iSPY Magazine // November 2012

MAGAZINE

November 2012 // ispymagazine.co

Shigeto Jack & the Bear The Magnetic Fields Motion City Soundtrack

Misty Lyn & The Big Beautiful

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Inside iSPY Magazine

November

14

The Buzz 06

Passion Pit, Matthew Dear, Matisyahu

08

Pretty Lights, Fedde le Grand, Leonard Cohen, The Macpodz

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20

2012

Matt & Kim, Richie Hawtin, Bob Dylan

Foodie 12

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The Dish: Downtown Ypsi Indoor Farmer’s Market Adventures in Local Food #23

Scene

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09

A Little Night Music The Ark Fall Fundraiser - Carolina Chocolate Drops

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Found Footage Festival

Around You Sales Sales

[print [print++online] online]

Publisher Editorial

Tim Tim Adkins Adkins

tim timadkins adkins/ /tim@pakmode.com tim@pakmode.com

[business [businessdevelopment] development]

Editor in Chief Chief

Amanda Amanda Slater Trent

Writers

AmandaTrent, Slater,Tim TimAdkins, Adkins,Stefanie StefanieStauffer, Stauffer, RichardRetyi, Retyi,Paul P aul Kitti, Kitti, Aimee M arissa Mandle, M cnees, Mary Simkins, DavidN assar, J eff Milo, Treasure Aimee Mandle, Mary Simkins, David Nassar, Groh, Jasmine Zweifler, Amelia Franceschi Jeff Milo, Easure Groh, Jasmine Zweifle r

bilal bilalsaeed saeed/ /bilal@pakmode.com bilal@pakmode.com

Cover Photo by

Doug Coombe Media + Marketing Pakmode

November Events Calendar

11 14

Motion City Soundtrack

20

Shigeto

Features 18

Magnetic Fields

Misty Lyn & The Big Beautiful

22

Jack & The Bear

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Rate it! - Sounds: Mountain Goats, Grizzly Bear

Review

Art

Designers

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Adkins & Casey Maxwell Tim Tim Adkins

Photographers Photographers

Bruno Postigo Postigo & & Kristin Kristin Slater Slater

www.pakmode.com The Washtenaw County Events and © 2012, iSPY. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in Entertainment Guid e 124 Pearl St. Suite 407 , Ypsilanti, MI 48197 Phcne: 734.484.034 9 Email: ispy@pakmode.co m

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part granted only by written permission of Pakmode Media + Marketing in accordance with our legal statement. ISPY is free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. For additional copies you m ust b e granted w ritten permission, w ith a possible associated cost.

Rate it! - Sounds: Benjamin Gibbard, The Killers

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Rate it! - Sounds: The Crane Wives, White Ravens

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Rate it! - The Cut: Seven Psychopaths, Looper

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Snap Shot

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Cruising into Michigan Aug. 27, 2012

THE BUZZ //

Passion Pit // Royal Oak Music Theatre / Nov. 2

Matthew Dear // Blind Pig / Nov. 7

Matisyahu // Pease Auditorium / Nov. 8

BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

BY JEFF MILO

BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

Advice for the day: don’t get all scandalized when a friend asks if you’ve gotten tickets to Passion Pit. Passion Pit is not actually a trench filled with sensually writhing bodies, rather it’s mild mannered Michael Angelakos, the Boston based falsetto fabulist who is careening into the mitten state on November 2.

Fresh off a performance on Saturday Night Live, Angelakos has grabbed his buddies Youngblood Hawke and Hollerado (a lineup of stellar monikers) for his visit to the Royal Oak Music Theatre. The tour is to support Passion Pit’s most recent release “Gossamer” – a critical home run and an album named in Pitchfork Media’s “best new music” list. If you’ve already snagged tickets to the show, then boo for you because they are sold out – but you might be able to snag some on StubHub or from your favorite ticket opportunist.

No one does eerie-chic like Dear. There’s a lot of emotion stirred into these synthetic dreamscapes. Matthew Dear unravels a bit of obtuse poetics that strike a haunting poignancy warbled out over his synth-muddied disco beats. But you’d never be wholly unsettled because the Ghostly International electroforerunner assuredly keeps your head bobbing by locking in such solid grooves, dazzling bass swells and sleek hooks. Either that or his creaky-lip-flub frog-croon bleat, cool and calm, deceives some of the nightmarish-nocturne vibes he’s laying down by barely bending much further past a lullabyish monotone and soaring like a crow atop sweet-lulling rhythmic thrums.

This U of M alumnus went out into the wilderness (well, sort of) in upstate New York to produce/record his latest album (which dropped back in August to ears that found it pleasingly, if unsurprisingly, following along his same curvy gothicotronic signatures).

Think of Dear as some proto-dub torchbearer, perhaps – a DJ/composer on the vanguard of this new Millennium’s neo-electronica, IDM-tinged dance-pop scene …and, well, if any of that trend-taxonomical gobbidlygook registered for you and your musical preferences, then you already know that this is a show you must consider checking out.

Dear will perform at 9 p.m. on November 7 at the Blind Pig with Light Asylum and Charles Trees. Tickets are $12 in advance and $14 on the day of the show. 18 and up.

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i SPY NOVEMBER 2012

In the “two great tastes that taste great together” category, there are some classics: chocolate and peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly and …anything with peanut butter. You know what doesn’t spring immediately to mind? White Hassidic Jewish Reggae. Or so you thought before you secretly really loved Matisyahu.

Also news to you may be that the artist born Matthew Miller has of late moved away from what was his defining religion. His iconic beard and yarmulke are absent in recent pictures and he’s been distancing himself from his old image, calling it an “alias.” So there is really no telling what to expect at his upcoming show at Pease Auditorium on EMU’s campus. He may just come out and do Beach Boys’ covers for all we know. But if you want to find out for yourself, tighten up your dreadlocks, clear the evening of November 8 and save up about thirty bucks for a ticket to see what unfolds.

facebook.com/ispymagazine // www.ispymagazine.co

// THE BUZZ

Matt & Kim // The Majestic / Nov. 11

BY MARY SIMKINS Since 2005, the indie twosome Matt & Kim have been getting people dancing with their fun and sassy personalities and catchy beats while gradually gaining in popularity. You may have heard their songs on TV, as the single “Daylight” was used for several commercials as well as an episode of NBC’s comedy “Community.”

The duo released their latest album, “Lightning,” in October and have

Richie Hawtin // Necto / Nov. 14

BY MARY SIMKINS English-Canadian electronic DJ and musician Richie Hawtin is also known by the pseudonym Plastikman. Hawtin’s work has been influential in revitalizing Detroit’s electronic scene in the 1990s, and he is known for his minimal techno sound.

One of the founders of the Plus 8 music label, Hawtin has also helped launch the careers of fellow musicians.

With 12 albums and almost as many DJ compilations under his belt, Hawtin is www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

Bob Dylan // Fox Theatre / Nov. 13

been touring the U.S. and Canada to promote it. They’ll be bringing their tour to Detroit’s Majestic with Brooklynbased indie band Oberhofer at 8 p.m. on Sunday, November 11. Tickets are $17.

Don’t miss out on one of Detroit’s best dance parties of the year!

also the recipient of many awards for his excellent work in the electronic genre.

Hawtin will be performing with guests Loco Dice, Troxler and Ean Golden at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, November 14 at Necto in Ann Arbor. Tickets are $20. For more ticket information and to learn how to get a student discount, visit necto.com.

BY MARY SIMKINS AND JASMINE ZWEIFLER Promising up-and-comer Bob Dylan will be at the Fox in Detroit on November 13th with special guest Mark Knopfler.

The eleven-time Grammy winner, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Presidential Medal of Freedom winner has gone through many phases in his long and successful career, If you’ve heard the elder statesman of folk’s most recent release, “Tempest,” then you can understand the eagerness surrounding his upcoming show at The Fox Theatre in Detroit.

“Tempest” reached the third spot on the Billboard 200, proving that Dylan’s unparalleled songwriting ability and distinctive vocals have endured with the American public for over 50 years. It’s rare that someone who boasts a backlog of hits like Dylan can excite people with new material since a crowd is always going to want to hear “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” or “Just Like a Woman” over new tracks. But, the sound of “Tempest” is so swinging, and

the songwriting so sharp that anticipation is high for whatever Bob “voice of a generation” Dylan has up his sleeve.

Joining Mr. Dylan for the show is Mark Knopfler, an incredibly successful musician in his own right and recipient of the Order of the British Empire. Lead guitarist, songwriter, and singer of the popular band Dire Straits, Knopfler is also responsible for the film scores of Hollywood hits “The Princess Bride” and “Wag the Dog,” among others.

Tickets are available starting at around 40 dollars and topping out at 130 dollars for the November 13 show at 7:30 p.m. at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.

I don’t know if the 130 dollar ticket gets you a Bob Dylan song written especially for you or what, but it’s worth checking out. For ticket information, visit ticketmaster.com.

NOVEMBER 2012

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THE BUZZ //

Pretty Lights // Compuware Arena / Nov. 17

BY MARY SIMKINS

Fedde le Grand // Necto / Nov. 28

BY MARY SIMKINS

Derek Vincent Smith, known by his stage name Pretty Lights, is bringing his Illumination Tour to Plymouth’s Compuware Sports Arena. Typically used for professional hockey games, the huge venue promises to be packed with dancing fans and flashing lights as Pretty Lights pumps out the electronic while guests TOKiMONSTA and Paul Basic will help kick the high energy off right.

No stranger to large crowds, Pretty Lights has played festivals like Coachella, Detroit’s Movement and Electric Forest. Using a synthesizer and

digital samples, Pretty Lights creates “glitch hip-hop beats” that make for an incredibly high-energy experience.

As someone who used to write hiphop music as a teenager, Pretty Lights plays plenty of homage to hip hop tracks as well as soul, and produces an average of one new album every year.

Don’t miss this performance at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 17 at Compuware Sports Arena. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 on the day of the show. Ages 16 and up (must have ID).

Dutch house music DJ Fedde le Grand is bringing his North America Takeover Tour to Ann Arbor on December 7, spending the evening with guest dBerrie at Necto nightclub on Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor.

An established chart-topper in Europe, le Grand’s singles have ended up on a list of top five Dutch singles and have kept a steady presence in the Spanish dance charts. His energetic performance

Leonard Cohen // Fox Theatre / Nov. 26

The Macpodz // Blind Pig / Nov. 30

BY ISPY TEAM PHOTO BY CHRIS MONAGHAN

BY DAVID NASSAR Leonard Cohen enjoyed decades of fame in his homeland, a revered troubadour touted as the Canadian Bob Dylan, while maintaining relative obscurity in the U.S. until the early 1990s when a certain grunge-rock icon referenced him in a song about herbal tea. Then in 2004, Cohen alleged that his longtime manager had stolen millions from him, eventually winning a lawsuit despite never receiving a penny from the settlement.

So, Cohen hit the road and put together a long-anticipated world tour – the first in more than 15 years – that

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promises to keep those in the intimate Necto dancing all night, stopping only at 2 a.m. when le Grand closes his set.

Be part of one of Ann Arbor’s biggest dance parties at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, November 28 at Necto. Tickets are $30. Ages 18 and up (must have ID). For ticket information, visit necto.com or to sample some of le Grand’s music, check out feddelegrand.com

wowed critics and reinvigorated fans.

After releasing a hugely successful live album and accompanying DVD in 2009, he went back into the studio to record his 12th album, “Old Ideas,” which was uniformly met with positive reviews. Supporting the album, Cohen embarks on the North American leg of his “Old Ideas World Tour 2012,” landing him at Detroit’s Fox Theatre on Monday, November 26.

Tickets are still available starting at around $60. For more information, visit LeonardCohen.com.

i SPY NOVEMBER 2012

The Blind Pig will be hosting the Macpodz for the first time since a sold-out Hash Bash after party last April. This marks the first occasion that the band will perform at the Blind Pig with a new lineup. Original keyboardist Jesse Clayton and drummer Griffin Bastian departed the group in the spring of 2012.

Bassist Brennan Andes, percussionist Nick Ayers and trumpeter Ross Huff embrace the collaborative opportunity that change brings. The band formed in Ann Arbor in 2006 and continue

to pursue their intention to celebrate life, music and dance. A rotating cast of additional players has inspired new directions in improvisation and composition.

Self styled craftsmen of alien exhaust jazz, or disco bebop, as the Macpodz style is sometimes known, will be joined by Rootstand and Of One. The Macpodz will appear on Friday, November 30 at the Blind Pig. Tickets are $10 or $13 for under 21, 18 and up. Doors open at 9:30 p.m.

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// SCENE Ok kids, it’s time to put that Glee cast album away. It’s fall – time to class it up and see a real musical starring real people in a real theatre, don’t you think? And when the subject is musicals and the target is class, the answer is “A Little Night Music.” The show has a downright impeccable pedigree: “A Little Night Music” boasts music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, one of the most important composers of the last century. Not only that, but the concept was lifted from an Ingmar Bergman film and even its title is the literal translation of the name of a Mozart symphony. Sophistication abounds!

And lucky you, you’ll get a chance to see this rollicking velvet-draped romantic comedy with your very own eyes when it begins its run at the Performance Network Theatre in Ann Arbor on November 15.

“A Little Night Music” begins in 1900 when a motley group (a lawyer and his virginal trophy wife, an aging actress and a seminary student among them) converge on a rural Swedish estate. EMU professor Phil Simmons is directing the production and has found a lot to love about these ragtag characters. He gushes, “It’s just so rare to find a show where the streams of consciousness for all the characters are set to extraordinary music – the characters are so hilarious, so complex, and so human.” It doesn’t take too long for furtive flirtations to turn into fullfledged liaisons and liplocks during this weekend in the country.

BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER If this all sounds a little bit Jane Austen, then

you don’t know Sondheim. His lyrics are brash and erudite with the sharpest wit in musical theatre, and “A Little Night Music” is not an exception. How many other composers have the nerve to pen a paean to trysts with the line “Too many people muddle sex /With mere desire/And when emotion intervenes /The nets descend”?

But this is the very sort of character Sondheim relishes: the brazen and whip smart protagonist.

But just because Sondheim is a freaky genius doesn’t mean that Simmons treated the original version as though it was a gospel. He took some important artistic liberties with this version of the show.

“We’re doing it without the Lieder Singers (the Greek chorus of sorts) and dividing the lyrics the Lieders would ordinary sing between all the principal characters. It’s served to really sharpen the characters,” says Simmons. (Apologies to all you Lieder lovers out there.)

Despite the rather cynical view on love embraced by “A Little Night Music,” it is doubtless one of the more fun and silly of all Sondheim’s musicals. We are, after all, talking about the twisted mind that spawned the musical version of Sweeny Todd. So, if you are feeling like a trip to the theatre this autumn, the show runs from mid-November until the end of December.

Tickets can be purchased on the Performance Network’s website or at the box office, which offers half price tickets for students for that evening’s performance.

The Ark’s 16th Annual Fall Fundraiser Each autumn, as Ann Arbor locals slip their hands into their pockets to keep warm, they pull out generous donations to keep one of the area’s most beloved institutions alive – the non-profit home for folk, roots and ethnic music and art, The Ark. This year’s fundraiser is cosponsored by iSPY and features perhaps the most acclaimed folk group of the last couple of years, Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose 2010 debut album, “Genuine Negro Jig,” earned them a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album.

With an expanded lineup and a highly acclaimed 2012 release, “Leaving Eden,” Carolina Chocolate Drops have taken their unique version of American folk revivalism and combined it with blues, jazz and world-music influences to produce one of the most musically diverse and exciting shows around. A collection of highly skilled musicians, CCD keeps the energy high as they feverishly pluck away on banjos, mandolins and guitars, while keeping the foot-stompin’ percussive beat with jugs, bones and the mean beat-box artistry of Adam www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

Matta.

If you are looking for a way to support Ann Arbor’s premier folk venue at this year’s benefit, there are a variety of options available to you.

Zingerman’s Roadhouse will provide a pre-show dinner reception for Jug Band Benefactors ($500 donations), Guitar Strummin’ Sponsors ($250) and Banjo Pickin’ Patrons ($125) from 5 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. If you’re a bit strapped for cash but still want to show your support, you can purchase a $50 general admission ticket and become a Fiddlin’ Friend of The Ark. Doors open at 7:15 p.m. and the music starts at 7:30 p.m.

In addition to the live show, all patrons have an opportunity to participate in a silent auction, as well as an afterglow desert reception provided by Café Felix. All proceeds from the show and the auction go towards supporting the immensely valuable work that The Ark does for artists, musicians, and the entire Ann Arbor community. For tickets, information, or to make donations anytime, visit TheArk.org.

BY DAVID NASSAR

NOVEMBER 2012

i SPY

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SCENE //

Found Footage Festival 10

BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

i SPY NOVEMBER 2012

The Found Footage Festival began, as too few great things do, in the back of a McDonald’s in Wisconsin. The catalyst on that day was what co-curator and host Nick Prueher refers to as a “remarkably dumb and insulting” training video for employees that was just too good to not share with his friends. And so The Found Footage Festival was born. The first showing was held eight years ago, and they’ve grown to over 100 shows a year at this point!

I recently had a chance to talk to Prueher about FFF, which takes over the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor on the evening of the November 14. He and co-curator Joe Pickett take their task pretty seriously, and this means scouring break rooms in other restaurants, Goodwills and Salvation Armies for more tapes to feed their Frankenstein monster.

They sometimes get a little help from their friends when people offer them tapes from their personal collections after shows. Their selection process borders on masochistic and was described as “grueling” by Prueher. Once a year, the two lock themselves in an apartment with all of the tapes they’ve gathered over the past year and watch them. ALL of them. Prueher admits to sometimes needing to slog through 50 tapes before they find anything they can use.

So what sorts of things ultimately get picked for the Found Footage Festival? What do these two dudes cloistered in an apartment and probably whacked out on Doritos and Mountain Dew think is funny? Prueher characterizes it like this: “Our basic

criterion is that the video has to be unintentionally funny. Merely bad doesn’t cut it. It has to be entertainingly bad. You know it when you see it.”

These things include but are not limited to “a video featuring a woman whose enthusiasm for craft sponging borders on psychotic,” “Highlights from a 1986 video about how to care for your ferret” (only the highlights mind you) …and then there is “Dancing with Frank Pacholski.” Prueher hipped me to this mind-expanding clip of a public access TV show that aired only twice in the Los Angeles area, and it defies expectations, explanations and logic. Pacholski, a hairy, portly man wearing only an American flag speedo dances seductively to classical music for an audience of about eight confused and upset octogenarians. Prueher promises that the long lost second installment of this fabled series will be shown at the Michigan in Ann Arbor.

With such gems on their resume, where does FFF go from here? Well, Pickett and Prueher just released a book called “VHS” that features 300 of their favorite covers from tapes unearthed during their search, which you can grab for a low low price on their website at foundfootagefest.com. Even more exciting is the possible development of a found footage television show, about which Prueher is cautiously optimistic.

If you’re tired of film festivals with subtext and deep focus, FFF is for you. Admission to the Found Footage Fest is $11. Tickets can be purchased at foundfootagefest.com. facebook.com/ispymagazine // www.ispymagazine.co

// FEATURE

Motion City Soundtrack Detroit Bound with a new album in tow

BY MARY SIMKINS PHOTO BY KENTARO KAMBE

www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

We’ve never been in a terrible situation with labels, but they’ll give you notes on demos and you don’t always agree with those things. We didn’t have a single person to answer to other than the members of the band. It was really nice to just make what we wanted.

So you were all equally involved in the writing process?

We all got together in Minneapolis early last year and just started writing. We worked on some ideas that were already there and also came up with some new things. We had a handful of songs that were excited about.

Three singles, “Severance,” “Major Leagues” and “ ” were released on an LP after the album came out – what can you tell us about those tracks?

“Severance” was written while working on “Go,” and we just ended up not recording it during that project. It just wasn’t quite there yet, and we were happy when the opportunity for the seven-inch came along.

You guys will be at St. Andrews in Detroit in November. Have you played St. Andrews before?

No, but we’ve been to Detroit many times. It was one of the first cities that we’ve ever felt accepted in, and we started playing a lot of shows at the Magic Stick. Detroit caught on early with us, and I always look forward to getting back there for shows.

”

Motion City Soundtrack has been sharing their upbeat sound with the world for over 12 years, and now they’re doing things a bit differently. Recently, iSPY had the chance to speak with drummer Tony Thaxton about the band’s new album “Go,” an unorthodox recording experience and the band’s upcoming November 14 show at Detroit’s St. Andrews Hall. Here’s what he had to say.

You guys had an interesting time recording your latest album, “Go.” What can you tell me about that process?

We went into the studio not having everything written yet. We spent a lot of time experimenting in the studio – time that we hadn’t really had in the past. We didn’t have a label giving us deadlines, and we just went in and did what we wanted to do and make the record we wanted to make. We had a lot of bare bones ideas for the songs and didn’t really know what we wanted to do with them. We just started trying things.

Would you say that working without a label was more liberating than it was scary?

We’ve been to Detroit many times.

It was one of the first cities that we’ve ever felt accepted in…”

NOVEMBER 2012

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FOODIE // THE DISH

Downtown Ypsi Indoor Farmer’s Market ARTICLE AND PHOTO BY STEFANIE T. STAUFFER For the past three years, Ypsilanti’s farmer’s market season has extended into the fall and early winter, thanks to a collaboration between the Corner Brewery and Growing Hope. Previously, the market took place twice in November and twice in December, but this year the Downtown Ypsilanti Winter Farmer’s Market returns to Corner Brewery every Tuesday, November 6 through December 18!

The expansion of our local winter market comes at a time (thanks to local growers and producers across Michigan who are getting more savvy about season extension technologies like hoophouses, greenhouses and cold frames) when more fresh produce has become available in the colder months. And, as more farmers are growing crops in the cold, there’s also been an upswing in the number of wintertime CSAs offering produce shares to customers – and an increasing number of farmer’s markets have sprung up to help them connect that food with hungry local eaters.

In fact, last year Michigan grabbed the no. 10 spot amongst states with the most winter farmer’s markets, and that trend is only continuing as people who have gotten the taste for local food now want to buy as much of it as possible while it’s available. Luckily for us, this means that the creep of the cold weather no longer brings with it a deficit of fresh, local food here in Ypsilanti.

The Winter market, which takes place from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m., features locally made salsas

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i SPY NOVEMBER 2012

and sauces, spices, breads, baked goods, teas, chocolates, soaps, salves and gifts in addition to locally-grown cold season vegetables and, of course, locally-brewed beer! Just like the regular season Downtown Ypsilanti Farmer’s Market, the winter market accepts cash, credit cards and EBT – and this year the Double Up Food Bucks program extends into November while the Prescription for Health program extends through December.

In past years, it has been a great place to stock up on Thanksgiving ingredients like pumpkins, sweet potatoes, bread, squash, fresh herbs, lettuces and micro-greens – and even chicken and turkey for those who pre-ordered them from their farmer. It’s also been a popular place to score some handmade holiday gifts (food or otherwise) for everyone on your list.

After all, where else can you get a jar of YpsiGrown & Ypsi-Made atomic hot sauce for your dad, handmade magic healing balms for your sister, a new scarf and a pumpkin pie for your neighbor, all while drinking an Ypsi Gypsi?

And since the market is every Tuesday this year, once you’re done with your gift and holiday meal shopping, you can enjoy access to locally-grown and produced food unfettered until the onset of winter – or maybe even longer depending on how long your beets, onions, potatoes, cabbages, squash and other storage vegetables last!

Who knows? If the winter market this year has record attendance, maybe it will help encourage the return of a year-round farmer’s market to Ypsilanti. Just imagine what a step that would be towards growing the local economy and supporting a more vibrant and regional food system – not to mention how much more delicious food there would be floating around local restaurants and in our home kitchens.

So, on Tuesday evenings in November and December, come support your local growers, producers and brewers and celebrate fresh food (and drink) in Ypsilanti.

The Corner Brewery is located at 720 Norris Street, off of Forest Ave. For more information, visit www.cornerbrewery.com. For more information on the Downtown Ypsilanti Winter Farmer’s Market or to learn more about Growing Hope, visit www. growinghope.net.

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// FOODIE

Adventures in Local Food #23 Seasons of Abundance

ARTICLE AND PHOTO BY STEFANIE T. STAUFFER Ever since I became an urban farmer four years ago and then started growing massive amounts of heirloom peppers and tomatoes, I’ve noticed that around this time of year I usually find it hard to believe that it is already November. I mean, how is it that winter is around the corner? Didn’t we just finish harvesting 600 pounds of tomatoes out of the garden because it was still warm outside?

In this sense, for me the end of the harvest season has become somewhat of a time vortex, given how much time and effort we are compelled to put into picking, processing, sorting, storing and managing our final pull of peppers and tomatoes.

In other words, an upside to growing tomatoes and peppers is their relatively long shelf-life in comparison to other summer vegetables, but that upside can turn into a downside quickly, especially if you picked a large portion of your total harvest all at once at the end of the season.

And this year, since our final harvest weighed in around 600 pounds, more than 1/3 of our total 1500+ lbs tomato harvest, we’re definitely feeling the nightshade pressure. Accordingly, it would seem that the longer shelf-life of our backyardgrown produce is both a blessing and a curse – a blessing in that we can make as much salsa as we have ingredients to do so, can try as many new recipes using green tomatoes that we can think of (relish or green ketchup, anyone?), we can source www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

them to local restaurants and our fellow local food producers, can give as many tomatoes to friends and family as they will take and we can freeze, dry and eat the rest gone.

But, at times our bumper crop can feel more like a curse when we have to find a place to put them that doesn’t take up every available surface in the house, have to figure out what to do with them as they gradually begin to decompose and have to fight back against being beyond sick of eating (or perhaps even looking at) tomatoes. In all seriousness, I joke about our extreme abundance of tomatoes being a curse, but it is actually just part of the blessing of growing your own food.

When you start to see that not only can you grow enough to feed yourself, but when you grow way more than you could possibly ever eat yourself, it really puts issues of food security and food scarcity into sharper focus. Food insecurity is a complex issue with a multiplicity of political, economic, and social causes as well as impacts on people’s lives, but a common thread is the disconnect many have with cooking fresh food, knowing where food comes from or even growing one’s own food. So, if you can reverse those conditions of food insecurity with an understanding of the abundance possible from a well-planned backyard or community garden, you have already struck a critical blow to unhealthy, industrial food.

Back before I embarked on my own personal local food journey of growing food, and definitely before I began selling vegetables as a vendor at the farmer’s market, I really had no idea about the abundance of locally-grown food. I would only find out later that it is somewhat of a conundrum at the end of the farmer’s market when vendors are unable to give away the produce that they didn’t sell because everyone else has way too much of that vegetable themselves already. I’m working towards the day when the surplus that the farmers are trying to give away after market can go directly to local restaurants and other food producers hungry to further showcase the abundance of the local growing season.

Until then, we can all work towards a more vibrant local and regional food system this fall and winter by shopping at winter farmer’s markets, indie art fairs and holiday craft markets, going to restaurants that feature locally grown, raised and produced foods and cooking more locallyprocured meals ourselves and sharing them with our friends and family. After all, Thanksgiving is a perfect time to celebrate our local growers, producers and artisans by sharing the delights we procured from them at the farmer’s market and at local grocery stores.

NOVEMBER 2012

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FEATURE //

Chasing the Voice of the Magnetic Fields

BY PAUL KITTI PHOTO BY MARCELO KRASILCIC

14

i SPY NOVEMBER 2012

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// FEATURE As Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields was sitting in an empty room in upstate New York waiting for a “75-foot moving truck,” he pulled up his email and began responding to some questions I had sent him a week earlier.

Receiving his responses was a pleasant surprise.

Although they’re expectedly brief, they’re potent with the kind of dry humor and quirky details that have made his songs seem like the product of a legend in the making. Had the truck come any earlier, I probably wouldn’t be writing this. He’s notoriously …bothered …by journalists. As an MTV writer put it earlier this year, “interviewing Merritt is like trying to get car keys from a guy who has been drinking since noon.”

Around the time of that interview, the Magnetic Fields had released their tenth album, “Love at the Bottom of the Sea.” After a string of more experimentally-leaning albums (I’m trying not to be one of those categorizing journalists here – see response no. one below), it’s somewhat of a return to the band’s 1999 three-volume concept album, “69 Love Songs.” The Magnetic Fields had been enjoying a relatively quiet life in the indie rock channels up to that point, but everyone took notice of this knock-out.

It’s an album more about music and its relation to love than it is an album about love. It’s easy to picture Merritt writing these songs – some involve drunken trysts, others comedic arguments and the mixing of religion and romance – with a creative bent to capture the proverbial love song from every angle. And sometimes it’s just flippantly honest, such as when Merritt repeats, “A girl in her underwear – if there’s anything better in this world, who cares.”

Flippant honesty, rude in its delivery but redeemed by its truth and humor, is Stephin Merritt’s game. It characterizes “Love at the Bottom of the Sea,” as well as this interview. Check out the songs “Andrew in Drag” (about a straight man realizing he’s attracted to his friend, given he’s wearing drag) and “God Wants Us To Wait,” a sarcastic ode to abstinence where Merritt sings: “I guess it’s true, I should have told you before/ And not have waited ‘til we’re nude on the floor/ Though it would be the perfect end to our date/ I love you, baby, but God wants us to wait.”

It’s hard to write about his music without quoting the lyrics – the guy seems to see things from a thousand different perspectives, with a consistent streak of beguiling wit running through it all. How do you write an effective song? First, “don’t bother with your stupid thoughts and feelings.” He had a

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bit more to say about that. I’ll hand it off to Merritt.

69 Love Songs put you on the map, so to speak. Can you recall how you were feeling back then, how you were interpreting the success and deciding where to go with your music?

Before “69 Love Songs,” I remember feeling misunderstood. Reviews of “Get Lost” indicated that the journalists thought I was trying to make a rock record and failing in various ways. I needed to make something that just couldn’t be seen that way. Something big and difficult that went in so many directions that only a moron would file it under indie rock. Oh, well.

The lyrics of your songs speak of love, travel and interesting characters in a way that seems pulled out of a daydream or a thought left to unravel naturally in the mind. What is the inspiration and writing process like behind the lyrics?

I sit in a gay bar for a few hours each day with a cocktail, a pen and my little notebook I carry everywhere. I listen to the music playing in the bar – usually thumping disco – and eavesdrop a bit, socialize a tad and try to work on a song. Often nothing much happens, but sometimes I write three songs in a day.

The Magnetic Fields have had a long, influential career. Is there anything the band feels it has yet to accomplish – any specific goals you’d still like to reach?

I want to be filed under Variety Music.

Now that you’ve completed your “no synth” trilogy of albums, how do you feel about how they turned out, how they were received and where they carried the band? Was it refreshing to return to a sound closer to earlier Magnetic Fields or has the whole process just felt natural?

Why does anyone care what instrument happens to be playing those three chords? It’s not like anyone can tell the difference nowadays anyway. I should have soldiered on, using synthesizers when I happened to feel like it. But I like trilogies as much as the next megalomaniac.

You’ve written a ton of material. Is it easy for you to sit down and write an original love song?

Popular music is about tradition, not originality. I do not wish to profane a love song with any silly originality. You want originality, listen to Pauline Oliveros. Her new box set is breathtaking.

What do you recall about Jeff Mangum reaching out to you? Were you surprised? What was the experience of playing All Tomorrow’s Parties like?

In counterpoint to the usual music festival, ATP had miniature golf! Jeff Mangum came to our dressing room for a few minutes, but we really don’t know each other.

What songs on the new album are most special to you and why? Or, what songs do you most enjoy playing live?

I like “Andrew in Drag” because I don’t remember writing it. I don’t enjoy playing my songs live, I always prefer hearing the record, which I worked on for so long. The live version is a pale vestige.

I’ve heard that you detest touring, but are there any cities you specifically look forward to visiting when on the road?

My own.

A write-up in The Londonist described you as an “introverted and staggeringly intelligent recluse.” Would you say that’s an accurate description? How would you describe yourself, say, if you were speed dating and had one minute to do so?

Versatile top, 5’3”, Gen X, seeks arty pocket bear.

What are some of your favorite books and films?

I don’t generally have favorites; I don’t think that way. The movie “Carnival of Souls” has been very important to me, directly inspiring “The Charm of the Highway Strip.” I’m currently reading my way through the complete novels of Philip K. Dick. A few weeks ago I showed “The Black Lizard” to a film class. For my birthday next year I want to rent a room at the Anthology Film Archives and show “The Lead Shoes,” “Dreams That Money Can Buy” and “Victory Over the Sun.” Also I read verse novels, with an eye to writing one someday.

How did the change in environment from New York to LA influence your creativity and sources of inspiration?

Not a lot. Living in LA probably inspired my song “All She Cares About Is Mariachi,” but I don’t live there anymore. I bought a house in upstate New York, where I am sitting right now in an empty room, waiting for a 75-foot moving truck.

What advice would you have to an aspiring songwriter looking for the best way to turn their thoughts and feelings into songs?

Don’t bother with your stupid thoughts and feelings. Take the best music you can find and emulate it. Self-expression has nothing to do with art.

The Magnetic Fields will be playing on November 15 at the Redford Theatre in Detroit. If you want more advice form Merritt, offer him a cognac and you may have a shot.

NOVEMBER 2012

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CALENDAR // AROUND YOU

November//

BY AMANDA TRENT

ENT

ENTERTAINM

11/1: • Charlie Hunter, 8 p.m., Magic Bag, Ferndale • Asia, 7:30 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Milo Greene with Matt Jones, 9

p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • The Milk Carton Kids, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 11/2: • Falling in Reverse, 6:30 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Decadence, 8 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • Justin Townes Earle, 8 p.m.,

Majestic Theatre, Detroit • Rodriguez, 8 p.m., The Crofoot

Ballroom, Pontiac • The Birthday Massacre, 9 p.m., Pike Room, Pontiac • Passion Pit, 8 p.m., Royal Oak

Music Theatre, Royal Oak • The Bends, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti • Ann Arbor Soul Club, 9:30 p.m.,

Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • The Ryan Montbleau Band, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 11/3: • Misfits, 5 p.m., Harpo’s, Detroit • Clutch, 7 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, 8 p.m., Fox Theatre, Detroit • The Wallflowers, 8 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Burlesque Show, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • Misty Lyn & The Big Beautiful, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Dick Siegel, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra –

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2012

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Sabor Latino, 8 p.m., Michigan Theater • Killer Flamingos, 10 p.m., Cavern Club, Ann Arbor 11/4: • Andrew Jackson Jihad, 7 p.m.,

Magic Stick, Detroit • Clutch, 7 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Sum41 with IAMDYNAMITE, 7 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Boylesque, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti • Daniel Johnston, 8 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Graham Colton, 7:30 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra – Carnival of the Animals, 4 p.m., Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor 11/5: • Cypress Hill, 7 p.m., The Crofoot, Pontiac • Shawn Mullins, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 11/6: • Drink the Politicians Down, 8 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, 8 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Alan Reid, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 11/7: • MxPx, 6 p.m., Shelter, Detroit • Matthew Dear, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Bassnectar, 7:30 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • The Mutts, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti • Bettye LaVette, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Dragon Wagon, 10:30 p.m., Circus, Ann Arbor 11/8: • Bassnectar, 7:30 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • Dan Deacon, 8 p.m., Magic Stick,

i SPY NOVEMBER 2012

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Detroit • Madonna, 8 p.m., Joe Louis Arena, Detroit • Pierce the Veil, 6:30 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Joe Pug, 8 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Matisyahu, 6:30 p.m., EMU Pease Auditorium, Ypsilanti • Lucy Wainwright, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Stefan Sagmeister, 5:10 p.m.,

Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor 11/9: • Kathy Griffin, 8 p.m., Fox Theatre, Detroit • Lez Zeppelin, 8 p.m., Magic Bag, Ferndale • Sloan, 9 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Hinder, 10 p.m., Hard Rock Café, Detroit • Jack and the Bear, 9 p.m.,

Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • State Radio, 8 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Tom Chapin, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 11/10: • Metalocalypse: Dethklok, 6 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • The Swellers, 7 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • Electric Six, 9 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Aimee Mann with Ted Leo, 7:30 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Detroit • Bloodlined Calligraphy, 9 p.m.,

Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • David Bazan Band, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Killer Flamingos, 10 p.m., Cavern Club, Ann Arbor • Enter the Haggis, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 11/11: • The Vibes, 5 p.m., Pike Room,

Pontiac • The Sword, 7 p.m., Saint Andrew’s

Hall, Detroit • Josh Krakcik, 8 p.m., Magic Bag, Ferndale • Sharpe Note Singing, 2 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Ontario, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • Sonny Landreth, 7:30 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Matt & Kim, 8 p.m., The Majestic, Detroit 11/12: • Lynn Miles, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 11/13: • The Moth Mainstage, 6 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • Amanda Palmer, 7 p.m., Saint

Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Bob Dylan, 7:30 p.m., Fox Theatre, Detroit • To Light a Fire, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Mary Black, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • SPENT Interactive, 7 p.m., Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor 11/14: • Motion City Soundtrack, 7 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • The Whigs, 8 p.m., Magic Stick,

Detroit • The Musical Box, 8 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Truman, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • Roster McCabe, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Open Stage, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Dragon Wagon, 10:30 p.m., Circus, Ann Arbor • Richie Hawtin, 9 p.m., Necto, Ann Arbor 11/15: • Big Sugar, 8 p.m., Magic Bag,

Ferndale • Magnetic Fields, 8 p.m., The Redford Theatre, Detroit • Mike Birbiglia, 8 p.m., Michigan

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AROUND YOU // CALENDAR Theater, Ann Arbor • Peabo Bryson, 8 p.m., Sound Board at MotorCity Casino Hotel, Detroit • The Fresh and Onlys, 8 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • Pentatonix, 8 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Kate Herzig, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 11/16: • Dryvel, 7 p.m., Pike Room, Pontiac • Trans-Siberian Orchestra 2012, 8 p.m., Breslin Center, East Lansing • Lewis Black, 8 p.m., Fox Theatre, Detroit • Skeletonwitch, 8 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • Five Iron Frenzy, 7 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Deals Gone Bad, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Willy Porter and Dave McGraw, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 11/17: • Delta Spirit, 8 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Gaza, 8 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • Lonestar, 8 p.m., Andiamo Celebrity Showroom, Warren • R. Kelly, 8 p.m., Fox Theatre, Detroit • Citizen Cope, 7:30 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Elbow Deep, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • The Bang, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Iris DeMent, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor •Dave Holland Big Band, 8 p.m.,

Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor 11/18: • Michigan Pops Orchestra, 7 p.m., Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor • Dave LaFave Variety Hour, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • The Ark Fall Fundraiser featuring

Carolina Chocolate Drops, 7:30 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Michigan Pops Orchestra – Pops Takes Flight!, 7 p.m., Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor

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11/19: • Death Grips, 8 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin

Experience, 7:30 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak 11/20: • Other Lives, 8 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • Pinback, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • The Crane Wives, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • The Moth, 7:30 p.m., Circus, Ann Arbor 11/21: • Yellowcard, 5 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Justin Bieber, 7 p.m., The Palace, Auburn Hills • Streetlight Manifesto, 7 p.m.,

Clutch Cargo’s, Pontiac • The Satin Peaches, 8 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • Chrisette Michele, 8 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Shigeto, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Dragon Wagon, 10:30 p.m., Circus, Ann Arbor 11/23: • Gwar, 5 p.m., Harpo’s, Detroit • Miss May I, 5 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Goodwill Rock for Jobs, 6:30 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • Brian McKnight, 7 p.m., Masonic Temple, Detroit • Chris Isaak, 7:30 p.m., Fox

Theatre, Detroit • Turbo Fruits, 8 p.m., Magic Stick Lounge, Detroit • Uncle Kracker, 7 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • The Finer Things, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Matt Watroba, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 11/24: • I Fight Dragons, 5 p.m., The

Crofoot, Ponatic

• Channel 95.5’s Jingle Ball, 7 p.m., Pig, Ann Arbor Fox Theatre, Detroit • Leo Kottke, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann • Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, 7 p.m., Arbor Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit 11/30: • Mr. B, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Real Friends, 7 p.m., Pike Room, • The Who, 7:30 p.m., Joe Louis

Pontiac Arena, Detroit • Zoso – a tribute to Led Zeppelin, 7 • U of M vs OSU on the big screen, 11 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit a.m., Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor • Kaleido EP Release Show, 7:30 p.m., 11/25: Magic Stick, Detroit • Go Radio, 6 p.m., Shelter, Detroit • The Smiths United, 8 p.m., Magic • Carrie Underwood, 7:30 p.m., The Bag, Ferndale Palace, Auburn Hills • Arturo O’Farrill Trio, 10 p.m., Jazz • Gemini, 1 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor Café at Music Hall, Detroit • Claudia Schmidt, 7:30 p.m., The Ark, • Warren Miller’s Flow State, 6:30 p.m.

Ann Arbor and 9:30 p.m., Royal Oak Music 11/26: Theatre, Royal Oak • Leonard Cohen, 8 p.m., Fox

• The Macpodz, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Theatre, Detroit Ann Arbor 11/27: • Winterbloom, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann • Motionless in White, 5:30 p.m., The Arbor Crofoot, Pontiac • Groove presents Candemonium, • Dan Bern, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann

7:30 p.m., Michigan Theater, Arbor Ann Arbor • Six Organs of Admittance, 8 p.m., • Killer Flamingos, 10 p.m., Cavern Magic Stick, Detroit Club, Ann Arbor 11/28: • The River’s Winter Icebreaker, 7 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • The World, 8 p.m., Magic Stick, 11/2: Detroit • Hope Clinic Evening of Hope, 6:30 • Blood on the Dance Floor, 8 p.m., p.m., Michigan Firehouse

Blind Pig, Ann Arbor Museum, Ypsilanti • Chris Knight, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann • Lindsey Hall Photography Studio Arbor Grand Opening, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., • National Theatre Live: Timon of

Lindsey Hall Photography in Athens, 7 p.m., Michigan Michigan Heritage Building,

Theater, Ann Arbor Ypsilanti • Lonesome County, 10:30 p.m., 11/3: Circus, Ann Arbor • Freemasons Party for Food

• Fedde Le Grand, 9 p.m., Necto, Ann Gatherers, 7:30 p.m., Arbor Corner Brewery, Ypsilanti 11/29: 11/4: • Woe Is Me, 6 p.m., Shelter, Detroit • E. T. Crowe book signing,

• Kreayshawn, 6:30 p.m., The Crofoot, November 4, Nicola’s Pontiac Bookstore, Ann Arbor • Chaka Khan, 8 p.m., Sound Board at 11/16: MotorCity Casino Hotel, Detroit • Derby Dimes Party, 5 p.m.,

• Maria Rose, 8 p.m., Magic Stick Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti Lounge, Detroit • Thunderbuck Ram, 9:30 p.m., Blind

COmmunity

NOVEMBER 2012

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FEATURE //

Misty Lyn & The Big Beautiful

BY JEFF MILO PHOTO BY DOUG COOMBE

18

i SPY NOVEMBER 2012

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// FEATURE

”

When it comes to this record and the hours put into it, I did it. I did it. That’s what this record was for me – now I know I can do what I have to do to be who I am.”

Misty Lyn walked into the studio knowing this was who she was, feeling that this was where she was supposed to be.

Knowing that these songs were hers and she was going to accomplish anything, everything, with these new songs of hers. That she was a songwriter, damn it…in that truest sense. And just letting herself feel that now, believing that now – for the first time really in 10 years.

She’s spent the last two years working on her second album of songs, “False Honey,” writing, recording, mixing and producing, putting herself into all of it and learning.“Learning that I’m enough as a musician,” she says.

Misty Lyn Bergeron knew she wanted to sing since she was six years old. Instructors and family would always lightly encourage her, remarking upon her beautiful voice, but through her teens she remained timid, insecure. “Nobody ever really pushed me,” she says.

Chris Bathgate literally pushed her. Bathgate, comparable sweetened-sorrow folk sage (of that seminal Ann Arbor-set neo-folk scene surging up, circa 2003-ish) met Bergeron back then, while they volunteered together at The Ark, both “catching the bug,” as Bathgate put it, around the same time. “That scene was a lot about development,” Bathgate recalls. “More than anything I just wanted to hear her sing [because] she’d said she wrote songs and was hanging around at open-mics.”

“She was there to perform. She must have thought of it,” he says.

The story according to Bergeron: “He shoved me up there with his guitar …and that was it.”

Bergeron, inspired by Ryan Adams and Kelly

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Joe Phelps early on, cut her teeth at various openmics around Ypsi/Arbor with her acoustic guitar, eventually solidifying a two-piece with singer/ songwriter Matt Jones on drums. The Big Beautiful then expanded with Jim Roll on bass, Carol Grey on violin and Ryan Gimpert on guitar.

“I love the idea of a band. I love being on stage with these people – they lift me up,” Bergeron says. “I hated playing solo or even as a duo. I don’t perform because I need to perform. I do it because I feel like I have to. I don’t get off on it. Some people really enjoy it, but I’m fighting every time.

Sometimes it’s really fun, but it’s something I have to work at. Playing with my friends, doing music together, it brings out the best in what I do.”

“I live for having a band. Not everybody has that,” she says.

Not everybody has what Bergeron, Jones and Bathgate have, either – sharing such a formative moment (and creative alliance) for their writing identities ten years back. Writing about each other, for each other and playing house shows together, as Bathgate recalls.

“We’re blessed to be surrounded by people that understand community is important,” Bergeron says. “Close friendships are priceless.”

Still, Misty Lyn felt she had something to prove – that she could succeed in circumstances away from her band, her family, really. Hence she took the lead on producing “False Honey.”

“Everything I’ve experienced that’s been frustrating,” Bergeron says, recalling the unintended stall, stop, scrap and restart of her 2009 debut, “For The Dead.” I may have taken the hardest way possible, but this was the way I

needed to learn.”

“When it comes to this record and the hours put into it, I did it. I did it. That’s what this record was for me – now I know I can do what I have to do to be who I am,” she says.

But she wasn’t even going to release it this year had she not played back a voicemail from producer Matt Altruda (Tree Town Sound). Waiting for their time slot, playing up north at last August’s FarmBlock, she was touched and motivated by Altruda’s recorded exclamation: “Why haven’t you ever headlined a Blind Pig show?!”

Altruda had already booked the show (November 3) and since secured support. Bergeron realized that was just enough time to pull together artwork (Liz Davis) and mastering (Tyler Duncan), but was motivated more so just by knowing someone was thinking of her, someone found her music worthy of attention.

Sure, she needed to be pushed. “But I also never wanted to force it. I’m just going to keep doing my thing, keep working, just letting it happen,” she says.

Misty Lyn & the Big Beautiful will release “False Honey” on November 3 at the Blind Pig where they will headline, featuring opening acts The Ben Daniels Band and Jack & the Bear. Admission is $8 for those over 21 and $11 for those under 21. Ages 18 and up. Doors are at 9:30 p.m.

NOVEMBER 2012

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FEATURE //

Fusing the past and present, Shigeto’s journey into the world of electronic music

BY PAUL KITTI PHOTO BY ANTHONY CIANNAMEA

20

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// FEATURE

”

Unless you’re really pushing the boundaries and trying new stuff and writing your own arrangements and possibly incorporating electronics, you’re just playing the same shit.”

Wind whistling through tall grass. Stacking, shuffling, breaking and building – like faint echoes from a carpenter’s shop. Natural percussion and electronically-born melodies sneaking into open air through a crack in a studio window. Collected sounds from a day spent in a dozen different places, meshing with the developing dream soundtrack of a dozing-off mind.

Shigeto’s music is a product of heritage – of growing up on jazz in Ann Arbor and visiting Japan to connect with his roots, of making peace with the feeling of displacement. It’s a little closer to the sunlight than most of what you’ll hear in the electronic music landscape – like scrapbook music, with sounds bearing distinct memories assembled into a sort of musical narrative.

Before he was known as Shigeto, Zachary Saginaw was a drummer. He became acquainted with a pair of sticks around the same time most kids start learning to use a pencil, and he drew from a mix of influences to develop an impressively versatile style. “I grew up listening to all kinds of hip-hop and jazz and Motown,” says Saginaw, digging up memories over the phone during an afternoon in Detroit. “I played in rock and hip-hop bands, but took jazz most seriously. Jazz is the closest to my heart.”

Right out of high school, Saginaw left Ann Arbor to pursue music in New York. He enrolled in the New School for Jazz in Manhattan, but the experience was disenchanting. As a self-taught musician, Saginaw had wild, natural skill but no ink and paper reference point. In other words, he realized there was a textbook side to music that he’d be forced to adapt to.

“It crushed me,” he sighs. “Jazz was something about freedom and expression, and having that be in a school environment where there was definite right and definite wrong and all this other shit, it was unappealing.” After about three semesters, Saginaw dropped out. His distaste for school coupled with an uncertainty about his future in music put him in a temporary limbo.

“You’re not gonna be a Coltrane or a Miles Davis,” he points out, avoiding coming across as cynical. “Unless you’re really pushing the

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boundaries and trying new stuff and writing your own arrangements and possibly incorporating electronics, you’re just playing the same shit. It’s like one percentage of people are actually gonna contribute to the progression of the art. It was my dream to be a jazz drummer, and going to school and being in New York made me realize it wasn’t the path I wanted.”

Maybe he wasn’t a part of the one-percent destined to progress the art of jazz, but he was about to take his first steps on the path to progressing the art of electronic music. Not long after arriving at this crossroads, he received a phone call from a friend in London. “Just randomly, he offered for me to come visit and work there. So I thought, yeah, why not?”

He found himself in Europe for the first time, “maturing, selling, and exporting artisan British cheese.” It was hardly the professional calling he’d dreamed of, but it was a fresh starting point and presented a scene where he could continue his own style of drumming on the side. Unfortunately, the whole selling cheese business began to make his musical abilities turn sour.

His job often involved heavy lifting (“12 – 40 kilos of cheese”) and that, in addition to aggressive, wrist-mangling drumming, left him with debilitating tendinitis in his forearms. Facing six drum-less months of recovery, he received a copy of the music-production program Reason 2.0 from his visiting brother as was a way to stay involved with music and keep the creative streak going. Saginaw ran with it.

“All my friends growing up were rappers or jazz musicians or beat makers or whatever, so it was this thing that was around me all the time but I had never taken part in it,” says Saginaw. “As soon as I started, I loved it.”

As a natural musician, Saginaw’s approach to electronic production involves incorporating more of a human element than what typically runs through this type of music. He uses a collection of natural instruments and brings his music closer to earth by recording live takes of track segments all the way through instead of looping them. And, since he’s been able to pick up the drum sticks

again, there’s an added rhythmic beauty to his songs that sounds refreshing alongside the stale programmed beats that rattle clubs.

He’s now a part of the Ghostly International family, which speaks to the innovative nature of both his sound and persona. The Ann Arbor-based label values artists who have a complete vision of who they are and what they want their music to represent. For Saginaw, it comes back to family.

“My music is highly linked to my family experiences,” he explains. Check “Lineage,” his second full-length release: the cover art features a picture of his great-grandfather’s house in Hiroshima, and on the back cover there’s a picture of his grandfather at an internment camp in the 1940s. The music continually brushes against this mix of displacement and nostalgia, “sad, with a rising hope underneath it all,” rooted in Saginaw’s deep concern for his heritage and his own personal journey into something new. The spiritual connection is, as he explains, most affecting when he returns to Japan: “That’s where I can feel it. I feel it’s a part of me, but I’m not a part of it. But it’s in my spiritual DNA. I get very overwhelming vibes when I’m there, good and bad. The bad is due to the disconnection.

Meaning I’m a part of this, but I’m not accepted fully. And then the good vibe is that I can feel that I’m a part of this and this is a part of me.”

One amazing feature of music is that it’s born from the experiences of its creator, but it lends itself to the experiences of everyone it comes into contact with. This breed of electronic music is especially adaptable, as it has very few words and inspires feelings and emotions that are universal.

In the end, Saginaw says, “I like the listener to kind of decide what it means to them. I want people to hear it and create the story and have that music for whenever they want to be there.”

Shigeto will be performing at the Blind Pig on November 21. It’s an 18 and up show. Tickets are $10 and doors open at 9:30 p.m.

NOVEMBER 2012

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FEATURE //

Jack & the Bear

BY TREASURE GROH

On a cool evening in middle October, the seven members of Jack & the Bear settled at a cozy wooden table inside B-24 Espresso Bar. Sipping large mugs of coffee and sharing cookies, Brandon James, Adam Schreiber, Evan Close, Reggie Servis, Christina Schreiber and Elizabeth Buroughs chatter amongst themselves, along with manager Jake Neilson, until they decide to commence sans banjo player Ryan Close, who’s just pulling up.

It’s been a long road for the seven members, who have played lots of shows (over 220 by the end of the year), changed a few players here and there and are on their way to recording their debut studio album. Having set out on an east coast tour this past summer (however long ago it seems), Jack & the Bear gained new fans and a new appreciation for their craft and their area.

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i SPY NOVEMBER 2012

“I’d say for our first time, we weren’t really sure how it was going to go. It went surprisingly really well,” says James, lead vocalist/guitar “We were planning on losing a lot of money and actually made a profit on it.”

Servis agrees, touching on the reach that Ann Arbor has in music. “Ann Arbor just harnesses everyone’s creative side – that’s the feeling I get from Ann Arbor, and it’s been good to us,” he says.

“And every band we talk to wants to play in Ann Arbor.”

Adam Schreiber shares the same sentiment, saying “It was good going out and saying we’re from Ann Arbor. It’s a good place for what we’re doing.”

While Ann Arbor may, indeed, cultivate the band’s sound, it’s obviously up to the members to start

the initial spark – something one can imagine being difficult with seven members. Jack & the Bear originally started as a foursome, with the members’ first initials creating the “Bear” portion of the name.

Things changed over time, as they often do, and Jack & the Bear found themselves swelling to seven members with certain elements coming and going through the years.

“The songwriting process …it’s a big task. It’s a complex procedure. It changes each time. It’s not like a set in stone process for us,” James explains.

“Reginald over there,” James motions to the end of the table, “and I, write most of the songs, come up with the ideas and Adam helps us mold them together, and then we create the rhythm and we add in all the other parts. But it’s trying to get a like a little symphony band together.”

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// FEATURE The “little symphony” has created two EPs, the aptly titled “EP” and “The Stranger Amongst the Loyal” (released this year), and is well on its way to recording a debut full length. The group has started a campaign on the site IndieGoGo in the hopes of raising enough money to be able to afford the cost of the album.

“We were all pretty surprised,” says Adam Schreiber of the success of the campaign. At the end of the campaign (October 21), the band had received $6,000 in donations towards its $10,000 goal. For those who donate, the group is gifting a variety of things, including posters, T-shirts and digital copies of their album (when it’s complete, of course). For the members, the opportunity to record at Prairie Sun Valley studio in California is as much of a personal reward (they’re avid Tom Waits fans and this was his studio) as it is a mechanical one.

“We want to make sure that everything’s going to be perfect because we’re going to be recording in a way that most bands don’t do anymore,” says

Adam Schreiber. “It’s going to be recorded in a vintage analog. It’s not going to be punching the spacebar. We get one take and it’s something that’s really not done anymore. We want to record it as honest as possible.”

Jack & the Bear plans to tour along the road to Sonoma, Calif. for a month, longer than they originally planned in order to gain a following on the way. Before then, the band has a few more shows (they plan on doing a few weekend tours before the year’s end), as well as getting the rest of their funds together and planning the tour. James hopes they’ll have all the money by January – and may get a chance to relaunch the campaign. For now, the parts of the whole will work their odd jobs to make some moolah, which, according to Christina Schreiber, is all a part of the process.

“You find out that you can’t be the musician you want to be if you aren’t suffering a little bit with your money,” she says with a casual laugh, the rest of the table following suit.

Once the laughs died down a bit, James sighs

and says, “The worse your life is, the better the music.” And everyone chuckles while nodding their heads.

Catch Jack & the Bear at Woodruff’s in Ypsilanti.

Doors are at 9 p.m., and the show starts at 10 p.m.

Cover is $5 at the door.

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NOVEMBER 2012

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REVIEW // SOUNDS

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ARTIST: Mountain Goats ALBUM: Transcendental Youth 4/5 TOWERS BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER The Mountain Goats are a band with an almost surprisingly large back catalog given their relatively low level of fame. The Mountain Goats (aka singer/songwriter John Darnielle) have set an album out into the world almost annually for the past decade. It is an easy trap to fall into given those circumstances to simply detail similarities and departures on the new album, “Transcendental Youth,” but I think that misses the point. “Transcendental Youth” is indeed slightly more produced than most of their earlier releases. As an example, you could cite the presence of some uncharacteristic echoing computerized droning on the track “Night Light.” But this ain’t Darnielle’s first rodeo, and his hallmarks are all there on this most recent release -- if a bit slicker this time around.

Darnielle has always created stories with his songs through characters.

Whether they are real or imagined, there is always a narrator whose voice Darnielle adopts for the span of the song. The opening track on “Transcendental Youth” is titled

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“Amy aka Spent Gladiator” and was written after Amy Winehouse’s death.

He channels her as he sings in his distinctive Kermit the frog voice “climb limits past limits …jump in front of trains all day.” Darnielle’s perverse fascination with self-destruction obviously remains intact. On “Cry for Judas” he asserts that “some things you do just to see how bad they make you feel …speed up to the precipice” (also the first track on the album to feature the new and remarkable addition of a brass section that adds a brightness and brashness – a sharp contrast to the lyrical content that adds a swinging driving rhythm, making some of the songs almost danceable).

While the songs are deeply empathetic, we get the sense that Darnielle can never be one of them – he is too acutely aware of the trials of the world to rush toward them. He sings, “I’m in my corner because I like my corner.” However, one can’t tell if he admires or pities these souls that can’t save themselves.

i SPY NOVEMBER 2012

Grizzly Bear are the rarest kind of band I can think of, keeping my thoughts chained to bands that can realistically exist within an earshot of the mainstream. I heard about them a while ago, but only after they had released three albums. There’s no blog-hopping single I can point to (maybe “Two Weeks” comes close). There are no stage theatrics or colorful background stories to speak of; they’re not a band likely to come up in conversation with your friends. Yet they’ve found their place in the current indie music landscape – a significant place – and they got there gradually and carefully with their heads down.

They’re too methodical by nature to “burst” onto any scene, and in the same way they’re immune to burning out; they’re like the scientist who’s so caught up in his work that, by the time everyone else realizes that he’s onto something, he doesn’t even notice them peeking over his shoulder. 2009’s “Veckatimest” was intricate and glossy with a can’t-quite-place-it strangeness, traveling from some mysterious depth to surface on

many year-end, top album lists.

I haven’t spent enough time with “Shields” to get past the first few layers, but I’m at least familiar enough at the moment to consider it Grizzly Bear’s best album. The vocal harmonies, bedroom piano keys, web-work strings and light electronic touches make a return here, all unfolding within complex and unpredictable song structures.

But, while “Veckatimest” was something of an awe-inspiring musical sculpture, “Shields” has a real human heart beating behind it. Though never bluntly stated, there’s an urgent despair running through Edward Droste’s voice, reinforced by anxious guitar hooks and uneasy drums. Lyrics question and reconsider, sung as if Droste is staring down death with no expectations on either side of it. At times, the instrumentation meshes together to resemble some kind of beautiful breaking. It’s all a careful balancing act – steady footing on the brink of calamity – but they’ve proved they have the endurance to stay on course.

ARTIST: Grizzly Bear ALBUM: Shields 4.5/5 TOWERS BY PAUL KITTI

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SOUNDS // REVIEW

rate it+++ “I’ve faded into your past,” sings newly single (in a couple ways) Benjamin Gibbard in the first cut from “Former Lives.” Is he referring to ex-wife Zooey Deschanel or would that be too obvious? Either way, he doesn’t sound too upset about it.

He doesn’t sound too upset about much at all, which is new territory for the Death Cab for Cutie singer.

Formerly the unofficial voice of emo, Gibbard must have gotten up on the right side of the bed for each of his solo recording sessions. What he’s made is a collection of happy-sounding love ballads with pianos and strings and Beatles-esque melody arrangements (even some tambourine stomps here and there). But, while Gibbard’s voice is front and center, it’s almost as if the man himself is absent. There are few lyrics here in contention for real estate on the trapper keepers of junior-

ARTIST: The Killers ALBUM: Battle Born 4/5 TOWERS BY MARY SIMKINS

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highers – no combinations of words that hit deep and forcibly at the brain’s emotional center. Even the sobby stuff is sung wistfully, as if something deeper is being ignored or repressed.

Despite my whining about the mood and lyrics, there are some very solid songs here. “A Hard One to Know” and “Dream Song” bring out Gibbard’s ability to create stories and complex characters within just a few short minutes. He gets real on “Oh Woe”: “Oh woe, please hear this plea/ To walk away and leave me be/ I’ve weathered more than I can take/ Of your everpresent lonely ache.” Alright, maybe Gibbard deserves some time in the sun – even if it often feels like artificial light.

ARTIST: Benjamin Gibbard ALBUM: Former Lives 3/5 TOWERS BY PAUL KITTI

Their debut album, “Hot Fuss,” and their 2008 release, “Day & Age,” both had a lot of poppy mechanical sound, while the folkier Sam’s Town was more story-driven and nostalgic. But despite the sometimes vastly different sounds in their music, I’ve always liked how The Killers can experiment with new styles while keeping their unique identity intact, and the band’s newest album, “Battle Born,” is a perfect example of this.

With Brandon Flowers’ consistently strong vocals to anchor their sound, The Killers have shown a knack for variety that allows each track to take the listener by surprise. In “Battle Born,” the band sticks to one instrumental style in every song. It starts out with “Flesh and Bone,” during which the front- and-center early Killers vibe reminds me of an 80s movie soundtrack. The dance club worthy storytelling continues with “Runaways” and “The Way It Was” before slowing things down with the thoughtful (if sentimental) “Here With Me.” “Deadlines and Commitments” mixes encouraging

lyrics with throwback instrumentals to create a song that could accompany a self- improvement montage of 16-yearold Molly Ringwald. “Miss Atomic Bomb” and “Rising Tide” have similarly interesting lyrics and utilize overpowering synthesizer, while “Heart of a Girl” takes a slow and thoughtful breath.

“From Here on Out” was a welcome surprise: a stripped down, guitar rocking track that finally gave my repeat button some work. The album rounds itself out with the lullaby-like “Be Still” and the album’s namesake “Battle Born” in which the band finds its vocal/instrumental sweet spot.

As someone who liked The Killers in high school and loved The Killers in college, Battle Born might not be my first recommendation for someone who is unfamiliar with the band. It is, however, a fun and lyrical throwback – both to an earlier era in rock music and to The Killers when they first came on the scene.

NOVEMBER 2012

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REVIEW // SOUNDS

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ARTIST: The Crane Wives ALBUM: The Fool in Her Wedding Gown 5/5 TOWERS BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER Grand Rapids bluegrass-folk wonderkids The Crane Wives are poised to make a huge splash with their sophomore release “The Fool in Her Wedding Gown.” Their mix of sweet and low harmonies and raucous banjo clamor is totally addictive, and the new album is a killer dose. They proclaim early on in the track “Steady, Steady” that “we can stay young and wild and free.” And we have no reason to doubt them.

The band is fronted vocally by Emilee Petersmark and Kate Pillsbury.

This pair of true voiced sirens gives each song a female touch – sometimes scorned, sometimes wistful but always deeply lovely. When they’re angry, it can get downright scary. Don’t believe me? “I saw your breath, you bastard” is the opening volley of the track “Glacier House”… eep!

But don’t make the mistake of thinking “The Fool in Her Wedding Gown” is an album of angry chick music. More often a sort of worldliness and melancholy acceptance holds sway. Like on a

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track like “Shallow River”: “I know the promise you made, well it ain’t for me …settle down.” Overall the mood is dark and brooding, swinging from overcast (“Show Your Fangs”) to stormy (“Strangler Fig”) through the album. But the sun does indeed peek out, as the opening track “Icarus” is undoubtedly triumphant, a song about new beginnings declaring “there’s no room for all the hearts that will not stay.”

The instrumentation of “The Fool in Her Wedding Gown” also keeps it from feeling like a downer despite the ominous lyrics. Peppy banjos provided by Tom Gunnels and percussive hand claps pepper the album, keeping things more upbeat.

Aggressive strutting guitars (also courtesy of Petersmark and Pillsbury) make themselves known and add some rock into the bluegrass on tracks like “Once and for All.” We don’t see The Crane Wives perform much around these parts, but when they do it is not to be missed. One such event will be taking place at The Ark on November 20. See you there!

i SPY NOVEMBER 2012

I don’t know if you ever watched the Muppet Babies cartoon and wondered what it would be like if they played indie pop music, but if you have, you need only to listen to Ann Arbor’s The White Ravens debut album “Saddle Up the Whales” and you have your answer.

The White Ravens, as their name suggests, aren’t quite like anything you’ve come across before. And although it isn’t hard to hear other bands in the White Ravens, it would be a long list ranging from They Might be Giants to Gogol Bordello.

The nucleus of the band is the brother and sister team of Will and Amy Bennett (how cute is that?).

Her sure and childlike voice is reminiscent of Amanda Palmer and is the defining sound of the band. Ms. Bennett also strums a bass as she sings – an unusual but pleasing combination in a band that is all about unusual combinations.

She plows ahead buoyed along by her brother’s bouncy, synthy and

occasionally soaring keyboards.

A few tracks on “Saddle up the Whales” (“Conspiracy” and “Rain Song”) feature Will just playing a jazzy piano that brings an air of class to the romper room feel of the album.

“Saddle up the Whales” is a very aquatic album that includes songs about pirates, rain and, of course, whales dominate. If you drop by their Facebook, their profile even insists that they live under the sea, only emerging for tasty snacks and oxygen. The lyrics are whimsical to the point of fantastical, and not unusual is a line like “here we are, my salt encrusted stallion.” Each song on the album has a strong narrative element, telling stories of conquest and adventure. And with titles like “World’s Smallest Piece of Pasta,” “Rube Goldberg Machine” and “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” and songs about a literal food fight in a grocery, how could you not be curious?

ARTIST: White Ravens ALBUM: Saddle Up the Whales 4/5 TOWERS BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

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From personally redesigning our company website (www. millerpc.com), processing & overseeing accounting and tax returns for over 300 business & 400 individual clients, to becoming more active in my community, I would say that the last year or so has continually brought new highlights and challenges on a regular basis.

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be the active business community, the multitude of social opportunities, or simply people watching downtown, the Ann Arbor/ Ypsilanti area literally has something for everyone.

Why are you involved with A2Y Converge?

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Converge allows me to stay connected with the events that young professionals like myself are interested in, and I get to meet a lot of great like-minded people along the way.

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REVIEW // THE CUT

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FILM: The Perks of Being a Wallflower DIRECTOR: Stephen Chbosky 4/5 TOWERS BY PAUL KITTI First, I must give a grateful nod to the Hollywood hands who realized the best person to create a film adaptation of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” would be the book’s own author. Stephen Chbosky gives all the weighty themes from the book a clear transfer – emotional trauma, sexual identity, drug use – and he films it in a way that suggests the flipping of diary pages, each one richer than the last in self-realization and understanding.

The book was, after all, told through a series of personal letters from a likeable but socially distant highschooler coping with the loss of a best friend and a close family member. It’s a narration dripping with nostalgia and youthful sentiment, but you get the feeling that everyone involved in getting it all on film truly loves the characters and their stories.

The casting is spot on: Logan Lerman gives Charlie just the right amount of curiosity and reserve, bringing a detectable but never overstated sense of tension and sincerity to the troubled character. Charlie is in wonder of Sam, a gorgeous and freespirited senior played radiantly by Emma Watson, who sheds any trace of international-child-star swagger.

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Ezra Miller takes on the role of Patrick, Sam’s gay step-brother who befriends Charlie. He accounts for most of the movie’s vibrancy, spinning a dynamic role to reveal layers of warmth, humor and conflict.

Devotees of the book have longsince closely identified with these enduring characters, and the good news is that the movie will only strengthen this bond. It has a good shot at retaining its emotional resonance through the passing of time, too – it avoids typical teen movie traps and tells its story behind the slightest bit of haze, inviting people of any age to see their own adolescent dreams and nightmares through its distant-memory frames (“Freaks and Geeks” comes to mind more than once).

When it’s over, you may feel “both happy and sad at the same time,” wondering how that could be. But the strongest feeling is one that you’ve seen something honest and alive, a lovingly stitched little film that balances life and loss with the idea that hope wins out. It’s a good message for the kids – and maybe one that only becomes more vital as you grow older.

i SPY NOVEMBER 2012

Ben Affleck’s “Argo” begins with a brief history lesson, providing background information leading up to the boiling point of political tensions in Iran which resulted in the 444 day long Iran Hostage Crisis.

On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian revolutionaries comprised of Islamist students and militants stormed the American embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage for over a year. The film gives glimpses of the horrors and inhumane treatment experienced by the hostages, but the bulk of the plot follows the six American embassy workers who escaped the building in the nick of time.

It’s often said of the CIA that only their failures are known while the agency’s successes are kept quiet until they can be made public. In 1992, President Clinton declassified the circumstances surrounding the 1980 plan to smuggle six American Embassy workers out of a tumultuously violent Iran. Executed by the CIA’s Tony Mendez, the plan

involved posing as a Canadian film crew from Hollywood and scouting Tehran as a possible shoot location.

“Argo” does an admirable job of portraying the tension and suspense experienced during the outlandish cover story conceived by the CIA. There have been flags raised to some of the film’s portrayal of events, and critics point out that the Canadian ambassador deserved more credit for his role in protecting the American “houseguests.” In my opinion, the creative licenses taken in “Argo” ensure that the viewer feels some small semblance of the life-or-death terror that the six “houseguests” must have felt.

Despite knowing the ending of the story, I was on the edge of my seat as the Americans, posing as Canadians, made their way through the bazaar in Tehran and answered questions by militants at the airport.

I strongly recommend this film for anyone interested in the raw human emotions that accompany such critical historical moments.

FILM: Argo DIRECTOR: Ben Affleck 3/5 TOWERS BY MARY SIMKINS

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THE CUT // REVIEW

I never thought I would write these words, dear readers, but I’m afraid that the allure of seeing a sweaty Bruce Willis wield an automatic weapon and Joseph-Gordon Levitt do a two hour Bruce Willis impression (complete with facial prosthetics) has been greatly overrated in the creation of “Looper.” Director Rian Johnson created the time travel-thriller “Looper” aiming for mind-bending, but it only succeeds in being a bit confusing.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Joe, a “looper.” Joe is a time travelling hitman. Apparently time travel was invented and then immediately outlawed, which means that only outlaws can time travel. You see, it has become common practice for bad guys to use these “loopers” to murder their enemies. The logic behind this is that if you murder someone in the past it has the net effect of seeming as though the person never existed in the first place. Are you with me so far?

Everything is looping along very

FILM: Seven Psychopaths DIRECTOR: Martin McDonagh 5/5 TOWERS BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

happily until a trend begins to develop of the assassin’s “loops being closed.” When this happens, the person (a “looper”) is paid to kill is the older version of himself …and here is where things can (and do) become messy.

There are all of the usual stops on the time travel movie itinerary: cool new drugs and the “can I change the future” quandaries. As a firm believer in Bruce Willis, my hopes were high, but his performance was phoned in.

Though Joseph Gordon-Levitt has proven himself a more than bankable presence as of late, he struggles to act through the prosthetics – and that impression I mentioned? It’s not very good.

Overall, “Looper” boasts a plot that is admittedly very ambitious with a considerable amount of potential – and in the hands of a more practiced director it may have found its feet.

But, as it stands, it was a clumsy shot that misses its mark.

rate it+++

FILM: Looper DIRECTOR: Rian Johnson 2/5 TOWERS BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

It’s nearly impossible to reveal any portion of the plot of “Seven Psychopaths” without spoiling it. What I can say is that writer/director Martin Mcdonagh is firing on all cylinders and the ride is worth the turbulence. His previous credits include the much lauded (and rightly so) “In Bruges” and writing for radio plays, which is to say that his dialogue reads like it has been honed on a whetstone and is unlike any to be found in the cinema nowadays.

“Seven Psychopaths” has a crackling energy and cast of ultra-violent males that is reminiscent of the films of Guy Ritchie (“Snatch,” “Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”) but without all that bothersome British-ness. The narrative of the film is the sort of clever story-within-a-story that has a bad habit of tripping over itself, but through some serious contortions and deft craftsmanship instead barrels giddily forward.

Colin Farrell is our protagonist, awash in white wine and unable to write his screenplay when we find him. The name of the film that he is struggling to bring into being is tentatively titled “Seven

Psychopaths,” and the screenplay being written and the film you’re watching blend and bleed together like a snake eating its tail.

Through the course of the film we meet all seven of the psychos, and they range from a Vietnamese monk hell-bent on revenge to a man who just really wants his dog back. Christopher Walken turns in a truly funny and surprisingly heartfelt performance as a dognapper, and he looks quite dapper in a cravat we find out. Tom Waits turns in a performance that was so perfectly cast, you can’t really imagine he’s acting. Sam Rockwell as Farrell’s best friend with a huge secret, has a real twitchy sort of magnetism and a hair trigger smile that makes his screen time a volatile delight.

The soundtrack is just as pleasingly chaotic as the film itself: The Stone Ponies stand shoulder to shoulder with Deer Tick and Hank Williams. All in all, “Seven Psychopaths” is of the most original movies to crash the party in years.

NOVEMBER 2012

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REVIEW // SNAP SHOT

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