The Banner
February 24, 2000
Features
Blood and knockouts
By Lena Burns
Staff Writer
Let’s get ready to rumble!
“We like to see blood, we
like to see knockouts,” yelled
the announcer of the
Toughman Contest on Feb.
19 at the Asheville Civic Cen-
The Toughman Contest,
sponsored by Budweiser beer,
is a two-day elimination box
ing tournament. The first
tournament on Feb. 18 con
sisted of amateur male and
female boxers duking it out in
several matches. The losers
went home. The winners re
turned for the finals on Feb.
19. No professional boxers are
allowed in the tournament.
The men’s divisions included
heavyweight (185 to 400
pounds) and light heavy-
eight (160 to 184 pounds).
The women
weight class.
The matches are strictly box
ing. They allow no biting, no
hitting below the belt, no kick
ing, no head butting and no
body slamming.
Attendance was not great at
the Toughman Contest.
There was a good handful of
people, but not a huge, elec
trifying crowd like one would
see on pro-wrestling television
shows. Most of
the people who
came to see the
contest sat in the
general admission
section located in
the balcony.
Did the organiz
ers of the
Toughman Con
test expect a large
turnout when
prices went from
$50 for ringside
tickets, $20 for
floor and $13 for
general admis
sion? This is
Asheville, after all.
The contest.be- PHOTO BY JASON GRAHAM
gan with loud. The Toughman Contest, an amateur boxing competition,
smelly motor- entertained thie audience with plenty of rough fighting on
cycles circling the Feb. 18 and 19 in the Asheville Civic Center.
‘Pl' _ ^ ^
If^ person was knocked out,
had a count-out (in which a
contestant falls and cannot get
up before the referee counts
to eight) or shed blood, the
round was automatically
stopped. The referee would
declare the other the winner.
The men had a few episodes
of knockouts, blood-letting
and broken bones which
Review
with adult dancers from
Asheville’s T rophy Club. The
contestants came out behind
the motorcycles and paraded
around the arena. ■
The theme from “Rocky”
boomed through the poor
public annc^uncement system.
What an onganal choice song
for a boxing contest.
The Toughman Contest
consisted of three one-minute
rounds of fighting. J udges sur
rounding the tiny ring decided
the winner of the three rounds
based on his or her fighting.
The judges determined the
winner by awarding points for
aggression, power over the op
ponent, number of hits and
tertaining than the men were
for the most part. The women
didn’t punch; they flailed and
swung and closed their eyes and
hoped to strike their opponent.
The crowd was a lot more
enthusiastic about the women’s
fighting than the men.
The men and women were
required to be amateur boxers,
but overall, they wereextremely
good at it. There were no adrena-
thralled the crowd of half- line rushes felt by the crowd
drunk men and teenage boys, and the fighting
What really got the screams
from the crowd was the vulgar
and unnecessary display of
adult dancers parading around
the ring in string bikinis.
The women were more en-
penseful, but overall the
Toughman Contest showed
some great fights.
And just as the announcer
promised, we saw blood and
knockouts.
"Blues in the Night"
comes to UNCA
By Melissa Starnes
staff Writer
Members of the Arkansas
Repertory Theatre company
will perform “Blues in the
Night,” a Tony-nominated
musical, on Feb. 28 at 8 p.m.
in the Lipinsky auditorium.
“Blues in the Night” is “a
musical review of the blues,”
said Norrisa Pearson, a per
former in the show.
For anyone who loves the
blues, “we’ll be there to per
form it for them,” said
Pearson.
The play features 25 songs
by such blues artists as Alberta
Hunter, Bessie Smith, Duke
Ellington, Harold Arlen,
Johnny Mercer and Benny
Goodman.
“The bllies is sung with a lot
of emotion. It tells a story,”
said Sharyn McDonald Groh,
the director of student activi
ties and the coordinator of the
cultural and special events
committee.
Upcoming
The blues also formed to in
clude such human experiences
as “pain, elation, the chill of
loneliness and the heat and
fire of passion,” said Sheldon
Epps,, the playwright and
original director of the play,
in a press release announcing
the event.
In the musical, the four char
acters, each having different
experiences at different points
in their lives, have come to
stay at a cheap Chicago hotel
in 1938.
“Each has a story,” Pearson
, Through such songs as “Wild
Women Don’t Have The
Blues,” by Ida Cox and “It
Makes My Love Come
Down,” by Bessie Smith, the
audience learns about each
one’s past loves, joys, dreams
and sorrows, according to the
press release.
According to Groh, students
should attend “Blues in the
Night” because they will hear
great music.
“How often do students get
to hear a show that was on
Broadway?” said Groh. •
“Blues in the Night” was first
performed in 1980, directed
by Epps. Two years later, it
was produced on Broadway
and was nominated for a Tony
award for Best Musical, ac
cording to the press release.
A five-member band and six
technicians accompany the
four cast members. They will
tour25 states during the spring
of 2000.
The play is one of the events
being ofiired for the Black
History Month celebrations,
“The blues is a musical forrn
that is really deeply rooted
African-American heritage,”
said Groh.
Three women are credited
with writing the songs for
“Blues in the Night.” Smith,
Ida Cox and Alberta Hunter
were all influential blues art
ists.
All of the cast members have
a lot of performance experi-
“It’s an overwhelming expe
rience,” said Pearson. “I’ve
been able to work with a phe
nomenal cast. Everyone is very
professional and brings a dif
ferent flavor to the show.”
Pearson said that perform
ing the play was an educa
tional experience.
“I get the experience of not
only learning about blues and
jazz music, but also the feel
ings that went into creating
and expressing the music,”
said Pearson.
Hopefully, the audience will
say the same thing afi:er seeing
the musical.
Student tickets are $5 and
are available at the UNCA
ticket office.
Clarification: The Double Decker Coffee Company seats about 35 people
upstairs, is structurally sound, and is fully accessible to people over six
ieettaW.In reference to the Feb. 17reviewinThe Banner.
UNCA
Summer Employment
Fair 2000
Tuesday, February 29
l-3pm
Highsmith Lounge
LEAP INTO SUMMER!
Find out how you can get a head start in planning
your summer break!
More than 30 organizations from the area and
throughout the region will be represented:
•employment services
•comps •amusement parks
•recreation and parks ‘internships
•volunteer opportunities -and morel
Check out our website for a list of registered
organizations!
WWW. unca. edu/career
sponsored by
UNCA Career Center
& Outdoor Education
Coming soon:
WNC JOB FAIR
March 28, 10am-5:30pnn, Renaissance Asheville Hotel
Graduating seniors and alumni—don't forget to register online by Friday, March 3!!!
I
Arkansas Repertory Theatre,
Blues
Night
“A dark-toned honey of a show, entertaining
to warm body and soul together.”
Blues in the Night is the Tony-nominated musical hit
produced by Sheldon Epps. Featuring blues, jazz and pop songs
by such legends as Alberta Hunter, Bessie Smith, Duke
Ellington, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer and Benny Goodman,
it’s a hot, torchy celebration of life, expressed through the souh
wrenching music that is the Blues.
Monday, Feb. 28 • 8 p.m. • UNCA Lipinsky Auditorium
Tickets
$5 UNCA students
$15 UNCA Faculty/Staff/Alumni/College for Seniors members
UNCA Ticket Office *27 Highsmith Center
For information and to charge tickets by phone, call 828/251-6584.
Presented in partnership with
YMI Cultural Center and UNCA African American Student Association
Ai
UNCA Cultural and Special
•Events Committee
ASHEVILLE