PITSTOP - Comics, trivia and more

concerts New wave royalty invades the Inland Empire

By CRYSTAL LAFATA

Daily Titan Staff

Tucked away in the foothills of San Bernardino, sun-soaked fans at the KROQ Miller Light Inland Invasion 4 hid themselves from the heat last Saturday as they watched dozens of ’80s and new wave bands play their hearts out.

Well over 20,000 fans attended the event held at the Hyundai Pavilion in Devore and were both cursed and blessed with expensive food and drink but free parking for many. As the sun reached its peak, many ran for the mist tents or purchased $15 parasols.

The gates opened early and the Walkmen took to the side stage fi rst. As fans trickled in, they barely got to see the end of the Missing Persons set.

The crowd fi nally got past the security checkpoints as the Seattle natives Death Cab For Cutie took the stage for an amazing set of crowd pleasers. But by far the best side stage act of the day was A Flock of Seagulls.

The main stage acts began in the early afternoon with Muse and X as hundreds of mismatched, neon-clothed fans shifted toward the stage. Hats and glasses adorned the fans seated on the lawn with their $5 beers and $13 margaritas.

They shouted for KROQ hits like “Johny Hit and Run Pauline” which X played at the end of its set.

The Killers played next on the main stage but should have been on the side stage because the band’s performance wasn’t all it was hyped up to be. They looked amateur playing in a spot after such greats like Muse and X.

A cool breeze set in as English chap Ian Brown of the Stone Roses opened his set with “I Wanna Be Adored.” Toward the end of his set, Brown said Morrissey was not playing as originally scheduled so, “We’re gonna help you get over it.”

This statement seemed like a joke at fi rst but then his set was cut short so a KROQ representative could announce the truth.

A press release reported that Morrissey was earlier diagnosed with “sinusitis, acute laryngitis and a high fever and advised that he not attempt to speak for the next 48 hours at a minimum.”

Morrissey said he felt disappointed for not playing and has plans to schedule another show for the fans who saved their ticket stubs. As Tears for Fears started its set, high winds kicked up dirt and sand. There was a technical diffi - culty in the beginning as the band played half of its fi rst song without audible vocals. After the fi x, the band encouraged simultaneous hand clapping with an old hit “Sowing the Seeds of Love.” As fans sang every word, Tears for Fears kept the jams coming with crowd pleasers like “Mad World” and “Shout.” They also played Pink Floyd-esque tunes from the new album Everybody

www.deathcabforcutie.com

Indie pop rockers Death Cab For Cutie graced the side stage at the fourth annual KROQ Inland Invasion. Also on the bill were up-and-comers Franz Ferdinand and ’80s legends Billy Idol, Devo and Tears for Fears.

Loves a Happy Ending.

Next up, KROQ DJ Jed the Fish introduced a band that merged electronic music and punk to become Devo. As the sun set behind the stage, Devo came out with signature goofy red cone hats and matching yellow prison-style jumpsuits.

Singer Mark Mothersbaugh came out shouting, “So much for homeland security if we can have an inland invasion this big.”

From the fi rst notes of the keyboards on “Girl U Want” the fans knew what song it was. Devo also played fan favorites “Whip It,” “Gut Feeling” and “Uncontrollable Urge.”

Halfway through the set, they stripped off the jumpsuits to reveal black shirts and shorts with matching knee-high socks and white kneepads. They may be ancient rockers from the past, but they could still provide the energy to excite a large crowd.

After Devo dedicated the last song to fallen punk rocker Johnny Ramone, the stage spun around to reveal Franz Ferdinand. The highenergy set consisted of many radio hits.

The biggest response of the night came when Billy Idol strutted on stage. Because Morrissey cancelled his set, Idol was given an extra-long time slot to fi ll, which thrilled the crowd.

By CESAR CRUZ

For the Daily Titan

Recently, I have noticed that this world is a very depressing place, chock full of homework and tediously long lectures.

So what saved me from falling into a comatose state due to boredom? The L.A. County Fair did. More specifi cally, the band Live did as part of the End of Summer Concert series which concludes on Sept. 26.

Live fi rst exploded onto the music scene in the early ’90s. Since then, vocalist Ed Kowalczyk, guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey have released six successful albums and have sold nearly 20 million copies worldwide.

Live illuminates the Los Angeles County Fair

Friday night was great. The atmosphere was amazing and the audience was surprisingly pleasant. The show wasn’t publicized as much as other performances, but the number of people who fattened the grandstands behind our kick-butt, dead center seats really said something.

It was during Live’s second song “Sanctity of Dreams” off

The night came to an end with the ever-so-beautiful and talented Siouxsie Sioux playing to an exhausted crowd. She was received with mild amusement during her slightly boring but magnifi cent sounding set.

The day was very hot and expensive, which is common for a festival-type show. It took me back to an era that I’m embarrassed to enjoy and be a part of.

The dance, the dress and even the music was scary to say the least. Now it’s back to haunt us and slap us in the face, and all we can do is go with the fl ow and enjoy it again.

Birds of Prey when the crowd began to respond. Once the familiar sounds were brimming over the fans, the venue came to life.

The band was awesomely powerful and the people were simply ecstatic, especially when Kowalczyk let the audience sing a good portion of the one of their best-known songs “Lightning Crashes.” At this point, the crowd sounded more like the Austrian Boys Choir than the beer-drinking, middle-aged hipsters that they were. This defi nitely was the highlight of the night.

“All Over You” from the breakthrough album Throwing Copper, once again got the crowd going. In exchange, Taylor went absolutely crazy, literally jumping and stomping all over the stage. The audience seemed to really enjoy this, so half of them also went nuts.

The concert fi nally ended with 12 songs and a four-song encore which included my favorite song “White Discussion.”

Live is one of those great bands that the music industry, as well as the rest of the world, needs but doesn’t know it yet. If you’re just as fed up as me with depressing emotional bands, suicidal metal and gangster rap, then pick up Live’s greatest hits album, set for release on Nov. 22. Live is such a relief from all the “bling-bling” and the sad sing-sing.

Also at the L.A. County Fair: *Hoobastank Sept. 24 *Jackson Browne Sept. 25 *Willie Nelson Sept. 26

Midnight Movies ride the ‘tide’ to success

By LAUREN MOONEY

For The Daily Titan

Each element serves as a layer in the collaborative known as Midnight Movies. The elements are as follows: Gena Olivier on vocals and drums, Jason Hammons on keyboards, PowerBook and guitar and Larry Schemel on guitar.

Hauntingly beautiful, the recently released self-titled album is already being heralded as an intricately woven and brilliantly executed debut.

On stage on Sept. 16 in the dimly lit TSU Pub, Olivier’s voice reached out like an angel’s requiem.

An ethereal journey into the unconscious, listeners fi nd themselves transported into a spacey frontier of beats, riffs and melodies.

Culling inspiration from Leonard Cohen, the Velvet Underground and the Trees, Midnight Movies defi nitely carves out a unique place for themselves in the current music scene.

LM: How did you come up with the name Midnight Movies?

Larry Schemel: The one thing that triggered it was I have a book called “Midnight Movies.” It’s like the history of Midnight Movies and... the whole phenomenon in the ’60s and ’70s, mostly “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Night of the Living Dead” and movies like that in [the] ’70s where people were fans of these movies and the theaters started showing them at midnight, and there were these cult followings and people started making it a ritual.

So it had this cool connotation of a ritualistic thing people do late at night and it brings people together and it’s kinda dark. Our music has taken on a cinematic quality and things have happened really organically.

Jason Hammons: I think people, because of the name, say the music is darker than it is.

LM: Writing the songs is a collaborative effort, so which song would you say for each of you is the most personal and why?

Gena Olivier: “Tide and Sun” would have to be the most personal for me because it is.

JH: Well Gena writes all the lyrics so I’m sure all the songs are personal for her. It’s just the music for me, so the whole album because every song has touched all of us. Every song has parts of it that I love.

LH: All of it, but there are certain songs that I personally like to play live better than others, like the song “Mirage,” that’s a lot of fun to play and “Human Mind Trap.” On the album, the song “Tide and Sun” is one of my favorites. There is something about it.

LM: How does it feel to have music as a full-time job now?

GO: My dad always told me to fi nd something that you love to do and get good at it and you’ll never have to work a day in your life. So I always stuck that in my head and tried to apply it and, you know, we’ll see how far this goes. Who

JOE HUI/For the Daily Titan The Midnight Movies play to a daytime crowd during a free show at the TSU Pub Sept. 16. Their brand of spacey rock soothes the senses.

knows? But for right now, having the two combined, work and what you love to do, is great.

LM: Who would you guys like to play with?

LH: Bowie in 1972, Radiohead… and other bands that we really like that we’ve already played with, like Broadcast and Clinic, who we really respect. And it blows us away that Clinic invited us on tour with them.

The next chance to catch Midnight Movies is at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa, Oct. 14.

PAPAS QUIZ ANSWERS FOR 9/16/04: “Int. radio Codes” Answers in the boxes, top to bottom, to the questions is parentheses:

November(4), Charlie(1), Alpha(5), Victor(2), Romeo(3), Bravo (Shaded) e-mail: davepop@mindspring.com

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES WILL APPEAR NEXT WEEK IN FULL EFFECT

OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD

By ERIK ALDEN

Daily Titan Staff

Part 2 of 2

After years of getting advice and watching other guy’s tactics, I came to the conclusion that there are rules to gaining a woman’s interest. Be excellent, be uninterested and be gone. These three simple rules should be applied on a fi rst date or when fi rst meeting someone you may be interested in.

“Be excellent, be uninterested and be gone!”

Two weeks ago, I dispensed my limited knowledge regarding the radical changes I noticed in relationships. The responses that I received were less than surprising. Most agreed that traditional roles have altered and as a result there has been a breakdown in male/female perceptions. The rules of dating, taught to us by our fathers, have changed, therefore making it necessary for the male gender to change tactics.

The consensus of what I heard is simple; women no longer want to be pursued in a traditional fashion. To get a girl now requires better material, more attention and lots of courage! Only after fi ve years of intensive research on the subject do I think I have found the key to unlock the mystery of successful dating.

First, fi nd that one thing that you do better than most. Whatever it is that sets you apart from the next person must be emphasized. If you are a good bowler, then make sure you take your date bowling. Remember, a fi rst date is an interview. You must send your representative ahead of you before she meets the old T-shirt wearing, messy-room true self.

Second, no matter how interested you may be in the person you go out with, you must initially act uninterested. It’s not so much that you aren’t supposed to listen; rather you are supposed to act as though you think there might be something better you could be doing at that moment. You must not let on that she is probably the best thing to ever happen to a slacker like you. No matter how excited you get, the key is to be uninterested.

Finally, be gone. It is true what we have all been told; you must not call the day after getting a phone number! Do not look too excited, you must wait at least two days. Otherwise, she will wonder if there is a reason why you are panting after her. If she calls you before that’s fi ne, but do not call her within 48 hours. If there is even a hint that you are already making plans for the future, then she will hit the road.

It is silly that we should have to play these games. However, these are the rules that we must now adhere to. Of course if I had it my way, we could cut through the red tape, but I guess this is the spice of life that we have heard so much about. I am not an expert on the matter; I am merely making observations.

JOKE OF THE WEEK

A man walks into a pharmacy and asks for a vial of cyanide. The pharmacist, trying to maintain a professional posture, asked what he wanted it for. He answered, “I want to kill my wife.” “I’m sorry Sir,” the pharmacist replied, “but you will have to understand under such circumstances, I can’t sell you any cyanide.” The guy reaches into his wallet and produces a photo of his wife. The pharmacist blushes and replies, “I am sorry Sir. I didn’t realize you had a prescription.”

ANSWERS FOR 9/23/04