Page 4
The Banner
December 3,1998
Features
Savoy: classy dining without classy prices
S
By Hilary Russell
staff Writer
Several weeks ago, a little Italian
restaurant named Savoy caught my
attention while watching WLOS at
noon.
I wai standing in my kitchen trying
to decide which of my frozen dinners
was calling to me from inside the
freezer, when I heard, off in the dis
tance, something about pesto,
linguini, and tomatoes.
I walked back into my living room,
turned up the volume on the televi
sion, and there was Bob Caldwell,
the guy who does morning weather
reports for WLOS, in an apron.
Turns out Savoy, located at 641
Merrimon Ave., was giving two-
minute cooking demonstrations. In
fact, every day that week, the chef at
Savoy was trekking on over to WLOS
to cook a dish for the “Carolina
Kitchen” news clip.
Gotta love those subliminal adver
tising schemes. Well, I did, because a
friend of mine dropped by shortly
after and I convinced her to head over
to Savoy for lunch. I bid my entou
rage of frozen dinners goodbye, and
off we went. It was a Tuesday after
noon, and because it was around 2
p.m., the lunch crowd had dwindled
down, leaving us to dine in solitude.
We were greeted at the door imme
diately upon arrival, and seated next
to a window towards the back of the
restaurant.
A basket of fresh bread and a small
plate of olive oil were set before us
before we had time to open the menus.
There were so many choices and
such a wide variety of dishes that it
took some time to decide what to
order. Everything looked so good,
and the descriptions of the plates
alone left my mouth watering. The
prices aren’t bad, either.
Ranging from three to eight dollars
for lunch, meal prices at Savoy fit any
budget.
There are salads to choose from,
such as the Chicken Salad Ivy ($6.95),
which is a scoop of diced chicken
breasts mixed with dill mustard, sur
rounded by grapes, kiwis, walnuts,
and tiny fruit muffins. Savoy also
serves a Caesar salad with chicken
($7.75) made with their own home
made dressing. Each of the dishes
cooked and served at Savoy are made
from scratch.
I tried their grilled chicken sand
wich ($4.95), which comes with
enough food to request a take out
container before you are finished eat
ing.
On another occasion, I ordered their
grilled veggie sandwich ($4.50), an
assortment of peppers, onions, and
mushrooms, on a grilled hoagie roll.
All sandwiches come with a choice of
roasted new potatoes or pasta salad.
Savoy also serves dinner, and while
I haven’t tried dinner there yet, judg
ing from the lunch dishes, I can only
imagine the feast they offer. This
restaurant is a perfect place to go with
friends when you want something a
little more classy than the typical
eatery and less formal than, say, the
Grove Park Inn.
Savoy
641 Merrimon Ave.
253-1077
IMethodical Overkill Weinbeig, UNCA students set
for annual holiday show
COURTESY OF DEF JAM RECORDS
By Rachel Penix
staff Writer
By Jason Williams
staff Writer
It’s been four years since Staten Island rap
per Method Man of the group Wu Tang
Clan dropped his first solo album, Tica/.
Now he is positioned to takeover the rap
world again with the release of his much
anticipated second solo album, Tied2000:
Judgement Day.
With the release of Tied, Method Man
emerged as one of the top lyricists from the
influential Wu Tang Clan, as well hip-hop in
general, and inspired a barrage of imitators
looking to reproduce his solo prosperity.
He also quickly became one of the most
popular rappers within his genre, appearing
on numerous other artiks’works, mix-tapes,
radio stations and soundtracks. His numer
ous guest appearances fueled the appetite for
an eagerly awaited second release.
Hip-hop fans have waited through seven
Wu Tang member albums, four false starts,
and almost 1 5 rescheduled release dates for a
second offering from Method Man.
With the release of Tied 2000, Method
Man serves up 28 tracks of hip-hop lyricism,
more than enough to satisfy the most vora
cious appetite. But, as many of us know from
Thanksgiving, sometimes there can be too
much of a good thing.
That’s exactly what happens with this al
bum. Method Man’s lyrical abilities left me
flabbergasted, and the beats kept my head
nodding, but with 18 songs and 10 skits,
there is a bit of overkill.
Method Man s raps are always on point,
and he will amaze you with how fi-eely he can
come up with very complex rhymes. Many of
his rhymes have the distinct feel of freestyle
rhymes, or those coming of the top of his
head, at which he is quite skilled.
Where his early work was rough and raw,
this newer work demonstrates much more
confidence, knowledge, and experience.
Unfortunately, with all the maturity gained
in his work over the past four years, there is a
loss.
Much of the going-for-broke feel that char
acterized debut album has been lost in the
overpolished tracks of Tied 2000, many of
which lack the hunger to succeed that was
displayed in his earlier work.
RZA, Wu Tang’s main producer who is
known for arranging many of the group’s
works, only produces three of the songs on
this album. This may account for the differ
ent feel of the album. Method Man might be
trying to spread his wings, working with
other producers such as Eric Sermon and the
Trackmasters, but I think it’s the RZA pro
duced tracks on the album that stand out the
most.
I feel it would have been a much tighter
album if it were cut down a bit. Songs like
Perfect World, Retro Godfather, ” “Party
Crasher,” and “Judgement Day” really come
through with Wu Tang’s trademark rawness,
sparse beats, and unique samples, but other
songs such as Cradle Rock,” “Dangerous
Grounds, and Torture” often become re
petitive, and the music never quite melds
with Method Man’s trademark lyrical as
sault.
Also, most of the skits between the songs are
dumb and really serve no purpose other than
to cash in on a trend in hip-hop albums.
Many of the tracks have guest appearances
by other artists, anotherpopular trend in hip-
hop.
Appearances include Left Eye ofTLC, Mobb
Deep, Redman, and D’Angelo, as well as Wu
Tang Members Raekwon, Inspectah Deck,
Masta Killa, and Capadonna. One good
thing is that, unlike many guest appreances
on other albums, where the guest rapper
almost always outshines the featured rapper,
on Tied2000 they help enhance the track
while not taking anything away from Method
Man’s abilities.
Tracks that stand out include “Spazzola,” a
lyrical feast with the Wu members, and
Break Ups 2 Make Ups,” featuring
D’Angelo, a track reminiscent of Meth’s hit
single “All I Need,” off of Tied.
Tied2000 is a definite must-have for any
hip-hop devotee. Despite some of the flaws.
Method Man’s lyrical ability, combined with
production from some of the best in hip-hop,
make this album one of the better choices out
now. But, if you are looking for the same
rough and raw feeling ofhis first album, you
may be a little disappointed.
The UNCA Music Department will present
its 20th holiday concert on Dec. 6 at 4 p.m.
in Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.
There are about 15 pieces in this concert
and approximately 200 people involved with
the show, said Lloyd Weinberg, adjunct in
structor in UNCA’s music department.
The jazz band, the brass choir, the ebony
ensemble, the UNCA community chorus,
and the university singers are slated to per
form in the concert.
The groups will perform traditional holiday
songs and there will be a solo by Santa Claus.
He will conduct the Hallelujah chorus, and
after the concert, children tell him what they
want for Christmas.
Santa Claus will be played by Charles
McKnight, chair of the music department.
He also sings in the community chorus and
plays in the brass choir.
Charies Taft, adjuct instructor of music,
will be conducring the Community Chorus
and the University Singers.
The Ann Dunn Dancers and children from
the Claxton Elementary School will be spe
cial guests.
The children will play several instruments,
which include xylophones and bells.
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UNCA’s jazz band performs during
“It’s a real community effort. It’s a variety
show,” said Weinberg.
The concert should last about one hour and
15 minutes, and the individual pieces are each
around three minutes in duration.
The directors of the different choruses chose
the songs that they wanted their group to do.
They chose songs that they thought the audi
ence would like, as well as ones that the singers
like to perform, Weinberg said.
The directors then checked with Weinberg.
“We have a very nice lady who is coming in
PHOTO BY CARRIE ENDERS '
a concert in Lipinsky Auditorium.
at 10 o’clock that morning to set up all kinds
of stuff. It s going to be very festive,” said
Weinberg.
The concert is a ftmdraiser for the UNCA
music department and counts as a humanities
cultural event.
UNCA holiday concert
Dec. 6 - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
Student tickets: $4, $6, $8 with ID
Music Review
Check out the archive of past
music,restaurant, and movie
reviews on The Banner Online
@ www.unca.edu/banner/fyi
Stella Blue marks its first anniversary
By Sammy Ensley
Staff Writer
This Man’s Hat, one of the first bands to
ever play at Stella Blue, reunited to open up
for the Derek Trucks Band for the club’s one-
year anniversary' on Nov. 20.
“Getting them back together to play on our
one-year anniversary was pretty important to
us,” said co-owner Peggie Mcgreth. “We got
off to a rough start with the whole fire thing.”
Stella Blue’s proprietors, Joe Haugh and
Mcgreth, were proud to have Trucks back for
his second performance at the club. This is
understandable, considering he brought in
one of the largest crowds that the club has ever
seen.
Trucks, nephew of Allman Brothers drum
mer Butch T rucks, has been one of the most
well-known acts to play Stella Blue. For those
of you who don’t know. Trucks is only 18
years old, and a world-renowned slide guitar
ist often compared to Duane Allman.
Stella Blue’s first year got off to a rough start.
After opening on Nov. 20, 1997, a kitchen
fire destroyed the club on Dec. 6.
The club was not able to reopen for almost
four months.
Despite the fire, Haugh and Mcgreth have
managed to make their club a prominent
venue for their audiences and local musicians.
Since it reopened, Stella Blue has supported a
wide variety of music, from pianist Andy
Milne to El Vez (the Mexican Elvis) to Derek
Trucks.
Even though the club has enjoyed modest
success, Mcgreth and Haugh are surprised
that more UNCA students don’t visit the
club. f
“ We always have free
pool, I think our beer
is relatively cheap, and
we’ve got better
sound,” Haugh said.
Every' Wednesday
night patrons can en
joy liveen terrain men t
and 25 cent draft beer
for a nominal admis
sion fee.
“We’re always
working to make it
better,” Haugh said.
“We’ve got some big
things coming up in
’99. New Years Eve,
this will be where the
party is.”
“You’ve got to get
people to support
places like this, or the
only place you’ll have
to go is Hannah
Flannagan’s,” Haugh
said.
m
PHOTO BY TRAVIS BARKER
Stella Blue, located at 31 Patton Ave. celebrated its
one year anniversary on Nov. 20.
The Banner is now hiring all
positions for the Spring 1999 se
mester. If you are interested in
writing, taking photos, etc.,
come by Carmichael Hall 208A
and pick up an application. Ap
plications are due by Dec. 11.