Inside Beat 2011-09-15

SEPTEMBER15, 2011 • VOL. 29, NO. 12

INSIDEBEAT THE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

Fashion Week Need We Say More?

NTAGIO O C • D N DEAD ISLA • T H IG N H E • TWELFT V O L IN N BROOKLY • .

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O I. • WARRIOR

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Page 2 • Inside Beat

September 15, 2011

EDITOR’S RANT & FASHION

The Fashion Paradox

BY ASHLEY PARK ASSISTANT EDITOR

The fashion industry is one dominated mostly by men but created for women. The general philosophy is that if you look good, you feel good. In a way, clothing, accessories and makeup form a kind of armor that empowers the wearer. It’s offensive in that it boosts confidence and defensive because it deters negative judg-

ment. In fact, Audrey Hepburn once said to her friend Hubert Givenchy, “When I wear something from you, I feel secure, I feel protected.” However, there is also a complicated sexuality running through the industry. It’s there in the bias cuts, peek-a-boo chiffons and swinging skirts. A strong sense of style might be a magnet for degrading catcalls or slimy leers, making a million-dollar outfit feel like a penny in mere seconds. Is fashion something that

empowers a woman or sexualizes and therefore objectifies her?

It’s a fine line and walking it requires balance. It’s possible to be both chic and unsexy though. There are certain styles of clothing that are “man-repelling.” In fact, there is a humorous blog called The Manrepeller about such fashion items, featuring suspenders and jackets with shoulder feathers. However, for those of us who do not want to invest money into repulsing the opposite sex, here’s my two cents.

RYAN SURUJNATH.....................................................ASSOCIATE ASHLEY PARK...................................................ASSISTANT

EDITOR EDITOR

FREDDIE MORGAN............................................................................TV EDITOR EMILY GABRIELE.......................................................................MUSIC EDITOR HEATHER TEDESCO................................................................THEATER EDITOR ZOË SZATHMARY....................................................................FASHION EDITOR JILLIAN PASON..........................................................................COPY EDITOR KEITH FREEMAN.........................................................................PHOTO EDITOR ALEX NATANZON............................................................................FILM EDITOR DIANA CHOLANKERIL...............................................................ONLINE EDITOR RYAN SURUJNATH...........................................................VIDEO GAMES EDITOR

So what’s the answer to our question — does being fashionable make you an alpha or an Aphrodite? Well, like all good questions, this one doesn’t have a straight answer. My conjecture is that taking command of your sensuality is empowering, like Gina Torres’s role on Suits; however, going overboard, say Christina Hendricks’s character from Mad Men, would be inadvisable. Seriously, Hendricks, keep those curves in line!

INSIDEBEAT

EDITORIAL BOARD Z OË S ZATHMARY .................................................... EDITOR

The important thing to remember is to keep it classy. Nowadays, there is a misconception that baring skin equals sexy — this is not true; in fact, it is more seductive to cover up. Select clothes that flatter your body type, which you also feel comfortable wearing (this is not to say wear only comfortable clothes).

Be classy, be confident and that will allow you to be sexy. If someone still wants to put you down, fight back and a million-dollar dress will suddenly feel like a billion.

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS TO INSIDE BEAT :

Mike Bither Deanna Hendricks Adam Rosengarten

Cover Photo Courtesy of vogue.com

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Inside Beat • Page 3

September 15, 2011

FASHION & THEATER

Fall Essentials

BY DEANNA HENDRICKS STAFF WRITER

For people who enjoy stepping out on the town in New Brunswick, Thursday night gets the weekend going. There are plenty of options for entertainment: elegant dining, stellar performances at the State Theatre or a night out dancing. So, there leaves plenty of room for one’s inner fashion sense to become defined! Whatever the occasion you’re dressing for this fall, here are some fashion essentials every person must have.

Vests, coats and peplum blazers are the way to go to keep comfortable on a chilly night. They can be found in stripes, bold colors, and even erotic, slinky designs. What makes these items true musthaves is their versatility. These chic outerwear options can be worn with a pair of jeans for a casual look or can be dressed up with a pair of heels and some interesting accessories. Another great option is a cinched-in waist. This slims down the waist and accentuates those womanly curves —– or can create an illusion of curves for the more svelte.

When thinking of a something to wear with one of these items, think of the question, “To be bright or not to be bright?” However, it’s obvious this fall that pants must be eye-popping. This style choice has been present on and off the runway and in shows

by Yigal Azrouel and DKNY. For those favoring a more feminine look, you can try pairing sweaters with either sexy, gauzy skirts or more mysterious maxi options. Each choice is considered a highly desirable look. You can even play around with sweaters and various types of dresses. With all of these chic choices, your day should go as beautifully as you’re dressed.

COURTESY OF GLAMOUR.COM

TWELFTH NIGHT

COURTESY OF SHAKESPEARESGLOBE.COM

BY ASHLEY PARK ASSISTANT EDITOR

There’s really no underestimating the talents of University students, especially when it comes to theater. Why bother with Broadway when it’s in the backyard? The Rutgers Theater Company, comprised of Mason Gross School of the Arts students, presented an unorthodox interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night.

The performances took place last week in the Victoria J. Masterbuono Theater as part of a yearlong program, in which Rutgers students travelled to the United Kingdom to learn and act in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

Love triangles become more complicated when an author adds twins into the mix. Twelfth Night takes place in Illyria, where Duke Orsino (Ryan Neely) pines for the affections of Lady Olivia (Kotryna Gecaite/Jevonnah C. Mayo). His page Cesario is actually the shipwrecked Viola (Eliza Martin Simpson/Jermilya R. Daivs), who believes her twin brother Sebastian (Barron B. Bass) drowned. Her new job is to mediate love messages from the duke to Olivia, who falls for Viola instead. Meanwhile, Viola develops fondness for her lord, and in the background, servants and fools create mischief.

The play’s undertones of homosexuality are partially masked by

its outrageous characters and makes one wonder what 17th-century audiences thought of its bawdy humor.

What is always most piquing about a Shakespeare production is the company’s interpretation of the script. As Twelfth Night is a comedy, the cast and director Timothy Walker chose to take many liberties with the play in order to make it more modern, switching out tabors for acoustic guitars.

Purists might consider the squirt guns, harmonicas and “bro” handshakes a mockery of the text, but their interpretation worked with the audience and the tone of the story. In one instance, the uptight Malvolio (Justin Blake Broido),

Olivia’s servant, was analyzing the handwriting of a false love letter planted by the impish maid Maria (Caitlin York Rigney/Al-nisa J. Petty) and ostensibly from the Lady Olivia. In the original script, he comments on the verisimilitude of the c’s, u’s, and t’s. The company altered the lines to include another strategically salacious letter (figure it out for yourself). In addition, RTC also represented Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Ryan Zachary Ward) as a wild-wild-west cowboy, lending a twang to lines like, “O, if I thought that, I’d beat him like a dog!” The fool Feste (Christopher Sears) was an audience favorite with his ridiculous costumes —– a karate uniform,

happy face tighty-whiteys, a marching band getup —– and cockamamie antics.

After having performed two Shakespearean comedies in a row (A Midsummer Night’s Dream was last year’s play), one wonders how the company would handle a more serious play, like Hamlet or Othello. These are the plays that evoke emotion over laughter.

How would they represent the utter despair of King Lear as his world falls apart around him or the Macbeth’s horror upon realizing his hands will never be clean of blood? To do that successfully would be the mark of true acting. RTC, we await the day with baited breath.

Page 4• Inside Beat

September 15, 2011

TV

PHOTOS COURTESY PLENTERTAINMENT.COM

WEB SERIES : Brooklyn is in Love PL Entertainment

BY FREDDIE MORGAN TV EDITOR

Before mini-series, vlogs, and short films, the closet thing to a three-minute movie resembled a thirty-second ad during the Super Bowl. If you were pressed for time, you’d have to choose between that new Daria episode or attending going to your night lecture. Sometimes you didn’t even have thirty minutes to spare to watch an episode, but you had to watch it because it was so annoying to tape onto videocassette. Let’s face it — the world before YouTube was downright inconvenient.

That’s why a mini-series is so great. It differs from starting a show that you know will swallow most of your free time (and your working time, too.) It’s not like catching up to the current season of 30 Rock when you are five seasons behind, only to then have to tune in every week at the same time and interrupt your studying.

It’s such an imposition. Beginning a mini-series on a weekend basically ensures that you will end the series on the same day. And what’s even more awesome? With the invention of YouTube came the birth of the web series. Could life get any easier?

People are ver y hesitant about the quality of videos others put out, but make no mistake — if you spend time rifling through all the crap on YouTube, you are bound to find some gold. Selecting a web series may be tricky, as

there are many shows floating around in cyberspace. How can you possibly determine which one to watch? Perhaps you need to be pointed in a direction by a certain television idiot savant.

Brooklyn is in Love tells the story of three twenty-somethings living in the Seattle of the East Coast: Brooklyn. The protagonist is emotionally paralyzed by the murder of her fiancé and feels she can never love again. Conversely, her best friend’s attitude on love mirrors Brooklyn’s general population — tragically cool and too young to care as she bobs and weaves through a blur of one-nightstands with What’s-His-Names because she doesn’t need a man in her life.

The show is youthful and fresh, particularly because the cast and crew are all in their early-to-mid-twenties. The director, Danielle Earle, looks to be no more than 25, but she’s already the CEO and founder of the ver y production company that brings this series to life. In 2009, she started On The Scene with PL Entertainment, where she personally inter viewed many bands in New York and the United Kingdom.

Each crewmember has an equally impressive resume, especially because many of them are still in college.

Watch this show. There’s no downside! The premise is unique, the actors are surely up-and-coming, each episode is less than 15 minutes long, and they've only created three videos in the series thus far! The season begins October 23rd, so you’ve got loads of time to catch up. See a new episode every Sunday at www.plentertainment.com. You’ll never shy away from a web series again.

Inside Beat • Page 5

September 15, 2011

VIDEO GAMES

DEAD ISLAND PHOTOS COURTESY GAMESPOT.COM

Techland| D+

BY RYAN SURUJNATH ASSOCIATE EDITOR

After initially being announced in 2006, five years and a fair bit of hype later, Dead Island finally managed to find its way onto store shelves. The result of this wait is a game that does not feel like its own product so much as it feels like a patchwork of other, more established products: four-player cooperative survival feels like Left 4 Dead, the weapon crafting is reminiscent of that from Dead Rising 2, the equipment management system is taken from Borderlands and the questing and RPG elements bear similarities to those of Fallout. Though “borrowing” from successful games may seem like a fantastic idea, Dead Island makes clear that combining several great things does not always yield a great result.

Dead Island is not particularly plot-heavy. On a small, fictional island off the coast of Papua New Guinea, the player’s character wakes up in a resort hotel to find that the area has been overrun by zombies.

The story itself is nothing special, but it does not detract from the overall experience. However, most of the characters are horribly unlikeable and the voice acting is some of the worst in recent memory.

Dead Island’s gameplay places a distinct focus on using melee weapons to maim and dismember enemies. The combat feels a little awkward at first, due in part to

somewhat imprecise swinging mechanics, but players will not only get used to it, but will find it hugely gratifying. Though the game’s graphical presentation tends to be inconsistent, Dead Island’s wanton slaughter always looks fantastic.

Unfortunately, Dead Island is a one-trick pony. The combat is not nearly good enough to hide the myriad of other issues. Most distressing of these problems is the game’s lack of atmosphere; Dead Island does not make the player feel as though they are embroiled in a desperate struggle for survival. Unlike in Left 4 Dead or Dead Rising 2, in which players could easily become overwhelmed by hordes of the undead, Dead Island’s game engine only manages to throw small handfuls of zombies at a time. In addition, weapons and supplies replenish rather quickly, further detracting from the idea of survival horror.

Dead Island’s many side quests only add tedium and frustration to the game. The vast majority of these optional missions are some variant of fetch quest that requires players to backtrack to other areas to find specific items. While these missions may be interesting or novel the first time, they become much less so by the 10th or fifteenth.

Dead Island’s violence and gore will satiate the bloodlust of many gamers. Unfortunately, for those looking for a more complete package, the game does not have much more to offer.

NEW YORK FA Fur coats, leather booties and long embellished scarves … University students may be planning their fall wardrobes, but New York Fashion Week is already looking toward spring. Glamorous yet unfussy looks shuffled down the multiple runways, as editrixes sat front row and bloggers gatecrashed. Fashion Week did not disappoint, offering some major media moments. Rebel Zac Posen returned to the States with a strong collection, just a year after moving his atelier to Paris. Living legend and Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) president Diane von Furstenberg waved American flags at the end of her show in a sweet gesture, commemorating 9/11. Former it-girl — and Chloe Sevigny pal — Tara Subkoff re-launched her once lusted-over Imitation of Christ label.

But where were we going? Oh yes, the clothes. Inside Beat presents the best looks that Gotham had to offer.

By Zoë Szathmary, Editor

FIERCE FLORALS PHOTOS COURTESY OF STYLE.COM

Alexander Wang

Timo Weiland

Altuzarra

Peter Som

PURPLE RAIN

Donna Karan

ADAM

DKNY

Prabal Gurung

ASHION WEEK FLIRTY ‘40S

Zac Posen

Band of Outsiders

Tracy Reese

Tribune Standard

NOT-SO-MELLOW YELLOW

Christian Siriano

Derek Lam

Lacoste

Cushnie et Ochs

SLOUCHY SUITS

Wes Gordon

Rachel Roy

Graeme Armour

The question is, what will you wear next season?

Helmut Lang

Page 8• Inside Beat

September 15, 2011

FILM

… n O e y E

Bad Actress

Robert Lee King New Jersey Film Festival

BY ALEX NATANZON FILM EDITOR

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

The director of the cult classic Psycho Beach Party, Robert Lee King delivers a delightfully quirky and off-beat black comedy entitled Bad Actress. As part of the New Jersey Film Festival, Bad Actress will be screening at the University in Voorhees Hall on the College Avenue campus on Sept.ember 17th. 17th.

Set in Los Angeles, Calif., this film focuses on Alyssa —– a gorgeous, middle-aged actress who was once the queen of primetime television but now is old news and must resor t to starring in her husband Bernie’s appliance store commercials. But when their daughter Topanga accidentally dies, the grief-stricken Bernie falls into a depression and eventually turns to spirituality: he eventually decides to sell of f his companies and donate the entire franchise for tune to charity. Alyssa will have none of this and conspires with Bernie’s jealous cousin to take her husband out of commission.

What follows is a wacky ride

of twists and turns with Alyssa as the conductor.

Bad Actress does a fine job of poking fun at American consumerism, as many of the characters are rich and obsessed with material possessionsmaterialistic.

Even more so, this film explores how one can stoop to ridiculous acts out of necessity to fulfill personal agendas. The character interaction is constantly imbued with hilarity sinceas each individualperson has their own attentiongrabbing personality. The film satirizes the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle as the characters plot against each other in a soap opera-esque fashion. In the end, however, it is Alyssa’s character that steals the show. She is the glorified epitome of a drama queen and conducts her deeds accordingly.

Bad Actress is the type of movie that should not be taken too seriously. It is never overly dramatic as it maintains a light air of absurdity. This film is an edgy, quick paced bag-o’-fun with a hyper-real plotline and highoctane characters that are as ludicrously satisfying as the city they inhabit.

WARRIOR Gavin O’Connor | B+

BY ADAM ROSENGARTEN STAFF WRITER

Warrior is about two brothers, Tommy (Tom Hardy, Inception) and Brendon (Joel Edger ton, Animal Kingdom.). Tommy, the younger brother, has returned home after many years to his father, a recovering alcoholic played by Nick Nolte (Lorenzo’s Oil). His plan is for his father to train him to become a professional MMA (MMA) fighter. Brendon, on the other hand, is an ex-professional MMA fighter is employed as a high school teacher. He is having trouble making enough money to suppor t his family, so he returns to professional fighting in order to make ends meet.

For the first hour of the film each of the brother’s stories are kept completely separate. The two have no contact with each other and Tommy doesn’t seem to be in any rush to become reacquainted with his big brother. He has incredible rancor towards his father and is only staying with him because he happens to be a great trainer. The scenes between the dad and son are some of the strongest moments in the film. The viewer learns that Nolte’s character has been sober for 1,000 days and feels immensely guilty for the way things are between him and his sons. He desperately wants to make amends, but Tommy is no longer looking for a father figure. Brendon’s stor y is also absorbing as the audience watches him transform from a teacher into a great MMA fighter.

The second half of the film is primarily MMA fight scenes —– the viewer gets to see a total of five fights.

Tommy is intrepid as he relentlessly battles against

his opponents. Brendon’s style, however, gives the audience a more realistic idea as to how daunting other fighters can be. These fight scenes are very exhilarating and ultimately build up to an unforgettable final brawl. At times the fights can seem a bit much in that any one of them could have been the film’s last.

This movie explores the limits of both physical and emotional extremes. The performances are so genuinely convincing that the audience can see and feel the brothers’ anguish. This is due to the remarkable acting by both Nick Nolte and Tom Hardy. Tommy is a rather reserved person, but Hardy plays the character extremely well so that the audience can understand his origins. Unfortunately, poor performances by some of the supporting cast hinder the film.

A shortcoming in this picture is figuring out who the main character really is. For the first half of the movie it feels like it is Tommy but by the second half it has shifted somewhat to Brendon. It was hard to choose who to root for because in the end only one can be the victor.

Looking at the film from a technical MMA standpoint there is a huge flaw: there is no blood. Warrior is a PG-13 movie about an R-rated sport. People unfamiliar to the sport will be shocked when they go to watch a real MMA fight after seeing this film. There are a few times in the film where a real professional fight would have been stopped; however, they let these keep going in order to build the drama.

This film at times felt like a big promotional for professional MMA. It glorifies a brutal sport while making an attempt to attract a younger audience.

Though the film throws in the occasional cliché, it’s to be expected. Overall, this is an incredibly exciting and emotionally-charged picture.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BADACTRESSMOVIE.COM

Inside Beat • Page 9

September 15, 2011

FILM

Shark Night 3D David R. Ellis | D

BY ALEX NATANZON FILM EDITOR

Oh, how original —– a group of Louisiana college students decides to go to a remote summer house with no cell-phone access for a night of drinking and partying. Of course, the fun doesn't last; as they quickly realize that the waters are polluted with deadly sharks that naturally annihilate these helpless youths one by one.

Shark Night 3D has two definite protagonists in Sara (Sara Paxton, The Last House on the Left,) and pre-med student Nick (Dustin Milligan, Slither), who take a little trip to Sarah’s secluded beach house for a weekend of booze, sex, and deep philosophical discussion (just kidding about the last part). Before arriving at the house the gang has a run-in with some ver y shady rednecks, Dennis (Chris Carmack, Just My Luck) and Red (Joshua Leonard, The Shaggy Dog). The men harass the group, and it is unveiled revealed that Sara has some his-

tor y with Dennis; thus planting the seeds of drama. At the summer house, the friends engross themselves in water-based related activities, drinking, and nauseatingly cheesy dialogue.

But it is notn’t all fun in the sun as the waters are crawling with bloodthirsty sharks, and the protagonists must fight to defend their per fectly sculpted bodies from these beasts.

There are many films out there that are so bad or unintentionally funny that they just happen to be pretty good in a novel sor t of way (i.e. Troll 2, The Room). Shark Night 3D is not one of those films. This predictable picture is riddled with poor acting, un-engaging plot lines and worst of all, a complete lack of a scare factor. Of course, no one would assume that this movie could stand neck-to-neck with the heart-beating tension of Jaws, but maybe it might possess some of the qualities of similar nature sur vival films like Anaconda or Predator — nope.

Shark Night 3D commits the biggest cardinal sin of just not properly scaring its audiences.

PHOTO COURTESY IGN.COM

Let’s be real, the greatest potential pull factor of this film is seeing razor-toothed beasts scaring terrifying the hell out of you and mutilating people to a bloody mess in glorious 3D. Unfor tunately, this flick doesn’t even have the decency to do that, as the death scenes are nowhere near as gor y as to what we have

become used to seeing in movies nowadays, and you can predict a “frightening” scene coming from miles away.

Ghastly acting, dumb dialogue, tasteless sexual tension and the infusions of detached backstories and subplots definitely do not aid in keeping this film afloat.

Shark Night 3D will be a grueling 90 minutes in the movie theatre unless you are attempting to conquer your fear of sharks via forced visualization or are infatuated with sharks enough to pay $13 to listen to some rednecks recite facts about them for three minutes of the film.

Contagion Steven Soderbergh| B-

PHOTOS COURTESY ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

BY RYAN SURUJNATH ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Living in the Livingston Quads was like living in a cesspool of bacterial nastiness; everyday, one ran the risk of encountering a strange substance on the shower walls that could give an unwitting victim any manner of infectious, potentially flesh-eating diseases. For reasons such as this, University students may find Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion particularly disturbing.

After returning to her Minneapolis home from a business trip overseas, Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man 2) exhibits a minor sniffle that eventually evolves into a virulent disease that kills her within two days. Though Beth and her son are the first to succumb to the contagion, her husband, Mitch (Matt Damon, The Adjustment Bureau) exhibits an immunity doctors are left completely befuddled by, as this seemingly isolated contagion spreads into a global pandemic. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Deputy Director Ellis Cheever (Lawrence Fishburne, The Matrix) attempts to strike a balance between investigating the disease-related deaths and avoiding widespread public contamination, which, of course, happens anyway. Cheever assigns Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road) to trace the source of the virus.

Contagion is Soderbergh’s attempt to recreate the type of star-studded disaster films from the 1970s. Immediately coming to mind are films such as The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. Like these films, Contagion has a talented cast. Alongside Paltrow, Damon, Winslet and Fishburne are Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) and Marion Cotillard (Midnight in Paris). Soderbergh is clearly no stranger to working with star-packed casts, as he demonstrated in the Ocean’s Eleven series of films, and the acting is as high quality as to be expected.

The film is, above all else, chilling. While not intended to be a horror movie, Contagion proves that quiet and subtle themes can be much more terrifying than a hack-and-slash film. It constantly instills viewers with a germophobic paranoia that even the slightest touch could eventually result in death. But, despite the quality of the acting and a mood that is genuinely unsettling, the film comes across as mechanical and predictable. The millions of deaths, political infighting and public rioting are all disaster movie staples. Even a little bit of emotion by Matt Damon can’t inject Contagion with enough personality to make it feel unique. Parallels to biological warfare and the avian flu scare of several years ago are also inevitable and predictable.

Contagion is a film that plays on a realistic fear. It succeeds in making viewers think about their habits. Yet while Purell may enjoy heightened sales, Contagion lacks the personality to make it memorable.

Page 10 • Inside Beat

September 15, 2011

MUSIC

Red Hot Chili Peppers

PHOT OS C O U R TESY OF E LLEN VON

BY MIKE BITHER STAFF WRITER

It’s been five years since the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ acclaimed double album Stadium Arcadium — marking the longest gap between albums in the group’s career. During the self-imposed hiatus, the future of the band was thrown into jeopardy with the departure of guitarist John Frusciante. This wasn’t Frusciante’s first departure though; he had pre-

viously left in 1992 only to return for 1999’s Californication. Luckily, the Peppers found a replacement in frequent collaborator Josh Klinghoffer and finally began recording a follow-up album at the end of last year.

The resulting product, I’m With You, is described by front man Anthony Kiedis as, “No question … a new beginning” and is a definite departure from the band’s previous funk-laden material.

Upon a first listen to I’m With You, one can certainly hear a Frus-

ciante-sized hole in the musical direction. The heavy funk rhythms – characteristic of much of RHCP’s material -have more or less been abandoned. Riffs as strong as Stadium Arcadium’s “Snow (Hey Oh)” or hooks as catchy as “Dani California” are nowhere to be found. For the most part, new guitarist Klinghoffer takes a backseat to bassist Flea, who is just as wild and dexterous on his instrument as ever.

The album’s more somber direction coincides with some of the

( ( ( LOCAL ARTIST ) ) )

COURTESY OF JEFFREY JOHN MASINO

DOWNCAST THEORY

UNW ERTH

I’m With You | C+ most introspective lyrics of the band’s career. Kiedis’ newfound level-headedness serves the new direction very well at times. “Brendan’s Death Song”, an emotional tribute to deceased friend Brendan Mullen, is far and away the record’s best track. Another album highlight is emotionally intense track, “Even You Brutus?” that includes Kiedis almost preaching in his delivery to dramatic effect.

However, in the end, it comes down to the fact the majority of

BY EMILY GABRIELE MUSIC EDITOR

The Stone Pony, School of Rock, Starland Ballroom — these guys played them all. New Jersey’s own Downcast Theory has been heavily involved in the Garden State’s local music scene for quite some time. In 2007, the hard-rock quartet began their musical endeavors and was quick to release their first full-length album, Damaged Calm, in 2008.

After spending some time touring and promoting their album, Downcast Theory reworked their music and came up with a harder, more focused sound.

Downcast Theory is made-up of long-term friends from Monroe Township, N.J.: Matthew Simon, the University’s own Jake Raynor, Matt Raunick aka “Ron-Dog” and their newest member, Ryan Sauerman.

Sauerman, the band’s new bassist, is credited with aspects of Downcast Theory’s musical progression. “He was like our number one fan … we didn’t change in any way, he just brought his style in

songs off of I’m With You aren’t as attention-grabbing as their prior releases, as evidenced by lead single “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie”, one of the band’s weakest singles in recent memory. The group has undergone many hardships and struggles in their five-year hiatus, undoubtedly contributing to the album’s sobriety, but the Peppers’ characteristic funk and playfulness are sorely missed on a largely mediocre record.

and it changes everything about our music. It makes it darker, it makes it more progressive and it just makes it more mature,” commented Raynor on his cousin’s connection with the group.

With a new bassist on board, Downcast Theory released their second full-length album this past April. The self-titled album is not a concept album, yet it has a strong sense of cohesion that the first album lacked. Raynor’s commented on the album’s success: “We definitely spent more time with production; we’d write a song then re-write it.”

Currently, the band is taking a brief break from playing live shows due to Raunick’s broken foot. However, Downcast Theory is not to be forgotten about as they are continuously writing new music and intend to get back to playing live shows in the near future. With a sound that is reminiscent of rock bands like Sevendust, Seether and Breaking Benjamin, Downcast Theory is a prime example of musical talent that’s right around the corner.

DOWNCASTTHEORY.COM FACEBOOK.COM/DOWNCASTTHEORY

Inside Beat • Page 11

September 15, 2011

MUSIC

RU BUZZ! I.O.U. TAKE US INSIDE THEIR UNIVERSE

BY EMILY GABRIELE MUSIC EDITOR

You probably know I.O.U. from their Rutgers-related track, “RU State of Mind,” that was put on blast around a year ago. Since then, Izee, Buck and Chuck have incessantly been working. This past summer they released their mixtape, B.O.M.B.S, which they’re currently promoting. It can be downloaded, free of charge, off their website.

Last Saturday, the creative trio did what they do best — vigorously worked. They began their day with an energetic performance at Brighton Bar in Long Branch, N.J., in hopes of achieving a spot to perform at Six Flags Great Adventure’s Fright Fest. With much success, I.O.U. gained admittance into the competition’s semi-finals. But that wasn’t it for the industrious musicians. Immediately after their set at Brighton Bar, they trekked out to Deerpark, N.Y., to make their mark in yet another competition.

I.O.U.’s second performance of the day was at the Tanger Outlets in Deerpark, N.Y. This time, their goal was to obtain an opening-act slot for hip-hop group, The Far East Movement. They submitted their music video for their compelling track, “Bottled Emotions”, around a month ago — the video was one of 500 submissions and made its way to one of the top three slots in the competition. The incredible placement practically forced them to put on a live performance. In front of a crowd of 400, Izee and Buck proved they were worthy of obtaining the honor of opening for The Far East Movement — they won the competition and ultimately walked away from the weekend with two impressive feats.

You can see I.O.U. open for The Far East Movement on Saturday, Sept.

17th at the Tanger Outlets in Deerpark, N.Y. For more information on this performance and to keep updated with Inside Our Universe’s musical activity go to insideoutunvierse.com.

@izeeIOU : r e t t i w t n o @buckIOU m e h t if nd @charlesIOU

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KYMMI CEE