Vol 7 • Issue 1 • February 2008
inside Vital
February, 2008 | vol. 7 issue 1 | vitalsourcemag.com
COVERED
16 puzzles
& games!
Puzzles, games and coloring pages by local artists!
VITAL CULTURE 6
VITAL CINEMA Cloverfield; The Signal >> reviews by mat t levine & russ bickerstaff
coth , dwellephant, tim edgar , j . jason groschopf, eoffeebot, tea krulos , kristopher pollard and natalia rubanov
8 vital source interview The English Beat’s Dave Wakeling >> blaine schultz 10 music reviews Cat Power, Allison Moorer, Drive-by Truckers, Bob Mould, Collections of Colonies of Bees + Stripwax 12 record releases Foxy Brown, Dolly Parton, Morcheba, Nada Surf, Ray Davies, Erykah Badu, Janet Jackson and many more 14 Stages Beat the chill >> russ bickerstaff 38 Subversions Guitar hero >> mat t wild
this month’s cover Max Estes is a freelance illustrator, creator of the daily comic “My Life as a Bunny” and adjunct art faculty at UWM. He recently married a wonderfully witty Norwegian gal. See more of his work at maxestes.com. IN MARCH: Jeff Kenney
NEWS+VIEWS 4
The Editor’s Desk You don’t get a medal for showing up >> jon anne willow
29 The Funny Page 30 checkers or chess Op-Ed from both sides of the aisle >> donald k aul and dr . james joyner
online exclusives
a few of the things you’ll find @ vitalsourcemag.com
stages Reviews of Twelfth Night, The Faith Healer >> russ bickerstaff Review of Glengarry Glen Ross >>tracy doyle
art Deb Sokolow & The Flight of Fake Tears at Inova/Kenilworth (a three-part series) >> judith ann moriart y
VITAL LIVING 32 Slightly Crunchy Parent The fine art of persuasion >> lucky tomaszek 34 Vital’s Picks Where VITAL will be in February >> amy elliot t and lindsey huster
new blog! The Free Speech Zone >> michelle tucker
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Vital Source | 3
Vital source The editor’s desk
>>words by jon anne willow
You don’t get a medal for showing up At VITAL, our new year begins in February. I’d like to thank everyone once again for their support. It used to be a thrill just to write the rent check that proved we weren’t just a home office vanity project; as we’ve matured, though, my view of this whole endeavor has evolved. I have a thousand examples, but it all comes down to one idea, perfectly put by Thomas Jefferson: “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” I now understand that our willingness to work our asses off is ultimately the reason we’re still here, far more than any visionary thinking or single lucky break. I was born in the ‘60s and influenced by both my grandparents’ work ethic and my father’s disdain for it (to be fair, he got over it later in life). Some of my peers joined Generation X. The rest of us went to work. Mine is the generation that brought about both the ubiquity of cocaine-derived drugs and many of the amazing technological advances that shape our world. The two extremes are actually closely related, both born of an inherent relentlessness, a desire to always move at the greatest possible speed, freed from barriers – of fatigue, social awkwardness, geography, even time itself. I’m not saying this is an entirely wonderful way to look at life; the socio-cultural fallout may not be fully measured in my lifetime. Even so, the ‘80s and ‘90s were a gas, a wild ride followed by a hard crash when the middle class economy slowed way down in the first years of the 21st century. But even before that I think there was collective pause, fueled in part by the regret of our parents, now missing the grandkids a thousand miles away, who saw what had become of their latchkey, Kraft dinner-consuming, Alex P. Keaton-channeling offspring. We had it all, but we traded too much to get it. The solution was clear: the next generation would be cared for with a vengeance. Sometime in the late 20th century, the desire to give one’s children “more” took on a new meaning: with the highest percentage of “affluent” Americans in our history, the trappings of attainment took on a nurturing mantle. It was the dawn of the age of the Soccer Mom, the bicycle helmet and the mentality that reasoning was a viable parenting philosophy. I admit it; I was initially swept into the new world order. My kid had a sticker chart that he filled up by performing such amazing feats as picking up his clothes and saying thank you. He actually earned toys for meeting the minimum expectations of socialization!
But eventually, I saw what I, his teachers, his soccer coach and the rest of his network of support had wrought: a kid who expected to be rewarded for taking out the garbage. He’s a good boy: naturally nice, smart and funny. On the surface, he looks like a success story, but he struggles now with follow-through and this will haunt him if we don’t fix it right now. He’s not a singular case. As I look around at the generation between his and mine, I see it everywhere: 11-year-olds who can’t cut their own meat; 27 youth soccer teams who all get the same trophy just for showing up at the tournament; college students who get to graduate because they bought their diploma fair and square; a wide swath of voracious consumers with no other drive than to secure the means to continue consuming. Meanwhile, the same graphic design major that can’t create a PDF of her resume can probably beat Guitar Hero III on Expert. What goes on in her mind? Does she consider herself a winner? And that’s what it boils down to for me. We live in a country where working-class jobs are draining away, credit debt is out of control and our dollar is on course to become the peso of the new century. And this is the generation that will be charged with turning the tide. America was on top of the world for less than a century, really, but most people don’t seriously question the permanence of our foremost super-power status or what losing it might mean. It’s kind of terrifying if you think about it. Here’s what we’re doing at VITAL: seeking exceptions. Our employees are all under 25, all ostensibly members of the generation I fear for. But we have a Russian immigrant who joined the Army after high school to pay for college, a young woman with her selfmade father’s drive, another young woman who has stepped up to the plate in her personal life and (for the most part) a cast of hungry freelancers who dig the work and respect the deadlines. We don’t get medals for showing up, only for succeeding. We can’t change the world on our own, but we can attract like-minded individuals, train here and hopefully go forward infecting others with a work ethic – or at least attach ourselves to other pockets of a (hopefully) growing Apathy Resistance Movement.
Oscar the Grouch Mehrdad J. Dalamie mjdalamie@vitalsourcemag.com
The Number 4 Russ Bickerstaff rbickerstaff@vitalsourcemag.com
Big Bird J. Swan
Grover Jon Anne Willow jwillow@vitalsourcemag.com
Snuffleupagus Lucky Tomaszek ltomaszek@vitalsourcemag.com
Cookie Monster Amy C. Elliott aelliott@vitalsourcemag.com
Mr. Hooper Matt Wild subversions@vitalsourcemag.com
Count Von Count Tony Bobrov tbobrov@vitalsourcemag.com
Swedish Chef Cathrine Miller chowbaby@vitalsourcemag.com
The Letter X Ryan Findley rfindley@vitalsourcemag.com
Telly Lindsey Huster lhuster@vitalsourcemag.com
Elmo Pete Hamill music@vitalsourcemag.com
Slimey Dwellephant
4 | editor’s Desk | Vital Source
It’s worth a try.
The Yip Yips Troy Butero, Coth, Tim Edgar, Max Estes, Jason Groschopf, Charlie Hosale, A.L. Herzog, DJ Hostettler, Dr. James Joyner, Donald Kaul, Koffeebot, Tea Krulos, Matt Levine, Kristopher Pollard, David Rees, Natalia Rubanov, David Schrubbe, Blaine Schultz, Erin Wolf Distribution Each month, 20,000 copies of VITAL Source are available free at over 600 metro locations. Additional copies $2 each. Send request, with check or money order made to VITAL Source, at the address below. Call to ensure availability of requested materials, or email inquiries to:
info@vitalsourcemag.com. Most material herein belongs to Vital Publications, LLC, and cannot be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Reprint and copyright inquiries must be made in writing. Subscriptions are available for $27 per year. Send check or money order, attn: Subscriptions, to address below. VITAL Source Magazine 133 W. Pittsburgh Ave., Ste. 409 Milwaukee, WI 53204 Phone: 414.372.5351 Fax: 414.372.5356 On the Web www.vitalsourcemag.com www.myspace.com/vitalsource
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Vital Source | 5
Vital culture cinema CLOVERFIELD >>by Matt Levine Starring: Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, Odette Yustman, T.J. Miller Directed by: Matt Reeves Written by: Drew Goddard Paramount Pictures Rated PG13
C
loverfield may be one-half shrewd marketing strategy, but thankfully the other half is some damn fine moviemaking — a masterfully intense (if ultimately forgettable) monster movie that exploits its stylistic gimmick to the fullest. You’ve seen the ads, you’ve probably heard the gossip. Something is tearing apart Manhattan, but what the hell is it? Rumors ranged from Cloverfield being the new Godzilla movie in disguise to its monster being the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The movie offers us few answers as to the monster’s origins, but this is appropriate, considering Cloverfield’s immersive first-person perspective. The video we see (presented to us at the beginning of the film as “Property of the U.S. Defense Department”) begins as a farewell celebration for Rob, a newly promoted corporate vice president
THE SIGNAL >> by Russ Bickerstaff Starring: Justin Welborn, AJ Bowen, Scott Poythres, Anessa Ramsey, Sahr Ngauja, Cheri Christian and Chad McKnight Written and Directed By: David Bruckner, Dan Bush and Jacob Gentry Magnolia Pictures Rated R
B
arely a year after its premiere at Sundance in 2007 – and after a successful series of screenings at film festivals across the country, including ours – David Bruckner, Dan Bush and Jacob Gentry’s psycho-sci-fi horror project The Signal will be commercially released this month on select screens nationwide. What began as an experiment in narrative filmmaking has become a promising showing by a trio of newcomers that could easily prove a substantial commercial success. On New Year’s Eve in a fictional city called Terminus, a single broadcast signal has jammed
6 | cinema| Vital Source
soon to leave for Tokyo. His friend Hud lugs around a video camera, recording guests’ testimonials and embracing his newfound role as documentarian — a role to which he seems inclined, as he artfully captures enough back story to flesh out succinct characterizations for the audience. The camera keeps rolling as something rocks the city, buildings start to crumble, the ground shakes, things explode and the military comes in — typical monster movie fare, given considerable vitality by the filmmaker’s technique. From the first second of the monster’s appearance, when the power stutters out and a fireball erupts in the distance, Cloverfield deals in some potent imagery. The term “post 9/11 film” has been bandied about for practically every action movie set in New York since 2001, but it’s fitting for Cloverfield, which features a scene early on in which a street full of stunned onlookers wander through floating ash and the dust of a demolished building, the Statue of Liberty’s decapitated head lying next to them. The film traffics in panic and hysteria through a “you-are-there” aesthetic. But Cloverfield’s questionable psychology and arguably cheap tactics are what makes it fascinating. The intensity of these images largely derives from the fact that they are no longer purely escapist or sensationalistic; the film collapses the gap
all others in the city. It’s a jumble of ambiguous images, and people who see it become homicidal maniacs single-mindedly driven to kill everyone they see. The Signal is presented in the exquisite corpse tradition, meaning that the directors took turns telling the story, and so it is presented from three different perspectives. Sadly, none of them manages to assemble an interesting narrative around the premise, although Bruckner, Bush and Gentry present mature, dramatic takes on the theme, which refreshingly avoids the trappings of B-grade in what is essentially a horror film. One aspect of the story line involves attractive, young Mya (Anessa Ramsey), who is cheating on her husband Lewis (A.J. Bowen) with an apparently nice guy named Ben (Justin Welborn). The acting is decent and the tension between the characters is compelling, but the interpersonal drama, while well-executed, does not feel cohesive. With the exception of a few inspired moments of action, the characters and their conflicts with one another rarely interact with the larger story
Michael Stahl-David and Jessica Lucas document the terror in Cloverfield between fantasy and devastating reality. The technique is not original, but its application to such a far-fetched story unsettles the foundations of genre filmmaking. This is a monster movie, so we want to see explosions and the panic on people’s faces. But the first person, handheld video camera perspective and the fact that we’ve seen this imagery before (usually paired with the term “Shock and Awe”) removes Cloverfield’s action from its safe distance, souring the satisfaction we may take from its illusions. So what does the film say about our panicked post-9/11 society? Nothing — this is not a social commentary and it may even be morally questionable. But as an exercise in genre manipulation and aesthetic strategy, it’s close to brilliant. VS
Justin Welborn gets crazy in The Signal in any meaningful way. The characters sink, their relationships slacking against the core conflict, slowing the pacing to a virtual standstill in a way that makes the overall effect of The Signal very weak. VS
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Vital Source | 7
ENGLISH
goes on and on
E N G >>By Blaine Schultz L nI a music career that has come full circle, Dave WakelS has been on the right path from the start. As a young ing H he and his collaborators realized there was something man,
I
magical in the “feet, hearts and mind” formula that came to define his group The English Beat. At the band’s apex they were surrounded by the royalty of the UK punk-era ska scene: The Selecter, Madness, The Specials and Elvis Costello.
Originally dubbed The Beat, the band added the word “English” to their name stateside to avoid confusion with American power pop group the Paul Collins Beat. Signing to then-prestigious I.R.S. Records in 1981, Wakeling’s band found a measure of success in America with three solid albums and a string of wildly infectious dance floor-friendly singles. But before the roller-coaster ride really took off, Wakeling and his Birmingham buddies had already learned some valuable lessons. “We used to run parties with punk and ska DJs,” he said. “Each DJ alone would tire the dancers out, but the mix of punk and reggae equaled a full night of energy. What if you could get the both into the same songs? It was our punk-y reggae party. Boy George, members of UB40, the Au Pairs and Dexy’s Midnight Runners all came to the parties. Birmingham was going through one of its musical renaissances.”
“I see these returning themes like recession and depression and this fear of being dispossessed. It’s like some sort of Ska-strodamus.” --Dave Wakeling In a lineup notable for both its racial integration and near mashup style influences, the original six member band consisted of Dave Wakeling on vocals and guitar, Andy Cox on guitar, David Steele on bass, Everett Morton on drums, Ranking Roger on vocals and toasting and ska sax legend Papa Saxa. The Beat sound was born, but it needed to be heard. “Our bass player, said ‘One gig is worth a thousand rehearsals.’” Armed with a half dozen original tunes and a few covers, the band knocked out its first gig, opening for the Dum Dum Boys. It was shortly after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident and the band was introduced by a friend as “the hottest thing since the Pennsylvania meltdown.” Whether that was true or not at the time can never be verified, but the band did land a Tuesday night residency in a local Birmingham pub. After three months, The Beat was finally anointed. “Jerry Dammers from the Specials showed up and asked if we’d like to open for The Selecter in Blackpool. After that we were asked to open for them and Madness in London. Following the gig, we were surrounded by the 2 Tone [label] mafia and asked if we’d like to do a single.” The update of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles “Tears of a Clown” backed with “Ranking Full Stop” was released near Christmas of 1979. The band was running full steam. They had great songs, youthful energy and, in saxophonist Saxa, the credibility of a musician who played with the Jamaican founders of ska.
Falling under the spell of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath in their early 20s, Wakeling and Andy Cox (English Beat guitarist) both “were fierce music fans” and “very lucky in terms of time and geography.” Live shows were a priority, and Wakeling reels off a list of defining music moments that includes two Bob With instant classics like “Save it For Later,” “I Confess” and Marley concerts, seeing Van Morrison, the death of Tim Buckley “Mirror In the Bathroom,” The English Beat continued to evolve and seeing the Buzzcocks. musically, touring with the Clash and the Police. But in 1983, after four years and hundreds of shows, bassist Steele said he “The songs were catchy, two-and-a-half or three minutes long. The wanted time off. It was then that Wakeling and Ranking Roger same for the Undertones and Wire, who used the hook and the formed General Public, while Steele and Cox went on to form art form of the pop song.” The music made a lasting impression, Fine Young Cannibals. The success of both bands made the but ultimately The Beat found their own hybrid of ska, punk, soul, return of The Beat seem unlikely. reggae and Nigerian highlife. According to Wakeling, “After you’d been dancing awhile the lyrics hit even harder – it was like your Living in California by 1991, Wakeling recorded a solo album mind was more open. We paired the beat with lyrics that were and worked on the John Hughes movie She’s Having a Baby. In somewhat heavy. Life is ambiguous. It’s not all happy or sad.” 1994 he collaborated with Greenpeace to produce the album
8 | vital source interview| Vital Source
Vital culture
Alternative NRG. Recorded entirely with solar power, Wakeling helped the record attract star power, with cuts by U2, REM and Sonic Youth.
This is where he – and The Beat – wants to be. They’re in a perfect zone, with a tight band, welcoming audiences and music that’s as relevant as the day it was written.
“[By] the mid ‘90s, I wanted to do music full time again. “I’ve never really stopped,” says Wakeling, “and still write Roger and I got General Public back together. We recorded to try to express the world’s thorniest problems. The band a version of ‘I’ll Take You There’ that was used by Bill Clin- has just gotten stronger and it’s absolutely wonderful now. ton without our permission.” It’s like the Beach Boys on ska. – very celebratory. We don’t avoid mentioning tragedy but acknowledge it with a wry grin Wakeling has said that every great band has only three and dance through the veil of tears. I see these returning great albums, and true to form, General Public would themes like recession and depression and this fear of being release three records before Wakeling split to form a group dispossessed. It’s like some sort of Ska-strodamus. At our called Bang. shows we try to be inclusive and affectionate. I feel like the luckiest man in ska.” VS “It was my Beatles, a four piece. This was during my phase of not calling it the English Beat or General Public. I’d show up for a gig and the poster would say Tonight – Dave Wakeling/ Dave Wakeling and the English Beat perform FebruThe English Beat/General Public and I’d get pissed off. What ary 17 at Turner Hall, with opening guests Rx Bandits. is this? Three bands? But over a couple of years I gave up Tickets available at turnerhallballroom.org/englishbeat because the set list … morphed back to the English Beat.” or by calling 414-286-3663. And so it’s been since the late ‘90s. Wakeling picked music back up as a weekend warrior. He had a young family and was determined not to tour as much as he had in the band’s prime. The Thursday to Sunday gig schedule was fine, but as his popularity grew, he realized he needed to move up a few steps. “I was doing great at that level but I was still a ‘local band.’ Then it got to where I could play the House of Blues twice a year and by 2007 it had become a bit of a national enterprise again. The United States really is the Land of Opportunity. Where else do you get three bites at the same cherry? Benjamin Franklin said ‘America is the greatest hope of the Englishman.’”
Vital Source |vital source interview | 9
Vital culture music reviews Drive-By Truckers • Brighter Than Creation’s Dark New West Records • drivebytruckers.com A departed band member can make the advent of a new album nerve-wracking rather than exciting for an ardent fan, but the absence of Jason Isbell, Drive-By Truckers’ singer of seven years, brings out a return to roots, as well as new directions. Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, the band’s eighth album, features contributions from band members who normally play the wallflower (bassist Shonna Tucker penned three shimmering beauties) paired with crunchier contributions from Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and John Neff, with ‘icing on the cake’ keyboards by legendary Spooner Oldham. Southern rock had a glaring exterior when Lynyrd Skynyrd brought it to the mainstream, but today, one regularly hears the signature layered guitars, pedal steel, lazy drums and pretty keys channeling crusty stories of booze, drugs and hardships on commercial alt-country radio. On Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, the Truckers juxtapose their personal brand of southern rock against established tradition. Their soft songs shine bright as the lights on a country wedding dance floor, while the gritty, raucous snarlers make the slow dancers shake their sleepy feet. Stories paste this album’s nineteen songs together. Cooley’s country-washed songs add humor with “Lisa’s Birthday” and “Bob,” the tale of a man whose mom is the only one “she lets call him Robert” and who “has always had more dogs than he ever had friends.” Hood pens staunch southern rock with such vigor and drama it draws goose bumps. “The Man I Shot” is chilling, a strong contrast to Tucker’s gentle writing and Cooley’s ‘aw, shucks’ style. Hood’s slower ballads veer into Eagles territory at times, which can either please – in the case of the amazing “Daddy Needs a Drink,” made stellar by heart-wrenching pedal steel – or annoy, as on “The Home Front,” which is lite rock at best. Brighter Than Creation’s Dark is an album to be traveled through, soaking in all the odd twists and turns, corners and dips. There are some bumpy spots, but the unexpected beauty will sink the listener like a stone, and the buoyant humor will lift the mood and ease the listener into reality, as the best stories often do.— Erin Wolf
10 | music reviews | Vital Source
Allison Moorer • Mockingbird New Line Records • allisonmoorer.com Elegance: if there could ever be such a thing as a one-word review, that would be it for Mockingbird. On her sixth studio recording, Allison Moorer set out to record a selection of songs that she hoped would make listeners treasure, encourage and pay attention to the female songwriter. It’s a fairly ambitious undertaking, and with Mockingbird, a resounding success. Allison puts her stamp on virtually every song, spanning an impressive spectrum. Moorer and producer Buddy Miller bring overdriven drums, an acoustic guitar and some subtly delayed piano to life on “Ring of Fire,” re-imagining the entire context of this important lyric while losing none of its strength. From there, she moves easily onto “Dancing Barefoot,” the Patti Smith gem, polishing it to a gleam. There’s a bit of rocking on this one: The Joni Mitchell favorite “Both Sides Now” is gorgeous and emotive under Moorer’s own blue light. But she saves the best for last: her version of Cat Power’s “Where Is My Love” is stunning and powerful. It’s haunting. It’s captivating. And it’s so real. Moorer doesn’t just play these songs; she appreciates them in earnest. Music of this magnitude elevates its listeners. I could’ve typed the first word of this review 100 times and left it at that. It’s just that good.— Troy Butero Bob Mould • District Line Anti-Records • anti.com Singer/songwriter/ punk icon/former prowrestling scripter Bob Mould has (obviously) worn many hats during his career. With his latest solo offering, District Line, the exHüsker Dü and Sugar guitarist continues his
Vital culture
music reviews Vital culture balancing act between modern rock balladeer and DIY wunderkind. Mould plays every instrument on District Line besides the cello, provided by Amy Domingues, and the signature drumming of Fugazi’s Brendan Canty. Canty’s distinctive dub-enhanced syncopation shines on the leadoff track “Stupid Now;” for most of the album, though, he’s content to simply lay a solid back beat. His playing echoes Mould’s songwriting; flashes of the work that made them both legends occasionally shine through what is essentially an album of sometimes competent, often excellent, generally straightforward alternative rock. Mould’s solo work is intensely personal and relationship-based. “Again and Again” recalls his 90’s alterna-pop incarnation, Sugar, with symphonic guitar driving a melancholy suicide note of dysfunctional love – “I took the bullets from the carport/tossed them in my backpack … I left the title to the house inside the piano bench/And my lawyer’s got the will.” This track, and the up-tempo (and equally Sugary) “Very Temporary,” shows the material at its strongest and catchiest. A strange fascination with vocoder (which, let’s face it, Cher ruined for everyone) threatens to undermine “Very Temporary” and otherwise fascinating tracks like the alterna-rock/disco mash-up “Shelter Me.” But it’s frankly idistracting to hear the voice behind incendiary punk classics like “Something I Learned Today” dabbling in NYC Eighth Avenue club music. Still, Mould’s determination to straddle the line between alternative and dance pays off more often than it stumbles on District Line. Now if only Bob would find the time to start scripting wrestling matches again. Lord knows the WWE could use him right now.—DJ Hostettler
Believe in You.” By now, Marshall has the icon’s panache down pat. “A Song to Bobby,” the only new song on the disc, even details a humbled admiration of the songwriter. Homage is one reason to cover a song, but are there others? That thought recurs when song choice seems mismatched (“Aretha, Sing One For Me”) and when justice isn’t paid to the classics. “Theme from New York, New York,” Hank Williams’ “Ramblin’ Man,” and Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” — all songs of rebellion and conviction originally — are neutered by Marshall’s lethargy. (“Silver Stallion,” however, canters along appropriately in this sleepy state.) “Metal Heart,” written during a restless night in 1999 for Cat Power’s Moon Pix and revised for Jukebox, invigorates the album; it’s the strongest and most expressive of the twelve tracks. It is her own, and she sings it like she owns it — an important dynamic missing from the rest. There isn’t a jukebox on earth that could compile a better A-to-Z of music appreciation, but this record has nothing to say. Use your Jukebox quarters for laundry instead. —A.L. Herzog
Cat Power • Jukebox Matador • matadorrecords.com Everyone loved her 15 seconds of “How Can I Tell You” in that diamonds commercial. That’s just too bad, since a full-length version isn’t on Jukebox, Chan Marshall’s second CD of cover songs since 2000. Backed by the Dirty Delta Blues band, Marshall keeps things sparse as usual and swaths the songs with her signature rasp. Also typical is her inclusion of another Dylan tune, “I
Vital Culture
Vital Source |music reviews | 11
Vital culture record releases Collections of Colonies of Bees • Birds Radium • www.collectionsofcoloniesofbees.net The central aspect of Milwaukee natives Chris Rosenau and Jon Mueller’s musical projects has always been accessible experimentation. Collections of Colonies of Bees, thanks to an evolving and expanding lineup of musicians, have had a number of dynamically different sounds over the years. This new release finds the band on a new label with a filled-out lineup consisting of Jim Schoenecker, Daniel Spack, and Thomas Wincek. From the record’s first note, the change in the Bees’ sound and approach is palpable. Customer, released in 2004, found the group experimenting with free forms and electronics, with a focus on floating melody. Those influences are still present on Birds, but the band has shifted to a much more structured process. Instead of trying to see how far music can go, like the unconventional structure and melodic re-imaginings of Customer, they attempt to break music down to its simplest emotional form. Birds shifts to pulsing rhythms and delicately structured melodic layering to create a musical catharsis—something that, before Birds, the Bees hadn’t really done. Birds is an entirely different record for the Bees, but it still sounds like everything their listeners have come to love about them. Their songs have always sounded like instances of beauty, like a friend smiling or a tear dropping, and on Birds those pictures are still there; it just sounds like now the Bees are ready to take on the whole story, instead of only living in the moment.—Charlie Hosale
>>by erin wolf February 5th
February 12th
AZ Undeniable Koch
Edie Brickell The Heavy Circles Dynamite Child
Bell X1 Flock Yep Roc
British Sea Power Do You Like Rock Music? Rough Trade
Foxy Brown Brooklyn’s Don Diva Koch Jason Collett Here’s to Being Here Arts & Crafts Sheryl Crow Detours A&M/Interscope HorrorPops Kiss Kiss Kill Kill Hellcat/Epitaph Alan Jackson Good Times Arista Nashville Jack Johnson Sleeping Through the Static Brushfire/Universal Dave Koz Double Feature Blue Note Hot Chip Made in the Dark Astralwerks/DFA Lenny Kravitz It Is Time for a Love Revolution Virgin k.d. lang Watershed Nonesuch Bob Mould District Line Anti-/Epitaph Nada Surf Lucky Barsuk Dolly Parton Backwoods Barbie Dolly Santana Multi-Dimensional Warrior Arista
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Dread Zeppelin Bar Coda Cash Cow Kylie Minogue X Capitol Dragoon Guards Spirit of the Glen Fontana/Universal Simple Plan Simple Plan Lava/Atlantic Widespread Panic Free Somehow Widespread February 19th American Music Club The Golden Age Merge Coolio Steal Hear Super Cool Sean Costello We Can Get Together Delta Groove Ray Davies Working Man’s Café New West Mike Doughty Golden Delicious ATO/RCA Genghis Tron Board Up the House Relapse Kidz Bop Kids Kidz Bop 13 Razor & Tie Kula Shaker StrangeFolk Cooking Vinyl
Gary Louris Vagabonds Rykodisc Allison Moorer Mockingbird New Line Morcheeba Dive Deep G&G/Echo/Pias Paint It Black New Lexicon Jade Tree The Raveonettes Lust, Lust, Lust Vice Rick Ross Trilla Def Jam Donita Sparks and The Stellar Moments Transmiticate Wax Tadpole February 26th Erykah Badu KahBa Motown Dave Barnes Me and You and the World Razor & Tie Cowboy Junkies Trinity Revisited [CD/ DVD] Zoe/Rounder Goldfrapp Seventh Tree Mute Missy Higgins On a Clear Night Reprise Janet Jackson Discipline Island Def Jam Tift Merritt Another Country Fantasy /Concord Sam Phillips Don’t Do Anything Nonesuch
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Vital Source | 13
Vital culture Stages
esperanza spalding 2/16
avenue q 2/26-3/2
rastrelli cello quartet 2/29
BEAT THE CHILL The performing arts season heats up this month with a mix of grace, beauty and drama. From light vacation comedy in The Rep’s Enchanted April to the stirring tragedy of Crime and Punishment at the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, local venues offer audiences a dynamic range of escape from winter’s last push. The Milwaukee Ballet stages A Midsummer Night’s Dream, bringing the talent of a world-class ballet
THEATRICAL PREVIEWS BEAUTIFUL THING This urban fairy tale about teen love in an East London housing project is rarely produced in the United States. Soulstice Theatre presents the Jonathan Harvey play Feb 7 – 16 at the Marian Center for Non-Profits. 414-431-3187 or soulsticetheatre.org ENCHANTED APRIL The Milwaukee Rep stages this Mathew Barber adaptation of the Elizabeth von Arnim novel. Four London ladies from different walks of life plan a vacation at a luxurious castle in Italy. February 8 – March 8 at the Stiemke Theater. 414-224-9490 or milwaukeerep.com PLAZA SUITE The Falls Patio Players present the Neil Simon comedy February 8 – 17 at the North Junior High School Auditorium. 262-255-8372 or fallspatioplayers.com THE WOMAN IN BLACK A man remembers the menacing specter of a woman dressed entirely in black who haunted a small British town. The Waukesha Civic Theatre presents Stephen Mallatrap’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel. February 8 – 24. 262-547-0708 or waukeshacivictheatre.org
14| stages | Vital Source
group and some of the best production values in town to what should be a stunning run. And look for hints of spring in fresh new material; Milwaukee Choral Artists presents entirely new material in concert, and in dance, Alverno Presents David Neumann’s irreverent Advanced Beginner Group on the ninth, a smart, offbeat, amusing group that should prompt reassessments of what “modern dance” is all about.
THE GIFT A young girl learns about history in the African American Children’s Theatre’s celebration of influential African American women. February 9 – 16 at the Milwaukee Education Center’s Rosa Parks Auditorium. 414-461-5771 or aact.us CRIME AND PUNISHMENT Milwaukee Chamber Theatre presents Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus’ adaptation of the Dostoyevsky drama February 14 – March 9 at the Broadway Theatre Complex’s Studio Theatre. 414-291-7800 or chamber-theatre.com ROMANCE OF THE WILLOW PATTERN Wisconsin Lutheran College Theatre Department presents the Chinese comic tragedy by Ethel Van Der Veer February 14 –16 at the Raabe Theatre. 414-443-8802 or wlc.edu/arts THREE DAYS OF RAIN Two siblings and their childhood friend meet to divide the legacy of their late fathers in this Richard Greenberg play. Windfall Theatre stages the acclaimed contemporary drama February 15 – March 1 at Village Church Arts. 414-332-3963 or windfalltheatre.com TRIPOLI SHRINE CIRCUS Elephants. Big animals. Monkeys. High wire acts. Yep: Must be an election year.
February 21 – 24 at The Milwaukee Theatre. 414-908-6601 or milwaukeetheatre.com THE CEMETARY CLUB Three Jewish widows visit the graves of their husbands together, and their friendship is tried when a local butcher lavishes affection on one of the women. The Sunset Playhouse presents the romantic comedy February 22- March 15. 262-782-4430 or sunsetplayhouse.com THE GAMESTER A compulsive gambler deals with addiction and circumstance as he endeavors to marry a beautiful woman in this Freyda Thomas comedy. The Racine Theatre Guild explores strange relationships February 22 – March 16. 262-633-4218 or racinetheatre.org OF MICE AND MEN Rebecca Holderness directs the John Steinbeck drama for the UWM Department of Theatre. February 26 – March 2 at the UWM Mainstage Theatre. 414-229-4308 or uwm.edu THE EMPROER’S NEW TUXEDO The Playmakers and the ACAP Players present a classy take on the traditional children’s tale. February 28 – March 5 at The Waukesha Civic Theatre. 262-547-4911 or waukeshacivictheatre.org
Vital Culture
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>>words By russ bickerstaff BLESSED ASSURANCE In 1966, a cook in the White House café shocks her small Southern town by marching up the steps of the courthouse and demanding her right to vote. Acacia Theatre presents the Laddy Sartin drama February 29 – March 9 at Concordia University’s Todd Wehr Auditorium. 414-744-5995 or acaciatheatre.com SLEEPING BEAUTY Briar Rose is a fierce individualist and there’s a comic half-dragon named Gryff. It’s not exactly the way you remember it, but it might be better. First Stage Children’s Theatre retells the classic fairy tale February 29 - March 22 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. 414-273-7206 or firststage.org
MUSIC OF NOTE CHAPTER 6 Imagine seven guys doing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody a cappella and you’ve got the right idea. This septet does comedic vocal harmony from pop to jazz, gospel to rock. February 1 – 2 at Wisconsin Lutheran College. 414-443-8702 or wlc.edu/arts LA TRAVIATA Violetta falls for a simple man named Alfredo and leads a simple life with him – which spurs a complicated series of events. The Skylight brings Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece to the stage once more. February 1 – 17 at the Broadway Theatre Center’s Cabot Theatre. 414-291-7800 or skylightopera.com
Schuman’s Fifth, Beethoven’s Eroica and a Mozart piano concerto featuring guest pianist Andreas Heafliger. February 8 – 10 at the Marcus Center For The Performing Arts. 414-291-7605 or milwaukeesymphony.org BACK TO NATURE The Festival City Symphony features orchestral music inspired by nature, including Beethoven’s Sixth, Sibelius’ The Swan of Tuonela and a suite from Grieg’s Peer Gynt. February 10 at the Pabst Theatre. 414-963-9067 or festivalcitysymphony.org SALOME Richard Strauss’ classic, brooding opera graces the stage of the Marcus Center as The Florentine Opera continues its season February 15 -17. 414-291-7800 or florentineopera.org GRETCHEN PARLATO DUO AND ESPERANZA SPALDING DUO Two rising jazz phenoms join up for a concert as a part of Alverno Presents February 16 at Alverno’s Pitman Theatre. 414-382-6044 or alverno.edu IT’S ORIGINAL! Milwaukee Choral Artists perform their second concert of the season featuring music written entirely for the concert February 16 at The Women’s Club of Wisconsin. 262-375-2952 or milwaukeechoralartists.org
acclaimed musical to The Marcus Center February 26 – March 2. 414-273-7206 or marcuscenter.org RASTRELLI CELLO QUARTET Four talented Russian cellists formed this unique string group in Germany to show just how versatile the cello really is. They come to Wisconsin Lutheran College February 29. 414-443-8702 or wlc.edu/arts
DANCE A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM Milwaukee Ballet’s production of the mystical Shakespearian tale should prove to be an impressive spectacle. Featuring the choreography of Bruce Wells, the production runs February 21 - 24 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. 414-902-2103 or milwaukeeballet.org DAVID NEUMANN ADVANCED BEGINNER GROUP Well-received on their last trip to Milwaukee, the edgy dance group returns to Alverno Presents with a whole new evening of dance inspired by the rules and tactics of sports. February 9 at Alverno’s Pitman Theatre. 414-382-6044 or alverno.edu
ONGOING
TOM CHAPIN Wisconsin Lutheran College welcomes the Grammy Award-winning acoustic folk star February 17 at Wisconsin Lutheran College. 414-443-8702 or wlc.edu/arts
Noises Off with the Stroller’s Theatre in Madison through February 2 at the Bartell Theatre. 608-661-9696 or madstage.com
THE LION KING The Milwaukee Theatre welcomes the traveling production of the popular Broadway Elton John/ Tim Rice musical. February 3 – March 2. 414-908-6601 or milwaukeetheatre.com
BEETHOVEN, AMERICAN STYLE: MUSIC IN THE ‘90S The Waukesha Symphony Orchestra presents a concert of classical music connected to the 1990’s. John Corigliano’s Suite for Violin and Orchestra featured in the 1999 movie The Red Violin. Featuring guest soloist Maria Bachman. February 24 – 26 at the Wilson Center. 262-547-1858 or waukeshasymphony.org
The Diary of Anne Frank with the Madison Rep through February 3. 608-256-0029 or madisonrep.org
MOVING TOWARD THE HEIGHTS Andreas Delfs conducts the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in a concert featuring
AVENUE Q People. Puppets. Broadway. Broadway Across America brings the touring production of the
THE PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND The popular New Orleans jazz band performs with The Milwaukee Symphony Pops February 1- 3 at the Marcus Center. 414-291-7605 or milwaukeesymphony.org
Vital Culture
Say Goodnight, Gracie with the Boulevard Theatre through February 3. 414-744-5757 or boulevardtheatre.com
Glenngarry Glenn Ross with The Milwaukee Rep through March 2. 414-224-9490 or milwaukeerep.com
Vital Source |stages | 15
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Don’tforget to write some lyrics for the song they’re singing! birthday edition
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Tim Edgar
The Gone Fishin Jug Band makes the best of what the’ve got. 18 |coloring book| Vital Source
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Tea Krulos
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word search
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Koffeebot
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GIANT XWoRD across
1 Opera singer Gluck 5 Drip 9 Parent 13 Dear one (It.) 17 Water sound 18 Completed 19 With (Fr.) 20 Agave root 22 Muse of poetry 23 Table d’hote 24 More or less 25 Type of wave 26 Intent 27 Lockridge detective duo 31 Printer’s measures 32 Circuit 34 Time zone (Abbr.) 35 Clarke or West 36 Sob 38 Possessed 40 Thickets 43 Pindaric 44 Mizzen 46 Legumes 48 Increases 50 Accordingly 53 Good Times actress Esther 54 Eager 55 Pungent 57 Soft drink 59 Crimefighter Henry West’s pseudonym 61 Mystery writersleuth created by Dannay and Lee 63 Cleanser 64 Cable channel inits.
65 Thompson or Hawkins 66 Full or half ____ 67 Tuna type 69 Filled 70 Scoop 71 Achieve 74 More wise 75 Buzz 76 Bird noise 80 Earl Derr Biggers’ detective 82 Rex Stout’s reclusive detective 84 Cashbox 85 Demeter’s daughter and Dithers’ wife 86 Withered 87 Handles 88 Coin receptacle 90 Neither’s pal 91 At the front 92 Minerals 93 Small 95 Sprinted 97 Tai native 98 Design 101 Spike 102 Compass pt. 104 Scot. cap 107 Exclamation of understanding 108 Det. played by Chester Morris 113 Seafarer 115 Asp 117 Carryall 118 Wind instrument 119 Honor 121 Augmenting 122 Viking 123 Name
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124 Bottle dweller 125 Port timetables (Abbr.) 126 Artist Bonheur 127 Etta, for one 128 Dagger down
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56 Generator 58 Actress Sheridan 60 Cultural 61 Consumed 62 Demonstration inits. (Lat.) 65 Heroic tales 68 Be indisposed 69 Desert 70 Tempted 71 Take measures 72 Not that 73 Lofty 74 Codfish 75 Gr. deity 77 She (Fr.) 78 Newts 79 Footlike part 81 Eternity 82 Essential 83 Horse command 86 Brit. detective 89 Drink makers 91 Moby Dick’s pursuer 94 WWII area
96 Iroquois tribesman 97 Wreath 98 Engine part 99 Fanatical 100 Organic compound 102 Baio, for one 103 Trapshooting 105 Repent 106 Ms. Curie 107 First-rate 109 Sp. bull 110 Up and down man 111 Irish Rose man 112 Breakfast items 114 Bread type 116 Genetic material (Abbr.) 120 Football’s Dawson
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puzzles + games birthday edition
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krIss Kross 3
letter words
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Sudoku
To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 0 to 9 and the letters A to F. Letters and numbers may not be repeated in any box, column or row. There is only one possible solution.
28 |puzzles| Vital Source
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funny page news + Views drawing from memory
>>by dwellephant
oh, the humanity
>>by tim edgar
get your war on
>>by david rees
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news + views at large
The editors of VITAL offer “Checkers Or Chess” as an occasional series, at least through the upcoming electoral cycle, to juxtapose liberal and conservative thinking on matters of the day, printed without further editorial comment. Your own submissions are welcome at editor@vitalsourcemag.com or via mail to Jon Anne Willow at the address on page 4.
Maybe no one will win this election By Donald kaul
American elections are nothing if not amusing; solemn rituals laced with equal measures of irony and hypocrisy, with a touch of absurdity thrown in for taste. The victory speeches alone are worth the price of admission. Take for example the statement of Mitt Romney after he’d been declared winner of the Michigan caucuses: “Tonight is a victory of optimism over Washington-style pessimism,” he said. Implicit in that statement is the belief, widely held, unfortunately, that optimism is a good thing in and of itself, and that to be pessimistic is somehow un-American. Balderdash. Hogwash. Fiddle-faddle. There, having exhausted my supply of 19th century rebukes, let me tell you why the idea is dangerous nonsense. A little optimism is fine, necessary, even. It helps one get up in the morning and face the day. When it reaches the point of selfdelusion, however, it masks the real problems one faces and makes a solution impossible. Romney’s victory took place at the precise moment that the national economy seems poised to plunge into a full-blown recession and in a state that has been living that recession for the better part of a decade. Michigan’s unemployment rate, at about 8 percent, is the highest in the country; its chief economic engine, the auto industry, is reeling from foreign competition and shows little sign of recovering any time soon. Plants, one after another, keep closing. It doesn’t need optimism; it needs rescue. Romney says he can bring Michigan’s lost jobs home. By cutting taxes, of course. That’s the Republican answer to Hadacol. It cures all ills. Let me say this about that: Cutting taxes does not necessarily create jobs. Rich people and corporations do not invest in plants and equipment simply because they have the money to do so. There has to be some expectation of profit. And if there’s nobody out there with money to buy anything, that expectation does not exist. I will never know how Democrats keep losing elections to Republicans. The GOP has controlled Congress for most of the past dozen years and the presidency for the past seven.
30 | at large | Vital Source
Having inherited a budget surplus, a boisterous economy and a healthy dollar, they’ve managed to squander those advantages and run the economy into a ditch. And now we’re seriously considering keeping a Republican in the White House? That’s like hiring Michael Vick as your dog walker. On second thought, I think I know how Democrats keep losing elections. Their ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is all but supernatural. Take, for example, the decision of the national party to ignore the Michigan caucuses. Michigan, seeking to achieve some relevance in the presidential selection process, had moved its caucuses up right behind Iowa and New Hampshire. This so offended the leaders of the Democratic party that they punished the state by stripping it of its delegates at the national convention. The major presidential candidates went along with the gag (most of them because they thought Hillary was going to win anyway) and didn’t campaign in the state. How dumb is that? You’ve got a major industrial state that will be up for grabs in the fall and you turn it over to the Republicans to show off their wares while you sulk in a corner. As a matter of fact, Michigan has a greater claim on being an early primary state than either Iowa or New Hampshire. It’s bigger, more diverse and its problems are national in character. So Michigan didn’t follow the party rules in moving up its primary; so what? States have pretty much free reign in conducting their elections. What could the Democrats have been thinking of? Sometimes I really do believe that everything the Democrats know about politics they learned in kindergarten. After the Michigan caucuses, the carnival moved on to South Carolina, which the Republican state chairman called “a make-or-break contest.” The last time South Carolina hosted a make-or-break contest was 1860. How’d that work out, by the way?
news + views
at large news + views Who destroyed the Republican Party? By James Joyner
[Political pundit] Billy Hollis recently joined Rush Limbaugh, Peggy Noonan, and other conservative commenters in trying to figure out who is responsible for destroying the Republican Party and which of the potential nominees would destroy it even more. Hollis thinks that nominating Mike Huckabee would likely lead to “a loss of Goldwater-McGovern proportions.” I’m inclined to agree, especially if Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee; I think it would be closer if Hillary Clinton is his opponent. At any rate, Huckabee isn’t going to be the nominee. John McCain might, though, and that scares the hell out of Hollis. He wrote, in a recent entry on the Q and O blog: Nominating McCain signifies the end of the GOP as it’s been envisioned by many since the Reagan years, and only a serious rebuilding effort or a dramatic realignment of political parties will bring back any significant emphasis on freedom, the free market, individual responsibility, and the other principles most of the folks who come around here believe in. But there’s no point in blaming McCain. He’s just following the pattern laid down by the Bush pair. Talk a good game, pander, arrange “grand compromises” which inevitably lead to expansion of government, and get your place in the history book. Limited government principles? Who needs ‘em? You would think that their most successful president of the last century [Ronald Reagan] showed them the template they need to succeed, and that they would therefore adopt it. Apparently not. As the old saw goes, they might do the right thing - after they’ve exhausted all other possibilities. First off, McCain is the fiercest opponent of earmarks and runaway spending in the field by a rather wide margin. He’s the guy who opposed the Bush tax cuts, for example, because they weren’t offset by cuts in discretionary spending. More importantly, though, I reject the idea that McCain — or Bushes 41 and 43, for that matter — are amoral politicians who simply tack in whichever direction the polls tell them to go. Hell, McCain’s positions on immigration, campaign finance, taxes, global warming, torture and a variety of other hot button issues would certainly seem to provide plenty of evidence for that. Rather, he’s an 82 percent conservative (if you take the American Conservative Union’s rating system as the proper measure) who simply disagrees with the Movement on some issues. We have only two political parties in this country and even its leaders don’t agree with everything in the platform. Every deviation
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from the Holy Writ isn’t apostasy; it’s life under the big tent. Ronald Reagan last ran for president 24 years ago. A lot has changed since then — partly thanks to his policies. We’re not fighting the commies any more. We don’t have marginal tax rates of 70 percent. It’s now been 35 years since Roe v. Wade rather than 11. It stands to reason, then, that the policy prescriptions of 1980 are going to need some updating. And, frankly, Reagan’s record — as opposed to his rhetoric — isn’t exactly what those who pine for the Good Ole Days seem to think it was. Reagan did virtually nothing to advance the socially conservative agenda he talked about. He appointed Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy, two moderate swing votes, to the Supreme Court to go along with Antonin Scalia, his lone conservative appointee. And he signed the biggest illegal immigrant amnesty bill in the country’s history. He allowed spending to skyrocket under his administration, leaving the country saddled with historic debt. It’s 2008, not 1980. Most women work outside the home. There hasn’t been a military draft in more than a generation. There are significantly more than three television channels. We’ve completed the shift from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. Our political climate has, understandably, changed a little. Goodness, there’s a serious chance that a woman or a black man will be our next president; that was the stuff of stand-up comedy routines in Reagan’s day. The campaigns of Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo, Ron Paul, Tommy Thompson, and Fred Thompson never got off the ground. If you thought they’d be great presidents, you were virtually alone. Sorry for your loss but it’s time to move on. The president represents 300 million-odd Americans and is selected through a grueling process that ensures he’s vetted by widely varying constituencies. The primary process runs potential nominees through a gauntlet and then the general election requires appealing to pluralities in enough states to get at least half of the votes in the Electoral College. Not surprisingly, this means it’s pretty rare for a truly ideological candidate to win the thing. Most Americans aren’t particularly ideological, for one thing, and different parts of the country have very different concerns. So, yes, pragmatism and compromise tend to win the day. That’s not very exciting, to be sure, and it can be frustrating for those of us who have very strong ideas about government. But that’s life. Unless something very odd happens, the winners of the Romney-McCain and Obama-Clinton fights will emerge to duke it out during the summer and fall. Nobody on that list inspires me to do cartwheels. Nonetheless, I’ll pick from among them and live with the outcome. VS
Vital Source |at large | 31
The fine art of persuasion In fourth grade, the children at Roosevelt Elementary are taught how to write a persuasive letter. My nine-year-old, Emma, has been faithfully practicing this skill. Here’s a case in point. Recently, our cat Lucius decided to exhibit his displeasure with the humans by peeing on the floor next to where I was standing. It was a short-lived habit, occurring about two times. But in my frustration of the moment, I was overheard saying that I couldn’t keep a cat that wouldn’t use his litter box. Here is Emma’s written response to that comment. Had I been seriously inclined to drop the cat at the Humane Society I’m not sure it would have changed my mind, but in terms of sheer persuasive skills, Emma clearly found catharsis in this process of careful manipulation and has developed it into an art form. May it be a guide to all of us. You’ve got to fight for what you believe in.
32 | slightly crunchy parent | Vital Source
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Vital’s Picks >> By amy elliott and lindsey huster
Updated all month long at VITALsourcemag.com
Chris Crites February 1 – Paper Boat Boutique
of them Americans, and many of them collaborators with modern-day torch singers like Shakira and Beyoncé – are re-imagining the legacy of these unsung musical heroes and making it fresh for new listeners. You don’t need to trek to Cairo (or even Chicago, New York or Washington DC) for this musically edifying, highly educational and aurally adventurous evening. Hear the Music of the Three Musketeers in concert in Racine and save yourself the trouble of buying carbon offsets later. 847-830-8277 or arabesquemusicensemble.com
An artist’s means of expression is crucial to conveying his message. For some, a canvas or clay will do the trick; and for others, a camera captures it all. Other artists like to “bag” an audience on first glance. Putting a new spin on the recyclable lunch tote, artist Chris Crites uses brown paper bags to speak in broad, artistic strokes about society. In most paintings, Crites recreates mug shots and portraits of famous and nonfamous figures alike, from Frank Sinatra to an anonymous pickpocket. What is Crites trying to say? Perhaps he wants to capture the often-disposable impact we have on the world, even as a criminal. Or maybe he’s just a starving artist who simply ran out of canvases. You be the judge. 414-483-8462 or paperboatboutique.com
Bird Fest February 2 – Wehr Nature Center Milwaukee has its far share of wildlife – a few too-friendly squirrels, some stray felines – but in the winter, it’s easy to forget about our feathered friends, with the exception of seagulls and Canadian geese. But visit the Wehr Nature Center this month, and you’ll be pleasantly reminded how very pretty and friendly birds can be! Stroll amidst cageless birds at Bird Fest – it’s a great opportunity for young and old watchers alike to build bird feeders, test out binoculars, meet live raptors and even dissect an owl pellet to discover the bones of its prey. 414-425-8550 or county.milwaukee.gov.
Arabic Music Ensemble: Music of the Three Musketeers February 5 – DeKoven Center, Racine Do you know Zakariyya Ahmad? Muhammad al-Qasabji? Maybe Rirad a-Sunbati? We bet not, but these three composers made Egyptian music famous all over the world – they wrote almost all of the music performed by Umm Kalthoum, the golden-throated chanteuse of Egypt’s unparalleled 20th century classical music. Now, a group of young, talented, strictly trained performers – many
34 | february picks | Vital Source
Smart Talk Lecture Series Isabella Rossellini February 7 – Marcus Center Behind the nationally recognized spokenword series Smart Talk stand women such as Maya Angelou, Whoopi Goldberg and Barbara Walters, whose stories have sparked action in women around the world. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Smart Talk Women’s Lecture Series begins part one of a five part series this month at the Marcus Center with “Some of Me” a talk by Isabella Rossellini. The Italian actress and former model, known for her physical beauty, will provide a closer inspection of her other roles in life as mother, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Other speakers featured in the upcoming months include Geralyn Lucas, Lisa Ling, Valerie Plame Wilson and Marlo Thomas. 414-273-7206 or talk.biz
08 (November 2007), a concert by the cult figure is rare and thus highly anticipated and sure to sell out. turnerhallballroom.org or 414-286-3663.
I Love the Eisner February 8 – Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design It’s true – we DO love the Eisner, a one-of-akind, state-of-the-art, whiz-bang museum dedicated to the art history of advertising and the effects on the psyche of American society. It’s small but mighty. And very colorful. Join the Eisner – and your good friends at VITAL – in showing your affection for this super public institution with a party at the Museum. On display will be the annual 250 Square Feet of Art show, for which a whole army of local artists (theoretically, as many as 250) have donated work on 12”x12” squares of plywood. Bet on your favorites in a silent auction while you eat food provided by seven (!) different caterers. Your purchase benefits the Eisner, but remember: the Eisner benefits you. If you’ve never seen it, now is unquestionably the time to check it out. 414-847-3290 or eisnermuseum.org Come and experience modern design and local artwork such as this piece by Benjamin wald at the Eisner Museum on February the 8th.
Daniel Johnston February 7 – Turner Hall Ballroom Daniel Johnston is many things: singer, songwriter and artist, and now, a February feature for Turner Hall. Johnston has come a long way in the indie music world from his early beginnings on home-recorded cassettes. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, this self-taught American folk hero has garnered accolades from the likes of Kurt Cobain, David Bowie and Sonic Youth, and his art is showcased in galleries around the country. After a glimpse into the struggles of his personal life in the 2005 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, Johnston gained world-wide attention; even with over 30 albums under his belt, most recently Lost and Found
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Films in French Festival February 8-17 – UWm Union Theatre Strolling along the Seine with a latte in one hand and a beret atop your head is one way to experience the French culture. Luckily, you can also immerse yourself in the language of love this month without so much as a baguette or a pocket translator. For the 11th year, UWM hosts the Festival of Films in French. With talkbacks after most films and subtitles for the language deficient, anyone can enjoy this effort to translate Francophone culture to Milwaukee’s own cultural tongue. The selection is diverse: catch Patrice Chéreau’s Gabrielle or Alain Resnais’ film Private Fears in Public Places (Coeurs), which both tackle the stormy waters and snowy pleasantries of relationships; for something totally different, why not see Bamako, which examines the tremendous personal consequences of Africa’s national debt and the bungled efforts of the World Bank and IMF. Of course there’s a Jean Luc Goddard film, too – 1965’s Pierrot le Fou. Bon appetit! 414-229-4070 or uniontheatre.uwm.edu.
Felicia Sullivan February 14 – Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop on Downer Most of us would like to think of our families as organisms that we eventually leave behind – that our free will and our decisions determine more for us than nature or nuture. But Best American Essays notable Felicia Sullivan, in her revealing memoir The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here, proves that you cannot escape your family or your past. After her cocaine-addicted mother abandons her, Sullivan invents a new past that does not include a mother or a family. Although she is able to follow a straight path, graduating from college and getting a job, Sullivan finds herself retracing the same crooked steps as her mother, snorting cocaine in a nightclub. Only when Sullivan is able to accept her family and her past is she able to understand and shape her own future. 414-332-1181 or schwartzbooks.com
The Golden Dragon Acrobats February 14 – Pabst Theater The hoop-diving, plate-spinning, stackedup-chair-balanced Golden Dragon Acrobats perform a time-honored Chinese art rooted in almost 3,000 years of history. Touring across
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Isabella Rossellini proves she’s more than a pretty face
The Golden Dragon Acrobats will astound and amaze
as part of the Smart Talk Women’s Lecture Series.
audiences with their acrobatic feats.
65 countries, five continents and all fifty states, the acrobatic team stops at the Pabst Theater this month to give the Midwest a taste of this cultural phenomenon. With a team of acrobats, actors and artists who have trained since childhood, the Golden Dragon Acrobats amaze audiences with fantastic physical feats involving simple props, brilliant colors, period costumes and a blend of ancient and contemporary choreography. 414-286-3663 or pabsttheater.org
Chick Singer Night February 19 – Caroline’s Chick Singer Night has brought established and up-and-coming chick singers (and songwriters) to stages all over the world for 20 years, and since 2005 it’s been hosted here in Milwaukee at Caroline’s, a cozy, pretty jazz club on the south side. Alaria Taylor, a five-time WAMI award nominee and a voting member of the Recording Academy (i.e., she decides who wins the Grammy Awards), presides over the festivities. This month’s showcase includes performances by Julie Moffitt, based in Chicontinued on page 36
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cago; Rhonda Begos, who sings the National Anthem for the Milwaukee Wave, the Admirals and the Brewers; Jayme Dawicki, the 2006 WAMI Female Vocalist of the Year; Jamie Bruce, lead singer of blues band Hounds Tooth; and Windy Hope, 2007 Ozaukee Idol. Chick Singer Night brought Norah Jones and Sheryl Crow into the world spotlight – imagine catching acts like that in a space and city as intimate and friendly as Milwaukee. 414-221-9444 or chicksingernight.com.
Juiceboxxx February 20 – The Borg Ward Juiceboxxx, Milwaukee’s most eminent and accomplished boy-wonder-emcee, rarely has time to play for the folks at home – he’s too busy running around Japan, rapping in Europe, hanging out at SXSW in Texas, jumping up Street art by Matt Fink is one piece of the Bits and Pieces at Lucky Star
and down in Chicago and New York. But we don’t blame him. We wish him the best. And we’re excited that he’s coming home to give us some love at the one and only Borg Ward, the artist’s collective/edgy show venue/dance party central that’s taking National Avenue by storm. Part hip-hop messiah, part prophet of fun, all skinny and all in good fun, Juiceboxxx is not just a performer – he’s a movement. And you know when that thermometer plunges in dark, desolate February, you’re just going to want to get moving. myspace.com/theborgward
Just Dig It! I & II Green Gardener Series at Outpost Natural Foods February 21 – Outpost Natural Foods In just a few weeks (okay – maybe months), the snowy caps of Wisconsin will melt away, leaving Milwaukee smelling clean, fresh and ready for growth. Before the spring season arrives for good, take this opportunity to earn an official green thumb with the help of the Outpost Natural Foods. With the Green Gardner Series, which give prospective planters useful tools (of knowledge), the class can teach anyone how to get down and dirty with the weeding, watering and other growing demands of gardening. This month the two part class covers the basics behind the art of organic gardening, specifically lay-out and pest management, both of which lead to a fruitful harvest, for the garden as well as the gardener. 414-431-3377x110 or outpostnaturalfoods.coop
artists (most notably, perhaps, Jon Langford) and not-much-of-anybodies alike, all of it priced to move. Luckystar promises you’ll encounter work “you never thought you’d see, let alone get your mitts on.” We’ll take them up on that. 414-257-4640 or luckystarstudio.com.
VITAL’s 6th Birthday Party! You’re invited! February 23 – MOCT Bar If you’ve come this far without realizing that February marks SIX YEARS of VITAL Source, you need to put on your glasses! And what do you get to do when you’re six, besides brush your own teeth, go to school full time and tie your shoes? You get to have a fabulous birthday party with all of your friends! MOCT Bar and Time Warner Cable host VITAL’s 6th Birthday Blowout, featuring music by Chicago DJs E6 and Matt Roan plus local favorites The Glamour. We’ll have a giant birthday card for you to decorate and sign and we’ll give away custom-printed crayons for coloring the pages of VITAL (or any other coloring book you’ve been saving for a rainy day). Drink specials all night, giveaways from VITAL and the hippest club spot in the Third Ward make for an unforgettable night. Unfortunately, real-life six year olds are not allowed. This is a 21+ affair. 414-372-5351 or vitalsourcemag.com.
Sia February 27 – Turner Hall
For some, Australian native Sia Furler’s sultry vocals invite comparisons to Fiona Apple. After breaking through with Zero Bits and Pieces 7 on the Garden State soundtrack, Sia February 22 – Luckystar Studio The legendary Luckystar has made a name launched her solo career and now she’s supfor itself by showing quality work – much porting her latest, Some People Have Real by locals – on original themes at reasonable Problems. Sia Furler straddles the fine line prices. The team behind the controlled (and between what is art and what is just plain aesthetically rewarding) madness, Gene strange. She’s a big fan of costumes and her Evans and Bridget Griffith Evans, are lauded music videos are more like performance art artists in their own rights, but they started than anything else (check out the promo as collectors, trolling online auctions, trad- video for “Buttons” on YouTube, where Sia ing their own paintings and prints, hunting sings for the camera with weird stuff over her down promising art students and snapping head – stockings, clothespins, plastic wrap). up their work, traveling through thrift stores But her silliness isn’t one note; with songs and big-ticket art fairs alike. Now their col- such as “The Girl You Lost to Cocaine” and lection is extensive and eclectic, and this “Breathe Me,” Sia draws listeners in with her show promises to be a carnival of selections poignant and intimate lyrics. 414-286-3663 from past gallery shows, pieces from famous or pabsttheater.com
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vital living
Carousel 2: The Second Revolution February 29 – Woodland Pattern The family slide show is the perfect caricature of the boring things families make you do. Now a dead ritual, this lame living room affair subjected so many young children to so much suffering for so long that it has not even found resurrection in the world of hip indie-vintage and ironic posturing. Until now! We promise this round will be less painful, though. Carousel presents the work of selected artists given little more than a roll of 35mm film and free reign to explore the creative possibilities. Last year artists turned in hand-painted slides, animation, live music, installation slideshows involving multiple projectors – and this year promises a completely fresh crop of takes on this nostalgic social activity, which many of us presumed better left lifeless. The 2nd Annual Milwaukee Slide Show Invitational is presented by the UWM Department of Film as part of Woodland Pattern’s Experimental Film and Video series. 414-263-5001 or woodlandpattern.org.
NEW ORLEANS MARDI GRAS INDIANS: Contextual Portraits from an Insider’s View January 22-February 29 Exhibition Opening Reception: January 24, 5-8pm
February 15, 4PM Gallery Talk with exhibition Curator, Dr. Joyce Jackson, on Resistance Street Theater: The Black Indians of Mardi Gras
February 27, 5-8PM Exhibition Closing Reception with live music by Jazz Chant featuring Adekola Adedapo
Co-Sponsored by UWM Union Sociocultural Programming and the UWM Anthropology Department This exhibition was developed by Cultural Crossroads, Inc., a nonprofit community organization based in Baton Rouge, LA.
vital living
The Mardi Gras Indian tradition emerged as a celebration practiced exclusively by African-Americans who drew on Amerindian, African, and West Indian rhythms and motifs to create a folk ritual that is unique to New Orleans. This exhibition is a 30 year retrospective visual history by photographer J. Nash Porter of the Black Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans through images interpreting African-American folk tradition in one particular region of Louisiana.
UW–Milwaukee Union Art Gallery 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., W199 414.229.6310 · unionartgallery.uwm.edu or www.myspace.com/unionartgallery
No state tax revenue supported the printing of this ad.
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>> words by matt wild
Guitar hero Items discussed: pre-pubescent facial hair, questionable guitar-playing skills, Rock Band. Items only briefly touched upon: Jerry Taff, Nirvana, dry humping.
G
rowing up in a small, semi-rural town where broomball and shining deer were considered high entertainment (if you’re unfamiliar with these provincial pastimes, please, don’t ask), I was keenly aware of a strange, yet terrifying sub-set of my peers. No, not the girls who harbored abnormal crushes on Channel 12’s Jerry Taff, or even the kids who looked like circus animals (my graduating class alone had three pandas), but something much more puzzling, much more insidious: 13-year-olds with facial hair. For the most part, these freaks of nature were farm kids who drank at least four cartons of milk during lunch, had nicknames like “Goatsy” or “Yummers” and were almost always excellent bowlers. So enamored were these mutants with their precious little dirt-staches that they never once shaved them, instead opting to savor each scraggly whisker for years on end as if it were manna from heaven. Of course, much like a farmer’s field, if you fail to cultivate the land (or, in this case, your upper lip), you deprive your crops the chance to flourish and grow, leaving you with nothing but dirt. And that’s exactly what happened here: all throughout high school, these redneck goons sported the same ill-formed, uncultivated facial hair. Occasionally running into them now during drunken jaunts back to my hometown, I always take a certain amount of pleasure in seeing these grown men still rocking straight-up peach fuzz. I bring up this disturbing phenomenon because I harbor something of an ill-formed moustache myself: my sub-standard guitar playing (in the realm of facial hair, I still remain as smooth and ridiculous as a baby bird). Technically, I’ve been playing guitar for nearly half my life; this
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statement is entirely misleading, however, when can sometimes seem passé, playing guitar in a you consider that in my case, “playing” roughly rock and roll band is still pretty fucking awesome, translates to “learning some basic chords when and not something that should be taken lightly. you’re 16 and strumming them to death for the After all, what’s the alternative? next decade-and-a-half.” Perhaps it was my early This seemingly rhetorical question was frustration with never figuring out that goddamn answered the next evening while playing the opening riff to “Come As You Are” (something video game Rock Band. By now, I’m sure we’re most eight-year-olds could probably lick in ten all familiar with the basic premise of this evil, evil minutes) but after a while, I simply gave up. game (playing along to a smorgasbord of classic This piss-poor attitude was recently thrown into rock songs with faux-guitars and drums), and yes, sharp relief when local tunesmiths The Danger it’s pretty fucking fun, and yes, it’s a good way asked me to fill in for their newly-departed lead to kill a couple hours with your friends. Let’s be guitarist. It was understood this emergency honest, though: it’s far from the real deal, it’s kind substitution would be for a single show at of dorky and it’s guaranteed to never get you laid. the Cactus Club (opening for the criminally (If you think about it, Rock Band is the rock and underappreciated Dark Horse Project), and that roll equivalent of dry humping: hollow, off-putting, we would only have a few weeks to rehearse. It and more than a little bit embarrassing.) was also understood that I would be expected to Playing the game, I grew sad: was this the play some of the leads – nothing complicated, I grim future in store for millions of aging band was assured – but leads nonetheless. Would I nerds? Was this my future? Did I really want to do it? After carefully considering my utter lack of resign myself so soon to hanging out in a woodtime, energy or talent, I said yes. paneled basement and “playing” along to some (A side note: if The Danger happens to be fucking Molly Hatchet songs? If we still have playing near a venue near you, do yourself a opportunities to do this thing for real – even with favor and check them out; it’s nice to hear a less than stellar skills at our disposal – shouldn’t band that doesn’t rely on chamber-pop chanting we throw all caution to the wind and simply say or lyrics about robots and zombies to get their “yes” before it’s too late? point across.) It’s a few days later and the Cactus show has Rehearsals went well, though my lack of arrived. We’re standing on the stage, instruments expertise was painfully evident throughout. Minor poised, a roomful of people preparing for what and seventh chords eluded me. A bass line I was we’re about to do. Thomas looks over at me. “Are asked to play continually baffled me. Nevertheless, you ready?” he asks. I worked diligently (it’s a credit to the collective I nod my head, turn my body to the crowd and patience of Thomas, Jered and Ian that they never go for broke. VS once told me to go fuck myself), and in the end, arrived at a point where I was confident I could Matt Wild really isn’t all that bad of a guitarist. pull it off. Just a bit rusty. During this process, I was assailed with countless questions from friends and family alike: Would I be getting paid? Wouldn’t I be better off staying at home and watching Magnum P.I.? Why, exactly, was I doing this? Ultimately, the only reply I could come up with was, “Why not?” Though it
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