Buzz Magazine: Feb. 5, 2004

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WHAT’S YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION? BROKEN IT YET? | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 buzz

this week Th Feb 5 Wine Tasting 5pm, LOB, free Venice Baroque Orchestra Prelude 6:30pm, Krannert Room, free Venice Baroque Orchestra 7:30pm, FGH, $16-$32 Sponsors: Avis and Dean Hilfinger Cecile and Ira Lebenson The Jolly Roger, Michael and Trudy Timpone Timpone's Ristorante, Raymond and Ginger Timpone

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Fr Feb 6

Tu Feb 10

Chip McNeill, jazz saxophone 7:30pm, FGH, $2-$5

Interval: Weavermania Noon, LOB, free Sponsors: Anonymous

Festival 2004 7:30pm CPH, $9-$16 Talkback: following the performance, free

Th Feb 12

Sa Feb 7

Wine Tasting 5pm, LOB, free

UI Chamber Singers 7:30pm, FGH, $2-$5

UI Symphony Orchestra 7:30pm, FGH, $2-$5

Festival 2004 7:30pm CPH, $9-$16

Twelfth Night 7:30pm, STH, $6-$13

Su Feb 8 Rudolf Haken, viola 7:30pm, FGH, $2-$5

Festival 2004 7:30pm CPH, $9-$16

Some Krannert Center programs are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and patron and corporate contributions.

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Festival 2004 is supported in part by the Frances P. Rohlen Visiting Artists Fund/College of Fine and Applied Arts and the National College Choreography Initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts administered by Dance/USA.

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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Thomas Edison Middle School Jazz Band’s big sound Page 4 ARTS

Storytelling at Verde Page 6 MUSIC

Cameron McGill comes home Page 13

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I’M GONNA GO FONDLE MY SWEATERS. WHAT? | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

buzz

editor’snote

insidebuzz

BY MARISSA MONSON | EDITOR IN CHIEF

The Story

4 Q & A with Edison band director

M

y very first encounter with the fabulous Edison Middle School Jazz Band was a couple of years ago during a long day working at Borders Books.

From my post at the register, my sight only reached as far as the rows upon rows of magazines, but peaking over the top were shiny brass instruments, and they were wailing. Leaving my post briefly, I let my curiosity lead me to the stage, and what I discovered baffled me: middle-schoolers wailing ... I mean, these kids could play.

Hailing from a school of less than 400 students, my opportunities for music education were limited. The talent at my school, however, was not. I’m not saying my brief stint as a flautist in the fifth grade was picture-perfect. In fact, I was literally booted from the brass section after the director found my choice to mime instrumentation less than humorous.

The music teacher commuted between two different grade schools, a middle school and a high school on a weekly basis, teaching thousands of students the joy of music,

Sam Hankins has spent his entire life surrounded by music.

Whether it be gospel, jazz, vocals or the trumpet.

Arts 8 Artist spotlight Lyosha is a local painter who is originally from Russia. He began painting...

Music 10 Local rocker returns to C-U “It is what it is and then it’s over,” quotes Urbana’s homegrown Cameron McGill...

Calendar 14 Heiruspecs Minneapolis-based hip hop Heiruspecs puts a spin on hip-hop sounds by working...

Film

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY a treasure that demands more attention to truly foster.

Unfortunately, state cuts and the powers that be, placing music as a non-necessity, kept many young talents throughout downstate Illinois and inner-city areas from developing. There could have been the next John Coltrane or Charles Mingus in the mix.

Sam Hankins is making sure musical talents don’t slip through the cracks.

With a determined nature, and equally determined band, Hankins and the crew live music. They practice after-hours, and it shows. These kids get it.

After my encounter with Edison Middle School’s jazz band, I found myself noting their name on the calendar as I do when a good rock show comes to town.

Jazz greats of the future are among us because Urbana chose to make music a priority in its curriculum, and for that, the town has been rewarded handsomely. As an internationally recognized jazz band, the players and director deserve thanks for their hard work and dedication.

-M.M.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Writing in The Week magazine, editor-in-chief Bill Falk reminisced about how earlier in his career he churned out three opinion columns a week for newspapers. It was tough. "The truth is," he said, "there were many weeks in which I didn’t have three fresh opinions of any value." These days, he added, he couldn't handle a gig like that. As he's matured, he has become suspicious of his own certainties. "Opinions are highly overrated," he concludes. "Most concern passing phenomena that, six months or six years from now, become utterly irrelevant." I propose that we make Falk your patron saint for February, Aries. The astrological omens suggest that this is a perfect moment to enjoy the humility and grace that come from nurturing compassionate ideals instead of agitated opinions.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You might want to get a history book and read up on the Greek army's defeat of the invading Persian forces at Marathon in 470 B.C. While you're at it, look into the ragtag band of Texan soldiers that won independence from Mexico at San Jacinto in 1836, or the continental army's pivotal victory over the British redcoats at Saratoga in 1777. I make these suggestions not because I think you will literally be going into battle, Taurus, but because I believe you'll soon be moved to defend and even expand your freedom. Meditating on history's successful struggles for liberation might inject an inspirational dose of martial energy into your campaign.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You're in a phase of your yearly cycle when fate will conspire to expand your perspective, get you naturally high, and turn you into an explorer. To align yourself with these cosmic tendencies, you might want to charter a supersonic MiG-25 Foxbat plane to ferry you to the upper edge of the atmosphere, where you can see the curvature of the Earth. Other good ideas: Sail over Tanzania's Serengeti Plains in a hot-air balloon; paraglide off the sea cliffs at Oahu's Makapuu Point; or take a class in shamanism at a local yoga center.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I predict that in 2004 you will become far more discriminating about what images and information you allow to enter into the holy temple of your mind.You ay even put up protective barriers that keep out the media's toxic psychic wastes and your friends' bad moods. I also predict that if you *don't* become more discriminating, you will lose touch with your own deepest desires and end up trying to be something you're not. In conclusion, fellow Cancerian, you sure as hell better remember how naturally telepathic you are, and how easily you take on other people's feelings as if they were your own.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): After English, astrology is my second language. Like a language, it's both logical and messy; it's useful in making sense of the world, yet full of crazy-making ambiguities.

In a movie about pilfering, the country’s most notorious...

COURTESY OF | HANK WILLIAMS III

Volume 2, Number 4 COVER DESIGN | Meaghan Dee

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, Erin DeYoung Copy Editors Chris Ryan, Jen Hubert, Suzanne Sitrick, 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

At its best, astrology is a playful study of the metaphorical link between the human psyche and the sun, moon, and planets. It's not a science. It's an elegant system of symbols, an art form with a special capacity to feed the soul and educate the imagination.

When regarded as a precise method for predicting the future or when used to pander to the ego's obsessions, it becomes a deserving target for satire. So there you have it, Leo. I've clarified the essential views that underlie all I do in this horoscope column, and which therefore color the relationship between you and me. Now I challenge you to do what I just did: Get together with the people you care about and articulate the fundamental assumptions that form the basis of your connection.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I rarely employ my mediumistic skills, but a host of spirits was just clamoring to address you this week.

So I agreed to channel five of them, on the condition that they'd be brief and to the point. Here, then, are your advisors from the other side of the veil. First, Werner von Braun: "Research is what you do when you don't know what you're doing." Second, A.A. Milne: "One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." Next, Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis." Casey Stengel: "You're lost but you're making good time." Harry S. Truman: "If you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em."

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." So proclaimed science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke in his book *Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible.* To a medieval peasant, for instance, television would have appeared to be pure sorcery.

Here's my corollary to Clarke's principle, Libra, just in time for your season of wonder and mystery: "Any sufficiently unexpected blessing is indistinguishable from a miracle."

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "How can one's heart and brain stand all the things that are crowded into them?" wrote nineteenth-century composer Robert Schumann. "Where do these thousands of thoughts, wishes, sorrows, joys, and hopes come from? Day in, day out, the procession goes on." Sound familiar, Scorpio? If I'm reading the astrological omens correctly, the flood that Schumann described has recently reached tsunami proportions in you. You simply can't go on like this. As the closest thing you have to a soul doctor, I regard it as my duty to prescribe massive doses of spacious silence. Quiet your thoughts, slow down your pace, and drop out of every frenetic game, at least for now.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Back in the 1980s, an old pal of mine was a girlfriend of Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry. I'm hoping if he's elected in November, she'll arrange for me to get a tryout as his astrological advisor. Who knows? Maybe

he already reads this column.You there, John? Here's my counsel for you and your fellow Sagittarians. As tempting as it might be to dramatize the differences between you and your competitors, your best bet in the short run is to be an emblem of unity. Don't let your powerful moral vision get bogged down in detailing what's wrong. Instead, be passionate about beauty and truth and justice. Strong women are the key to your next success. Ask more from them than ever before. And make sure that in the midst of your noble push to the frontier, you keep nourishing your roots.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Here's Big Secret of Life #27, crucial for your meditations in the coming weeks: Whatever you choose to focus your attention on, you will get more of it. So for example, if you often think of everything you lack and how sad you are that you don't have it, you will tend to receive abundant evidence of how true that is. If, on the other hand, you dwell on the good things that make you feel grateful to be alive, they will probably multiply.You are a great wizard, Capricorn.Why not use your powers to practice white magic on yourself instead of the other kind?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): This will be an elephant-wearinga-parachute-as-it-falls-through-the-sky kind of week for you, Aquarius. It'll be a successfully-shoplifting-a-Bible kind of week, a using-bottles-of-Dom-Perignon-champagne-to-put-out-a-fire kind of week, a rewriting-a-Shakespeare-play-and-selling-it-to-aHollywood-producer kind of week. "Improbable" should be your nickname. "Prodigious" should be your word of power. If you don't receive a magic pretzel or a golden booger from a talking raven in your dreams, I'll be shocked.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Red alert! Your behavior is beginning to have an eerie resemblance to the guy who regularly stands on a street corner in Beijing and offers himself up as a punching bag. At least he makes money from it, charging stressed-out jerks about $6 to smack him around for two minutes. But I can't see *any* benefit coming to you for the way you're letting yourself be abused. Please stop this perverse form of entertainment immediately. Find a better strategy for encouraging intimate contact with people.

✍ HOMEWORK:

Homework: What quality or behavior in you would most benefit from healthy selfmocking? Tell how you keep yourself honest.

Write: www.freewillastrology.com.

☎ Rob Brezsny's Free Will

Astrology beautyandtruth @ 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

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

23 The Perfect Score

BUZZ STAFF

odds & end

buzz FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004 | WHO’D YOU ROOT FOR?

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.

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Copyright Illini Media Company 2004

ACROSS 1 What lions and lambs rarely do 8 Secretly 15 Green shade 16 Busy 17 Common allergen 18 Name meaning “God is with us” 19 Mathematician who was the subject of “The Man Who Loved Only Numbers” 20 Edd’s “77 Sunset Strip” co-star 22 Yerkes Center inhabitant 23 “Bye now” 24 Aerospace transmitter 25 1960’s-70’s soul record label 26 Natl. Adopt-a-Dog Month 27 Taken in 28 Slangy hypothetical 29 Cobalt 31 Bow and others 32 It’s set on the far right

34 Tons 37 Herbal stress reliever 41 Satanic 42 Cute Valentine 43 ___ in Quebec 44 Otolaryngologists, for short 45 Instrument heard on “Within You Without You” 46 Willa Cather’s “One of ___” 47 Fr. martyress, maybe 48 Blue supergiant known as Alpha Cygni 49 San Diego tourist attraction 50 Haberdashery purchases 52 Wife of Nero 54 Collectively 55 Un-p.c. activity 56 Opener 57 1950’s Mouseketeer DOWN 1 House style

2 Drink order 3 Much-anticipated social event 4 It may initiate a blessing 5 Farm calls 6 First name in tyranny 7 Cut a rug 8 Shakespearean king 9 Directory contents 10 Tube alternative 11 Sweets 12 Dividing line 13 “What’s shaking?”

14 Pre-Internet communications 21 Rink event 24 Bone just above the foot 25 Paddle 27 Carving medium 28 “McSorley’s Bar” painter 30 Jr. year events 31 Spy’s need 33 It has a mathematical focus 34 Lively ballroom dance

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35 Bar 36 Reveres 38 Caraway-flavored liquor 39 Coyote, to a sheep rancher 40 Quiet

42 Grafton sleuth ___ Millhone 45 It may be common 46 Orchard Field, after 1949

48 It’s committed to memory 49 British gun 51 ___ de bourrée (ballet movement) 53 Long time: Abbr.

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odds & end

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It’s a comedy that gives new meaning to the phrase “foreign relations.”

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HOW WAS YOUR SUPER BOWL SUNDAY? | FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004

JOHN VANDERSLICE Cellar Door Barsuk Records

★★★★

BY LOGAN MOORE

Too often, the music loving population lets a very good band slip by with mediocre lyrics. I’ve been guilty of it. C’mon, if the rhythm section is a rockin’ and the hooks are a poppin’, who the hell cares what the lead singer is ranting on about? (I’m looking at you, Julian Casablancas.) Conversely, many talented singer-songwriters never seem quite able to burst the glass ceiling and step into truly innovative territory.

Hence, the hundreds of able “alt-country” troubadours who can’t get beyond their co-dependent relationship with pedal steel guitar. It is for this reason that we should all personally thank artists such as John Vanderslice, who managed to pull off the daring feat of mending honest, intelligent lyrics to music that is layered, interesting and rewards repeated listening.The fact that he’s been making such music for the better part of a decade, first as a member of heralded indie band MK Ultra and as a solo artist, ain’t too shabby, either.

Make no mistake about it; Vanderslice is frighteningly talented. He is what is generally, mysteriously, referred to as a “songwriters’songwriter.”Bearing in mind that there is a cathartic charm to the self-referential confessional style of songwriting touted by most songwriters, Vanderslice travels down what is, more often than not, a far more intellectually satisfying road. In the tradition of Joe Henry,Tom Waits and Randy Newman, Vanderslice crafts his songs like minute films; vignettes rich with nuance, detail, believable characters and over-arching themes in which his crestfallen characters expound upon their demons, engage in moments of somber reflection or recount soulbaring outbursts.

So influenced is Vanderslice by the cinema that several of the songs on Cellar Door are about specific movies.

They also happen to be some of the finest compositions on the album. “When It Hits My Blood” is genius in its encapsulation of the themes of Requiem for a Dream. Just like the movie, it neither condemns nor venerates drug use, it just reveals the motivations and horrifying results that accompany drug use. When the narrator intones, “When it hits my blood/ I’m not her son/ I’m the son of a flower/ That grows on Afghan bluff,”Vanderslice nails his aesthetic of marrying the deeply human to the stunningly intellectual.

Which isn’t to say that he relies on movies alone for inspiration. “They Won’t Let Me Run” plays out like a Tennessee Williams play, as the protagonist is kept a social prisoner of his affluent family. After an affair that leads to pregnancy (sample lyric: “The morning she threw up/My options were all laid out”), the song ends with a drunken outburst, an attempted escape and the protagonist’s dejected return to his empty existence.

The music of Cellar Door is correspondingly fascinating.

With a rich palette of analog, digital and acoustic instrumentation, Vanderslice crafts a sound that is variously spare and orchestral yet always aligned with the intentions of the individual song. It’s in the clear ringing tones that signal the beginning of “Promising Actress” before the string section pushes its way to the fore and domi-

nates the song. It’s the way the martial drums snap and pop on the call-to-arms lead-off number “Pale Horse.”The thundering, pounding percussion on “Coming and Going on Easy Terms” builds with the tension of the narrator’s predicament.Vanderslice runs his own Telephone Studios, and he exhibits the same care crafting the deeply layered sound of Cellar Door as he does the layered meanings of his songs.

In the great war between musical vision and lyrical capacity,Vanderslice proves that not only is a treaty possible, but it is, ultimately, the only satisfying conclusion. Like Curtis Mayfield said “We gotta have peace.”

MOONSHINE STILL Moon Over Georgia ★★★

BY BENJI FELDHEIM

Anyone with a complaint about the influx of bands in the late ‘90s surviving solely on live shows, Internet publicity and word-of-mouth deserves a swift kick to the head. Nevertheless, with any good idea comes cheap imitations, not to mention the label “jam band,” which sheds light only on the fact that a band improvises and says nothing about the actual sound.

Moonshine Still brings a Southern gospel and blues mentality to their music.

Doom and joy are wrapped up with shrill guitar solos, eerie synth and keyboard work, and a driving rhythm section. Hailing from Macon, Ga., the band pays regular homage to the many styles that have come out of their birthplace.

Moon Over Georgia shows a glimpse into the range of the band’s live performances, a task hard to accomplish when each night’s songs can be different.The result is a solid cycle of warm country melodies fit for a long drive, horn-infused party funk and evil rock sure to please jam fans that never lost their taste for metal.

The disc kicks out with “Blue Mule,” starting with a simple, slow groove that exhibits the band’s ability to interlock the guitars, bass, keys, drums and percussion without too much needless overlap.About a minute and a half into the song, the band changes without hesitation to a double-time rhythm, turning a subtle groove into a speedy foot-tapper. Scott Baston’s thick baritone vocals exhibit a mix of dirty blues and a slight penchant for Neil Diamond.

David Shore’s guitar shredding chops come through on this track during the faster sections.

On “C & KB,” the band puts forth a funky strut resembling more New Orleans than Georgia. A group bent on the energy of a live performance needs to get down, and not just rock out the whole time. While Moonshine Still does not pull off funk as smoothly as their country tunes, rhythmically, they understand the importance of the off-beat.

The bass playing of Ray Petren shines on “Pass the Bread Around” with fat, yet tight slapping, guiding the band through another stab at party funk.

During “Pyramid,”they let out their evil rock side with a dark, mean noise, layered with laser-sounding synth from Trippe Wright’s keyboards.

Moonshine Still has laid a solid foundation for a live

DAVE’S DREAM DIARY

buzz

band mixing country, hard rock and funk. Now they just need to stretch their dynamics more to the outer limits of simplicity and intensity.

DAVE HOLLISTER Real Talk

buzz

3

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | MICHAEL JACKSON HAS BREASTS?

FIRST THING’S FIRST...

Darwin went down to Georgia

News of the weird LEAD STORY

UPDATE

DreamWorks Records

★★

BY ROSALYN YATES

When most people think “Chicago”in terms of urban music, they think of the ubiquitous and self-proclaimed “Pied Piper of R&B,” R. Kelly. Over the years, however, there have been a number of lesser-known individuals out of the Windy City to contribute to the music scene. Among them is West Side native Dave Hollister of the group BLACKstreet. Releasing his first solo record, Ghetto Hymns, in 1999, he returns in 2003 with Real Talk, his fourth album as a solo artist.

Expressing the desire to “…make this record the way they made ‘em back in the day” a la soul legends Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway, Hollister delivers music that has soul and hints of passion, but is far less captivating.

Singer Tank (“Maybe I Deserve” and “One Man”) offers his hand at production on five of the 12 songs from this disc, including the first track “The Big Payback,”which borrows unsuccessfully from the James Brown recording of the same name. While it is an almost standard practice in R&B music to sample songs of past generations, it should be said that the habit should be abandoned if one is unable to add his own flavor to the updated version. Such is the case with the stale sound of “The Big Payback.”

Records like Winning With You and Karma—also crafted by Tank—are just as forgettable. Real Talk gets better with “Never Gonna Change” and “Good Ole Ghetto,” two feelgood jams about life growing up in the inner city.“Never Gonna Change” served as an excellent first single due to its use of piano throughout the background. The keys bring the song to life in a way that can’t be matched using a beat machine and studio effects.The lyrics are honest as Hollister reminds us not to forget our roots. Yet his eagerness to be true to his environment is also what makes this album drag. Hollister debuted as a soloist with “Baby Mama Drama,”a song about a gold-digging ex-lover.With his sophomore release Chicago ‘85 The Movie, we heard “Yo Baby’s Daddy” and “I Don’t Want To Be a Hustler” which, as their titles imply, are more tales spotlighting ghetto life.

Real Talk gives you the feeling that you’ve been there before and, if you are familiar with Hollister’s catalog, you have. It is only with the gospel-influenced music of “Pleased Tonight” that you feel as though the thuggedout R&B mold has been broken,but as the last song on the album, it’s too little, too late.

It is hard to find an artist who hasn’t experienced some type of hardship in his or her life.These trials are often the blueprint and heart of their music. But there comes a time when moving on is essential to growth, and four albums later, Dave Hollister is still in the budding stages.

Inspirations Gaye and Hathaway were able to sing about relevant social issues on a universal level while still remaining grounded. If Hollister wishes to follow in their footsteps, he’s going to have to release himself from the confines of the ‘hood.

BY MICHAEL COULTER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

hen I was a little kid, I used to go to Sunday school. At five or six years old, coloring a picture of Jesus and singing a song was probably enough to get my young soul into heaven.

Granted, at the current point in my life, coloring a picture of Jesus wouldn’t cover me for the crooked shit I pulled on Saturday afternoon, but those were simpler times.

They weren’t really teaching us kids about God so much as they were introducing him.

Jesus was Joe Camel and the church was a big tobacco company.

By the time I got to be 12 years old, Sunday school was always a big discussion. We weren’t becoming more religious, necessarily, but we did talk about religion. Actually, that’s not true.

We kids didn’t talk about religion so much as question it. There was a lot to question. Here I was, just about to hit puberty, and most of it already didn’t make sense. The first thing they tell you is the story of Adam and Eve, and my social studies textbook had already told me that story didn’t hold water.

I might have had a different viewpoint if I was from Georgia. That state’s school superintendent has proposed striking the word “evolution” from the state’s science curriculum. I don’t know much about Georgia, but I bet it’s an interesting state. They probably live in a world that is flat and if you sail too far, you will fall off the side. Things must float in the air all the time, since I’m sure they believe the laws of gravity to also be sort of an antiquated notion. I bet people are really tired there, too. After all, that weekly bloodletting can really sap your energy.

It’s a tough situation for Georgia. It’s gotta be hard for the schools to teach evolution, seeing as the highest education representative in the state apparently hasn’t evolved since her Sunday school years.

In all fairness, they haven’t abandoned the idea of evolution entirely, but have instead decided to call it “biological changes over time.” OK, anyone not from Georgia would probably define evolution as “biological changes over time,” so it must just be the word evolution itself, right? Apparently, it is.

Superintendent Kathy Cox insists that “evolution” is nothing more than a buzzword and doesn’t need to be used in class.

Um, hey there, Kathy, “bling-bling” is a buzzword. “Evolution” is a scientific term whose concept is accepted by pretty much any scientist you can find, at least the ones outside

of Georgia. Do you really still think Adam and Eve were the first people here? Where do those dinosaur bones fit in? Geez Louise, take one look at Ed Asner and you have to be convinced of the idea of evolution. If you ask me, “Dumbass Freaking Idiot” should be a new “buzzword.” People can use it to describe school superintendents in Georgia.

Wouldn’t it be a pleasant surprise for the rest of the United States if she made a proposal forcing every school to teach evolution? That would be a harder decision, sure, but the state might receive support and respect instead of criticism and ridicule. Geez, even a monkey would know something like that.

She says the ban is to alleviate pressure on teachers in conservative areas of Georgia where parents don’t believe in evolution. Yeah, that’s a good idea; if a few rednecks don’t believe in it, then by all means, don’t teach it, even if it’s true.

You’re talking about a state where some folks still have confederate flags in their truck windows and NASCAR is seen as the sport of kings. If anyone could use a little education, it’s those fellas.

If what people believe in is the only criterion for education in Georgia, then the children’s class schedules are going to look pretty funny.

“Let’s see, first hour I have Not Bathing 101.

Second hour, I have Banging Your Cousin 207.

Third hour, I have Racism 125 … and so on.”

Sure, it’s America and everyone is allowed to believe whatever he wants. If I want to believe God is speaking to me through an expired jug of milk, that’s OK. If my neighbor wants to believe his dog is the ruler of the universe, I’m cool with that. If you insist on teaching either of those concepts in school, though, it’s going to be a bit of a problem. Just because you believe something, it doesn’t necessarily make it true, even if you really believe it.

Actually, Georgia may be able to make a good case for evolution not holding water in a few years. If you don’t teach kids what they need to know, then there’s a good chance they won’t evolve. They will stay exactly the same and grow up to raise ignorant children who will follow suit. If you aren’t evolving, an argument could be made that you’re devolving. It’ll be nice to vacation in Georgia 20 years from now.

Where else can you see a Cro-Magnon man in his natural habitat?

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.

While the Statue of Liberty remains shuttered for lack of $5 million in postSept. 11 upgrades, Congress in January mandated $10.7 billion in “earmarked” projects (also known as home-state “pork”), including $50 million for an indoor rain forest in Iowa, $50 million to make sure a Florida beach resort bridge remains toll-free, $450,000 to decipher the gene structure of rainbow trout, $225,000 to repair a public swimming pool whose drain U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.) clogged with tadpoles when he was a kid, $200,000 to introduce golf to youngsters, $90,000 for the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, and, ironically, $500,000 for a University of Akron program that analyzes how Congress makes difficult budget decisions.

LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS In January, Trilane A. Ludwig, 24, called his mother from jail in Clark County, Ala., and asked that she grab the $500 from his wallet at home and come bail him out. As he almost certainly knew, the $500 consisted of oversized, poorly made counterfeit bills, which put him in even more trouble.

In December, a federal judge rejected the latest appeal of David Cobb, 66, a former teacher at the prestigious Phillips Academy in New Hampshire, who made News of the Weird in 1995 with his attempts to seduce children by dressing as “Pumpkin Man” and encouraging kids to fondle him. He had challenged the child pornography counts against him, claiming that some of the nude photos he had were not of children, but of adults onto whose bodies he had meticulously glued head shots of kids cut out from magazine and catalog ads.

HYPERACTIVE SENIORS Hunter “Red” Rountree, who pleaded guilty to having robbed a First American Bank branch in August at the age of 91, was sentenced to 12 years in prison; it was his third bank robbery in five years (Lubbock, Texas, January). Daniel Putzel, 87, was arrested and charged with running a house of prostitution (Guilford, Conn., November).

COPYRIGHT 2004 CHUCK SHEPHERD DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

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FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004

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Drive-thru Reviews

In perfect tune

Edison Jazz Band returns from jazz conference

BY EMILY WAHLHEIM | COMMUNITY EDITOR

T

The saxophone section of the Edison Jazz Band

Hankins claps out the rhythm for the saxophones

“I sent in an application and a CD of one of our performances to the selection committee,� said Hankins. “Being selected was almost like winning the lottery. We had our fingers crossed that we would get in.�

At the conference, members of the Edison Jazz Band had the opportunity to play for many great jazz musicians and innovators. The trip gave band members a chance to hear other great jazz musicians perform as well as learn from some of the world’s best jazz musicians. “The trip was phenomenal,� said Hankins. “There are so many adjectives to describe it.

The kids got a lot out of it.�

In addition to their performance at the conference, Jazz Band One makes several other appearances throughout the year. In the Champaign-Urbana area, the band performs at banquets, jazz functions and school district events. The band also participates in the Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois Jazz Festivals, along with state and regional competitions.

Being a member of Jazz Band One at Edison is a great honor, according to Hankins. Throughout Hankins’ nine years at Edison, the band program, which includes a sixth, seventh and eighth grade concert band, along with Jazz Band One and Two and a string orchestra, has more than doubled in size. Currently, 160

Edison students participate in some part of the band program. “There is a big interest to get into the jazz band,� Hankins said. “Kids have to have the fundamentals before they get into the jazz band. It really helps them by the time they are ready to try out for the jazz band.�

Learning and practicing those fundamentals is an important part of Edison’s

ALONG CAME POLLY ★★ BEN STILLER AND JENNIFER ANISTON Aniston does her best to make the movie shine, but even she can't make the trite interesting or the familiar compelling. She does make it completely painless to endure, and at moments makes it almost fun, but she isn't Superwoman. Her back, however strong, can only hold so much dead weight. (John Loos) Now showing at Savoy and Beverly THE BIG BOUNCE ★★ OWEN WILSON AND SARA FOSTER Multiple plot elements involving heists, sex and utter debauchery ensue, but nothing ever seems to hit hard. The characters' motivations are so ambiguous that even at the end, when each character is exposed as a good guy or bad guy, it's still hard to believe. The lackluster final moments that should have provided the film's titular big bounce just provided a soft flopping around like a fish that washed up on a beautiful beach. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT ★★ ASHTON KUTCHER AND AMY SMART

The Butterfly Effect creates so many different alternate realities that it nearly ceases to exist as a whole. There are some worthy ideas hovering around here, but by the film’s pessimistic, anti-climactic ending, they’ve all just about floated away. Kutcher may have a future in serious films, but if you sit through this one, consider yourself punked. (Matt Pais)

Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

THE COOLER ★★★★ ALEC BALDWIN AND WILLIAM H. MACY The Cooler uses its funny script and intelligent direction to highlight the three impressive performances. If viewers can take a leap of faith to believe in the powers of a cooler, they will be paid back in full by enjoying this safe bet for an Oscar nomination. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Savoy and Beverly GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING ★★★ SCARLETT JOHANSSON AND COLIN FIRTH The film manages to overcome the cliche of similar films that portray typical master-servant relationships.

Throughout the film, Johansson’s and Firth’s performances remain understated yet powerful—like the painting itself—and they come together beautifully to capture the truth behind the painting. (Janelle Greenwood) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

LIVE JAZZ at

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG ★★★ JENNIFER CONNELLY AND BEN KINGSLEY Based upon the best-selling novel which was boosted by joining Oprah’s infamous book club, this film focuses on an Iranian couple forced out of the Middle East and a former junkie. When the junkie loses her house to the couple, a psychological battle ensues that provides brilliant performances but lacks some emotional depth.

(Jason Cantone) Now showing at Savoy 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 Savoy and Beverly MASTER AND COMMANDER

★★★★

RUSSELL CROWE AND PAUL BETTANY Weir buffs will get a kick out of watching this film and remembering The Truman Show. While Truman’s aquaticoriented 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.

THE PERFECT SCORE ★ SCARLETT JOHANSSON AND CHRIS EVANS Sure, this is customary MTV movie candy, a light-as-air ode to teenage carelessness and troublemaking indulgence, but laughs shouldn’t come at such a high premium of logic. This tiresome teen truffle is outdated in every way, from its unbearable Matrix homage to its lame attempt at stylish thievery. (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 TORQUE ★ ICE CUBE Take The Fast and the Furious, remove anything that made that film worthwhile, and the result would be something like Torque. Loud, idiotic and predictable at a level that can only begin to be described, Torque has arrived to take over the local multiplex.(Andrew Vecelas) Now showing at Savoy and Beverly

WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON ★★★ KATE BOSWORTH AND JOSH DUHAMEL

Win a Date utilizes the classic love triangle: The girl must choose between excitement with Tad and comfort with Pete, and a life that’s comfortable. If the film didn’t poke fun at its own cliche throughout its plot, it wouldn’t work–fortunately enough for Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, it does. (Janelle Greenwood) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

YOU GOT SERVED ★ RAZ B AND LIL’ FIZZ You Got Served is a mistake as a film. A hopeless cross of 106th and Park and any teen film from the last five years, You Got Served is among the worst. Even considering all the film’s problems, it still may be worth a gander for its unthinkable and intriguing dances. Whatever the box office outcome, it certainly won’t be difficult to rationalize picking this one off the shelves of Blockbuster in a few months in favor of braving the cold to see it in the theater.

(Andrew crewell) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

OPENING THIS WEEKEND BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS ICE CUBE AND CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER This sequal to the midly successful Barbershop gives audiences basically the same cast and location as the original, but now they have a problem: Queen Latifah opened a salon next door to their shop; nothing short of hilarity ensues. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend CATCH THAT KID KRISTEN STEWART AND SAM ROBARDS Setting a wonderful example for kids, this movie tells the story of a group of preteens who devise a plan to rob a bank to solve the money problems caused by a trajic accident to one of the character’s father. Sure to be full of fun action scenes, this film may just cause an explosion of bank robberies by small children. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend MIRACLE KURT RUSSELL AND PATRICIA CLARKSON In 1980 the US Olympic hockey team beat the Russian olympic squad, shattering the belief that the Russians were inviincible in the sport. Miracle tells the true story of player-turned coach Herb Brooks and his team’s triumphant victory that inspired a nation. Unfortunately, everyone knows the ending of this movie. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend THE BREAD, MY SWEET SCOTT BAIO AND KRISTIN MINTER Playing at Boarman’s Art Theatre for one week only, The Bread, My Sweet tells the story of a man who meets the woman he wants to marry, experiences love at first sight, and then proposes to the woman the same day that he met her. Is is romance or desperation? (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend

BOARDMAN’S THEATRES

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PHOTOS | CHRISTINE LITAS

he wailing of saxophones and the clanging of cymbals echo through the silent halls at Thomas Edison Middle School. Though the school day is long over, members of the Edison band remain inside the band room, finishing up practice. The band members and their director Sam Hankins, along with a multitude of support staff and parent boosters, spend countless hours practicing and preparing for the band’s appearances at concerts, festivals and performances. Most recently, Edison’s Jazz Band One returned from a two-day trip to the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference in New York City.

The International Association of Jazz Educators Conference is the world’s largest gathering of jazz musicians, educators and students. The conference invites more than 7,000 people from more than 35 different countries, including Japan, Isreal and Sweden to participate in its annual gathering. The conference offers students and educators a chance to attend clinics, workshops and concerts. The participants come from all different levels of jazz music ranging from middle school to professionals. Selection is by invitation only and this year, Edison’s Jazz Band One was the only middle school asked to attend.

band program. The band is an extracurricular activity at Edison and students practice with each other three times a week either before or after school. Such dedication has resulted in Edison receiving numerous first place finishes and superior rankings at competitions.

Throughout the years, Hankins said he has seen an improvement in the children he teaches. More and more of them are becoming serious about their music and the band. Many of his students take private lessons and spend much of their own time practicing. Hankins says this added work has paid off for the students, not only by improving their music, but by teaching them to depend on each other and to work together.

Beyond the awards, conferencesbuzzand competitions, Hankins said he is always looking for ways to improve the band program at Edison.

He feels the program is a way for him to help his students and give back some of what he has been taught. And although he is teaching his students about music, Hankins hopes he is instilling in the kids some other important lessons through that music. “I want to instill in them not to accept mediocrity. I want them to be able to take this band experience and use the work ethic they have been taught to be better people,� he said. “I want to help make them better human beings, no matter what they are doing.� buzz

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FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | BEST FILM NOMINATIONS BACK IN HEATRES

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Hankins plays a tune on his trumpet for his students 627 E. GREEN 344-0710

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THURSDAY AT 9:30

The Bread, My Sweet (NR)

Daily at: 5:15 PM, 7:30 PM, & 10:00 PM, Sat/Sun matinees at 3:00 PM

Concert For George A Celebration of the Life & Music of George Harrison (PG-13)

Showtimes: Midnight Fri/Sat Feb. 6 & 7 and Feb. 13 & 14

Three Academy Award Nominations Two Thumbs Up! - Ebert & Roeper Screen #1:

In America (PG-13)

Two Academy Award Nominations Starring Academy Award Winners Ben Kingsley & Jennifer Connely

Screen #2:

The House of Sand & Fog

(R) Nightly at 7:00 PM, matinees Sat/Sun at 2:00 PM

25

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CATCH THAT KID (PG) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:10 9:10 11:30 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:10 9:10

CALENDAR GIRLS (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 5:10 9:40 12:00 Sun. - Thu. 5:10 9:40 TAD HAMILTON (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 3:00 5:10 7:20 9:40 11:40 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 3:00 5:10 7:20 9:40

BARBERSHOP 2 (PG–13) (2 SCREENS) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:20 9:50 12:15 CHEAPER BY DOZEN (PG) Fri. Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:20 - Thu. 12:40 2:50 5:00 9:50 ★ COLD MOUNTAIN (R) Fri. MIRACLE (PG) (2 SCREENS) Fri. & Thu. 7:00 10:00 Sat. 12:40 1:10 4:00 4:30 7:10 GOSPEL OF JOHN (PG–13) 7:40 10:00 11:00 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 1:10 4:00 4:30 Fri. - Thu. 12:20 3:40 7:10 7:40 10:00 ◆ ★ RETURN OF THE KING (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. 12:20 BIG BOUNCE (PG–13) Fri. & 4:20 8:20 Sat. 7:10 9:20 11:30 ★ LOST IN TRANSLATION (R) Sun. - Thu. 7:10 9:20 Fri. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 7:30 ALONG CAME POLLY (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 ★ MONSTER (R) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 12:15 9:30 11:30 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 9:30 BUTTERFLY EFFECT (R) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 12:20 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 PERFECT SCORE (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:30 2:40 4:50 7:10 9:30 11:50 Sun. - Thu. 12:30 2:40 4:50 7:10 9:30

★ MYSTIC RIVER (R) Fri. &

Sat. 12:50 4:00 7:00 9:45 12:25 Sun. - Thu. 12:50 4:00 7:00 9:45

◆ YOU GOT SERVED (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:50 3:10 5:10 7:20 9:20 11:20 Sun. - Thu. 12:50 3:10 5:10 7:20 9:20

★ PEARL EARRING (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 4:10 7:10 9:20 BIG FISH (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 11:30 1:10 4:00 6:50 9:30 12:10 Sun. - Thu. 1:10 4:00 6:50 9:30 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 4:10 7:10 9:20

Showtimes for 2/6 thru 2/12

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WE JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH SCARLETT JOHANSSON | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

ThinkFilm

moviereview

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN | HENRY IAN CUSICK

moviereview

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN ★★★

BY JOHN BEZDEK | STAFF WRITER

T

he Gospel of John tells the story of Jesus Christ’s life and death. The scenery of the movie is beautiful, although ironically shot in Spain, not Israel. Director Philip Saville immerses his actors in nature, and does it well.

The original musical score by Jeff Danna is excellent, playing throughout most of the movie, but never drawing undue attention to itself.

The music and direction make up for a lackluster plot. Although most people know the ending to this story, Gospel makes no attempt to expose new ideas about the story of Jesus at all.

It becomes a literal retelling of the Gospel which, due in part to Christopher Plummer’s ever-present narration, ultimately feels more like a PBS documentary than a movie.

Because The Gospel of John is not written as a mystery over whether Jesus is the son of God, this movie overplays the godliness of Jesus.

Absent is His humanity. He appears omnipotent and perfect throughout the entire movie, losing the intriguing human qualities of temptation, doubt and fear that make for good literature and film.

The various minor characters with whom Jesus interacts play their roles adequately, but the Samaritan Woman by the Well is the most memorable. John the Baptist stands out in this movie as sufficiently crazy enough to make the audience, as well as Israel, wonder Henry Ian Cusick’s Jesus Christ is a fine portrayal. However, Cusick’s numerous “I am telling you the truth!” lines and unflappable confidence becomes irritating after three hours.

Still, he does well in a role that any actor would be criticized for.

No matter how well-made a movie about a subject as controversial as Jesus Christ is, it will inevitably receive criticism for one thing or another. The Gospel of John is a well-made film that unfortunately becomes stuck in a literal and rigid retelling of John’s writings. Despite its few shortcomings, this movie is a gorgeous epic. But if one expects an engaging blockbuster, it might be better to spend the three hours simply reading this movie’s counterpart.

THE GIRL WITH A PEARL EARING ★★★

BY JANELLE GREENWOOD | STAFF WRITER

E

veryone will soon recognize Scarlett Johansson as a household name. Girl with a Pearl Earring comes nothing short of another success for Johansson, who recently played opposite to Bill Murray in her breakout performance in Lost in Translation.

Although it is a period piece, Girl with a Pearl Earring is the perfect vehicle for Johansson to bring a fresh performance to light with her character, the young Greit. Living in Delft, Holland, which resembles a colder and drearier version of 16th century Venice, Greit lives a life of modest proportions among the many merchants and wealthy people who line the canals of the city. After her father is blinded in a kiln explosion, Greit settles for work as a servant for Johannes Vermeer’s (Colin Firth) family to help support her own family.

Greit regularly suffers a gross animosity from Vermeer’s wife and his children. Vermeer, how-

moviereview

YOU GOT SERVED

★

BY ANDREW CREWELL | STAFF WRITER

Y

ou Got Served is an entertaining piece that showcases real talent and choreography, however, it skimps on the story. Soft spots in the plot make the movie seem long despite its 90minute run time, and bad cinematography muddles production into what ends up as a poor showing.

The deal is pretty routine: Kids band together in the form of a dance team for some extracurricular excitement. Hanging out at a dance club operated by “Mr. Rad” (Steve Harvey), they catch a reputation for being the hottest act in town. Eventually, a feud with other dancers leads to a challenge and a danceoff. MTV gets in on the action, and by the end of the film there is a competition boasting a $50,000 prize and guest appearance in a Lil’ Kim music video for the winner.

Hip hop and R&B personalities Marques Houston and Omarion (of disbanded B2K fame) play the protagonists, Elgin and David.

Forgiving the acting, which is atrocious, these

ever, eventually sees beyond Greit’s external status and allows her to assist him while working in his studio.

Jealousy runs rampant through the house, particularly with Vermeer’s wife and his financial commissioner, the Machiavellian van Ruijeven (Tom Wilkinson) who decides to commission a painting of Greit. Eventually a forbidden passion between painter and subject evokes a closer look into the young girl’s life.

Meanwhile, Greit must learn to juggle between the roles of serving as her master’s muse and serving as a household maid of low status. Her parents, also servants, agree that Greit should focus her newfound romantic attention on the butcher’s son, despite her growing affection for Vermeer.

Like the painting she inspires, Greit lives life through subtle glances rather than through her wide, curious gazes, and it is one soulful look that ultimately places her in history through Vermeer’s masterpiece.

Johansson’s personification of this young girl’s emotions from the painting is often raw and effective. Greit’s only real language in a household full of overprivileged brats is her ability to speak through a silent exterior.

Johansson understands the underlying parallel between Greit and the artwork that surrounds her. Vermeer’s paintings speak louder through one subject’s frozen glance than through all who admire his work.

Greit serves as the only light and artistic inspiration for Vermeer at this point in his life.

If Johansson didn’t embody those qualities and the ability to cue them on will, the film’s overall

two kids prove they are accomplished dancers.

While not quite ready to expand their careers to the silver screen, Houston and Omarion add a nice boost to their repertoire and will be listed among the best and brightest of a young and able cast of dance phenoms in Hollywood.

Unfortunately, the shortcomings of You Got Served are quite noticeable. The story is lame, peaking when a child is murdered. Also questionable is the kids’ employment. They work for a shady businessman, Michael 'Bear' Taliferro, delivering packages for him. In a film marketed toward teens and their families, these seem to be subjects the writers should not have broached, especially since they are not integral parts of the film.

What’s even worse is the stolen story line.

You Got Served steals from Bring It On—which enjoyed modest success as a teen flick three years ago—to no end. From the crisscrossed love triangle of Elgin and David’s sister, to the backstabbing and routine theft between dance groups, there isn’t an original idea in the movie.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment, however, is the cinematography. The dancing is so good that it could stand alone as a movie, but the camera work is shaky and erratic, presumably to add effect. Unfortunately, the audience just wants to see the moves, and the crazy angles and movements of the camera deteriorate what would otherwise be a remarkable show of dancing achievement.

In the end, the biggest problem may be the film’s timing. You Got Served was released too

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FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004

5

Britles to perform benefit for Carle Hospital

BY KELLY RATCHFORD | STAFF WRITER

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARING | SCARLETT JOHANSSON effectiveness would be minimized. We need to believe that this girl is the only genuine inspiration for this man’s work.

Colin Firth, in possibly his most modest role, relies on a quiet demeanor to complement Johansson’s subtle and refined spark. Words play a back seat to the overall performance of both characters. They don’t say much because they don’t have to.

The film as a whole manages to overcome the cliche of similar films that portray typical master-servant relationships. While the supporting cast feels somewhat ignored, it does help the viewer to concentrate on the painting and the process of its design, which is most important.

Throughout the film, Johansson’s and Firth’s performances remain understated yet powerful—like the painting itself—and they come together beautifully to capture the truth behind the painting.

I

n celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Beatles’ first appearance in America on The Ed Sullivan Show, Champaign’s own The Britles will perform “A Tribute to Beatlemania” Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign to benefit the Carle Children’s Cancer Program.

Comprised of Joe Snell (“Johnny”) on rhythm guitar and harmonica, Jack Wilkie (“Georgy”) on lead guitar, Bill Thomas (“Paulie”) on bass and Chuck Bialaschki (“Ringee”) on drums, the members of The Britles take special pride in their authenticity as a Beatles tribute outfit.

Louise Harrison, sister of late Beatle George Harrison, will make a special appearance at the concert and will answer Beatle questions during intermissions.

The proceeds from the performance will benefit the pediatric hematology/oncology department at Carle Hospital, which serves children with serious blood and blood-related disorders such as hemophilia, sickle cell anemia and thalassemias, and cancers including leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors and rare childhood tumors.

Dr. Mark S. Musselman is the clinical assistant professor of pediatrics and associate department head of pediatrics at Carle. Prior

PHOTO COURTESY OF | BILL THOMAS

3:59 PM

Lions Gate Entertainment

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2/4/04

The Britles posing at the University of Illinois

to his arrival at Carle, no pediatric cancer specialist served East Central Illinois. Families would have to drive to Chicago or St. Louis to receive care.

Musselman has now worked at Carle for about 30 months. He cares for more than 400 patients with cancer or serious blood disorders.

According to Musselman, children with cancer and blood diseases need different medical care than adults.

“Care requires a sensitivity to the development level of the child to their level of emotional maturity and function,” Musselman said. “The program uses a multidisciplinary team approach to diagnose, treat and manage the care of sick children and meet the needs of their family.”

Judy Grumish of Champaign is thankful that Musselman and his staff came to Carle. When her son was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001, Grumish brought her son to see Musselman.

“My son and Dr. Musselman are friends to this day,” Grumish said. “It is great to trust your doctor, know that he will be there and genuinely cares for what he is doing.”

Grumish now volunteers for the Children’s Cancer Program and helped to organize the upcoming performance.

“We want to improve the current program

and help to pay for the special things throughout the year such as parties that help to bring fun back into the kids’ lives,” she said.

Tickets are $20 for the main floor, $16 for the balcony and mezzanine, and $100 for prime seats at the front of the theater. The $100 tickets will also include an invitation to a cocktail reception with Louise Harrison and a special prize drawing.

In addition, the business or family name will be thanked in the printed concert program, on a banner and in newspapers after the performance. Donations are welcome and can be made in care of the Carle Development Foundation, indicating that it is for the Carle Children’s Cancer Program, and mailed to The Virginia Theatre, 203 W. Park St., Champaign, IL 61820. Businesses can also make a $100 donation and will get their name printed in the concert program. Call (217) 352-6399 to get listed. All proceeds go to the Carle Children’s Cancer Program. buzz

What is the best part of your job?

How did you end up teaching at Edison?

That I get to make music every day. I have fun.

I get to make music and teach kids. I am always eager to get in here in the morning.

I have been here for nine years. I came to Champaign because I was stationed at the Air Force base in Rantoul. I was in the band in the Air Force. When I got out, I went to graduate school at the University of Illinois and finished up my master’s. I started looking for a job and the first one that came along was in Rock Island (Ill.). I would drive up there to work and come back here to see my wife. I came to Edison as a sub at first and ended up getting the job in ‘95. I haven’t looked back since.

Questions for Louise Harrison can be emailed to louiseharrison@thebritles.com.

Q & A

SamHankins How did you get first become interested in music?

My father and my immediate family were musicians. My grandma was a gospel singer. I just grew up around it.

Screen Gems, Inc.

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What are some of your non-musical interests?

What was the first instrument you learned to play?

YOU GOT SERVED | OMARION & JENNIFER FREEMAN close to Honey, another film wrapped around dancing and its impact on popular youth culture. Honey proved to be a feel-good success that will overshadow the questionable choices made by the You Got Served writers. In an obvious attempt to make a quick buck, the producers would have been better off focusing on dancing, cutting out the story and releasing the film as special interest.

You Got Served is a mistake as a film. A hopeless cross of 106th and Park and any teen film from the last five years, You Got Served is among the worst. Even considering all the film’s problems, it still may be worth a gander for its unthinkable and intriguing dances. Whatever the box office outcome, it certainly won’t be difficult to rationalize picking this one off the shelves of Blockbuster in a few months in favor of braving the cold to see it in the theater.

I started with vocals. My father was a singer so my brother and I started with that and I moved to guitar. That really wasn’t me and I moved to trumpet after I saw a Louis Armstrong film. My uncle had a trumpet and I picked that up and started playing around with it.

Who has been the biggest influence on your music career?

Sam Hankins has spent his entire life surrounded by music. Whether it be gospel, jazz, vocals or the trumpet, Hankins has a wide variety of musical talents and interests. Currently the band director at Thomas Edison Middle School, Hankins spends his time outside of school with his wife and son.

Larry Skinner. He took me under his wing, molded and shaped me. He was a child prodigy and had played with everybody. He was a very big influence.

And all those jazz greats: Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie were huge influences.

I water ski, bowl, pool, play some basketball. I have a wife and a son. But most of my life involves some sort of music.

If you weren’t directing the band, what would you be doing?

I would be back on the road still playing, looking for a meal. To tell the truth, I really don’t know what I would be doing.

I have spent half my life doing music and I don’t know what I would do if I was out of my environment. I would be like a fish flopping around.

What is your favorite Champaign-Urbana?

part

of

The community and the people. The music scene, which has really grown over the years.

There are more venues now. It is a good place to raise a family.

Who are your favorite musicians?

What advice would you give to young musicians?

Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and especially Louis Armstrong. He is the one that shaped it.

I could go on, there is a whole list.

Keep practicing, keep listening. Go check out live groups, any groups; musicals, orchestras, jazz.

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arts

AND I’M FREE ... FREE FALLIN’ | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

buzz

Storytelling

buzz

moviereview

THE PERFECT SCORE

More than a preschool pastime

★

BY BECKY WEST | STAFF WRITER

take place the third Wednesday of this month, with two performances scheduled. On Feb. 18, Dana Roeser, winner of the Samuel veryone loves a good story, as evidenced French Morse Prize, will by the billions we spent to see The Lord of the also perform.

Rings. Frodo is one happy hobbit who is now Later in the season, on livin’ large. If you’ve spent $8 for tickets, $6 for April 21, Walter Matherly will popcorn and $20 on your “secret” Lord of the read from The Interior Hour by Rings Deluxe Beast action figure, why not Antonio Colinas, a prize-winwatch a movie without a screen? It is possible ning author from Spain. to be captivated without being held captive in These performers bring severa dark theater. al creative perspectives to the Discover—or rediscover—the art of storyVerde venue. They have the telling and poetry. Starting Feb. 4, the Teller’s potential to captivate audiArt begins its second season of Storytelling for ences with their varying artisAdults. Performances will be given the first tic interests, be it poetry, and third Wednesdays of this month at the music or fiction.

Verde Gallery in downtown Champaign. The What’s most important for Verde Gallery calls itself “a place of inspiration a performer in a The Story where community and culture converge.”

Teller ’s production is “to More specifically, it’s a great place to drink bring alive a story in a vivid wine and eat a pastry, all while mingling with way for the audience. People friends and relishing in a story. Thanks to the are usually triggered to see memories and sponsorship of Curtis Tucker, the Verde’s coinsights into their o w n b e h a v i o r. proprietor, this season of the Teller’s Art folSometimes, they are hooked by the story. lows a very successful 2003 season.

They set out to read it themselves because Just like last year, this year’s performances there is a kernel of truth that they crave hidden in the tale,” says Wells.

These personalized performances serve as a nice contrast to the electronic media. Travis Martin, a University senior in English, says that many of t h e b i g b u d g e t Hollywood movies, such as Armag e d d o n and Independence Day, are fake and impersonal.

He says that attending performances of poetry readings and storytelling would be refreshing.

Not only does storytelling and poetry entertain, it has the ability to preserve history, clarify the present and to let people dream of their own future.

Storytelling itself is the oldest and most effective method of communication. For years, storytelling has been conPatricia Hruby Powell performs "Why Rabbit Is as Rabbit Is," an Iroquois folk tale, at Pages for All Ages.

PHOTOS | CHRISTINE LITAS

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feature a group of remarkably talented storytellers, each conveying a different tale that ranges from the dramatic to the light-hearted, all of them equally enlightening.

Kicking off the season Feb. 4 is Patricia Hruby Powell, who is also a coordinator for the event. She recognized the first-rate talent in the Champaign-Urbana community and wanted to convey that talent to its people. “I wanted to do something for the community and the audience,” she said.

Powell, who has received numerous awards and fellowships for her storytelling and choreography, will discuss rural and urban living, and the people and wildlife that share the world, accompanied by dance and life-like animal sounds.

On March 3, Megan Wells will perform Greco-Roman myths and King Arthur legends.

She, too, is an award-winning storyteller, renowned for her charisma and wisdom.

On April 7, Kate McDowell will perform musical adaptations of folk and fairy tales through singing and guitar playing. Other gifted storytellers this year will include Dan Keding, Kim Sheahan, Kim Petzing a n d Janice Del Negro.

The poetry branch of the Teller’s Art will

BY MATT PAIS | LEAD REVIEWER

I

n a movie about pilfering the country’s most notorious standardized test, it’s never a good sign when the characters barely appear capable of spelling “SAT,” much less stealing it. Searching for the perfect score—in more ways than one— is a misfit group of high school students, featuring Chris Evans as the leader, Erika Christensen as the brain and Scarlett Johansson as the rebel.

The group hatches a foolproof plan to steal answers from the testing headquarters (which just happens to be a few blocks away from their bland New Jersey high school).

Too bad these stereotypical characters—who are joined by Bryan Greenberg as the leader’s sidekick, Leonardo Nam as the stoner and Darius Miles as the vernacularly-challenged basketball star—have already taken the test, meaning that colleges would average the scores sidered “taboo” for adults. The adults, however, are the ones that seem to hang on to every last word, while the children get restless and lose interest.

According to Powell, only since the 1970s has the world of storytelling been seen as an up-and-coming art for persons of every age.

At that time, the National Storytelling Network sponsored the annual National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn.

Since then, the NSN has sponsored annual conferences in cities nationwide. Storytelling was just starting to be recognized as an art form, but the continued low media made many unaware of this particular art and its powerful influence. Once people have shared or heard a story or poem, they feel more inspired, a little wiser and able to see a whole new perspective, according to Powell.

Jean-Paul Sartre wrote, “A man is always a teller of tales, he lives surrounded by his stories and the stories of others, he sees everything that happens to him through them; and he tries to live his life as if he were telling a story.”

The Verde Gallery is located on 17 E. Taylor St. in downtown Champaign, between Radio Maria and Cowboy Monkey. Each event will begin at 8 p.m. buz z

To learn more about the Verde Gallery and this s e a s o n o f t h e Te l l e r ’ s A r t , v i s i t www.verdant-systems.com/words.htm

moviereview

THE BIG BOUNCE ★★

BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

S

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film

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | JANET JACKSON’S BREAST? THANKS JUSTIN

ara Foster's slim physique deserves an Academy Award nomination of its own next year. Her transformation from sexpot Nancy into a hip-swiveling piece of eye candy provides the film with its most interesting moments. Aside from a few catchy lines thrown in along the way, The Big Bounce never rises above a misogynistic opus to the men out there who miss the old The Man Show.

Adapted from a novel by Elmore Leonard, this supposedly sexy crime story succeeds more as a tourism video for the phenomenal beaches of Hawaii than as a noir thriller. Viewers will quickly realize this film had to be one of the best experiences of each actor's life. With such little plot to worry about, it must have been the ultimate beach party for Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Foster and Gary Sinise (who is in the film so infrequently that calling him a supporting actor is a stretch). Throw in a handful of scenes with Willie Nelson playing dominoes, and it’s the ultimate experience for an actor.

Some naive filmgoers might state that George Armitage and the very talented cast did

no matter how well they did the second time around anyway. Too bad the SAT has several different forms, so getting the answers in advance wouldn’t work. And too bad every con film in history has proved there is no such thing as the perfect score, so chances aren’t good that this motley crew of underachievers can swindle their way into college acceptance letters.

With its non-confrontational use of simple double-entendre, The Perfect Score is the perfect title for this high-concept heist flick from teenpleasing director Brian Robbins. Unfortunately, the cleverness stops there, and what’s left is an unfunny immorality play that must have slept its way through comedy class.

Varsity Blues, Robbins’ last successful foray into breezy adolescent recklessness, was fun because it believed in the persistent irresponsibility of its meathead football players and found guilty pleasure buried in a thick Texas twang. Instead, The Perfect Score finds its entertainment value in cheap writing and idiotic behavior. No fun comes from rejoicing with the outlandish caricatures; it comes from laughing at the childish insignificance of this MTV Films movie that might have fared better on MTV. In a theater, however, it’s hard to know what audience is expected to tune in to the Saturday afternoon simplicity of The Perfect Score, which is too moronic for anyone out of high school and not flashy enough for anyone still concerned with the SATs. Between recent indie favorite Johannson, Swimfan’s Christensen and

their best, and blame writer Leonard for writing a novel that didn't have enough substance to become a movie. Those filmgoers would be wrong. The film is an update of 1969's The Big Bounce, based upon the same novel. Sure, this version is superior to the new version (which, of course, is extremely rare in Hollywood) but the people behind the movie are the ones to blame. It is most likely a Hollywood superiority complex that created this film. However, no matter how good the creative team thinks it is, they should have been smarter and stayed away from this material.

The script's major flaw isn't that the plot is boring or unimaginative, it’s that no one will be able to ask why anything happened because the film is about as deep and intellectual as Pauly Shore reciting Shakespeare. The Big Bounce doesn't work as either comedy or caper. It surfs over elements that audiences would find intriguing and sticks with attitudes over plot elements. Luckily, jokes are thrown in throughout the film to make everything light-hearted and easier to not dislike. Memorable lines like, "God is an imaginary friend for adults" are few and far between, but the film's quirkiness does keep it afloat.

Wilson plays a walking attitude, not a character. He portrays a drifter who gets into a fight with his boss on a construction site and ultimately smashes his boss in the head with a baseball bat. He then drifts his way into the world of Freeman's possibly corrupt district judge act and ambiguous good guy/bad guy Charlie Sheen's character, who just seems

Movie News Compiled by Jason Cantone

Paramount Pictures

2/4/04

THE PERFECT SCORE | SCARLETT JOHANNSON Not Another Teen Movie’s Evans, there might be enough pubescent star power to validate the wide release of such sophomoric schlock. Since it certainly won’t announce Miles’ bright future into acting—consult Ray Allen’s subtle performance in He Got Game for an NBA star who can act, not just act like a baller—this movie may have only landed on the big screen to cover Johannson’s rising paycheck.

Sure, this is customary MTV movie candy, a light-as-air ode to teenage carelessness and troublemaking indulgence, but laughs shouldn’t come at such a high premium of logic. This tiresome teen truffle is outdated in every way, from its unbearable Matrix homage to its lame attempt at stylish thievery. And in terms of leisurely slickness, here’s an analogy even Miles can understand: Ocean’s Eleven is to a perfect score of 1600 as The Perfect Score is to, well, not much more than 11.

After Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson's dress during the Super Bowl halftime show, CBS spokeswoman Leslie Anne Wade said "CBS deeply regrets the incident."

However, after exposing her breast to the millions of people watching, Jackson has nothing whatsoever to regret. This will start a flurry of publicity for her that doesn't involve her opinion about her brother Michael's alleged antics or how fat she looked in The Nutty Professor II. It must have cost a lot to buy these breasts, and now they're making money back for her through publicity.

World Entertainment News Network announced that Lord of the Rings heartthrob Orlando Bloom is set to surprise his girlfriend Kate Bosworth with a wedding proposal during London's Empire Film Awards. Well, good job to the press on this one. I'm sure she's going to be nice and surprised after reading their story a week before the awards show.

Apparently if you beat your wife, it's all okay until you do it again. Music legend James Brown was arrested for assault last week, which put the erection of a Brown statue in Georgia on hiatus. Apparently being arrested for beating up his third wife in 1988 was okay; it's just when he does it again that causes a stir.

C-UViews

Compiled by Adam Young

Big Bounce Productions LLC

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THE BIG BOUNCE | SARA FOSTER thrown into the mix because he had some free time away from his successful CBS comedy.

Multiple plot elements involving heists, sex and utter debauchery ensue, but nothing ever seems to hit hard. The characters' motivations are so ambiguous that even at the end, when each character is exposed as a good guy or bad guy, it's still hard to believe. Foster and Wilson lead the charge, stealing $200,000 from a vault.

But how the heist is going to be done is never discussed with the audience until the lackluster final moments that should have provided the film's titular big bounce, but instead just provided a soft flopping around like a fish that washed up on one of those beautiful beaches.

SCREEN REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad

The Perfect Score ★★★★ John Foley Champaign

“My favorite character was the stoner."

★★★ Hannah Ostermann Champaign

"I'd never see it again; too many typical, adolescent, cheap laughs."

★★ Lindsay Smith Champaign

"Scarlett Johannson's performance paled in compairison to that in Lost In Translation."

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calendar

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 on Saturday, March 6 from 1-4pm in room D105 on the Parkland campus. The fee is $50. Call 351-2546 for more information.

Registration deadline is Feb 20.

WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

MIND BODY SPIRIT

PHONE: 217/337-8337

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.

DEADLINE: 2 p.m. Monday for the next Thursday’s edition.

Prairie Sangha for Mindfullness Meditation – Monday evenings from 7:30-9pm 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.

Beginner Computers I– This afternoon class is designed for students who are acquainted with the computer and are on friendly terms with the mouse. Participants will learn to format a document; cut, copy, and paste; save and find files; and much more. Classes will meet on Mondays from 13pm at the Illinois Employment & Training Center, 1307 N. Mattis Ave., Champaign. The course fee is $41. The course runs Feb 23-March 8. For more information, call 351-2546. Registration deadline is Feb 16.

Falun Gong – Falun Gong is a powerful ancient exercise that improves health, reduces stress and increases energy. This practice involves slow gentle movements of the body, while it teaches the principles of truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance. Springer Cultural Center. Feb 7, Feb 14, 10:3011:30am. Fee is $5. For more information, call 3982376.

Falun Dafa Teaching Workshop – Falun Gong is an advanced meditation exercise that improves health, reduces stress and increases energy. The practice involves gentle movements of the body, while it teaches the truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance. Falun Gong is enhances practitioners spiritually, mentally and physically. Springer Cultural Center. Feb 7 & 14. 10:30-11:30am. Fee $5.

For more info, call 398-2376.

Beginner Computers II– This evening class is designed for students who are acquainted with the computer and are on friendly terms with the mouse. Participants will learn to format a document; cut, copy, and paste; save and find files; and much more. Classes will meet on Mondays from 68 p.m. at the Illinois Employment & Training Center, 1307 N. Mattis Ave., Champaign. The course fee is $41. For more information, call 351-2546. The course meets Feb 23-March 8. Registration deadline is February 16.

Home Buyer's Seminar – Learn important steps in the home buying process including pre-qualification, inspection, and closing. Class will meet on 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. The course will be held Feb 21. Call 3512235 to register.

Foundation of Teamwork – Competition demands that organizations do more, in a shorter response time, with fewer resources. Participants in this class will identify their primary communication style and those of their team members and develop plans to build better working relationships with other team members. Class meets Thursday, February 19 from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at 1315 N. Mattis Ave, Champaign. Course fee is $110. The course meets Feb 19. To register, call 351-2235.

Reaching for Stellar Service – Explore how customers define stellar service and the challenge of delivering such service. Learn the key moments of truth in customer interaction. Class meets from 8:30a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 18 at 1315 N. Mattis Ave, Champaign. Fee is $99. The course will be held Feb 18. To register, call 3512235.

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INDEX Employment Services Merchandise Transportation Apartments Other Housing/Rent Real Estate for Sale Things To Do Announcements Personals

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playreview

The Light in the Piazza ★★★

Craig Lucas

BY SYD SLOBODNIK | STAFF WRITER 000 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

• PLEASE CHECK YOUR AD! Report errors immediately by calling 337-8337. We cannot be responsible for more than one day’s incorrect insertion if you do not notify us of the error by 2 pm on the day of the first insertion.

• All advertising is subject to the approval of the publisher. The Daily Illini shall have the right to revise, reject or cancel, in whole or in part, any advertisement, at any time.

• All employment advertising in this newspaper is subject to the City of Champaign Human Rights Ordinance and similar state and local laws, making it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement which expresses limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, prior arrest or conviction record, source of income, or the fact that such person is a student.

• Specification in employment classifications are made only where such factors are bonafide occupational qualifications necessary for employment.

• All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and similar state and local laws which make it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement relating to the transfer, sale, rental, or lease of any housing which expresses limitation, specifications or discrimination as to race, color, creed, class, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual oientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, or the fact that such person is a student.

• This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate that is in violation of the law. Our readers are informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal oppportunity basis.

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Employment 000 HELP WANTED | Full Time Express Personnel Services 217.355.8500 101 Devonshire Dr., Champaign

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August 2004 3 level townhouse, cathedral ceiling living room, loft, deck. Must see to appreciate. Sleeps 4, 2 full baths, central air, washer/dryer, dishwasher, garbage disposal, internet, and cable ready. Two free parking spaces. $1380. Also shown weekends. 377-1552.

BUSINESS SERVICES Graphic design studio is seeking models for beauty and style photography. www.victoriasphoto.com Victoria’s Photographics 217-328-3013

Local professional ready to record your band, choir, soloist and more.

Your place or mine. Only $15/hr.

Call Kyle at Orangetree Studio. 4690206

CLEANING Exact Extraction. Carpet & upholstery cleaning. Free estimates. 6883101.

LAWN CARE FREE ESTIMATES: Tree trimming, Topping, Removal, Stump Grinding.

384-5010.

Merchandise 200 BOOKS COMPARE TEXTBOOK PRICES! Search 24 bookstores with 1 click!

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CAMPUS APARTMENTS Unurnished 1519 W. Healey, C. Conveniently located 1 BR now available. $385/mo. 352-8540, 3554608 pm. www.faronproperties.com

800 W. Church, C. Now avail. Economical 2 BR. $450/mo. 352-8540, 355-4608 pm. www.faronproperties.com Brand new luxury 1, 2, 3, bedroom apartments available in Champaign.

Call Manchester Property Management at 359-0248 for an appointment.

SUBLETS 1 bedroom in Town & Country Apartments in Urbana. Nice. Feb.-June. $595/mo. 765-344-0339

Sublet $357/mo. Spring semester starting January 1st with possible summer. Female roommate to share quiet 2 bedroom furnished apartment. 1 block east of Krannert. 903 W. Oregon. Air conditioning, laundry, off street parking. E-mail teska@elknet.net or call 262-7236930.

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FURNITURE Moving, Must Sell: Two month old leather love seat, two month old Dell laptop, one year old futon. Call 217-637-1513

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JOHN SMITH PROPERTY MANAGEMENT www.johnsmithproperties.com (217)384-6930 “believe the hype”

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Courtyard Apartments 713 S. Randolph, Champaign Renting for Fall/2 & 3 Bedrooms.

Furnished & Unfurnished From $608/mo.

Includes cable, parking, water.

Has laundry facility and seasonal pool. Near campus and downtown Champaign.

352-8540, 355-4608 pm. www.faronproperties.com

MEETINGS There is Help and Healing after abortion. Had an abortion? Feeling grief, anger, shame? We understand abortion pain and loss. Support group recovery classes forming.

Postabortion Helpline-217-328-2033 Calls completely confidential.

E-mail: newbeginningaglo@aol.com Web: http://hometown.aol.com/ccweaver/ myhomepage/index.index.html We know, we understand and we want to help you heal!

Call for help today!

Place a Valentine Shout out Look for an order form in the Daily Illini or call 337-8337

arts

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | MY SANDWICH KICKED ASS

T

he first production of the 2004 leg of the present season at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre is the Midwest premiere of Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’s musical The Light in the Piazza. Based on a 1960 novella by Elizabeth Spencer and later adapted into a successful 1962 film with Olivia de Havilland, Yvette Mimieux and George Hamilton, The Light in the Piazza tells the delightful story of a young woman’s first true romance with bittersweet consequences and incorporates some surprising twists. Set in the early 1950s, it concerns Mrs. Margaret Johnson, the wife of a wealthy American businessman, who is traveling through Italy with her mid-twenties-yearold daughter, Clara. When Clara meets and immediately falls in love with a local shopkeeper’s son, Fabrizio, Mrs. Johnson does not approve of this spontaneous summer romance and seems to be hiding some dark secret about the beautiful Clara’s past. Welcome to the conservative Eisenhower ‘50s, where mothers know best and daughters are expected to obey.

Audiences familiar with the musically and lyrically brilliant compositions in Andrew

bookreview

The Five People You Meet in Heaven ★★★

Mitch Albom

Lloyd Webber’s megahits or the more experimental Rent will find that no matter how good the source’s story, as a musical, Guettel and Lucas needed to provide more. The banal lyrics and conventional situations featured in The Light in the Piazza are just so ordinary. At their best, the songs are somewhat reminiscent of Rodgers and Hammerstein—especially the lively opening number “Statues and Stories,” which features the mother and daughter exploring the many romantic vistas of Florence. Later, the play somewhat mimics the style of Stephen Sondheim’s talky, dialogue-filled lyrics in songs like the romantic “The Joy You Feel” and “Octet.” But Guettel doesn’t seem to find his own voice—everything seems so old-fashioned and sentimentally derivative. A rather cheesy duet called “Say it Somehow” closes the first act in almost a musical version of the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene.

Oddly enough, the show also leaves its best—and most emotionally effective songs— for the very end. “Love to Me” features Fabrizio’s romantic confession of honest love and sincere affection for Clara. Furthermore, Margaret concludes with “Fable” as a loving sentimental perspective on the rituals of love, courtship, commitment and marriage.

Lucas, author of the play’s narrative, has been much more effective with similar romances in his play Prelude to a Kiss.

Composer/lyricist Guettel, a much-praised recipient of the Sondheim Award in 1990, is the Tuesdays with Morrie triumphed over its lack of plot or multiple characters with the sheer impact of Morrie’s words. Luckily for Albom, Morrie turned out to be a phenomenal interviewee. Then again, Morrie wrote his own novel, In His Own Words, after the phenomenal sales of Tuesdays with Morrie, which sold

BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

W

hen words such as schmaltz, saccharine and mushy describe a new novel, most critics push it aside and search instead for more hard-hitting material. However, one of the most overly sentimental books of our time can also be considered one of the best. Tuesdays with Morrie endured accusations of overly emotional content, and instead influenced millions of people with its life lessons.

Author Mitch Albom tries to milk the same sappy dynamic with his new novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven, but the jig is up within the first 20 pages. This fictional followup to Tuesdays with Morrie comes off as a light soap opera version of his bestseller.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven should have been easier for Albom to write. With Five People, Albom did not need to present everything as it was told to him; he easily could have changed a detail here and there to make the story flow better or come across as more heartfelt. Five People is a work of fiction.

This format allows the author to delve deeper into character motivations and manipulate situations for a more intriguing plot or set of multiple supporting characters.

much fewer copies but was presented at about the same quality level: that of a brilliant and touching quote book.

Fiction allows more artistic freedom, but journalist Albom must be more comfortable

7

PHOTO | LIZ LAUREN

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Members of the cast in the Goodman Theatre's production of the new musical The Light in the Piazza. grandson of the great composer Richard Rodgers.

Director Bartlett Sher, who is the present artistic director of Seattle’s Intiman Theatre Company, staged this show last summer out west to raves. The cast, headed by Broadway veterans Victoria Clark and Celia KeenanBolger play musical melodrama very well; both leads have delightfully expressive and

beautiful voices. But besides Sher’s good cast, The Light in the Piazza still seems to be a show in progress. Two numbers from the first act were removed prior to the pre-premiere night.

when turning a book of notes into a novel rather than relying solely on his imagination.

That isn’t meant to discredit Albom’s imagination. Five People displays more imagination than most non-fantasy novels these days, but the pieces of the puzzle never fully connect and the novel comes off as just another piece of fiction vying to evoke real human emotion.

Part melodrama and part parable, Five People interweaves three tales told by 83-yearold Eddie, the head of maintenance at an old but still functional amusement park. As the novel begins, readers are immediately immersed into the final moments of Eddie’s life. From the title, it is no surprise the main character is going to die.

The surprise comes when Eddie actually goes to heaven. Albom follows Eddie’s encounters with the titular five people (a plot line ripped from the pages of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol) who share a piece of Eddie’s life. Each spirit has a story to tell and gives Eddie a lesson. This plot structure is similar to Tuesdays with Morrie, where Albom provided a life lesson from Morrie in each chapter. It is through these five people that Eddie tries to understand the meaning of his life.

The novel also depends on the new age belief that everything happens for a reason.

Whether in the film Signs (not to ruin the movie, but it involves water and baseball) or in inspiration manifestos such as Everything Happens for a Reason, modern authors like to tie mysterious coincidences together to prove that everything in life is meant to happen.

While this is certainly intriguing, authors’

obsession with fate verges on becoming overdone. Like a “What Would Jesus Do?” bracelet in the 1990s, the concept has great meaning and no doubt inspires people to look at their lives, but it quickly becomes tiresome as more and more people milk the idea.

Maybe there are five people in heaven waiting for each human so that they can explain the stories of their lives to them. However, the problem arises not in the concept’s believability, but in its predictability.

To compare Five People to Tuesdays with Morrie might seem unfair to both Albom and the books’ fan bases, but both books rely on the same theme: It is important to look back through your life, and that is when you determine your life’s meaning. Both books revolve around old men and both use heavy-handed life lessons in attempts to inspire readers into searching for the meaning within themselves.

Maybe its factual context gave Tuesdays with Morrie the edge or maybe it simply had superior writing, but the saccharine morality oozing from Tuesdays with Morrie seemed much more realistic than the sentimentality of Five People.

The Light in the Piazza runs until Feb. 15 at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn, Chicago.

BOOK REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ No stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unreadable

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arts

NEXT WEEK, JESSICA, NEXT WEEK | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

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ARTIST’S CORNER

L

yosha is a local painter who is originally from Russia. He began painting 15 years ago while working as a doctor. He currently has an exhibit at Paradiso Cafe.

The paintings featured there, including “Meloncholy,” are all for sale. Lyosha can be reached at lyosha@iname.com.

Why are you still painting?

After all, I think the only way for me to communicate with reality is to translate influences from nature into this way of expression.

(The) more I understand colors, (the) sharper I can deliver the meaning of it. So it is (an) endless process. On another hand, painting was always fascinated me. How in this world colors will bring such a powerful emotional impulse that will drive people to (their) edges? (Then), there is a psychological drama behind that had a mirror effect on (the) viewer, echoing his emotional status. As one can see—it is a science.

Why did you decide to show your work in coffee shops?

I have been doing this for years. As a coffee addict (from my medical carrier in the past, and being around [the] clock shift), I like the environment of it, feels homey and gives you comfort to think. That is a just a prefect for showing paintings. Observation of painting required intimacy. It is a very personal dialogue. No one can tell why you don’t like or like it instead, but you. The viewer will reject it (according to) his or hers negative emotions, or admit it with a positive response. It is also give a chance for another and another and another look at paintings, in different times of day and under different conditions of light.

I think if I go to the gallery over and over again, the gallery people will start asking me questions, which is a wrong thing to do when your connection with a painting is just about to establish. There is also matter of quantity of people who are seeing (your) work. It is good for (a)

painter not only from statistical perspective but it (obligates) him to be more responsible for work (he’s) done. You can cover bad painting with “artistic predisposition and individuality,” as one would front of “art people” in gallery. In coffee shops, if your work is bad, people will tell you straight that it is bad.

What is the final standard by which you judge when a painting is finished?

Someone from The Masters said, “It is finished when I am empty but a painting is full.”

That is what I feel. And there is an emptiness, which has to be filled; that is why my easel always (has) something on (it).

Although there is another opinion that “painting is never finished,” it sounds more philosophical to me, rather than practical.

Well, go back (then) and finish it.

Why did you choose to feature “Melancholy”?

The definition of melancholy is a feeling, a

gentle sadness, and a pure emotion that will place our conscious into some sort of vacuum. The senses are marginally suppressed and reality has secondary importance. It is like a “zero,” a counterpoint, when everything starts from zero. I wanted to see how viewers will respond, and if the subject is strong enough to deliver this condition. It is a most recognizable feeling in music, dance and paintings.

How have you seen yourself progress as a painter over the last 15 years?

I always compare painting with music. I am composing painting, by placing the colors in harmony, or violating them with a dissonance. My knowledge of aspects of painting and visual experience in that field builds an intuition. That leads me through all obstacles in order to achieve satisfactory work. I can tell that today I have more confidence for improvisations on subject of painting than even five years ago.

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FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

Home Buyer's Seminar – Learn important steps in the home-buying process including pre-qualification, inspection and closing. Classes will meet Thu 7-9:30pm at the Parkland Business Development Center. Feb 5 & 12. The course fee is $20 for individuals or same-household couples and includes a workbook. To register or for more information, call 351-2235.

Champaign Park District Diving into Deeper Waters – The Champaign Park District will hold a Town Meeting to get input from the community to aid in the process of designing a new outdoor aquatics center. Bresnan Meeting Center, 706 Kenwood Rd in Champaign. Wed 7-8:30pm. For more information, call 398-2550.

Scuba Clinics – Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventures is holding three six-session clinics beginning Feb 10, 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-TRIP (8747), visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu, or stop by the Outdoor Center at 51 E Gregory Dr in Champaign.

The Leader in Each of Us – Learn what defines leadership behaviors common to each individual in an organization and five strategies to increase job effectiveness. Class meets Thur 8:30am12:30pm at the Parkland Business Development Center. Thur. The course fee is $99. To register, call 351-2235.

Weather Workshops – WILL meteorologist and Parkland Earth science instructor Ed Kieser will offer two workshops in February. First, Kieser will discuss the challenges of forecasting in central Illinois and the different types of weather we experience in "Central Illinois Weather," offered Sat, Feb 7, 9am-3pm. On Feb 14, Kieser will present "Severe Storms," a workshop focusing on tornadoes, downbursts, derechos, hail and lightning, as well as storm prediction and storm safety. The cost is $29 per person for each session.

Geology Field Trip Workshops – Join Parkland Earth science instructors Dean Timme and Bob Vaiden for two geology field trips this spring.

Participants will venture to the Starved Rock State Park area on April 17 for a workshop entitled "Canyon Development Along the Upper Illinois River Valley." The workshop runs from 8am-5pm and transportation will be provided. On June 5, a second workshop called "Sand Dunes and an Ancient River Valley" will take participants west to the Havana area to see land sculpted by glaciers, water and wind. The cost for each workshop is $29.

Career Planning Seminar – Participants will learn about the career development process; explore interests, abilities and goals; and discover available resources. A tour of the career center is provided, followed by an opportunity to schedule an individual appointment with a career counselor. There is no fee, but reservations are requested. Parkland College, room A208. Feb 17, 6-8pm. For more information, call 351-2536.

Job Search Workshop: Interviewing – Parkland is offering a free workshop in job interviewing Feb 19 at 12pm to anyone in the district. Workshop will meet in room C123. For more information, call 351-2536.

Divorce: A New Understanding – This three-part seminar series, hosted by Divorce Resource of Central Illinois, will cover the issues adults face when they are going through a divorce. The seminars will help people understand the issues of divorce so they can make better decisions. Classes will be held Feb 24-Mar 9, Tue, 6:30-8pm at Robeson Hall, 222 N State St, Champaign. Fee: $21.

For more info, call 351-2546. Register by Feb 17.

Iyengar Yoga Specialty classes – UI Campus Recreation will hold these classes throughout the spring 2004 semester. Classes will be held on Sundays from 4:15-5:45pm in 120 IMPE. Session I of Iyengar Yoga will be held Feb 15-March 28.

Session II will take place April 4-May 9. A form of Hatha Yoga, the Iyengar tradition places special focus on developing strength, stamina, flexibility, and balance as well as concentration and meditation. The poses build overall strength increase general vitality, and improve circulation, coordination and balance. Advanced registration is required.

Enrollment is limited to 25 participants. The cost for the course is $60 for 6 classes (1 per week for 6 weeks). For registration or more information, call 333-3806, visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu/schedules/specialty/, or stop by Member Services in 140 IMPE at 201 E Peabody Dr in Champaign.

Beginner Racquetball Clinics – UI Campus Recreation is holding these free clinics for UI students and Campus Rec members on Feb 17 & 24 and March 2, 16 & 30, 7-8:30pm on IMPE racquetball courts 17 & 18. All clinics are designed for beginners. The clinics are hosted by John O’Donnell, U.S. Open Champion (1998, 2000, and 2001) 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. For registration or more information, call 333-3806, visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu, or stop by 140 IMPE at 201 E. Peabody Dr in Champaign.

Cover-to-Cover Book Discussion Club at the Douglass Branch – Discussing Passing by Samaria

by Sharon Ewell Foster. New member registration: 403-2090. Douglass Branch LIbrary. Tue, 6:307:30pm.

“Evolution: The Myths and the Realities” – A noncredit workshop offered by Parkland biology instructor Mary Severinghaus. The workshop will explore misconceptions about biological evolution. Mar 16 and 18, 6:30-8pm. To register, visit www.parkland.edu/parklandconnection. For more information, contact Dave Leake at 351-2567 or Karen Tillman at 351-2285.

PHOTOS | CHRISTINE LITAS

BY KATIE RICHARDSON | ARTS EDITOR

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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.

Cross-Country Ski Day Trips – Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventures will hold these trips on Feb 7 and 14, 12-5pm. Spend time enjoying the outdoors during the long snowy months. Cross-country ski at one of the local outdoor area parks that have fine trails for winter exploring on skis. Bring lunch for a day outdoors. Transportation and cross-country ski gear included. Advanced registration is required. The fee is $25 for UI students/Campus Rec members and $35 for non-members/general public. For registration and more information, call 333-TRIP (8747), visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu, or stop by the Outdoor Center at 51 E Gregory Dr in Champaign.

Tai Chi Specialty classes – UI Campus Recreation will hold these classes throughout the spring 2004 semester. Classes will be held on Tuesdays from 78:30pm in 120 IMPE. Session I of Tai Chi will be held Feb 3-March 11. Session II will take place March 30-May 6. 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. This class is progressive and students are encouraged to attend class regularly.

Advanced registration is required. Enrollment is limited to 25 participants. The cost for the course is $70 for 12 classes (2 per week for 6 weeks). For registration or more information, call 333-3806, visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu/schedules/specialty/, or stop by Member Services in 140 IMPE at 201 E Peabody Dr in Champaign.

Spring Break Trips – UI Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventures will host two trips. Backpack through the Smoky Mountains from March 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. Campus Recreation is also offering a Canoe Trip to Everglades National Park from March 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. Advanced registration for both trips is required. The fee for the Smoky Mountain trip is $350 for UI students/Campus Rec members and $450 for nonmembers/general public. A meeting for this trip will be held at the Outdoor Center on Feb 17, 35pm. 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 on Feb 24, 3-5pm. Fees include transportation, camp fees and permits, group gear, sleeping bag and pad, experienced leadership, and food while in the back country. For registration or more information, call 333-TRIP (8747), visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu, or stop by the Outdoor Center at 51 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign.

Mystery Discussion Group – We'll discuss the book The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid. Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd., Champaign 3519011. Mon, 6pm. For more information, contact Jo Pauly at 337-7823 or jopauly@prairienet.org.

Community Workshop on SSI – SSI Project to explain basics of Supplemental Security Income and help qualified residents apply for benefits.

Illinois Disciples Foundation, 610 E. Springfield, Champaign. Feb 13, 12-1:30pm. For more information, call 352-6533.

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.

Divorce: A New Understanding – This three-part seminar series, hosted by Divorce Resource of Central Illinois, will cover the issues adults face when they are going through a divorce. The seminars will help people understand the issues of divorce so they can make better decisions and take steps toward a better future for themselves and their families. Classes will be held Tuesdays from 6:30-8pm at Robeson Hall, 222 N. State St in Champaign. Course fee is $21. Course runs Feb 24March 9. Call 351-2546 for more information.

Registration deadline is Feb 17.

Organizing Your Home Office for Success – Instructed by Melinda Harper, owner of Melinda's Professional Organizing in Mackinaw, Ill, this class will help by teaching innovative ways to get organized and preview some of the latest space saving tools to help organize the home office and simplify life. Class will be held Saturday from 9:3011:30am at Robeson Hall, 222 N. State St in Champaign. Course fee is $15. Call 351-2546 for more information. Course will be held on Feb 28.

Registration deadline is Feb 20.

Simplicity Discussion Group – Ideas to simplify and bring meaning to life. The group will discuss the book Cultural Creatives by Paul Ray. Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd., Champaign 3519011. Thur, 7pm. For more information, contact Jo Pauly at 337-7823 or jopauly@prairienet.org.

YOGA

INSTITUTE OF CHAMPAIGN-URBANA

Sp rin gc Re l gis Febasse ter ru s b at ar y egi ni firs . n tc las s.

Daytime and evening classes.

Special classes for beginners, women’s health, men’s flexibility, plus size, seniors and teens.

Classes are progressive to facilitate learning

407 W. Springfield, Urbana •

21

344-YOGA (9642) • www.yoga–cu.com

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calendar

WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

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 of songs, stories and rhymes is for our youngest patrons, ages 6 to 24 months with an adult. No registration is required.

For more information, call 367-4069.

African Crafts with Dawn Blackman – For elementary school-age children. Meets Fridays in February. No registration required. Douglass Branch Library. Fri, 4-5pm.

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.

Global Institutions: What are they good for? – a presentation with Michael Goldman, professor of sociology at UIUC. Everybody welcome.

Refreshments will be served. Sponsored by the Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort (AWARE). IMC, 218 W Main St in Urbana. Sun, 3-5pm. For more information, visit www.anti-war.net.

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.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Girl Scouts Workshops – The William M. Staerkel Planetarium will offer several sessions this spring for Scouts working on merit badges. Girl Scouts can get help with their "Sky Search" badges by attending one of two workshops taught in the planetarium dome on April 6 or April 15 from 78:30pm. The cost is $4 per scout, including materials. Must pre-register.

Boy Scouts Seminars – Boy Scouts may attend one of three Astronomy Merit Badge seminars held from 7-9pm. on May 5, 13 or 18 at William M. Staerkel Planetarium. The cost is $5 per Scout. You must pre-register to attend any of these workshops. Bring a red flashlight.

Write On! – Bring your pencils and imagination for an adventure in creative writing with librarian Elaine Bearden during this session at The Urbana Free Library, Tue, Feb 10, 4-5pm. Registration for third-graders and up begins now. For more information, call 367-4069.

Betty Kilby Fisher Presentation – This event will include a presentation by the author, a question and answer session, and refreshments. Parkland College Gallery Lounge. Mon, 12-1pm.

Wine Tasting – Krannert Center teams up with Sun Singer Wine & Gifts, Ltd. to host wine tastings at the Interlude bar at 5pm on Thursday evenings.

Each week, two or three wines are introduced for tasting. During this time, there will be free wine tasting and $3.50 glasses of wine. The featured wines will be available throughout the week for patron sale at regular price when Interlude is open for performances. Come relax and enjoy a combination experience of great-tasting wine and a wonderful performance. Krannert Center lobby.

Thu, 5pm, free.

“On Location” – Join The Urbana Free Library Children’s Department when they go “on location” with actress Leah Farrar White for a “Stuck-in-aBox” pantomime workshop. Children from 2nd through 5th grade can register for this pantomime workshop filled with drama games. Registration required. Wesley Foundation. Sat, Feb 7, 1-3 pm. For more information, call 367-4069.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Connoisseurs – Teens and middle schoolers can taste-test and vote for the best chocolate chip cookie. No registration. For more information, call 403-2070. Champaign Public Library. Thur, 3-4:15pm.

Kevin Hales' African Adventure – This event will include a presentation by Kevin Hales, Parkland history instructor, on his recent trip to Africa.

Refreshments will be included. Parkland College, room D244. Feb 16, time TBA. Champaign County Audubon Society – Laura Kammin, a research biologist in the University of Illinois natural resources and environmental sciences department, will talk about conservation buffer strips in relation to crops and drainage ditches in central Illinois and their effect on birds and other wildlife populations in the agricultural landscape. Bevier Hall, room 242. Thur, 7:30pm. For more information, call Arlo, 443-2499.

Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology Seminar Series – "The Ultimate Transistor: Is it the Silicon MOSFET?" Dr. Mark S. Lundstrom, Don and Carol Scifres, Distinguished Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University. Seminar will take place at the Coordinated Science Laboratory. Feb 18, 4pm.

Come Bowl with the Angels! – Come bowl with us, but don't forget your socks! Come meet & learn about the ladies that promote the advancement of women, diversty, & professionalism. The Angels would be more than happy to welcome you into their world. Illini Union Bowling Lanes. Thur, 7pm.

Free.

Symposium on Graduate Education: Challenges, Choices, Careers – This event offors an opportunity for University of Illinois graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni to talk about the challenges and opportunities distinctive to graduate student's academic experience today. Registration, available at www.grad.uiuc.edu, must be completed by Fri. Illini Union, rms A, B & C. Tue, 1-5pm.

Academic Challenge – Parkland College will host the regional competition for Academic Challenge.

Teams from eight area high schools will be tested in math, English, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering graphics and computer science. Parkland College gym. Feb 13, 9am-2pm.

Black History Live – This is a lively, interactive competition on African American history. Event includes refreshments and prizes. Parkland College Flag Lounge. Feb 18, 12-1pm.

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. Feb 20, 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.

Aviation Student/Alumni Career Night – Speakers: Dennis Beringer, Research Mgt., FAA Oklahoma City, OK; Nathan Butcher, SIC, Falcon 10, Flightstar Corperation, Savoy; Neeley Weaver Casey, Captain Qualified First Officer, Continental Express, Denver, CO; Wei Zheng, Pilot/Instructor, Pensacola Aviation, Pensacola, FL. Illini Union, rms A,B & C. Mon, 5:30pm.

MEETINGS & WORKSHOPS Carle Cancer Center Support Group – All meetings are free and open to anyone interested in learning more about cancer. Carle Cancer Center lounge.

Feb 18, 7-8:30pm. For more information, call Kate Garbacz at 383-4581 or Laura Auteberry at 3834066.

This Little Kidney Went to Market – Historical Reflections on Buying and Selling Human Organs.

Speaker Susan E. Lederer, Yale University. 117 Medical Sciences Building. Thur, 12-1:30pm.

Ikebana – A Japanese Flower Arrangement class.

Shoka will be deomonstrated and taught in the morning session, and an introduction to Ikebana will be during the afternoon sesson. Japan House, 2000 S. Lincoln Ave. Sat, 9:30am-12pm and 1-3pm.

ACT Saturday Class – This ACT preparation course is designed to develop skills to raise student test scores. The course materials are provided by Cambridge Educational Services, and includes a pre-test and post-test. Parkland College. Saturdays, 9am-12pm, Feb 17-Mar 20. The fee is $275 and includes all materials. Register by Feb 10. For more information, call 351-2546.

CLACS Brown Bag Presentation – The title of this lecture is "Inside Thunder Mountain: A Shaman's Vision of Knowledge as Sustenance." Speaker: Stephanie Stean, MA Candidate in Latin American Studies. The lecture will cover the topic of a Ecuadorian shaman's transformative trip inside a moutain to gain knowledge and to undergo a transformative process within himself. 101 International Studies Building, Thur, 12-12:50pm.

Free.

Batter Up! History of Negro League Baseball – Presentation by former Birmingham Barons player Ernest Westfield Sr. No registration. Douglass Branch Library. Tue, 6:30-7:45pm.

Battle of the Books – Team competition for grades 3 to 5. Study the books ahead of time at the library. Sat, 1-3pm. Douglass Branch Library. For questions or registration, call 403-2090.

Panel Discussion: Religion and Modernity – Panelists: Stephan Palmié (anthropology, University of Chicago), Dean Bell (Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, Chicago), Anne Martinez (Latina/o studies and history, UIUC), Andy Orta (anthropology, UIUC). Moderator: Bruce Rosenstock (religious studies, UIUC). Humanities Lecture Hall, IPRH, 805 W Pennsylvania Ave, Urbana. Thur, 3pm.

Free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities at 244-3344 or www.iprh.uiuc.edu.

February Blood Drives – Campus blood drives for this month are as follows: Thur – Snyder Hall Main Lounge 2:30-6:30pm; Wed – Allen Hall Bloodmobile 2:30-6:30pm; Feb 17 – PAR Saunders Lounge 3-7pm; Feb 18 – Daniels Hall Main Lounge 2-6pm; Feb 24 – LAR Main Lounge 2-6pm; Feb 2527 – Illini Union room 314 10am-4pm.

KnowZone – Homework help for school-aged children. Tue 4-5pm. Douglass Branch Library. No registration.

Ten Star All-Star Basketball Camp – Applications are now being evaluated for the camp. Boys and girls ages 10-19 are eligible. Players from 50 states and 11 countries attended the 2003 Camp. College basketball scholarships are possible for players selected to the All-American team. Camp locations include: Hickory, NC; Thousand Oaks, CA; Sterling, CO; Babson Park, FL; Atlanta, GA; Champaign, IL; Greencastle, IN; Atchison, KS; Baltimore, MD; Ysilanti, MI; Hamilton, NY; Bluffton, OH; Lock Haven, PA; Lebanon, TN; Commerce, TX; Blacksburg, VA; Poultney, VT; Olympia, WA and Beloit, WI. For a free brochure, call (704) 373-0873, available 24 hours.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Auditions – Sign up sheets will be available near 1201 Music Building on the days of the audition.

Walk-ins are also availiable. Please bring a prepared vocal piece. CD Player will be provided. 1201 Music Building. Feb 8-12, 6-8pm.

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Champaign County Audobon Society’s Great Backyard Bird Count – Cornell Lab of Ornithology invites backyard birders to participate in the 7th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count Feb 13-16. Data submitted by citizen scientists helps researchers keep track of species distribution and populations.

Join Champaign County Audubon members Feb 14, 8-10am, to count birds at the Anita Purves Nature Center, 1505 N. Broadway in Urbana. Birds seen at the feeders and in Busey Woods will be entered into an online database at www.birdsource.org/gbbc. Instructions are on the Web site.

No fee or registration is required. Individuals may count at home feeders or walk in a local park (up to a mile) and report findings to the above website. For more information, call Elaine at 367-5787.

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, Colo., will be showing in the Champaign community. For the 7th year in a row, Champaign Surplus Store, Inc. will sponsor this tour. Savoy 16 Theatre. Mar 15, 7pm, $10. All ticket proceeds are donated to the Campership Program, BSA. Tickets are on sale now.

To buy tickets, go to Champaign Surplus or www.champaignsurplus.com.

Freelance Feature Writing – Learn how to research story ideas, conduct an interview, and write a feature story. Students will also learn how to market a story once it's written. Parkland College Bauman Center. Feb 12-March 18, Thursdays 5:30-7:30pm.

The fee is $71. Register by Thur. For more information, call 403-4590.

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.

Sat, Feb 21, 10am-12pm. The fee is $25. Register by Feb 13. 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. Sat, Feb 21, 10am-12pm. The fee is $20.

Register by Feb 13. For more information, call 351-2546.

Career Planning Seminar – Participants will learn about the career development process, explore interests, abilities, and goals and discover available resources. A tour of the career center is provided, followed by an opportunity to schedule an individual appointment with a career counselor. Event is free, but reservations are requested. For more information, call 351-2536. Parkland College, room A208. Tue, Feb 17, 6-8pm.

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arts

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | I HATE RED INK

February at Krannert Center

BY JEFFREY NELSON | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

V

50% OFF ALL CLOTHING!

new works by U of I faculty composers and composer Don Davis (best known for his scores to the The Matrix films) Feb. 25. Jack Ranney’s UI Philharmonia will perform works

by Berlioz, Smetana, and Brahms under student guest conductor Geoffrey Clifton Sunday, Feb. 22.

All musical events are at the Foellinger Great Hall.

In theater, U of I Theatre presents Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, from Feb. 12 to Feb. 22 on weekends. Robert Anderson will direct this popular, often dark comedy about love, deception and betrayal.

U of I opera will present an even darker theatrical work, Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd from Feb. 20 to Feb. 29 on weekends.

Twelfth Night will be performed in the small space of the Studio and Sweeney Todd will be presented at the Tryon Festival Theatre.

There is even more to experience in this short month. From choral music (check schedule) to the world of dance and martial arts with Capacitor: Within Our Spaces Feb. 20 and 21 at the Colwell Playhouse. This visual feast brings science and gymnastics together for audience members ages 12 and up. Here is something that almost defies standard classification, but equally notable is its 7 p.m. start time. Most Krannert evening events start at 7:30.

isiting professionals and local artists will enrich the typically rich February offerings at Urbana’s Krannert Center. Music heads the offerings once again during the winter concert season. If you missed the excellent Venice Baroque Orchestra on Feb. 5, there is still the Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sergey Kondrashev on Feb. 19 in the Foellinger Great Hall.

With excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Oneign” and a performance by pianist Yuri Rozum—who is rarely heard outside of Eastern Europe—this all-Russian program offers some exciting and authentic possibilities.

On Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m., Concertante will present Brahms’ two string sextets. Here in the Sunday Salon Series, you are onstage for seating and refreshments, so get there an hour early. If you are a music lover and you have not sampled a Sunday onstage concert at Krannert, you have cheated yourself.

U of I faculty and student artists will also offer some excellent possibilities during February. On Feb. 8, Rudolph Haken will give a viola recital in the Great Hall, and, at the end of the month, on Feb. 29, Mark Moore and Eric Dalheim will give a recital of classical works for the tuba.

For full orchestra fans, The UI Symphony For ticket information, call (217) 333-6280 or visit Orchestra, under Donald Schleicher, will pres- www.krannertcenter.com. ent an evening of Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven on Feb. 12. Two days later, on Valent i n e ’ s D a y, T h e Champaign-Urbana Symphony will offer a “Valentine Sampler” that music director Steve Larsen has chosen. Such rarely heard gems as Bruch’s “Kol Nidrei” and the music from Richard Strauss’ operas, “Der Rosenkavlier” and “Feuersnot” make this a sampler worth sampling in full.

But there is more.

The UI Symphonic Bands and Wind Symphonies will offer concerts on Feb. 18 and 25, and the UI New Music Ensemble will present a selection of Memebrs of the Venice Baoque Orchestra, perfroming Feb. 5th.

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I DON’T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS, CABLE GUY IS HILARIOUS | FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004

buzz

Country royalty

B

PHOTOS | COURTESY OF HANK WILLIAMS III

orn to one of the first families in country music history, yet first becoming interested in music through Kiss, Hank Williams III straddles the line between classic country and hard rock. Williams will be coming to The Canopy Club Feb. 9, appealing to fans of country, metal, punk and everything in between.

The Canopy Club has played host to numerous acts showcasing similar styles to those Williams plays, but none have combined all those styles into one set since he last came to town several years ago.

“The last show we did in Urbana was lethal,” Williams said. “It was an amazing night.”

Williams returns to the region with The Hot Damn Band and Assjack, his country and rock backup bands, respectively. Although each has a different sound, both help Williams channel his rebellious country and anger-fueled rock to the crowd. According to Williams, mosh pits and fights regularly break out, not only during Assjack’s set but during the country performance as well.

“At our show last night in Portland, we had a pit during the country set and two fights broke out, man,” Williams said. “It’s different every night, but we try our best to keep the energy level high.”

Williams has kept his energy level high during his last six years of officially touring. This grandson of a legend has worked hard and carved a niche for himself outside of that

“Even in Nashville, they send country immense shadow.

“When we first started out, (the crowd) singers to media school. I’ve never been like thought they were coming to see Hank. They that. There are some outlaws there, Dixie Rose, got one look at my set and thought, ‘This kid is Wayne ‘the Train’ Hancock, but not enough.”

Williams does not make these comments in on drugs,’ “ Williams said. “I’ve been at this long enough for people to know I’m not Hank order to bolster an image, but rather out of Jr. We still have some curiosity seekers, but actual distaste for the mass media music market. Shunning everything from radio to record most people know that I do what I do.”

Williams is obviously doing something labels, Williams credits his success to a do-itright, as his shows continue to sell out across yourself ethic and open access to his music. In fact, Hank has the nation. This may released four separate have something to do illegal bootlegs. He with the wider appeal also supports Internet of his musical variadownloading of his tion. songs.

“We got three dif“I’m so much about ferent rounds during giving music away; our set. We start out Hank WIlliams III that’s what keeps us loud and get a lot alive,” Williams said. angrier, a Dr. Jekyll “My career would’ve and Mr. Hyde thing. been over four years After the country stuff is over, there’s still cowboys, punks, jocks ... ago without it. We’ve been letting people download our music for the last five years. we get a wide variant.”

Much like his grandfather, Williams’ heart Most of the guys that say (downloading) is lies in the rebellious nature of both country wrong are penny-pinching motherfuckers. and rock music. However, Williams’ introduc- Those are the guys that want their $10 cut off tion to performing did not come at the Grand each CD and don’t care about the music.”

Touring endlessly with The Hot Damn Ole Opry, but rather in the underground metal Band, Assjack and his side project, Superjoint scene of Nashville, Tenn.

“My dad didn’t give me any music advice, Ritual—a band including Phil from Pantera— but I’ve always been around music,” Williams Williams has shown an incredible work ethic. said of his musical roots. “Seeing the scene in He credits his predecessors both in country Dragon Park in Nashville, every night there and rock for motivating him.

“Most of my heroes were dead by would be anywhere between 50 to 100 people.

Skinheads and punks would always fight, the 30,” said the 31-year-old Williams.

New Orleans crowd came “Look how much my granddadout and played. It was cool dy did in his time. What’s on shit. The park, thank God tape is going to last longer than me. That’s why I need for that.”

Most likely due to his to do as much as possible.”

Unlike many artists, own musical influences growing up, Williams said there is no pretense he believes today’s about Williams. His teenagers need an emo- emphatic personality, tional outlet through aged voice and promusic, something that is fanity-laden ranting all help to lacking in music today.

“I think what is lacking personify what is radio and TV that plays he represents. pure rock. Even MTV just As a Williams, plays hip-hop videos and he upholds trathose reality bullshit dition by mainshows. There is no outlet. If taining country it comes back, it will be roots and doing great for the kids in black.” it his way in the Williams also said he process. As a believes country music rocker, though, needs more rebels like his he brings more to grandfather Hank Sr., the table, demonMerle Haggard and Johnny strating one of the strongest work Cash.

[

We had a pit during the country set and two fights broke out, man.

[

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

Visions of a Japanese Vendetta: Chushingura on Stage and in Prints – a talk by Henry D. Smith, author and scholar of Japanese culture. Krannert Art Museum. Feb 18, 5:30pm.

Hank Williams III visits Urbana’s Canopy Club with surprises in store

BY ANDY SIMNICK | STAFF WRITER

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ethics, a dedication to his fans and a sound that remains at the forefront of hellbilly rock.

“We’ve been doing it like this for years. I’m just trying to do what I do and that’s it, just trying to rock on.” buzz Hot Damn Band and Assjack will Hank Williams III, The play at 9 p.m. Feb. 9 at The Canopy Club. Tickets are $13.

For more information, visit www.hank3.com.

“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 and celebrates a variety of views of this world of illusion and fantasy (Ukiyo) through richly-colored and compositionally provocative woodblock prints know as Ukiyo-e.

In the 19th century, Ukiyo-e prints provided Japanese theatergoers with pictures of their favorite actors. At the same time, Japanese woodblock print technology grew to be so efficient that these prints could be mass-produced. They became so affordable that children doodled on them and they were even used to wrap ceramic pieces for export to Europe where they inspired the compositions of many of the Impressionists.

The prints in this exhibition give visitors a glimpse of Japanese art, dress, and culture that flourished over 150 years ago. The exhibition is curated by Ronald Toby and is on view through March 21. 500 E Peabody, Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. 333-1860. Suggested Donation: $3.

“Bon Coiffure: Hair Signs from West Africa”– Sculpture from the permanent collection of African art and a private collection of hairdressing signs from Benin and Togo dating from the 1970s to the 1990s. In sub-Saharan Africa, la coiffure, or “hairdressing” is both an art and a vocation. Even the earliest European explorers were struck by the complexity and diversity of African hairstyles.

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 commission artists to hand-paint signs to advertise their skills and represent their repertoire of coiffures. These signs are placed outside a home or market stand to signal that a hairdresser is available. This exhibition offers viewers a fascinating glimpse into three different art forms: the art of African hair styling, of hair sign painting, and the depiction of elaborate hairstyles in traditional masks and sculpture. Bon Coiffure is on view through March 21 and is curated by Dana Rush.

500 E Peabody, Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. 333-1860. Suggested Donation: $3.

“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. This habit continues today, he says,“but at the expense of cross-cultural understanding, and despite the fact that the lives of many people now cross the East/West divide.” The Krannert Museum has put together a traveling exhibition bringing together the work of seven major contemporart artists who share a connection to both worlds are now traversing boundaries, dismantling stereotypes and seeking to broaden perceptions on both sides of the global divide. 500 E Peabody, Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. 333-1860. Suggested Donation: $3

“Verde Retrospective: New Works by Old Friends” – New show featuring new work from featured gallery artists of the past year on display at Verde Gallery through Feb 7. 17 E Taylor St., Champaign.

Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm; Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.

Gospel Concert – The annual event features traditional and contemporary gospel praise and worship music. Parkland College Theatre. Feb 21, 710pm.

SPOKEN WORD Poetry Slam – This event features a presentation of familiar and original works by Parkland students.

Parkland College Flag Lounge. Feb 25, 1-2pm.

“Poetry of Images” – Raheel Akbar Javed’s oneman art show of paintings will be held at Atron Regen Interior, 809 W Park Ave in Champaign.

Raheel is a recipient of Pakistan’s first National Award in Contemporary Painting. Hours: Feb 13 & 14 5-7pm, Feb 15 1-4pm. Please RSVP at 351-8827 or atronregen@aol.com.

FUND-RAISING “Maroonapalooza” – The Central High School Band Boosters are organizing a fund-raising event that will showcase student bands. So far, you will be able to hear 10 student bands at the event, which takes place Feb 22, 12-6pm.

“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 the Krannert Art Museum through March 28, 2004. 500 E Peabody, Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. 333-1860. Suggested Donation: $3

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.

The Complete Works of The Prompting Theater (Briefly) – This fundraising dinner theater performance reviews the entire repertory of the Prompting Thater in only an hour. It is a slapstick mayhem that you won’t want to miss! McKinley Church. Feb 12. Dinner at 6pm, Show at 7pm. Sugg. donation for the evening is $10, $5 for just the show. Dinner reservations are requested, please call 356-9176. Show-only tickets will be available at the door.

FILM French Movie Night: Ridicule – Ridicule (France, 1996), rated R, 102 minutes. In French with English subtitles. In 1783, Grégoire Ponceludon de Malavoy (Charles Berling) goes to Versailles to convince the government to fund an environmental project that will improve living conditions in his region. He quickly realizes that reason and logic are of no help in the court, but that wits and humor can take him where he wants. Feb 10, 8pm.

Foreign Language Building on Quad.

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UPCOMING MUSIC

Creation Art Studios – Artwork by instructors Jeannine Bestoso, Amy Richardson, and Shoshanna Bauer, along with and art by family and friends of the studio on display at Creation Art Studio. 1102 E Washington St. Urbana. Hours: Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 1-4pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information call Jeannine Bestoso at 3446955. 1102 E Washington St. Urbana.

THEATRE

calendar

KIDS & FAMILY

IPRH Film Series – Bowling for Columbine, a film by Michael Moore. Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion on gun violence in American media and culture. Panelists: Barbara Wilson (speech communication), Darren Mulloy (IPRH/speech communication), Christine Catanzarite (IPRH/unit for cinema studies).

Moderator: Stephen Hartnett (speech communication). Krannert Art Museum rm 62. Feb 11, 5:30pm.

Free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities at 244-3344 or www.iprh.uiuc.edu.

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.

Feb 25, 5:30pm. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact IPRH at 244-3344 or www.iprh.uiuc.edu.

To Have and Have Not – The News-Gazette Classic Film Festival. This classic film features a charter boat captain who reluctantly becomes involved with the French Resistance. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Walter Brennan, and Hoagie Carmichael. (NR). Virginia Theatre. Feb 13, 7pm. Feb 14, 1pm & 7pm. Tickets: $5. For questions or more information, call 356-9063.

YOGA

FOR MEN

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.

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. Call the Urbana Business Association at 344-3872 with any questions.

Funfare – Come to The Phillips Recreation Center for Funfare Thu, 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.

Storyshop – A story and activity concert held twice each Wednesday. Parents and children, daycare groups and elementary classes are welcome. Main Library, auditiorium. Wed 9:30-10am, 10:30-11am.

Douglass Branch Lib. Wed 10:30-11am.

12 week spring session starts February 4th.

Wednesdays Noon–1:30 pm

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An introductory class with emphasis on creating flexibility, maintaining fitness for sports, reducing fatigue and for prostate health.

Register at first class

YOGA Institute of Champaign-Urbana 407 W. Springfield, Urbana 344-YOGA (9642) www.yoga-cu.com

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CHICAGOSHOWS FEBRUARY 2/5 Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane @ FitzGerald's 2/5 Monolake @ Empty Bottle 2/5 Life of Agony @ House of Blues, all ages 2/6 Cisco Pike, Cobra Verde @ Subterranean 2/6 DJ Red Alert @ Funky Buddha Lounge 2/6 Buckwheat Zydeco @ House of Blues, 18+ 2/7 Insurgent Visions: 10 Years of Bloodshot Art & Music @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/7 Hank Williams III @ Martyrs' 2/7 Immortal Technique @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/7 American Motherload @ Metro, 18+ 2/7 Ann-Margret @ Star Plaza 2/7 Amy Rigby @ Schubas 2/7 Fashion Bomb, American Motherload @ Metro, 18+ 2/7 Autumn Defense @ Double Door 2/7 Dennis DeYoung @ Rosemont Theatre 2/8 Cyril Pahinui, Cindy Combs, Dennis Kamakahi @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/10 Scotland Yard Gospel Choir @ Metro, 18+ 2/12 Josh Groban @ Rosemont Theatre 2/13 Cyndi Lauper @ Cadillac Palace 2/13 Kate & Anna McGarrigle @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/13 Mindy Smith @ Schubas 2/13 Deke Dickerson @ Fitzgerald’s 2/14 Azita, Mark Shippy @ Viaduct Theater 2/14 Rick Braun @ Chicago Theatre 2/14 Pam Tillis & Juice Newton @ the Hemmens 2/14 Him @ Empty Bottle 2/14 Numbers @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/14 John Ondrasik @ Schubas 2/14 Colin Hay @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/15 B2K @ Chicago Theatre 2/16 Paco de Lucia @ Symphony Center 2/18 Cecilia Bartoli @ Symphony Center 2/18 Sarah Brightman @ Allstate Arena 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 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

WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

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 3/28 Doc Watson @ Old Town School of Folk Music

CHICAGOVENUES House of Blues 329 N Dearborn, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 The Bottom Lounge 3206 N Wilton, Chicago, (773) 975-0505 Congress Theatre 2135 N Milwaukee, (312) 923-2000 Vic Theatre 3145 N Sheffield, Chicago, (773) 472-0449 Metro 3730 N Clark St, Chicago, (773) 549-0203 Elbo Room 2871 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 549-5549 Park West 322 W Armitage, Chicago, (773) 929-1322 Riviera Theatre 4746 N Racine at Lawrence, Chicago Allstate Arena 6920 N Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, (847) 635-6601 Arie Crown Theatre 2300 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, (312) 791-6000 UIC Pavilion 1150 W Harrison, Chicago, (312) 413-5700 Schubas 3159 N Southport, Chicago, (773) 525-2508 Martyrs 3855 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 288-4545 Aragon 1106 W Lawerence, Chicago, (773) 561-9500 Abbey Pub 3420 W Grace, Chicago, (773) 478-4408 Fireside Bowl 2646 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, (773) 486-2700 Schubert Theatre 22 W Monroe, Chicago, (312) 977-1700

ART NOTICES Portraits – Award winning portrait artist Sandra Ahten is currently accepting commissions for portraits for holiday giving. Portraits are priced at an affordable range and professional exchange or barter may be accepted. For examples of work and a quote, contact Sandra Ahten at (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com.

Creation Art Studios: Art Classes for Children and Adults – All classes offer technical instruction and the exploration of materials through the expressive and spontaneous art process. Independent studies of personal interests and ideas, dreams, etc. are expressed and developed through collage and assemblage art, drawing, painting, sculpture and ceramics. Call for times and schedule. For more information contact Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955.

CPDU's offered. 1102 E. Washington, Urbana. www.creationartstudios.com.

Join Artists and Workshops at Gallery Virtu – Gallery Virtu, an artist-owned cooperative, now invite applications from area artists. The Gallery also offers workshops for adults, teens and children in knitting, embroidery, photography, jewelry making, printmaking, papermaking, bookbinding and ribbon flowers. Gallery Virtu offers original works by the members including: jewelry, pottery, collages, sculptures, journals, hats, handbags and other textiles. For more information please call 762-7790, visit our website at www.galleryvirtu.org, e-mail workshops@galleryvirtu.org or visit the gallery.

Regular hours: Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am6pm. 220 W Washington Street in Monticello.

Art Classes at High Cross Studio – All classes are held at High Cross Studio in Urbana. 1101 N High Cross Road. E-mail or call for reservations and details. (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com..

“Portrait Paintings with Oils”– This course will provide instruction in painting portraits from photographs. Paint a portrait of your loved one or yourself. Mon-Fri daytime class and weekend workshop offered.

"Collage for the Soul" – Students will learn a variety of collage techniques, including photo and photocopy transfer, papermaking and manipulation, and frontage, while exploring a particular subject, such as a place, a memory, an experience or a relationship. No art-making experience necessary.

"Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" – For adults who have always wanted to learn to draw, but felt as if they lacked talent or confidence.

Other Classes:“Making Monoprints,”“Art With Intention” (Open Studio). For information on these visit http://www.spiritofsandra.com and click on "classes," then e-mail or call for reservations.

ART EXHIBITS & GALLERIES Boneyard Pottery – Ceramic Art by Michael Schwegmann and more. 403 Water St, Champaign.

Tue-Sat 11am-5pm. 355-5610.

Broken Oak Gallery – Local and national artists.

Original art including photography, watercolors, pottery, oil paintings, colored pencil, woodturning and more. Refreshments served by the garden all day Saturday. 1865 N 1225 E Rd., White Heath. ThuSat 10am-4pm. 762-4907.

Creation Art Studios – Featuring original art by students and members of the studio. 1102 E Washington St. 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, Home Accessories. Custom designing available. 1104 E Washington St., Urbana. Thu-Sat 10am-5pm 367-2367.

Framer's Market – Frame Designers since 1981.

Ongoing work from local artists on display. 807 W Springfield Ave., Champaign. Tue-Fri 9:30am5:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 351-7020.

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Furniture Lounge – Specializing in mid-century modern furniture from the 1920s-1980s, retro, Danish modern, lighting, vintage stereo equipment and vinyl records. 9 E University, Champaign.

352-5150. Sun-Mon 12-4:30pm, Wed-Sat 11am5:30pm.

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, Champaign. Mon-Thu 10am-5:30pm, Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 9am-4pm. 359-0048. www.glassfx.com.

Griggs Street Potters – Handmade functional and decorative pottery. 305 W Grigg St, Urbana. MonFri 11am-4pm, or call for appointment. 344-8546.

Gallery Virtu Cooperative – Original works by the nine artist-owners: jewelry, pottery, paintings, collages, hats, handbags and other textiles, sculptures and journals. The Gallery also offers workshops.

220 W. Washington St., Monticello. 762-7790. Thurs 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm. www.galleryvirtu.org Hill Street Gallery Inc. – Oil and watercolor paintings, hand painted T-shirts, handmade jewelry. 703 W Hill, Champaign. Sat 12-5pm or by appointment during the week. 359-0675.

Larry Kanfer Gallery – New images just added to the Gift Collection. Framed band ready to go. Also, memorable, original, limited and open edition photographs from the University of Illinois, Prairiescapes, Cityscapes, European, Northwoods, and Coast to Coast Collections by Larry Kanfer, internationally acclaimed artist. 2503 S Neil, Champaign. Free and Open to the Public. Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm. 398-2000. www.kanfer.com.

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., 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, Champaign.

Mon-Thu 11am-5:30pm, Sat 11am-4:30pm. 3558338.

Steeple Gallery – Vintage botanical and bird prints, antiques, framed limited edition prints. 102 E Lafayette St., Monticello. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-2924. www.steeplegallery.com Verde Gallery – The work of local artist Sylvia Arnstein will be on display in the halls and café. 17 E Taylor St., Champaign. Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am10 pm; Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 3663204.

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, Monticello. Tue 10am-8pm, Wed-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-9786. www.ziemergallery.com.

ART EXHIBITS – ON VIEW NOW “Transitions” – Work from Nicole Cisne on display at Armoa 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. I myself have fallen victim to the ads and television shows portraying women of a size that I could never physically be.

Fasting, bingeing and purging have been re-occurring problems throughout my life. My artwork is a way to look at these issues.” 118 N. Neil, Champaign. Open 7 days a week, 7am-Midnight.

For information contact Amanda Bickle. 356-3200. art4aroma@yahoo.com.

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music

FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004 | DON’T YOU LOVE HOW MANY CONCERTS CLEAR CHANNEL “SPONSORS”THESE DAYS?

11

Clear Channel discovers (and plays) indie rock ... sort of MENDOZA MUSIC LINE

BY LIZ MOZZOCCO | STAFF WRITER

T

he underground is overcrowded, says Eric Bachmann.

This is the eternal conflict, the thing that strikes fear in the hearts of young punks, leaving them trembling in their beat up Chuck Taylors. They look tough, but there’s always this one thing, the thing that undoes them: the fear that the underground is, in fact, becoming crowded. It’s the fear of mixing too much with outsiders and becoming contaminated.

It sounds silly, but it isn’t completely unfounded. As disgusting as the typically anti-consumer, anti-corporate ethics of alternative cultures are to the capitalist world, people with suits for souls simultaneously understand there is something intriguing about the underground, and that, when properly cleaned up, it can be used to drum up the interest of the mainstream.

So it’s not surprising that Clear Channel Media, like many of their corporate peers and predecessors, now has an eye for the awkward guy with bad hair and thrift store jeans. Poor ratings at some of their California stations have resulted in an unlikely format venture and the stuff of underground nightmares: indie rock on corporate radio.

I could write for hours about Clear Channel and why it sucks, but as it stands, I’m running out of creative ways to eat all my meals with a butter knife, and I just don’t have enough

time to ignore the dirty dishes and write an anti-corporate manifesto, so I’ll try to stick to one subject.

True to form, my evil stereotypical hipster side reacted to hearing of Clear Channel’s latest venture in this way: 1. Shock, fear, a feeling similar to a mild heart attack after reading the words “corporate radio” and “indie rock” in the same sentence without the interlocking words “is not.”

2. Major disgust and disdain, carefully hidden under a veil of supreme coolness and apathy (this is where I smoke a cigarette in a dark corner and look at my shoes a lot, thereby showing the world that I have no interest in commercial music—I don’t even own a radio).

3. Inspiration to write a music column on the subject, which, with characteristic supreme coolness, tells readers, “No! It’s a trick!

Corporate shit-music mongers are trying to usurp indie rock, distort it, rub it in dollars and sell it at Hot Topic! AARGGH!” Luckily, my lack of supreme coolness prevented any of the above reactions from actually happening. However, I do admit to being a little taken aback by the news. I mean, somewhere in Southern California, Indie 103.1 FM (that’s what they’re calling this demon spawn) is spouting slogans like “Respect the music,” while spinning fairly well-known but still somewhat obscure songs by Jet and Interpol. Los Angeles’ KROQ 106.7 FM listeners are getting their first taste of The Faint, and I don’t mean that Linkin Park song. I must pause here for involuntary shudders.

There comes a time, however, especially after writing a paragraph like that, when you have to admit that you’re basically an elitist asshole— and not even a good elitist asshole, either.

Considering that in certain uber-sophisticated

crowds, mentioning that you like The Faint merely proves that you’ve read the up-andcoming section of Spin magazine and doesn’t buy you any of that ever-elusive “indie cred.”

Besides the fact that I sound like a jerk if I try to condemn a radio station for playing interesting music, I am also aware that any negative comments I might make about commercial radio are totally undermined by the fact that I am (gasp) a DJ at a commercial radio station.

You might be wondering, then, why I’m not cheering on this positive, albeit minor step some radio stations are taking toward playing something besides the usual hits on the radio.

I should be excited to see commercial stations that are able to maintain an audience, good ratings while still “respecting the music,” whatever the hell that actually means.

The problem, aside from the fact that they don’t have any DJs (an abomination), is that Indie 103.1 has a kind of weird idea of what indie is. Here are some of the bands I heard after listening to the station on their Web site, http://indie1031.fm: Brand New, The White Stripes, Radiohead, The Foo Fighters, Rancid and oddly, Johnny Cash.

I have no problem with any of those musicians and honestly, listening to the station wasn’t unpleasant, but the stuff they’re calling indie strikes me as a little, well, mainstream. It wasn’t bad, but it was exactly what I expected from a marriage between independent music and commercial radio, and it explained the disgust that some music fans might have toward this whole thing.

Uptight Bohemians and defensive freaks always worry that their culture, seemingly so repulsive to the outside world, will one day become repackaged and sold to the masses that initially rejected them. They know that the resulting product will only look vaguely

similar to what it was in the beginning, before someone realized they could make money off of it.

To anyone who listens to any of the large number of bands clumped together under the label “indie rock,” Clear Channel’s bright idea to create a station appealing to indie rockers is a lot like getting a new kitten and then letting it roam around outside: When it comes back all mangled and ugly after a day of wrestling with a big corporate raccoon, you’re not really that surprised. It’s still pretty horrid, though.

Idiotic metaphors aside (I promise to never write about capitalist wildlife again), does it really matter that Clear Channel wants “indie rock”? Maybe. Maybe not. It might mean absolutely nothing; the indie format has only just started to show up on mainstream radio, and if the ratings don’t hold, it could disappear just as quickly as it came, and I will have written a really long music column for no reason.

Then again, maybe indie rock radio will catch on. The chances that it will sound like whatever you think independent rock is supposed to sound like, though, are slim. There’s no reason to panic, though, because the underground isn’t going anywhere. There will always be stranger, scarcer music being made so that you can maintain your supreme coolness, unfettered by media conglomerates everywhere.

As for me, I know that after being a DJ for a year, I shouldn’t really be surprised by anything that happens on the air. But I have to admit that my head almost exploded when I heard one of my favorite but never radio-friendly songs on a station owned by Clear Channel—from joy or pain, I can’t really say. buzz Liz Mozzocco is a senior at the University of Illinois. She is also an on-air personality at WPGU, 107.1 The Planet.

The Hurly-Burly COMPILED BY LOGAN MOORE

Sifting through the commotion and crap of music culture

A few rumblings have been heard from the Sigur Ros camp. First, the band has plans to release the three songs of improvisational music they provided to choreographer Merce Cunningham’s dance project “Split Sides” in October. The songs will be available through I-tunes this week. Commercial vinyl and CD release will occur in March. Additionally, Sigur Ros still have plans to release their new album in 2005 on their new label MCA.

Tortoise is set to release their new album, It’s All Around You, via their Thrill Jockey label sometime in April. The band is reportedly attempting to forge a happy medium between their live recordings and heavily experimental studio material. The album will also feature the first Tortoise song with vocals—this time provided by Kelly Hogan—since their debut LP. The band will tour North America in April and May, then head to Europe this summer.

The release date for the new Modest Mouse album, Good News For People Who Love Bad News, has been pushed back again, this time to April 6. The band will release their new single “Float On” via I-tunes, various digital music services and select music retail shops sometime before that date. The boys in the Mouse are also expanding their once primarily southern tour to include certain dates in the West and Southwest. Still no dates planned for the Midwest, though. Sorry, folks.

Holy shit, the Coachella Festival has everybody! At least that’s the way it seems, what with The Flaming Lips and Wilco signing on to a roster that already included Radiohead, the first Pixies performance since 1993, and Kraftwerk, The Cure, Dizzee Rascal, !!!, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, and Atmosphere. The event will be held May 1 and 2 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif.

Tickets will sell for about $70 a day, so start saving now, kids.

What the hell?

Moment of the week In a recent interview with the music rag Kerrang!, Marilyn Manson revealed his secret desire to become a school teacher.

Umm ... yeah. “Nobody in school wants to learn anything and everybody hates school because it’s boring,” quoth the shock-rocker. “My dream is to become a teacher because I think I could encourage kids to learn and become as thirsty for knowledge as I am.” Yeah, maybe instead of giving the teacher an apple, you can take a dump on his chest or something. Leave no child behind, indeed.

Marilyn Manson wants to teach? What the hell?

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music

MORE MUSIC MAKES JACK A HAPPY CAMPER | FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004

CDReviews

12

2/4/04

STEREOLAB Margerine Eclipse Elektra

★★

BY LOGAN MOORE

It is one of those questions that truly tests the grit of a music critic: Can we really fault Stereolab? It is apparent from the almost unanimous round of two-star reviews that greeted their 2001 platter Sound Dust that many critics have answered with a resounding “yes” to the above question. The cynic would probably counter—and it’s an opinion I’ve espoused before—that many critics have been waiting to pounce on Stereolab from the beginning of their career. With their aloof, ironic pastiches, their blatantly elitist and esoteric influences, their Marxist leanings and their wholly ice-cold “European” attitude to making music, Stereolab seemed in direct contrast to the honesty and populism that has defined American music from hillbilly to punk rock. Admitting you are a “huge Stereolab fan”is pretty much the equivalent of wearing a large sign reading,“I am a pretentious art school dipshit.”

However, from 1993-1997, Stereolab released albums of such consistent wit and brilliance, albums that perfectly married their obscure leanings with humorous bubbly pop rock, that critics simply didn’t have much ammunition to attack them with. Through the crucial years of what we now call indie rock, Stereolab established themselves as one of the premier bands of the decade and produced albums that hold up remarkably well next to their contemporaries. They threw down the gauntlet and said “Hey, Neu! and Serge Gainesbourg are great, so fuck y’all.”

So after a three year break and the release of an album (Cobra and Phases) which was sub-par, torch-bearing rock critics stormed the palace Stereolab and unleashed a decade’s worth of invective upon them. But don’t they still put out good albums? Well, as a very wise philosopher once said,“Umm ... yes and no.”

Take Margerine Eclipse, for instance. The opening strains of “Vonal Declosion” are very good, layered and interesting, with strings and keyboards, spacey little effects and the echoing back and forth vocals of the inimitable Laetitia Sadier. The boys and girls in the ‘Lab are still at it with the jazz-fusion.The production on these pieces has never been better, with almost obsessively intricate sound layering and a compositional style which smooths all their disparate influences into a cohesive, palatable whole. They’re pretty, too, like the chamberpop strings which open up “Need To Be” or the jumpy keyboard work which hops all around “Hillbilly Motobike.”“Margerine Melody”is a clever approximation of what the Talking Heads might have sounded like if they’d survived into the ascendance of electronica. The group even eases back into the rock with tracks like “Margerine Rock,” another one-chord Velvets jam conducted around computer-generated bloops.

Unfortunately, large portions of Margerine Eclipse exhibit the tired accusations that former fans of the band have been spouting for the past few years. Much of the album is tedious retreads of material that was done better in the past. You guys perfected the three-chord jam on Mars Audiac Quintet. Give it up, move on! “La Demure” literally sounds like five other, better Stereolab songs. Certain portions of Margerine Eclipse exhibit a disturbing habit of inserting random breakdowns and instrumental passages that sound as if they were taken from a completely unrelated song. Check the white Kraftwerk funk that pierces the beauty of “Vonal Declosion.” As well-produced and sonically rich as the songs are, the album still sounds half-assed and halfheartedly conceived.

All of this could probably be acceptable or possibly even engaging if it were not for one very important fact; Stereolab seem to have completely lost the ability to write a convincing melody. Part of what saved Stereolab from art school wankery in the past was their ability to

wed all their pretentions to fabulous, sunny pop songs. It was a brilliant strategy, one that yielded classic songs and trademarked the whimsical feel-good vibe that singled them out as a band deserving of both the critical praise and rabid fan-base they enjoyed throughout the ‘90s. A few decent tunes are just about the only thing that could save an album like Margerine Eclipse. In the end, I suppose I’ll have to begrudgingly defer to the mass-accepted opinion that Stereolab have kinda lost it.

They’ll still always be one of the most highly-regarded bands of the last decade and one of my favorites. But to answer the question, Can I fault Stereolab?, the answer is, based on this album, unfortunately, yes.

ZEBRAHEAD MFZB Red Ink Records

★★★

BY ANDY SIMNICK

I first became familiar with Zebrahead several years ago after hearing about their popularity on the campus of Arizona State University. Their style of rap-influenced punk rock, as well as their image, screams immaturity but is also rather catchy, perfectly represented by their single “Playmate of the Year.” Although MFZB is nothing new and is pretty simplistic lyrically, it is rather efficient in its purpose of being a harmony-laden representation of the band’s typical fare.

For those that may not be familiar with Zebrahead, imagine Lucky Boys Confusion prior to Commitment except with a harder and faster sound. The song topics are similar, the sounds are similar and the images are pretty similar as well. In terms of production quality, MFZB sounds a bit more refined but also a bit more canned than LBC. Comparisons aside, the most distinctive portion of this album is the overwhelming number of harmonies.

The lead singer’s voice has a sound that contributes to this, but their use of this device is overwhelming. Case in point, “House is not My Home” is nearly one long harmonic chant, assisted by additional echo to the verse.

Another distinctive quality is the rapid switching between the rap and the rock. This album should in no way be compared to Korn or Linkin Park, but the rapid switching happens in several songs, probably most frequently in “Strength.”

The biggest drawback to this potential guilty pleasure is the forced sound of the rapping. It almost sounds as if the words are being forced out in such a way as to promote sounding like a hard-ass. Zebrahead has earned somewhat of a reputation for promoting this image, and after seeing their live show in Chicago several years back, I am not about to disagree. This may excite some, but the hard attitude seems canned compared to the new wave of “screamo” bands such as Boy Sets Fire or even The Used.

My feelings about Zebrahead’s previous releases are similar to my sentiments regarding this album. It has definite flaws, but it is also catchy and happily mind-numbing. Playmate of the Year was the study album of choice during my sophomore year; catchy and tolerable but not good enough to distract, and this looks to be more of the same. For those out there who are fans of the band or want a quick and easy trip into unassuming pop punk, breathe a sigh of relief, because Zebrahead has not changed one bit.

SUN KIL MOON Ghosts of the Great Highway Jetset Records

★★★★

BY BRIAN MERTZ

Long ago, working for a college radio station, I learned there is no way to know everything about new music.

There is just too much out there for anyone to say that they are on top of every new release. But all of us music junkies do our best to keep up.

I will admit I am late jumping on the Sun Kil Moon bandwagon. And honestly, that is inexcusable. Sun Kil Moon’s mastermind, Mark Kozelek, is not only in Red House Painters (a band I know), but he also played Stillwater’s bassist in Almost Famous (a movie I love). Sun Kil Moon’s album, Ghosts of the Great Highway, released in late 2003, appeared in numerous respectable top 10 lists and one of my best friends would not shut up about how great the album was.

Still, it was not until I had stumbled into 2004 that I picked up the album. I am not sure why it took me this long to find this absolute masterpiece. The important thing is that I found it. And it is important that every person who appreciates gorgeously crafted emotional music finds this album as well.

Columns of newsprint could be filled with stories of Kozelek’s troubled childhood as a 10-year-old Midwestern drug addict, his past material with Red House Painters or even his covers of John Denver and AC/DC. But those stories are for the Internet.

I have chosen to devote my words to the intense emotional reactions that Ghosts of the Great Highway elicits, because it has been a long while since an album has moved me from start to finish like this one does.

Sun Kil Moon employ a handful of other musicians in addition to Kozelek, and everything from the gentle distorted fuzz of electric guitars, to xylophones, to mandolins, to a string trio, to over-dubbed vocals make it onto this 10-track album. But Sun Kil Moon never feel like a band, more like a well-oiled orchestra of indie magic.

Kozelek will never win any points for the enunciation of his words, but the obscuring of his lyrics doesn’t matter.

The conviction and emotion that pours from his very Neil Young-esque singing voice says all that needs to be said.

Each song feels like it is held together by a single invisible thread. Removing that thread would send the spacious, free-flowing tune of sadness crashing down into a mess. It becomes obvious that this skill for songwriting in today’s music is notably absent after just one listen to the stirring 14-minute epic “Duk Koo Kim.” We live in a world where rock critics praise Meg White for her loose (i.e. sloppy) drumming, the lead singer of The Vines for his unpredictable (i.e. drunken) stage antics and Ryan Adams for his charmingly mistake-laden (i.e. crappy) albums.

But praise that has been heaped on any of these artists (or other genuinely mediocre musical offerings as of late) becomes completely disingenuous when one fully experiences the music of Sun Kil Moon. The precision in which Kozelek expresses intense emotion is at the exact right balance, where it never feels sloppy and never feels forced.

Ghosts of the Great Highway should be a wake-up call for anyone who has grown content with most of the stuff being released these days.

About three minutes into the mandolin-laden, Spanish-influenced instrumental track “Si, Paloma,” I could feel my heart breaking from the beauty of this art.

Like so many other cuts on this album, “Si, Paloma” is a gripping reminder of why people not only love music, but need it to survive.

If I could go back in time, Ghosts would be at the top of my best albums of 2003. During many of the recent gray days when emotions hung thick in the air,and the comfort of equally depressing music was what I needed, I would consider this one of the best releases of the last five years.

I don’t care how or when you get on the Sun Kil Moon bandwagon. The important thing is that you get on.

THE MICROPHONES Live in Japan K Records

★★★★

BY JACOB DITTMER No, this isn’t a live album of people singing karaoke at a Japanese club, nor is it a live album comparable to the epic Live at Budokan of Cheap Trick.

Well, if by comparable you mean that it doesn’t contain a slew of girls screaming over the beginning drumbeats of “I Want You to Want Me.”So the Microphones Live in Japan may not have the arena rock sensibilities of Cheap Trick, but it is the first live album released by this dynamic indie rock group that is essentially one man, Phil Elverum.

Elverum comes from the ever-prolific and interesting music scene of K Records and Olympia, Wash. Elverum has managed to make the Microphones one of the most prolific bands around, releasing 11 albums since they began in 1999. With such a massive collection of music, it is hard to know where to start, but 2001’s The Glow pt. 2 is perhaps one of the best albums released in recent years.

With such a large library of music, one would assume this live album would include live renditions of those songs. Well, not on this album. Elverum, after finishing his epic concept album,Mt.Eerie, in 2002,spent five months in Norway, essentially in seclusion. The result is a series of new songs that Elverum took to Japan in February of 2003 to perform in live settings often completely solo with just his guitar and voice.

These stark-naked songs come together to present the Microphones in a completely different way than before. Known for their interesting production and large use of dynamics on his albums, Elverum performs his

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music as bare as it can be. Many would think without the creative production aspects of a normal Microphones album, this one would falter. But that would be false.

Because of Elverum’s shaking vocals and talented musicianship, he is able to craft these songs into a beautiful array of highs and lows.

This album draws from three different performances with some accompaniment from his labelmates and friends Calvin Johnson and Kyle Field.“Universe Conclusion” is an 11-minute Elverum masterpiece with Johnson’s deep backing vocals providing an almost bass guitar sound.

The song draws on a common Elverum theme of atmospheric forces and his fascination with the heavens. It comes together as one of the best songs Elverum has written since The Glow pt. 2 and it contains some deeply personal lyrics expressing his longing for a world beyond the one in which we live. He sings: “There are hearts beneath those hearts / There are stars above those stars,” with the backing vocals of Johnson and Field repeating his vocals with an echoed feel. The emphasis on vocals and lyrics for these songs is definitely greater than the most recent Microphones release, Mt. Eerie.

There are many more songs that draw on similar personal themes and they contain some of the best lyrics Elverum has penned in years. A tribute to Neil Young called “After N. Young” is found in the middle, with Elverum singing the lyrics to Young’s recent song “Mr. Disappointment.”The shortened versions of “My Favorite Things” and “Silent Night” are slightly annoying as they break up the flow of the album and don’t go anywhere in their brief two-minute lives. But Elverum is performing to a crowd of people that have probably never heard The Glow pt. 2 or any of his other works, so these teasers likely pleased the crowds.

The Microphones are one of indie rock’s best-kept secrets and each release of Elverum’s gets better with age. Live in Japan is not a disappointment for those who question the re-creation of the Microphones’ unique sound in a live setting. As long as Elverum continues to make albums and songs as good as those found on this live disc, he will not lose favor with the critics for his highly creative and interesting music.

More reviews are in Odds and End on Page 26.

CHARTS PARASOL RECORDS’ TOP 10 SELLERS 1. Blessed Light - Love Lights The Way (Mill Pond) 2. The Church - Forget Yourself (Cooking Vinyl) 3. The Cure - Join the Dots: B-sides and Rarities, 1978-2001 (Elektra) 4. Moonbabies - The Orange Billboard (Hidden Agenda) 5. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts (Gooom Disques) 6. Camera Obscura - Underachievers Please Try Hard (Merge) 7. Echo & The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain (Rhino) 8. Ghost - Hypnotic Underworld (Drag City) 9. Poster Children - No More Songs About Sleep and Fire (Hidden Agenda) 10. Aluminum Group - More Happyness (Wishing Tree)

NEW RELEASES Melissa Etheridge – Lucky Norah Jones - Feels Like Home Courtney Love - America’s Sweetheart Paul Oakenfold - Greatest Remixes Kylie Minogue - Body Language Mobb Deep - America’s Nightmare Jeff Kelly - From the Swan in the Hallway

MUSIC REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ No stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unlistenable

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FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

MondayFeb9 LIVE MUSIC Jazz Jam: ParaDocs – Iron Post, 7:30pm, TBA Open Mic Night: Brandon T. & Mike Ingram Cowboy Monkey, 9pm, $2 Hank Williams III – Canopy Club, 10pm, $13

DJ 2ON2OUT – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Betty Rocker – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, free Case of the Mondays House Party – Nargile, house music spun by various DJs, 9:30pm, free

COMEDY

DJ

Spicy Clamato – improv comedy – Courtyard Cafe, 9-10pm, free

DJ Chef Ra – Barfly, 9pm, free d-Lo and Spinnerty, Heiruspecs – hip-hop – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 DJ Boardwalk – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, $1 Dream Sequence – Caffe Paradiso, 10pm-12am, free

MUSIC PERFORMANCE Interval: Weavermania – At the half-century mark since The Weavers burst upon the music scene to become America’s best-loved folk group, four veteran Chicago singers recreate The Weavers’ fourpart harmonies in sing-along favorites like “Michael Row the Boat Ashore,”“If I Had a Hammer,”“Kisses Sweeter than Wine,” and “Wimoweh.” Krannert Center Lobby, 12pm. Free.

MUSIC PERFORMANCE "G" Force Karaoke – Kam's, 10pm-2am

COMEDY DeBono – improv comedy – Courtyard Cafe, 910pm, free

TuesdayFeb10

DJ DJ Resonate – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Brom – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free NOX: DJ ZoZo, DJ Kannibal, DJ Rickbats – The Highdive, 10pm, $2

"G" Force Karaoke – Elmers Club 45, 7-11pm

FILM Bowling for Columbine – a film by Michael Moore, part of the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities (IRPH) Film Series. Moore’s complex, unsettling examination of gun violence in America won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Moore’s familiar confrontational style is on display here. Following the film, there will be a panel discussion about the history of gun violence in American media and culture, featuring UIUC faculty members. 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

LIVE MUSIC Denali, Pinebender, LaGuardia – Nargile, 7pm, $6 Open Jam/Open Mic hosted by Openingbands.com and Mike Ingram – Canopy Club, 10pm, $2 or free before 10pm Mike Ingram, Pete Schmidt, Paul Christianson – Iron Post, 10pm, $3 Adam Wolfe, Jess Greenlee – acoustic – Tommy G's, 10pm, free

MUSIC PERFORMANCE

Four veteran Chicago singers, pictured above, recreate folk group The Weavers’ music.

WednesdayFeb11 LIVE MUSIC Larry Gates (of Lorenzo Goetz), Ol Yeller, Cameron McGill – Iron Post, 9:30pm, TBA Openingbands.com Showcase - i:scintilla, Relenter, Enamel – Canopy Club, 10pm, $3 Kilborn Alley – Tommy G's, 10pm, cover

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

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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

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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

DJ DJ Bozak – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams – dance – The Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ ImpacT – house – Nargile, 10pm, $5

MUSIC PERFORMANCE

i:scintilla (above) and Relenter (right) will perform Wednesday night at Canopy Club. The show will start at 10pm with a $3 cover at the door.

ThursdayFeb5 LIVE MUSIC Andy Shaw – acoustic – Aroma, 8pm, TBA Tim Green Quartet, Brian Wilkie, Jim Cox, Phil Gratteau – jazz – Zorba's, 9:30pm, $5 Bottle of Justus, The Dog and Everything – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $5 Freestyle Hip-Hop Open Mic – Nargile, 12am UofI #1 Big Band – Iron Post, 7-10pm

DJ DJ J-Phlip – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ d-Lo – Nargile, 8pm, 11pm, 1am, $5 DJ Matt Maier – Old School R&B and Funk – Nargile, 10pm- 2am, $5 DJ Delayney – progressive hip hop, reggae and house – Nargile, 8pm, $5

SPOKEN WORD Open Mic Poetry – Nargile, 9pm, $5 Featured Poet, TBA – Nargile, 10pm, $5

MUSIC PERFORMANCE

"G" Force Karaoke – Pia's in Rantoul, 9pm-1am Venice Baroque Orchestra – Baroque scholar and harpsichordist Andrea Marcon founded this orchestra with a commitment to rediscovering Baroque-period works that have languished in obscurity. At the moment, the VBO and violin virtuoso Giuliano Carmignola bring their sense of discovery, originality, and spontaneity to concertos by Vivaldi. With exquisite musicality and taste, utterly secure musical technique, and historical accuracy, Carmignola and the VBO bring out the heart and soul of Vivaldi. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Flex: $30, sc & stu $29, UI & yth $16, Single: $32, sc & stu $31, UI & yth $18. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

The Venice Baroque Orchestra, pictured above, will perform Thrusday night at Foellinger Great Hall.

Krannert Center’s Festival 2004 – Each season the Department of Dance presents four dynamic concerts, two mainstage events that feature the choreography of the award-winning faculty and guest artists, and two Studio Theatre events that highlight student choreography. Colwell Playhouse, 7:30pm. Flex: $15, sc & stu $14, UI & yth $9, Single: $16, sc & stu $15, UI & yth $10. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

DANCING Latin Dance Fever – Come dance the night away, no partner or experience required. Courtyard Cafe.

Free lessons 8-9pm, open dance 9-11:30pm. Free admission.

Krannert Center’s Festival 2004 – Each season the Department of Dance presents four dynamic concerts, two mainstage events that feature the choreography of the award-winning faculty and guest artists, and two Studio Theatre events that highlight student choreography. Colwell Playhouse, 7:30pm. Flex: $15, sc & stu $14, UI & yth $9, Single: $16, sc & stu $15, UI & yth $10. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

Chip McNeill Quartet – Hear new, original compositions and arrangements from McNeill's recording Radio Improved as well as jazz standards and tunes from great American composers like Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, and Cole Porter. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

Ann-Margret – Don't miss this Vegas-style stage show live at the Virginia. Whether in movies, on television or on stage, Ann-Margret knows how to please a crowd. Featuring a seven-piece band and dancers, this show is full of singing, dancing and plenty of costume changes. Virginia Theatre. Fri, Feb 6, 8pm. Tickets: $70, $55 and $45. For more information, call 356-9063.

ON STAGE The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? – This play revolves around Martin, a man who has it all, but he has a secret–a secret that has the potential to destroy his marriage, his career and his life. Comic moments are mixed with classic elements of tragedy. The Station Theatre, 223 N Broadway, Urbana. 8pm. Tickets $10. For reservations, call 3844000.

COMEDY Michael Kent – comedian – Courtyard Cafe, 9pm, stu $3, pub $4

ON STAGE The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? – This play revolves around Martin, a man who has it all, but he has a secret–a secret that has the potential to destroy his marriage, his career and his life. Comic moments are mixed with classic elements of tragedy. The Station Theatre, 223 N Broadway, Urbana. 8pm. Tickets $8. For reservations, call 3844000.

SaturdayFeb7

FridayFeb6 LIVE MUSIC

DJ

Kate Hathaway – Record Service, 3pm, free Al Lerardi – blues – Tommy G's, 5pm, free Gabe Rosen, Darrin Drda – acoustic – Caffe Paradiso, 8:30pm, free Tom Irwin and Ben Bedford – Embassy Tavern, 8:30pm, free Funky Circus Fleas, Honest Pod – The Phoenix, 9pm, $5 Lorenzo Goetz, Terminus Victor, Triple Whip, TBA – Cowboy Monkey, 9:30pm, $4 Ekoostik Hookah, Oteil and The Peacemakers – Canopy Club, 10pm, $10 Prairie Dogs – Iron Post, 5-7pm Transient Frank and Buddha’ Belly – Iron Post, 9pm Pedal Steel Transmission, Emotional Rec Club, Darling – Nargile, 10pm, $5 The Barflyz – 80's rock tribute – Tommy G's, 10pm, cover Reaction – classic rock – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA

DJ Sophisto – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Mertz – Nargile, 10pm, $5 DJ Tim Williams – The Highdive, 10pm, $5

The Company – The Company, directed by Robert Altman and starring Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, James Franco and the Joffrey Ballet, is playing at Boardman’s Art Theatre in Champaign.

Rated PG-13 and filmed on location in Chicago, the film is an ensemble drama centered around a group of ballet dancers, with a focus on one young dancer (Campbell) who is poised to become a principal performer. For more information, visit www.boardmansarttheatre.com.

Krannert Center’s Festival 2004 – Each season the Department of Dance presents four dynamic concerts, two mainstage events that feature the choreography of the award-winning faculty and guest artists, and two Studio Theatre events that highlight student choreography. Colwell Playhouse, 7:30pm. Flex: $15, sc & stu $14, UI & yth $9, Single: $16, sc & stu $15, UI & yth $10. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

UI Chamber Singers – Masterpieces of the motet and art song repertoires for chamber choir will be presented this evening. Composers represented include Samuel Barber, Giuseppe Verdi, and Orlando Di Lasso. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm.

Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

DANCING Tango Dancing – Phillips Recreation Center, 9pm12am, $5 Introductory Tango Lesson – Phillips Recreation Center, 7:30pm, $7 (includes dance)

ON STAGE The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? – This play revolves around Martin, a man who has it all, but he has a secret–a secret that has the potential to destroy his marriage, his career and his life. Comic moments are mixed with classic elements of tragedy. 8pm. Tickets $10. For reservations, call 384-4000.

BENEFIT Dance Against AIDS – Two performances by Dance 2XS, Hip Hop and the Hits by DJ Spinnerty and DJ Missus, door prizes for the first 25 people, raffle prizes, food, beverages, and good times. All money raised at Dance Against AIDS goes to local groups who provide HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and services. This year's event will benefit the Greater Community AIDS Project (GCAP) and the Sexual Health Peer Educators. Illinois Disciples Foundation, 610 E. Springfield in Champaign.

7:30pm-12am. Tickets $5. For more information or to volunteer, email clemenzi@uiuc.edu.

COMEDY Improv Comedy Showcase feat. DeBono & Big Dog Eat Child – Courtyard Cafe, 9-11pm, $2

LIVE MUSIC Larry Gates (of Lorenzo Goetz) – Record Service, 3pm, free Silver Nickel Bank – country/country rock – Elmers Club 45, TBA Benefit for The Carle Children's Cancer Program: The Britles – Beatles tribute band – Virginia Theatre, 7pm, $16 Despite, Words That Burn, Hollowed Out – hardcore – Red Herring, 8pm, $5 Deconstructing Jim, Emily Shrine, Blaked – Iron Post, 9pm, TBA Electric Wood – Embassy Tavern, 9:30pm, free Nightrain – Guns and Roses tribute band – Canopy Club, 10pm, $5 The Beat Kitchen – funk – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 Daily Bridge Club, LINC – Nargile, 10pm, $5 The Gin Ridge Band – Tommy G's, 10pm, $3 Candy Foster and Shades of Blue – Fat City Saloon, 8pm-12am

FILM

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MUSIC PERFORMANCE The Britles – A 40th anniversary tribute to Beatlemania, with special appearance by Louise Harrison, George Harrison’s sister. A benefit for the Carle Children's Cancer Program, this concert celebrates The Beatles’ 40th year anniversary of the band’s premiere on the Ed Sullivan Show. The Virginia Theatre, 7pm. Tickets $100-Front & Center, $20-Main, $16-Mezz & Balcony. For more information, visit www.thebritles.com.

"G" Force Karaoke – Historic Lincoln Castle Hotel Alumni Tap Bar, 9pm-1am.

The Clarks, above, will perform at Canopy Club Sunday night at 10pm along with Cowboy Mouth.

SundayFeb8 LIVE MUSIC Cowboy Mouth, The Clarks – Canopy Club, 10pm, $10

DJ Blends By Otter – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free 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 DownTempo LoungeNight w/ DJ Campos – Nargile, 10pm, free

MUSIC PERFORMANCE Rudolf Haken – This School of Music faculty artist presents an evening of viola concertos by Stamitz, Hoffmeister, Weber, Handel, and J. C. Bach with a chamber orchestra of U of I faculty and students.

Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

buzz

music

FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004 | THERE ONCE WAS A MAN FROM NANTUCKET ...

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Chi-town ... or bust

Meet Cameron McGill: chamber pop connoisseur

BY GAVIN GIOVAGNOLI | STAFF WRITER

I

“ t is what it is and then it’s over,” quotes Urbana’s homegrown Cameron McGill, referring to his recent and curiously titled debut album Stories of the Knife and the Back. He goes on to say, “I hope it finds a home with the emotionally homeless.”

And it probably will for this surprisingly talented folk-rock/chamber pop—some would even say alt-country—solo act.

Cameron found his love for music at an early age, like most truly qualified artists these days, taking piano lessons, singing at school functions and then inevitably picking up an axe (or gee-tar) in high school.

Upon graduating from Urbana High School, the starving artist packed his bags and shot up to the Windy City in dire need to find new musical horizons. McGill describes the “newsurrounding” struggles of playing on his own as meeting “… with varying degrees of success ... and by success, I mean attendance and attention spans.”

Keeping his head up while trying to put a band behind his music, he would soon meet drummer Paul Callen and later add bassist Gabe Grout to form the three-piece Morris Minors. Unfortunately, the pop-rock trio, evocative of the late Smashing Pumpkins, decided to go their separate ways in the first quarter of 2003. McGill states, “I felt, after a while, the three of us and just one vocal was limiting. Sometimes you want to hear other melodies on different instruments. And I felt that on my own I could be a little more intricate with my material.”

Prior to the breakup, McGill had been meticulously writing and recording on the side. He did this not out of spite, but because he felt the material simply wouldn’t be played on stage with the trio. McGill said, “It was more that I wanted to record and experiment with a set of

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songs that was stylistically far apart from what the band had been doing ... and damn it, everyone comes to this place; you just want to make a chamber pop record.”

With 20 tracks and then 13 (one hidden) after a decisive cut, Stories of the Knife and the Back was born (released appropriately on his own label, Post Important Records).

Asked what his inspiration was for the title, because of the bitterness it conveys, McGill answered, “Overall, I felt it was a story of life and death or looking back at growing up and seeing things in a completely different manner. Granted, there are a few grudges that just came through, but not in a vindictive way.

You can even find a lot of apologies in there.

So, a lot of the songs were different examples of how I felt towards different people at the time.”

Cameron explained that he wanted the album to be representative of a book. The front cover shows the lower half of a women’s figure. Crossed legs, slightly pale skin draped in a black dress, with a white transparent slip covering her knees and rose-red and singlebuckle slip on shoes; just a Polaroid picture he took himself of a close friend. All the lyrics were purposely included to add to the feel. At first glance, the woman is intriguing, as if she inspired the title. In actuality, she didn’t. But visually, the photo is a perfect match for the songs within.

The seductive woman only represents half of the story. The music within enticingly waits to present the other half. Through and through, this album looks for a soul to squeeze. Tracks like “Oklahoma (give my company)” about the dynamic between home and away, “Tell Me on the Way Back Home” inspired during a reflective drive home, and “No Sometimes,” a harmony-filled track about sex and regret, tug at the heart with winded harmonica riffs, delicate piano medleys and McGill’s full-scale crooning voice to boot.

Lo-fi albums

1. Bee Thousand Guided by Voices Robert Pollard, you sneaky little bastard. You could’ve been the next Pete Townshend, but opted for a pop genius Skip Spence. Bee Thousand is the ultimate lo-fi album for myriad reasons, but mostly because it taps into the deeper motivations of the style in the first place. The hope that every drunken 30-year-old in his wife’s basement can pump out songs that rival the masters of the craft. The deep belief that the next John Lennon could be your next door neighbor.The fact that once you cut through all the gloss and crap, it’s really the songs that matter, and that’s it. Jesus, how can you not jump up and down and sing along when the guys breaks into “Echoes Myron”?

And it wasn’t composed by a rock star. It was composed by a school teacher who wanted to be one. Hell yes.

2. Slanted and Enchanted Pavement As much as irony is getting its much deserved due nowadays— namely people being sick and tired of it—the band that started it all will most likely always hold their place in the pantheon of great rock bands. Why? ‘Cause they had heart. Stephen Malkmus was like the bitter, drunken friend whom you could always count on to relate. Why again? ‘Cause there was a brilliant pop band lurking behind all that slacker cool. Why a third time? ‘Cause there will never be another set of wasted laconic anthems as moving as this one.“Summer Babe” is the best indie rock song ever. Peace.

3. The Glow pt. 2 - The Microphones Phil Elverum (the brains behind the Microphones) can do some amazing things with his meager album production

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Cameron McGill will perform Feb. 11 at The Iron Post and Feb. 12 at Record Service.

Combine that with lyrics such as, “This life is gonna be the death of me,” “I’m growing tired of growing up, and everyone is good when they’re young,” or “lights shining black on dark hearts” all add a dark melodramatic feel, but McGill delivers them with a cathartic optimism.

His influences include a wide array of musicians: The Beatles, Elvis Costello, Jeff Buckley, The Rolling Stones, Death Cab for Cutie, Butterfly Child, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson’s storytelling lyrics, and Chicago’s own Wilco. These artists, and others, inspired his own unique folksy style which he incorporates with instruments such as Wurlitzers, acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, harmonicas and pianos. Not to mention a couple clarinet, trumpet and even glockenspiel elements. McGill prides himself on telling a good

story in his songs. He explained: “It’s about your voice and what can be done. And it’s even more about what can be conveyed with lyrics and the message you can get across. Like The Beatles, timeless melodies that stick with us now and always will (stick with us).”

As far as creating his own melodic masterpieces, McGill keeps at it. Looking into future collaborations with Christian Cullen, who played keyboard on the debut, he states his new material will be “all good light and no shadows. I want to have a new record come from a different place, a better mindset.

Probably just to be more positive. Hopefully it will take on a different light.” buzz

techniques. One would never think a lo-fi album would sound its best with headphones, but The Glow pt. 2 is intended to be heard on headphones. Elverum gives so much texture and layering to this album that it is an album in the true sense: no breaks, pauses or interruptions in its flowing beauty. Like a well thought out play or story, this masterpiece of lo-fi music couldn’t sound nearly as good if it was over-produced in some corporate recording studio.

worth of art-damaged, acoustic singer-songwriter fare, the empty tape reel a blank canvas for all of Lou’s dissatisfaction with girls, boys, his former bandmates in Dinosaur Jr. and himself.

4. The Freed Weed Sebadoh At the heart of the lo-fi genre lies the iconic image of the insular, bespectacled white twentysomething in a basement, spewing a world of anger and self-loathing into a four-track.This is largely due to Lou Barlow. The fact is, though, Mr. Barlow might have been the best at the game. The Freed Weed represents two albums

Cameron McGill will play at The Iron Post Feb. 11 with Larry Gates and Ol’ Yeller, and Feb. 12 at Record Service.

5. Songs the Lord Taught Us The Cramps Rockabilly was never so crazy and chopping off your girlfriend’s head and shoving it in a freezer was never so fun. The Cramps fused thier love of B-movies to thier love of B-music and created a savage, hilarious masterpiece.

Poison Ivy throttles her howling guitar to death. Lux Interior sounds like the voice that drove Ed Gein to murder kids.

Knick Knox beats out the drumbeat on a march to meet Satan. And it all sounds like it was recorded from the bottom of a bloody trash can by Mr. Alex Chilton himself.

Next week: Top five underrated bands What’s yours? e-mail us at music@readbuzz.com

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2/4/04

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buzzpicks Pete Schmidt plays acoustic show

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inneapolis-based hip-hop band Heiruspecs puts a spin on hip-hop sounds by working with instruments instead of turntables. The use of instruments makes the band’s live show unique and creates a sound unlike much other live hip hop. The band is made up of two MCs, a keyboard player, a drummer and a bass and guitar player. MCs Felix and Muad’Dib keep the beats fast and fun with their lively, purposeful rhymes—more clever and thought-provoking than bragging and bullying, they keep the beat funky and infectious. The band recently released the album Small Steps and is planning to continue working with the band Atmosphere on new music. Heiruspecs will perform at Cowboy Monkey this Wednesday at 10 p.m. Cover is $3.

Sweeney Todd School of Music Opera Series

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

T

his Atlanta-based musician can hold his own on record and on stage, writing personal, tuneful songs such as “Angel.” In concert, Schmidt weaves his way with ease through cover songs such as Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” and originals such as “Eye to Eye.” His melodic, calm voice sets the tone for his music; he shifts effortlessly between high and low notes, and seems to enjoy every song as if he is performing it for the first time. Schmidt’s guitar playing carries inflections of his southern upbringing, and the combination of guitar and voice makes him everything a solo acoustic act should be. Schmidt will be at The Iron Post Tuesday along with Mike Ingram and Paul Christianson. The show starts at 10pm with a $3 cover.

Heiruspecs blends instrument and rhymes

A Musical Thriller

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by Hugh Wheeler From an adaptation by Christopher Bond

Feb 20-29

Pedal Steel Transmission & Emotional Rec Club

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Virginia foursome Denali rocks Nargile

T

his Virginia foursome took its name from Alaska’s Denali National Park, and the connection seems appropriate after hearing the band’s beautiful, abstract music that evokes a sense of coldness and winter. Lead singer Maura Davis’ classically trained voice adds power and emotion to the songs, but subtly, without forcing emotion and heartache on listeners. The band’s second and most recent CD, The Instinct, used more guitar and less electronics than its self-titled debut CD, although its music continues to veer away from even the most subtle hint of mainstream rock music. Denali will perform Tuesday at Nargile. Pinebender and La Guardia will also perform. The show starts at 7 p.m. with a $6 cover.

15

hicago’s Pedal Steel Transmission are rock ‘n’ rollers with a touch of country in their chords. You’ll hear sounds of mandolins, acoustic picking and distinctive drum sounds contrasted against the band’s emotional, sometimes dramatic lyrics. You’ll hear sounds of The Stones and the Velvet Underground, and in the next note you’ll be reminded of Neil Young during his Harvest period. And you’ll see the band experiment with the music mid-concert, mid-song, mid-breath. These boys have fun with their music, and you’ll find it hard to resist joining in. The band’s third and latest CD, The Angel of the Squared Circle, came out last year.

Switching gears, Joseph Donhowe, the force behind Emotional Rec Club, writes catchy pop-rock songs that will have you singing along before the first song ends. His vocals blend with the music to create melodic, memorable tunes you won’t soon forget. Catch both bands along with Darling at Nargile Friday night. Music starts at 10pm with a $5 cover.

Eduardo Diazmuñoz, conductor Stephen Fiol, director Sara Lampert Hoover, associate director

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

020504buzz1415

2/4/04

14calendar

3:58 PM

Page 1

buzzpicks Pete Schmidt plays acoustic show

M

calendar

inneapolis-based hip-hop band Heiruspecs puts a spin on hip-hop sounds by working with instruments instead of turntables. The use of instruments makes the band’s live show unique and creates a sound unlike much other live hip hop. The band is made up of two MCs, a keyboard player, a drummer and a bass and guitar player. MCs Felix and Muad’Dib keep the beats fast and fun with their lively, purposeful rhymes—more clever and thought-provoking than bragging and bullying, they keep the beat funky and infectious. The band recently released the album Small Steps and is planning to continue working with the band Atmosphere on new music. Heiruspecs will perform at Cowboy Monkey this Wednesday at 10 p.m. Cover is $3.

Sweeney Todd School of Music Opera Series

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

T

his Atlanta-based musician can hold his own on record and on stage, writing personal, tuneful songs such as “Angel.” In concert, Schmidt weaves his way with ease through cover songs such as Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” and originals such as “Eye to Eye.” His melodic, calm voice sets the tone for his music; he shifts effortlessly between high and low notes, and seems to enjoy every song as if he is performing it for the first time. Schmidt’s guitar playing carries inflections of his southern upbringing, and the combination of guitar and voice makes him everything a solo acoustic act should be. Schmidt will be at The Iron Post Tuesday along with Mike Ingram and Paul Christianson. The show starts at 10pm with a $3 cover.

Heiruspecs blends instrument and rhymes

A Musical Thriller

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by Hugh Wheeler From an adaptation by Christopher Bond

Feb 20-29

Pedal Steel Transmission & Emotional Rec Club

C

Virginia foursome Denali rocks Nargile

T

his Virginia foursome took its name from Alaska’s Denali National Park, and the connection seems appropriate after hearing the band’s beautiful, abstract music that evokes a sense of coldness and winter. Lead singer Maura Davis’ classically trained voice adds power and emotion to the songs, but subtly, without forcing emotion and heartache on listeners. The band’s second and most recent CD, The Instinct, used more guitar and less electronics than its self-titled debut CD, although its music continues to veer away from even the most subtle hint of mainstream rock music. Denali will perform Tuesday at Nargile. Pinebender and La Guardia will also perform. The show starts at 7 p.m. with a $6 cover.

15

hicago’s Pedal Steel Transmission are rock ‘n’ rollers with a touch of country in their chords. You’ll hear sounds of mandolins, acoustic picking and distinctive drum sounds contrasted against the band’s emotional, sometimes dramatic lyrics. You’ll hear sounds of The Stones and the Velvet Underground, and in the next note you’ll be reminded of Neil Young during his Harvest period. And you’ll see the band experiment with the music mid-concert, mid-song, mid-breath. These boys have fun with their music, and you’ll find it hard to resist joining in. The band’s third and latest CD, The Angel of the Squared Circle, came out last year.

Switching gears, Joseph Donhowe, the force behind Emotional Rec Club, writes catchy pop-rock songs that will have you singing along before the first song ends. His vocals blend with the music to create melodic, memorable tunes you won’t soon forget. Catch both bands along with Darling at Nargile Friday night. Music starts at 10pm with a $5 cover.

Eduardo Diazmuñoz, conductor Stephen Fiol, director Sara Lampert Hoover, associate director

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

Page 1

WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

DJ DJ Bozak – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams – dance – The Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ ImpacT – house – Nargile, 10pm, $5

MUSIC PERFORMANCE

i:scintilla (above) and Relenter (right) will perform Wednesday night at Canopy Club. The show will start at 10pm with a $3 cover at the door.

ThursdayFeb5 LIVE MUSIC Andy Shaw – acoustic – Aroma, 8pm, TBA Tim Green Quartet, Brian Wilkie, Jim Cox, Phil Gratteau – jazz – Zorba's, 9:30pm, $5 Bottle of Justus, The Dog and Everything – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $5 Freestyle Hip-Hop Open Mic – Nargile, 12am UofI #1 Big Band – Iron Post, 7-10pm

DJ DJ J-Phlip – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ d-Lo – Nargile, 8pm, 11pm, 1am, $5 DJ Matt Maier – Old School R&B and Funk – Nargile, 10pm- 2am, $5 DJ Delayney – progressive hip hop, reggae and house – Nargile, 8pm, $5

SPOKEN WORD Open Mic Poetry – Nargile, 9pm, $5 Featured Poet, TBA – Nargile, 10pm, $5

MUSIC PERFORMANCE

"G" Force Karaoke – Pia's in Rantoul, 9pm-1am Venice Baroque Orchestra – Baroque scholar and harpsichordist Andrea Marcon founded this orchestra with a commitment to rediscovering Baroque-period works that have languished in obscurity. At the moment, the VBO and violin virtuoso Giuliano Carmignola bring their sense of discovery, originality, and spontaneity to concertos by Vivaldi. With exquisite musicality and taste, utterly secure musical technique, and historical accuracy, Carmignola and the VBO bring out the heart and soul of Vivaldi. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Flex: $30, sc & stu $29, UI & yth $16, Single: $32, sc & stu $31, UI & yth $18. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

The Venice Baroque Orchestra, pictured above, will perform Thrusday night at Foellinger Great Hall.

Krannert Center’s Festival 2004 – Each season the Department of Dance presents four dynamic concerts, two mainstage events that feature the choreography of the award-winning faculty and guest artists, and two Studio Theatre events that highlight student choreography. Colwell Playhouse, 7:30pm. Flex: $15, sc & stu $14, UI & yth $9, Single: $16, sc & stu $15, UI & yth $10. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

DANCING Latin Dance Fever – Come dance the night away, no partner or experience required. Courtyard Cafe.

Free lessons 8-9pm, open dance 9-11:30pm. Free admission.

Krannert Center’s Festival 2004 – Each season the Department of Dance presents four dynamic concerts, two mainstage events that feature the choreography of the award-winning faculty and guest artists, and two Studio Theatre events that highlight student choreography. Colwell Playhouse, 7:30pm. Flex: $15, sc & stu $14, UI & yth $9, Single: $16, sc & stu $15, UI & yth $10. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

Chip McNeill Quartet – Hear new, original compositions and arrangements from McNeill's recording Radio Improved as well as jazz standards and tunes from great American composers like Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, and Cole Porter. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

Ann-Margret – Don't miss this Vegas-style stage show live at the Virginia. Whether in movies, on television or on stage, Ann-Margret knows how to please a crowd. Featuring a seven-piece band and dancers, this show is full of singing, dancing and plenty of costume changes. Virginia Theatre. Fri, Feb 6, 8pm. Tickets: $70, $55 and $45. For more information, call 356-9063.

ON STAGE The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? – This play revolves around Martin, a man who has it all, but he has a secret–a secret that has the potential to destroy his marriage, his career and his life. Comic moments are mixed with classic elements of tragedy. The Station Theatre, 223 N Broadway, Urbana. 8pm. Tickets $10. For reservations, call 3844000.

COMEDY Michael Kent – comedian – Courtyard Cafe, 9pm, stu $3, pub $4

ON STAGE The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? – This play revolves around Martin, a man who has it all, but he has a secret–a secret that has the potential to destroy his marriage, his career and his life. Comic moments are mixed with classic elements of tragedy. The Station Theatre, 223 N Broadway, Urbana. 8pm. Tickets $8. For reservations, call 3844000.

SaturdayFeb7

FridayFeb6 LIVE MUSIC

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Kate Hathaway – Record Service, 3pm, free Al Lerardi – blues – Tommy G's, 5pm, free Gabe Rosen, Darrin Drda – acoustic – Caffe Paradiso, 8:30pm, free Tom Irwin and Ben Bedford – Embassy Tavern, 8:30pm, free Funky Circus Fleas, Honest Pod – The Phoenix, 9pm, $5 Lorenzo Goetz, Terminus Victor, Triple Whip, TBA – Cowboy Monkey, 9:30pm, $4 Ekoostik Hookah, Oteil and The Peacemakers – Canopy Club, 10pm, $10 Prairie Dogs – Iron Post, 5-7pm Transient Frank and Buddha’ Belly – Iron Post, 9pm Pedal Steel Transmission, Emotional Rec Club, Darling – Nargile, 10pm, $5 The Barflyz – 80's rock tribute – Tommy G's, 10pm, cover Reaction – classic rock – Elmer’s Club 45, TBA

DJ Sophisto – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Mertz – Nargile, 10pm, $5 DJ Tim Williams – The Highdive, 10pm, $5

The Company – The Company, directed by Robert Altman and starring Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, James Franco and the Joffrey Ballet, is playing at Boardman’s Art Theatre in Champaign.

Rated PG-13 and filmed on location in Chicago, the film is an ensemble drama centered around a group of ballet dancers, with a focus on one young dancer (Campbell) who is poised to become a principal performer. For more information, visit www.boardmansarttheatre.com.

Krannert Center’s Festival 2004 – Each season the Department of Dance presents four dynamic concerts, two mainstage events that feature the choreography of the award-winning faculty and guest artists, and two Studio Theatre events that highlight student choreography. Colwell Playhouse, 7:30pm. Flex: $15, sc & stu $14, UI & yth $9, Single: $16, sc & stu $15, UI & yth $10. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

UI Chamber Singers – Masterpieces of the motet and art song repertoires for chamber choir will be presented this evening. Composers represented include Samuel Barber, Giuseppe Verdi, and Orlando Di Lasso. Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm.

Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

DANCING Tango Dancing – Phillips Recreation Center, 9pm12am, $5 Introductory Tango Lesson – Phillips Recreation Center, 7:30pm, $7 (includes dance)

ON STAGE The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? – This play revolves around Martin, a man who has it all, but he has a secret–a secret that has the potential to destroy his marriage, his career and his life. Comic moments are mixed with classic elements of tragedy. 8pm. Tickets $10. For reservations, call 384-4000.

BENEFIT Dance Against AIDS – Two performances by Dance 2XS, Hip Hop and the Hits by DJ Spinnerty and DJ Missus, door prizes for the first 25 people, raffle prizes, food, beverages, and good times. All money raised at Dance Against AIDS goes to local groups who provide HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and services. This year's event will benefit the Greater Community AIDS Project (GCAP) and the Sexual Health Peer Educators. Illinois Disciples Foundation, 610 E. Springfield in Champaign.

7:30pm-12am. Tickets $5. For more information or to volunteer, email clemenzi@uiuc.edu.

COMEDY Improv Comedy Showcase feat. DeBono & Big Dog Eat Child – Courtyard Cafe, 9-11pm, $2

LIVE MUSIC Larry Gates (of Lorenzo Goetz) – Record Service, 3pm, free Silver Nickel Bank – country/country rock – Elmers Club 45, TBA Benefit for The Carle Children's Cancer Program: The Britles – Beatles tribute band – Virginia Theatre, 7pm, $16 Despite, Words That Burn, Hollowed Out – hardcore – Red Herring, 8pm, $5 Deconstructing Jim, Emily Shrine, Blaked – Iron Post, 9pm, TBA Electric Wood – Embassy Tavern, 9:30pm, free Nightrain – Guns and Roses tribute band – Canopy Club, 10pm, $5 The Beat Kitchen – funk – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 Daily Bridge Club, LINC – Nargile, 10pm, $5 The Gin Ridge Band – Tommy G's, 10pm, $3 Candy Foster and Shades of Blue – Fat City Saloon, 8pm-12am

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MUSIC PERFORMANCE The Britles – A 40th anniversary tribute to Beatlemania, with special appearance by Louise Harrison, George Harrison’s sister. A benefit for the Carle Children's Cancer Program, this concert celebrates The Beatles’ 40th year anniversary of the band’s premiere on the Ed Sullivan Show. The Virginia Theatre, 7pm. Tickets $100-Front & Center, $20-Main, $16-Mezz & Balcony. For more information, visit www.thebritles.com.

"G" Force Karaoke – Historic Lincoln Castle Hotel Alumni Tap Bar, 9pm-1am.

The Clarks, above, will perform at Canopy Club Sunday night at 10pm along with Cowboy Mouth.

SundayFeb8 LIVE MUSIC Cowboy Mouth, The Clarks – Canopy Club, 10pm, $10

DJ Blends By Otter – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free 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 DownTempo LoungeNight w/ DJ Campos – Nargile, 10pm, free

MUSIC PERFORMANCE Rudolf Haken – This School of Music faculty artist presents an evening of viola concertos by Stamitz, Hoffmeister, Weber, Handel, and J. C. Bach with a chamber orchestra of U of I faculty and students.

Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm. Tickets: $5, sc $4, stu $2. For more information, go to www.krannertcenter.com.

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FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004 | THERE ONCE WAS A MAN FROM NANTUCKET ...

13

Chi-town ... or bust

Meet Cameron McGill: chamber pop connoisseur

BY GAVIN GIOVAGNOLI | STAFF WRITER

I

“ t is what it is and then it’s over,” quotes Urbana’s homegrown Cameron McGill, referring to his recent and curiously titled debut album Stories of the Knife and the Back. He goes on to say, “I hope it finds a home with the emotionally homeless.”

And it probably will for this surprisingly talented folk-rock/chamber pop—some would even say alt-country—solo act.

Cameron found his love for music at an early age, like most truly qualified artists these days, taking piano lessons, singing at school functions and then inevitably picking up an axe (or gee-tar) in high school.

Upon graduating from Urbana High School, the starving artist packed his bags and shot up to the Windy City in dire need to find new musical horizons. McGill describes the “newsurrounding” struggles of playing on his own as meeting “… with varying degrees of success ... and by success, I mean attendance and attention spans.”

Keeping his head up while trying to put a band behind his music, he would soon meet drummer Paul Callen and later add bassist Gabe Grout to form the three-piece Morris Minors. Unfortunately, the pop-rock trio, evocative of the late Smashing Pumpkins, decided to go their separate ways in the first quarter of 2003. McGill states, “I felt, after a while, the three of us and just one vocal was limiting. Sometimes you want to hear other melodies on different instruments. And I felt that on my own I could be a little more intricate with my material.”

Prior to the breakup, McGill had been meticulously writing and recording on the side. He did this not out of spite, but because he felt the material simply wouldn’t be played on stage with the trio. McGill said, “It was more that I wanted to record and experiment with a set of

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songs that was stylistically far apart from what the band had been doing ... and damn it, everyone comes to this place; you just want to make a chamber pop record.”

With 20 tracks and then 13 (one hidden) after a decisive cut, Stories of the Knife and the Back was born (released appropriately on his own label, Post Important Records).

Asked what his inspiration was for the title, because of the bitterness it conveys, McGill answered, “Overall, I felt it was a story of life and death or looking back at growing up and seeing things in a completely different manner. Granted, there are a few grudges that just came through, but not in a vindictive way.

You can even find a lot of apologies in there.

So, a lot of the songs were different examples of how I felt towards different people at the time.”

Cameron explained that he wanted the album to be representative of a book. The front cover shows the lower half of a women’s figure. Crossed legs, slightly pale skin draped in a black dress, with a white transparent slip covering her knees and rose-red and singlebuckle slip on shoes; just a Polaroid picture he took himself of a close friend. All the lyrics were purposely included to add to the feel. At first glance, the woman is intriguing, as if she inspired the title. In actuality, she didn’t. But visually, the photo is a perfect match for the songs within.

The seductive woman only represents half of the story. The music within enticingly waits to present the other half. Through and through, this album looks for a soul to squeeze. Tracks like “Oklahoma (give my company)” about the dynamic between home and away, “Tell Me on the Way Back Home” inspired during a reflective drive home, and “No Sometimes,” a harmony-filled track about sex and regret, tug at the heart with winded harmonica riffs, delicate piano medleys and McGill’s full-scale crooning voice to boot.

Lo-fi albums

1. Bee Thousand Guided by Voices Robert Pollard, you sneaky little bastard. You could’ve been the next Pete Townshend, but opted for a pop genius Skip Spence. Bee Thousand is the ultimate lo-fi album for myriad reasons, but mostly because it taps into the deeper motivations of the style in the first place. The hope that every drunken 30-year-old in his wife’s basement can pump out songs that rival the masters of the craft. The deep belief that the next John Lennon could be your next door neighbor.The fact that once you cut through all the gloss and crap, it’s really the songs that matter, and that’s it. Jesus, how can you not jump up and down and sing along when the guys breaks into “Echoes Myron”?

And it wasn’t composed by a rock star. It was composed by a school teacher who wanted to be one. Hell yes.

2. Slanted and Enchanted Pavement As much as irony is getting its much deserved due nowadays— namely people being sick and tired of it—the band that started it all will most likely always hold their place in the pantheon of great rock bands. Why? ‘Cause they had heart. Stephen Malkmus was like the bitter, drunken friend whom you could always count on to relate. Why again? ‘Cause there was a brilliant pop band lurking behind all that slacker cool. Why a third time? ‘Cause there will never be another set of wasted laconic anthems as moving as this one.“Summer Babe” is the best indie rock song ever. Peace.

3. The Glow pt. 2 - The Microphones Phil Elverum (the brains behind the Microphones) can do some amazing things with his meager album production

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Cameron McGill will perform Feb. 11 at The Iron Post and Feb. 12 at Record Service.

Combine that with lyrics such as, “This life is gonna be the death of me,” “I’m growing tired of growing up, and everyone is good when they’re young,” or “lights shining black on dark hearts” all add a dark melodramatic feel, but McGill delivers them with a cathartic optimism.

His influences include a wide array of musicians: The Beatles, Elvis Costello, Jeff Buckley, The Rolling Stones, Death Cab for Cutie, Butterfly Child, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson’s storytelling lyrics, and Chicago’s own Wilco. These artists, and others, inspired his own unique folksy style which he incorporates with instruments such as Wurlitzers, acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, harmonicas and pianos. Not to mention a couple clarinet, trumpet and even glockenspiel elements. McGill prides himself on telling a good

story in his songs. He explained: “It’s about your voice and what can be done. And it’s even more about what can be conveyed with lyrics and the message you can get across. Like The Beatles, timeless melodies that stick with us now and always will (stick with us).”

As far as creating his own melodic masterpieces, McGill keeps at it. Looking into future collaborations with Christian Cullen, who played keyboard on the debut, he states his new material will be “all good light and no shadows. I want to have a new record come from a different place, a better mindset.

Probably just to be more positive. Hopefully it will take on a different light.” buzz

techniques. One would never think a lo-fi album would sound its best with headphones, but The Glow pt. 2 is intended to be heard on headphones. Elverum gives so much texture and layering to this album that it is an album in the true sense: no breaks, pauses or interruptions in its flowing beauty. Like a well thought out play or story, this masterpiece of lo-fi music couldn’t sound nearly as good if it was over-produced in some corporate recording studio.

worth of art-damaged, acoustic singer-songwriter fare, the empty tape reel a blank canvas for all of Lou’s dissatisfaction with girls, boys, his former bandmates in Dinosaur Jr. and himself.

4. The Freed Weed Sebadoh At the heart of the lo-fi genre lies the iconic image of the insular, bespectacled white twentysomething in a basement, spewing a world of anger and self-loathing into a four-track.This is largely due to Lou Barlow. The fact is, though, Mr. Barlow might have been the best at the game. The Freed Weed represents two albums

Cameron McGill will play at The Iron Post Feb. 11 with Larry Gates and Ol’ Yeller, and Feb. 12 at Record Service.

5. Songs the Lord Taught Us The Cramps Rockabilly was never so crazy and chopping off your girlfriend’s head and shoving it in a freezer was never so fun. The Cramps fused thier love of B-movies to thier love of B-music and created a savage, hilarious masterpiece.

Poison Ivy throttles her howling guitar to death. Lux Interior sounds like the voice that drove Ed Gein to murder kids.

Knick Knox beats out the drumbeat on a march to meet Satan. And it all sounds like it was recorded from the bottom of a bloody trash can by Mr. Alex Chilton himself.

Next week: Top five underrated bands What’s yours? e-mail us at music@readbuzz.com

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MORE MUSIC MAKES JACK A HAPPY CAMPER | FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004

CDReviews

12

2/4/04

STEREOLAB Margerine Eclipse Elektra

★★

BY LOGAN MOORE

It is one of those questions that truly tests the grit of a music critic: Can we really fault Stereolab? It is apparent from the almost unanimous round of two-star reviews that greeted their 2001 platter Sound Dust that many critics have answered with a resounding “yes” to the above question. The cynic would probably counter—and it’s an opinion I’ve espoused before—that many critics have been waiting to pounce on Stereolab from the beginning of their career. With their aloof, ironic pastiches, their blatantly elitist and esoteric influences, their Marxist leanings and their wholly ice-cold “European” attitude to making music, Stereolab seemed in direct contrast to the honesty and populism that has defined American music from hillbilly to punk rock. Admitting you are a “huge Stereolab fan”is pretty much the equivalent of wearing a large sign reading,“I am a pretentious art school dipshit.”

However, from 1993-1997, Stereolab released albums of such consistent wit and brilliance, albums that perfectly married their obscure leanings with humorous bubbly pop rock, that critics simply didn’t have much ammunition to attack them with. Through the crucial years of what we now call indie rock, Stereolab established themselves as one of the premier bands of the decade and produced albums that hold up remarkably well next to their contemporaries. They threw down the gauntlet and said “Hey, Neu! and Serge Gainesbourg are great, so fuck y’all.”

So after a three year break and the release of an album (Cobra and Phases) which was sub-par, torch-bearing rock critics stormed the palace Stereolab and unleashed a decade’s worth of invective upon them. But don’t they still put out good albums? Well, as a very wise philosopher once said,“Umm ... yes and no.”

Take Margerine Eclipse, for instance. The opening strains of “Vonal Declosion” are very good, layered and interesting, with strings and keyboards, spacey little effects and the echoing back and forth vocals of the inimitable Laetitia Sadier. The boys and girls in the ‘Lab are still at it with the jazz-fusion.The production on these pieces has never been better, with almost obsessively intricate sound layering and a compositional style which smooths all their disparate influences into a cohesive, palatable whole. They’re pretty, too, like the chamberpop strings which open up “Need To Be” or the jumpy keyboard work which hops all around “Hillbilly Motobike.”“Margerine Melody”is a clever approximation of what the Talking Heads might have sounded like if they’d survived into the ascendance of electronica. The group even eases back into the rock with tracks like “Margerine Rock,” another one-chord Velvets jam conducted around computer-generated bloops.

Unfortunately, large portions of Margerine Eclipse exhibit the tired accusations that former fans of the band have been spouting for the past few years. Much of the album is tedious retreads of material that was done better in the past. You guys perfected the three-chord jam on Mars Audiac Quintet. Give it up, move on! “La Demure” literally sounds like five other, better Stereolab songs. Certain portions of Margerine Eclipse exhibit a disturbing habit of inserting random breakdowns and instrumental passages that sound as if they were taken from a completely unrelated song. Check the white Kraftwerk funk that pierces the beauty of “Vonal Declosion.” As well-produced and sonically rich as the songs are, the album still sounds half-assed and halfheartedly conceived.

All of this could probably be acceptable or possibly even engaging if it were not for one very important fact; Stereolab seem to have completely lost the ability to write a convincing melody. Part of what saved Stereolab from art school wankery in the past was their ability to

wed all their pretentions to fabulous, sunny pop songs. It was a brilliant strategy, one that yielded classic songs and trademarked the whimsical feel-good vibe that singled them out as a band deserving of both the critical praise and rabid fan-base they enjoyed throughout the ‘90s. A few decent tunes are just about the only thing that could save an album like Margerine Eclipse. In the end, I suppose I’ll have to begrudgingly defer to the mass-accepted opinion that Stereolab have kinda lost it.

They’ll still always be one of the most highly-regarded bands of the last decade and one of my favorites. But to answer the question, Can I fault Stereolab?, the answer is, based on this album, unfortunately, yes.

ZEBRAHEAD MFZB Red Ink Records

★★★

BY ANDY SIMNICK

I first became familiar with Zebrahead several years ago after hearing about their popularity on the campus of Arizona State University. Their style of rap-influenced punk rock, as well as their image, screams immaturity but is also rather catchy, perfectly represented by their single “Playmate of the Year.” Although MFZB is nothing new and is pretty simplistic lyrically, it is rather efficient in its purpose of being a harmony-laden representation of the band’s typical fare.

For those that may not be familiar with Zebrahead, imagine Lucky Boys Confusion prior to Commitment except with a harder and faster sound. The song topics are similar, the sounds are similar and the images are pretty similar as well. In terms of production quality, MFZB sounds a bit more refined but also a bit more canned than LBC. Comparisons aside, the most distinctive portion of this album is the overwhelming number of harmonies.

The lead singer’s voice has a sound that contributes to this, but their use of this device is overwhelming. Case in point, “House is not My Home” is nearly one long harmonic chant, assisted by additional echo to the verse.

Another distinctive quality is the rapid switching between the rap and the rock. This album should in no way be compared to Korn or Linkin Park, but the rapid switching happens in several songs, probably most frequently in “Strength.”

The biggest drawback to this potential guilty pleasure is the forced sound of the rapping. It almost sounds as if the words are being forced out in such a way as to promote sounding like a hard-ass. Zebrahead has earned somewhat of a reputation for promoting this image, and after seeing their live show in Chicago several years back, I am not about to disagree. This may excite some, but the hard attitude seems canned compared to the new wave of “screamo” bands such as Boy Sets Fire or even The Used.

My feelings about Zebrahead’s previous releases are similar to my sentiments regarding this album. It has definite flaws, but it is also catchy and happily mind-numbing. Playmate of the Year was the study album of choice during my sophomore year; catchy and tolerable but not good enough to distract, and this looks to be more of the same. For those out there who are fans of the band or want a quick and easy trip into unassuming pop punk, breathe a sigh of relief, because Zebrahead has not changed one bit.

SUN KIL MOON Ghosts of the Great Highway Jetset Records

★★★★

BY BRIAN MERTZ

Long ago, working for a college radio station, I learned there is no way to know everything about new music.

There is just too much out there for anyone to say that they are on top of every new release. But all of us music junkies do our best to keep up.

I will admit I am late jumping on the Sun Kil Moon bandwagon. And honestly, that is inexcusable. Sun Kil Moon’s mastermind, Mark Kozelek, is not only in Red House Painters (a band I know), but he also played Stillwater’s bassist in Almost Famous (a movie I love). Sun Kil Moon’s album, Ghosts of the Great Highway, released in late 2003, appeared in numerous respectable top 10 lists and one of my best friends would not shut up about how great the album was.

Still, it was not until I had stumbled into 2004 that I picked up the album. I am not sure why it took me this long to find this absolute masterpiece. The important thing is that I found it. And it is important that every person who appreciates gorgeously crafted emotional music finds this album as well.

Columns of newsprint could be filled with stories of Kozelek’s troubled childhood as a 10-year-old Midwestern drug addict, his past material with Red House Painters or even his covers of John Denver and AC/DC. But those stories are for the Internet.

I have chosen to devote my words to the intense emotional reactions that Ghosts of the Great Highway elicits, because it has been a long while since an album has moved me from start to finish like this one does.

Sun Kil Moon employ a handful of other musicians in addition to Kozelek, and everything from the gentle distorted fuzz of electric guitars, to xylophones, to mandolins, to a string trio, to over-dubbed vocals make it onto this 10-track album. But Sun Kil Moon never feel like a band, more like a well-oiled orchestra of indie magic.

Kozelek will never win any points for the enunciation of his words, but the obscuring of his lyrics doesn’t matter.

The conviction and emotion that pours from his very Neil Young-esque singing voice says all that needs to be said.

Each song feels like it is held together by a single invisible thread. Removing that thread would send the spacious, free-flowing tune of sadness crashing down into a mess. It becomes obvious that this skill for songwriting in today’s music is notably absent after just one listen to the stirring 14-minute epic “Duk Koo Kim.” We live in a world where rock critics praise Meg White for her loose (i.e. sloppy) drumming, the lead singer of The Vines for his unpredictable (i.e. drunken) stage antics and Ryan Adams for his charmingly mistake-laden (i.e. crappy) albums.

But praise that has been heaped on any of these artists (or other genuinely mediocre musical offerings as of late) becomes completely disingenuous when one fully experiences the music of Sun Kil Moon. The precision in which Kozelek expresses intense emotion is at the exact right balance, where it never feels sloppy and never feels forced.

Ghosts of the Great Highway should be a wake-up call for anyone who has grown content with most of the stuff being released these days.

About three minutes into the mandolin-laden, Spanish-influenced instrumental track “Si, Paloma,” I could feel my heart breaking from the beauty of this art.

Like so many other cuts on this album, “Si, Paloma” is a gripping reminder of why people not only love music, but need it to survive.

If I could go back in time, Ghosts would be at the top of my best albums of 2003. During many of the recent gray days when emotions hung thick in the air,and the comfort of equally depressing music was what I needed, I would consider this one of the best releases of the last five years.

I don’t care how or when you get on the Sun Kil Moon bandwagon. The important thing is that you get on.

THE MICROPHONES Live in Japan K Records

★★★★

BY JACOB DITTMER No, this isn’t a live album of people singing karaoke at a Japanese club, nor is it a live album comparable to the epic Live at Budokan of Cheap Trick.

Well, if by comparable you mean that it doesn’t contain a slew of girls screaming over the beginning drumbeats of “I Want You to Want Me.”So the Microphones Live in Japan may not have the arena rock sensibilities of Cheap Trick, but it is the first live album released by this dynamic indie rock group that is essentially one man, Phil Elverum.

Elverum comes from the ever-prolific and interesting music scene of K Records and Olympia, Wash. Elverum has managed to make the Microphones one of the most prolific bands around, releasing 11 albums since they began in 1999. With such a massive collection of music, it is hard to know where to start, but 2001’s The Glow pt. 2 is perhaps one of the best albums released in recent years.

With such a large library of music, one would assume this live album would include live renditions of those songs. Well, not on this album. Elverum, after finishing his epic concept album,Mt.Eerie, in 2002,spent five months in Norway, essentially in seclusion. The result is a series of new songs that Elverum took to Japan in February of 2003 to perform in live settings often completely solo with just his guitar and voice.

These stark-naked songs come together to present the Microphones in a completely different way than before. Known for their interesting production and large use of dynamics on his albums, Elverum performs his

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music as bare as it can be. Many would think without the creative production aspects of a normal Microphones album, this one would falter. But that would be false.

Because of Elverum’s shaking vocals and talented musicianship, he is able to craft these songs into a beautiful array of highs and lows.

This album draws from three different performances with some accompaniment from his labelmates and friends Calvin Johnson and Kyle Field.“Universe Conclusion” is an 11-minute Elverum masterpiece with Johnson’s deep backing vocals providing an almost bass guitar sound.

The song draws on a common Elverum theme of atmospheric forces and his fascination with the heavens. It comes together as one of the best songs Elverum has written since The Glow pt. 2 and it contains some deeply personal lyrics expressing his longing for a world beyond the one in which we live. He sings: “There are hearts beneath those hearts / There are stars above those stars,” with the backing vocals of Johnson and Field repeating his vocals with an echoed feel. The emphasis on vocals and lyrics for these songs is definitely greater than the most recent Microphones release, Mt. Eerie.

There are many more songs that draw on similar personal themes and they contain some of the best lyrics Elverum has penned in years. A tribute to Neil Young called “After N. Young” is found in the middle, with Elverum singing the lyrics to Young’s recent song “Mr. Disappointment.”The shortened versions of “My Favorite Things” and “Silent Night” are slightly annoying as they break up the flow of the album and don’t go anywhere in their brief two-minute lives. But Elverum is performing to a crowd of people that have probably never heard The Glow pt. 2 or any of his other works, so these teasers likely pleased the crowds.

The Microphones are one of indie rock’s best-kept secrets and each release of Elverum’s gets better with age. Live in Japan is not a disappointment for those who question the re-creation of the Microphones’ unique sound in a live setting. As long as Elverum continues to make albums and songs as good as those found on this live disc, he will not lose favor with the critics for his highly creative and interesting music.

More reviews are in Odds and End on Page 26.

CHARTS PARASOL RECORDS’ TOP 10 SELLERS 1. Blessed Light - Love Lights The Way (Mill Pond) 2. The Church - Forget Yourself (Cooking Vinyl) 3. The Cure - Join the Dots: B-sides and Rarities, 1978-2001 (Elektra) 4. Moonbabies - The Orange Billboard (Hidden Agenda) 5. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts (Gooom Disques) 6. Camera Obscura - Underachievers Please Try Hard (Merge) 7. Echo & The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain (Rhino) 8. Ghost - Hypnotic Underworld (Drag City) 9. Poster Children - No More Songs About Sleep and Fire (Hidden Agenda) 10. Aluminum Group - More Happyness (Wishing Tree)

NEW RELEASES Melissa Etheridge – Lucky Norah Jones - Feels Like Home Courtney Love - America’s Sweetheart Paul Oakenfold - Greatest Remixes Kylie Minogue - Body Language Mobb Deep - America’s Nightmare Jeff Kelly - From the Swan in the Hallway

MUSIC REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ No stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unlistenable

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FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

MondayFeb9 LIVE MUSIC Jazz Jam: ParaDocs – Iron Post, 7:30pm, TBA Open Mic Night: Brandon T. & Mike Ingram Cowboy Monkey, 9pm, $2 Hank Williams III – Canopy Club, 10pm, $13

DJ 2ON2OUT – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Betty Rocker – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, free Case of the Mondays House Party – Nargile, house music spun by various DJs, 9:30pm, free

COMEDY

DJ

Spicy Clamato – improv comedy – Courtyard Cafe, 9-10pm, free

DJ Chef Ra – Barfly, 9pm, free d-Lo and Spinnerty, Heiruspecs – hip-hop – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 DJ Boardwalk – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, $1 Dream Sequence – Caffe Paradiso, 10pm-12am, free

MUSIC PERFORMANCE Interval: Weavermania – At the half-century mark since The Weavers burst upon the music scene to become America’s best-loved folk group, four veteran Chicago singers recreate The Weavers’ fourpart harmonies in sing-along favorites like “Michael Row the Boat Ashore,”“If I Had a Hammer,”“Kisses Sweeter than Wine,” and “Wimoweh.” Krannert Center Lobby, 12pm. Free.

MUSIC PERFORMANCE "G" Force Karaoke – Kam's, 10pm-2am

COMEDY DeBono – improv comedy – Courtyard Cafe, 910pm, free

TuesdayFeb10

DJ DJ Resonate – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Brom – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free NOX: DJ ZoZo, DJ Kannibal, DJ Rickbats – The Highdive, 10pm, $2

"G" Force Karaoke – Elmers Club 45, 7-11pm

FILM Bowling for Columbine – a film by Michael Moore, part of the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities (IRPH) Film Series. Moore’s complex, unsettling examination of gun violence in America won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Moore’s familiar confrontational style is on display here. Following the film, there will be a panel discussion about the history of gun violence in American media and culture, featuring UIUC faculty members. 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

LIVE MUSIC Denali, Pinebender, LaGuardia – Nargile, 7pm, $6 Open Jam/Open Mic hosted by Openingbands.com and Mike Ingram – Canopy Club, 10pm, $2 or free before 10pm Mike Ingram, Pete Schmidt, Paul Christianson – Iron Post, 10pm, $3 Adam Wolfe, Jess Greenlee – acoustic – Tommy G's, 10pm, free

MUSIC PERFORMANCE

Four veteran Chicago singers, pictured above, recreate folk group The Weavers’ music.

WednesdayFeb11 LIVE MUSIC Larry Gates (of Lorenzo Goetz), Ol Yeller, Cameron McGill – Iron Post, 9:30pm, TBA Openingbands.com Showcase - i:scintilla, Relenter, Enamel – Canopy Club, 10pm, $3 Kilborn Alley – Tommy G's, 10pm, cover

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

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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

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CHICAGOSHOWS FEBRUARY 2/5 Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane @ FitzGerald's 2/5 Monolake @ Empty Bottle 2/5 Life of Agony @ House of Blues, all ages 2/6 Cisco Pike, Cobra Verde @ Subterranean 2/6 DJ Red Alert @ Funky Buddha Lounge 2/6 Buckwheat Zydeco @ House of Blues, 18+ 2/7 Insurgent Visions: 10 Years of Bloodshot Art & Music @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/7 Hank Williams III @ Martyrs' 2/7 Immortal Technique @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/7 American Motherload @ Metro, 18+ 2/7 Ann-Margret @ Star Plaza 2/7 Amy Rigby @ Schubas 2/7 Fashion Bomb, American Motherload @ Metro, 18+ 2/7 Autumn Defense @ Double Door 2/7 Dennis DeYoung @ Rosemont Theatre 2/8 Cyril Pahinui, Cindy Combs, Dennis Kamakahi @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/10 Scotland Yard Gospel Choir @ Metro, 18+ 2/12 Josh Groban @ Rosemont Theatre 2/13 Cyndi Lauper @ Cadillac Palace 2/13 Kate & Anna McGarrigle @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/13 Mindy Smith @ Schubas 2/13 Deke Dickerson @ Fitzgerald’s 2/14 Azita, Mark Shippy @ Viaduct Theater 2/14 Rick Braun @ Chicago Theatre 2/14 Pam Tillis & Juice Newton @ the Hemmens 2/14 Him @ Empty Bottle 2/14 Numbers @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/14 John Ondrasik @ Schubas 2/14 Colin Hay @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/15 B2K @ Chicago Theatre 2/16 Paco de Lucia @ Symphony Center 2/18 Cecilia Bartoli @ Symphony Center 2/18 Sarah Brightman @ Allstate Arena 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 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

WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

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 3/28 Doc Watson @ Old Town School of Folk Music

CHICAGOVENUES House of Blues 329 N Dearborn, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 The Bottom Lounge 3206 N Wilton, Chicago, (773) 975-0505 Congress Theatre 2135 N Milwaukee, (312) 923-2000 Vic Theatre 3145 N Sheffield, Chicago, (773) 472-0449 Metro 3730 N Clark St, Chicago, (773) 549-0203 Elbo Room 2871 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 549-5549 Park West 322 W Armitage, Chicago, (773) 929-1322 Riviera Theatre 4746 N Racine at Lawrence, Chicago Allstate Arena 6920 N Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, (847) 635-6601 Arie Crown Theatre 2300 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, (312) 791-6000 UIC Pavilion 1150 W Harrison, Chicago, (312) 413-5700 Schubas 3159 N Southport, Chicago, (773) 525-2508 Martyrs 3855 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 288-4545 Aragon 1106 W Lawerence, Chicago, (773) 561-9500 Abbey Pub 3420 W Grace, Chicago, (773) 478-4408 Fireside Bowl 2646 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, (773) 486-2700 Schubert Theatre 22 W Monroe, Chicago, (312) 977-1700

ART NOTICES Portraits – Award winning portrait artist Sandra Ahten is currently accepting commissions for portraits for holiday giving. Portraits are priced at an affordable range and professional exchange or barter may be accepted. For examples of work and a quote, contact Sandra Ahten at (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com.

Creation Art Studios: Art Classes for Children and Adults – All classes offer technical instruction and the exploration of materials through the expressive and spontaneous art process. Independent studies of personal interests and ideas, dreams, etc. are expressed and developed through collage and assemblage art, drawing, painting, sculpture and ceramics. Call for times and schedule. For more information contact Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955.

CPDU's offered. 1102 E. Washington, Urbana. www.creationartstudios.com.

Join Artists and Workshops at Gallery Virtu – Gallery Virtu, an artist-owned cooperative, now invite applications from area artists. The Gallery also offers workshops for adults, teens and children in knitting, embroidery, photography, jewelry making, printmaking, papermaking, bookbinding and ribbon flowers. Gallery Virtu offers original works by the members including: jewelry, pottery, collages, sculptures, journals, hats, handbags and other textiles. For more information please call 762-7790, visit our website at www.galleryvirtu.org, e-mail workshops@galleryvirtu.org or visit the gallery.

Regular hours: Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am6pm. 220 W Washington Street in Monticello.

Art Classes at High Cross Studio – All classes are held at High Cross Studio in Urbana. 1101 N High Cross Road. E-mail or call for reservations and details. (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com..

“Portrait Paintings with Oils”– This course will provide instruction in painting portraits from photographs. Paint a portrait of your loved one or yourself. Mon-Fri daytime class and weekend workshop offered.

"Collage for the Soul" – Students will learn a variety of collage techniques, including photo and photocopy transfer, papermaking and manipulation, and frontage, while exploring a particular subject, such as a place, a memory, an experience or a relationship. No art-making experience necessary.

"Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" – For adults who have always wanted to learn to draw, but felt as if they lacked talent or confidence.

Other Classes:“Making Monoprints,”“Art With Intention” (Open Studio). For information on these visit http://www.spiritofsandra.com and click on "classes," then e-mail or call for reservations.

ART EXHIBITS & GALLERIES Boneyard Pottery – Ceramic Art by Michael Schwegmann and more. 403 Water St, Champaign.

Tue-Sat 11am-5pm. 355-5610.

Broken Oak Gallery – Local and national artists.

Original art including photography, watercolors, pottery, oil paintings, colored pencil, woodturning and more. Refreshments served by the garden all day Saturday. 1865 N 1225 E Rd., White Heath. ThuSat 10am-4pm. 762-4907.

Creation Art Studios – Featuring original art by students and members of the studio. 1102 E Washington St. 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, Home Accessories. Custom designing available. 1104 E Washington St., Urbana. Thu-Sat 10am-5pm 367-2367.

Framer's Market – Frame Designers since 1981.

Ongoing work from local artists on display. 807 W Springfield Ave., Champaign. Tue-Fri 9:30am5:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 351-7020.

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Furniture Lounge – Specializing in mid-century modern furniture from the 1920s-1980s, retro, Danish modern, lighting, vintage stereo equipment and vinyl records. 9 E University, Champaign.

352-5150. Sun-Mon 12-4:30pm, Wed-Sat 11am5:30pm.

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, Champaign. Mon-Thu 10am-5:30pm, Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 9am-4pm. 359-0048. www.glassfx.com.

Griggs Street Potters – Handmade functional and decorative pottery. 305 W Grigg St, Urbana. MonFri 11am-4pm, or call for appointment. 344-8546.

Gallery Virtu Cooperative – Original works by the nine artist-owners: jewelry, pottery, paintings, collages, hats, handbags and other textiles, sculptures and journals. The Gallery also offers workshops.

220 W. Washington St., Monticello. 762-7790. Thurs 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm. www.galleryvirtu.org Hill Street Gallery Inc. – Oil and watercolor paintings, hand painted T-shirts, handmade jewelry. 703 W Hill, Champaign. Sat 12-5pm or by appointment during the week. 359-0675.

Larry Kanfer Gallery – New images just added to the Gift Collection. Framed band ready to go. Also, memorable, original, limited and open edition photographs from the University of Illinois, Prairiescapes, Cityscapes, European, Northwoods, and Coast to Coast Collections by Larry Kanfer, internationally acclaimed artist. 2503 S Neil, Champaign. Free and Open to the Public. Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm. 398-2000. www.kanfer.com.

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., 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, Champaign.

Mon-Thu 11am-5:30pm, Sat 11am-4:30pm. 3558338.

Steeple Gallery – Vintage botanical and bird prints, antiques, framed limited edition prints. 102 E Lafayette St., Monticello. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-2924. www.steeplegallery.com Verde Gallery – The work of local artist Sylvia Arnstein will be on display in the halls and café. 17 E Taylor St., Champaign. Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am10 pm; Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 3663204.

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, Monticello. Tue 10am-8pm, Wed-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-9786. www.ziemergallery.com.

ART EXHIBITS – ON VIEW NOW “Transitions” – Work from Nicole Cisne on display at Armoa 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. I myself have fallen victim to the ads and television shows portraying women of a size that I could never physically be.

Fasting, bingeing and purging have been re-occurring problems throughout my life. My artwork is a way to look at these issues.” 118 N. Neil, Champaign. Open 7 days a week, 7am-Midnight.

For information contact Amanda Bickle. 356-3200. art4aroma@yahoo.com.

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music

FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004 | DON’T YOU LOVE HOW MANY CONCERTS CLEAR CHANNEL “SPONSORS”THESE DAYS?

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Clear Channel discovers (and plays) indie rock ... sort of MENDOZA MUSIC LINE

BY LIZ MOZZOCCO | STAFF WRITER

T

he underground is overcrowded, says Eric Bachmann.

This is the eternal conflict, the thing that strikes fear in the hearts of young punks, leaving them trembling in their beat up Chuck Taylors. They look tough, but there’s always this one thing, the thing that undoes them: the fear that the underground is, in fact, becoming crowded. It’s the fear of mixing too much with outsiders and becoming contaminated.

It sounds silly, but it isn’t completely unfounded. As disgusting as the typically anti-consumer, anti-corporate ethics of alternative cultures are to the capitalist world, people with suits for souls simultaneously understand there is something intriguing about the underground, and that, when properly cleaned up, it can be used to drum up the interest of the mainstream.

So it’s not surprising that Clear Channel Media, like many of their corporate peers and predecessors, now has an eye for the awkward guy with bad hair and thrift store jeans. Poor ratings at some of their California stations have resulted in an unlikely format venture and the stuff of underground nightmares: indie rock on corporate radio.

I could write for hours about Clear Channel and why it sucks, but as it stands, I’m running out of creative ways to eat all my meals with a butter knife, and I just don’t have enough

time to ignore the dirty dishes and write an anti-corporate manifesto, so I’ll try to stick to one subject.

True to form, my evil stereotypical hipster side reacted to hearing of Clear Channel’s latest venture in this way: 1. Shock, fear, a feeling similar to a mild heart attack after reading the words “corporate radio” and “indie rock” in the same sentence without the interlocking words “is not.”

2. Major disgust and disdain, carefully hidden under a veil of supreme coolness and apathy (this is where I smoke a cigarette in a dark corner and look at my shoes a lot, thereby showing the world that I have no interest in commercial music—I don’t even own a radio).

3. Inspiration to write a music column on the subject, which, with characteristic supreme coolness, tells readers, “No! It’s a trick!

Corporate shit-music mongers are trying to usurp indie rock, distort it, rub it in dollars and sell it at Hot Topic! AARGGH!” Luckily, my lack of supreme coolness prevented any of the above reactions from actually happening. However, I do admit to being a little taken aback by the news. I mean, somewhere in Southern California, Indie 103.1 FM (that’s what they’re calling this demon spawn) is spouting slogans like “Respect the music,” while spinning fairly well-known but still somewhat obscure songs by Jet and Interpol. Los Angeles’ KROQ 106.7 FM listeners are getting their first taste of The Faint, and I don’t mean that Linkin Park song. I must pause here for involuntary shudders.

There comes a time, however, especially after writing a paragraph like that, when you have to admit that you’re basically an elitist asshole— and not even a good elitist asshole, either.

Considering that in certain uber-sophisticated

crowds, mentioning that you like The Faint merely proves that you’ve read the up-andcoming section of Spin magazine and doesn’t buy you any of that ever-elusive “indie cred.”

Besides the fact that I sound like a jerk if I try to condemn a radio station for playing interesting music, I am also aware that any negative comments I might make about commercial radio are totally undermined by the fact that I am (gasp) a DJ at a commercial radio station.

You might be wondering, then, why I’m not cheering on this positive, albeit minor step some radio stations are taking toward playing something besides the usual hits on the radio.

I should be excited to see commercial stations that are able to maintain an audience, good ratings while still “respecting the music,” whatever the hell that actually means.

The problem, aside from the fact that they don’t have any DJs (an abomination), is that Indie 103.1 has a kind of weird idea of what indie is. Here are some of the bands I heard after listening to the station on their Web site, http://indie1031.fm: Brand New, The White Stripes, Radiohead, The Foo Fighters, Rancid and oddly, Johnny Cash.

I have no problem with any of those musicians and honestly, listening to the station wasn’t unpleasant, but the stuff they’re calling indie strikes me as a little, well, mainstream. It wasn’t bad, but it was exactly what I expected from a marriage between independent music and commercial radio, and it explained the disgust that some music fans might have toward this whole thing.

Uptight Bohemians and defensive freaks always worry that their culture, seemingly so repulsive to the outside world, will one day become repackaged and sold to the masses that initially rejected them. They know that the resulting product will only look vaguely

similar to what it was in the beginning, before someone realized they could make money off of it.

To anyone who listens to any of the large number of bands clumped together under the label “indie rock,” Clear Channel’s bright idea to create a station appealing to indie rockers is a lot like getting a new kitten and then letting it roam around outside: When it comes back all mangled and ugly after a day of wrestling with a big corporate raccoon, you’re not really that surprised. It’s still pretty horrid, though.

Idiotic metaphors aside (I promise to never write about capitalist wildlife again), does it really matter that Clear Channel wants “indie rock”? Maybe. Maybe not. It might mean absolutely nothing; the indie format has only just started to show up on mainstream radio, and if the ratings don’t hold, it could disappear just as quickly as it came, and I will have written a really long music column for no reason.

Then again, maybe indie rock radio will catch on. The chances that it will sound like whatever you think independent rock is supposed to sound like, though, are slim. There’s no reason to panic, though, because the underground isn’t going anywhere. There will always be stranger, scarcer music being made so that you can maintain your supreme coolness, unfettered by media conglomerates everywhere.

As for me, I know that after being a DJ for a year, I shouldn’t really be surprised by anything that happens on the air. But I have to admit that my head almost exploded when I heard one of my favorite but never radio-friendly songs on a station owned by Clear Channel—from joy or pain, I can’t really say. buzz Liz Mozzocco is a senior at the University of Illinois. She is also an on-air personality at WPGU, 107.1 The Planet.

The Hurly-Burly COMPILED BY LOGAN MOORE

Sifting through the commotion and crap of music culture

A few rumblings have been heard from the Sigur Ros camp. First, the band has plans to release the three songs of improvisational music they provided to choreographer Merce Cunningham’s dance project “Split Sides” in October. The songs will be available through I-tunes this week. Commercial vinyl and CD release will occur in March. Additionally, Sigur Ros still have plans to release their new album in 2005 on their new label MCA.

Tortoise is set to release their new album, It’s All Around You, via their Thrill Jockey label sometime in April. The band is reportedly attempting to forge a happy medium between their live recordings and heavily experimental studio material. The album will also feature the first Tortoise song with vocals—this time provided by Kelly Hogan—since their debut LP. The band will tour North America in April and May, then head to Europe this summer.

The release date for the new Modest Mouse album, Good News For People Who Love Bad News, has been pushed back again, this time to April 6. The band will release their new single “Float On” via I-tunes, various digital music services and select music retail shops sometime before that date. The boys in the Mouse are also expanding their once primarily southern tour to include certain dates in the West and Southwest. Still no dates planned for the Midwest, though. Sorry, folks.

Holy shit, the Coachella Festival has everybody! At least that’s the way it seems, what with The Flaming Lips and Wilco signing on to a roster that already included Radiohead, the first Pixies performance since 1993, and Kraftwerk, The Cure, Dizzee Rascal, !!!, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, and Atmosphere. The event will be held May 1 and 2 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif.

Tickets will sell for about $70 a day, so start saving now, kids.

What the hell?

Moment of the week In a recent interview with the music rag Kerrang!, Marilyn Manson revealed his secret desire to become a school teacher.

Umm ... yeah. “Nobody in school wants to learn anything and everybody hates school because it’s boring,” quoth the shock-rocker. “My dream is to become a teacher because I think I could encourage kids to learn and become as thirsty for knowledge as I am.” Yeah, maybe instead of giving the teacher an apple, you can take a dump on his chest or something. Leave no child behind, indeed.

Marilyn Manson wants to teach? What the hell?

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I DON’T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS, CABLE GUY IS HILARIOUS | FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004

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Country royalty

B

PHOTOS | COURTESY OF HANK WILLIAMS III

orn to one of the first families in country music history, yet first becoming interested in music through Kiss, Hank Williams III straddles the line between classic country and hard rock. Williams will be coming to The Canopy Club Feb. 9, appealing to fans of country, metal, punk and everything in between.

The Canopy Club has played host to numerous acts showcasing similar styles to those Williams plays, but none have combined all those styles into one set since he last came to town several years ago.

“The last show we did in Urbana was lethal,” Williams said. “It was an amazing night.”

Williams returns to the region with The Hot Damn Band and Assjack, his country and rock backup bands, respectively. Although each has a different sound, both help Williams channel his rebellious country and anger-fueled rock to the crowd. According to Williams, mosh pits and fights regularly break out, not only during Assjack’s set but during the country performance as well.

“At our show last night in Portland, we had a pit during the country set and two fights broke out, man,” Williams said. “It’s different every night, but we try our best to keep the energy level high.”

Williams has kept his energy level high during his last six years of officially touring. This grandson of a legend has worked hard and carved a niche for himself outside of that

“Even in Nashville, they send country immense shadow.

“When we first started out, (the crowd) singers to media school. I’ve never been like thought they were coming to see Hank. They that. There are some outlaws there, Dixie Rose, got one look at my set and thought, ‘This kid is Wayne ‘the Train’ Hancock, but not enough.”

Williams does not make these comments in on drugs,’ “ Williams said. “I’ve been at this long enough for people to know I’m not Hank order to bolster an image, but rather out of Jr. We still have some curiosity seekers, but actual distaste for the mass media music market. Shunning everything from radio to record most people know that I do what I do.”

Williams is obviously doing something labels, Williams credits his success to a do-itright, as his shows continue to sell out across yourself ethic and open access to his music. In fact, Hank has the nation. This may released four separate have something to do illegal bootlegs. He with the wider appeal also supports Internet of his musical variadownloading of his tion. songs.

“We got three dif“I’m so much about ferent rounds during giving music away; our set. We start out Hank WIlliams III that’s what keeps us loud and get a lot alive,” Williams said. angrier, a Dr. Jekyll “My career would’ve and Mr. Hyde thing. been over four years After the country stuff is over, there’s still cowboys, punks, jocks ... ago without it. We’ve been letting people download our music for the last five years. we get a wide variant.”

Much like his grandfather, Williams’ heart Most of the guys that say (downloading) is lies in the rebellious nature of both country wrong are penny-pinching motherfuckers. and rock music. However, Williams’ introduc- Those are the guys that want their $10 cut off tion to performing did not come at the Grand each CD and don’t care about the music.”

Touring endlessly with The Hot Damn Ole Opry, but rather in the underground metal Band, Assjack and his side project, Superjoint scene of Nashville, Tenn.

“My dad didn’t give me any music advice, Ritual—a band including Phil from Pantera— but I’ve always been around music,” Williams Williams has shown an incredible work ethic. said of his musical roots. “Seeing the scene in He credits his predecessors both in country Dragon Park in Nashville, every night there and rock for motivating him.

“Most of my heroes were dead by would be anywhere between 50 to 100 people.

Skinheads and punks would always fight, the 30,” said the 31-year-old Williams.

New Orleans crowd came “Look how much my granddadout and played. It was cool dy did in his time. What’s on shit. The park, thank God tape is going to last longer than me. That’s why I need for that.”

Most likely due to his to do as much as possible.”

Unlike many artists, own musical influences growing up, Williams said there is no pretense he believes today’s about Williams. His teenagers need an emo- emphatic personality, tional outlet through aged voice and promusic, something that is fanity-laden ranting all help to lacking in music today.

“I think what is lacking personify what is radio and TV that plays he represents. pure rock. Even MTV just As a Williams, plays hip-hop videos and he upholds trathose reality bullshit dition by mainshows. There is no outlet. If taining country it comes back, it will be roots and doing great for the kids in black.” it his way in the Williams also said he process. As a believes country music rocker, though, needs more rebels like his he brings more to grandfather Hank Sr., the table, demonMerle Haggard and Johnny strating one of the strongest work Cash.

[

We had a pit during the country set and two fights broke out, man.

[

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

Visions of a Japanese Vendetta: Chushingura on Stage and in Prints – a talk by Henry D. Smith, author and scholar of Japanese culture. Krannert Art Museum. Feb 18, 5:30pm.

Hank Williams III visits Urbana’s Canopy Club with surprises in store

BY ANDY SIMNICK | STAFF WRITER

buzz

ethics, a dedication to his fans and a sound that remains at the forefront of hellbilly rock.

“We’ve been doing it like this for years. I’m just trying to do what I do and that’s it, just trying to rock on.” buzz Hot Damn Band and Assjack will Hank Williams III, The play at 9 p.m. Feb. 9 at The Canopy Club. Tickets are $13.

For more information, visit www.hank3.com.

“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 and celebrates a variety of views of this world of illusion and fantasy (Ukiyo) through richly-colored and compositionally provocative woodblock prints know as Ukiyo-e.

In the 19th century, Ukiyo-e prints provided Japanese theatergoers with pictures of their favorite actors. At the same time, Japanese woodblock print technology grew to be so efficient that these prints could be mass-produced. They became so affordable that children doodled on them and they were even used to wrap ceramic pieces for export to Europe where they inspired the compositions of many of the Impressionists.

The prints in this exhibition give visitors a glimpse of Japanese art, dress, and culture that flourished over 150 years ago. The exhibition is curated by Ronald Toby and is on view through March 21. 500 E Peabody, Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. 333-1860. Suggested Donation: $3.

“Bon Coiffure: Hair Signs from West Africa”– Sculpture from the permanent collection of African art and a private collection of hairdressing signs from Benin and Togo dating from the 1970s to the 1990s. In sub-Saharan Africa, la coiffure, or “hairdressing” is both an art and a vocation. Even the earliest European explorers were struck by the complexity and diversity of African hairstyles.

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 commission artists to hand-paint signs to advertise their skills and represent their repertoire of coiffures. These signs are placed outside a home or market stand to signal that a hairdresser is available. This exhibition offers viewers a fascinating glimpse into three different art forms: the art of African hair styling, of hair sign painting, and the depiction of elaborate hairstyles in traditional masks and sculpture. Bon Coiffure is on view through March 21 and is curated by Dana Rush.

500 E Peabody, Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. 333-1860. Suggested Donation: $3.

“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. This habit continues today, he says,“but at the expense of cross-cultural understanding, and despite the fact that the lives of many people now cross the East/West divide.” The Krannert Museum has put together a traveling exhibition bringing together the work of seven major contemporart artists who share a connection to both worlds are now traversing boundaries, dismantling stereotypes and seeking to broaden perceptions on both sides of the global divide. 500 E Peabody, Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. 333-1860. Suggested Donation: $3

“Verde Retrospective: New Works by Old Friends” – New show featuring new work from featured gallery artists of the past year on display at Verde Gallery through Feb 7. 17 E Taylor St., Champaign.

Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm; Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.

Gospel Concert – The annual event features traditional and contemporary gospel praise and worship music. Parkland College Theatre. Feb 21, 710pm.

SPOKEN WORD Poetry Slam – This event features a presentation of familiar and original works by Parkland students.

Parkland College Flag Lounge. Feb 25, 1-2pm.

“Poetry of Images” – Raheel Akbar Javed’s oneman art show of paintings will be held at Atron Regen Interior, 809 W Park Ave in Champaign.

Raheel is a recipient of Pakistan’s first National Award in Contemporary Painting. Hours: Feb 13 & 14 5-7pm, Feb 15 1-4pm. Please RSVP at 351-8827 or atronregen@aol.com.

FUND-RAISING “Maroonapalooza” – The Central High School Band Boosters are organizing a fund-raising event that will showcase student bands. So far, you will be able to hear 10 student bands at the event, which takes place Feb 22, 12-6pm.

“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 the Krannert Art Museum through March 28, 2004. 500 E Peabody, Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. 333-1860. Suggested Donation: $3

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.

The Complete Works of The Prompting Theater (Briefly) – This fundraising dinner theater performance reviews the entire repertory of the Prompting Thater in only an hour. It is a slapstick mayhem that you won’t want to miss! McKinley Church. Feb 12. Dinner at 6pm, Show at 7pm. Sugg. donation for the evening is $10, $5 for just the show. Dinner reservations are requested, please call 356-9176. Show-only tickets will be available at the door.

FILM French Movie Night: Ridicule – Ridicule (France, 1996), rated R, 102 minutes. In French with English subtitles. In 1783, Grégoire Ponceludon de Malavoy (Charles Berling) goes to Versailles to convince the government to fund an environmental project that will improve living conditions in his region. He quickly realizes that reason and logic are of no help in the court, but that wits and humor can take him where he wants. Feb 10, 8pm.

Foreign Language Building on Quad.

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UPCOMING MUSIC

Creation Art Studios – Artwork by instructors Jeannine Bestoso, Amy Richardson, and Shoshanna Bauer, along with and art by family and friends of the studio on display at Creation Art Studio. 1102 E Washington St. Urbana. Hours: Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 1-4pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information call Jeannine Bestoso at 3446955. 1102 E Washington St. Urbana.

THEATRE

calendar

KIDS & FAMILY

IPRH Film Series – Bowling for Columbine, a film by Michael Moore. Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion on gun violence in American media and culture. Panelists: Barbara Wilson (speech communication), Darren Mulloy (IPRH/speech communication), Christine Catanzarite (IPRH/unit for cinema studies).

Moderator: Stephen Hartnett (speech communication). Krannert Art Museum rm 62. Feb 11, 5:30pm.

Free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities at 244-3344 or www.iprh.uiuc.edu.

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.

Feb 25, 5:30pm. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact IPRH at 244-3344 or www.iprh.uiuc.edu.

To Have and Have Not – The News-Gazette Classic Film Festival. This classic film features a charter boat captain who reluctantly becomes involved with the French Resistance. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Walter Brennan, and Hoagie Carmichael. (NR). Virginia Theatre. Feb 13, 7pm. Feb 14, 1pm & 7pm. Tickets: $5. For questions or more information, call 356-9063.

YOGA

FOR MEN

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.

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. Call the Urbana Business Association at 344-3872 with any questions.

Funfare – Come to The Phillips Recreation Center for Funfare Thu, 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.

Storyshop – A story and activity concert held twice each Wednesday. Parents and children, daycare groups and elementary classes are welcome. Main Library, auditiorium. Wed 9:30-10am, 10:30-11am.

Douglass Branch Lib. Wed 10:30-11am.

12 week spring session starts February 4th.

Wednesdays Noon–1:30 pm

217-469-9585 Punch Downs-Telephone Outlets Installed - Repairs - Prewiring Quality Workmanship & Materials Illinois Bell Trained Technician - Guaranteed & Insured

An introductory class with emphasis on creating flexibility, maintaining fitness for sports, reducing fatigue and for prostate health.

Register at first class

YOGA Institute of Champaign-Urbana 407 W. Springfield, Urbana 344-YOGA (9642) www.yoga-cu.com

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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

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 of songs, stories and rhymes is for our youngest patrons, ages 6 to 24 months with an adult. No registration is required.

For more information, call 367-4069.

African Crafts with Dawn Blackman – For elementary school-age children. Meets Fridays in February. No registration required. Douglass Branch Library. Fri, 4-5pm.

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.

Global Institutions: What are they good for? – a presentation with Michael Goldman, professor of sociology at UIUC. Everybody welcome.

Refreshments will be served. Sponsored by the Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort (AWARE). IMC, 218 W Main St in Urbana. Sun, 3-5pm. For more information, visit www.anti-war.net.

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.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Girl Scouts Workshops – The William M. Staerkel Planetarium will offer several sessions this spring for Scouts working on merit badges. Girl Scouts can get help with their "Sky Search" badges by attending one of two workshops taught in the planetarium dome on April 6 or April 15 from 78:30pm. The cost is $4 per scout, including materials. Must pre-register.

Boy Scouts Seminars – Boy Scouts may attend one of three Astronomy Merit Badge seminars held from 7-9pm. on May 5, 13 or 18 at William M. Staerkel Planetarium. The cost is $5 per Scout. You must pre-register to attend any of these workshops. Bring a red flashlight.

Write On! – Bring your pencils and imagination for an adventure in creative writing with librarian Elaine Bearden during this session at The Urbana Free Library, Tue, Feb 10, 4-5pm. Registration for third-graders and up begins now. For more information, call 367-4069.

Betty Kilby Fisher Presentation – This event will include a presentation by the author, a question and answer session, and refreshments. Parkland College Gallery Lounge. Mon, 12-1pm.

Wine Tasting – Krannert Center teams up with Sun Singer Wine & Gifts, Ltd. to host wine tastings at the Interlude bar at 5pm on Thursday evenings.

Each week, two or three wines are introduced for tasting. During this time, there will be free wine tasting and $3.50 glasses of wine. The featured wines will be available throughout the week for patron sale at regular price when Interlude is open for performances. Come relax and enjoy a combination experience of great-tasting wine and a wonderful performance. Krannert Center lobby.

Thu, 5pm, free.

“On Location” – Join The Urbana Free Library Children’s Department when they go “on location” with actress Leah Farrar White for a “Stuck-in-aBox” pantomime workshop. Children from 2nd through 5th grade can register for this pantomime workshop filled with drama games. Registration required. Wesley Foundation. Sat, Feb 7, 1-3 pm. For more information, call 367-4069.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Connoisseurs – Teens and middle schoolers can taste-test and vote for the best chocolate chip cookie. No registration. For more information, call 403-2070. Champaign Public Library. Thur, 3-4:15pm.

Kevin Hales' African Adventure – This event will include a presentation by Kevin Hales, Parkland history instructor, on his recent trip to Africa.

Refreshments will be included. Parkland College, room D244. Feb 16, time TBA. Champaign County Audubon Society – Laura Kammin, a research biologist in the University of Illinois natural resources and environmental sciences department, will talk about conservation buffer strips in relation to crops and drainage ditches in central Illinois and their effect on birds and other wildlife populations in the agricultural landscape. Bevier Hall, room 242. Thur, 7:30pm. For more information, call Arlo, 443-2499.

Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology Seminar Series – "The Ultimate Transistor: Is it the Silicon MOSFET?" Dr. Mark S. Lundstrom, Don and Carol Scifres, Distinguished Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University. Seminar will take place at the Coordinated Science Laboratory. Feb 18, 4pm.

Come Bowl with the Angels! – Come bowl with us, but don't forget your socks! Come meet & learn about the ladies that promote the advancement of women, diversty, & professionalism. The Angels would be more than happy to welcome you into their world. Illini Union Bowling Lanes. Thur, 7pm.

Free.

Symposium on Graduate Education: Challenges, Choices, Careers – This event offors an opportunity for University of Illinois graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni to talk about the challenges and opportunities distinctive to graduate student's academic experience today. Registration, available at www.grad.uiuc.edu, must be completed by Fri. Illini Union, rms A, B & C. Tue, 1-5pm.

Academic Challenge – Parkland College will host the regional competition for Academic Challenge.

Teams from eight area high schools will be tested in math, English, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering graphics and computer science. Parkland College gym. Feb 13, 9am-2pm.

Black History Live – This is a lively, interactive competition on African American history. Event includes refreshments and prizes. Parkland College Flag Lounge. Feb 18, 12-1pm.

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. Feb 20, 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.

Aviation Student/Alumni Career Night – Speakers: Dennis Beringer, Research Mgt., FAA Oklahoma City, OK; Nathan Butcher, SIC, Falcon 10, Flightstar Corperation, Savoy; Neeley Weaver Casey, Captain Qualified First Officer, Continental Express, Denver, CO; Wei Zheng, Pilot/Instructor, Pensacola Aviation, Pensacola, FL. Illini Union, rms A,B & C. Mon, 5:30pm.

MEETINGS & WORKSHOPS Carle Cancer Center Support Group – All meetings are free and open to anyone interested in learning more about cancer. Carle Cancer Center lounge.

Feb 18, 7-8:30pm. For more information, call Kate Garbacz at 383-4581 or Laura Auteberry at 3834066.

This Little Kidney Went to Market – Historical Reflections on Buying and Selling Human Organs.

Speaker Susan E. Lederer, Yale University. 117 Medical Sciences Building. Thur, 12-1:30pm.

Ikebana – A Japanese Flower Arrangement class.

Shoka will be deomonstrated and taught in the morning session, and an introduction to Ikebana will be during the afternoon sesson. Japan House, 2000 S. Lincoln Ave. Sat, 9:30am-12pm and 1-3pm.

ACT Saturday Class – This ACT preparation course is designed to develop skills to raise student test scores. The course materials are provided by Cambridge Educational Services, and includes a pre-test and post-test. Parkland College. Saturdays, 9am-12pm, Feb 17-Mar 20. The fee is $275 and includes all materials. Register by Feb 10. For more information, call 351-2546.

CLACS Brown Bag Presentation – The title of this lecture is "Inside Thunder Mountain: A Shaman's Vision of Knowledge as Sustenance." Speaker: Stephanie Stean, MA Candidate in Latin American Studies. The lecture will cover the topic of a Ecuadorian shaman's transformative trip inside a moutain to gain knowledge and to undergo a transformative process within himself. 101 International Studies Building, Thur, 12-12:50pm.

Free.

Batter Up! History of Negro League Baseball – Presentation by former Birmingham Barons player Ernest Westfield Sr. No registration. Douglass Branch Library. Tue, 6:30-7:45pm.

Battle of the Books – Team competition for grades 3 to 5. Study the books ahead of time at the library. Sat, 1-3pm. Douglass Branch Library. For questions or registration, call 403-2090.

Panel Discussion: Religion and Modernity – Panelists: Stephan Palmié (anthropology, University of Chicago), Dean Bell (Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, Chicago), Anne Martinez (Latina/o studies and history, UIUC), Andy Orta (anthropology, UIUC). Moderator: Bruce Rosenstock (religious studies, UIUC). Humanities Lecture Hall, IPRH, 805 W Pennsylvania Ave, Urbana. Thur, 3pm.

Free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities at 244-3344 or www.iprh.uiuc.edu.

February Blood Drives – Campus blood drives for this month are as follows: Thur – Snyder Hall Main Lounge 2:30-6:30pm; Wed – Allen Hall Bloodmobile 2:30-6:30pm; Feb 17 – PAR Saunders Lounge 3-7pm; Feb 18 – Daniels Hall Main Lounge 2-6pm; Feb 24 – LAR Main Lounge 2-6pm; Feb 2527 – Illini Union room 314 10am-4pm.

KnowZone – Homework help for school-aged children. Tue 4-5pm. Douglass Branch Library. No registration.

Ten Star All-Star Basketball Camp – Applications are now being evaluated for the camp. Boys and girls ages 10-19 are eligible. Players from 50 states and 11 countries attended the 2003 Camp. College basketball scholarships are possible for players selected to the All-American team. Camp locations include: Hickory, NC; Thousand Oaks, CA; Sterling, CO; Babson Park, FL; Atlanta, GA; Champaign, IL; Greencastle, IN; Atchison, KS; Baltimore, MD; Ysilanti, MI; Hamilton, NY; Bluffton, OH; Lock Haven, PA; Lebanon, TN; Commerce, TX; Blacksburg, VA; Poultney, VT; Olympia, WA and Beloit, WI. For a free brochure, call (704) 373-0873, available 24 hours.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Auditions – Sign up sheets will be available near 1201 Music Building on the days of the audition.

Walk-ins are also availiable. Please bring a prepared vocal piece. CD Player will be provided. 1201 Music Building. Feb 8-12, 6-8pm.

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Champaign County Audobon Society’s Great Backyard Bird Count – Cornell Lab of Ornithology invites backyard birders to participate in the 7th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count Feb 13-16. Data submitted by citizen scientists helps researchers keep track of species distribution and populations.

Join Champaign County Audubon members Feb 14, 8-10am, to count birds at the Anita Purves Nature Center, 1505 N. Broadway in Urbana. Birds seen at the feeders and in Busey Woods will be entered into an online database at www.birdsource.org/gbbc. Instructions are on the Web site.

No fee or registration is required. Individuals may count at home feeders or walk in a local park (up to a mile) and report findings to the above website. For more information, call Elaine at 367-5787.

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, Colo., will be showing in the Champaign community. For the 7th year in a row, Champaign Surplus Store, Inc. will sponsor this tour. Savoy 16 Theatre. Mar 15, 7pm, $10. All ticket proceeds are donated to the Campership Program, BSA. Tickets are on sale now.

To buy tickets, go to Champaign Surplus or www.champaignsurplus.com.

Freelance Feature Writing – Learn how to research story ideas, conduct an interview, and write a feature story. Students will also learn how to market a story once it's written. Parkland College Bauman Center. Feb 12-March 18, Thursdays 5:30-7:30pm.

The fee is $71. Register by Thur. For more information, call 403-4590.

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.

Sat, Feb 21, 10am-12pm. The fee is $25. Register by Feb 13. 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. Sat, Feb 21, 10am-12pm. The fee is $20.

Register by Feb 13. For more information, call 351-2546.

Career Planning Seminar – Participants will learn about the career development process, explore interests, abilities, and goals and discover available resources. A tour of the career center is provided, followed by an opportunity to schedule an individual appointment with a career counselor. Event is free, but reservations are requested. For more information, call 351-2536. Parkland College, room A208. Tue, Feb 17, 6-8pm.

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arts

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | I HATE RED INK

February at Krannert Center

BY JEFFREY NELSON | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

V

50% OFF ALL CLOTHING!

new works by U of I faculty composers and composer Don Davis (best known for his scores to the The Matrix films) Feb. 25. Jack Ranney’s UI Philharmonia will perform works

by Berlioz, Smetana, and Brahms under student guest conductor Geoffrey Clifton Sunday, Feb. 22.

All musical events are at the Foellinger Great Hall.

In theater, U of I Theatre presents Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, from Feb. 12 to Feb. 22 on weekends. Robert Anderson will direct this popular, often dark comedy about love, deception and betrayal.

U of I opera will present an even darker theatrical work, Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd from Feb. 20 to Feb. 29 on weekends.

Twelfth Night will be performed in the small space of the Studio and Sweeney Todd will be presented at the Tryon Festival Theatre.

There is even more to experience in this short month. From choral music (check schedule) to the world of dance and martial arts with Capacitor: Within Our Spaces Feb. 20 and 21 at the Colwell Playhouse. This visual feast brings science and gymnastics together for audience members ages 12 and up. Here is something that almost defies standard classification, but equally notable is its 7 p.m. start time. Most Krannert evening events start at 7:30.

isiting professionals and local artists will enrich the typically rich February offerings at Urbana’s Krannert Center. Music heads the offerings once again during the winter concert season. If you missed the excellent Venice Baroque Orchestra on Feb. 5, there is still the Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sergey Kondrashev on Feb. 19 in the Foellinger Great Hall.

With excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Oneign” and a performance by pianist Yuri Rozum—who is rarely heard outside of Eastern Europe—this all-Russian program offers some exciting and authentic possibilities.

On Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m., Concertante will present Brahms’ two string sextets. Here in the Sunday Salon Series, you are onstage for seating and refreshments, so get there an hour early. If you are a music lover and you have not sampled a Sunday onstage concert at Krannert, you have cheated yourself.

U of I faculty and student artists will also offer some excellent possibilities during February. On Feb. 8, Rudolph Haken will give a viola recital in the Great Hall, and, at the end of the month, on Feb. 29, Mark Moore and Eric Dalheim will give a recital of classical works for the tuba.

For full orchestra fans, The UI Symphony For ticket information, call (217) 333-6280 or visit Orchestra, under Donald Schleicher, will pres- www.krannertcenter.com. ent an evening of Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven on Feb. 12. Two days later, on Valent i n e ’ s D a y, T h e Champaign-Urbana Symphony will offer a “Valentine Sampler” that music director Steve Larsen has chosen. Such rarely heard gems as Bruch’s “Kol Nidrei” and the music from Richard Strauss’ operas, “Der Rosenkavlier” and “Feuersnot” make this a sampler worth sampling in full.

But there is more.

The UI Symphonic Bands and Wind Symphonies will offer concerts on Feb. 18 and 25, and the UI New Music Ensemble will present a selection of Memebrs of the Venice Baoque Orchestra, perfroming Feb. 5th.

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arts

NEXT WEEK, JESSICA, NEXT WEEK | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

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ARTIST’S CORNER

L

yosha is a local painter who is originally from Russia. He began painting 15 years ago while working as a doctor. He currently has an exhibit at Paradiso Cafe.

The paintings featured there, including “Meloncholy,” are all for sale. Lyosha can be reached at lyosha@iname.com.

Why are you still painting?

After all, I think the only way for me to communicate with reality is to translate influences from nature into this way of expression.

(The) more I understand colors, (the) sharper I can deliver the meaning of it. So it is (an) endless process. On another hand, painting was always fascinated me. How in this world colors will bring such a powerful emotional impulse that will drive people to (their) edges? (Then), there is a psychological drama behind that had a mirror effect on (the) viewer, echoing his emotional status. As one can see—it is a science.

Why did you decide to show your work in coffee shops?

I have been doing this for years. As a coffee addict (from my medical carrier in the past, and being around [the] clock shift), I like the environment of it, feels homey and gives you comfort to think. That is a just a prefect for showing paintings. Observation of painting required intimacy. It is a very personal dialogue. No one can tell why you don’t like or like it instead, but you. The viewer will reject it (according to) his or hers negative emotions, or admit it with a positive response. It is also give a chance for another and another and another look at paintings, in different times of day and under different conditions of light.

I think if I go to the gallery over and over again, the gallery people will start asking me questions, which is a wrong thing to do when your connection with a painting is just about to establish. There is also matter of quantity of people who are seeing (your) work. It is good for (a)

painter not only from statistical perspective but it (obligates) him to be more responsible for work (he’s) done. You can cover bad painting with “artistic predisposition and individuality,” as one would front of “art people” in gallery. In coffee shops, if your work is bad, people will tell you straight that it is bad.

What is the final standard by which you judge when a painting is finished?

Someone from The Masters said, “It is finished when I am empty but a painting is full.”

That is what I feel. And there is an emptiness, which has to be filled; that is why my easel always (has) something on (it).

Although there is another opinion that “painting is never finished,” it sounds more philosophical to me, rather than practical.

Well, go back (then) and finish it.

Why did you choose to feature “Melancholy”?

The definition of melancholy is a feeling, a

gentle sadness, and a pure emotion that will place our conscious into some sort of vacuum. The senses are marginally suppressed and reality has secondary importance. It is like a “zero,” a counterpoint, when everything starts from zero. I wanted to see how viewers will respond, and if the subject is strong enough to deliver this condition. It is a most recognizable feeling in music, dance and paintings.

How have you seen yourself progress as a painter over the last 15 years?

I always compare painting with music. I am composing painting, by placing the colors in harmony, or violating them with a dissonance. My knowledge of aspects of painting and visual experience in that field builds an intuition. That leads me through all obstacles in order to achieve satisfactory work. I can tell that today I have more confidence for improvisations on subject of painting than even five years ago.

calendar

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

Home Buyer's Seminar – Learn important steps in the home-buying process including pre-qualification, inspection and closing. Classes will meet Thu 7-9:30pm at the Parkland Business Development Center. Feb 5 & 12. The course fee is $20 for individuals or same-household couples and includes a workbook. To register or for more information, call 351-2235.

Champaign Park District Diving into Deeper Waters – The Champaign Park District will hold a Town Meeting to get input from the community to aid in the process of designing a new outdoor aquatics center. Bresnan Meeting Center, 706 Kenwood Rd in Champaign. Wed 7-8:30pm. For more information, call 398-2550.

Scuba Clinics – Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventures is holding three six-session clinics beginning Feb 10, 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-TRIP (8747), visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu, or stop by the Outdoor Center at 51 E Gregory Dr in Champaign.

The Leader in Each of Us – Learn what defines leadership behaviors common to each individual in an organization and five strategies to increase job effectiveness. Class meets Thur 8:30am12:30pm at the Parkland Business Development Center. Thur. The course fee is $99. To register, call 351-2235.

Weather Workshops – WILL meteorologist and Parkland Earth science instructor Ed Kieser will offer two workshops in February. First, Kieser will discuss the challenges of forecasting in central Illinois and the different types of weather we experience in "Central Illinois Weather," offered Sat, Feb 7, 9am-3pm. On Feb 14, Kieser will present "Severe Storms," a workshop focusing on tornadoes, downbursts, derechos, hail and lightning, as well as storm prediction and storm safety. The cost is $29 per person for each session.

Geology Field Trip Workshops – Join Parkland Earth science instructors Dean Timme and Bob Vaiden for two geology field trips this spring.

Participants will venture to the Starved Rock State Park area on April 17 for a workshop entitled "Canyon Development Along the Upper Illinois River Valley." The workshop runs from 8am-5pm and transportation will be provided. On June 5, a second workshop called "Sand Dunes and an Ancient River Valley" will take participants west to the Havana area to see land sculpted by glaciers, water and wind. The cost for each workshop is $29.

Career Planning Seminar – Participants will learn about the career development process; explore interests, abilities and goals; and discover available resources. A tour of the career center is provided, followed by an opportunity to schedule an individual appointment with a career counselor. There is no fee, but reservations are requested. Parkland College, room A208. Feb 17, 6-8pm. For more information, call 351-2536.

Job Search Workshop: Interviewing – Parkland is offering a free workshop in job interviewing Feb 19 at 12pm to anyone in the district. Workshop will meet in room C123. For more information, call 351-2536.

Divorce: A New Understanding – This three-part seminar series, hosted by Divorce Resource of Central Illinois, will cover the issues adults face when they are going through a divorce. The seminars will help people understand the issues of divorce so they can make better decisions. Classes will be held Feb 24-Mar 9, Tue, 6:30-8pm at Robeson Hall, 222 N State St, Champaign. Fee: $21.

For more info, call 351-2546. Register by Feb 17.

Iyengar Yoga Specialty classes – UI Campus Recreation will hold these classes throughout the spring 2004 semester. Classes will be held on Sundays from 4:15-5:45pm in 120 IMPE. Session I of Iyengar Yoga will be held Feb 15-March 28.

Session II will take place April 4-May 9. A form of Hatha Yoga, the Iyengar tradition places special focus on developing strength, stamina, flexibility, and balance as well as concentration and meditation. The poses build overall strength increase general vitality, and improve circulation, coordination and balance. Advanced registration is required.

Enrollment is limited to 25 participants. The cost for the course is $60 for 6 classes (1 per week for 6 weeks). For registration or more information, call 333-3806, visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu/schedules/specialty/, or stop by Member Services in 140 IMPE at 201 E Peabody Dr in Champaign.

Beginner Racquetball Clinics – UI Campus Recreation is holding these free clinics for UI students and Campus Rec members on Feb 17 & 24 and March 2, 16 & 30, 7-8:30pm on IMPE racquetball courts 17 & 18. All clinics are designed for beginners. The clinics are hosted by John O’Donnell, U.S. Open Champion (1998, 2000, and 2001) 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. For registration or more information, call 333-3806, visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu, or stop by 140 IMPE at 201 E. Peabody Dr in Champaign.

Cover-to-Cover Book Discussion Club at the Douglass Branch – Discussing Passing by Samaria

by Sharon Ewell Foster. New member registration: 403-2090. Douglass Branch LIbrary. Tue, 6:307:30pm.

“Evolution: The Myths and the Realities” – A noncredit workshop offered by Parkland biology instructor Mary Severinghaus. The workshop will explore misconceptions about biological evolution. Mar 16 and 18, 6:30-8pm. To register, visit www.parkland.edu/parklandconnection. For more information, contact Dave Leake at 351-2567 or Karen Tillman at 351-2285.

PHOTOS | CHRISTINE LITAS

BY KATIE RICHARDSON | ARTS EDITOR

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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.

Cross-Country Ski Day Trips – Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventures will hold these trips on Feb 7 and 14, 12-5pm. Spend time enjoying the outdoors during the long snowy months. Cross-country ski at one of the local outdoor area parks that have fine trails for winter exploring on skis. Bring lunch for a day outdoors. Transportation and cross-country ski gear included. Advanced registration is required. The fee is $25 for UI students/Campus Rec members and $35 for non-members/general public. For registration and more information, call 333-TRIP (8747), visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu, or stop by the Outdoor Center at 51 E Gregory Dr in Champaign.

Tai Chi Specialty classes – UI Campus Recreation will hold these classes throughout the spring 2004 semester. Classes will be held on Tuesdays from 78:30pm in 120 IMPE. Session I of Tai Chi will be held Feb 3-March 11. Session II will take place March 30-May 6. 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. This class is progressive and students are encouraged to attend class regularly.

Advanced registration is required. Enrollment is limited to 25 participants. The cost for the course is $70 for 12 classes (2 per week for 6 weeks). For registration or more information, call 333-3806, visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu/schedules/specialty/, or stop by Member Services in 140 IMPE at 201 E Peabody Dr in Champaign.

Spring Break Trips – UI Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventures will host two trips. Backpack through the Smoky Mountains from March 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. Campus Recreation is also offering a Canoe Trip to Everglades National Park from March 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. Advanced registration for both trips is required. The fee for the Smoky Mountain trip is $350 for UI students/Campus Rec members and $450 for nonmembers/general public. A meeting for this trip will be held at the Outdoor Center on Feb 17, 35pm. 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 on Feb 24, 3-5pm. Fees include transportation, camp fees and permits, group gear, sleeping bag and pad, experienced leadership, and food while in the back country. For registration or more information, call 333-TRIP (8747), visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu, or stop by the Outdoor Center at 51 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign.

Mystery Discussion Group – We'll discuss the book The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid. Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd., Champaign 3519011. Mon, 6pm. For more information, contact Jo Pauly at 337-7823 or jopauly@prairienet.org.

Community Workshop on SSI – SSI Project to explain basics of Supplemental Security Income and help qualified residents apply for benefits.

Illinois Disciples Foundation, 610 E. Springfield, Champaign. Feb 13, 12-1:30pm. For more information, call 352-6533.

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.

Divorce: A New Understanding – This three-part seminar series, hosted by Divorce Resource of Central Illinois, will cover the issues adults face when they are going through a divorce. The seminars will help people understand the issues of divorce so they can make better decisions and take steps toward a better future for themselves and their families. Classes will be held Tuesdays from 6:30-8pm at Robeson Hall, 222 N. State St in Champaign. Course fee is $21. Course runs Feb 24March 9. Call 351-2546 for more information.

Registration deadline is Feb 17.

Organizing Your Home Office for Success – Instructed by Melinda Harper, owner of Melinda's Professional Organizing in Mackinaw, Ill, this class will help by teaching innovative ways to get organized and preview some of the latest space saving tools to help organize the home office and simplify life. Class will be held Saturday from 9:3011:30am at Robeson Hall, 222 N. State St in Champaign. Course fee is $15. Call 351-2546 for more information. Course will be held on Feb 28.

Registration deadline is Feb 20.

Simplicity Discussion Group – Ideas to simplify and bring meaning to life. The group will discuss the book Cultural Creatives by Paul Ray. Borders Bookstore, 802 Town Center Blvd., Champaign 3519011. Thur, 7pm. For more information, contact Jo Pauly at 337-7823 or jopauly@prairienet.org.

YOGA

INSTITUTE OF CHAMPAIGN-URBANA

Sp rin gc Re l gis Febasse ter ru s b at ar y egi ni firs . n tc las s.

Daytime and evening classes.

Special classes for beginners, women’s health, men’s flexibility, plus size, seniors and teens.

Classes are progressive to facilitate learning

407 W. Springfield, Urbana •

21

344-YOGA (9642) • www.yoga–cu.com

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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 on Saturday, March 6 from 1-4pm in room D105 on the Parkland campus. The fee is $50. Call 351-2546 for more information.

Registration deadline is Feb 20.

WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

MIND BODY SPIRIT

PHONE: 217/337-8337

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.

DEADLINE: 2 p.m. Monday for the next Thursday’s edition.

Prairie Sangha for Mindfullness Meditation – Monday evenings from 7:30-9pm 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.

Beginner Computers I– This afternoon class is designed for students who are acquainted with the computer and are on friendly terms with the mouse. Participants will learn to format a document; cut, copy, and paste; save and find files; and much more. Classes will meet on Mondays from 13pm at the Illinois Employment & Training Center, 1307 N. Mattis Ave., Champaign. The course fee is $41. The course runs Feb 23-March 8. For more information, call 351-2546. Registration deadline is Feb 16.

Falun Gong – Falun Gong is a powerful ancient exercise that improves health, reduces stress and increases energy. This practice involves slow gentle movements of the body, while it teaches the principles of truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance. Springer Cultural Center. Feb 7, Feb 14, 10:3011:30am. Fee is $5. For more information, call 3982376.

Falun Dafa Teaching Workshop – Falun Gong is an advanced meditation exercise that improves health, reduces stress and increases energy. The practice involves gentle movements of the body, while it teaches the truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance. Falun Gong is enhances practitioners spiritually, mentally and physically. Springer Cultural Center. Feb 7 & 14. 10:30-11:30am. Fee $5.

For more info, call 398-2376.

Beginner Computers II– This evening class is designed for students who are acquainted with the computer and are on friendly terms with the mouse. Participants will learn to format a document; cut, copy, and paste; save and find files; and much more. Classes will meet on Mondays from 68 p.m. at the Illinois Employment & Training Center, 1307 N. Mattis Ave., Champaign. The course fee is $41. For more information, call 351-2546. The course meets Feb 23-March 8. Registration deadline is February 16.

Home Buyer's Seminar – Learn important steps in the home buying process including pre-qualification, inspection, and closing. Class will meet on 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. The course will be held Feb 21. Call 3512235 to register.

Foundation of Teamwork – Competition demands that organizations do more, in a shorter response time, with fewer resources. Participants in this class will identify their primary communication style and those of their team members and develop plans to build better working relationships with other team members. Class meets Thursday, February 19 from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at 1315 N. Mattis Ave, Champaign. Course fee is $110. The course meets Feb 19. To register, call 351-2235.

Reaching for Stellar Service – Explore how customers define stellar service and the challenge of delivering such service. Learn the key moments of truth in customer interaction. Class meets from 8:30a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 18 at 1315 N. Mattis Ave, Champaign. Fee is $99. The course will be held Feb 18. To register, call 3512235.

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ANSWERS TO PUZZLE ON PG 27 C A P E C O D

O V E R I C E

H O T D A T E

A C H O O

P S O C E A N A S T E N T S S T E T I E P E N M A P A S S

B I T A D O A I R S E F T I R E A T E B L U E O U P S N S K Y K A S I T D E N E I N S S S E K E Y

O B E R O N P A R A B O L A

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T H E Q T R O Q U E A N U E L M A P E S T A X S P O S E L A R A S O N A K A V A N Q A S O U R S S H A M U T A V I A E R I N G N E T T E

INDEX Employment Services Merchandise Transportation Apartments Other Housing/Rent Real Estate for Sale Things To Do Announcements Personals

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playreview

The Light in the Piazza ★★★

Craig Lucas

BY SYD SLOBODNIK | STAFF WRITER 000 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

• PLEASE CHECK YOUR AD! Report errors immediately by calling 337-8337. We cannot be responsible for more than one day’s incorrect insertion if you do not notify us of the error by 2 pm on the day of the first insertion.

• All advertising is subject to the approval of the publisher. The Daily Illini shall have the right to revise, reject or cancel, in whole or in part, any advertisement, at any time.

• All employment advertising in this newspaper is subject to the City of Champaign Human Rights Ordinance and similar state and local laws, making it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement which expresses limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, prior arrest or conviction record, source of income, or the fact that such person is a student.

• Specification in employment classifications are made only where such factors are bonafide occupational qualifications necessary for employment.

• All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and similar state and local laws which make it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement relating to the transfer, sale, rental, or lease of any housing which expresses limitation, specifications or discrimination as to race, color, creed, class, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual oientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, or the fact that such person is a student.

• This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate that is in violation of the law. Our readers are informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal oppportunity basis.

DEADLINE:

2 p.m. Monday for the next Thursday’s edition.

RATES: Billed rate: 34¢/word Paid-in-Advance: 25¢/word Photo Sellers 30 words or less + photo: $5 per issue Garage Sales 30 words in both Thursday’s buzz and Friday’s Daily Illini!! $10. If it rains, your next date is free.

Action Ads • 20 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $14 • 10 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $7 • add a photo to an action ad, $10

Employment 000 HELP WANTED | Full Time Express Personnel Services 217.355.8500 101 Devonshire Dr., Champaign

Services

100

Apartments

400

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

107 N. Busey, U.

August 2004 3 level townhouse, cathedral ceiling living room, loft, deck. Must see to appreciate. Sleeps 4, 2 full baths, central air, washer/dryer, dishwasher, garbage disposal, internet, and cable ready. Two free parking spaces. $1380. Also shown weekends. 377-1552.

BUSINESS SERVICES Graphic design studio is seeking models for beauty and style photography. www.victoriasphoto.com Victoria’s Photographics 217-328-3013

Local professional ready to record your band, choir, soloist and more.

Your place or mine. Only $15/hr.

Call Kyle at Orangetree Studio. 4690206

CLEANING Exact Extraction. Carpet & upholstery cleaning. Free estimates. 6883101.

LAWN CARE FREE ESTIMATES: Tree trimming, Topping, Removal, Stump Grinding.

384-5010.

Merchandise 200 BOOKS COMPARE TEXTBOOK PRICES! Search 24 bookstores with 1 click!

Shipping and taxes automatically calculated. http://www.bookhq.com

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Unurnished 1519 W. Healey, C. Conveniently located 1 BR now available. $385/mo. 352-8540, 3554608 pm. www.faronproperties.com

800 W. Church, C. Now avail. Economical 2 BR. $450/mo. 352-8540, 355-4608 pm. www.faronproperties.com Brand new luxury 1, 2, 3, bedroom apartments available in Champaign.

Call Manchester Property Management at 359-0248 for an appointment.

SUBLETS 1 bedroom in Town & Country Apartments in Urbana. Nice. Feb.-June. $595/mo. 765-344-0339

Sublet $357/mo. Spring semester starting January 1st with possible summer. Female roommate to share quiet 2 bedroom furnished apartment. 1 block east of Krannert. 903 W. Oregon. Air conditioning, laundry, off street parking. E-mail teska@elknet.net or call 262-7236930.

Announcements800

FURNITURE Moving, Must Sell: Two month old leather love seat, two month old Dell laptop, one year old futon. Call 217-637-1513

Apartments

JOHN SMITH PROPERTY MANAGEMENT www.johnsmithproperties.com (217)384-6930 “believe the hype”

400

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished | Unfurnished

Courtyard Apartments 713 S. Randolph, Champaign Renting for Fall/2 & 3 Bedrooms.

Furnished & Unfurnished From $608/mo.

Includes cable, parking, water.

Has laundry facility and seasonal pool. Near campus and downtown Champaign.

352-8540, 355-4608 pm. www.faronproperties.com

MEETINGS There is Help and Healing after abortion. Had an abortion? Feeling grief, anger, shame? We understand abortion pain and loss. Support group recovery classes forming.

Postabortion Helpline-217-328-2033 Calls completely confidential.

E-mail: newbeginningaglo@aol.com Web: http://hometown.aol.com/ccweaver/ myhomepage/index.index.html We know, we understand and we want to help you heal!

Call for help today!

Place a Valentine Shout out Look for an order form in the Daily Illini or call 337-8337

arts

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | MY SANDWICH KICKED ASS

T

he first production of the 2004 leg of the present season at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre is the Midwest premiere of Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’s musical The Light in the Piazza. Based on a 1960 novella by Elizabeth Spencer and later adapted into a successful 1962 film with Olivia de Havilland, Yvette Mimieux and George Hamilton, The Light in the Piazza tells the delightful story of a young woman’s first true romance with bittersweet consequences and incorporates some surprising twists. Set in the early 1950s, it concerns Mrs. Margaret Johnson, the wife of a wealthy American businessman, who is traveling through Italy with her mid-twenties-yearold daughter, Clara. When Clara meets and immediately falls in love with a local shopkeeper’s son, Fabrizio, Mrs. Johnson does not approve of this spontaneous summer romance and seems to be hiding some dark secret about the beautiful Clara’s past. Welcome to the conservative Eisenhower ‘50s, where mothers know best and daughters are expected to obey.

Audiences familiar with the musically and lyrically brilliant compositions in Andrew

bookreview

The Five People You Meet in Heaven ★★★

Mitch Albom

Lloyd Webber’s megahits or the more experimental Rent will find that no matter how good the source’s story, as a musical, Guettel and Lucas needed to provide more. The banal lyrics and conventional situations featured in The Light in the Piazza are just so ordinary. At their best, the songs are somewhat reminiscent of Rodgers and Hammerstein—especially the lively opening number “Statues and Stories,” which features the mother and daughter exploring the many romantic vistas of Florence. Later, the play somewhat mimics the style of Stephen Sondheim’s talky, dialogue-filled lyrics in songs like the romantic “The Joy You Feel” and “Octet.” But Guettel doesn’t seem to find his own voice—everything seems so old-fashioned and sentimentally derivative. A rather cheesy duet called “Say it Somehow” closes the first act in almost a musical version of the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene.

Oddly enough, the show also leaves its best—and most emotionally effective songs— for the very end. “Love to Me” features Fabrizio’s romantic confession of honest love and sincere affection for Clara. Furthermore, Margaret concludes with “Fable” as a loving sentimental perspective on the rituals of love, courtship, commitment and marriage.

Lucas, author of the play’s narrative, has been much more effective with similar romances in his play Prelude to a Kiss.

Composer/lyricist Guettel, a much-praised recipient of the Sondheim Award in 1990, is the Tuesdays with Morrie triumphed over its lack of plot or multiple characters with the sheer impact of Morrie’s words. Luckily for Albom, Morrie turned out to be a phenomenal interviewee. Then again, Morrie wrote his own novel, In His Own Words, after the phenomenal sales of Tuesdays with Morrie, which sold

BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

W

hen words such as schmaltz, saccharine and mushy describe a new novel, most critics push it aside and search instead for more hard-hitting material. However, one of the most overly sentimental books of our time can also be considered one of the best. Tuesdays with Morrie endured accusations of overly emotional content, and instead influenced millions of people with its life lessons.

Author Mitch Albom tries to milk the same sappy dynamic with his new novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven, but the jig is up within the first 20 pages. This fictional followup to Tuesdays with Morrie comes off as a light soap opera version of his bestseller.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven should have been easier for Albom to write. With Five People, Albom did not need to present everything as it was told to him; he easily could have changed a detail here and there to make the story flow better or come across as more heartfelt. Five People is a work of fiction.

This format allows the author to delve deeper into character motivations and manipulate situations for a more intriguing plot or set of multiple supporting characters.

much fewer copies but was presented at about the same quality level: that of a brilliant and touching quote book.

Fiction allows more artistic freedom, but journalist Albom must be more comfortable

7

PHOTO | LIZ LAUREN

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Members of the cast in the Goodman Theatre's production of the new musical The Light in the Piazza. grandson of the great composer Richard Rodgers.

Director Bartlett Sher, who is the present artistic director of Seattle’s Intiman Theatre Company, staged this show last summer out west to raves. The cast, headed by Broadway veterans Victoria Clark and Celia KeenanBolger play musical melodrama very well; both leads have delightfully expressive and

beautiful voices. But besides Sher’s good cast, The Light in the Piazza still seems to be a show in progress. Two numbers from the first act were removed prior to the pre-premiere night.

when turning a book of notes into a novel rather than relying solely on his imagination.

That isn’t meant to discredit Albom’s imagination. Five People displays more imagination than most non-fantasy novels these days, but the pieces of the puzzle never fully connect and the novel comes off as just another piece of fiction vying to evoke real human emotion.

Part melodrama and part parable, Five People interweaves three tales told by 83-yearold Eddie, the head of maintenance at an old but still functional amusement park. As the novel begins, readers are immediately immersed into the final moments of Eddie’s life. From the title, it is no surprise the main character is going to die.

The surprise comes when Eddie actually goes to heaven. Albom follows Eddie’s encounters with the titular five people (a plot line ripped from the pages of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol) who share a piece of Eddie’s life. Each spirit has a story to tell and gives Eddie a lesson. This plot structure is similar to Tuesdays with Morrie, where Albom provided a life lesson from Morrie in each chapter. It is through these five people that Eddie tries to understand the meaning of his life.

The novel also depends on the new age belief that everything happens for a reason.

Whether in the film Signs (not to ruin the movie, but it involves water and baseball) or in inspiration manifestos such as Everything Happens for a Reason, modern authors like to tie mysterious coincidences together to prove that everything in life is meant to happen.

While this is certainly intriguing, authors’

obsession with fate verges on becoming overdone. Like a “What Would Jesus Do?” bracelet in the 1990s, the concept has great meaning and no doubt inspires people to look at their lives, but it quickly becomes tiresome as more and more people milk the idea.

Maybe there are five people in heaven waiting for each human so that they can explain the stories of their lives to them. However, the problem arises not in the concept’s believability, but in its predictability.

To compare Five People to Tuesdays with Morrie might seem unfair to both Albom and the books’ fan bases, but both books rely on the same theme: It is important to look back through your life, and that is when you determine your life’s meaning. Both books revolve around old men and both use heavy-handed life lessons in attempts to inspire readers into searching for the meaning within themselves.

Maybe its factual context gave Tuesdays with Morrie the edge or maybe it simply had superior writing, but the saccharine morality oozing from Tuesdays with Morrie seemed much more realistic than the sentimentality of Five People.

The Light in the Piazza runs until Feb. 15 at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn, Chicago.

BOOK REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ No stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unreadable

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arts

AND I’M FREE ... FREE FALLIN’ | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

buzz

Storytelling

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moviereview

THE PERFECT SCORE

More than a preschool pastime

★

BY BECKY WEST | STAFF WRITER

take place the third Wednesday of this month, with two performances scheduled. On Feb. 18, Dana Roeser, winner of the Samuel veryone loves a good story, as evidenced French Morse Prize, will by the billions we spent to see The Lord of the also perform.

Rings. Frodo is one happy hobbit who is now Later in the season, on livin’ large. If you’ve spent $8 for tickets, $6 for April 21, Walter Matherly will popcorn and $20 on your “secret” Lord of the read from The Interior Hour by Rings Deluxe Beast action figure, why not Antonio Colinas, a prize-winwatch a movie without a screen? It is possible ning author from Spain. to be captivated without being held captive in These performers bring severa dark theater. al creative perspectives to the Discover—or rediscover—the art of storyVerde venue. They have the telling and poetry. Starting Feb. 4, the Teller’s potential to captivate audiArt begins its second season of Storytelling for ences with their varying artisAdults. Performances will be given the first tic interests, be it poetry, and third Wednesdays of this month at the music or fiction.

Verde Gallery in downtown Champaign. The What’s most important for Verde Gallery calls itself “a place of inspiration a performer in a The Story where community and culture converge.”

Teller ’s production is “to More specifically, it’s a great place to drink bring alive a story in a vivid wine and eat a pastry, all while mingling with way for the audience. People friends and relishing in a story. Thanks to the are usually triggered to see memories and sponsorship of Curtis Tucker, the Verde’s coinsights into their o w n b e h a v i o r. proprietor, this season of the Teller’s Art folSometimes, they are hooked by the story. lows a very successful 2003 season.

They set out to read it themselves because Just like last year, this year’s performances there is a kernel of truth that they crave hidden in the tale,” says Wells.

These personalized performances serve as a nice contrast to the electronic media. Travis Martin, a University senior in English, says that many of t h e b i g b u d g e t Hollywood movies, such as Armag e d d o n and Independence Day, are fake and impersonal.

He says that attending performances of poetry readings and storytelling would be refreshing.

Not only does storytelling and poetry entertain, it has the ability to preserve history, clarify the present and to let people dream of their own future.

Storytelling itself is the oldest and most effective method of communication. For years, storytelling has been conPatricia Hruby Powell performs "Why Rabbit Is as Rabbit Is," an Iroquois folk tale, at Pages for All Ages.

PHOTOS | CHRISTINE LITAS

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feature a group of remarkably talented storytellers, each conveying a different tale that ranges from the dramatic to the light-hearted, all of them equally enlightening.

Kicking off the season Feb. 4 is Patricia Hruby Powell, who is also a coordinator for the event. She recognized the first-rate talent in the Champaign-Urbana community and wanted to convey that talent to its people. “I wanted to do something for the community and the audience,” she said.

Powell, who has received numerous awards and fellowships for her storytelling and choreography, will discuss rural and urban living, and the people and wildlife that share the world, accompanied by dance and life-like animal sounds.

On March 3, Megan Wells will perform Greco-Roman myths and King Arthur legends.

She, too, is an award-winning storyteller, renowned for her charisma and wisdom.

On April 7, Kate McDowell will perform musical adaptations of folk and fairy tales through singing and guitar playing. Other gifted storytellers this year will include Dan Keding, Kim Sheahan, Kim Petzing a n d Janice Del Negro.

The poetry branch of the Teller’s Art will

BY MATT PAIS | LEAD REVIEWER

I

n a movie about pilfering the country’s most notorious standardized test, it’s never a good sign when the characters barely appear capable of spelling “SAT,” much less stealing it. Searching for the perfect score—in more ways than one— is a misfit group of high school students, featuring Chris Evans as the leader, Erika Christensen as the brain and Scarlett Johansson as the rebel.

The group hatches a foolproof plan to steal answers from the testing headquarters (which just happens to be a few blocks away from their bland New Jersey high school).

Too bad these stereotypical characters—who are joined by Bryan Greenberg as the leader’s sidekick, Leonardo Nam as the stoner and Darius Miles as the vernacularly-challenged basketball star—have already taken the test, meaning that colleges would average the scores sidered “taboo” for adults. The adults, however, are the ones that seem to hang on to every last word, while the children get restless and lose interest.

According to Powell, only since the 1970s has the world of storytelling been seen as an up-and-coming art for persons of every age.

At that time, the National Storytelling Network sponsored the annual National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn.

Since then, the NSN has sponsored annual conferences in cities nationwide. Storytelling was just starting to be recognized as an art form, but the continued low media made many unaware of this particular art and its powerful influence. Once people have shared or heard a story or poem, they feel more inspired, a little wiser and able to see a whole new perspective, according to Powell.

Jean-Paul Sartre wrote, “A man is always a teller of tales, he lives surrounded by his stories and the stories of others, he sees everything that happens to him through them; and he tries to live his life as if he were telling a story.”

The Verde Gallery is located on 17 E. Taylor St. in downtown Champaign, between Radio Maria and Cowboy Monkey. Each event will begin at 8 p.m. buz z

To learn more about the Verde Gallery and this s e a s o n o f t h e Te l l e r ’ s A r t , v i s i t www.verdant-systems.com/words.htm

moviereview

THE BIG BOUNCE ★★

BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

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FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | JANET JACKSON’S BREAST? THANKS JUSTIN

ara Foster's slim physique deserves an Academy Award nomination of its own next year. Her transformation from sexpot Nancy into a hip-swiveling piece of eye candy provides the film with its most interesting moments. Aside from a few catchy lines thrown in along the way, The Big Bounce never rises above a misogynistic opus to the men out there who miss the old The Man Show.

Adapted from a novel by Elmore Leonard, this supposedly sexy crime story succeeds more as a tourism video for the phenomenal beaches of Hawaii than as a noir thriller. Viewers will quickly realize this film had to be one of the best experiences of each actor's life. With such little plot to worry about, it must have been the ultimate beach party for Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Foster and Gary Sinise (who is in the film so infrequently that calling him a supporting actor is a stretch). Throw in a handful of scenes with Willie Nelson playing dominoes, and it’s the ultimate experience for an actor.

Some naive filmgoers might state that George Armitage and the very talented cast did

no matter how well they did the second time around anyway. Too bad the SAT has several different forms, so getting the answers in advance wouldn’t work. And too bad every con film in history has proved there is no such thing as the perfect score, so chances aren’t good that this motley crew of underachievers can swindle their way into college acceptance letters.

With its non-confrontational use of simple double-entendre, The Perfect Score is the perfect title for this high-concept heist flick from teenpleasing director Brian Robbins. Unfortunately, the cleverness stops there, and what’s left is an unfunny immorality play that must have slept its way through comedy class.

Varsity Blues, Robbins’ last successful foray into breezy adolescent recklessness, was fun because it believed in the persistent irresponsibility of its meathead football players and found guilty pleasure buried in a thick Texas twang. Instead, The Perfect Score finds its entertainment value in cheap writing and idiotic behavior. No fun comes from rejoicing with the outlandish caricatures; it comes from laughing at the childish insignificance of this MTV Films movie that might have fared better on MTV. In a theater, however, it’s hard to know what audience is expected to tune in to the Saturday afternoon simplicity of The Perfect Score, which is too moronic for anyone out of high school and not flashy enough for anyone still concerned with the SATs. Between recent indie favorite Johannson, Swimfan’s Christensen and

their best, and blame writer Leonard for writing a novel that didn't have enough substance to become a movie. Those filmgoers would be wrong. The film is an update of 1969's The Big Bounce, based upon the same novel. Sure, this version is superior to the new version (which, of course, is extremely rare in Hollywood) but the people behind the movie are the ones to blame. It is most likely a Hollywood superiority complex that created this film. However, no matter how good the creative team thinks it is, they should have been smarter and stayed away from this material.

The script's major flaw isn't that the plot is boring or unimaginative, it’s that no one will be able to ask why anything happened because the film is about as deep and intellectual as Pauly Shore reciting Shakespeare. The Big Bounce doesn't work as either comedy or caper. It surfs over elements that audiences would find intriguing and sticks with attitudes over plot elements. Luckily, jokes are thrown in throughout the film to make everything light-hearted and easier to not dislike. Memorable lines like, "God is an imaginary friend for adults" are few and far between, but the film's quirkiness does keep it afloat.

Wilson plays a walking attitude, not a character. He portrays a drifter who gets into a fight with his boss on a construction site and ultimately smashes his boss in the head with a baseball bat. He then drifts his way into the world of Freeman's possibly corrupt district judge act and ambiguous good guy/bad guy Charlie Sheen's character, who just seems

Movie News Compiled by Jason Cantone

Paramount Pictures

2/4/04

THE PERFECT SCORE | SCARLETT JOHANNSON Not Another Teen Movie’s Evans, there might be enough pubescent star power to validate the wide release of such sophomoric schlock. Since it certainly won’t announce Miles’ bright future into acting—consult Ray Allen’s subtle performance in He Got Game for an NBA star who can act, not just act like a baller—this movie may have only landed on the big screen to cover Johannson’s rising paycheck.

Sure, this is customary MTV movie candy, a light-as-air ode to teenage carelessness and troublemaking indulgence, but laughs shouldn’t come at such a high premium of logic. This tiresome teen truffle is outdated in every way, from its unbearable Matrix homage to its lame attempt at stylish thievery. And in terms of leisurely slickness, here’s an analogy even Miles can understand: Ocean’s Eleven is to a perfect score of 1600 as The Perfect Score is to, well, not much more than 11.

After Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson's dress during the Super Bowl halftime show, CBS spokeswoman Leslie Anne Wade said "CBS deeply regrets the incident."

However, after exposing her breast to the millions of people watching, Jackson has nothing whatsoever to regret. This will start a flurry of publicity for her that doesn't involve her opinion about her brother Michael's alleged antics or how fat she looked in The Nutty Professor II. It must have cost a lot to buy these breasts, and now they're making money back for her through publicity.

World Entertainment News Network announced that Lord of the Rings heartthrob Orlando Bloom is set to surprise his girlfriend Kate Bosworth with a wedding proposal during London's Empire Film Awards. Well, good job to the press on this one. I'm sure she's going to be nice and surprised after reading their story a week before the awards show.

Apparently if you beat your wife, it's all okay until you do it again. Music legend James Brown was arrested for assault last week, which put the erection of a Brown statue in Georgia on hiatus. Apparently being arrested for beating up his third wife in 1988 was okay; it's just when he does it again that causes a stir.

C-UViews

Compiled by Adam Young

Big Bounce Productions LLC

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THE BIG BOUNCE | SARA FOSTER thrown into the mix because he had some free time away from his successful CBS comedy.

Multiple plot elements involving heists, sex and utter debauchery ensue, but nothing ever seems to hit hard. The characters' motivations are so ambiguous that even at the end, when each character is exposed as a good guy or bad guy, it's still hard to believe. Foster and Wilson lead the charge, stealing $200,000 from a vault.

But how the heist is going to be done is never discussed with the audience until the lackluster final moments that should have provided the film's titular big bounce, but instead just provided a soft flopping around like a fish that washed up on one of those beautiful beaches.

SCREEN REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad

The Perfect Score ★★★★ John Foley Champaign

“My favorite character was the stoner."

★★★ Hannah Ostermann Champaign

"I'd never see it again; too many typical, adolescent, cheap laughs."

★★ Lindsay Smith Champaign

"Scarlett Johannson's performance paled in compairison to that in Lost In Translation."

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WE JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH SCARLETT JOHANSSON | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

ThinkFilm

moviereview

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN | HENRY IAN CUSICK

moviereview

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN ★★★

BY JOHN BEZDEK | STAFF WRITER

T

he Gospel of John tells the story of Jesus Christ’s life and death. The scenery of the movie is beautiful, although ironically shot in Spain, not Israel. Director Philip Saville immerses his actors in nature, and does it well.

The original musical score by Jeff Danna is excellent, playing throughout most of the movie, but never drawing undue attention to itself.

The music and direction make up for a lackluster plot. Although most people know the ending to this story, Gospel makes no attempt to expose new ideas about the story of Jesus at all.

It becomes a literal retelling of the Gospel which, due in part to Christopher Plummer’s ever-present narration, ultimately feels more like a PBS documentary than a movie.

Because The Gospel of John is not written as a mystery over whether Jesus is the son of God, this movie overplays the godliness of Jesus.

Absent is His humanity. He appears omnipotent and perfect throughout the entire movie, losing the intriguing human qualities of temptation, doubt and fear that make for good literature and film.

The various minor characters with whom Jesus interacts play their roles adequately, but the Samaritan Woman by the Well is the most memorable. John the Baptist stands out in this movie as sufficiently crazy enough to make the audience, as well as Israel, wonder Henry Ian Cusick’s Jesus Christ is a fine portrayal. However, Cusick’s numerous “I am telling you the truth!” lines and unflappable confidence becomes irritating after three hours.

Still, he does well in a role that any actor would be criticized for.

No matter how well-made a movie about a subject as controversial as Jesus Christ is, it will inevitably receive criticism for one thing or another. The Gospel of John is a well-made film that unfortunately becomes stuck in a literal and rigid retelling of John’s writings. Despite its few shortcomings, this movie is a gorgeous epic. But if one expects an engaging blockbuster, it might be better to spend the three hours simply reading this movie’s counterpart.

THE GIRL WITH A PEARL EARING ★★★

BY JANELLE GREENWOOD | STAFF WRITER

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veryone will soon recognize Scarlett Johansson as a household name. Girl with a Pearl Earring comes nothing short of another success for Johansson, who recently played opposite to Bill Murray in her breakout performance in Lost in Translation.

Although it is a period piece, Girl with a Pearl Earring is the perfect vehicle for Johansson to bring a fresh performance to light with her character, the young Greit. Living in Delft, Holland, which resembles a colder and drearier version of 16th century Venice, Greit lives a life of modest proportions among the many merchants and wealthy people who line the canals of the city. After her father is blinded in a kiln explosion, Greit settles for work as a servant for Johannes Vermeer’s (Colin Firth) family to help support her own family.

Greit regularly suffers a gross animosity from Vermeer’s wife and his children. Vermeer, how-

moviereview

YOU GOT SERVED

★

BY ANDREW CREWELL | STAFF WRITER

Y

ou Got Served is an entertaining piece that showcases real talent and choreography, however, it skimps on the story. Soft spots in the plot make the movie seem long despite its 90minute run time, and bad cinematography muddles production into what ends up as a poor showing.

The deal is pretty routine: Kids band together in the form of a dance team for some extracurricular excitement. Hanging out at a dance club operated by “Mr. Rad” (Steve Harvey), they catch a reputation for being the hottest act in town. Eventually, a feud with other dancers leads to a challenge and a danceoff. MTV gets in on the action, and by the end of the film there is a competition boasting a $50,000 prize and guest appearance in a Lil’ Kim music video for the winner.

Hip hop and R&B personalities Marques Houston and Omarion (of disbanded B2K fame) play the protagonists, Elgin and David.

Forgiving the acting, which is atrocious, these

ever, eventually sees beyond Greit’s external status and allows her to assist him while working in his studio.

Jealousy runs rampant through the house, particularly with Vermeer’s wife and his financial commissioner, the Machiavellian van Ruijeven (Tom Wilkinson) who decides to commission a painting of Greit. Eventually a forbidden passion between painter and subject evokes a closer look into the young girl’s life.

Meanwhile, Greit must learn to juggle between the roles of serving as her master’s muse and serving as a household maid of low status. Her parents, also servants, agree that Greit should focus her newfound romantic attention on the butcher’s son, despite her growing affection for Vermeer.

Like the painting she inspires, Greit lives life through subtle glances rather than through her wide, curious gazes, and it is one soulful look that ultimately places her in history through Vermeer’s masterpiece.

Johansson’s personification of this young girl’s emotions from the painting is often raw and effective. Greit’s only real language in a household full of overprivileged brats is her ability to speak through a silent exterior.

Johansson understands the underlying parallel between Greit and the artwork that surrounds her. Vermeer’s paintings speak louder through one subject’s frozen glance than through all who admire his work.

Greit serves as the only light and artistic inspiration for Vermeer at this point in his life.

If Johansson didn’t embody those qualities and the ability to cue them on will, the film’s overall

two kids prove they are accomplished dancers.

While not quite ready to expand their careers to the silver screen, Houston and Omarion add a nice boost to their repertoire and will be listed among the best and brightest of a young and able cast of dance phenoms in Hollywood.

Unfortunately, the shortcomings of You Got Served are quite noticeable. The story is lame, peaking when a child is murdered. Also questionable is the kids’ employment. They work for a shady businessman, Michael 'Bear' Taliferro, delivering packages for him. In a film marketed toward teens and their families, these seem to be subjects the writers should not have broached, especially since they are not integral parts of the film.

What’s even worse is the stolen story line.

You Got Served steals from Bring It On—which enjoyed modest success as a teen flick three years ago—to no end. From the crisscrossed love triangle of Elgin and David’s sister, to the backstabbing and routine theft between dance groups, there isn’t an original idea in the movie.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment, however, is the cinematography. The dancing is so good that it could stand alone as a movie, but the camera work is shaky and erratic, presumably to add effect. Unfortunately, the audience just wants to see the moves, and the crazy angles and movements of the camera deteriorate what would otherwise be a remarkable show of dancing achievement.

In the end, the biggest problem may be the film’s timing. You Got Served was released too

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FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004

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Britles to perform benefit for Carle Hospital

BY KELLY RATCHFORD | STAFF WRITER

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARING | SCARLETT JOHANSSON effectiveness would be minimized. We need to believe that this girl is the only genuine inspiration for this man’s work.

Colin Firth, in possibly his most modest role, relies on a quiet demeanor to complement Johansson’s subtle and refined spark. Words play a back seat to the overall performance of both characters. They don’t say much because they don’t have to.

The film as a whole manages to overcome the cliche of similar films that portray typical master-servant relationships. While the supporting cast feels somewhat ignored, it does help the viewer to concentrate on the painting and the process of its design, which is most important.

Throughout the film, Johansson’s and Firth’s performances remain understated yet powerful—like the painting itself—and they come together beautifully to capture the truth behind the painting.

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n celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Beatles’ first appearance in America on The Ed Sullivan Show, Champaign’s own The Britles will perform “A Tribute to Beatlemania” Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign to benefit the Carle Children’s Cancer Program.

Comprised of Joe Snell (“Johnny”) on rhythm guitar and harmonica, Jack Wilkie (“Georgy”) on lead guitar, Bill Thomas (“Paulie”) on bass and Chuck Bialaschki (“Ringee”) on drums, the members of The Britles take special pride in their authenticity as a Beatles tribute outfit.

Louise Harrison, sister of late Beatle George Harrison, will make a special appearance at the concert and will answer Beatle questions during intermissions.

The proceeds from the performance will benefit the pediatric hematology/oncology department at Carle Hospital, which serves children with serious blood and blood-related disorders such as hemophilia, sickle cell anemia and thalassemias, and cancers including leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors and rare childhood tumors.

Dr. Mark S. Musselman is the clinical assistant professor of pediatrics and associate department head of pediatrics at Carle. Prior

PHOTO COURTESY OF | BILL THOMAS

3:59 PM

Lions Gate Entertainment

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The Britles posing at the University of Illinois

to his arrival at Carle, no pediatric cancer specialist served East Central Illinois. Families would have to drive to Chicago or St. Louis to receive care.

Musselman has now worked at Carle for about 30 months. He cares for more than 400 patients with cancer or serious blood disorders.

According to Musselman, children with cancer and blood diseases need different medical care than adults.

“Care requires a sensitivity to the development level of the child to their level of emotional maturity and function,” Musselman said. “The program uses a multidisciplinary team approach to diagnose, treat and manage the care of sick children and meet the needs of their family.”

Judy Grumish of Champaign is thankful that Musselman and his staff came to Carle. When her son was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001, Grumish brought her son to see Musselman.

“My son and Dr. Musselman are friends to this day,” Grumish said. “It is great to trust your doctor, know that he will be there and genuinely cares for what he is doing.”

Grumish now volunteers for the Children’s Cancer Program and helped to organize the upcoming performance.

“We want to improve the current program

and help to pay for the special things throughout the year such as parties that help to bring fun back into the kids’ lives,” she said.

Tickets are $20 for the main floor, $16 for the balcony and mezzanine, and $100 for prime seats at the front of the theater. The $100 tickets will also include an invitation to a cocktail reception with Louise Harrison and a special prize drawing.

In addition, the business or family name will be thanked in the printed concert program, on a banner and in newspapers after the performance. Donations are welcome and can be made in care of the Carle Development Foundation, indicating that it is for the Carle Children’s Cancer Program, and mailed to The Virginia Theatre, 203 W. Park St., Champaign, IL 61820. Businesses can also make a $100 donation and will get their name printed in the concert program. Call (217) 352-6399 to get listed. All proceeds go to the Carle Children’s Cancer Program. buzz

What is the best part of your job?

How did you end up teaching at Edison?

That I get to make music every day. I have fun.

I get to make music and teach kids. I am always eager to get in here in the morning.

I have been here for nine years. I came to Champaign because I was stationed at the Air Force base in Rantoul. I was in the band in the Air Force. When I got out, I went to graduate school at the University of Illinois and finished up my master’s. I started looking for a job and the first one that came along was in Rock Island (Ill.). I would drive up there to work and come back here to see my wife. I came to Edison as a sub at first and ended up getting the job in ‘95. I haven’t looked back since.

Questions for Louise Harrison can be emailed to louiseharrison@thebritles.com.

Q & A

SamHankins How did you get first become interested in music?

My father and my immediate family were musicians. My grandma was a gospel singer. I just grew up around it.

Screen Gems, Inc.

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What are some of your non-musical interests?

What was the first instrument you learned to play?

YOU GOT SERVED | OMARION & JENNIFER FREEMAN close to Honey, another film wrapped around dancing and its impact on popular youth culture. Honey proved to be a feel-good success that will overshadow the questionable choices made by the You Got Served writers. In an obvious attempt to make a quick buck, the producers would have been better off focusing on dancing, cutting out the story and releasing the film as special interest.

You Got Served is a mistake as a film. A hopeless cross of 106th and Park and any teen film from the last five years, You Got Served is among the worst. Even considering all the film’s problems, it still may be worth a gander for its unthinkable and intriguing dances. Whatever the box office outcome, it certainly won’t be difficult to rationalize picking this one off the shelves of Blockbuster in a few months in favor of braving the cold to see it in the theater.

I started with vocals. My father was a singer so my brother and I started with that and I moved to guitar. That really wasn’t me and I moved to trumpet after I saw a Louis Armstrong film. My uncle had a trumpet and I picked that up and started playing around with it.

Who has been the biggest influence on your music career?

Sam Hankins has spent his entire life surrounded by music. Whether it be gospel, jazz, vocals or the trumpet, Hankins has a wide variety of musical talents and interests. Currently the band director at Thomas Edison Middle School, Hankins spends his time outside of school with his wife and son.

Larry Skinner. He took me under his wing, molded and shaped me. He was a child prodigy and had played with everybody. He was a very big influence.

And all those jazz greats: Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie were huge influences.

I water ski, bowl, pool, play some basketball. I have a wife and a son. But most of my life involves some sort of music.

If you weren’t directing the band, what would you be doing?

I would be back on the road still playing, looking for a meal. To tell the truth, I really don’t know what I would be doing.

I have spent half my life doing music and I don’t know what I would do if I was out of my environment. I would be like a fish flopping around.

What is your favorite Champaign-Urbana?

part

of

The community and the people. The music scene, which has really grown over the years.

There are more venues now. It is a good place to raise a family.

Who are your favorite musicians?

What advice would you give to young musicians?

Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and especially Louis Armstrong. He is the one that shaped it.

I could go on, there is a whole list.

Keep practicing, keep listening. Go check out live groups, any groups; musicals, orchestras, jazz.

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community

FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004

buzz

buzz

Drive-thru Reviews

In perfect tune

Edison Jazz Band returns from jazz conference

BY EMILY WAHLHEIM | COMMUNITY EDITOR

T

The saxophone section of the Edison Jazz Band

Hankins claps out the rhythm for the saxophones

“I sent in an application and a CD of one of our performances to the selection committee,� said Hankins. “Being selected was almost like winning the lottery. We had our fingers crossed that we would get in.�

At the conference, members of the Edison Jazz Band had the opportunity to play for many great jazz musicians and innovators. The trip gave band members a chance to hear other great jazz musicians perform as well as learn from some of the world’s best jazz musicians. “The trip was phenomenal,� said Hankins. “There are so many adjectives to describe it.

The kids got a lot out of it.�

In addition to their performance at the conference, Jazz Band One makes several other appearances throughout the year. In the Champaign-Urbana area, the band performs at banquets, jazz functions and school district events. The band also participates in the Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois Jazz Festivals, along with state and regional competitions.

Being a member of Jazz Band One at Edison is a great honor, according to Hankins. Throughout Hankins’ nine years at Edison, the band program, which includes a sixth, seventh and eighth grade concert band, along with Jazz Band One and Two and a string orchestra, has more than doubled in size. Currently, 160

Edison students participate in some part of the band program. “There is a big interest to get into the jazz band,� Hankins said. “Kids have to have the fundamentals before they get into the jazz band. It really helps them by the time they are ready to try out for the jazz band.�

Learning and practicing those fundamentals is an important part of Edison’s

ALONG CAME POLLY ★★ BEN STILLER AND JENNIFER ANISTON Aniston does her best to make the movie shine, but even she can't make the trite interesting or the familiar compelling. She does make it completely painless to endure, and at moments makes it almost fun, but she isn't Superwoman. Her back, however strong, can only hold so much dead weight. (John Loos) Now showing at Savoy and Beverly THE BIG BOUNCE ★★ OWEN WILSON AND SARA FOSTER Multiple plot elements involving heists, sex and utter debauchery ensue, but nothing ever seems to hit hard. The characters' motivations are so ambiguous that even at the end, when each character is exposed as a good guy or bad guy, it's still hard to believe. The lackluster final moments that should have provided the film's titular big bounce just provided a soft flopping around like a fish that washed up on a beautiful beach. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT ★★ ASHTON KUTCHER AND AMY SMART

The Butterfly Effect creates so many different alternate realities that it nearly ceases to exist as a whole. There are some worthy ideas hovering around here, but by the film’s pessimistic, anti-climactic ending, they’ve all just about floated away. Kutcher may have a future in serious films, but if you sit through this one, consider yourself punked. (Matt Pais)

Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

THE COOLER ★★★★ ALEC BALDWIN AND WILLIAM H. MACY The Cooler uses its funny script and intelligent direction to highlight the three impressive performances. If viewers can take a leap of faith to believe in the powers of a cooler, they will be paid back in full by enjoying this safe bet for an Oscar nomination. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Savoy and Beverly GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING ★★★ SCARLETT JOHANSSON AND COLIN FIRTH The film manages to overcome the cliche of similar films that portray typical master-servant relationships.

Throughout the film, Johansson’s and Firth’s performances remain understated yet powerful—like the painting itself—and they come together beautifully to capture the truth behind the painting. (Janelle Greenwood) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

LIVE JAZZ at

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG ★★★ JENNIFER CONNELLY AND BEN KINGSLEY Based upon the best-selling novel which was boosted by joining Oprah’s infamous book club, this film focuses on an Iranian couple forced out of the Middle East and a former junkie. When the junkie loses her house to the couple, a psychological battle ensues that provides brilliant performances but lacks some emotional depth.

(Jason Cantone) Now showing at Savoy 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 Savoy and Beverly MASTER AND COMMANDER

★★★★

RUSSELL CROWE AND PAUL BETTANY Weir buffs will get a kick out of watching this film and remembering The Truman Show. While Truman’s aquaticoriented 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.

THE PERFECT SCORE ★ SCARLETT JOHANSSON AND CHRIS EVANS Sure, this is customary MTV movie candy, a light-as-air ode to teenage carelessness and troublemaking indulgence, but laughs shouldn’t come at such a high premium of logic. This tiresome teen truffle is outdated in every way, from its unbearable Matrix homage to its lame attempt at stylish thievery. (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 TORQUE ★ ICE CUBE Take The Fast and the Furious, remove anything that made that film worthwhile, and the result would be something like Torque. Loud, idiotic and predictable at a level that can only begin to be described, Torque has arrived to take over the local multiplex.(Andrew Vecelas) Now showing at Savoy and Beverly

WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON ★★★ KATE BOSWORTH AND JOSH DUHAMEL

Win a Date utilizes the classic love triangle: The girl must choose between excitement with Tad and comfort with Pete, and a life that’s comfortable. If the film didn’t poke fun at its own cliche throughout its plot, it wouldn’t work–fortunately enough for Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, it does. (Janelle Greenwood) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

YOU GOT SERVED ★ RAZ B AND LIL’ FIZZ You Got Served is a mistake as a film. A hopeless cross of 106th and Park and any teen film from the last five years, You Got Served is among the worst. Even considering all the film’s problems, it still may be worth a gander for its unthinkable and intriguing dances. Whatever the box office outcome, it certainly won’t be difficult to rationalize picking this one off the shelves of Blockbuster in a few months in favor of braving the cold to see it in the theater.

(Andrew crewell) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

OPENING THIS WEEKEND BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS ICE CUBE AND CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER This sequal to the midly successful Barbershop gives audiences basically the same cast and location as the original, but now they have a problem: Queen Latifah opened a salon next door to their shop; nothing short of hilarity ensues. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend CATCH THAT KID KRISTEN STEWART AND SAM ROBARDS Setting a wonderful example for kids, this movie tells the story of a group of preteens who devise a plan to rob a bank to solve the money problems caused by a trajic accident to one of the character’s father. Sure to be full of fun action scenes, this film may just cause an explosion of bank robberies by small children. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend MIRACLE KURT RUSSELL AND PATRICIA CLARKSON In 1980 the US Olympic hockey team beat the Russian olympic squad, shattering the belief that the Russians were inviincible in the sport. Miracle tells the true story of player-turned coach Herb Brooks and his team’s triumphant victory that inspired a nation. Unfortunately, everyone knows the ending of this movie. (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend THE BREAD, MY SWEET SCOTT BAIO AND KRISTIN MINTER Playing at Boarman’s Art Theatre for one week only, The Bread, My Sweet tells the story of a man who meets the woman he wants to marry, experiences love at first sight, and then proposes to the woman the same day that he met her. Is is romance or desperation? (Paul Wagner) Opening this weekend

BOARDMAN’S THEATRES

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ART THEATRE 126 W. Church St., Champaign LORRAINE THEATRE 324 E. Main St., Hoopeston “2003 Winner, Best Movie Theater in CU� - Readers’ Survey, The Paper

PHOTOS | CHRISTINE LITAS

he wailing of saxophones and the clanging of cymbals echo through the silent halls at Thomas Edison Middle School. Though the school day is long over, members of the Edison band remain inside the band room, finishing up practice. The band members and their director Sam Hankins, along with a multitude of support staff and parent boosters, spend countless hours practicing and preparing for the band’s appearances at concerts, festivals and performances. Most recently, Edison’s Jazz Band One returned from a two-day trip to the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference in New York City.

The International Association of Jazz Educators Conference is the world’s largest gathering of jazz musicians, educators and students. The conference invites more than 7,000 people from more than 35 different countries, including Japan, Isreal and Sweden to participate in its annual gathering. The conference offers students and educators a chance to attend clinics, workshops and concerts. The participants come from all different levels of jazz music ranging from middle school to professionals. Selection is by invitation only and this year, Edison’s Jazz Band One was the only middle school asked to attend.

band program. The band is an extracurricular activity at Edison and students practice with each other three times a week either before or after school. Such dedication has resulted in Edison receiving numerous first place finishes and superior rankings at competitions.

Throughout the years, Hankins said he has seen an improvement in the children he teaches. More and more of them are becoming serious about their music and the band. Many of his students take private lessons and spend much of their own time practicing. Hankins says this added work has paid off for the students, not only by improving their music, but by teaching them to depend on each other and to work together.

Beyond the awards, conferencesbuzzand competitions, Hankins said he is always looking for ways to improve the band program at Edison.

He feels the program is a way for him to help his students and give back some of what he has been taught. And although he is teaching his students about music, Hankins hopes he is instilling in the kids some other important lessons through that music. “I want to instill in them not to accept mediocrity. I want them to be able to take this band experience and use the work ethic they have been taught to be better people,� he said. “I want to help make them better human beings, no matter what they are doing.� buzz

film

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | BEST FILM NOMINATIONS BACK IN HEATRES

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Hankins plays a tune on his trumpet for his students 627 E. GREEN 344-0710

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THURSDAY AT 9:30

The Bread, My Sweet (NR)

Daily at: 5:15 PM, 7:30 PM, & 10:00 PM, Sat/Sun matinees at 3:00 PM

Concert For George A Celebration of the Life & Music of George Harrison (PG-13)

Showtimes: Midnight Fri/Sat Feb. 6 & 7 and Feb. 13 & 14

Three Academy Award Nominations Two Thumbs Up! - Ebert & Roeper Screen #1:

In America (PG-13)

Two Academy Award Nominations Starring Academy Award Winners Ben Kingsley & Jennifer Connely

Screen #2:

The House of Sand & Fog

(R) Nightly at 7:00 PM, matinees Sat/Sun at 2:00 PM

25

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CATCH THAT KID (PG) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:10 9:10 11:30 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:10 9:10

CALENDAR GIRLS (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 5:10 9:40 12:00 Sun. - Thu. 5:10 9:40 TAD HAMILTON (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 3:00 5:10 7:20 9:40 11:40 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 3:00 5:10 7:20 9:40

BARBERSHOP 2 (PG–13) (2 SCREENS) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:20 9:50 12:15 CHEAPER BY DOZEN (PG) Fri. Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:20 - Thu. 12:40 2:50 5:00 9:50 ★ COLD MOUNTAIN (R) Fri. MIRACLE (PG) (2 SCREENS) Fri. & Thu. 7:00 10:00 Sat. 12:40 1:10 4:00 4:30 7:10 GOSPEL OF JOHN (PG–13) 7:40 10:00 11:00 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 1:10 4:00 4:30 Fri. - Thu. 12:20 3:40 7:10 7:40 10:00 ◆ ★ RETURN OF THE KING (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. 12:20 BIG BOUNCE (PG–13) Fri. & 4:20 8:20 Sat. 7:10 9:20 11:30 ★ LOST IN TRANSLATION (R) Sun. - Thu. 7:10 9:20 Fri. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 7:30 ALONG CAME POLLY (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 ★ MONSTER (R) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 12:15 9:30 11:30 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 9:30 BUTTERFLY EFFECT (R) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 12:20 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:30 10:00 PERFECT SCORE (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:30 2:40 4:50 7:10 9:30 11:50 Sun. - Thu. 12:30 2:40 4:50 7:10 9:30

★ MYSTIC RIVER (R) Fri. &

Sat. 12:50 4:00 7:00 9:45 12:25 Sun. - Thu. 12:50 4:00 7:00 9:45

◆ YOU GOT SERVED (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:50 3:10 5:10 7:20 9:20 11:20 Sun. - Thu. 12:50 3:10 5:10 7:20 9:20

★ PEARL EARRING (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 4:10 7:10 9:20 BIG FISH (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 11:30 1:10 4:00 6:50 9:30 12:10 Sun. - Thu. 1:10 4:00 6:50 9:30 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 4:10 7:10 9:20

Showtimes for 2/6 thru 2/12

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odds & end

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to know about your

EUROTRIP!

EUROTRIP is the new movie from DreamWorks Pictures about four friends traveling through Europe experiencing every lascivious, larcenous and lecherous indulgance Europe has to offer.

It’s a comedy that gives new meaning to the phrase “foreign relations.”

Go to www.readbuzz.com to post your own crazy travel story. The first 50 people to do so will

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to a special advance screening of EUROTRIP on February 19th.

EUROTRIP OPENS NATIONWIDE FEBRUARY 20th!

No purchase necessary. Each pass admits two. Excludes IMC employees.

HOW WAS YOUR SUPER BOWL SUNDAY? | FEBRUARY 5 - 11, 2004

JOHN VANDERSLICE Cellar Door Barsuk Records

★★★★

BY LOGAN MOORE

Too often, the music loving population lets a very good band slip by with mediocre lyrics. I’ve been guilty of it. C’mon, if the rhythm section is a rockin’ and the hooks are a poppin’, who the hell cares what the lead singer is ranting on about? (I’m looking at you, Julian Casablancas.) Conversely, many talented singer-songwriters never seem quite able to burst the glass ceiling and step into truly innovative territory.

Hence, the hundreds of able “alt-country” troubadours who can’t get beyond their co-dependent relationship with pedal steel guitar. It is for this reason that we should all personally thank artists such as John Vanderslice, who managed to pull off the daring feat of mending honest, intelligent lyrics to music that is layered, interesting and rewards repeated listening.The fact that he’s been making such music for the better part of a decade, first as a member of heralded indie band MK Ultra and as a solo artist, ain’t too shabby, either.

Make no mistake about it; Vanderslice is frighteningly talented. He is what is generally, mysteriously, referred to as a “songwriters’songwriter.”Bearing in mind that there is a cathartic charm to the self-referential confessional style of songwriting touted by most songwriters, Vanderslice travels down what is, more often than not, a far more intellectually satisfying road. In the tradition of Joe Henry,Tom Waits and Randy Newman, Vanderslice crafts his songs like minute films; vignettes rich with nuance, detail, believable characters and over-arching themes in which his crestfallen characters expound upon their demons, engage in moments of somber reflection or recount soulbaring outbursts.

So influenced is Vanderslice by the cinema that several of the songs on Cellar Door are about specific movies.

They also happen to be some of the finest compositions on the album. “When It Hits My Blood” is genius in its encapsulation of the themes of Requiem for a Dream. Just like the movie, it neither condemns nor venerates drug use, it just reveals the motivations and horrifying results that accompany drug use. When the narrator intones, “When it hits my blood/ I’m not her son/ I’m the son of a flower/ That grows on Afghan bluff,”Vanderslice nails his aesthetic of marrying the deeply human to the stunningly intellectual.

Which isn’t to say that he relies on movies alone for inspiration. “They Won’t Let Me Run” plays out like a Tennessee Williams play, as the protagonist is kept a social prisoner of his affluent family. After an affair that leads to pregnancy (sample lyric: “The morning she threw up/My options were all laid out”), the song ends with a drunken outburst, an attempted escape and the protagonist’s dejected return to his empty existence.

The music of Cellar Door is correspondingly fascinating.

With a rich palette of analog, digital and acoustic instrumentation, Vanderslice crafts a sound that is variously spare and orchestral yet always aligned with the intentions of the individual song. It’s in the clear ringing tones that signal the beginning of “Promising Actress” before the string section pushes its way to the fore and domi-

nates the song. It’s the way the martial drums snap and pop on the call-to-arms lead-off number “Pale Horse.”The thundering, pounding percussion on “Coming and Going on Easy Terms” builds with the tension of the narrator’s predicament.Vanderslice runs his own Telephone Studios, and he exhibits the same care crafting the deeply layered sound of Cellar Door as he does the layered meanings of his songs.

In the great war between musical vision and lyrical capacity,Vanderslice proves that not only is a treaty possible, but it is, ultimately, the only satisfying conclusion. Like Curtis Mayfield said “We gotta have peace.”

MOONSHINE STILL Moon Over Georgia ★★★

BY BENJI FELDHEIM

Anyone with a complaint about the influx of bands in the late ‘90s surviving solely on live shows, Internet publicity and word-of-mouth deserves a swift kick to the head. Nevertheless, with any good idea comes cheap imitations, not to mention the label “jam band,” which sheds light only on the fact that a band improvises and says nothing about the actual sound.

Moonshine Still brings a Southern gospel and blues mentality to their music.

Doom and joy are wrapped up with shrill guitar solos, eerie synth and keyboard work, and a driving rhythm section. Hailing from Macon, Ga., the band pays regular homage to the many styles that have come out of their birthplace.

Moon Over Georgia shows a glimpse into the range of the band’s live performances, a task hard to accomplish when each night’s songs can be different.The result is a solid cycle of warm country melodies fit for a long drive, horn-infused party funk and evil rock sure to please jam fans that never lost their taste for metal.

The disc kicks out with “Blue Mule,” starting with a simple, slow groove that exhibits the band’s ability to interlock the guitars, bass, keys, drums and percussion without too much needless overlap.About a minute and a half into the song, the band changes without hesitation to a double-time rhythm, turning a subtle groove into a speedy foot-tapper. Scott Baston’s thick baritone vocals exhibit a mix of dirty blues and a slight penchant for Neil Diamond.

David Shore’s guitar shredding chops come through on this track during the faster sections.

On “C & KB,” the band puts forth a funky strut resembling more New Orleans than Georgia. A group bent on the energy of a live performance needs to get down, and not just rock out the whole time. While Moonshine Still does not pull off funk as smoothly as their country tunes, rhythmically, they understand the importance of the off-beat.

The bass playing of Ray Petren shines on “Pass the Bread Around” with fat, yet tight slapping, guiding the band through another stab at party funk.

During “Pyramid,”they let out their evil rock side with a dark, mean noise, layered with laser-sounding synth from Trippe Wright’s keyboards.

Moonshine Still has laid a solid foundation for a live

DAVE’S DREAM DIARY

buzz

band mixing country, hard rock and funk. Now they just need to stretch their dynamics more to the outer limits of simplicity and intensity.

DAVE HOLLISTER Real Talk

buzz

3

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 | MICHAEL JACKSON HAS BREASTS?

FIRST THING’S FIRST...

Darwin went down to Georgia

News of the weird LEAD STORY

UPDATE

DreamWorks Records

★★

BY ROSALYN YATES

When most people think “Chicago”in terms of urban music, they think of the ubiquitous and self-proclaimed “Pied Piper of R&B,” R. Kelly. Over the years, however, there have been a number of lesser-known individuals out of the Windy City to contribute to the music scene. Among them is West Side native Dave Hollister of the group BLACKstreet. Releasing his first solo record, Ghetto Hymns, in 1999, he returns in 2003 with Real Talk, his fourth album as a solo artist.

Expressing the desire to “…make this record the way they made ‘em back in the day” a la soul legends Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway, Hollister delivers music that has soul and hints of passion, but is far less captivating.

Singer Tank (“Maybe I Deserve” and “One Man”) offers his hand at production on five of the 12 songs from this disc, including the first track “The Big Payback,”which borrows unsuccessfully from the James Brown recording of the same name. While it is an almost standard practice in R&B music to sample songs of past generations, it should be said that the habit should be abandoned if one is unable to add his own flavor to the updated version. Such is the case with the stale sound of “The Big Payback.”

Records like Winning With You and Karma—also crafted by Tank—are just as forgettable. Real Talk gets better with “Never Gonna Change” and “Good Ole Ghetto,” two feelgood jams about life growing up in the inner city.“Never Gonna Change” served as an excellent first single due to its use of piano throughout the background. The keys bring the song to life in a way that can’t be matched using a beat machine and studio effects.The lyrics are honest as Hollister reminds us not to forget our roots. Yet his eagerness to be true to his environment is also what makes this album drag. Hollister debuted as a soloist with “Baby Mama Drama,”a song about a gold-digging ex-lover.With his sophomore release Chicago ‘85 The Movie, we heard “Yo Baby’s Daddy” and “I Don’t Want To Be a Hustler” which, as their titles imply, are more tales spotlighting ghetto life.

Real Talk gives you the feeling that you’ve been there before and, if you are familiar with Hollister’s catalog, you have. It is only with the gospel-influenced music of “Pleased Tonight” that you feel as though the thuggedout R&B mold has been broken,but as the last song on the album, it’s too little, too late.

It is hard to find an artist who hasn’t experienced some type of hardship in his or her life.These trials are often the blueprint and heart of their music. But there comes a time when moving on is essential to growth, and four albums later, Dave Hollister is still in the budding stages.

Inspirations Gaye and Hathaway were able to sing about relevant social issues on a universal level while still remaining grounded. If Hollister wishes to follow in their footsteps, he’s going to have to release himself from the confines of the ‘hood.

BY MICHAEL COULTER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

hen I was a little kid, I used to go to Sunday school. At five or six years old, coloring a picture of Jesus and singing a song was probably enough to get my young soul into heaven.

Granted, at the current point in my life, coloring a picture of Jesus wouldn’t cover me for the crooked shit I pulled on Saturday afternoon, but those were simpler times.

They weren’t really teaching us kids about God so much as they were introducing him.

Jesus was Joe Camel and the church was a big tobacco company.

By the time I got to be 12 years old, Sunday school was always a big discussion. We weren’t becoming more religious, necessarily, but we did talk about religion. Actually, that’s not true.

We kids didn’t talk about religion so much as question it. There was a lot to question. Here I was, just about to hit puberty, and most of it already didn’t make sense. The first thing they tell you is the story of Adam and Eve, and my social studies textbook had already told me that story didn’t hold water.

I might have had a different viewpoint if I was from Georgia. That state’s school superintendent has proposed striking the word “evolution” from the state’s science curriculum. I don’t know much about Georgia, but I bet it’s an interesting state. They probably live in a world that is flat and if you sail too far, you will fall off the side. Things must float in the air all the time, since I’m sure they believe the laws of gravity to also be sort of an antiquated notion. I bet people are really tired there, too. After all, that weekly bloodletting can really sap your energy.

It’s a tough situation for Georgia. It’s gotta be hard for the schools to teach evolution, seeing as the highest education representative in the state apparently hasn’t evolved since her Sunday school years.

In all fairness, they haven’t abandoned the idea of evolution entirely, but have instead decided to call it “biological changes over time.” OK, anyone not from Georgia would probably define evolution as “biological changes over time,” so it must just be the word evolution itself, right? Apparently, it is.

Superintendent Kathy Cox insists that “evolution” is nothing more than a buzzword and doesn’t need to be used in class.

Um, hey there, Kathy, “bling-bling” is a buzzword. “Evolution” is a scientific term whose concept is accepted by pretty much any scientist you can find, at least the ones outside

of Georgia. Do you really still think Adam and Eve were the first people here? Where do those dinosaur bones fit in? Geez Louise, take one look at Ed Asner and you have to be convinced of the idea of evolution. If you ask me, “Dumbass Freaking Idiot” should be a new “buzzword.” People can use it to describe school superintendents in Georgia.

Wouldn’t it be a pleasant surprise for the rest of the United States if she made a proposal forcing every school to teach evolution? That would be a harder decision, sure, but the state might receive support and respect instead of criticism and ridicule. Geez, even a monkey would know something like that.

She says the ban is to alleviate pressure on teachers in conservative areas of Georgia where parents don’t believe in evolution. Yeah, that’s a good idea; if a few rednecks don’t believe in it, then by all means, don’t teach it, even if it’s true.

You’re talking about a state where some folks still have confederate flags in their truck windows and NASCAR is seen as the sport of kings. If anyone could use a little education, it’s those fellas.

If what people believe in is the only criterion for education in Georgia, then the children’s class schedules are going to look pretty funny.

“Let’s see, first hour I have Not Bathing 101.

Second hour, I have Banging Your Cousin 207.

Third hour, I have Racism 125 … and so on.”

Sure, it’s America and everyone is allowed to believe whatever he wants. If I want to believe God is speaking to me through an expired jug of milk, that’s OK. If my neighbor wants to believe his dog is the ruler of the universe, I’m cool with that. If you insist on teaching either of those concepts in school, though, it’s going to be a bit of a problem. Just because you believe something, it doesn’t necessarily make it true, even if you really believe it.

Actually, Georgia may be able to make a good case for evolution not holding water in a few years. If you don’t teach kids what they need to know, then there’s a good chance they won’t evolve. They will stay exactly the same and grow up to raise ignorant children who will follow suit. If you aren’t evolving, an argument could be made that you’re devolving. It’ll be nice to vacation in Georgia 20 years from now.

Where else can you see a Cro-Magnon man in his natural habitat?

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.

While the Statue of Liberty remains shuttered for lack of $5 million in postSept. 11 upgrades, Congress in January mandated $10.7 billion in “earmarked” projects (also known as home-state “pork”), including $50 million for an indoor rain forest in Iowa, $50 million to make sure a Florida beach resort bridge remains toll-free, $450,000 to decipher the gene structure of rainbow trout, $225,000 to repair a public swimming pool whose drain U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.) clogged with tadpoles when he was a kid, $200,000 to introduce golf to youngsters, $90,000 for the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, and, ironically, $500,000 for a University of Akron program that analyzes how Congress makes difficult budget decisions.

LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS In January, Trilane A. Ludwig, 24, called his mother from jail in Clark County, Ala., and asked that she grab the $500 from his wallet at home and come bail him out. As he almost certainly knew, the $500 consisted of oversized, poorly made counterfeit bills, which put him in even more trouble.

In December, a federal judge rejected the latest appeal of David Cobb, 66, a former teacher at the prestigious Phillips Academy in New Hampshire, who made News of the Weird in 1995 with his attempts to seduce children by dressing as “Pumpkin Man” and encouraging kids to fondle him. He had challenged the child pornography counts against him, claiming that some of the nude photos he had were not of children, but of adults onto whose bodies he had meticulously glued head shots of kids cut out from magazine and catalog ads.

HYPERACTIVE SENIORS Hunter “Red” Rountree, who pleaded guilty to having robbed a First American Bank branch in August at the age of 91, was sentenced to 12 years in prison; it was his third bank robbery in five years (Lubbock, Texas, January). Daniel Putzel, 87, was arrested and charged with running a house of prostitution (Guilford, Conn., November).

COPYRIGHT 2004 CHUCK SHEPHERD DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

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I’M GONNA GO FONDLE MY SWEATERS. WHAT? | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004

buzz

editor’snote

insidebuzz

BY MARISSA MONSON | EDITOR IN CHIEF

The Story

4 Q & A with Edison band director

M

y very first encounter with the fabulous Edison Middle School Jazz Band was a couple of years ago during a long day working at Borders Books.

From my post at the register, my sight only reached as far as the rows upon rows of magazines, but peaking over the top were shiny brass instruments, and they were wailing. Leaving my post briefly, I let my curiosity lead me to the stage, and what I discovered baffled me: middle-schoolers wailing ... I mean, these kids could play.

Hailing from a school of less than 400 students, my opportunities for music education were limited. The talent at my school, however, was not. I’m not saying my brief stint as a flautist in the fifth grade was picture-perfect. In fact, I was literally booted from the brass section after the director found my choice to mime instrumentation less than humorous.

The music teacher commuted between two different grade schools, a middle school and a high school on a weekly basis, teaching thousands of students the joy of music,

Sam Hankins has spent his entire life surrounded by music.

Whether it be gospel, jazz, vocals or the trumpet.

Arts 8 Artist spotlight Lyosha is a local painter who is originally from Russia. He began painting...

Music 10 Local rocker returns to C-U “It is what it is and then it’s over,” quotes Urbana’s homegrown Cameron McGill...

Calendar 14 Heiruspecs Minneapolis-based hip hop Heiruspecs puts a spin on hip-hop sounds by working...

Film

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY a treasure that demands more attention to truly foster.

Unfortunately, state cuts and the powers that be, placing music as a non-necessity, kept many young talents throughout downstate Illinois and inner-city areas from developing. There could have been the next John Coltrane or Charles Mingus in the mix.

Sam Hankins is making sure musical talents don’t slip through the cracks.

With a determined nature, and equally determined band, Hankins and the crew live music. They practice after-hours, and it shows. These kids get it.

After my encounter with Edison Middle School’s jazz band, I found myself noting their name on the calendar as I do when a good rock show comes to town.

Jazz greats of the future are among us because Urbana chose to make music a priority in its curriculum, and for that, the town has been rewarded handsomely. As an internationally recognized jazz band, the players and director deserve thanks for their hard work and dedication.

-M.M.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Writing in The Week magazine, editor-in-chief Bill Falk reminisced about how earlier in his career he churned out three opinion columns a week for newspapers. It was tough. "The truth is," he said, "there were many weeks in which I didn’t have three fresh opinions of any value." These days, he added, he couldn't handle a gig like that. As he's matured, he has become suspicious of his own certainties. "Opinions are highly overrated," he concludes. "Most concern passing phenomena that, six months or six years from now, become utterly irrelevant." I propose that we make Falk your patron saint for February, Aries. The astrological omens suggest that this is a perfect moment to enjoy the humility and grace that come from nurturing compassionate ideals instead of agitated opinions.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You might want to get a history book and read up on the Greek army's defeat of the invading Persian forces at Marathon in 470 B.C. While you're at it, look into the ragtag band of Texan soldiers that won independence from Mexico at San Jacinto in 1836, or the continental army's pivotal victory over the British redcoats at Saratoga in 1777. I make these suggestions not because I think you will literally be going into battle, Taurus, but because I believe you'll soon be moved to defend and even expand your freedom. Meditating on history's successful struggles for liberation might inject an inspirational dose of martial energy into your campaign.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You're in a phase of your yearly cycle when fate will conspire to expand your perspective, get you naturally high, and turn you into an explorer. To align yourself with these cosmic tendencies, you might want to charter a supersonic MiG-25 Foxbat plane to ferry you to the upper edge of the atmosphere, where you can see the curvature of the Earth. Other good ideas: Sail over Tanzania's Serengeti Plains in a hot-air balloon; paraglide off the sea cliffs at Oahu's Makapuu Point; or take a class in shamanism at a local yoga center.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I predict that in 2004 you will become far more discriminating about what images and information you allow to enter into the holy temple of your mind.You ay even put up protective barriers that keep out the media's toxic psychic wastes and your friends' bad moods. I also predict that if you *don't* become more discriminating, you will lose touch with your own deepest desires and end up trying to be something you're not. In conclusion, fellow Cancerian, you sure as hell better remember how naturally telepathic you are, and how easily you take on other people's feelings as if they were your own.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): After English, astrology is my second language. Like a language, it's both logical and messy; it's useful in making sense of the world, yet full of crazy-making ambiguities.

In a movie about pilfering, the country’s most notorious...

COURTESY OF | HANK WILLIAMS III

Volume 2, Number 4 COVER DESIGN | Meaghan Dee

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, Erin DeYoung Copy Editors Chris Ryan, Jen Hubert, Suzanne Sitrick, 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

At its best, astrology is a playful study of the metaphorical link between the human psyche and the sun, moon, and planets. It's not a science. It's an elegant system of symbols, an art form with a special capacity to feed the soul and educate the imagination.

When regarded as a precise method for predicting the future or when used to pander to the ego's obsessions, it becomes a deserving target for satire. So there you have it, Leo. I've clarified the essential views that underlie all I do in this horoscope column, and which therefore color the relationship between you and me. Now I challenge you to do what I just did: Get together with the people you care about and articulate the fundamental assumptions that form the basis of your connection.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I rarely employ my mediumistic skills, but a host of spirits was just clamoring to address you this week.

So I agreed to channel five of them, on the condition that they'd be brief and to the point. Here, then, are your advisors from the other side of the veil. First, Werner von Braun: "Research is what you do when you don't know what you're doing." Second, A.A. Milne: "One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." Next, Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis." Casey Stengel: "You're lost but you're making good time." Harry S. Truman: "If you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em."

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." So proclaimed science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke in his book *Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible.* To a medieval peasant, for instance, television would have appeared to be pure sorcery.

Here's my corollary to Clarke's principle, Libra, just in time for your season of wonder and mystery: "Any sufficiently unexpected blessing is indistinguishable from a miracle."

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "How can one's heart and brain stand all the things that are crowded into them?" wrote nineteenth-century composer Robert Schumann. "Where do these thousands of thoughts, wishes, sorrows, joys, and hopes come from? Day in, day out, the procession goes on." Sound familiar, Scorpio? If I'm reading the astrological omens correctly, the flood that Schumann described has recently reached tsunami proportions in you. You simply can't go on like this. As the closest thing you have to a soul doctor, I regard it as my duty to prescribe massive doses of spacious silence. Quiet your thoughts, slow down your pace, and drop out of every frenetic game, at least for now.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Back in the 1980s, an old pal of mine was a girlfriend of Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry. I'm hoping if he's elected in November, she'll arrange for me to get a tryout as his astrological advisor. Who knows? Maybe

he already reads this column.You there, John? Here's my counsel for you and your fellow Sagittarians. As tempting as it might be to dramatize the differences between you and your competitors, your best bet in the short run is to be an emblem of unity. Don't let your powerful moral vision get bogged down in detailing what's wrong. Instead, be passionate about beauty and truth and justice. Strong women are the key to your next success. Ask more from them than ever before. And make sure that in the midst of your noble push to the frontier, you keep nourishing your roots.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Here's Big Secret of Life #27, crucial for your meditations in the coming weeks: Whatever you choose to focus your attention on, you will get more of it. So for example, if you often think of everything you lack and how sad you are that you don't have it, you will tend to receive abundant evidence of how true that is. If, on the other hand, you dwell on the good things that make you feel grateful to be alive, they will probably multiply.You are a great wizard, Capricorn.Why not use your powers to practice white magic on yourself instead of the other kind?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): This will be an elephant-wearinga-parachute-as-it-falls-through-the-sky kind of week for you, Aquarius. It'll be a successfully-shoplifting-a-Bible kind of week, a using-bottles-of-Dom-Perignon-champagne-to-put-out-a-fire kind of week, a rewriting-a-Shakespeare-play-and-selling-it-to-aHollywood-producer kind of week. "Improbable" should be your nickname. "Prodigious" should be your word of power. If you don't receive a magic pretzel or a golden booger from a talking raven in your dreams, I'll be shocked.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Red alert! Your behavior is beginning to have an eerie resemblance to the guy who regularly stands on a street corner in Beijing and offers himself up as a punching bag. At least he makes money from it, charging stressed-out jerks about $6 to smack him around for two minutes. But I can't see *any* benefit coming to you for the way you're letting yourself be abused. Please stop this perverse form of entertainment immediately. Find a better strategy for encouraging intimate contact with people.

✍ HOMEWORK:

Homework: What quality or behavior in you would most benefit from healthy selfmocking? Tell how you keep yourself honest.

Write: www.freewillastrology.com.

☎ Rob Brezsny's Free Will

Astrology beautyandtruth @ 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

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

23 The Perfect Score

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ACROSS 1 What lions and lambs rarely do 8 Secretly 15 Green shade 16 Busy 17 Common allergen 18 Name meaning “God is with us” 19 Mathematician who was the subject of “The Man Who Loved Only Numbers” 20 Edd’s “77 Sunset Strip” co-star 22 Yerkes Center inhabitant 23 “Bye now” 24 Aerospace transmitter 25 1960’s-70’s soul record label 26 Natl. Adopt-a-Dog Month 27 Taken in 28 Slangy hypothetical 29 Cobalt 31 Bow and others 32 It’s set on the far right

34 Tons 37 Herbal stress reliever 41 Satanic 42 Cute Valentine 43 ___ in Quebec 44 Otolaryngologists, for short 45 Instrument heard on “Within You Without You” 46 Willa Cather’s “One of ___” 47 Fr. martyress, maybe 48 Blue supergiant known as Alpha Cygni 49 San Diego tourist attraction 50 Haberdashery purchases 52 Wife of Nero 54 Collectively 55 Un-p.c. activity 56 Opener 57 1950’s Mouseketeer DOWN 1 House style

2 Drink order 3 Much-anticipated social event 4 It may initiate a blessing 5 Farm calls 6 First name in tyranny 7 Cut a rug 8 Shakespearean king 9 Directory contents 10 Tube alternative 11 Sweets 12 Dividing line 13 “What’s shaking?”

14 Pre-Internet communications 21 Rink event 24 Bone just above the foot 25 Paddle 27 Carving medium 28 “McSorley’s Bar” painter 30 Jr. year events 31 Spy’s need 33 It has a mathematical focus 34 Lively ballroom dance

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35 Bar 36 Reveres 38 Caraway-flavored liquor 39 Coyote, to a sheep rancher 40 Quiet

42 Grafton sleuth ___ Millhone 45 It may be common 46 Orchard Field, after 1949

48 It’s committed to memory 49 British gun 51 ___ de bourrée (ballet movement) 53 Long time: Abbr.

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WHAT’S YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION? BROKEN IT YET? | FEBRUARY 5-11, 2004 buzz

this week Th Feb 5 Wine Tasting 5pm, LOB, free Venice Baroque Orchestra Prelude 6:30pm, Krannert Room, free Venice Baroque Orchestra 7:30pm, FGH, $16-$32 Sponsors: Avis and Dean Hilfinger Cecile and Ira Lebenson The Jolly Roger, Michael and Trudy Timpone Timpone's Ristorante, Raymond and Ginger Timpone

@

krannert center

Fr Feb 6

Tu Feb 10

Chip McNeill, jazz saxophone 7:30pm, FGH, $2-$5

Interval: Weavermania Noon, LOB, free Sponsors: Anonymous

Festival 2004 7:30pm CPH, $9-$16 Talkback: following the performance, free

Th Feb 12

Sa Feb 7

Wine Tasting 5pm, LOB, free

UI Chamber Singers 7:30pm, FGH, $2-$5

UI Symphony Orchestra 7:30pm, FGH, $2-$5

Festival 2004 7:30pm CPH, $9-$16

Twelfth Night 7:30pm, STH, $6-$13

Su Feb 8 Rudolf Haken, viola 7:30pm, FGH, $2-$5

Festival 2004 7:30pm CPH, $9-$16

Some Krannert Center programs are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and patron and corporate contributions.

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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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Thomas Edison Middle School Jazz Band’s big sound Page 4 ARTS

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