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Weekend Guide
FRIDAY: The MSU Department of Theatre will present “Sylvia,” the bizarre tale of one man’s love for his dog, at 8 p.m.
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Home & local brewed beer
Not that college students normally need an excuse to drink beer, but tomorrow is that annual beer-gulping, bar-hopping, don’t-stop-till-you-drop extravaganza otherwise known as St.
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Concert goes still need to show basic etiquette
Don’t get me wrong; I still hate hippies. It’s just that I understand them a little more now. The summer before freshman year, I was sent a rooming questionnaire.
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Children experience vast world of making movies
For four years now, East Lansing has been putting the power and creativity of film into the hands of kids. The East Lansing Children’s Film Festival, featuring more than 50 animated and live action short films from more than 15 countries, takes place this weekend on MSU’s campus. In addition to the viewings, workshops and activities are planned so that children can try their hands at filmmaking. “One of the most rewarding things about working with this festival is seeing the delight of the children - seeing what makes the films, watching the films and laughing out loud,” third-year festival director Jerri Pruener said. From Friday through Monday, children of any age can take in some films, attend a workshop and stay afterward for refreshments. “With all of the questionable entertainment in media today, it is nice to work on an event that allows the community to enjoy a quality family event, that focuses on entertainment that lacks violence or exploitive subject matter,” said Jeanne Trepanier, a telecommunication senior in her second year as a student intern for the festival. On Sunday, children can even view films made by others their age across the state. “For this community and the students in the state, this really is an incredible and artistic opportunity,” said Kevin Green, spokesperson for East Lansing public schools.
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Bathroom graffiti graces the big screen
Some people get their best ideas while in the bathroom. And Jamie Schenk is one of them. She was sitting in a grimy stall, taking a break from her psychology class at the University of Michigan, when the idea hit her. “There was all this dialogue about ‘What am I doing with my life?’, ‘Where am I going to go?’ It was all this stuff pertaining to life,” Schenk said.
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Macho Maintenance
News flash to MSU men: You no longer have to hide in the closet under two blankets and a sleeping bag when you call the hair salon to make an appointment. You’re not alone.
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Local author brings kids book to life
Carolyn White has absorbed the mystery of the Irish coast, bog and fields for nearly 30 years, spending every other summer there in a tiny coastal village. Combining her passion for travel with a fervor for writing, the East Lansing author has revamped an old Irish legend of Saint Brendan and his monks’ travel on the back of a whale into a children’s story, “The Adventure of Louey and Frank.” “I’m obsessed with writing, and people tease me in Espresso Royale because I’m always writing there,” said White, who prefers her coffee with a bit of milk.
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Singer comes to Wharton for coffeehouse series, music spans music genres
Dar Williams is confident she knows when to read a crowd and use a broader brush with her performance attributes.“I think probably I have a little more economy and I know when I can let things go a little bit more,” she said.The acclaimed artist will bring her blend of pop-influenced folk to Wharton Center on Friday night as part of the Ten Pound Fiddle Coffeehouse series presented by the MSU/Lansing Area Folksong Society.Williams will be promoting her fourth release, her first since 1997, titled “The Green World.”In explaining the title of the disc, Williams referred to a concept she learned from an undergraduate William Shakespeare class at Wesleyan University, where the playwright often centered his plays on the conflict between the “closed world” and the “green world.”“The green world was the term that a Shakespeare scholar used for the chaotic space that characters would find themselves in, often represented by a forest,” she said.
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Band proves they have elements to stick around
Element 101 Stereo Girl (Tooth & Nail Records) Vocalist Crissie Verhagen could have done anything with her sweet and hypnotizing voice, but music lovers are thankful she decided to contribute it to rock. On Element 101’s latest album, they focus more on the songwriting aspect of their music rather than the loud and obnoxious punk of their debut - a step many bands have delved into recently. Their sophomore release, “Stereo Girl,” gleams of solid rock and roll with a touch of poppy goodness and some clever hooks and catchy choruses to boot. Those expecting tunes more like their debut are in for a surprise as the collection is a more genuinely creative and mature plethora of punchy and jump-up-and-down rock. Verhagen uses some nice harmonization on “Today and Always” while “Standing On The Edge Of Night” has some influence by The Get Up Kids, with drum work similar to MxPx. The guitar work throughout most of the record, though not poignantly original, works convincingly by fusing with the creative bass work of Sal Ciaravino. All in all, Element 101 has proven itself as a staying power in the pop-rock airwaves with their latest. To check out more Grooves, visit us online at www.statenews.com/msandu.
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Live performances can make or break groups appeal
Some of my friends laughed. Some asked me twice.And when I told them I was going to see Vanilla Ice(Rob Van Winkle) over my spring break, they asked me again if I was serious.That’s right, I saw the ice man at the Leelanau Sands Casino in Peshawbestown, Mich., but I also had the privilege of checking out Weezer at the State Theater in Detroit the following week.I’m not ashamed to admit I paid $10 to check out the ice man himself with the 200 others in the small venue, because seriously, how many people can say they’ve seen Vanilla Ice?Don’t even try to tell me you never dug the guy for at least a week in elementary school - we all did.I’m sure most of you know by now that his music is not the poppy bubble-gum geek-rap it once was back when we were in grade school.
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Sylvia brings laughs to U
“Sylvia,” a play that explores the bizarre love interest between a middle-aged married man and his newly found dog and best pal, opens this weekend at the Arena Theatre in the Auditorium basement. The play by A.R.
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Toadies much anticipated new album worth long wait
Toadies Hell Below/Stars Above (Interscope Records) After an excruciating and painful seven year absence of The Toadies, fans can breathe a sign of relief as their new record “Hell Below/Stars Above” is finally here. The Fort Worth foursome has sharpened its already fierce instrumental attack while revealing new layers of intimacy and insight into vocalist/guitarist Todd Lewis’ personally charged lyrics. Each song resonates with the same energy and complex artistry that their platinum-selling major label debut, “Rubberneck,” did in 1994. “You’ll Come Down” flows along the same mood as the haunting rock anthem “Possum Kingdom” from “Rubberneck,” while “Push the Hand” condones the same innocent, yet hip, swinging mood as “Backslider,” also from “Rubberneck.” Mark Reznicek’s drumming has improved slightly, seemingly adding more fills and a smoother, more concise backbone to the band, while the simple, yet defining strums of Clark Vogeler’s guitar remains perfectly signature of the band’s sound. “Pressed Against the Sky” and the dreary and long-winded “Doll Skin” expose a surprisingly subtle melodic sensibility side of the band, while unfortunately, the guitar riff of “What We Have We Steal” sounds like something from rock has-beens Collective Soul. Bleeding with the same unexpected stops, totally screwed-up time signatures and guitar advances that seem too simple, The Toadies prove they haven’t grown up just yet, while at the same time indicating they’ve simply gotten better at what they do. A listening party for this album will be held at 11 p.m.
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Web Only Groove-Shipping News
Shipping News Very soon, and in pleasant company (Quarterstick Records) The second full-length effort by these lo-fi geniuses clatters with endless pieces of imagery to compliment their creative progressions. They preach about depressing goodbyes and empty carousels, among other painful everyday occurrences. Opening up with the powerful and confusing chord progressions of “The March Song,” the album carves itself into a beautiful album focused on calmness. The gentle tapping of the percussion on “Actual Blood” rattles as if it were recorded beneath the sea, while the single string progression is minimal enough to appreciate the emotional depth of vocalistKyle Crabtree’s words. Parts of “Nine Bodies, Nine States” sounds similar to something veteran rockers The Jesus Lizard would do - then they turn the volume down and start over again. There is also a strong presence of Archers of Loaf, Slint and even some guitar work similar to Don Caballero throughout this instrumental. “Quiet Victories” and “Contents of a Landfill” are purposefully restrained, settling the listener and forcing every overlapping note and every echo to be absorbed to relax in the constant constellations of sound. The only downfall of the record is that there isn’t one song that stands apart from the rest, which is somewhat irritating, but at the same time the album wouldn’t flow as well if there was one song that stood apart. This album is the perfect soundtrack to an evening at the beach watching the sunset with a loved one, or for a depressing evening alone after a break-up.
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Two jazz musicians come to Wharton
To Rodney Whitaker, jazz crooner John Pizzarelli is one of the premier keepers of the American song. “It’s amazing for a guy his age to be in love with the American songbook and keeping with that tradition is an incredible thing,” the assistant professor and director of jazz studies said. Backed by the John Pizzarelli Trio and The Big Band Swing Orchestra, Pizzarelli will perform with another noted jazz performer, Maureen McGovern, tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.
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Actor fights stereotypes
WATERVILLE, Maine - Grabbing a cab in New York City may be a whole lot easier, thanks to Danny Glover. The actor, who played Mel Gibson’s sidekick in the “Lethal Weapon” movies, complained in 1999 to the city’s taxi commission that cabbies passed him by because he’s black. “Most black men I meet in New York City thank me because now they can get a cab,” Glover told about 300 Colby College students. Speaking at the private college on Saturday to help celebrate diversity, Glover told students to reject divisive social, ethnic and religious stereotypes and look at the world in a new way. “Diversity is about honoring and celebrating our interdependence, our basic humanness,” he said.
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Old shows need more play on TV
Syndicated TV: My best friend.Mokey. Boober. Wembley. Red. Do any of these names sound familiar?My roommates and I woke up at our usual Saturday time, around 11 a.m.
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One-man show comes to U
In Tupelo County, football reigns supreme and the annual Easter Egg Hunt takes on Super Bowl proportions.
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Napster forced to block thousands of songs from service this week
In another bold move against Napster, the Recording Industry Association of America sent a list of 135,000 copywritten songs currently available on Napster to the free online music trading service Friday night. Napster has until Wednesday to block its file-swapping service of those songs. The list was compiled of music owned by the five biggest record labels - Sony, Warner, BMG, EMI and Universal - which all believe Napster is robbing them of billions in profits. Shortly after the announcement, Napster issued a statement that assured its more than 60 million users they will still be able to use the system - with some limitations. “You will still be able to share music that we haven’t been asked to block,” the statement read.
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DeNiro, Sisqo revisit popular TV shows for new film plots
When television shows get made into movies, the sources are usually obvious, like “Charlie’s Angels” or “Cast Away.” But sometimes, producers can be sneakier. This weekend’s new releases, “15 Minutes” and “Get Over It,” are just that: Snippets of popular television formula crafted to look like coherent film.
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Local theater features childrens production
All-of-Us Express Children’s Theatre presented “Gareth, the Gentle Gargoyle” at The Riverwalk Theatre for the musical’s opening run this weekend, and attracted scores of families to the near-sold out production. They could be seen in the lobby of the theater, 228 Museum Drive in Lansing, bearing post-performance bounty of flowers and mini-gargoyles, adding to the “family show” feel.