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Weekend Guide
Today • Singer-songwriters Felix McTeigue and Amy Speace will perform at 7:30 p.m.
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Broadway legend arrives at Wharton
For a show that centers around a bloody revolution and features a thief, prostitute and an obsessed police officer as main characters, the success of Wharton Center’s next big musical is nothing short of phenomenal. “Les Misérables,” the second longest-running play in Broadway history, recently entered its 16th year of performing in the United States and has enjoyed high ticket sales in scores of major cities. The show’s East Lansing stop is no exception.
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Fans look forward to energy of Rusted Root
Once in a blue moon, a concert comes along that features an illustrious lineup with very affordable ticket prices.
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The F-bomb:
When you were young, you had your mouth washed out with soap for saying it. As you approached those pubescent years, you felt so cool when it blurted from your mouth - even if you really didn’t understand what it meant or why it was so bad. It can be used to describe something un-frickin’-believably good, but can also be used as a demeaning, vile insult. You were taught never to use it because it was a naughty or dirty word.
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Beck finds success with somber Sea Change
After the appropriate and exotic overtones of Beck’s last record, “Midnite Vultures,” he returns with “Sea Change,” what many critics believe to be his best effort. Gone are the strobe lights and whacked-out disco beats that plastered his last disc, and thankfully he’s returned to the inspirational songwriting that surrounded 1998’s “Mutations.” Instead of ranting about “Sexx Laws” and “lobotomy beats,” we see the calm, collected side of Beck, as most of the songs have minimal percussion and emphasize his diverse musical talents. But most noticeably, the lyrics and overall mood display a sad and helpless man. There are many answers flying around the media trying to explain why this record is so much more melancholy compared to “Midnite Vultures” or even “Odelay,” but the real answer is simple: Beck is a striving musician who won’t settle for anything less than making a completely different record each time he walks into the studio. I find it difficult to immediately label this as Beck’s greatest collection, as some publications have boldly proclaimed. But I will go as far as to agree that this record is at the forefront for this year’s “Album of the Year.” The seas have changed yet again for Beck, and for that, we thank him.
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Western Keys creates catchy sound
Austin, Texas’ Western Keys makes the kind of music that fluctuates from sweet and simple melodies to twisted and torn tunes that are ridiculously catchy and entertaining indie rock. Ben Dickey’s voice is addictive in its imperfection as it breaks and jumps around the songs, never sticking to routine.
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Whats happening?
Events • Into the Streets presents its annual community service event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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Nirvana scandal a disgrace, Love should get a life
I’ll say it now: Courtney Love is completely out of her mind. Ever since I started following Love’s vendetta against the surviving members of Nirvana after the death of her husband and the band’s former frontman Kurt Cobain, I’ve lost nearly all respect for the once talented lead singer of now-defunct Hole. The ruckus Love raised while trying to stop the release of one of Nirvana’s last recorded songs, “You Know You’re Right,” caused a standoff that spiraled out of control, creating one of the worst publicity stunts I’ve ever seen. Following Cobain’s death in 1994, things were bad for Love. I’ve got sympathy for her there - losing her husband to suicide, leaving her to care for their daughter Frances, certainly couldn’t have been easy.
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U museum celebrates National Arts and Humanities Month
The MSU Museum is celebrating National Arts and Humanities Month with exhibits and activities throughout October. This event is a celebration to the spirit of creativity, culture and community.
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Chan, Hewitt disappoint in James Bond imitated Tuxedo
Chris Tucker must not have been available to co-star in Jackie Chan’s action comedy “The Tuxedo.” Of course, the story would have to be altered to make room for Tucker and his big mouth personality since it doesn’t exactly fit the “Rush Hour” profile. Instead, a more passive role was filled by Jennifer Love Hewitt.
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NCAA College Football 2K3 fast-paced, but nothing new
College football is underway and another season of tailgating, trash talking and profound tradition is finding its way into the hearts of millions.
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Waifs give superb performance at Creole Gallery
Lansing - As the audience dimmed the house lights in the crowded Old Town venue, stage lights covered in colored gels cast a warm glow on the audience, who welcomed Australian band The Waifs with a thundering applause.
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Ledger leads complex life in inspiring Four Feathers
At a time when the British crown had claimed nearly one quarter of the world and was in a constant fight with different civilizations, there had to be a few inspiring stories. “The Four Feathers,” a remake of the 1939 original, is an epic tale of one soldier’s need to save face and overcome cowardice. At the end of the 19th century, a newly engaged Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger) and his best friend Jack Durrance (Wes Bentley) learn they must ship out to Sudan to defend a British fort that fell to rebels in Khartoum. Facing a promising future with fiancee Ethne (Kate Hudson) in one hand and a questionable mission in the other, Harry resigns from his commission as his troops go to war.
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Center of the Universe an accurate portrayal of family life
Lansing - Theatergoers are apt to see shades of their own families in “The Exact Center of the Universe,” the newest production of the BoarsHead Theater. Starring Carmen Decker, Tim Jacobs and Kate Berry, the play tells the story of an imperious Southern debutante and her doted-upon 35-year-old son, Appleton.
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WEB ONLY: New jazz score to Body and Soul to open at Wharton
A screening of Oscar Micheaux’s controversial silent film “Body and Soul” will be accompanied by a new jazz score composed by trombonist Wycliffe Gordon at 8 p.m.
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Center of the Universe opens at BoarsHead
The BoarsHead Theater, 425 S. Grand Ave. in Lansing, kicks off its 2002-03 season with the Joan Vail Thorne comedy “The Exact Center of the Universe.” The five-person cast is headed by BoarsHead veteran Carmen Decker as Vada Love Powell, an elderly Southern belle whose son, 35-year-old Appleton, is the center of her universe.
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Australian folk band to play Creole Gallery
This weekend brings together the elegance of the Creole Gallery and the international ambiance of favorable music. The Waifs, a folk and pop band from Australia, will perform at 8 p.m.
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Theron, Bacon predictable in Trapped
Ransom films need a new look.When was the last time you saw a kidnapper snap and shoot the kid, the wife or whoever was unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
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Alabama, Moonlight good movie choices
Cinderella arrives in the 21st century when Melanie Carmichael (Reese Witherspoon), a girl from the backwoods of Alabama, finds herself in the New York spotlight.
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WEB ONLY: New York DJ to play Temple Club
The Temple Club, 500 E. Grand River Ave. in Lansing, is bringing DJ Micro from New York at midnight Saturday.