents 3 Definitive Jux Recordings
★★★
★★
BY JOE MARTIN
BY DAN FINNERTY As an extremely annoying voiceover by El-P tells us at least three times on every track on this album,“This is a promo for Definitive Jux 3 coming out March 9, 2004. Thank you for your patience and understanding.” I guess the idea is that people won’t bootleg the promo copies, but it also makes me not want to play this on my radio show to give people a taste of the album. While the die-hard Def Jukies will love this album, I find it a mixed bag. The first three tracks were boring to me with forgettable production and uninspired rhymes, but then we get hit by Mr. Lif and Akrobatik on a gem of a fourth cut with “Medical Assistance,” a two and a half minute backand-forth lesson in verbal abilities and battle rap. This compilation features many of the artists we have come to know as the sound of Def Jux: El-P, Aesop Rock, CRayz Walz, Camu Tao, and RJD2 amoung others. We also get introduced to some new artists. Most are throwaways in this listener’s opinion, but I was really getting into this kid Despot with Homesickness. This track had me hitting repeat. Take a dope beat with an fresh use of the classic
OnTheSpotReview SEVENOUT Feast of Eden
Before Listening
FILM Pulp Fiction – Part of the Buzz-sponsored Midnight Show Series, Pulp Fiction is, according to Roger Ebert, the “most influential film of the decade.” Ebert went on to say “It isn't the structure that makes 'Pulp Fiction' a great film. Its greatness comes from its marriage of vividly original characters with a series of vivid and half-fanciful events – and from the dialogue. The dialogue is the foundation of everything else." Rated R. Virginia Art Theatre, midnight. The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
SaturdayFeb21 Red Line Rain – Record Service, 3pm, free Spitalfield, Drop the One, Missing the Point, One Life – Courtyard Cafe, 8pm, $4 Mardis Gras Cajun Dance: The Noisy Gators – Verde Gallery, 8pm, $5 The Blackouts, New Sense, The Greedy Loves, DIY – Nargile, 9pm, $5 The Real Deal – jazz – Senators Pub, 9pm, free Rodeo Girl Collective – Embassy Tavern, 9:30, free Candy Foster and Shades of Blue – blues – The Iron Post, 9:30pm, TBA Pat McGee Band, Michael Tolcher – Canopy Club, 9:30pm, $6 Andre Williams and The Greasy Wheels, Steve Reverb and The Sound Tones – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $8 Boweband.com – Tommy G's, 10pm, TBA
Delta Kings – rock and blues – D.R. Digger's, 9pm1am X-Krush – Trotter's Friendly Place in Ashmore, TBA Boweband.com – rock – Tommy G’s, 10-2am, cover
DJ DJ Sophisto – house – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams – Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Mertz – Nargile, 10pm, $5 Digression Session #2 w/ DJ Storm, Scurvy & RoRo, Dr. Terminus, DreamSequence, DJ Geist – Lucky Star chinese restaurant, 9pm, $3 or free with food order
DANCE SalSabor presents: Latin Nights @ Club Lava – Salsa, Mambo, Merengue, Bachata – Lava, 11pm2am, $3
MUSIC PERFORMANCE Gospel Concert – Parkland College Theatre, 7-10pm Sweeney Todd – The barber Sweeney Todd uses his skill to revenge his wrongful incarceration. His partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett, helps dispose of the evidence with "The Worst Pies in London." These days, Sondheim's top-notch score and probing lyrics find appreciative audiences in both opera houses and musical theatre stages. Sweeney Todd will be sung in English. Tryon Festival Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $18, sc & stu $16, UI & yth $8. Single tickets: $20, sc & stu $18, UI & yth $8. "G" Force Karaoke – Historic Lincoln Castle Hotel Alumni Tap Bar, 9pm-1am
ON STAGE Twelfth Night – This Shakespeare comedy explores love in almost all of its guises, from crushes and love-sick infatuations to deep commitment and gender-bending erotic heat. This production takes a modern look at a comic classic, drawing on contemporary pop culture and music to portray characters crazy in love and crazy in grief. Studio Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $12, sc & stu $11, UI & yth $6. Single tickets: $13, sc & stu $12, UI & yth $7. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.
Capacitor: Within Outer Spaces – Hometown movement artists Capacitor build dance through big topics like space, technology, evolution, and offers expressive artistry that entertains as it sparks intellectual curiosity. The performers include gymnasts, martial artists, and aerialists, and their collaborators have included physicists, astronomers, and motion-capture animators, each igniting the imagination of the others. Capacitor looks like magic, but touches the very real core of our humanity. Recommended for kids 12 and older. Colwell Playhouse, 7pm. Flex tickets: $23, sc & stu $22, UI & yth $14. Single tickets: $25, sc & stu $24, UI & yth $16.
Remember that old computer program called PrintShop Deluxe from about 10 years ago? There was a lot of cheesy, poor quality clip art that you would have your dot matrix printer spew out. I’m not going to be so harsh as to say that Sevenout’s cover art is on that level. But judging by the photograph of an apple in the painting mouth of a snake, I would venture a guess that whoever designed this terrible looking cover needs some Photoshop classes. I’m not entirely sure what Sevenout is going to sound like. Their name conjures up Sevendust and the overdramatic biblical references could feed into a hardcore or metal type sound. However, with song titles like “Back on You”, “Bobbie Jo” and “Be Your Man” that all clock in between three and four minutes, I’m afraid we might have a country artist on our hands.
Well I can’t say anything that will make you want to run out to the store or a Web site and buy Sevenout’s Feast of Eden because there is nothing on this album that would make me want to buy it. This quartet is not bad and it is not good. It is just competent; middle-of-theroad competent. Lead singer Shane McGregor probably listened to too much Oasis and other Brit-pop acts growing up because his vocal styles have the attack of all those great singers, but he lacks even Liam Gallagher’s ability to carry a melody. There are far too many guttural reaches for missed notes to tolerate these songs more than once. There are certainly the starts of some good ideas on this album. But much like their poorly executed album art, the band’s poorly executed sound makes them feel like a run of the mill small town rock bar band.This band can do better, and so can you when you’re deciding on your next album to purchase.
Pulp Fiction – Part of the Buzz-sponsored Midnight Show Series, Pulp Fiction is, according to Roger Ebert, the “most influential film of the decade.” Ebert went on to say “It isn't the structure that makes 'Pulp Fiction' a great film. Its greatness comes from its marriage of vividly original characters with a series of vivid and half-fanciful events – and from the dialogue. The dialogue is the foundation of everything else." Rated R. Virginia Art Theatre, midnight. The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
COMEDY 15th Annual Clements Comedy Café – This show is a favorite of the Champaign area and stars comedian Tony Clements along with some very special guests. A portion of the proceeds is contributed to the Crisis Nursery of Champaign. Virginia Theatre, 7:30pm. Tickets: $30, $25. For more information, call 356-9063.
LIVE MUSIC Van Johnson, The Sea The Sea, Mise of Marakara – screamo – Red Herring, 8pm, $5 Centro-matic, Summer Hymns, Edward Burch – Nargile, 10pm, $5 1000 Verticle Feet – Canopy Club, 10pm, free Grass Roots Revival w/ Michael (Homer) Jones & Jamie Lou – Tolono Township Hall in Tolono, 2pm, $2 Reel to Reel and the Wheels of Steel: Spicerack Movies with soundtrack provided by DJ Spinnerty and DJ Bozak – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, $1 Blends By Otter – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free
MUSIC PERFORMANCE
it’s all about the beads!
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FILM The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
FILM
SundayFeb22
I, for one, have never heard of Orbital records, whose logo looks close enough to the logo of the electronic music pioneers of the same name to fetch the record company a hefty lawsuit. So there is no chance to judge a band by its label. In the end, I am sure a band with terrible cover art can still put out a great album. Just look at Limp Bizkit and that Hotdog Flavored Water album. Oh wait.This is going to be a painful listen.
After listening
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FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com
DJ
BY BRIAN MERTZ
What the hell? Moment of the week
buzz
LIVE MUSIC
Polyvinyl
Orbital Records
Wilco’s follow up to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is set to be released June 8 from Nonesuch. A Ghost is Born was recorded in New York with producer Jim O’Rourke and engineer Chris Shaw (who worked on Bob Dylan’s Love and Theft) and is currently being mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London.
coalesce, however, is up in the air. Simply put, Volcano, I’m Still Excited! is about as unfocused as bands get.Yes, they appear to have plenty of clever, bizarre ideas about pop songwriting, but that’s the problem: Volcano can regularly feel like a band of ideas, not fully fleshed-out songs. The aforementioned Casio-fied melodies— (which all but ruin a handful of otherwise wellmeaning tracks, like “By No Means” and “Firebombing London”—are bold in theory, but usually don’t hold up in practice. Each time the band kicks into a vocal round or a clipped guitar riff, it sounds great, but the effect is marred somewhat by the fact that it’s all a sleight of hand meant to direct listeners away from the band’s occasionally weak songwriting. It often feels like Volcano has plenty of tricks, but no substance. While “unfocused” may be the operative adjective here, though, “promising” could just as easily be applied to Volcano’s somewhat singular sound. For every meandering track or experiment that doesn’t work, there is a well-crafted pop song or a snippet of germinating genius. “Trunk of My Car,” for example, takes the previously mentioned “vocal round” idea and spins it into some catchy, fun art-rock. The album’s penultimate track,“Byron’s 24th Christmas,” achieves a quirkily funereal atmosphere by utilizing violins and horns. Beneath the prosaic, arty pop, there’s at least an EP’s worth of truly fresh-sounding material here.They already managed to incorporate crappy toy keyboards seamlessly into their sound without sounding terrible. If they can manage to stretch their quirky pop genius over an entire record, they might be unstoppable.
VOLCANO, I’M STILL EXCITED! Volcano, I’m Still Excited!
Let’s get one thing straight: Cheap Casio keyboards, when used for serious musical purposes, tend to blow. They’re not bad in the way that, say, 808 drum machines or various Moog synthesizers are. Unlike the aforementioned “golden rejects” of pop music, they don’t really have the sort of redeeming qualities or personality that would mark a flawed instrument as “good” or even “interesting.” Casio keyboards sound almost uniformly terrible because they are, essentially, toys programmed with weak, tinny electronic loops. That said, Volcano, I’m Still Excited!’s frontman, Mark Duplass, uses a Casio organ on almost every single track of the band’s self-titled debut. On some level, there’s something kind of brave about this decision. It feels as though the band made a conscious decision to force creative ends from meager means. This “less-is-more” aesthetic is certainly apparent in their setup, which consists solely of guitar, drums and keyboards. And it seems to work for their sound. The band rarely sounds as thin as they rightfully should. Whether the “creative ends” really
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“Maroonapalooza” – The Central High School Band Boosters are organizing a fundraising event that will mimic Lalapalooza and provide a venue for Central High School garage bands to perform for peers. Urbana National Guard Armory, 12-6pm. UI Philharmonia – Enjoy three classic orchestral works: Roman Carnival by Berlioz, Die Moldau by Smetana, and the Symphony No. 2 of Brahms. Foellinger Great Hall, 3pm. Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2. UI Symphonic Band II and UI Concert Band I – A variety of works from the symphonic and concert band repertoires will be presented by these fine School of Music ensembles. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2.
ON STAGE Twelfth Night – This Shakespeare comedy explores love in almost all of its guises, from crushes and love-sick infatuations to deep commitment and gender-bending erotic heat. This production takes a modern look at a comic classic. Studio Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $12, sc & stu $11, UI & yth $6. Single tickets: $13, sc & stu $12, UI & yth $7. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.
MondayFeb23 LIVE MUSIC Open Mic – Za's Italian Cafe, 7pm, free Dope, Dank 454, Eye Level – Canopy Club, 9pm, $10 Open Mic Night hosted by Brandon T. Washington and Mike Ingram – Cowboy Monkey, 9pm, $2 Jazz Jam with ParaDocs – The Iron Post, 7:30pm, TBA
DJ 2ON2OUT – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Betty Rocker – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, free “Case of the Mondays:” Open Table for White Labels – open mic for DJ’s – Nargile, 10pm, free
MUSIC PERFORMANCE Community Drum Circle – Ten Thousand Villages, 7-9pm, free "G" Force Karaoke – Kam's, 10pm-2am
COMEDY DeBono – improv comedy – Courtyard Cafe, 910pm, free
FILM The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
TuesdayFeb24 LIVE MUSIC Fat Tuesday Party: The Noisy Gators – Hubers, 8pm, donations Fat Tuesday: Kilborn Alley – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA The Red Hot Valentines, Favorite Atomic Hero, The Amazing Killowatts – Nargile, 10pm, $5 Adam Wolfe, Jess Greenlee – Tommy G's, 10pm, free Open Jam/Open Mic hosted by Openingbands.com and Larry Gates – Canopy Club, 10pm, $2 Mardi Gras Party – The Iron Post, TBA
DJ DJ Resonate – Barfly, 9pm, free NOX: DJ ZoZo, DJ Kannibal, DJ Rickbats – Highdive, 10pm, $2
COMEDY Spicy Clamato – improv comedy – Courtyard Cafe, 9-10pm, free
DANCE Latin Dance Night – McKinley Foundation, Westminster Hall, 9:45pm, $1
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ThursdayFeb19 LIVE MUSIC Grand Re-Opening of the Channing-Murray/IMC Open Stage hosted by Darrin Drda – Red Herring, 8pm, free U of I #3 Big Band – The Iron Post, 9:30pm, TBA Von Frickle, Water Between Continents, Fortunato - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 Acoustic Music Series: The Noisy Gators – cajun/old-time – Aroma, 8pm, free Chambana – jazz – Zorba’s, 9:30pm, $3
DJ DJ J-Phlip – house – Barfly, 9pm, free Tyme Productions DJ Dance Party – Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Delayney – Nargile, 10pm, $5
MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus – This Tchaikvosky Gala with one of Russia's leading artistic institutions has it all: an orchestra capable of all the nuances of the distinctive Russian sound palette, a chorus steeped in the tradition of Russian singing style, a conductor who has reinvigorated the musical ensembles of his country, and a pianist hailed as one of Russia's "top ten" musical artists. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $42, sc & stu $41, UI & yth $27. Single tickets: $44, sc & stu $43, UI & yth $29. "G" Force Karaoke – Pia's in Rantoul, 9pm-1am
AROUND TOWN Wine Tasting – Sample wines and learn about the different kinds of wine tonight at Krannert Center. The center and Sun Singer Wine & Gifts, Ltd. host the wine tastings. Each week, two or three wines are introduced for free tasting. You can also buy full glasses of wine for $3.50 per glass. The center’s Interlude Bar will sell the featured wines throughout the week at regular price. Krannert Center lobby, Interlude Bar, 5pm, free.
WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004
ON STAGE Twelfth Night – This Shakespeare comedy explores love in almost all of its guises, from crushes and love-sick infatuations to deep commitment and gender-bending erotic heat. This production takes a modern look at a comic classic, drawing on contemporary pop culture and music to portray characters crazy in love and crazy in grief. Studio Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $12, sc & stu $11, UI & yth $6. Single tickets: $13, sc & stu $12, UI & yth $7. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.
FILM The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com. Barber of Siberia – International film sponsored by Russian Society, Courtyard Cafe, 8pm, free
FridayFeb20 LIVE MUSIC Kate Hathaway Band – Record Service, 3pm, free Owen, Headlights, Jeremy Keller (of Everybody Uh Oh) – Nargile, 7pm, $5 Nashville Pussy, The Last Vegas – Highdive, 7:30pm, $10 Martin Page – Borders, 8pm, free Frank Bang's Secret Stash – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $5 Ron Dewar Quartet – jazz – Sweet Betsy’s, 8-11pm, free Battery: A tribute to Metallica – Canopy Club, 10pm, $6
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“aaaaahhh” scratch sample in the production add a fresh new voice and some lyrics worth listening to and you’ve got yourself a track I enjoy. Another standout is Oxycontin Pt 2, done here by El-P and Cage. The production here includes those quick dirty south hi-hats and somehow manages to pull it off lovely. ElP and Cage take on the personas of two dealers and the girl they are both into.The first two verses are each of their own stories then in the third verse, El-P and Cage meet up and settle a score. So far, it seems like I’ve been saying mostly good things about this album, so why the 1.5 stars? Well, it has a lot to do with the 10 tracks that I didn’t mention in the review. Some are OK but many of them had me reaching for the skip button. For those of you keeping score at home, remember the Def Jux 2 mixtape? I think the mixtape format was much better for breaking the new songs by the various artists on the label. We got a taste of maybe a verse or two of each and it left you wanting more (like maybe you’d go buy their solo albums…). Here on three, I’m already tired after hearing three verses of each voice. If you happen to still be wearing a trucker hat while reading this, you’ll like this album. If you actually pay attention to music, you probably wanna pass on this one.
Cold Cut Quartet – The Iron Post, 5-7pm, TBA No Secret – The Iron Post, 9pm, TBA Albert Flasher – classic/modern rock – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA X-Krush – Lock Stock & Barrel in Decatur, TBA Billy Galt and Ed O'Hara – blues – Tommy G’s, 57pm, free Candy Foster and Shades of Blue – blues – Tommy G’s, 10pm-2am, cover
DJ DJ Bozak – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams – dance – Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ ImpacT – Nargile, 10pm, $5
MUSIC PERFORMANCE Sweeney Todd – This unusual story tells of the barber Sweeney Todd, who uses his skill to revenge his wrongful incarceration. His partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett, helps dispose of the evidence with "The Worst Pies in London." These days, Sondheim's top-notch score and probing lyrics find appreciative audiences in both opera houses and musical theatre stages. Sweeney Todd will be sung in English. Tryon Festival Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $18, sc & stu $16, UI & yth $8. Single tickets: $20, sc & stu $18, UI & yth $8.
T.I. Trap Muzik
ON STAGE Twelfth Night – This Shakespeare comedy explores love in almost all of its guises. This production takes a modern look at a comic classic, drawing on contemporary pop culture and music to portray characters crazy in love and crazy in grief. Studio Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $12, sc & stu $11, UI & yth $6. Single tickets: $13, sc & stu $12, UI & yth $7. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com. Capacitor: Within Outer Spaces – Hometown movement artists Capacitor build dance through big topics like space, technology, evolution, and offers expressive artistry that entertains as it sparks intellectual curiosity. Capacitor looks like magic, but touches the very real core of our humanity. Recommended for kids 12 and older. Colwell Playhouse, 7pm. Flex tickets: $23, sc & stu $22, UI & yth $14. Single tickets: $25, sc & stu $24, UI & yth $16.
music
FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | K-UGER!
CHARTS PARASOL RECORDS’ TOP 10 SELLERS
NEW RELEASES
1. The Turn-Ons - East (Childstar) 2. Doug Powell - Day For Night (Parasol) 3. Hip Whips - Hip Whips (Dubious) 4. Lambchop - Aw You Cmon (Merge) 5. Lambchop - No You Cmon (Merge) 6. The Blessed Light - Love Lights The Way (Mill Pond) 7. Ric Menck - The Ballad Of Ric Menck (Action Musik) 8. Mice Parade - Obrigado Saudade (Bubble Core) 9. Camera Obscura - Underachievers Please Try Hard (Merge) 10. Moonbabies - The Orange Billboard (Hidden Agenda)
John Frusciante - Shadows Collide With People Minus 5 - In Rock Tantric - After We Go Orgy - Punk Statik Paranoia Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned Peter, Paul and Mary - In These Times Error - Error Kanye West - College Dropout Primal Fear - Devil’s Ground Prong - Scorpio Rising J.C. Chasez - Schizophrenic Reggae Cowboys - Stone Ranger Viva Dead - Viva Dead
this week
Atlantic Records
★★★
$25 Gift Certificate given away every Friday.
Stop by each week to register.
New arrivals this week! Straight from LA!
BY ROSALYN YATES Whether it is the “crunk” beats of Lil’ Jon and the Eastside Boyz or the groundbreaking sounds of OutKast, Atlanta-bred rappers are definitely holding their own on radio. Included in the mix is 22-year-old rapper T.I., whose sophomore release Trap Muzik gives ATL and the South another reason to be proud. In a genre sprinkled with East Coast elitism, Trap Muzik shows the public that the South has viable talent to add to the rap roster. “24’s,”“Be Easy,” and “Rubber Band Man” are the first three singles to be released from this album. Fans of the fast, rowdy, club-friendly style prevalent in southern rap will fee at home with “24’s,” the disc’s first single. As an anthem glorifying the superficial elements that today’s rap videos are made of, this song succeeds in fulfilling the duty of a lead single: to catch the attention of the target audience using proven formulaic techniques. Following up is “Be Easy,” a care-free ditty that tells its listeners to relax when approaching the up-and-coming star. Although it’s a nice song to blast while driving, its choice as a second single is questionable because it doesn’t have enough charisma to convince a skeptic of Trap Muzik’s potential. However, “Rubber Band Man” picks up where “24’s” left off. Produced by rapper David Banner, the track has a beat that keeps the party hype and a chorus that’s hard to forget. Although the three released cuts are plenty reason to send you to the record shop, they are not necessarily the best that Trap Muzik has to offer. For the content-conscious, there’s “Doin My Job,” a Kanye West produced number that showcases his signature method of sampling old classics and speeding up vocals. In it, T.I. tells the hustler’s story in an attempt to humanize a lifestyle that is cancerous to a healthy environment. There is also “Better Than Me,” a song that gives the young T.I. an opportunity to speak to those falling into the “trap” of street life. “Shawty them streets ain’t the place to be; I’m telling you cuz it’s too late for me,” he preaches in the chorus, recounting his own experiences throughout the refrain. But not every song on the album is about what it’s like to be a drug pusher.“Lets Get Away” is a sexy Jazze Pha creation whose purpose is to woo the ladies. It gives T.I. the chance to show he’s not one-dimensional while simultaneously serving as ear candy. While Trap Muzik is no hip-hop masterpiece, it is one of the best music selections to come out in the past year. Southern rappers often have a hard time earning respect among devoted rap fans due to the lighthearted nature of their songs, but an open mind and open ears make Trap Muzik a fine catch.
Th Feb 19 Wine Tasting 5pm, LOB, free Concert Prep with Ed Hafer: Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus 6:45pm, free Sponsor:
Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus 7:30pm, $27-$44 Sponsors: Carolyn Burrell Richard Cogdal James Russell Vaky
No stars
Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unlistenable
Fr Feb 20
Su Feb 22
Capacitor: Within Outer Spaces 7pm, $14-$25 Talkback: after the show, free Sponsors: Sara Latta and Tony Liss
UI Philharmonia 3pm, $2-$5 Twelfth Night 3pm, $6-$13 UI Symphonic Band II and UI Concert Band I 7:30pm, $2-$5
We Feb 25 UIUC Composers Festival: Concert IV 7:30pm, $2-$5 Caged Hearts 7pm, free
Th Feb 26 Sweeney Todd 7:30pm, $8-$20 Sponsors: Illinois Opera Theatre Enthusiasts (IOTE) Twelfth Night 7:30pm, $6-$13
Wine Tasting 5pm, free UI Oratorio Society, UI Chamber Singers, UI Chamber Orchestra 7:30pm, $2-$5
Sa Feb 21 Sweeney Todd Libretto 6:30pm, $5.50 Twelfth Night 7:30pm, $6-$13
Capacitor: Within Outer Spaces 7pm, CPH, $14-$25 Talkback: following the show, free Sweeney Todd 7:30pm, $8-$20 Twelfth Night 7:30pm, $6-$13
Some Krannert Center programs are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and patron and corporate contributions.
MUSIC REVIEW GUIDE
★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★
@
krannert center
Season Sponsors Coporate Season Underwriters
Patron Season Sponsors
CAROLE AND JERRY RINGER
Sweeney Todd is supported in part by the Frances P. Rohlen Visiting Artists Fund/ College of Fine and Applied Arts.
KrannertCenter.com 217/333-6280 or 800/KCPATIX 217/333-9714 (TTY) 217/244-SHOW (Fax) 217/244-0549 (Groups) kran-tix@uiuc.edu Ticket Office Open 10am to 6pm daily; on days of performances open 10am through intermission.
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buzzpicks Nashville Pussy adds raunch to rock
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ashville Pussy adds some raunchiness to rock ’n’ roll with their sexual innuendos and unique name, but the four-piece band from Atlanta brings something else to their sets as well: high energy and explosive sounds. Check them out if you want some screaming, strutting, raw rock ’n’ roll. The band was nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 1999 for the song “Fried Chicken and Coffee” and has released two albums to date, Let Them Eat Pussy and Say Something Nasty. Nashville Pussy will be at Highdive this Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Last Vegas will also perform.
Centro-matic brings unique sound to Nargile
Pat McGee Band ready to jam, chill out
Owen and Headlights light up Nargile
P
F
rom violins to piano, guitars to organs, Centro-matic is a band whose powerful sounds you will remember after hearing the first chord of the first song on the first—but surely not the last—night you hear the band. Every song is filled with passion and intensity, and every song effortlessly blends together the different instruments and sounds. Will Johnson heads this Texas band, bringing intense vocals to the unique sounds of Centro-matic’s indie-rock/pop music. See the band Sunday at Nargile, along with Summer Hymns and Edward Burch. The show starts at 10 p.m. with a $5 cover.
O
at McGee Band is at its best in live settings—cigarette smoke, the clinking of beer bottles, people piled on top of one another, and the sounds of bongos, guitars and drums jamming to the vibe. The five-member, Virginia-based band has released four albums and relies on constant touring to get their name and music heard. The members are in sync with each other and can extend one song into a 20minute jam session. From “Rebecca” to “Haven’t Seen For Awhile,” the Pat McGee Band likes to chill out, jam and make music you can sing along to. Catch the band Saturday at Canopy Club. Michael Tolcher will also perform. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. with a $6 cover at the door.
wen is the one-man band side project of Mike Kinsella, a veteran of the music world. He has been part of bands such as American Football and Cap’n Jazz, and is a current member of the band Joan of Arc. Drawing musical comparisons to Coldplay and Travis, Kinsella unabashedly reveals himself in his songs; he writes and performs all of his own material. Also performing Friday at Nargile, Headlights is the latest musical venture of the Fein siblings, Erin, Adam and Seth, formerly of Absinthe Blind. Doors open at 7 p.m. with a $5 cover.
Rhythm & Blues comes to town
Darrin Drda hosts night of free thought, creative performance
R
hythm and Blues has been part of Andre Williams’s life since he started singing in his childhood church choir in the 1950s. Also known as “Mr. Rhythm,” Williams makes sexy R&B songs with a touch of vulgarity thrown in. In 1998, the singer released his album Silky on In The Red Records and has since been touring the United States and Europe. His latest project is the album entitled The Black Godfather. See Andre Williams and The Greasy Wheels this Saturday at Cowboy Monkey. Steve Reverb and The Sound Tones will also perform. The show starts at 10 p.m. with an $8 cover at the door.
$1 Miller Lite Bottles Every Thursday at Brothers!
C
hanning-Murray and the IMC are bringing back open stage night. Whatever your age, whatever your talent, this is your chance to explore your talents and share them with the community. Or check the night out from a seat in the audience, enjoying new talent, new acts and new perspectives. Poets, actors, musicians, singers, spectators—everyone is welcome. Channing-Murray has been promoting diversity and individuality for decades. The night is open to people of all ages and is free. Darrin Drda, a local musician, will host the night. Check it out Thursday night at the Red Herring. The show starts at 8 p.m.
For extra photos, check out readbuzz.com
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buzzpicks Nashville Pussy adds raunch to rock
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ashville Pussy adds some raunchiness to rock ’n’ roll with their sexual innuendos and unique name, but the four-piece band from Atlanta brings something else to their sets as well: high energy and explosive sounds. Check them out if you want some screaming, strutting, raw rock ’n’ roll. The band was nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 1999 for the song “Fried Chicken and Coffee” and has released two albums to date, Let Them Eat Pussy and Say Something Nasty. Nashville Pussy will be at Highdive this Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Last Vegas will also perform.
Centro-matic brings unique sound to Nargile
Pat McGee Band ready to jam, chill out
Owen and Headlights light up Nargile
P
F
rom violins to piano, guitars to organs, Centro-matic is a band whose powerful sounds you will remember after hearing the first chord of the first song on the first—but surely not the last—night you hear the band. Every song is filled with passion and intensity, and every song effortlessly blends together the different instruments and sounds. Will Johnson heads this Texas band, bringing intense vocals to the unique sounds of Centro-matic’s indie-rock/pop music. See the band Sunday at Nargile, along with Summer Hymns and Edward Burch. The show starts at 10 p.m. with a $5 cover.
O
at McGee Band is at its best in live settings—cigarette smoke, the clinking of beer bottles, people piled on top of one another, and the sounds of bongos, guitars and drums jamming to the vibe. The five-member, Virginia-based band has released four albums and relies on constant touring to get their name and music heard. The members are in sync with each other and can extend one song into a 20minute jam session. From “Rebecca” to “Haven’t Seen For Awhile,” the Pat McGee Band likes to chill out, jam and make music you can sing along to. Catch the band Saturday at Canopy Club. Michael Tolcher will also perform. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. with a $6 cover at the door.
wen is the one-man band side project of Mike Kinsella, a veteran of the music world. He has been part of bands such as American Football and Cap’n Jazz, and is a current member of the band Joan of Arc. Drawing musical comparisons to Coldplay and Travis, Kinsella unabashedly reveals himself in his songs; he writes and performs all of his own material. Also performing Friday at Nargile, Headlights is the latest musical venture of the Fein siblings, Erin, Adam and Seth, formerly of Absinthe Blind. Doors open at 7 p.m. with a $5 cover.
Rhythm & Blues comes to town
Darrin Drda hosts night of free thought, creative performance
R
hythm and Blues has been part of Andre Williams’s life since he started singing in his childhood church choir in the 1950s. Also known as “Mr. Rhythm,” Williams makes sexy R&B songs with a touch of vulgarity thrown in. In 1998, the singer released his album Silky on In The Red Records and has since been touring the United States and Europe. His latest project is the album entitled The Black Godfather. See Andre Williams and The Greasy Wheels this Saturday at Cowboy Monkey. Steve Reverb and The Sound Tones will also perform. The show starts at 10 p.m. with an $8 cover at the door.
$1 Miller Lite Bottles Every Thursday at Brothers!
C
hanning-Murray and the IMC are bringing back open stage night. Whatever your age, whatever your talent, this is your chance to explore your talents and share them with the community. Or check the night out from a seat in the audience, enjoying new talent, new acts and new perspectives. Poets, actors, musicians, singers, spectators—everyone is welcome. Channing-Murray has been promoting diversity and individuality for decades. The night is open to people of all ages and is free. Darrin Drda, a local musician, will host the night. Check it out Thursday night at the Red Herring. The show starts at 8 p.m.
For extra photos, check out readbuzz.com
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ThursdayFeb19 LIVE MUSIC Grand Re-Opening of the Channing-Murray/IMC Open Stage hosted by Darrin Drda – Red Herring, 8pm, free U of I #3 Big Band – The Iron Post, 9:30pm, TBA Von Frickle, Water Between Continents, Fortunato - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 Acoustic Music Series: The Noisy Gators – cajun/old-time – Aroma, 8pm, free Chambana – jazz – Zorba’s, 9:30pm, $3
DJ DJ J-Phlip – house – Barfly, 9pm, free Tyme Productions DJ Dance Party – Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Delayney – Nargile, 10pm, $5
MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus – This Tchaikvosky Gala with one of Russia's leading artistic institutions has it all: an orchestra capable of all the nuances of the distinctive Russian sound palette, a chorus steeped in the tradition of Russian singing style, a conductor who has reinvigorated the musical ensembles of his country, and a pianist hailed as one of Russia's "top ten" musical artists. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $42, sc & stu $41, UI & yth $27. Single tickets: $44, sc & stu $43, UI & yth $29. "G" Force Karaoke – Pia's in Rantoul, 9pm-1am
AROUND TOWN Wine Tasting – Sample wines and learn about the different kinds of wine tonight at Krannert Center. The center and Sun Singer Wine & Gifts, Ltd. host the wine tastings. Each week, two or three wines are introduced for free tasting. You can also buy full glasses of wine for $3.50 per glass. The center’s Interlude Bar will sell the featured wines throughout the week at regular price. Krannert Center lobby, Interlude Bar, 5pm, free.
WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004
ON STAGE Twelfth Night – This Shakespeare comedy explores love in almost all of its guises, from crushes and love-sick infatuations to deep commitment and gender-bending erotic heat. This production takes a modern look at a comic classic, drawing on contemporary pop culture and music to portray characters crazy in love and crazy in grief. Studio Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $12, sc & stu $11, UI & yth $6. Single tickets: $13, sc & stu $12, UI & yth $7. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.
FILM The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com. Barber of Siberia – International film sponsored by Russian Society, Courtyard Cafe, 8pm, free
FridayFeb20 LIVE MUSIC Kate Hathaway Band – Record Service, 3pm, free Owen, Headlights, Jeremy Keller (of Everybody Uh Oh) – Nargile, 7pm, $5 Nashville Pussy, The Last Vegas – Highdive, 7:30pm, $10 Martin Page – Borders, 8pm, free Frank Bang's Secret Stash – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $5 Ron Dewar Quartet – jazz – Sweet Betsy’s, 8-11pm, free Battery: A tribute to Metallica – Canopy Club, 10pm, $6
buzz
buzz
“aaaaahhh” scratch sample in the production add a fresh new voice and some lyrics worth listening to and you’ve got yourself a track I enjoy. Another standout is Oxycontin Pt 2, done here by El-P and Cage. The production here includes those quick dirty south hi-hats and somehow manages to pull it off lovely. ElP and Cage take on the personas of two dealers and the girl they are both into.The first two verses are each of their own stories then in the third verse, El-P and Cage meet up and settle a score. So far, it seems like I’ve been saying mostly good things about this album, so why the 1.5 stars? Well, it has a lot to do with the 10 tracks that I didn’t mention in the review. Some are OK but many of them had me reaching for the skip button. For those of you keeping score at home, remember the Def Jux 2 mixtape? I think the mixtape format was much better for breaking the new songs by the various artists on the label. We got a taste of maybe a verse or two of each and it left you wanting more (like maybe you’d go buy their solo albums…). Here on three, I’m already tired after hearing three verses of each voice. If you happen to still be wearing a trucker hat while reading this, you’ll like this album. If you actually pay attention to music, you probably wanna pass on this one.
Cold Cut Quartet – The Iron Post, 5-7pm, TBA No Secret – The Iron Post, 9pm, TBA Albert Flasher – classic/modern rock – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA X-Krush – Lock Stock & Barrel in Decatur, TBA Billy Galt and Ed O'Hara – blues – Tommy G’s, 57pm, free Candy Foster and Shades of Blue – blues – Tommy G’s, 10pm-2am, cover
DJ DJ Bozak – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams – dance – Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ ImpacT – Nargile, 10pm, $5
MUSIC PERFORMANCE Sweeney Todd – This unusual story tells of the barber Sweeney Todd, who uses his skill to revenge his wrongful incarceration. His partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett, helps dispose of the evidence with "The Worst Pies in London." These days, Sondheim's top-notch score and probing lyrics find appreciative audiences in both opera houses and musical theatre stages. Sweeney Todd will be sung in English. Tryon Festival Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $18, sc & stu $16, UI & yth $8. Single tickets: $20, sc & stu $18, UI & yth $8.
T.I. Trap Muzik
ON STAGE Twelfth Night – This Shakespeare comedy explores love in almost all of its guises. This production takes a modern look at a comic classic, drawing on contemporary pop culture and music to portray characters crazy in love and crazy in grief. Studio Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $12, sc & stu $11, UI & yth $6. Single tickets: $13, sc & stu $12, UI & yth $7. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com. Capacitor: Within Outer Spaces – Hometown movement artists Capacitor build dance through big topics like space, technology, evolution, and offers expressive artistry that entertains as it sparks intellectual curiosity. Capacitor looks like magic, but touches the very real core of our humanity. Recommended for kids 12 and older. Colwell Playhouse, 7pm. Flex tickets: $23, sc & stu $22, UI & yth $14. Single tickets: $25, sc & stu $24, UI & yth $16.
music
FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | K-UGER!
CHARTS PARASOL RECORDS’ TOP 10 SELLERS
NEW RELEASES
1. The Turn-Ons - East (Childstar) 2. Doug Powell - Day For Night (Parasol) 3. Hip Whips - Hip Whips (Dubious) 4. Lambchop - Aw You Cmon (Merge) 5. Lambchop - No You Cmon (Merge) 6. The Blessed Light - Love Lights The Way (Mill Pond) 7. Ric Menck - The Ballad Of Ric Menck (Action Musik) 8. Mice Parade - Obrigado Saudade (Bubble Core) 9. Camera Obscura - Underachievers Please Try Hard (Merge) 10. Moonbabies - The Orange Billboard (Hidden Agenda)
John Frusciante - Shadows Collide With People Minus 5 - In Rock Tantric - After We Go Orgy - Punk Statik Paranoia Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned Peter, Paul and Mary - In These Times Error - Error Kanye West - College Dropout Primal Fear - Devil’s Ground Prong - Scorpio Rising J.C. Chasez - Schizophrenic Reggae Cowboys - Stone Ranger Viva Dead - Viva Dead
this week
Atlantic Records
★★★
$25 Gift Certificate given away every Friday.
Stop by each week to register.
New arrivals this week! Straight from LA!
BY ROSALYN YATES Whether it is the “crunk” beats of Lil’ Jon and the Eastside Boyz or the groundbreaking sounds of OutKast, Atlanta-bred rappers are definitely holding their own on radio. Included in the mix is 22-year-old rapper T.I., whose sophomore release Trap Muzik gives ATL and the South another reason to be proud. In a genre sprinkled with East Coast elitism, Trap Muzik shows the public that the South has viable talent to add to the rap roster. “24’s,”“Be Easy,” and “Rubber Band Man” are the first three singles to be released from this album. Fans of the fast, rowdy, club-friendly style prevalent in southern rap will fee at home with “24’s,” the disc’s first single. As an anthem glorifying the superficial elements that today’s rap videos are made of, this song succeeds in fulfilling the duty of a lead single: to catch the attention of the target audience using proven formulaic techniques. Following up is “Be Easy,” a care-free ditty that tells its listeners to relax when approaching the up-and-coming star. Although it’s a nice song to blast while driving, its choice as a second single is questionable because it doesn’t have enough charisma to convince a skeptic of Trap Muzik’s potential. However, “Rubber Band Man” picks up where “24’s” left off. Produced by rapper David Banner, the track has a beat that keeps the party hype and a chorus that’s hard to forget. Although the three released cuts are plenty reason to send you to the record shop, they are not necessarily the best that Trap Muzik has to offer. For the content-conscious, there’s “Doin My Job,” a Kanye West produced number that showcases his signature method of sampling old classics and speeding up vocals. In it, T.I. tells the hustler’s story in an attempt to humanize a lifestyle that is cancerous to a healthy environment. There is also “Better Than Me,” a song that gives the young T.I. an opportunity to speak to those falling into the “trap” of street life. “Shawty them streets ain’t the place to be; I’m telling you cuz it’s too late for me,” he preaches in the chorus, recounting his own experiences throughout the refrain. But not every song on the album is about what it’s like to be a drug pusher.“Lets Get Away” is a sexy Jazze Pha creation whose purpose is to woo the ladies. It gives T.I. the chance to show he’s not one-dimensional while simultaneously serving as ear candy. While Trap Muzik is no hip-hop masterpiece, it is one of the best music selections to come out in the past year. Southern rappers often have a hard time earning respect among devoted rap fans due to the lighthearted nature of their songs, but an open mind and open ears make Trap Muzik a fine catch.
Th Feb 19 Wine Tasting 5pm, LOB, free Concert Prep with Ed Hafer: Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus 6:45pm, free Sponsor:
Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus 7:30pm, $27-$44 Sponsors: Carolyn Burrell Richard Cogdal James Russell Vaky
No stars
Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unlistenable
Fr Feb 20
Su Feb 22
Capacitor: Within Outer Spaces 7pm, $14-$25 Talkback: after the show, free Sponsors: Sara Latta and Tony Liss
UI Philharmonia 3pm, $2-$5 Twelfth Night 3pm, $6-$13 UI Symphonic Band II and UI Concert Band I 7:30pm, $2-$5
We Feb 25 UIUC Composers Festival: Concert IV 7:30pm, $2-$5 Caged Hearts 7pm, free
Th Feb 26 Sweeney Todd 7:30pm, $8-$20 Sponsors: Illinois Opera Theatre Enthusiasts (IOTE) Twelfth Night 7:30pm, $6-$13
Wine Tasting 5pm, free UI Oratorio Society, UI Chamber Singers, UI Chamber Orchestra 7:30pm, $2-$5
Sa Feb 21 Sweeney Todd Libretto 6:30pm, $5.50 Twelfth Night 7:30pm, $6-$13
Capacitor: Within Outer Spaces 7pm, CPH, $14-$25 Talkback: following the show, free Sweeney Todd 7:30pm, $8-$20 Twelfth Night 7:30pm, $6-$13
Some Krannert Center programs are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and patron and corporate contributions.
MUSIC REVIEW GUIDE
★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★
@
krannert center
Season Sponsors Coporate Season Underwriters
Patron Season Sponsors
CAROLE AND JERRY RINGER
Sweeney Todd is supported in part by the Frances P. Rohlen Visiting Artists Fund/ College of Fine and Applied Arts.
KrannertCenter.com 217/333-6280 or 800/KCPATIX 217/333-9714 (TTY) 217/244-SHOW (Fax) 217/244-0549 (Groups) kran-tix@uiuc.edu Ticket Office Open 10am to 6pm daily; on days of performances open 10am through intermission.
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WE HERE AT THE BUZZ LOVE THE “P DIDDY” | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
CDReviews
12
2/18/04
AIR Talkie Walkie
as to have you humming along after a first listen. There are undoubtedly some luscious blends of sounds and “Cherry Blossom Girl” will make a worthwhile single, with Jessica Banks’s vocals creating one of the highlights of “Talkie Walkie”. But the overall impression is one of a distinct deja-vu and even sometimes of ennui. Furthermore, repeat listenings reveal an underlying superficiality and an unwelcome simplicity that undermines the preconceived notions of Air as innovators. One of the best tracks is the delicate and melancholy “Alone In Kyoto”, lifted from the Lost In Translation soundtrack. That fact, combined with their successful collaboration with Alessandro Baricco on last year’s “City Reading” (when they supplied a score to the Italian poet’s readings), strongly suggest that Air is a band attempting to avoid their natural calling, and in their attempts to create an alternate focus, have created a sound that is simply not as rich in artistic merit. This is a well-produced, enjoyable and solid effort, but an uninspired record nonetheless.
Astralwerks
THE BENS The Bens EP
★★★ BY SHADIE ELNASHAI Following up 1998’s Moon Safari, one of the decade’s most impressive debuts, is a daunting task. Thus it is a shame that 10,000 Hz Legend was met with almost universal disappointment, because it is largely responsible for Talkie Walkie being Air’s least daring effort to date. It is by no means a weak album, just not a revolutionary one, which a band as promising as this one should at the very least be attempting to create. Air consists of a French duo, Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, who grew up in Versailles. Within the realm of French electronica, they were more “ambient pop” than their contemporary peers such as Daft Punk, who favored the style of dance music. Their first album generated considerable hype, as the single “Sexy Boy” became a success throughout Europe, and many of the album tracks were licensed to various advertising campaigns and other media. For a brief moment, their ubiquity was such that it transcended fan-bases, whereby familiarity through proxy was the norm. It seems that their niche was high-quality background music, which made them a suitable choice to supply the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides. One could argue that with Talkie Walkie (the French way of saying Walkie Talkie), Air are trying to avoid being defined as a band that creates background music, while bridging the gap between their debut and the darker, more brooding sound of 10,000 Hz Legend. Hence, their songs are much more predictable and stereotypical than they have been in the past. In their attempt to move in a different direction, they work with longtime Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich, who assumes the role of producer. He is surely responsible for bathing the entire album in a warm yet occasionally downbeat tone that is often reminiscent of his work on Travis’ The Invisible Band. The album is bound to win over a previously untapped demographic; many of these tracks are sufficiently catchy so
Epic
★★
studio while recording this track. The cheesiest part being the chorus, a distorted wa-wa of one of their voices droning, “You are dancing in my crossfire.”To top it off, we’re even left with a clip of someone’s voice asking,“Did we get it?”No, Ben, Ben, and ... Ben, you did not “get it.” The third effort on this compilation is entitled “Stop!” Appropriately labeled, they should have taken their own advice after mastering “XFIRE.” Hold up, I’ll give credit where credit is due. The record does take a turn. Starting out with a horse trot, three-step beat, and a questioning vocal, “Lose yourself,”the tempo picks up and all of the sudden you’ll find yourself bobbing your head in a rhythmic fashion. The fullfledged acoustic chorus kicks in and the infectious crooning of Ben Kweller’s voice brings the record back to life. The only fault being a little feedback that came through in the first 10 seconds of the song. C’mon, spot that shit, Bens! OK, the last track “Bruised,” has a definite on-the-spot recording feel, but staged nonetheless. Ben Folds displays some soulful reflections about love and its darker qualities, a wood block and a background piano medley keeps you hooked, and the other Bens step in with a harmonized/improvised and ever-popular “Ba” vocal (similar to Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life” intro). Ultimately, it’s a proper exiting track. Now if the Bens dropped “XFIRE,” we would have a tasty little EP, but ... can’t change the past, now can we? Final word: Not particularly worth spending your hard-earned dough on this one, but you can find enough licks to stretch out its shelf life if you really wanted to.
BY GAVIN GIOVAGNOLI What a clever little title. I mean, what are the odds that these three musical crusaders Ben Kweller (former member of the three piece punk group Radish, now solo), Ben Folds (also a solo act, used to front Ben Folds Five), and Ben Lee (yes, another solo act, but began in the teen-rock Noise Addict) would happen to join forces and record an EP. Well, regardless of their ability (or inability) to cash in on the whole Ben thing, they’ve produced a fourtrack quickie for our listening enjoyment. Apparently, they finished it in just four days’ time, reflecting,“... We didn’t overthink anything, just followed the good feeling and let the music appear.” With that said, I think it’s safe to say that as a whole, the record lacks pure, focused intensity (probably due to their approach). However, breaking down each track, we’re ironically given a thought-provoking first attempt. “Just Pretend” is a folk-inspired and harmony-induced sing-along; piano medleys flourish, acoustic guitar rhythms keep you grounded, and each Ben belts out his own respective lyric about “pretending” in the “end”. Thus, you’re left feeling inspired, so to speak. Just take a gander at the album cover. If “Just Pretend” were to have a visual companion, that would be it. Conversely “XFIRE”, the second track, is where your listening enjoyment begins to deviate. Using the ‘80s classic college flick, The Revenge of the Nerds, we could draw some striking similarities. For instance, in the original movie, the boys of Lambda Lambda Lambda put on a musical/theatrical show for Greek Week. Now remember the keyboardist that comes out with his hair all frizzed up like Don King, the spotlight shines down from afar, and techno synthesized tunes rock the crowd? The Bens must have emulated that scene in the
The Hurly-Burly Sifting through the commotion and crap of music culture COMPILED BY LOGAN MOORE
Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Wilco, The Dead, Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews, My Morning Jacket, The Black Keys, Primus, Kings of Leon, Taj Mahal and David Byrne are just a few of the acts scheduled to peform at this year’s Bonnaroo Festival. The festival will be held June 11-13 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn.
This week Tiwary Entertainment Group, the Broadway production company responsible for the recent musical The Producers, is readying production of Lorraine Hansberry’s classic tale of three generations of AfricanAmericans living under one roof during the ‘50s, “A Raisin In The Sun.” The lead role of Walter Lee Younger, generally considered one of the most challenging roles in the history of theater, and formerly played by Sidney Poitier and Danny Glover, will be played in this version by ... Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. I give up. I really do.
VARIOUS ARTISTS Definitive Jux Presents 3 Definitive Jux Recordings
★★★
★★
BY JOE MARTIN
BY DAN FINNERTY As an extremely annoying voiceover by El-P tells us at least three times on every track on this album,“This is a promo for Definitive Jux 3 coming out March 9, 2004. Thank you for your patience and understanding.” I guess the idea is that people won’t bootleg the promo copies, but it also makes me not want to play this on my radio show to give people a taste of the album. While the die-hard Def Jukies will love this album, I find it a mixed bag. The first three tracks were boring to me with forgettable production and uninspired rhymes, but then we get hit by Mr. Lif and Akrobatik on a gem of a fourth cut with “Medical Assistance,” a two and a half minute backand-forth lesson in verbal abilities and battle rap. This compilation features many of the artists we have come to know as the sound of Def Jux: El-P, Aesop Rock, CRayz Walz, Camu Tao, and RJD2 amoung others. We also get introduced to some new artists. Most are throwaways in this listener’s opinion, but I was really getting into this kid Despot with Homesickness. This track had me hitting repeat. Take a dope beat with an fresh use of the classic
OnTheSpotReview SEVENOUT Feast of Eden
Before Listening
FILM Pulp Fiction – Part of the Buzz-sponsored Midnight Show Series, Pulp Fiction is, according to Roger Ebert, the “most influential film of the decade.” Ebert went on to say “It isn't the structure that makes 'Pulp Fiction' a great film. Its greatness comes from its marriage of vividly original characters with a series of vivid and half-fanciful events – and from the dialogue. The dialogue is the foundation of everything else." Rated R. Virginia Art Theatre, midnight. The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
SaturdayFeb21 Red Line Rain – Record Service, 3pm, free Spitalfield, Drop the One, Missing the Point, One Life – Courtyard Cafe, 8pm, $4 Mardis Gras Cajun Dance: The Noisy Gators – Verde Gallery, 8pm, $5 The Blackouts, New Sense, The Greedy Loves, DIY – Nargile, 9pm, $5 The Real Deal – jazz – Senators Pub, 9pm, free Rodeo Girl Collective – Embassy Tavern, 9:30, free Candy Foster and Shades of Blue – blues – The Iron Post, 9:30pm, TBA Pat McGee Band, Michael Tolcher – Canopy Club, 9:30pm, $6 Andre Williams and The Greasy Wheels, Steve Reverb and The Sound Tones – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $8 Boweband.com – Tommy G's, 10pm, TBA
Delta Kings – rock and blues – D.R. Digger's, 9pm1am X-Krush – Trotter's Friendly Place in Ashmore, TBA Boweband.com – rock – Tommy G’s, 10-2am, cover
DJ DJ Sophisto – house – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams – Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Mertz – Nargile, 10pm, $5 Digression Session #2 w/ DJ Storm, Scurvy & RoRo, Dr. Terminus, DreamSequence, DJ Geist – Lucky Star chinese restaurant, 9pm, $3 or free with food order
DANCE SalSabor presents: Latin Nights @ Club Lava – Salsa, Mambo, Merengue, Bachata – Lava, 11pm2am, $3
MUSIC PERFORMANCE Gospel Concert – Parkland College Theatre, 7-10pm Sweeney Todd – The barber Sweeney Todd uses his skill to revenge his wrongful incarceration. His partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett, helps dispose of the evidence with "The Worst Pies in London." These days, Sondheim's top-notch score and probing lyrics find appreciative audiences in both opera houses and musical theatre stages. Sweeney Todd will be sung in English. Tryon Festival Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $18, sc & stu $16, UI & yth $8. Single tickets: $20, sc & stu $18, UI & yth $8. "G" Force Karaoke – Historic Lincoln Castle Hotel Alumni Tap Bar, 9pm-1am
ON STAGE Twelfth Night – This Shakespeare comedy explores love in almost all of its guises, from crushes and love-sick infatuations to deep commitment and gender-bending erotic heat. This production takes a modern look at a comic classic, drawing on contemporary pop culture and music to portray characters crazy in love and crazy in grief. Studio Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $12, sc & stu $11, UI & yth $6. Single tickets: $13, sc & stu $12, UI & yth $7. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.
Capacitor: Within Outer Spaces – Hometown movement artists Capacitor build dance through big topics like space, technology, evolution, and offers expressive artistry that entertains as it sparks intellectual curiosity. The performers include gymnasts, martial artists, and aerialists, and their collaborators have included physicists, astronomers, and motion-capture animators, each igniting the imagination of the others. Capacitor looks like magic, but touches the very real core of our humanity. Recommended for kids 12 and older. Colwell Playhouse, 7pm. Flex tickets: $23, sc & stu $22, UI & yth $14. Single tickets: $25, sc & stu $24, UI & yth $16.
Remember that old computer program called PrintShop Deluxe from about 10 years ago? There was a lot of cheesy, poor quality clip art that you would have your dot matrix printer spew out. I’m not going to be so harsh as to say that Sevenout’s cover art is on that level. But judging by the photograph of an apple in the painting mouth of a snake, I would venture a guess that whoever designed this terrible looking cover needs some Photoshop classes. I’m not entirely sure what Sevenout is going to sound like. Their name conjures up Sevendust and the overdramatic biblical references could feed into a hardcore or metal type sound. However, with song titles like “Back on You”, “Bobbie Jo” and “Be Your Man” that all clock in between three and four minutes, I’m afraid we might have a country artist on our hands.
Well I can’t say anything that will make you want to run out to the store or a Web site and buy Sevenout’s Feast of Eden because there is nothing on this album that would make me want to buy it. This quartet is not bad and it is not good. It is just competent; middle-of-theroad competent. Lead singer Shane McGregor probably listened to too much Oasis and other Brit-pop acts growing up because his vocal styles have the attack of all those great singers, but he lacks even Liam Gallagher’s ability to carry a melody. There are far too many guttural reaches for missed notes to tolerate these songs more than once. There are certainly the starts of some good ideas on this album. But much like their poorly executed album art, the band’s poorly executed sound makes them feel like a run of the mill small town rock bar band.This band can do better, and so can you when you’re deciding on your next album to purchase.
Pulp Fiction – Part of the Buzz-sponsored Midnight Show Series, Pulp Fiction is, according to Roger Ebert, the “most influential film of the decade.” Ebert went on to say “It isn't the structure that makes 'Pulp Fiction' a great film. Its greatness comes from its marriage of vividly original characters with a series of vivid and half-fanciful events – and from the dialogue. The dialogue is the foundation of everything else." Rated R. Virginia Art Theatre, midnight. The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
COMEDY 15th Annual Clements Comedy Café – This show is a favorite of the Champaign area and stars comedian Tony Clements along with some very special guests. A portion of the proceeds is contributed to the Crisis Nursery of Champaign. Virginia Theatre, 7:30pm. Tickets: $30, $25. For more information, call 356-9063.
LIVE MUSIC Van Johnson, The Sea The Sea, Mise of Marakara – screamo – Red Herring, 8pm, $5 Centro-matic, Summer Hymns, Edward Burch – Nargile, 10pm, $5 1000 Verticle Feet – Canopy Club, 10pm, free Grass Roots Revival w/ Michael (Homer) Jones & Jamie Lou – Tolono Township Hall in Tolono, 2pm, $2 Reel to Reel and the Wheels of Steel: Spicerack Movies with soundtrack provided by DJ Spinnerty and DJ Bozak – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, $1 Blends By Otter – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free
MUSIC PERFORMANCE
it’s all about the beads!
17
FILM The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
FILM
SundayFeb22
I, for one, have never heard of Orbital records, whose logo looks close enough to the logo of the electronic music pioneers of the same name to fetch the record company a hefty lawsuit. So there is no chance to judge a band by its label. In the end, I am sure a band with terrible cover art can still put out a great album. Just look at Limp Bizkit and that Hotdog Flavored Water album. Oh wait.This is going to be a painful listen.
After listening
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FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com
DJ
BY BRIAN MERTZ
What the hell? Moment of the week
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LIVE MUSIC
Polyvinyl
Orbital Records
Wilco’s follow up to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is set to be released June 8 from Nonesuch. A Ghost is Born was recorded in New York with producer Jim O’Rourke and engineer Chris Shaw (who worked on Bob Dylan’s Love and Theft) and is currently being mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London.
coalesce, however, is up in the air. Simply put, Volcano, I’m Still Excited! is about as unfocused as bands get.Yes, they appear to have plenty of clever, bizarre ideas about pop songwriting, but that’s the problem: Volcano can regularly feel like a band of ideas, not fully fleshed-out songs. The aforementioned Casio-fied melodies— (which all but ruin a handful of otherwise wellmeaning tracks, like “By No Means” and “Firebombing London”—are bold in theory, but usually don’t hold up in practice. Each time the band kicks into a vocal round or a clipped guitar riff, it sounds great, but the effect is marred somewhat by the fact that it’s all a sleight of hand meant to direct listeners away from the band’s occasionally weak songwriting. It often feels like Volcano has plenty of tricks, but no substance. While “unfocused” may be the operative adjective here, though, “promising” could just as easily be applied to Volcano’s somewhat singular sound. For every meandering track or experiment that doesn’t work, there is a well-crafted pop song or a snippet of germinating genius. “Trunk of My Car,” for example, takes the previously mentioned “vocal round” idea and spins it into some catchy, fun art-rock. The album’s penultimate track,“Byron’s 24th Christmas,” achieves a quirkily funereal atmosphere by utilizing violins and horns. Beneath the prosaic, arty pop, there’s at least an EP’s worth of truly fresh-sounding material here.They already managed to incorporate crappy toy keyboards seamlessly into their sound without sounding terrible. If they can manage to stretch their quirky pop genius over an entire record, they might be unstoppable.
VOLCANO, I’M STILL EXCITED! Volcano, I’m Still Excited!
Let’s get one thing straight: Cheap Casio keyboards, when used for serious musical purposes, tend to blow. They’re not bad in the way that, say, 808 drum machines or various Moog synthesizers are. Unlike the aforementioned “golden rejects” of pop music, they don’t really have the sort of redeeming qualities or personality that would mark a flawed instrument as “good” or even “interesting.” Casio keyboards sound almost uniformly terrible because they are, essentially, toys programmed with weak, tinny electronic loops. That said, Volcano, I’m Still Excited!’s frontman, Mark Duplass, uses a Casio organ on almost every single track of the band’s self-titled debut. On some level, there’s something kind of brave about this decision. It feels as though the band made a conscious decision to force creative ends from meager means. This “less-is-more” aesthetic is certainly apparent in their setup, which consists solely of guitar, drums and keyboards. And it seems to work for their sound. The band rarely sounds as thin as they rightfully should. Whether the “creative ends” really
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“Maroonapalooza” – The Central High School Band Boosters are organizing a fundraising event that will mimic Lalapalooza and provide a venue for Central High School garage bands to perform for peers. Urbana National Guard Armory, 12-6pm. UI Philharmonia – Enjoy three classic orchestral works: Roman Carnival by Berlioz, Die Moldau by Smetana, and the Symphony No. 2 of Brahms. Foellinger Great Hall, 3pm. Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2. UI Symphonic Band II and UI Concert Band I – A variety of works from the symphonic and concert band repertoires will be presented by these fine School of Music ensembles. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2.
ON STAGE Twelfth Night – This Shakespeare comedy explores love in almost all of its guises, from crushes and love-sick infatuations to deep commitment and gender-bending erotic heat. This production takes a modern look at a comic classic. Studio Theatre, 7:30pm. Flex tickets: $12, sc & stu $11, UI & yth $6. Single tickets: $13, sc & stu $12, UI & yth $7. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.
MondayFeb23 LIVE MUSIC Open Mic – Za's Italian Cafe, 7pm, free Dope, Dank 454, Eye Level – Canopy Club, 9pm, $10 Open Mic Night hosted by Brandon T. Washington and Mike Ingram – Cowboy Monkey, 9pm, $2 Jazz Jam with ParaDocs – The Iron Post, 7:30pm, TBA
DJ 2ON2OUT – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Betty Rocker – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, free “Case of the Mondays:” Open Table for White Labels – open mic for DJ’s – Nargile, 10pm, free
MUSIC PERFORMANCE Community Drum Circle – Ten Thousand Villages, 7-9pm, free "G" Force Karaoke – Kam's, 10pm-2am
COMEDY DeBono – improv comedy – Courtyard Cafe, 910pm, free
FILM The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
TuesdayFeb24 LIVE MUSIC Fat Tuesday Party: The Noisy Gators – Hubers, 8pm, donations Fat Tuesday: Kilborn Alley – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA The Red Hot Valentines, Favorite Atomic Hero, The Amazing Killowatts – Nargile, 10pm, $5 Adam Wolfe, Jess Greenlee – Tommy G's, 10pm, free Open Jam/Open Mic hosted by Openingbands.com and Larry Gates – Canopy Club, 10pm, $2 Mardi Gras Party – The Iron Post, TBA
DJ DJ Resonate – Barfly, 9pm, free NOX: DJ ZoZo, DJ Kannibal, DJ Rickbats – Highdive, 10pm, $2
COMEDY Spicy Clamato – improv comedy – Courtyard Cafe, 9-10pm, free
DANCE Latin Dance Night – McKinley Foundation, Westminster Hall, 9:45pm, $1
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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004
FILM The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
WednesdayFeb25 LIVE MUSIC Beatles Tribute Night: Temple of Low Men, Green Mountain Grass, Two Rivers, Lucky Mlholland, Kevin Carrier Jazz, Ryan Groff, No Secret, Larry Gates – The Iron Post, 8pm, $5 90 Day Men, Pit Er Pat, TBA – Nargile, 8pm, $5 Kilborn Alley – Tommy G's, 9pm, free Yonder Mountain String Band – Canopy Club, 10pm, $15
DJ DJ Chef Ra – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Boardwalk – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, $1 Galapagos 4, d-LO and Spinnerty – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $7 Dream Sequence – Caffe Paradiso, 10pm-12am, free
MUSIC PERFORMANCE UIUC Composers Festival: Concert IV – Enjoy the music of award-winning composer Don Davis (known for his scoring of the Matrix films) and Europe's pioneer of experimental music, Vinko Globokar, along with a selection of compositions by U of I faculty composers. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2. "G" Force Karaoke – Elmers Club 45, 7-11pm
SPOKEN WORD Poetry Slam – This event features a presentation of familiar and original works by Parkland students. Parkland College Flag Lounge, 1-2pm.
ON STAGE
Tues Feb 24th Girls Gone Fly
Caged Hearts – An introduction to Tennessee Williams' early plays, Caged Hearts illustrates how characters, relationships, and themes developed over time into his major later works. The piece uses excerpts from Stairs to the Roof (presented at Krannert Center in November 2000), Fugitive Kind, Not About Nightingales, Spring Storm, and Candles to the Sun. The production uses simple props and costume pieces to suggest character, location, ad time period, and a narrator to set the scene for each play. Studio Theatre, 7pm. Free, but tickets required.
FILM The Triplets of Belleville – This Sundance favorite centers around a lonely boy named Champion and the grandmother who adopts him, Madame Souza. After growing into a master bicyclist, Champion is kidnapped just before he enters the Tour de France bicycling race. The rest of the film focuses on Madame Souza and her dog’s quest to rescue Champion. Along they way they encounter the "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall stars from the '30s who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Rated PG-13. Virginia Art Theatre, TBA. For more information, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com.
Fat Tuesday DJ Resonate
Spins Spins hip hip hop hop and and Down Down Tempo Tempo $2 $2 Buttery Buttery nipples nipples $4 Hurricanes $4 Hurricanes
The Year of Living Dangerously – Foreign correspondent Guy Hamilton (Mel Gibson) arrives in Jakarta in 1965 and finds himself covering the bloody Sukarno coup. His relationships with the local press corps, photographer and emerging activist Billy Kwan (Linda Hunt) and a British diplomat (Sigourney Weaver), lead to violent confrontations and hazy moral decisions amid the political turmoil of Indonesia. Krannert Art Museum, rm 62. 5:30pm. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact IPRH at 244-3344 or www.iprh.uiuc.edu.
C-UVENUES Assembly Hall First & Florida, Champaign, 333-5000 American Legion Post 24 705 W Bloomington Rd, Champaign, 356-5144 American Legion Post 71 107 N Broadway, Urbana, 367-3121 Barfly 120 N Neil, Champaign,352-9756 Barnes and Noble 51 E Marketview, Champaign, 355-2045 Boltini Lounge 211 N Neil, Champaign, 378-8001 Borders Books & Music 802 W Town Ctr, Champaign, 3519011 The Brass Rail 15 E University, Champaign, 352-7512 Canopy Club (Garden Grill) 708 S Goodwin, Urbana, 367-3140 Channing-Murray Foundation 1209 W Oregon, Urbana C.O. Daniels 608 E Daniel, Champaign, 337-7411 Cosmopolitan Club 307 E John, Champaign, 367-3079 Courtyard Cafe Illini Union, 1401 W Green, Urbana, 333-4666 Cowboy Monkey 6 Taylor St, Champaign, 398-2688 Clybourne 706 S Sixth, Champaign, 383-1008 Curtis Orchard 3902 S Duncan Rd, Champaign, 359-5565 D.R. Diggers 604 S Country Fair Dr, Champaign, 356-0888 Elmer’s Club 45 3525 N Cunningham, Urbana, 344-3101 Embassy Tavern & Grill 114 S Race, Urbana, 384-9526 Esquire Lounge 106 N Walnut, Champaign, 398-5858 Fallon’s Ice House 703 N Prospect, Champaign, 398-5760 Fat City Saloon 505 S Chestnut, Champaign, 356-7100 The Great Impasta 114 W Church, Champaign, 359-7377 G.T.’s Western Bowl Francis Dr, Champaign, 359-1678 The Highdive 51 Main, Champaign, 359-4444 Huber’s 1312 W Church, Champaign, 352-0606 Illinois Disciples Foundation 610 E Springfield, Champaign, 352-8721 Independent Media Center 218 W Main St, Urbana, 344-8820 The Iron Post 120 S Race, Urbana, 337-7678 Joe’s Brewery 706 S Fifth, Champaign, 384-1790 Kam’s 618 E Daniel, Champaign, 328-1605 Krannert Art Museum 500 E Peabody, Champaign, 333-1861 Krannert Center for the Performing Arts 500 S Goodwin, Urbana,Tickets: 333-6280, 800-KCPATIX La Casa Cultural Latina 1203 W Nevada, Urbana, 333-4950 Lava 1906 W Bradley, Champaign, 352-8714 Legends Bar & Grill 522 E Green, Champaign, 355-7674 Les’s Lounge 403 N Coler, Urbana, 328-4000 Lincoln Castle 209 S Broadway, Urbana, 344-7720 Lowe’s Big Barrel & Summer Club 14 N Hazel, Danville, 4428090 Malibu Bay Lounge North Route 45, Urbana, 328-7415 Mike n’ Molly’s 105 N Market, Champaign, 355-1236 Mulligan’s 604 N Cunningham, Urbana, 367-5888 Murphy’s 604 E Green, Champaign, 352-7275 Nargile 207 W Clark St, Champaign Neil Street Pub 1505 N Neil, Champaign, 359-1601 Boardman’s Art Theater 126 W Church, Champaign, 3510068 The Office 214 W Main, Urbana, 344-7608 Parkland College 2400 W Bradley, Champaign, 351-2528 Phoenix 215 S Neil, Champaign, 355-7866 Pia’s of Rantoul Route 136 E, Rantoul, 893-8244 Pink House Routes 49 & 150, Ogden, 582-9997 The Rainbow Coffeehouse 1203 W Green, Urbana, 766-9500 Red Herring/Channing-Murray Foundation 1209 W Oregon, Urbana, 344-1176 Rose Bowl Tavern 106 N Race, Urbana, 367-7031 Springer Cultural Center 301 N Randolph, Champaign, 3551406 Spurlock Museum 600 S Gregory, Urbana, 333-2360 The Station Theatre 223 N Broadway, Urbana, 384-4000 Strawberry Fields Cafe 306 W Springfield, Urbana, 328-1655 Sweet Betsy's 805 S Philo Rd, Urbana Ten Thousand Villages 105 N Walnut, Champaign, 352-8938 TK Wendl’s 1901 S Highcross Rd, Urbana, 255-5328 Tommy G’s 123 S Mattis Ave, Country Fair Shopping Center, 359-2177 Tonic 619 S Wright, Champaign, 356-6768 Two Main 2 Main, Champaign, 359-3148 University YMCA 1001 S Wright, Champaign, 344-0721 Verde/Verdant 17 E Taylor St, Champaign, 366-3204 Virginia Theatre 203 W Park Ave, Champaign, 356-9053 White Horse Inn 112 1/2 E Green, Champaign, 352-5945 Zorba’s 627 E Green, Champaign
CHICAGOSHOWS FEBRUARY 2/19 Enrique Iglesias @ Arie Crown Theatre 2/19 DJ Spooky @ Empty Bottle 2/19 Howie Day @ Congress Theater 2/20 Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys @ FitzGerald’s 2/20 Habib Koite @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/20 Delbert McClinton @ House of Blues 2/20 Brooks & Dunn @ NIU Convocation Center 2/20 From Autumn to Ashes @ Metro 2/21 Big Head Todd & The Monsters @ Riviera, 18+ 2/21 Bright Eyes, Jim James, M. Ward @ Vic 2/21 Escape from Earth @ Metro 2/21 Jake Fairley @ Empty Bottle 2/21 Fenians @ Abbey Pub 2/21 Robben Ford @ Martyrs’ 2/21 Carrie Newcomer @ Schubas 2/21 David Wilcox @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/21 Sergio Mendes @ the Hemmens 2/22 Jake Fairley @ Empty Bottle 2/22 Dead to Fall @ Metro 2/24 Deep Purple @ Chicago Theatre 2/25 Mary Timony @ Schubas
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2/26 Alaska @ Bottom Lounge, 18+ 2/26 Afrodisiacs @ House of Blues, 18+ 2/26 Bobby Conn & The Glass Gypsies @ Empty Bottle 2/26 Asleep at the Wheel @ Fitzgerald’s 2/26-27 Gossip @ Bottom Lounge, 2/26 all ages 2/27 Junior Brown @ Subterranean 2/27 Boris Grebenshikov & Aquarium @ Martyrs 2/27 John Hammond, Jr. @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/27 Sting @ Rosemont Theatre 2/27 Peter Case @ Schubas 2/27 Exo @ Congress Theater, 18+ 2/28 Erykah Badu @ Auditorium Theatre 2/28 Flying Luttenbachers @ Fireside Bowl 2/28 Further Seems Forever @ Metro 2/29 Academy @ Metro 2/29 Cannibal Corpse @ House of Blues 2/29 Elefant @ Double Door 2/29 Carbon Leaf @ Schubas 2/29 Ellis Marsalis Trio @ Old Town School of Folk Music
MARCH 3/1 Elvis Costello & Stevie Nieve @ Oriental Theatre 3/2 Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Metro 3/3 Red Stick Ramblers @ FitzGerald’s 3/4 Jazzanova @ Smart Bar 3/4 Kraig Jarret Johnson & The Program @ Schubas 3/4-5 Neil Young & Crazy Horse @ Rosemont Theatre 3/5 Clarence Clemons & The Temple of Soul @ Joe’s 3/5 Faun Fables @ Schubas 3/5 British Sea Power @ Empty Bottle 3/5 Richard Buckner @ Schubas 3/5 Chieftans @ Symphony Center 3/5 Bob Dylan @ Aragon Ballroom 3/5 Forty Piece Choir @ Metro, 18+ 3/5 Galactic @ Vic, 18+ 3/5 Luomo @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 3/5 Edwin McCain @ House of Blues, 18+ 3/6 Liftpoint @ Metro 3/6 Crossing @ Old Town School of Folk Music 3/7 Get Up Kids @ Metro 3/7 Rhonda Vincent @ Old Town School of Folk Music 3/10 Tara Jane O’Neil @ Gunther Murphy’s 3/11 Keb’ Mo’ @ House of Blues, 18+ 3/11 Walkmen @ Metro, 18+ 3/12 DJ SS, Grooverider, Shy FX, Twisted Individual @ Metro, 18+ 3/12 Church @ House of Blues 3/12 Antigone Rising @ Schubas 3/12 Futureman & The Isiah Williams Project @ Old Town School of Folk Music 3/12 Kid Rock @ Allstate Arena 3/12 Michael Mayer, Superpitcher @ Smart Bar 3/12 Liz Phair @ Vic 3/12 Von Bondies @ Double Door 3/13 Paul Kelly @ Double Door 3/13 Sage Francis, Joe Beats, Grand Buffet @ Logan Square Auditorium 3/13 Mavericks @ Park West 3/13 Grant Lee Phillips @ Abbey Pub 3/13 Saw Doctors @ Vic 3/13 Shipping News @ Subterranean 3/14 Liz Phair @ Vic 3/15 Cooper Temple Clause @ Double Door 3/17 Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons @ Schubas 3/17 Bogdan Raczynski @ Empty Bottle 3/18-19 Melissa Etheridge @ House of Blues 3/19 Johnny Dowd @ Subterranean 3/19 Dream Theater @ Riviera 3/19 Britney Spears, Kelis @ Allstate Arena 3/19 Starlight Mints @ Abbey Pub 3/20 Jewel @ Star Plaza 3/20 Liars, Young People @ Logan Square Auditorium 3/20 Macabre @ Oasis 160 3/21 Amon Tobin, Kid Koala @ Metro, 18+ 3/22 Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson @ United Center 3/23 Ted Leo/Pharmacists @ Logan Square Auditorium 3/23 Three Days Grace @ Metro 3/24 12 Stones, Skillet, Pillar, Grits, Big Dismal @ House of Blues 3/26 Newsboys, Rebecca St. James @ UIC Pavilion 3/26 American Music Club @ Old Town School of Folk Music 3/26 Dolly Varden @ Subterranean 3/26 Al Green @ House of Blues 3/26 Great Big Sea @ Metro, 18+ 3/26 Franz Ferdinand @ Empty Bottle 3/26 Proclaimers @ Abbey Pub 3/26 Slip @ Double Door 3/26 Southern Culture on the Skids @ FitzGerald’s 3/26 TV On the Radio @ Empty Bottle 3/27 Campbell Brothers, Calvin Cooke @ Old Town School of Folk Music
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music
FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | GOODNIGHT, BOOGER.
Hip-Hop Congress hosts awareness week MENDOZA MUSIC LINE BY ADAM BOSKEY | STAFF WRITER
H
ip-hop fans in C-U and its surrounding cities are in for a treat with the upcoming Hip-hop appreciation week, March 1-7, presented by the UIUC Hip-Hop Congress. Understanding the importance of maintaining a connection to the true school of hip hop, the Congress has assembled a wide variety of talent from indisputable legends to hot up-and-comers to showcase their skills and share their knowledge. The HHC must be applauded for these efforts during a time in hip hop where the current generation of listeners aren’t being exposed to the ideals and experiences that spawned the art and culture in the first place. The main events of the week will be held from Thursday through Sunday, with each day celebrating something different from hip hop. Thursday kicks off the festivities with my favorite element, DJing. Flying in from New York are none other than members of the almighty 5th Platoon Crew. You will be able to witness back-to-back ITF champion (‘97 and ‘98) as well as member of the Triple Threat DJs, DJ Vin Roc. He is known for having the rare talent of being able to incorporate his deadly routines within the constructs of rocking the shit out of the club while not skipping a beat (no pun intended). Also coming will be the DMC 2003 USA champion, I-emerge, who has been making quite a name for himself. If you are there on Thursday, make sure you are positioned so that you can see the mixer well. Those who have seen his performance in the What Hip-Hop Is DVD know what I’m talking about. Last but in no way least, you have Neil
TopFive
Armstrong, who I must say makes some of the best damn mix tapes I have ever heard. His latest has been catching major coverage in the more reputable hip-hop magazines (not the glossy hip-pop mags you find at the grocery store). This will be going down at Highdive. Check it out. Now I am in a pickle. I am supposed to DJ elsewhere on Friday the 5th, but admittedly, I would rather be at the B-boy battle at the Courtyard Café. The pickle comes into play because every DJ in town that I can think of who could fill in for me is already going to be there. Why? Because when a B-boy battle (Bboy = break dancing) is done right it is one of the most exhilarating sights to behold. Don’t you remember Beatstreet? If not, come on down and get reacquainted. And if you’re lucky, they may even break out a headspin or two. I have not heard of which crews are confirmed to show but don’t worry, I have been to three of the last four Scribble Jams and I can testify that the Midwest is home to some awesome talent. Legends attending will be the formidable Kujo, coming all the way from California, and none other then Pop-MasterFable himself. I personally don’t know about Kujo, but when I asked around those in the know really started to freak out. Then you have the epitome of legend in Pop-MasterFable. This guy has been putting it down since the beginning with pure style; more style than Clyde Frazier. Now that’s sayin’ somethin’! Furthermore, I had the chance to meet him at the DMC ‘98 USA Finals (a DJ battle) and chatted with him for a few minutes. The guy was really down to earth. He easily could have pulled some “I was doin’ this when you were still suckin on your mother’s tit” and brushed me off, but he didn’t. He was interested in what I had to say. It’s refreshing to encounter people that don’t let fame go to their head. Saturday I will be taking full advantage of that so that I can attend the panel discussions
Geeks of Rock
1. Elvis Costello The ultimate rock geek, and not solely due to his choice in eyewear. Before he decided that it was cooler to do classical albums (which maybe his most subversive geeky move), Mr. Costello’s thin, ready voice defiantly espoused the rage of every awkward would-be poet who got passed over for a prom date.“Mystery Dance” is the most literal, witty song about being clueless in the sack ever. Over a number of albums, he exhibited his rock nerd cred by exploring genres ranging from rockabilly, to soul, to piano bar balladeering. At heart, he was always the bespectacled album collector, far more content to stay home and listen to Cole Porter, scrawling searing lyrics about the vagaries of love, than go out to the pubs.
2. David Byrne On the opening number of the Talking Heads concert movie, Stop Making Sense, David Byrne stands on stage with just a beat box and a guitar, performing “Psycho Killer.” As he’s singing, he violently, arrhythmically jerks back and
during the day (12-6 p.m.) throughout Lincoln Hall. Panel discussions will include: women in hip hop, hip hop and education, hip hop and political activism, and hip hop and urban entrepreneurship. Personally, I am interested in hearing Will Patterson speak on the hip hop and education panel. For those of you who are die-hard fans of the Needledrops radio show, there will be a treat as Luke DeMarte (or DJ Unicorn as we used to call him on-air circa ‘98) will wax poetic on the subject of hip hop and urban entrepreneurship. He is also proof positive that good things happen to good people as he is now the attorney for the likes of the Molemen, Rhymesayers (Atmosphere, etc.), and Sage Francis. That evening, Canopy Club will have the MC showcase. Unconfirmed (but highly likely) are J-Live, who will show you how dope he is on the turntable WHILE rocking the mic, and the ever-talented Odd-jobs, whom you have probably already caught opening for Atmosphere. It must be mentioned that things are being finalized as we are going to press for updates and additional information such as cost. I would check www.uiuc.edu/ro/hiphop frequently. For example, the graffiti heads will notice that I hadn’t mentioned anything about Graf yet. That is still being decided upon. If you only know hip hop in its mainstream state, if you “live” hip hop, if you are looking to find a way to get more involved with hip hop, hell, even if you are starting to get tired of hip hop, I think these events will have something to offer you. Come out March 4-7 and support the UIUC Hip-Hop Congress for their much appreciated efforts and more importantly, to celebrate hip-hop culture and its impact on our community. Keep up with hi-tech trends here at “Hook’d on Technology.” buzz Adam Boskey (AKA DJ Bozak) co-hosts Needledrops with DJ Spinnerty on WEFT 90.1 FM Saturdays, 10 p.m.midnight. He also performs in the downtown DJ circuit.
4. Rivers Cuomo
forth, towards the mike and back from it, all flailing limbs and bulging eyes. If this cat didn’t set the template for art-school nerdiness, then Lord knows who did. He invented and refined disjointed, white rhythm music and made the world safe for all the Gangs of Four and Raptures that would follow in his wake. A legion of death disco devotees owe him their praise and thanks.
3. Todd Rundgren On the inside cover of Todd Rundgren’s masterpiece Something Anything, there is a photograph of him standing on an amp, guitar slung around his shoulder, arms triumphantly thrown up in the air, rock god-style. Instead of a sea of adoring fans crowding the edge of the stage, though, Todd’s in his living room, which is scattered with instruments and recording equipment, by himself. The photograph sort of sums up Rundgren’s whole aesthetic. A tried and true studio geek and a pop genius (Todd sometimes played all the instruments on his intricately layered albums), all he wanted to do was write songs as good as the Beatles. He came damn close.
Despite what some hipsters will tell you, Weezer is a fucking great band. It’s possible that the Weezerphobia that infects certain circles of the intellectual zeitgeist is largely due to the fact that Rivers Cuomo’s emotionally raw ruminations on love, lust, and self-consciousness—sometimes disturbing and/or embarassing in their sincerity—hit a little too close to home for discerning taste-makers everywhere. Here’s the life of a neurotic bedroom nerd, warts and all,all set to a soundtrack of punk rock/pop metal and crazy, crazy good hooks. The first two albums anyways, Maladroit did blow.
5. Ric Ocasek I would like all of our readers to please note the picture to the left and ponder the fact that this man is married to a supermodel. Rock ‘n’ roll is the great equalizer,huh? Ric was a guy who seemed totally unsuited for the frontman shtick, but desperately tried to dress the part, hence the ever-present RayBans. Saved by the fact that The Cars wrote some of the best pop songs of the ‘80s, period.
Next week: Top five songs for worshipping Satan! What’s yours? e-mail us at music@readbuzz.com
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HE IS A “SHADY” SORT | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
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Yonder Mountain String Band’s tour stops at Urbana’s familiar Canopy Club
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PHOTOS | COURTESY OF YONDERMEISTER.COM
n Feb. 25, Yonder Mountain String Band comes to Canopy Club as part of their “Cabin Fever Tour 2004.” Our twin cities hold a special significance for two of the band’s members, mandolin player Jeff Austin and banjo player Dave Johnston, who grew up in the surrounding areas and met in Urbana. In fact, their former band—the amusingly monikered The Bluegrassholes—played here during the mid90s, ensuring that they remember Chambana fondly. “We’ve always had a good time there, we have tons of friends there. It’s definitely a cool fun place, the people treat us well. And we have a bunch of stories that I’d have to censor,” says guitarist Adam Ajiala. The band officially formed in December 1998 to open for a band at the Fox Theater in Boulder, Colo., at which point they immediately encountered their first problem. “We already had two gigs booked and they needed to run an ad in the local paper, and they didn’t have a name yet. So we had to come up with something, and we came to the conclusion that we wanted to be a quartet or a string band. Then there was this series of magazines from the mid-
to-late-60s called Sing Out, a compilation book of various folk artists and tunes, and there’s a song called “At The Foot Of Yonder Mountain” (by Barker Horton), so Jeff goes ‘How about Yonder Mountain?’ “ Due to the diverse backgrounds represented, Yonder Mountain has a fairly unique sound. “You can’t sum it up real quick. We are a bluegrass band but all our influences come from rock ‘n’ roll and heavy stuff, but all the energy is run through bluegrass instruments. We’re playing bluegrass but it’s not traditional,” states Adam, whose first cover song was Black Flag’s “Nervous Breakdown,” a result of his early infatuation with heavy metal and punk rock, the influences of which subtly remain with him today. Furthermore, Ben Kaufmann played rock music throughout high school, and it was only when he sat in as a sub in his father’s jazz band that he picked up the acoustic upright bass, which is now his instrument of choice. For the uninitiated, bluegrass music’s origins are shared with country music, in that both their roots lie in traditional string band music. Sometime in the 1940s, honky-tonk and country-pop became separate genres, but certain musicians, perhaps most notably Bill Monroe, remained faithful to the traditional style, while complicating the songs by making the music faster and more technically demanding. The genre was named after Monroe’s backing band The Blue Grass Boys. About 20 years later, several bands attempted to experiment with the standard structures and conventions, creating a plethora of sub-genres that would be dubbed “progressive bluegrass.” “Our music is definitely different, but not necessarily evolved,” says Adam, “because evolved is a forward motion and some people might think that what we do is a deevolution. Most traditional bluegrass consists of two- to four- minute songs with tight tunes wrapped up in a bundle. We extend things, we try different rhythmic patterns. Sometimes we’ll sandwich
songs. We’ll start with one song, go into anoth- a guitar in 1956, at the age of 11. His humble er song in the middle, then go back to the first demeanor and self-deprecating manner hide a devastatingly skilled guitarist, whose self-taught one.” Known to jam out for 20 minutes at a time, acoustic steel-string finger stylings have slowly Yonder Mountain String Band have often earned him a deserved reputation since his attracted a fan-base similar to that of a jam- debut LP, 1969’s Twelve String Blues. Arguably, though, it was Clone, his band. On the interac2002 collaboration with tion between jam Phish bassist Mike music and bluegrass, Gordon, that finally Adam shrewdly allowed him to be deduces that “it’s the heard by a larger audicommunity more so ence, after almost half a than the music. The century of playing guiterm ‘jam band’ – Adam Ajiala tar. encompasses so The band is always many genres. You “digging for the best” can say that the The when looking for someFlying Frog Brigade or Sound Tribe Sector 9 are jam bands, and we one to tour with, though they “like to find quiare not like those other bands. When I think ‘jam eter bands, because we don’t have drums,” band,’ I think of a bunch of folks that love all Adam said. The band boasts a considerable repertoire, kinds of music and love to come listen to all ranging from catchy tunes such as “Two Hits kinds of music.” To give a little background about the mem- And The Joint Turned Brown” to ambitious covbers, Adam was born in Worcester, Mass., and ers, including an 11-minute version of The took up the electric guitar at 13. He “studied Rolling Stones’ “No Expectations” and a stuntrees and stuff in college” with the intention of ning take on Pink Floyd’s “Goodbye Blue Sky,” becoming a forester, but a knee injury encour- among other covers of artists such as The aged him to concentrate on his music. Dave was Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Willie Nelson. born in Aurora, Ill., and was in an ensemble They have played in a variety of venues, and called Giblet Gravy within a year of deciding to will play Bonnaroo later in the year in a lineup learn banjo. Unlike some of his peers who chose that includes The Dead, Bob Dylan, Trey to finish school, he moved to Boulder, Colo., to Anastasio and Ani DiFranco. On Feb. 13, CNN pursue a musical career. Jeff was born in aired an interview with and a live performance Arlington Heights, Ill., and specialized in musi- by Yonder Mountain, and their album Old cal theater, voice and dance theater. He played Hands has been nominated for a Jammy for 2003 no instrument, but arbitrarily owned a man- Studio Album of the Year. All this hype is entiredolin, which Dave advised him to play, and so ly deserved, for seldom has there been a more he did. Finally, Ben was born in Pittsburgh, and enjoyable introduction to bluegrass for those was quite the prodigy, playing piano at 3. He not familiar with the genre. As for the rest, sureattended New York University’s prestigious ly little coercion will be required to get them out film school before also ending up in Boulder. to Canopy Club on Feb. 25. buzz Unfortunately, Ben will not be touring with Yonder Mountain due to a recent bereavement. However, the band is currently touring with Yonder Mountain String Band and Leo Kottke will perform Leo Kottke, one of the most revered folk gui- Feb. 25 at Canopy Club. Tickets are $15 and the show tarist of the last several decades. “We’ve all been starts at 10 p.m. fans of Leo Kottke for a while. Getting to meet him was great ... the guy was playing music before I was born.” In fact, Kottke first picked up
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When I think ‘jam band’ I think of a bunch of folks that love all kinds of music.
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FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com
CHICAGOVENUES
At the foot of Yonder Mountain BY SHADIE ELNASHAI | STAFF WRITER
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Abbey Pub 3420 W Grace, Chicago, (773) 478-4408 Allstate Arena 6920 N Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, (847) 6356601 Aragon 1106 W Lawrence, Chicago, (773) 561-9500 Arie Crown Theater 2301 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, (312) 7916190 Bottom Lounge 3206 N Wilton, Chicago, (773) 975-0505 Chicago Theatre 175 N State St, Chicago, (312) 443-1130 Congress Theatre 2135 N Milwaukee, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 Double Door 1572 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, (773) 489-3160 Elbo Room 2871 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 549-5549 Empty Bottle 1035 N Western Ave, Chicago, (773) 276-3600 Fireside Bowl 2648 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, (773) 486-2700 House of Blues 329 N Dearborn, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 Martyrs' 3855 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 404-9494 Metro/Smart Bar 3730 N Clark St, Chicago, (773) 549-0203 Old Town School of Folk Music 4544 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 728-6000 Park West 322 W Armitage, Chicago, (773) 929-5959 Riviera Theatre 4746 N Racine, Chicago, (773) 275-6800 Rosemont Theatre 5400 N River Rd, Rosemont, (847) 671-5100 Schubas 3159 N Southport, Chicago, (773) 525-2508 UIC Pavilion 525 S Racine, Chicago, (312) 413-5700 Vic Theatre 3145 N Sheffield, Chicago, (773) 472-0449
ART NOTICES National Biennial Ceramics Invitational ("Elevating the Utilitarian: Transforming the Vessel through Surface Decoration") – March 1April 9, the Parkland Art Gallery will host the 9th Biennial Ceramics Invitational. This year's exhibit includes nationally known artists Sam Chung of Michigan, Julia Galloway of New York, John Glick of Michigan, Michael Hunt of North Carolina, and others. A reception will be held Mar 16 from 6-8pm, with a gallery talk by Berti and O'Donnell at 7pm. For more information, call 351-2485. Creation Art Studios: Art Classes for Children and Adults – All classes use the spontaneous art process to demonstrate technical instruction and the exploration of materials. Personal interests, ideas, dreams and more are expressed and developed through collage and assemblage art, drawing, painting, sculpture and ceramics. CPDU's offered. Creation Art Studios, 1102 E Washington in Urbana. Call Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955 or go to www.creationartstudios.com for information.
Creation Art Studios – Featuring original art by students and members of the studio. 1102 E Washington St in Urbana. Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 14pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955. Country in the City – Antiques, Architectural, Gardening and Home Accessories. Custom designing available. 1104 E Washington St in Urbana. ThuSat 10am-5pm. 367-2367. Framer's Market – Frame designers since 1981. Ongoing work from local artists on display. 807 W Springfield Ave in Champaign. Tue-Fri 9:30am5:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 351-7020. Furniture Lounge – Specializing in mid-century modern furniture from the 1920s to the 1980s – retro, Danish modern, lighting, vintage stereo equipment and vinyl records. 9 E University in Champaign. Sun-Tues 12-4:30pm, Wed-Sat 115:30pm. 352-5150. Glass FX – New and Antique Stained Glass Windows, Lamps and unique glass gifts. Gallery is free and open to the public. Interested in learning the art of Stained Glass? Beginning, intermediate and advanced stained glass classes offered. 202 S First St in Champaign. Mon-Thu 10am-5:30pm, Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 9am-4pm. www.glassfx.com. 359-0048. Griggs Street Potters – Handmade functional and decorative pottery. 305 W Grigg St in Urbana. MonFri 11am-4pm, or call for appointment. 344-8546. Hill Street Gallery Inc. – Oil and watercolor paintings, hand painted T-shirts, handmade jewelry. 703 W Hill in Champaign. Sat 12-5pm or by appointment during the week. 359-0675.
LaPayne Photography – Specializes in panoramic photography up to 6 feet long of different subjects including sporting events, city skylines, national parks and University of Illinois scenes. 816 Dennison Dr in Champaign. Mon-Fri 9am-4pm and by appointment. 356-8994. Old Vic Art Gallery – Fine and original art, hand signed, limited edition prints, works by local artists, art restoration, custom framing, and periodic shows by local artists. 11 E University in Champaign. Mon-Thu 11am-5:30pm, Sat 11am4:30pm. 355-8338. Prairie Boatworks Gallery – Beautifully hand-crafted gift items and unique Valentine’s Day cards. Also, over 35 regional artist to choose from. 407 E Main St in Mahomet. Tue, Fri, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-4pm. 586-6776. For more information, contact Mary at 356-8228 or tangoradesigns@aol.com. Steeple Gallery – Vintage botanical and bird prints, antiques and framed limited edition prints. 102 E Lafayette St in Monticello. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. www.steeplegallery.com. 762-2924. Verde Gallery – The work of local artist Sylvia Arnstein will be on display in the halls and café. 17 E Taylor St in Champaign. Cafe: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm. Gallery: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204. Ziemer Gallery – Original paintings and limited edition prints by Larry Ziemer. Pottery, weavings, wood turning and glass works by other artists. Gallery visitors are welcome to sit, relax, listen to the music and just enjoy being surrounded by art. 210 W Washington in Monticello. Tue 10am-8pm, Wed-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. www.ziemergallery.com. 762-9786.
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Introducing...
Midnight Movie SERIE S SERIE S
brought to you by
Boardman’s Art Theatre & buzz Boardman’s Art Theatre and buzz will be hosting special midnight screenings several times a month.
This weekend, come check out:
Larry Kanfer Gallery – European Collection featured in the gallery. Both limited and open edition prints by Larry Kanfer, nationally acclaimed photographer. 2503 S Neil in Champaign. Free and Open to the Public. Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm. 3982000. www.kanfer.com.
Join Artists and Workshops at Gallery Virtu – The artist-owned cooperative Gallery Virtu invites applications from area artists. The gallery offers workshops for adults, teens and children in knitting, embroidery, photography, jewelry making, printmaking, papermaking, bookbinding and ribbon flowers. The gallery also offers original works by the members including jewelry, pottery, collages, sculptures, journals, hats, handbags and other textiles. Gallery Virtu, 220 W Washington in Monticello. Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am6pm. For more information, call 762-7790, visit www.galleryvirtu.org or e-mail workshops@galleryvirtu.org. Collage for the Soul – Learn the many aspects of collage techniques while engaging your creativity and exploring your mind and heart. Scrapbookers, it’s time to branch out from craft to art! Sandra Ahten will teach the class, in which all materials will be provided. High Cross Studio, 1101 N High Cross Rd in Urbana. Feb 17- Mar 16, Tue 7-9pm. Other drawing and painting classes are also offered. For more information, call 367-6345 or go to www.spiritofsandra.com.
Feb. 19th & 20th at
ART EXHIBITS & GALLERIES Boneyard Pottery – Ceramic Art by Michael Schwegmann and others. 403 Water St in Champaign. Tue-Sat 11am-5pm. 355-5610. Broken Oak Gallery – Local and national artists, original art including photography, watercolors, pottery, oil paintings, colored pencil, and woodturning. Refreshments served by the garden all day Saturday. 1865 N 1225 E Rd in White Heath. Thu-Sat 10am-4pm. 762-4907. Café Kopi – “Digital Evolutions,” photographs by John Sfondilias on display through February. 109 N Walnut in Champaign. Mon-Thu 7am-11pm, Fri-Sat 7am-12pm, Sun 11am-8pm. 359-4266.
Boardman’s Art Theatre 126 W. Church St., Champaign 1-800-BEST-PLACE or 355-0068 tickets are $6
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EUROTRIP Opens Nationwide February 20th!
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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004
ART EXHIBITS – ON VIEW NOW
MUSIC PERFORMANCES
“Distant Voices Nearer: A Celebration of American Indian Art” – Featuring paintings by DeHaven Solimon Chaffins, jewelry by Ben Yellowhorse, ceramic sculptures by Lynn Hone, ceramics by Laguna Potter and Michael Kanteena, pottery from Acoma and Mata Ortiz. On display at Verde Gallery through Mar 20. Opening reception for Chaffins and Yellowhouse Thur at 7pm. 17 E Taylor St in Champaign. Cafe: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm. Gallery: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.
The Parkland Wind Ensemble and the Parkland Community Orchestra – The wind ensemble, conducted by Greg Grove, will include in its program "The Golden Years" by Leroy Anderson and "Montmartre March" by Haydn Wood. The orchestra, conducted by Jack Ranney, will perform "Il Re Pastore Overture" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Mueller and others. First Baptist Church of Champaign in Savoy. The show will be Mar 7 at 3pm.
“Transitions” – Work from Nicole Cisne on display at Aroma Café through Mar 21. Artist statement: “The vehicle for my artwork is the female nude. The images created of the female nude have changed drastically through time. Looking back in art history you see women who by today’s standards would be considered ‘fat.’ Society and the fashion industry of today are the primary causes of an epidemic of eating disorders and false body images in many young women... Hopefully the viewer will see that the female figure is beautiful, no matter what size.” 118 N Neil in Champaign. Open 7 days a week, 7am-Midnight. For more information, contact Amanda Bickle at 356-3200 or art4aroma@yahoo.com.
Parkland and Normal Community Bands Joint Concert – The Parkland Community Band will perform in a joint concert with the Normal Community Band Feb 29 at 2:30pm at the Wesley United Methodist Church in Bloomington. The concert is free and open to the public. Musical selections that the bands will perform together include "A Festival Prelude" by Alfred Reed and songs from the musical, "My Fair Lady." Michael Wallace conducts the Normal Community Band; Greg Grove conducts the Parkland Community Band.
“Picturing Performance: Japanese Theater Prints of the Utagawa School, 1790–1868” – The focus of artistic production in 18th and 19th century Japan (Edo period) was the world of entertainment. This exhibit captures a views of this world of illusion and fantasy (Ukiyo) through richly-colored and compositionally provocative woodblock prints know as Ukiyo-e. The prints in this exhibition give visitors a glimpse of Japanese art, dress and culture that flourished over 150 years ago. The exhibition is on view through Mar 21. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860. “Bon Coiffure: Hair Signs from West Africa” – This exhibition offers viewers a glimpse into three different art forms: the art of African hair styling, African hair sign painting and African hairstyles in traditional masks and sculpture. In sub-Saharan Africa, la coiffure, i.e.“hairdressing,” is an art and a vocation. African hair designs, both aesthetic and symbolic, proclaim many things such as ethnic origin, gender, religious or political affiliation, social status, or even the profession of the wearer. Hairdressers also hire artists to hand paint signs to advertise their skills and represent their repertoire of coiffures. Bon Coiffure is on view through Mar 21. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860. “Beyond East and West: Seven Transnational Artists” – Throughout history, various cultures have been lumped together into the broad categories “East” and “West” in order to distinguish an “us” from a “them,” according to art historian David O’Brien. The Krannert Museum has put together a traveling exhibition bringing together the work of seven major contemporary artists who share a connection to both worlds. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860. Creation Art Studios – Artwork by instructors Jeannine Bestoso, Amy Richardson, and Shoshanna Bauer, and the studio’s friends and family. 1102 E Washington St in Urbana. Hours: Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 1-4pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955. “Whistler and Japonisme: Selections from the Permanent Collection” – Marking the 100th anniversary of James McNeill Whistler’s death, this exhibition highlights his works on paper and examines the influence that Japanese woodcuts had on his artistic technique. On display at Krannert Art Museum through Mar 28. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860.
ON STAGE Elysium on the Prairie, Live Action Roleplaying – Vampires stalk the city streets and struggle for dominance in a world of gothic horror. Create your own character and mingle with dozens of players who portray their own undead alter egos. Each session is another chapter in an ongoing story of triumph, tragedy and betrayal. Fridays,“Vampire: The Masquerade.” For more information, visit www2.uiuc.edu/ro/elysium/intro.html. Check site for location, 7pm.
FILM Telluride MountainFilm Tour – If you enjoy highcaliber films filled with the adrenaline-pumping excitement of outdoor extreme sports, intimate looks at real-life adventurers and experiencing films that will open your eyes, shock you and fill you with wonder, you are in luck. A selection of these award-winning films from Telluride, CO, will be showing at Savoy 16 Theatre. Mar 15, 7pm, $10. Ticket proceeds are donated to the Campership Program, BSA. To buy tickets, go to Champaign Surplus or www.champaignsurplus.com. 21st Annual Insect Fear Film Festival – Don't miss Champaign-Urbana's only film festival that features enormous, human-hungry, mutated killer insects! Experience spine-tingling chills, hair-raising screams and oversized bugs at the festival. This year features The Tuxedo starring Jackie Chan and Jennifer Love-Hewitt, and several other films. Doors open at 6pm, movies start at 7pm, and admission is free. Foellinger Auditorium. For more information, visit the UI Department of Entomology Web site or call 244-2491.
KIDS & FAMILY T.A.C.K. – The library’s Thursday Arts and Crafts for Kids program welcomes children to come make a craft. Douglass Branch Library, Conference Room. Thu 4-5pm. African Crafts with Dawn Blackman – For elementary school-age children. No registration. Douglass Branch Library. Fri, 4-5pm. Baby Time – Come to the library for a half-hour of lap-bouncing, nursery rhymes, music activities and play time for your infants. Douglass Branch Library, meeting room. Thu 10:30-11am. Family Fun Day Sunday in the Square – Every Sunday through Mar 27, enjoy interactive rides, including Bounce Houses, Screamer Slides and the Kid Wizard. There will also be food, shopping, games, miniature golf and more. Lincoln Square Mall. Sun 1-5pm. For more information, call the Urbana Business Association at 344-3872.
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Funfare – Come to The Phillips Recreation Center for Funfare Thur, 10:30-11am, presented by The Urbana Free Library Children’s Department. There will be stories, songs, puppets and films for children of all ages and their parent(s) or caregiver(s). No registration is required for this drop-in program. For more information, call 367-4069. Babies’ Lap Time – Babies and their parent(s) or caregiver(s) are invited to Phillips Recreation Center for Babies' Lap Time Tue from 10-10:30am, presented by The Urbana Free Library Children’s Department. This program is for our youngest patrons, ages 6-24 months with an adult. No registration is required. For more info, call 367-4069. O Baby! – Lap-bouncing, nursery rhymes and music activities for infants with a caregiver. Champaign Public Library, main library. Mon 9:30-9:50am or 10:30-10:50am. No registration required. For more information, call 403-2030. Tuesday Twos – Stories, songs and movement activities for 2-year-olds with a parent or grandparent. Tue 9:30-9:50am or 10:30-10:50am. Champaign Public Library, main library. No registration required. KnowZone – Homework help for school-aged children. Tue 4-5pm. Douglass Branch Library. No registration required.
UPCOMING EVENTS Parkland-ICTM Math Contest – Parkland-ICTM Regional High School Math Contest will be held at Parkland Feb 28. Over 1,100 students are expected to participate. Most events begin at 9am. The awards ceremony will be held at the Parkland gym at 2pm and is open to the public.
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BY BRIAN WARMOTH | STAFF WRITER
M
athew Green is a playwright and employee at Barnes & Noble in Champaign. Originally from Robinson, Ill., he now lives in Tuscola. His work has been performed by the Black Dove Theatre Company in Chicago. His first work to appear on the University of Illinois campus, Crazy Grandma Sings the Blues, is being produced by the Penny Dreadful Players March 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. at Gregory Hall. What has drawn you to writing for theater? What I used to write in practically every other genre. I did some poetry, tried to write a novel. The more I read plays, the more I wanted to write them. There’s something about the immediacy of it. I also like the fact that it’s a group effort. What kinds of subjects do you find yourself writing about? The plays I write always start as very personal, something I’ve witnessed, or some-
February Blood Drives – Campus blood drives for this month are as follows: Tue – LAR Main Lounge 2-6pm; Feb 25-27 – Illini Union room 314, 10am4pm. African American Issues – Panel Discussion features an introduction by Parkland College President Zelema Harris and comments from several Parkland employee panelists. Refreshments will be included. Parkland College, rm D244. Friday, 2-4pm. Soul Food Luncheon – The Parkland College Black Student Association sponsors the annual event. Tickets are $6 in advance and $6.50 on day of event. Parkland College South Lounge. Feb 26, 11am-1pm. “Turkey Between East and West” – a panel discussion featuring Martin Stokes (Ethnomusicology, University of Chicago), Maria Todorova (History, UIUC), Yasemin Yildiz (German Studies, Cornell University), Serife Genis (Sociology, UIUC), and Robert Pahre (Political Science, UIUC). Robert Ousterhout (Architecture, UIUC) will act as moderater. Humanities Lecture Hall, IPRH. Tuesday, 3pm. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact the IPRH at 244-3344 or visit www.iprh.uiuc.edu.
thing in my family. It’s after thinking about it and writing that it starts opening up. This (Crazy Grandma Sings the Blues) is actually my most recent piece. I started writing it a year ago. It’s about something that happened in my family. It was a process of taking something personal and making it into something you don’t have to be me to understand. What are your influences? Definitely (Edward)Albee. Early on, my influence was David Mamet. He would take something natural and make it into something elevated; and other than that, Tennessee Williams. It fascinates me how people can take something small and make it so complex. I don’t tend to get huge ideas. What subject do you most enjoy writing about? Ordinarily, it’s how people fail to communicate with each other. In this one, I started out with people dealing with their situation, and it turned into how people take each other for
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Sweeney Todd School of Music Opera Series
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A Musical Thriller
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by Hugh Wheeler From an adaptation by Christopher Bond
Feb 20-29 Eduardo Diazmuñoz, conductor Stephen Fiol, director Sara Lampert Hoover, associate director
18th Annual Black Women's Achievement Dinner – The Black Women's Achievement Dinner celebrates the unique achievements of six women from the Champaign-Urbana African American community. The celebration will consist of a cultural marketplace, dinner, guest speaker Dr. Ollie Watts-Davis, with music provided by Chambana. Hawthorne Suites in Champaign. Friday, 6-9pm. Advance-only tickets: $35. For more information, call 344-0721. 18th Annual Daddy/Daughter Dance – Dads and daughters, dance til dawn at the 18th Annual Daddy Daughter Dance. Refreshments, raffle prizes, and dancing are sure to please dads and daughters of all ages. Leonhard Recreation Center. Saturday, 6-8pm. Tickets: $20 per couple, $10 each additional. Tickets must be purchased by Feb 20. For more information, call 398-2550.
arts
FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | SCREW THOSE WHO EAT OTHERS’ EGGROLLS
ARTIST’S CORNER
PHOTOS | RODERICK GEDEY
021904buzz0920
Below (from left to right): Mary Brennan, Sean Wade and Sean Paris rehearse a scene from Crazy Grandma Sings the Blues.
Mysteryand comedy, loveand hate, beautiful melody and piercing dissonance unite in this compelling story of passions, a Stephen Sondheim
Tony Award-winning musical.
KrannertCenter.com 217/333-6280
Supported in part by the Frances P. Rohlen Visiting Artists Fund/College of Fine and Applied Arts and IOTE, Illinois Opera Theatre Enthusiasts
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Word continued from page 7 My friends will tell you that, yes, I can be a center for gossip. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not my fault, people just tell me everything. But even amongst my smallest, closest group of friends, I would never announce hidden secrets. So why would I put it on a Web page so that everyone could see? Bill: If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re out there, I have two things to say. 1) Get rid of that friend with the online journal and 2) Go get some medication because pubic lice ainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the barrel of laughs your friend made it out to be (or so Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve heard). February 2: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Janet Jacksonâ&#x20AC;? Current mood: Conclusive Current song: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sex Lawsâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Beck Janet Jackson is a well-paid
â&#x20AC;&#x153;WHEN I GROW UP, I WANT TO BE A PRINCIPAL OR A CATERPILLAR.â&#x20AC;? | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 buzz
stripper. If you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t heard what happened at the Super Bowl with her PDN (public display of nipple), then you really need to get out from under that rock. It is inexcusable that she showed part of her nipple on television. At least tawdry and sexual soap operas, naked men on Survivor, stripping guests on talk shows and the 10,000 replays of the PDN were sanctioned by network stations this week. Because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure half a nipple is more offensive than a man on a talk show talking about getting sexual thrills from masturbating farm animals (which was on television recently and was tagged with only a TVMA rating). But that will be old news by the time this prints. But Jackson family antics aside, this journal has reached its close. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve discussed favorite lists, over-
ly-detailed romantic encounters, the disclosure of deep secrets and the general trend to make private thoughts public. But did it allow me to achieve any kind of inner tranquility? Well, yes and no. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always felt that writing down your thoughts is a great way to understand them better and writing this journal helped me to gather my ideas and put them into categories. That was wonderful and I feel slightly smarter because of it. However, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s everything a private journal does. On the negative side, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a part of me that worries about the response this article will receive, despite anything I wrote earlier about having no fears of public disapproval. Will people â&#x20AC;&#x153;getâ&#x20AC;? my humor? And thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where this journal being in the public domain makes it less
effective. People shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to worry about their true thoughts and feelings. If you feel it, write it down. Do you think that relationship turned out to be a major disappointment? Write it down. Cheat on a test and feel guilty? Write it down. You find out that your best friend has herpes, became pregnant and plans to drop out of school to become a unicycle saleswoman? Write it down. Your thoughts are your own and some of the most precious things you have. However, if you feel like writing private things about people in your online journalâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a private or public online journalâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;you need to think about your words before publishing them. Words have an effect. buzz
Twelfth Night BY JEFF NELSON | CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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he famous Russian composer Tchaikovsky, wrote music that is widely known and popular all over the world. Thursday, Feb. 19, The Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will perform a concert with an all-Tchaikovsky program at 7:30 p.m. at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. This internationally acclaimed group has toured all over the world. The group performed at Krannert once before, in 1999, while on a 34-city tour of the United States. This year, the group is touring under the direction of conductor Sergey Kondrashev with a special guest, pianist Yuri Rozum. Rozum is a well-educated musician, but for many years he had a difficult time in his career. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Soviet authorities did not allow Rozum to travel outside the Soviet bloc countries for religious and political reasons,â&#x20AC;? said Tammey Kikta, public information director for Krannert Center. After about six years, he was given permission to travel again and soon after was winning awards and competitions in several countries. Now he is recognized for the talented musician he is and continues his career on an international level. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am very excited about the pianist,â&#x20AC;? Kikta said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He is becoming more public in a global sense.â&#x20AC;? There will be a free concert prep session in conjunction with the performance from 6:45 to 7:15 p.m. in the Caldwell Playhouse. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is like oral program notes,â&#x20AC;? said Kikta. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It gives the music a bit of historical context.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Classical music events are at the core of this center,â&#x20AC;? Kikta said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are coming up on 35 years in town, and we have strongly supported classical music events since we opened.â&#x20AC;?
To complement the orchestra, the chorus will sing the original Russian songs from which Tc h a i k o v s k y derived his music. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The idea of creating the Moscow State Radio S y m p h o n y Orchestra and Chorus came in 1978 as an outgrowth of the need for the symphonic repertoire of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries to be broadYuri Rozum: Pianist playing with the Moscow State Radio Symphony cast throughout the Orchestra and Chorus. Russias for the benefit o f i t s c i t i z e n s , â&#x20AC;? C o l u m b i a A r t i s t s following year due to the Russiansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sympathies for the Serbian cause. The piece Management Inc. (CAMI) said. The chorus is a prized possession of was especially written for a charity conRussiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, specializing in operatic, sym- cert that would benefit the soldiers phonic and sacred music, according to wounded during the war.â&#x20AC;? The final selection is the â&#x20AC;&#x153;1812 Festival CAMI. The orchestra, often joined by the chorus, has played in most of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Overture, Op. 49.â&#x20AC;? In June 1880, capitals. They also developed an educa- Tchaikovskyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friend and mentor, Nicolai tional program to teach young audiences Rubinstein, suggested the composer write in Russia more about â&#x20AC;&#x153;symphonic and a new work for the forthcoming AllRussian Art and Industrial Exhibition to choral repertoire.â&#x20AC;? For Thursdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concert, there are at be held in Moscow. After much prodding, least two familiar pieces, Kikta said: the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tchaikovsky finally decided to combine opening and closing selections, which two of Rubinsteinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suggestions and, on many people will recognize. The first Oct. 12, he began to write an overture to selection of the event will be â&#x20AC;&#x153;Marche mark the consecration of the new cathes l a v e ( S l a v o n i c M a r c h ) , O p . 3 1 . â&#x20AC;? dral (Moscowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral of Christ the A c c o r d i n g t o C o l u m b i a A r t i s t s Savior),â&#x20AC;? according to CAMI. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tchaikovsky is a major Russian comManagementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notes, Tchaikovsky composed this piece in 1876. They say the poser and having a Russian orchestra play piece â&#x20AC;&#x153;owes its origins to the Serbo- his music is a special experience,â&#x20AC;? Kikta Turkish war which began that year, and said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It brings a special cultural distincwhich was to become Russian-Turkish the tion to the music.â&#x20AC;? buzz
PHOTOS COURTESY OF COLUMBIA ARTISTS MANAGEMENT INC.
Russian composer comes back to life at Krannert BY SUZANNE SITRICK | STAFF WRITER
William Shakespeare
ating from around 1600, Shakespeareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Twelfth Night is one of his earliest and most enduring comedies, with a significant touch of darkness. Using a plot device borrowed from the Roman comedic playwright Plautus, Shakespeare uses the physical likeness of a twin brother and sister to cause more confusion in the kingdom of Illyria, where much distress is already in place. Add to that the subplot that the twin brother and sister each believe the other to be dead as they mix with a very devious collection of servants and hangers-on at a countessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s court, and you have confused, frustrated love with a healthy mix of antiestablishment practical, drunken jokes. Though the Bard borrowed from Plautus and earlier Italian comedies, the musical elements, poetry and humor are very much of his own idiom. With the addition of the dark, anti-establishment edge, you have a unique piece of theater; a very funny, lyrical and dark comedy. Such extraordinary material is any directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s delight and any directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s challenge. The current production at Urbanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Krannert Center under the experienced Shakespearean hand of director Robert G. Anderson goes for the laughs with a strong sense of the lyrical and sensual. Using modern dress and modern songâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;after all, variations on â&#x20AC;&#x153;hey, nonnie nonnieâ&#x20AC;? do seem a bit dated in any contextâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Anderson and his lively and musical student cast overcome a talky first scene and almost sing and run their way through the Bardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comedy. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an appropriately rearranged Studio Theatre, with versatile sets that are almost props and enough room to let this young cast romp. If the darker moments donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dominate this production, it is in the spirit of what director Anderson has found with his splendidly youthful and talented cast: Take your strong suit and play it. Here is an ensemble just bursting with song, sensuality and in-your-face humor. Why defer to the dark side when have such players? If Malvolioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plight gets a few too many laughs, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remember Shakespeare was not against taking down a bloated bureaucrat who lived on his exaggerated self-importance. Sometimes, such a fall from grace can be just plain funny. Maybe the University of Houston will stage this with an Enron setting some day? Meanwhile, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hesitate to get in that â&#x20AC;&#x153;callâ&#x20AC;? line for tickets at Krannert on weekends until Feb. 22. Call 333-6280 or visit www.kran-tix@uiuc.edu.
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FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com
MEETINGS & WORKSHOPS
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2004 Conference on Strategic Growth for Businesses & Entrepreneurs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Over 20 hours of valuable growth strategies for businesses and entrepreneurs for the average price of an hour of consulting. Feb 26. Hawthorn Suites, 8am-5:30pm. Register online at www.cugrow.biz. 2004 Art Exhibition Series Call for Artists â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Champaign Park District is seeking local visual artists to apply for this exciting new venue at the Springer Cultural Center. Exhibits strive to present artistic and ethnic diversity of Champaign Urbana and surrounding area artists. Now-Mar 19. For more information, call 398-2376. Loose Womyn Discussion Group â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Discussion topics are loose, the womyn need not be. This Thursday, the group will discuss the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. 7pm. Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd. For more information, call 3519011. Bilingual Convotable â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A La Casa event, free and open to everyone. Are you learning Spanish and want to practice it with native Spanish speakers? Are you a native Spanish speaker and want to improve your English communications skills with native English speakers? Try the Bilingual Convotable. Every Tue, 4-6 pm, in the Living Room of LCCL. McKinley Health Resource Site â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Every Wednesday from 2-5 pm, representatives from the Special Populations Program will be at La Casa. Cold packs, wound packs, at-home pregnancy testing kits and condoms are available. It's confidential, but bring your Student ID. Will be held at La Casa in room 204 LCCL. Fiesta Committee Meetings â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Tuesdays at 6 pm, the annual Latina/o cultural show that educates and entertains. If you are interested in the FIESTA committee or want to perform, attend these meetings. Meetings will be held in the LCCL Conference Room. F.A.S.T. Track Workshop â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Freshman Advantage Study Tactics for high school freshmen provides tips on how to take better notes, develop good study aids and organize time. Parkland campus. Saturday, 10am-12pm. The fee is $25. Register by Fri. For more information, call 351-2546. F.A.S.T. Track Parent Discussion Group â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Parents whose son or daughter is learning study skills in the F.A.S.T. Track program can explore their role in reinforcing these new skills. Participants preview students' class material and talk with other parents about ways to support the incoming freshmen during their high school experience. Parkland campus. Saturday, 10am-12pm. The fee is $20. Register by Fri. For more information, call 351-2546. Job Search Workshop: Interviewing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Parkland is offering a free workshop in job interviewing Thursday at 12pm to anyone in the district. Workshop will meet in room C123. For more information, call 351-2536. Scuba Clinics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventures is holding six-session clinics March 2 and April 13, 6-8pm at the IMPE pool. Instruction includes details about gear and equipment, water entries, surface dives, use of mask, fins, and snorkel, the science of scuba diving, and in-the-pool training with tanks. This class is the initial instruction to acquire your diving card. Advanced registration is required. The fee is $200 for UI students/Campus Rec members and $235 for non-members/general public. For registration and more information, call 333-TRI or, visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu. Lunch Break Strength Training â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Squeeze a workout into your busy schedule by joining this noontime fitness class. This 30-minute workout will include strength training and mat-based exercises. Springer Cultural Center. Meets Tuesdays & Thursdays 12:15-12:45pm. Fee is $30. For more information, call 398-2376.
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Tai Chi Specialty classes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Tai Chi is a traditional Chinese exercise/martial art discipline that has been in existence for many centuries. The art is based on slow and gentle movements, which are designed to exercise every joint and muscle in the body, with an emphasis on internal energy development, or "Chi", for health maintenance. Develop internal energy and increase body awareness, focus, flexibility, circulation, balance, strength and coordination. Advanced registration is required. The cost for the course is $70 for 12 classes. UI Campus Recreation will hold these classes Tuesdays, 7-8:30pm in 120 IMPE. Session II will be Mar 30-May 6. To register, call 333-3806 or visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu/schedules/specialty. Iyengar Yoga Specialty classes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A form of Hatha Yoga, the Iyengar tradition places special focus on developing strength, stamina, flexibility, and balance as well as concentration and meditation. Advanced registration is required. The cost for the course is $60 for 6 classes. UI Campus Recreation will hold these classes on Sundays, 4:15-5:45pm in 120 IMPE. Session II will be April 4-May 9. To register, call 333-3806 or visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu/schedules/specialty. Beginner Racquetball Clinics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; All clinics are designed for beginners. The clinics are hosted by John Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell, U.S. Open Champion and certified AmPro Instructor, along with Bill Williamson, certified AmPro Instructor. Clinic participants will learn scoring, rules of the game, basic skills and strategies. Advanced registration is required for the free classes. UI Campus Recreation is holding these free clinics for UI students and Campus Rec members on Feb 24 and March 2, 16 & 30, 7-8:30pm on IMPE racquetball courts 17 & 18. To register, call 333-3806 or visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu. Spring Break Trips â&#x20AC;&#x201C; UI Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventures will host two trips. Backpack through the Smoky Mountains Mar 20-27. Enjoy five days of backpacking, which includes hiking along some of the over 900 miles of trails that weave within the beauty of the many flora and fauna of these high elevation mountains. The fee for the Smoky Mountain trip is $350 for UI students/Campus Rec members and $450 for nonmembers/general public. Or, take the Canoe Trip to Everglades National Park Mar 20-28, which inclides camping and canoeing along parts of the Wilderness Waterway, a 99-mile trail from Everglades City to Flamingo, and among the coastal islands in the Gulf of Mexico. The fee for the Everglades trip is $400 for UI students/Campus Rec members and $500 for nonmembers/general public. A meeting will be held at the Outdoor Center this Tuesday, 3-5pm. To register or for more information, call 333-TRIP or visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu. Dance Workshop â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Want to learn how to Salsa or practice Merengue? Come to the free workshops. No experience necessary. Workshops are conducted by Eliana Manero. Everyone is welcome. La Casa Cultural Latina (LCCL) living room. Thursdays and Sundays, 7-9pm. For more information, contact lacasa@uiuc.edu. Basic Scrapbooking â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Choose a theme, organize photos, and pick one of 12 embossed scrapbooks. Hands-on instruction by Desiree Jones utilizes many scrapbook tools and accessories, such as eyelets, die-cuts, stickers, embellishments, and more. Finish the class with a completed scrapbook and the technique and skill to create many more. Class will meet Mar 6 from 1-4pm in room D105 on the Parkland campus. The fee is $50. Call 3512546 for more information. Registration deadline is this Friday.
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Home Buyer's Seminar â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Learn important steps in the home buying process including pre-qualification, inspection, and closing. Class will meet Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1315 N. Mattis Ave., in Champaign. The course fee is $20 for individuals or same-household couples and includes a workbook. Call 351-2235 to register.
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Foundation of Teamwork â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Competition demands that organizations do more, in a shorter response time, with fewer resources. Participants will identify their communication style and develop plans to build better working relationships with other team members. Class meets Thursday from 8:30am12:30pm at 1315 N Mattis Ave, Champaign. Course fee is $110. To register, call 351-2235.
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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 19-25, 2004
The Impact of Race on Theatre and Culture – Woodie King, Jr., Producing Director, New Federal Theatre, New York will give this CAS/MillerComm lecture. The lecture will be given on Mar 3 at 5pm on the Third Floor, Levis Faculty Center, 919 West Illinois Street, Urbana. All CAS/MillerComm events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the George A. Miller Committee at 333-6729 or the CAS events line at 333-1118 or web information at http://www.cas.uiuc.
Border Crossers Discussion Group – Exploring the works of international authors. Feb 26 at 7pm, the group will discuss the book When Elephants Dance by Filipino-American Author Tess Uriza Holthe. Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd in Champaign. For questions, call 351-9011.
Reinventing the Wheel: Original Capitalism in Dracula Land – Andrei Codrescu, MacCurdy Distinguished Professor of English, Louisiana State University; National Public Radio commentator will give this CAS/MillerComm lecture. The lecture will be given on Mar 8 at 7:30pm in Smith Memorial Hall Auditorium, 805 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana. All CAS/MillerComm events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the George A. Miller Committee at 333-6729 or the CAS events line at 333-1118 or web information at http://www.cas.uiuc.
Sunday Zen Meditation Meeting – Prairie Zen Center, 515 S Prospect, Champaign, NW corner of Prospect & Green, enter through door from parking area. Introduction to Zen sitting, 10am; full schedule: Service at 9am followed by sitting, Dharma Talk at 11 followed by tea until about noon. Can arrive at any of the above times, open to all, no experience needed, no cost. For information, call 355-8835 or www.prairiezen.org.
MIND BODY SPIRIT
Prairie Sangha for Mindfullness Meditation – Monday evenings from 7:309pm and monthly retreats on Sunday. Theravadan (Vipassana) and Tibetan (Vjrayana & Dzogchen) meditation practice. Meets in Urbana. For more information, call or email Tom at 356-7413 or shayir@soltec.net. www.prairiesangha.org.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Sexual Assault Crisis Advocacy – A Woman’s Fund is seeking volunteers to serve as advocates for our 24-hour hotline and 24-hour medical/legal Advocacy programs. Contact Michelle Clutts at train4rcs@yahoo.com. Camp Activity Assistants – Volunteers will assist coordinator with craft, movement, cooking and other fun activities. Thomasboro students have the opportunity to attend camp during Spring Break (March 15-18). For more information, contact Lisa Comstock at 643-3275.
By Lorraine Hansberry Directed by Shirley Basfield Dunlap With guest artist Cheryl Lynn Bruce
Mar 4-14 KrannertCenter.com 217.333.6280
Associated lecture: "The Impact of Race on Theatre and Culture" by Woodie King, Jr., Producing Director, New Federal Theatre, New York. Mar 3, 5pm Levis Center, 919 W Illinois, Urbana
Celebration of African American Month – We would like to have one or two African American fraternities or sororities come to our school and do a short "Step" performance for our children. 75 percent of the children that we serve are African American and we would like to expose them to some role models of our community and think this would be a great way to do it. We are also looking for Black males that would like to come to the classrooms and read to the children on a one time basis. Contact Maggie Rodriguez-Nieto at 351-3711. Computer Lab Assistant – Generations of Hope in Rantoul which serves at-risk youth working with senior citizens, is seeking volunteers to help the kids with computer activities in their computer lab on any weekday between 3:30-5:30. Contact Carolyn Casteel at 893-4673.
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Supported, in part, by the Frances P. Rohlen Visiting Artists Fund/College of Fine and Applied Arts and the Chancellor’s Brown v. Board of Education Jubilee Commemorative Committee.
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FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | “DOUGHNUTS ... IS THERE ANYTHING THEY CAN’T DO?”
Loose Womyn Discussion Group – Discussion topics are loose, the womyn need not be. This Thursday at 7pm, the group will discuss the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd in Champaign. For questions, call 351-9011.
Mediators Needed – Are you interested in assisting others in resolving conflict? The Office for Student Conflict Resolution is accepting applications forvolunteer mediators. We offer free extensive training for students to become Mediators. The training session will be held Feb 20-22. You must be able to attend the entire training session. The deadline to receive applications is this Friday. Please applyearly – there are a limited number of spaces available. You will be notified by Tuesday, if you have been selected to participate. Apply online at http://www.conflictresolution.uiuc.edu. Email conflictresolution@uiuc.edu with questions.
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BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER January 29: “It all begins.” Current mood: Apprehensive Current song: “Kodachrome” – Paul Simon As a society, we are pinned as individualistic and materialistic. In the wake of such business decisions as Bank One Corp. partnering up with J.P. Morgan at the expense of many—including 2004 University graduates and family members of University students past and present— the business world shows that greed is God. However, in a world where our supposed leaders are ruthless and uncaring, a new trend emerges: needy little Americans who rely on live journals to make themselves feel better. Now, before you consider this purely offensive, I ask that you read on. I have presented my bias and will now begin a week of commentary, presented in journal format, to see if indeed writing private thoughts into the public domain is cathartic, as psychology tells me. Will informing people I’ve never met that I feel sad because that girl at CO’s dissed me REALLY make me feel better? And do I really need to make it public rather than putting it in a private, personal journal? Well, I’m willing to give it a shot. What follows is a few days in the life of Jason Cantone: my thoughts, my dreams and my desire to dissect a trend taking colleges by storm. January 30: “Everything categorized” Current mood: Inquisitive Current song: “Perfect Gentleman” – Wyclef Jean Every journal has a long list of favorites somewhere. Whether about music, movies, politicians or animals, everything’s fair game for a favorite list. However, one common thread ties the lists together: they’re always wrong. No matter how closely a person agrees with you, there is always something out of
place. I had the great opportunity of publishing my list of the top 20 movies of all time in December. However, if I read in an online journal the EXACT SAME list this month, I would be disappointed. It’s our intrinsic nature to always change. We like being a mobile culture and maybe that’s why online journals are so relaxing. People get a chance to slow life down a little and actually think, which is becoming a lost art in our modern society where technology thinks for you. If you don’t agree, just try to remember the last time you did long division and didn’t complain about not being able to use a calculator. With my definition of favorite (which changes so rapidly, it’s pointless to put in print), I chose Casablanca. Maybe you agree, maybe you don’t. Either way, I’m used to people disagreeing with me. However, most people want others’ approval. Only the fanatics go out on proverbial limbs and say things such as “That Tinky Winky Teletubby is gay!” (Rev. Jerry Falwell). For the rest of us, we cling to the hope that there’s someone else out there who watches Deep Blue Sea at least once a month, enjoys the music of Journey, finds The English Patient to be one of the most boring films this side of watching paint dry, or watches 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray to turn her cooking instructions into sexually suggestive remarks. Or maybe it’s just me. The thing is: Although I’m used to people disagreeing with me, it’d be nice to know there’s someone else out there who wants to watch Deep Blue Sea tonight with Journey playing in the background. Any takers? January 31: “Love, love, love” Current mood: Happy Current song: “My Biznatch is the Shiznit” – Tenacious D Well, it happened. To all of those out there who believe they are doomed to never love again and wander the world hopeless and alone ... well, I don’t really
care about you because I’m not one of you losers anymore. I found love this semester in the most unusual of places: the men’s bathroom at the English building. Okay, that might sound homo-erotic—not that there’s anything wrong with that, as Jerry Seinfeld would quip—but in actuality it isn’t. I decided to take a chance and call a phone number scratched into the stall wall. It said her name was Amanda and that she wanted someone intelligent who was looking for a cool girl, and I figured I fit those two very strict descriptions, so I gave it a ring. In society, we’re told that we’re vain and only looks matter, so I wondered, Would I be able to carry off a relationship without even seeing the girl? Well, why not? What else would I do with my time? I had nothing to lose, so I kept calling until she eventually picked up the phone on my 47th attempt. Her voice was sweet and soft like the little bear that sells toilet paper in commercials. Her tone was sensual like one of those ads I saw in Vegas for female entertainment. Her word choice was perfect, like a 1600 on the SAT or a 0.4 blood alcohol level. Her voice inflection was ... well, you get the picture. I haven’t had a date in a while so I was excited talking to this girl. I began talking to her about movies and music. When I brought up movies, she began to tell me that we could make one together for the right price. I was confused. Why? Was she going to co-write and perform a play with me on tape? And why would I pay her to do it? When I talked about music, she said she liked to “do it” to Barry White the best. I was becoming perplexed. “Do what?” I asked her. “Make movies,” she replied. It kept going in this roundabout manner. She wanted me to pay her to make a movie with Barry White playing in the background. I mean, if she wanted to become a director, she could join one of the film clubs on campus. Then she asked my size and I told her 35. She oohed and ahhed about something but then seemed
instantaneously disappointed when she realized that was my waist size. You know, I just don’t understand girls. You tell them something and they just get confused. I was trying to have a normal conversation and I ended up calling up a possible theater major with a fetish for guys’ waist sizes. February 1: “Super Bowl Sunday” Current mood: Angry Current song: “Super Bowl Shuffle” – Chicago Bears a.k.a. “The Bears’ Shufflin’ Crew” Julie got pregnant at age 16. Bill has crabs (no, not the type you keep as a pet). These seem like rather personal stories, but are just a sample of vignettes I found while researching online journals. I have changed the names of the people involved, but this major question came to mind: Why do I feel like it’s my duty to change their names while their supposed friends blabber on about their secrets with no regard for privacy? When my grandma and I watch Jerry Springer together, she always says people should “keep their secrets where they belong: at home.” Of course, things like sexual molestation and all that jazz shouldn’t be kept at home, but there are many things meant to be held private. When fraternity or sorority members tell stories at house meetings, the stories are supposed to stay in the confines of the house ... but that still doesn’t mean the stories don’t go into personal journals which could become public displays. Sure, with freedom of speech, you can write anything you want if it’s true, but there’s a level of common decency you should display if it’s your friend. Knowing this journal can be read by people I don’t know, I would never expose secrets (whether u s i n g f a k e n a m e s o r n o t ) . B u t that doesn’t stop Bill’s friend, who even included the crab-infested buddy’s last name for further effect. continued on page 8
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FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
Boneyard PotteryO Gallery & A owner Michael
MichaelSchwegmann
What is your favorite part of the job? My favorite part of my job is throwing pots, which is when you use a pottery wheel to form and shape pots. It’s a very meditative and soothing experience. I am able to think about anything and really relax. At first, it can be difficult and frustrating, but once you learn how, it becomes very relaxing. What happens during a normal pottery class? I hold private lessons, not really public classes, which allow people to come in with any kind of question, and we work together to figure things out. They usually want to learn about making pots and I talk with the person to help them in their particular area. These generally work on an individual basis. When is your next show and what type of pottery will appear in it?
Schwegmann did not realize his interest in pottery and ceramics until college. After taking a few classes at Kalamazoo (Mich.) College, Schwegmann left school and accepted an apprenticeship to learn the ins and outs of the pottery business. Schwegmann moved to Champaign to finish his degree and opened Boneyard Pottery in 1999.
For the entire month of February, all of my original work is 50 percent off, which is a great deal for the artwork in the gallery. In April, there will be the annual art festival, which is the local art show and my work will appear there, too. If you weren’t a potter, what would you want to do?
I get lots of my inspiration by looking at other old pots, usually from the Chinese or Japanese style. For my sculpturing, I study the human form, industrial objects, architecture and other metals.
I would probably be another type of artist. I also like working with construction and building houses, and since I have built houses before, I would find this to be an interesting job as well. I enjoy different kinds of arts, so I would probably want a job within that area.
What style of pottery would you say you create?
What do you like to do in your free time?
I would call my work contemporary art pottery. Some of the art pieces serve a particular function and others, such as sculptures, have mainly an aesthetic content for people to enjoy.
I enjoy remodeling projects and, as I mentioned before, I have worked on building houses. I like to read and write, but I spend lots of my time working at the business. I really haven’t been bored since I was 18.
Where do you get your inspiration for creating the pottery?
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family, her mother and grandparents were the DESPERATION only ones who regularly attended church. Johnson stopped attending church as a Most of all, Johnson chooses not to talk teenager because it bored her. She believes about assisting with abortions with her people can be good without being religious. younger stepsister, Irene. Though Irene is her “She always told me when I was older, ‘If stepsister, Irene and Johnson were raised you get pregnant, you’ll have it. You’ll just put together from the time Irene’s father started it up for adoption,’” Johnson said. “I couldn’t dating Johnson’s mother. Irene was a toddler do anything that would reflect bad on her then. As with her older sister, Johnson has because she was so big around town, and I’ve always been close with Irene. always known that. I’ve never wanted to do But Irene is very sensitive when it comes to anything that would embarrass her or any- the issue of children. Irene has one child thing like that.” already but is desperate for another. She is But, as with her finally pregnant again grandparents, after three years of futility Johnson and her and fertility drug specialIt’s a touchy subject and mother have ists, but the family is always had a lovholding its breath. Her I don’t like to go there. You never ing relationship. problem isn’t getting know when you’re standing Johnson considers pregnant; it’s carrying the in some checkout line, there her mother to be baby to term. one of the nicest Johnson feels that to talk could be some insane person people she knows. with Irene about the 15 to standing next to you. Pat never has an 25 abortions she assists unkind word to say with each week would be Sharon Johnson about anyone, even needlessly cruel. her ex-husband “Sometimes I’m just on who left her for another woman before meltdown mode, and I get overwhelmed,” Johnson’s third birthday. Johnson said. “(Irene) knows basically, but I Johnson’s father began cheating on her don’t go into detail and I don’t say how bad it mother shortly after Johnson was born. He actually is. We’re light and funny. My older never really wanted children. sister is the one I dump the bad stuff on, not Johnson’s father never had much time for my little one. My little one is too lighthearted his two daughters when they were young, but and fun. I don’t ever want to pull her down.” he made up for his absence to Johnson as she And perhaps more than anything else in grew older. Now they are close. She stops by Johnson’s life—more than the choice her his house almost every day for coffee and father made to move out when she was born, conversation. more than Steve’s choice to marry the woman “My dad never wanted kids anyway and he accidentally impregnated—Johnson’s sisimagine being stuck with two girls when you ter’s struggle to have children has shaped didn’t really want kids,” Johnson said. “He Johnson’s growing distaste for helping to perdid the best he could.” form abortions. She also can’t discuss her work with Steve, “I think too that my sister’s desperate her boyfriend. He’s not religious, but he’s struggle has made it even harder to me against abortion. He once got a girl pregnant. because to (some of) these people it’s like He and Johnson were dating at the time, but taking out the trash, and I don’t see it that he broke up with Johnson to marry the girl he way,” Johnson said. “I see multiple trips to impregnated. Four years later, his wife died fertility clinics and heartbreaking miscarand he and Johnson got back together. riage and problems with her depression and Scott, Steve’s son who lives with them, was desperation. the result of that pregnancy. Scott doesn’t “I’ve never seen anybody want something know that Johnson assists with abortions. so bad as she wants that.” It’s difficult for Furthermore, Steve is squeamish. He does- Johnson to see the pain wanting a child causn’t like seeing blood or talking about medical es her sister, and then at work each week to issues. He doesn’t like any type of confronta- also see the pain not wanting a child causes tion at all. other women. Johnson gets letters regularly at “If I have some sort of problem, I attack it,” her clinic from couples hoping to adopt chilJohnson said. “I’m on top of it where he’s the dren. The letters plead with Johnson to tell opposite. He’ll just stick his head in the sand women considering having abortions to let and pretend it’s not there until it turns into a the couples adopt their babies instead. real mess. He’s the wimpy one out of the two It’s difficult for Johnson to reconcile her of us by far.” sympathies for these couples, for her sister Johnson has always been the strong one. and for women who have abortions. The best She has always done what needed to be done, she can do is just keep her feelings to herself. whether she wanted to or not. In six years, she She doesn’t say anything to her younger sister. has never called in sick to work. She doesn’t say anything to anyone. She “I just see her as being a very strong per- assists with abortions to make ends meet. She son,” Tara said of her younger sister. “She does it because she believes in a woman’s doesn’t take anything from anyone. If she right to choose. melts, she does it in private where people “You think, ‘We’re all allowed mistakes,’” buzz don’t see her.” Johnson said.
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CITY OF GOD
★★★★ BY MATT PAIS | LEAD REVIEWER
C
ertain stories are so intertwined with their setting that they essentially could not be told in any other part of the world. Under the Tuscan Sun and The Talented Mr. Ripley are as vivid an advertisement for Italian gregariousness as any brochure—except for the murderous identity stealing, of course— and those films turn their locations into more than just scenery; in these cases, the surroundings become characters. This has seldom been as accurate as in City of God, a violently gripping portrait of Brazilian slums that makes the South Central ghettos of Boyz N the Hood look like the Magic Kingdom. Directed by surprise Oscar nominee Fernando Meirelles, this troubling story of an impoverished Rio de Janeiro community called the “City of God” has an electric firepower that’s like Boyz crossed with Goodfellas and Fresh with a splash of Y Tu Mama Tambien. That’s because City of God, which focuses on
moviereview
THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE ★★★★ BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER
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FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | THE FRENCH FINALLY GIVE US A GOOD CARTOON
ith Finding Nemo, Pixar cemented its affiliation with Disney and proved that a film about a fish can ride a tidal wave of critical praise into becoming the most successful film of 2003. Yet after Finding Nemo began breaking DVD sales records, Pixar and Disney reportedly split, begging the question: What’s next for the world of animated film? Hollywood critics claim that hand-drawn animated films aren’t pulling their weight anymore, and that Pixar heralded a new directive for animation: Go CGI or bust. However, those critics are prone to neglect factors contributing to each film’s success or failure. Technological marvels such as Finding Nemo and Shrek boasted brilliant writing and an unusual surge of energy that catapulted them to fame. Handdrawn animation films such as Dreamworks’ star-heavy but interest-lacking Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas are awful and worthy of critical and commercial disdain. Thankfully, foreign films such as last year’s Oscar-winning Spirited Away and this year’s The Triplets of Belleville
a young, well-intentioned boy (Alexandre Rodrigues) and the escalating gang war around him, treats Brazil as a living, breathing thing that is perishing beneath an everlasting wave of robberies, drug deals and murders. The City of God has no electricity or transportation, and there’s no running water. Instead, the sweaty, shirtless children run rampant, joining gangs and declaring themselves men long before they sprout any hair on their itchy trigger fingers. Drug lords pay police to look the other direction, and kids light up joints with the casualness of a 9-year-old drinking a juice box. Ruling over the city is Li’l Ze (Leandro Firmino), a merciless gangster who gnashes his teeth and flares his nostrils like a charging bull whenever someone challenges his authority. Based on real life events as chronicled in Paulo Lins’s novel, Braulio Mantovani’s Oscarnominated script jumps in and out of storylines, connecting the history of every misguided youth in the City of God with an unsympathetic strand of sealed fate. While many choose their own street nicknames, virtually no one chooses a different destiny than a blood-soaked life on the streets. Just as in the great American crime dramas, kingpins are only as powerful as the public is scared, and the City of God is ruled by a raging culture of fear and gunfire. This is a shocking portrayal of social anarchy, an unflinching insight into a doomed environment that’s as provocative and necessary as any early ‘90s urban drama. There’s a touch of
have arrived in America to reinvigorate the world of hand-drawn animation. Rarely does the word intoxicating serve as a compliment, but The Triplets of Belleville opens with a rousing revue that successfully mimics the Betty Boop era of Hollywood animation and never stops chugging along throughout its short 80 minutes. To call Triplets a musical would be akin to calling Spider-man an insect documentary. Although the film has an exciting soundtrack and an Oscar-nominated theme song prone to be lodged in every viewer’s mind for days, dialogue is almost non-existent, and the theme song comes out only through bits and pieces during the narrative. Although the opening features caricatures of Fred Astaire and Josephine Baker, these relics of Hollywood’s past still seem provocative, especially as Baker’s caricature dances topless in an animalistic manner worthy of a NAACP protest. The film focuses on benevolent Madame Sousa, who aims to make Bruno’s life one filled with the splendor of cycling. Training him day in and day out, she uses appliances such as a vacuum, an egg beater and a lawn mower to tone him into shape. Then one day when he is in a race, the French Mafia (caricatured as shoulderless monstrosities of men protecting small bosses) captures Bruno to create a sidebetting arena where mob bosses force bikers to race in front of a movie screen simulating a race. Madame Sousa, along with the fattest dog in animated history, makes her way to Belleville to save Bruno. The concept of losing a child and then employing a comic relief animal to find him and
Movie News Compiled by Jason Cantone
MIRAMAX
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2/18/04
CITY OF GOD | ALEXANDERE RODRIGUES Scorcese-Singleton familiarity, but Meirelles’s film is nearly as scorching as the legendary cinematic investigations into violent underworlds to which City of God sometimes bears resemblance. In tackling a complex socio-political structure of poverty, corruption and terror, the film creates an atmosphere of spiraling futility around its characters, who have to go deeper into the city’s criminal epidemic if they want any chance of getting out. Every time a member of a gang, or anyone, really, is killed, there are more, younger kids to take his place, ready to claim his spot as the next respected killer. In one hauntingly unforgettable scene, Li’l Ze shoots a pair of young disciples in the foot and, for a moment, watches them sob, as any adolescent would after getting shot by a murderous drug dealer. Throughout City of God, you’ll wonder how this city could be real, pray that it isn’t, and thank God it’s not yours.
Penelope Cruz is petrified of being famous. She announced this week she might pull out of the Oscars because she’s afraid of people looking at her. Well, someone needs to start a pity party for her. It must be tough being considered beautiful and glamorous and rolling in millions of dollars alongside current love muffin Tom Cruise. Poor her. Russell Crowe is reportedly being considered by producers to become the next James Bond after Pierce Brosnan’s successful reign ends following the next film. It isn’t that casting Crowe would be awful, it’s just that ... well, yes, it would just be awful. In addition, Clive Owen said he was no longer interested because he has already played a similar role in car commercials. Maybe he should be giving tips to Penelope Cruz, because he’s doing a phenomenal job at ruining any chance of his becoming famous. Male nudity seems to be the newest thing in Hollywood. After the excessive amount of fullfrontal male nudity in this upcoming weekend’s Eurotrip, Ewan “I’ve already been naked in The Pillow Book” McGregor announced he will give Americans another look at his light saber in Young Adam. Expect future male nudity in the NC-17 The Dreamers as well.
C-UViews
Compiled by Roderick Gedey
50 First Dates ★★★★ SONY PICTURES
021904buzz0623
Britney Jass Champaign
THE TRIPLETTS OF BELVILLE remove him from captivity might sound like a particular fish film, but this is definitely an animated film for adults. That isn’t to say Triplets is a sexual opus like the terrible Cool World, but the film’s PG-13 rating most likely comes from the topless dance. The film also employs tongue-in-cheek parodies of Disney and American culture, particularly with a gluttonous Statue of Liberty who’s stuffing a burger down her throat. The animation continues the gluttonous depictions of people as every woman seems to weigh more than 1,000 pounds and has breasts the size of watermelons. In the opposite vein, one of the supporting characters is portrayed as a mouse of a man, both through his size and his constant squeaking. Through these humorous visuals and a plot line that brings joy into the dull world of Belleville, Triplets of Belleville is a crowning achievement of animation that Hollywood should take notice of before Americans go across the seas for the next Walt Disney-esque production.
“It was really good."
★★★★ Nikki Leonard Champaign
"The animals were cuter (than Drew Barrymore)."
★★★★ Rich Johnson Champaign
"Adam Sandler (was funnier than the walruses)."
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ROMANTIC COMEDY: THE ESTRANGED LOVE CHILD OF ROMANCE AND COMEDY | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
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COLUMBIA PICTURES
The perfect evening at the movies 50 FIRST DATES | DREW BARRYMORE & ADAM SANDLER
moviereview
50 FIRST DATES ★
What it takes to be a good romantic comedy
BY JENNIFER KEAST | STAFF WRITER
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et’s face it: Much like finding the perfect match, finding a truly enjoyable and entertaining romantic comedy that both girls and guys alike will enjoy can be quite a challenge. Girls love to watch them and guys love to pretend they don’t. Ever wish you could place a personal ad to find a quality romantic comedy? If one were to write an ad for the perfect “RomCom,” it might look something like this:
BY JENNIFER KEAST | STAFF WRITER
F
irst there was the romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle. Over the years, it has become a classic movie for romance lovers everywhere. Then came the Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks reunion movie You’ve Got Mail, which was neither as good nor as popular. Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore follow in the reunion footsteps of Hanks and Ryan. First they starred in the charming and funny Sandler/Barrymore hit The Wedding Singer. Now they’ve tackled 50 First Dates. Sandler stars as Henry Roth, a veterinarian who lives in Hawaii and has a tremendous fear of commitment. That is, of course, until he meets Lucy Whitmore (Barrymore) and instantly falls in love with her. Their first “date” goes well until Henry discovers that Lucy suffers from short-term memory loss and loses all her new memories. This leaves Henry to win her heart over and over and over and over (and over) again—at least once each day. Instead of this being a classic Sandler comedy, Dates ends up being a drawn-out, semi-dramatic tale of a woman who can’t remember the so-called love of her life. After the tenth (or even the second) time of hearing Barrymore utter, “There’s nothing like a first kiss,” it is no longer amusing, just depressing. The on-screen chemistry between Sandler and Barrymore was evident in The Wedding Singer, but in Dates the two appear as if they were meeting for the very first time, which for Barrymore’s character is technically true. The comical scenes in the film—or rather what were supposed to be the comical scenes— were all given away in the trailers. They looked somewhat funny there, but not funny at all on the big screen. What was hilarious, however, was watching Sam from The Lord of the Rings (Sean Astin) act as Lucy’s very dumb and very hopped-up-on-steroids older brother. Surprisingly, he made the transition from hobbit to Hawaiian bum quite smoothly. Sandler movie regulars Rob Schneider and Allen Covert both have roles in the film. It is quite amusing to see the same two actors show up in most of Sandler’s comedies. It works well in many of the films, but this isn’t one of them. And as far as hilarious Sandler films are concerned, this isn’t one of them.
These characteristics make up the typical traits most likely wanted in a romantic comedy. These traits are backed up by RomCom lover and University student Victoria Bitters: “What makes a romantic comedy good is … the quirkiness, the wit and the controlled sappiness without going overboard into saccharine drivel and classless slapstick … A hint of believability for plot is nice, too.” Needless to say, it isn’t easy to find movies that meet these high, somewhat demanding standards. In a sea of horrible RomComs (Crazy/Beautiful and Home Fries come to mind), there are some worthy ones floating about that fit the standards for both women and men:
The Princess Bride (1987) The first worthy movie fits nearly every characteristic of a quality RomCom. The Princess Bride brings to life the humorous, action-packed adventure of a love story written by William Goldman. This movie has it all: fun and sweetness with its old-fashioned “chase the girl through fire and water” motif, without being overly dramatized. The humor is uncanny and light, giving viewers the perfect balance of lightheartedness and laughs, not to mention love. While a young boy (Fred Savage) is stuck in bed, his grandfather (Peter Falk) visits to read the boy his favorite book. Soon he, along with the viewers, is whisked away into a fantasyland of heroes, princes, giants, eels, rodents, swordfights and, of course, romance. The tale revolves around Buttercup (Robin Wright Penn)—a little eye candy for the guys— who falls in love with her farmhand, the gorgeous Westley (Cary Elwes), a little eye candy for the girls. Buttercup learns that Westley’s mutterings of “As you wish” mean “I love you” just as he mys-
teriously disappears at sea as a victim of the Dread Pirate Roberts. Years later, Buttercup is engaged to Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) and is then kidnapped by three oddball characters. As the kidnappers haul Buttercup away, a mystery suitor (Westley, perhaps?) in black follows closely. Fairy tale-like adventures ensue, ending with the ultimate romance.
When Harry met Sally (1989) When Harry met Sally is the classic RomCom everyone should watch. It may be too heavy on the dramatic side, but the underlying theme is one every person can relate to: “Can a man and a woman be friends without sex getting in the way and changing things?” The movie follows Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally’s (Meg Ryan) adult lives as they experience loves and heartbreaks. They continuously cross paths as they search for that perfect someone, triggering a close friendship between them. But as they grow closer, they must decide if the opposite sex can truly just be friends. This film is a classic and it is easy to see why. After all, what guy doesn’t think of Meg Ryan as eye candy? And what girl doesn’t like to see the girl get her best guy friend, even if he does look like Billy Crystal? Ultimately, this movie shows viewers something they all unconsciously know but are too afraid to admit: Being “just friends” with an attractive member of the opposite sex is a very difficult task.
Jerry Maguire (1996) With a line like “You complete me,” this movie has to make the list of quality romantic comedies. Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a sports agent who is tired of the shallowness of his company. He wants to live a more meaningful life and wants his agency to try to do the same. This doesn’t sit well and
Jerry is unceremoniously fired. He finds himself completely alone, with no job, betrayed by his best friend and dumped by his fiancée. But there are two people who stick by him: the mousy Renée Zellweger as his accountant assistant, and Cuba Gooding Jr. as his sole client. We follow Jerry through his struggles at making it on his own, and along the way he discovers there is more to life than being shown the money, like falling in love. Jerry Maguire is a nice mix for all. The sports angle is sure to appeal to the males, along with Cuba Gooding Jr.’s humorous and highly insightful advice about love and life. The romance is sure to do it for the females. Any girl would want to be in Renée’s shoes during her love scenes with Tom. This film shows us what is really important.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999) In the remake of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, viewers will find a gem. A great cast full of attractive actors is at the very least visually pleasing to all. It goes beyond looks, however. This film has personality as well. Not often do we find a RomCom that effectively mixes both good looks and personality. 10 Things I Hate About You features the Stratford sisters: popular Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) and the bitter Kat (Julia Stiles). Their father keeps Bianca from dating until Kat has a date of her own, which is unlikely, considering her bitterness. Bianca sets out determined to find her sister a date so she can have one of her own. This leads to the mysterious Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) being bribed to pursue and win Kat’s heart so that Bianca can date. 10 Things effectively portrays the reality of dating in high school, something that is just a distant past for most viewers. Its lighthearted comedy can captivate just about any audience, tugging at the soul and reminding viewers of the trials, tribulations and excitement of falling in love. 10 Things shows viewers how hard you have to work at love sometimes, as well as how important trust is to a relationship.
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FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
eyes, I have a problem with that,” she said. “I try not to say anything or make any facial (expressions). I just use the poker face and try not to say anything.” All employees of the clinic Johnson works at are supposed to be totally pro-choice, and for the most part, Johnson is. But secretly, Johnson applauds the late-term abortion ban President Bush signed into law last November. Though she thinks the media portray lateterm abortions as more gruesome than they are, she’s glad they’re now illegal. She thinks that a woman who’s already carried the fetus that long should stick it out a few more weeks and put the baby up for adoption. “It’s wrong to wait that long,” Johnson said. “But if they try to go after all (abortions), it’s going to be disastrous. Abortion will always be done. You’re looking at legal and safe or illegal and unsafe because people will always have them.” If the clinic Johnson works for knew she was against late-term abortions, she’d possibly lose her job, though Johnson never assists with abortions past the 14th week of pregnancy. However, it still bothers her to assist with abortions when she can recognize human features. For such abortions, she comforts herself by rationalizing. She tells herself that it is the doctor, not she, who is performing the actual abortion. “The only way I ease my conscience is I just ... this is a job,” Johnson said. “As far as I’m concerned, the person who’s making the choice is the one who’s ultimately accountable.” It also helps that Johnson empathizes with certain patients. On a typical day at the clinic, Johnson runs through a marathon of emotions. She feels sympathy for those who cry through the procedure, torn by the choice they finally make. She empathizes with the older women whose children have already graduated from college and who never thought this could happen to them. She wants to scold the women she sees come back five and six times—who seem to use abortion as a method of birth control. But she says very little. Instead, she assists with abortions one day a week, hiding her feelings from patients and co-workers with an emotionless expression—an expression she calls her “poker face.” “I’ve seen people in there that if I didn’t have such a good poker face, my jaw would probably hit the floor,” Johnson said. “You just don’t know who has to make this decision to do that. People who you would never imagine would have to wind up there, end up there.” THE POKER FACE Johnson uses her poker face not just to protect herself from losing her job, but
also to protect her patients. Because she lives in a small town, Johnson occasionally runs into women who have had abortions at her clinic. Johnson knows a good portion of the town’s citizens. She and her immediate family have all lived in the town almost all of Johnson’s life. They all went to the same lone elementary, middle and high schools together. For many years while growing up, Johnson worked in local stores where she got to know even more of her neighbors. Johnson’s mother Pat is well-known and wellliked throughout the town. Pat can’t so much as go to the grocery store without getting mobbed by friends and acquaintances. Johnson is known to almost everyone as Pat’s daughter. “They were all friends,” Johnson said. “And it’s such a small community that we all went to church together. Everybody played with everybody’s kids; it was very close-knit.” Such closeness is part of the reason Johnson has never strayed too far from her home town, and never expects to. But the familiarity is also somewhat of a double-edged sword for Johnson. It makes keeping a low profile as an abortion nurse difficult and makes for some awkward encounters both at the abortion clinic with women she’s known her whole life, and outside the clinic with women she’s helped perform abortions on. She sees such women at the mall, gas stations and restaurants. Sometimes she bumps into them while she’s out with her friends or family. Some women get abortions and then Johnson sees them later that same day when she’s out shopping. Johnson says nothing when she sees them—for reasons of confidentiality and decency, she said. Usually the women pretend not to know Johnson, or they limit their acknowledgment to eye contact or a nod of the head. Johnson is accustomed to such encounters and makes light of them. “I frequently find it amusing that I’ll catch somebody out of my peripheral vision that’s trying to hide behind some clothes rack or dive behind some display in a store to keep from having to look at me eye to eye,” she said. “But if they want to do that, that’s fine. I don’t care.” Sometimes women who she sees having abortions at the clinic come up to her when they see her out. They say hello, and Johnson returns the pleasantries but tries to keep conversations short.
Such encounters are awkward for Johnson because the family member or friend she is with will ask Johnson how she knows the person. Johnson can’t say. To do so would violate confidentiality rules. Instead, the encounters force Johnson to lie to whomever she’s with. She’ll say she knows the woman from the grocery store or some other innocuous location. Her boyfriend of six years, Steve Clark, and family members eventually caught on to the lies. They’ve learned to no longer ask how Johnson knows the women. Johnson, who’s been working at the clinic for nearly six years, has had plenty of time to perfect her reactions to awkward encounters. But such is not the case for women who recognize Johnson as they walk into her clinic, her territory. “Their eyes get as big as quarters and I can usually see them pale,” Johnson said about the women who recognize her at the clinic. Johnson reassures the women by telling them that she cannot tell outsiders about the visit. She said the reassurances are usually enough to calm the women. Once, a woman recognized Johnson walking into the clinic as she parked her car outside the clinic. The woman, then recently married, was an acquaintance of one of Johnson’s acquaintances. She looked like she was about to step out of her car when she noticed Johnson walking into ILLUSTRATIONS | MARK HAUGE the clinic and Johnson noticed her. The women looked at each other. Johnson waved and kept walking. Johnson walked into the clinic and looked at one of the security cameras that monitors the parking lot. “She kind of settled back so I knew right off what she was there for and that she was thinking, ‘Oh my goodness. I’ve just seen someone I know. I wonder if I should still do this.’ “ Johnson went to put her bags away and when she returned to the security monitor a few minutes later, the woman was still sitting in her car. “I decided I would let her off the hook and go out and say something,” Johnson said. The woman rolled down her window as Johnson approached the car. “I just said, ‘If you’re considering not coming in because of me, please don’t, please come in. What happens here stays here and no one will ever know you’re here unless you tell them.’” The woman was visibly upset but decided to go through with the abortion. She had just
5
gotten married and she felt her husband was young and not ready for a child. Her husband didn’t know about the pregnancy. She told Johnson that she panicked when she saw her. She was afraid everyone would find out. Johnson understood the woman’s fears. If she were in the woman’s shoes, she also would not want anyone to know. “It goes back to that small town mentality,” Johnson said. “I honestly think that they think I would repeat something, but everyone I know hates what I do. They certainly don’t want any details, not that I would ever say anything anyway.” FAMILY Not only must Johnson hide her true feelings from co-workers and patients, but also from her close friends and family. What Johnson does on that fifth day is a topic of conversation everyone close to Johnson avoids. She can’t talk with her boyfriend about how much she hates performing later abortions. She can’t discuss with her mother, sisters, stepfather, father or stepmother how angry it makes her to see women who use abortion as a form of birth control. Most members of Johnson’s family are pro-life. But Johnson’s family is very close despite a seemingly ruinous early divorce between her parents. Johnson is close to both sisters and both sets of parents. They all live within 10 miles of one another. The family deals with Johnson’s job by sweeping it under the rug. “As close as we are, and we spend a lot of time together, we really don’t talk about it,” said Tara Johnson, Johnson’s older sister by three years. The sisters talk on the phone every day and consider themselves best friends. “I don’t know why we don’t talk about it. It just doesn’t come up.” More specifically, Johnson never brings it up. Johnson doesn’t discuss her job with anyone. She keeps it to herself because she knows it makes her family uncomfortable. To Johnson, it’s obvious why some of her family members disapprove of her job. Her maternal grandparents were strict Methodists and raised her mother to be one as well. When Johnson’s grandfather was alive, he occasionally asked her, “When are you going to get a new job?” or “When are you going to get a good job?” Johnson usually answered with something along the lines of, “Oh, I’m where I want to be right now.” Johnson’s mother is also pro-life and fears for her daughter’s safety. Of Johnson’s entire
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community
FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
buzz
In the midst of controversy A look into the life of an abortion nurse
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film&tv
FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | WHERE, OH WHERE, IS SCARLETT JOHANSSON??
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Drive-thru Reviews
021904buzz0425
CONCERT FOR GEORGE â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;
BY LISA SCHENCKER | STAFF WRITER
Sharon Johnson* doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tell people what she does for a living anymore. The last time she mentioned it was a couple years ago to a member of her church who sneered at her and walked away in disgust. She doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t reveal her last name, even on her business cards, for fear of what might happen to her.
* The names in this article have been changed to protect sourcesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; identities.
Four days a week, Johnson is the smiling, friendly, blond nurse behind a desk, dispensing medical advice, condoms and counseling. It is on the fifth day that Johnson must hide. It is then that she wakes at 6 a.m., takes a shower, does her hair and makeup, and then drives to the nearest city. There, she shops for about an hour before work. By 9 a.m. she is at work. By 1 or 2 p.m., Johnson has usually assisted in terminating between 15 and 25 pregnancies. When Johnson leaves work in the early afternoon, she shops for about another hour to calm herself. She then drives back to the small Central Illinois town where she has lived almost all of the 35 years of her life. It is a town of roughly 2,000 people where everyone knows everyone and secrets are hard to keep. In this small town, Johnson, a registered nurse, must mask what she does from acquaintances. Her face and voice must remain even when she sees people sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s known her whole life enter the clinic to get abortions. She must remain stolid when she sees them in public. Few people in the town know exactly what she does that fifth day of the week. When people ask her, she says she works in a doctorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office. If they press further, she says she works at a womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clinic. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a touchy subject and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like to go there,â&#x20AC;? Johnson says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You never know when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re standing in some checkout line, there could (be) some insane person standing next to you. You just never know.â&#x20AC;? CHOICES Johnson finds such fear and hidingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and the job itselfâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;emotionally draining. To relieve stress, she shops before and after assisting with the abortions. When she gets home from shopping around 5 or 6 p.m., she takes a nap or relaxes on the couch for the rest of the night. Her live-in boyfriend and his son know to leave her alone. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Usually, when I get home, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m tired and grouchy,â&#x20AC;? Johnson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no reason I should feel like Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been run over by a truck after three hours of work, but sometimes I do.â&#x20AC;? Johnsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s job involves setting up equipment, handing instruments to the doctor during the procedure, printing out sonograms and carrying a large glass jar containing the aborted embryo to the clinicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lab for analysis. She first started assisting with surgical abortions about six years ago. Previously, she worked as a nurse in a nursing home, but got tired of working holidays and weekends. She was ready for a change. A friend of hers began
working at the abortion clinic and recommended that the clinic hire Johnson as well. The job was Monday through Friday, and best of all, Johnson would get to spend four of those days running a womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health clinic. The catch was that one day a week she would assist a doctor with surgical abortions. The four days a week of being her own boss and working with friendly, small-town people was a dream job she could not pass up. It was a package deal, so she took it. At first, she did not mind assisting with abortions one day a week. She believed, as she still does, in a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right to choose. As a teenager, Johnson spent a few years running wildâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;hanging out with older friends, drinking and partyingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and the thought had crossed her mind before: â&#x20AC;&#x153;What would I do?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;To be perfectly honest, I always thought if I did get pregnant, I would have an abortion,â&#x20AC;? Johnson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s every single personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choice and I do believe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your right. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just really losing my taste for it. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no way I would do that now. And I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even tell you why.â&#x20AC;? Johnson doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know why she hates handing the doctor instruments, why she hates carrying the embryo across the operating room floor. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not because of her religion. She was raised Methodist but isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t very religious now and never has been. She believes people get whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coming to them in an afterlife but doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe in any conventional form of heaven or hell. No one at Johnsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s childhood church ever told her she would go to hell. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t until she started working at an abortion clinic that she heard that. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You know Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had people tell me when I drove into the parking lot,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to burn in hell for this,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and you kind of ask yourself, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to wonder if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to end up paying for this some way or another,â&#x20AC;? Johnson said. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the procedure that disturbs Johnson either. Each abortion takes less than five minutes to perform and can be relatively painless. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the images on the sonogram that bother Johnson. Up to seven weeks into a pregnancy, most features of the embryo are not yet recognizable. After seven or eight weeks, it starts to resemble a person. Much of the abortion debate questions when a life begins. At what point is a person a person? Johnson isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sure, but when the embryo or fetus begins to resemble a human being, Johnson begins to have issues. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you go to the sonogram of a person who is much farther along and I can see fingers, toes and I can see the spinal column and
BY ANDREW VECELAS | STAFF WRITER
G
eorge Harrison, long known as the most reserved and aloof member of the Beatles, died in November 2001 after a prolonged battle with cancer. Based on the evidence seen in Concert for George, being the â&#x20AC;&#x153;silent Beatleâ&#x20AC;? did not prevent Harrison from lingering long after his death in the hearts of those who knew him best. The film captures the concert given in Harrisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s memory at Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Royal Albert Hall exactly one year after his death. Eric Clapton heads up the concert, which also features such performers as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Harrisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own son Dhani. With the rosy atmosphere in the hall and so many of Harrisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friends and loved ones on stage, the mood is more like a reunion of sorts than a true concert. In between the songs, short interviews with the artists are shown, and they share their memories of Harrison. When everyone shares the stage at the end, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty obvious how much they are enjoying themselves. The DVD contains extra interviews and performances that round out the event. McCartney does a touching version of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Something,â&#x20AC;? beginning the song on a ukulele, one of Harrisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorite instruments to play in his free time. Keyboardist Billy Preston is all over â&#x20AC;&#x153;My Sweet Lord,â&#x20AC;? bringing a heavy dose of soul to the vocals. The showstopper here is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t It a Pity,â&#x20AC;? which has Clapton and Preston at the top of their respective games. The band really knocks it out of the park, and brings the audience to a standing ovation at the conclusion of the song. A few of the songs do fall flat; partially because Harrisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solo material was pretty uneven to begin with. Ringo Starrâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s singing has never been his strong point, and Tom Pettyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vocals on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Taxmanâ&#x20AC;? could bring the audience to tears, and not in a sympathetic way. And then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dhani Harrison on guitar, looking so much like his father in his younger years that it borders on eerie. He may not belong on the stage with everyone else in terms of talent, but for sentimental value alone, he deserves his spot up there. Though it hits more often than it misses musically, Concert for George makes its biggest impact spiritually. The performers put their best effort into making a tribute to a man they knew and loved. Everyone else can just sit back and watch their love be displayed on screenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing wrong with that.
BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026; ICE CUBE AND CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sequel has prompted the average moviegoer to dread a second edition. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a relief to see a sequel that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t completely flop and tarnish the image of the first. Barbershop 2 accomplishes all it set out to do. The audience laughs, has a good time and leaves the theater with a big, goofy smile on their faces. (Andrew Crewell) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy BIG FISH â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026; EWAN MCGREGOR AND ALBERT FINNEY Many critics have claimed that Big Fish is too literary for people to understand, and that the masses will grow inpatient with it. However, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the films inability to make the characters worthy of compassion that grows irksome. Big Fish will serve as one of 2003â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most imaginary films, but it falls short of its potential to also be one of 2003â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy CONCERT FOR GEORGE â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026; Various Artists Though it hits more often than it misses musically, Concert for George makes its biggest impact spiritually. The performers put their best effort into making a tribute to a man they knew and loved. Everyone else can just sit back and watch their love be displayedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing wrong with that. (Andrew Vecelas) Midnight this weekend at Boardmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Art Theatre LOST IN TRANSLATION â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026; BILL MURRAY AND SCARLETT JOHANSSON Sofia Coppolaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest work embodies the importance of a familiar face in a country full of strangers. Throughout the subtle, stupendous Lost in Translation, Bob and Charlotte discover in each other not just a friendly face but an ally in the universal game of lost and found. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy MASTER AND COMMANDER
â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;
RUSSELL CROWE AND PAUL BETTANY Peter Weir buffs will get a kick out of watching this film and remembering The Truman Show. While Trumanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aquatic-oriented scenes introduced the directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to craft stimulating scenes of sea-swept peril, Master and Commander achieves a far higher degree of oceanic fanfare. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a glorious tale of adventure on the high seas sure to put wind in any landlubberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sails. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy
MIRACLE â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026; KURT RUSSELL AND PATRICIA CLARKSON Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s victory may not have actually been a miracle in the spiritual sense of the word, but what Miracle gets right is the feeling of national desperation that was extinguished by the unpredictable triumph of 20 college-aged hockey players. It was something the country needed then and something Disney obviously thinks we need now. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an inspirational blast from the past, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something to quack about. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy RETURN OF THE KING â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026; ELIJAH WOOD AND IAN MCKELLAN Even if The Return of the King doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t win the grand prize on Oscar night, anything short of best director victory for Peter Jackson would be an unforgivable injustice. He has raised the bar for fantasy and redefined themes of friendship, honor and courage on a grippingly grand and poignantly intimate scale. Besides its structural limitations, The Return of the King is more than a rousing ending to a celebrated legend; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a battle cry for epic filmmaking. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy
OPENING THIS WEEKEND AGAINST THE ROPES MEG RYAN AND OMAR EPPS Meg Ryan is a female boxing managerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not female boxing manager as in she manages female boxers, but as in she is a female who manages male boxers. This obviously does not go over well, and she has to deal with being a woman in a male-dominated field. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN LINDSAY LOHAN AND MEGAN FOX Lola is a teenager who fits in at her school in New York. Unfortunately, she just moved into the quite different Jersey â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;burbs where she is having a hard time fitting in with her new schoolmates. She tries to make the lead in the upcoming school play but runs into a problem with her newfound rival for the part. Somehow, it seems there could be an underlying morality here, but who can say without seeing the movie? (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend EUROTRIP JACOB PITTS AND MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG A gorgeous overseas online penpal causes a group of friends to travel across the globe to meet her. Brought to you by the makers of Old School and Roadtrip, Eurotrip promises good fun and plenty of male nudity. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT GENE HACKMAN AND RAY ROMANO In a small New England town, former President Hackman makes a move for the mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office, and for Romanoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s girlfriend. In order to defend himself, Romanoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character decides he will run against Hackman for the mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s job. Fun and hilarity ensue. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend
BOARDMANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ART THEATRE 1-800-BEST PLACE (800-237-8752) or 1-217-355-0068 eTickets/Reservations and info. at www.BoardmansTheatres.com Exclusive HPS-4000 & SDDS/DTS/DD Presentations
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The Triplets of Belleville PG-13
SHOWTIMES: Daily at 5:30PM, 7:30PM, 9:30PM Matinees on Sat/Sun at 3:30PM
Pulp Fiction R
Showtimes: Midnight Fri/Sat Tickets just $6.00!
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50 FIRST DATES (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 12:40 1:00 2:40 3:00 3:20 4:50 5:10 5:30 7:00 7:20 7:40 9:10 9:30 9:50 11:20 11:40 12:00 Sun. - Tue. 12:20 12:40 1:00 2:40 3:00 3:20 4:50 5:10 5:30 7:00 7:20 7:40 9:10 9:30 9:50 Wed. & Thu. 12:20 12:40 2:40 3:00 4:50 5:10 7:00 7:20 9:10 9:30
EUROTRIP (R) Fri. & Sat. 12:50 3:10 5:20 7:40 9:50 12:10 Sun. - Thu. 12:50 3:10 5:20 7:40 9:50 PEARL EARRING (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Fri. & Sat. 7:10 9:20 11:30 Sun. - Thu. 7:10 9:20 RETURN OF THE KING (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Fri. - Thu. 12:20 4:20 8:20 MIRACLE (PG) Fri. - Thu. 1:10 4:20 7:10 10:00
AGAINST THE ROPES (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 4:00 6:50 9:30 MONSTER (R) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 12:15 12:00 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 4:00 6:50 9:30 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 ALONG CAME POLLY (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Fri. & Sat. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 MYSTIC RIVER (R) Fri. & Sun. - Thu. 12:50 4:00 7:00 9:50 9:30 11:30 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 Sat. 12:50 4:00 9:50 9:30 BUTTERFLY EFFECT (R) Fri. & BARBERSHOP 2 (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Fri. Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 12:20 & Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:20 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 9:50 12:15 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:20 10:00 9:50 WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Fri. & BIG FISH (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Fri. - Tue. Sat. 12:50 3:20 6:50 9:30 12:00 7:10 9:50 Sun. - Thu. 12:50 3:20 6:50 9:30 CATCH THAT KID (PG) Fri. YOU GOT SERVED (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Tue. 1:00 3:00 5:00 Fri. & Sat. 12:50 3:10 5:10 7:20 9:20 11:20 CHEAPER BY DOZEN (PG) Fri. Sun. - Thu. 12:50 3:10 5:10 7:20 - Thu. 12:40 2:50 5:00 9:20 CITY OF GOD (R) Fri. & Sat. STARSKY & HUTCH (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:40 12:10 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:40 Sat. 7:30 PASSION OF CHRIST (R) TEEN DRAMA QUEEN (PG) Fri. & Sat. 12:30 2:50 5:10 7:20 Wed. 11:15 1:15 2:00 4:15 5:00 7:00 8:00 9:45 9:20 11:20 Sun. - Thu. 12:30 2:50 5:10 7:20 Thu. 1:15 2:00 4:15 5:00 7:00 8:00 9:45 9:20 Showtimes for 2/20 thru 2/26
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26odds & end ARIES (March 21-April 19): On February 1, six big-name entertainers took control of the Super Bowl halftime show. The result was a histrionically boring spectacle of robotic sexuality and fake emotion. If there was any saving grace amidst the monumental emptiness, it was Janet Jackson's climactic unveiling. In a New York Times article, Alessandra Stanley wrote, "The one moment of honesty in that coldly choreographed tableau was when the cup came off and out tumbled a normal middle-aged woman's breast instead of an idealized Playboy bunny implant." Your assignment in the coming week, Aries, is to be inspired by that moment of honesty. Strip away pretension and phoniness everywhere you find them, thereby exposing the raw humanity that lies beneath. One caveat: Do this ethically, and without breaking the law. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The President of Belarus has issued a mandate to his country's athletes regarding their performance in the 2004 Summer Olympics. "You should have clear-cut plans for victory," Alyaksandr Lukashenka told them. "It is unacceptable for you to win fewer than 25 medals." That sounds a bit unrealistic to me, so I won't be that demanding in my decree to you, Taurus. But the astrological omens are on my side as I command you to pull off a feat that would be your equivalent of a gold medal between now and March 20. In addition, I order you to gather a new privilege, new perk, or new title. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): After years of occupation by the Soviet Union, Georgia became an independent republic in 1991. Its new leader was Eduard Shevardnadze, who over the next 12 years brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy and became the most hated man in public life. Last November he relinquished power in the face of a "revolution of roses," a bloodless insurrection led by protestors brandishing flowers. Two months later, one of the leading "rose revolutionaries," 36-yearold Mikhail Saakashvili, was elected Georgia's new president. I suggest that you Geminis make Saakashvili your role model for the next two months.You've got a lot of status quo to overthrow, and the best way to do it is with your version of flower power. CANCER (June 21-July 22): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, it's time for you to make two corrections. First, you are suffering from an exaggerated sense of what's possible to accomplish in the short term. I urge you to deflate your grandiosity a bit. Second, your expectations of what you can pull off in the long run are way too small. I authorize you to pump up them up. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Our subject this week, class, is the aphorism, "If at first you don't succeed, redefine the meaning of success." Your assignment is to make practical use of this principle. Judging from the current astrological omens, I think the best place to apply it might be in your love life. If you agree, here's a suggestion about how to proceed. First, figure out what it is
I HOPE MY HORISCOPE IS RIGHT | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY you've been doing wrong that has kept you from getting the xact kind of love you want. (One possibility is that your soul and ur ego are craving different things and therefore working at rosspurposes.) Second, revise your definition of the exact kind of love you want, incorporating a more realistic assessment of who you are. Third, forgive yourself for having previously had an inadequate definition. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I'm grateful for my years of psychotherapy.They've been crucial in helping me shed bad mental habits and master the art of being happy. How about you, Virgo? Have you ever met regularly with an empath whose primary purpose is to listen to you and enhance your life? It's a perfect time to start giving yourself this necessary luxury. Or, if you're one of the lucky few who already has a skilled wise person working in service to you, it's a favorable time to dive deeper into the work. The astrological omens suggest that you now have the power to get more help than you've received before -- but you have to ask for it. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is a bit stiff, but his Libran wife Teresa is just the opposite. "She can be as unbuttoned in her speech as Kerry is buttoned up in his," wrote Philip Gourevitch in "The New Yorker," "with the result that she is sometimes impolitic and always worth listening to." In Salon.com, Rebecca Traister said Teresa has complained that George W. Bush "is afraid to be Socratic" and that he entered his presidency "with a lack of curiosity about the job." She playfully told one interviewer that if John is elected, her main job as first lady will be to keep him humble. I urge you to make Teresa your role model in the coming week, Libra. Be unbuttoned, impolitic, Socratic, curious, and worth listening to. Use humor to keep yourself and everyone around you humble.
your mind. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In his 1989 song, "Fight the Power," Public Enemy's lead rapper Chuck D expressed his opinion of Elvis Presley: "Elvis was a hero to most/ But he never meant sh*t to me, you see/ Straight up racist that sucker was, simple and plain." Thirteen years later, Chuck D presented a different story, telling Newsday he had "a great deal of respect" for Elvis. I suggest you follow Chuck D's example in the coming week, Capricorn. It takes courage to shift your position as radically as he did, and I hope you can do the same.It's a perfect moment to officially change your mind about at least two important issues. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The Pentagon could not account for $22 billion in expenditures last year, according to Harper's Index. How about you, Aquarius? Has your relationship with money been suffering from any ignorance or chaos? If so, the next seven months will be a favorable time to fix that. The cosmos will be conspiring to help you upgrade your financial savvy. To the degree that you co-conspire, you will get richer a lot quicker. Here's the best news: It all starts in earnest now. Respond aggressively to a hot tip that arrives this week. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You will wake up one morning and realize you're more free than you've been in a long time. Nagging ghosts will have lost their power to bug you. Stale traditions will have faded. You will have made your last payment on an old karmic debt. Through an act of grace you don't fully understand, mind-forged manacles will have vanished. So what should you do next? I suggest you celebrate. Throw a "Get Out of Jail" party for yourself.Then run wild for a couple of days.When you're good and ready to harness your adorable new independence, ask yourself, "In what area of my life is it most important that I start fresh?"
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Love may not conquer all in the coming weeks, Scorpio, but it could conquer 60 percent, and even as much as 75. The key factor in determining love's power to accomplish wonders will be your knack for avoiding obsessive perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking.You should work with love like a master politician who's skilled at compromise, not like a glory-seeking hero who thinks she can change everything overnight. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "The fishermen of the Colombian coast must be learned doctors of ethics and morality," writes Eduardo Galeano in The Book of Embraces, "for they invented the [Spanish] word sentipensante, or 'feeling-thinking,' to define language that speaks the truth." I advise you to make sentipensante, your word of power in the coming days, Sagittarius. It may help you synchronize your galloping emotions and your restless intellect. And that may be your best hope for solving the conundrums headed your way. Here's another way to describe your assignment: Think with your heart and feel with
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ACROSS
venue 5 Had an assignation 12 Tribune Company competitor 15 Have a tête-à-tête with 16 Store sign 17 Argues 18 Store sign 20 Matisse’s “La Tristesse du ___” 21 Initiation declaration 22 Elton John and others 23 Like some floor polish 24 Center 25 Benjamins 27 Some princesses 28 Phil Niekro and others 29 Dip into 30 Eye parts: Var. 31 Fair to middling
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silent treatment 33 “___ abed and daylight slumber / Were not meant for man alive”: Housman 34 Tabloid topic 35 Not-too-spicy cuisine 39 She’s a doll 40 In modern lingo, an urban male who devotes much time to his appearance and lifestyle 42 Provide a segue for 44 What’s left 45 Sign-up 46 Places for pilots 47 Perfume ingredient 48 Something to shoot through DOWN 1 ___ sum (Chinese flowering cabbage)
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FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | COULTER CRACKS ME UP
FIRST THING’S FIRST...
Here’s a statistic: 100 percent of me is sick of statistics BY MICHAEL COULTER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER Mark Twain has been quoted as saying, “There are three kinds of lies. Lies, damned lies and statistics.” In the 1800s, there probably weren’t even that many statistics around and yet folks were already beginning to see them as a pain in the ass. It’s only gotten worse. USA Today can make any facet of life into a pie graph. The problem now isn’t gathering statistics; we seem to be very efficient at that. The real dilemma seems to lie in understanding what the statistics mean. That, and giving a shit either way. The 2003 Statistical Abstract came out last week like my friend Bob did at his junior prom: kind of messy and extremely shocking. The abstract is an attempt to hold America up to the light, pointing out everything we do, yet making no effort at all to explain why. Some stats jump right out at you. The average american ate two pounds of lard in 2002. That really seems like a lot of lard. What makes it worse is that it’s an average, meaning some among us are taking in more than two pounds of lard annually. Granted, the sensible people don’t eat all of this lard in one setting, but it’s still a big number. What does it mean? If you go by another statistic in the abstract, we’re a country of fat asses. 58 percent of us are considered overweight, 22.5 percent of us obese. That seems like an insanely high number when you see it. The number doesn’t really seem that big, however, if you spend a couple hours at the DMV waiting for a driver’s license, or take in a lunch buffet anywhere in town. “I’ll take a small Diet Coke and the all-you-caneat lard special, please!” It’s not like we aren’t trying, though. Seventy-one million of us walk for exercise. That seems reasonable until you read the rest of it. To qualify as an “exercise walker” you have to do it at least six times a year. Jesus Christ, six times a year is all it takes to qualify as exercise? My drunk ass has to walk home about six times a month and then walk back the next day to get my car and I don’t even slightly resemble someone who’s in shape. Who knew exercise could be so easy, and so ineffective? It’s not just walking; 449,000 people wind surf. That’s a lot of dudes, but not really that big of number, considering three million of us consider muzzleloading a sport. There’s nothing like a fine afternoon of muzzleloading to really kick that cardiovascular system into shape. I can’t understand why it never caught on as a televised sport, probably because Nike
never came out with an Air Muzzleloader shoe that costs $120. Looking at the geriatric set, for folks over 64 years of age, 83,000 of them claim to enjoy skateboarding. I’m just guessing, but I bet that calculates into roughly 83,000 broken hips a year. I gotta be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone over 64 on a skateboard, but if I ever do, I know what I’ll say. “Hey, check out that drunk old guy on the skateboard that’s about to break his God-damned hip.” Women are better than men at exercising by seven million a year. A whopping 775,000 of those women say they enjoy playing tackle football. Not surprisingly, 100 percent of all heterosexual men love watching these women play tackle football. Okay, I made that stat up, but I still stand behind it. There are some other fun items. Fifty-seven million households have cell phones. I believe that. I also believe every last one of those 57 million people are driving right in front of me every time I’m in a hurry. Some 36.6 million households have a large screen TV. That works out. A large TV and a large ass to sit on while you watch it. I’m surprised they aren’t counting television viewing as exercise. A little less than one-third of Kentucky residents are smokers. I’m sure this news is shocking to Kentucky and wholly expect them to begin a campaign to get that number up to around 50 percent by the time the next abstract comes out. It’s Kentucky, after all, and they know what I’ve known since high school. Smoking makes you look cool and older. North Dakota is in first place when it comes to per-capita binge drinking. I always drink when I’m bored off my ass, so who could blame North Dakotans? I bet if you manage to put down a case of beer a couple of times a week, it’s not even that bad a place to live. It’s a big-ass book and I just hit a few highlights, but the numbers are all in there. Just numbers, no explanations. Feel free to make them mean whatever you want because you know everyone else will. If you’d like to discuss them further, feel free to call me at home. Wait, I take that back. Three thousand people were arrested last year as a result of wiretaps and I’m sure I’ll say something that’ll get me in the pokey before it’s all over.
News of the weird ART COMES TO LIFE In a 1999 episode of TV’s “The Simpsons,” Homer became a temporary multibillionaire by accidentally inventing a “tomacco” plant that sprouted tobaccobred tomatoes that were hopelessly addictive from even a single bite. Inspired (and hoping to draw attention to the show’s anti-smoking message), Rob Baur of Lake Oswego, Ore., tried to grow such a plant and has somewhat succeeded, although a forensic researcher believes that only the plant itself, and not the fruit, contains nicotine. In February, he announced that he would auction off the golf-ball-sized fruit.
UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who is widely believed by United Nations officials and Far East experts to be tolerating the starvation deaths of perhaps millions of his countrymen, launched a nationwide campaign in January to improve national health by eradicating smoking, whose practitioners, said Kim, are one of the “three main fools of the 21st century”(along with people ignorant about music and computers).
Ariel Alonso, who lives near Roanoke, Va., was indignant when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration wrongly accused him of setting up a methamphetamine lab, and asked rhetorically, after the charges were dropped in January, “How do I get my ... dignity back?” The laboratory of Alonso (and his thenpartner Jonathan Conrad) was in reality mak-
ing the so-called “fluid of life,” which they goaded customers into buying (at $20 to $40 a dose) by claiming that it is the component of human cells and can cleanse people internally and build new tissue, even though it was just potassium chloride and white grape juice. (That, apparently, is the business plan that gave Alonso “dignity.”)
RECURRING THEMES In January, doctors at the Selian Hospital, Arusha, Tanzania, removed a toothbrush from the stomach of a 54-year-old man who had become the latest person to swallow one while brushing his teeth.
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letterstotheeditor T.I.F. tax “diversion” Officials are considering extending the T.I.F. (tax increment financing) tax “diversion” district for downtown Champaign. For those without children or commitment to the long-term residents in UN-gated subdivisions, this may sound like a good thing. “Oh goody, another bar and restaurant. Finally, civilization!” It is nice to have as many choices of where to spend an evening as in the Chicago suburbs, however bringing in the driving nightmares is not as appealing. I understand Champaign does need a bar on every corner, but did you know this detracts money from the school system? According to Bruce Knight, the Champaign planning director, “it is still cheaper to build in a cornfield.” Mr. Knight, I think of you often; every Saturday.
Michael Coulter is a videographer at Parkland College. He writes a weekly e-mail column, “This Sporting Life” and has hosted several local comedy shows.
COPYRIGHT 2004 CHUCK SHEPHERD
While I attempt to maneuver the Town center/Prospect driver obstacle course—
since the area has been designed without walking or biking as an option—perhaps Mr. Knight should focus more energy on ordinance codes, making building on a cornfield require a great deal more forethought to detail, subsequently making it more costly than the type of development called “inbuilding” of downtown. The area of Bradley and Bloomington had flooding last spring that long-time residents have not experienced before? Perhaps drainage for the area, not just the particular site, should be a study issue for amending the comprehensive plan as well. In fact, as an encouragement to Mr. Knight, I propose we rename Moreland Avenue to Knight Drive. It is, after all, devoid of streetlights. Andrea Antulov Find “Life in Hell” on Page 19. It will return to Intro next week.
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STRONG MEN ALSO CRY. STRONG MEN ALSO CRY. | FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004
BY KATIE RICHARDSON | ARTS EDITOR
The Story
4 Q & A w/ local potter Boneyard Pottery Gallery owner Michael Schwegmann did not realize his interest...
Arts
6 The write stuff As a society, we are pinned as individualistic and materialistic...
Music 9 Bluegrass in C-U On February 25th, Yonder Mountain String Band comes to The Canopy...
Calendar
14 Andre Williams Rhythm and blues has been a part of Andre Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life since...
Film
23 City of God review Certain stories are so intertwined with their setting that they essentially could not be told in any other part of the world ... PHOTO COURTESY OF | YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND
BUZZ STAFF Editor in chief Marissa Monson Art Directors Meaghan Dee & Carol Mudra Copy Chief Chris Ryan Music Jacob Dittmer Art Katie Richardson Film Paul Wagner Community Emily Wahlheim Calendar Maggie Dunphy Photography Editor Christine Litas Calendar Coordinators Lauren Smith, Cassie Conner, Erin Scottberg Photography Christine Litas, Adam Young, Roderick Gedey Copy Editors Chris Ryan, Jen Hubert, Erin Green Designers Adam Obendorf, Mark Hauge, Sue Janna Truscott, Chris Depa, Glenn Cochon Production Manager Theon Smith Sales Manager Jon Maly Marketing/Distribution Melissa Schleicher, Maria Erickson Publisher Mary Cory
Carlie Bruciaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s murder has ignited the usual media coverage. Usual, that is, when the media is covering a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s murder. In the last few weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve read of the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grief, heard the laundry list of reasons why Joseph P. Smith should have been in jail, and listened to attorneys and judges defend themselves when questioned as to why he was not. We have also seen the usual photographs of the little girl before her tragic abduction wherein she is smiling back at us, beautiful, happy, full of potential. What is different about this case is the one unusual photo we have: the photograph shown on every network of the video recording of her abduction. This is a disturbing image because it offers us some sort of synthetic hope, that we can somehow stop the tape and enter it and prevent the horrible thing that is about to happen. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a more serious version of when one becomes really excited about a ball game, thinking that somehow oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cheering for one team over another will actually affect a game being played 500 miles away. TV brings a far-off realityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;whether because of time or physical distanceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; right into our own space. It makes events that have nothing to do with us our reality, although we cannot touch them or manipulate them. Watching Carlie being
odds & end
buzz FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2004 | HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
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Volume 2, Number 6 COVER DESIGN | Chris Depa
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WHITE MAN led away by her murderer gives us a tangible image to put with the word â&#x20AC;&#x153;abduction.â&#x20AC;? We can see that she was scared, and that she was resisting him. We are not only told of it. Whether this incites unnecessary rage in us, or gives a deeper understanding and empathy toward those who have been victims of crime is difficult to say. What can most certainly be assumed is that that video is horrible for her family to watch. The TV age, and especially the emerging â&#x20AC;&#x153;video camera on every street cornerâ&#x20AC;? age, has offered us substantial pluses: Because of the video, we know who most likely abducted Carlie. However, it has also offered us a disturbing look into actual reality, not the watered down version of reality we can see on shows like The Real World or The Bachelorette. What is painfully evident when watching that tape is that Carlie Brucia is dead. We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t call the network complaining about the indecency of the act, we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t vote off Joseph P. Smith, and we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give her parents consolation prizes. Maybe, then, we arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ready for the â&#x20AC;&#x153;real world.â&#x20AC;? I, for one, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ever want to witness another â&#x20AC;&#x153;real abduction.â&#x20AC;? Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll stick to quickie live weddings and conversation laden with sexual innuendos between people who are essentially scriptless actors looking for a little shallow, harmless fame.
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I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL SUMMER. . . | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2004 buzz
Your 2004 Oscar Picks Grand Prize: 52 admit two passes to Savoy 16 1st Prize: 52 admit one passes to Savoy 16 2nd Prize: 24 admit one passes to Savoy 16
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COMMUNIT Y
Q & A w/ Boneyard Pottery owner (Page 4)
Best Leading Actor
Best Animated Feature
Best Picture
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog Jude Law, Cold Mountain Bill Murray, Lost in Translation Sean Penn, Mystic River
Brother Bear Finding Nemo The Triplets of Belleville
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Lost in Translation Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Mystic River Seabiscuit
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Director
Alec Baldwin, The Cooler Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams Djimon Hounsou, In America Tim Robbins, Mystic River Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai
City of God The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Lost in Translation Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Mystic River
American Splendor City of God The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Mystic River Seabiscuit
Best Leading Actress
Best Original Song
Best Original Screenplay
Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider Diane Keaton, Something’s Gotta Give Samantha Morton, In America Charlize Theron, Monster Naomi Watts, 21 Grams
“Belleville Rendevous”, The Triplets of Belleville “Into the West”, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” , A Mighty Wind “Scarlet Tide”, Cold Mountain “ You Will Be My Ain True Love”, Cold Mountain
The Barbarian Invasions Dirty Pretty Things Finding Nemo In America Lost in Translation
Best Supporting Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River Holly Hunter, Thirteen Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain
NAME: ADDRESS: PHONE: EMAIL: Send entries to DI Marketing, 57 E. Green St., Champaign, IL 61820 OR enter online at www.dailyillini.com Drop off entries at our 57 E. Green St. location, DI at the Y on 1001 Wright Street OR Savoy 16 Theatres, 232 W. Burwash, Savoy Deadline: Friday, February 27, 2004 by 5:00pm
Arts | Entertainment | Community
when romance met comedy:
ARTS
The write stuff: a look at online journals (Page 7) MUSIC
Mendoza Music Line with DJ Bozak (Page 11) CALENDAR
Andre Williams at Cowboy Monkey (Page 14)
Only one entry per person. IMC employees are not elligible. Must be 18 to win. All prizes won through a random drawing. Prizes non transferable. The Daily Illini reserves the right to print winner’s names. Other restrictions may apply.
FILM
City of God review (Page 23)
four movies you can both agree on