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Features

FEATURES

Wayne Brady entertains crowds at Breslin Center on Friday

After screaming audience members suggested words such as strawberries, moon boots and beer to improv comedian Wayne Brady, he knew exactly what to do next.Brady, one of the stars of “Whose Line is it Anyway?,” created a song on the spot using the words and serenaded the crowd as it cheered loudly.“Look at me, I’m wearing moon boots,” he sang.

FEATURES

Alice In Chains lead singer found dead

From staff and wire reports The body of Alice in Chains lead singer and guitarist Layne Staley, 34, was found Friday night in his Seattle home. The exact time of death and cause are yet to be determined, but the King County Medical Examiner positively identified Staley’s body Saturday after an autopsy, a spokesperson said.

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Pop culture 101

After semesters full of typical, boring college requirements like math, history or English, some could only dream of taking a Dave Matthews Band class - for credit. And as colleges and universities continue to vary the kind of electives students can take, the subject matter gets even quirkier. Oberlin College in Ohio offered the Dave Matthews Band class this semester, along with classes analyzing the television show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and the films of Harrison Ford. The classes are offered through Oberlin’s Experimental College, also known as ExCo, launched in 1968 to allow instructors, students and community members the opportunity to teach others about unconventional topics. “I was looking at some old course catalogs from the early ’70s and there were schools everywhere like this,” said Oberlin sophomore Tessa Shanks, an ExCo office assistant.

FEATURES

4-H exhibit opens Sunday at MSU museum

The MSU Museum is celebrating more than 100 years of 4-H, with an exhibit opening Sunday called “Head-heart-hands-health,” which is the founding philosophy of teaching rural youth canning and corn growing. Over the decades, 4-H club has grown in membership by recruiting children from all over Michigan.

FEATURES

Film critic ends reign, reflects on life, movies

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been writing movie reviews for nearly a year now. For almost a full year I’ve been writing both serious commentary and dirty jokes about actors, actresses, writers and directors, and I’ve been lucky enough to be able to get some of it in the paper. Some people have no idea who I am, and some people think I suck.

FEATURES

Groovatron to play at Harpers

Nick Ferrer doesn’t look at any gig he performs with his band, Groovatron, as too small or minuscule. “If two people come out to a show, that’s two more people we have with us that have heard our music,” the guitarist and vocalist said.

FEATURES

Girls Against Boys perform at Union

Take advantage of a rare chance to see one of the most underrated bands out there Sunday at the Union Ballroom, when Jade Tree recording artists Girls Against Boys will perform. The New York-based band released several albums and EP’s on independent record labels such as Adult Swim and Touch and Go, before releasing “Freak*on*ica” on Geffen Records in 1998. Girls Against Boys will release its seventh full-length, “You Can’t Fight What You Can’t See” on May 14. The band also contributed a track on “A Means To An End: The Music of Joy Division,” and is featured on many movie soundtracks including “Clerks,” “Mallrats” and “subUrbia.” The band made a cameo appearance in the motion picture “200 Cigarettes” and scored most of the recent film, “Series 7.” Girls Against Boys has a sound unlike any other, mixing swaggering vocals with a thick, bass-driven rock.

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Mars disc is far out

Listening to “No City Fun” is more than just great music, it’s a blurry and surreal expedition. From beginning to end, each song is driven by a relatively simple string pattern, and in the background a country guitar reveals itself and adds to the overall dreary mood. A lot of bands try to tackle this feat, but only a few succeed with precise songwriting.

FEATURES

Weekend guide

Friday • Breslin Center presents “Wayne Brady and Friends” 8 p.m. at Breslin Center.

FEATURES

Mothers Day to open at BoarsHead

With May around the corner, many families will gather in honor of their mothers. But not all gatherings are going to be happy and peaceful, evident in a BoarsHead Theater production of “Mothers Day.” This is the North American premiere of “Mother’s Day,” and playwright Jeff Baron said he’s also produced this play in Australia, Paris and Athens.

FEATURES

Waynes World

From his antics on the ABC weekly prime-time show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” it seems Wayne Brady was born for the cameras. And whether singing, dancing or just prancing around on the stage, many fans of the improv comedy show think he outshines co-stars Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles. Brady will bring his traveling comedy show, “Wayne Brady and Friends,” to Breslin Center at 8 p.m.

FEATURES

To hear good music, dig deeper than MTV

This past Sunday, I regained my faith in the taste of music enthusiasts. It was in the Union Ballroom, during the phenomenal sold-out performance of The White Stripes, when I realized people really do appreciate honest art. Meg and Jack White, of The White Stripes, played a type of rock ‘n’ roll that isn’t anything like too many of the current mainstream rock acts, if you can call Creed a modern rock act.

FEATURES

Wharton, MSU Department of Theatre release schedules

All theater lovers get ready for the MSU Department of Theatre and Wharton Center’s 2002-03 season lineup, which has a diverse selection of performances mixed in with a few world premieres. Wharton kicks off its 20th Anniversary Encore Season with the production “Riverdance,” famous for its skilled Irish dancers.