Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Sept. 21, 2000, edition 1 / Page 4
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Page 4 The Blue Banner September21,2000 Sept Features Beer and bluegrass at Brewfest PHOTO BY PATRICK BRASWELL Great Smokies Craft Brewers Invitational, or "Brewfest," as it is more commonly known, drew people interested in microbrewed beer and bluegrass on Sept. 19. John Locke Staff Writer The fourth annual Great Smokies Craft Brewers’ Invitational Annual festival was held at City-County Plaza on Sept. 19. The event fea tured microbrewed beer from across the country and both locally and nationally recognized bluegrass bands. Bluegrass music is native to the Southern Appalachian region, hav ing developed out of folk mu c in the early 1900s. The style has mam- tained a strong following in the western N.C. area, which is the home of such notable bluegrass musicians as Doc Watson. For many, bluegrass calls to mind images from the movie “Deliver ance,” in which a dentally deficient inbred boy sits on his porch playing a banjo and hooting. However, the bands who performed at the festival proved that while bluegrass may be a hoot, it is anything but toothless. The festival featured the Tony Furtado Band, the Yonder Moun tain String Band, The Sons of Ralph featuring Ralph Lewis, New Point Special and Straight Ahead. The bands spanned a surprising range of musical territory, from tra ditional Appalachian music to more eclectic groups that incorporated elements of jazz fusion and jam band ensemble digression. At the other end of the spectrum is Asheville’s Sons of Ralph. This band plays straightfor ward old-time bluegrass, and features Ralph Lewis, the eld erly local hero who played with the legendary banjo player Bill Monroe, considered the originator of bluegrass musi The headlining act, the Yonder Review Mountain String Band, describes itself as “psychedelic boogiegrass from the Colorado high country. ” This eclectic ensemble from Nederland, Colorado, play music rooted in the jug band tradition but spiked with offbeat cover songs and adventurous improvisation. The To ny Furtado band was d is- tinguished by the jazz-influenced banjo stylings of its namesake. Straight Ahead’s name pretty much explains their music, and New Point Special was neither new nor special. Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria has sponsored the fes tival every year So, why combine bluegrass and mi cro-beers? Well, both have experi enced a resurgence in recent years, and the Asheville area is known as the kind of place that likes offbeat DiFranco great as always Ani DiFranco's poetic and musical style was well received at Rebecca Travers Staff Writer Ani DiFranco left the audience screaming for more after her per formance at the Asheville Civic Center on Sept. 12. DiFranco has stood on her own for more than a decade, while dis tributing unique music through her own independent record label. Righteous Babe Records. While performing one of her new est songs, which ironically evaluates a situation in which DiFranco herselffeels the disapproving gaze of those watching her on a fictitious stage, she sang the wrong lyrics. Rather than continuing on, she burst into laughter and started all over again. Openly admitting a traditionally embarrassing mistake only added to her performance. Her ability to connect with her audience is wonderful. The casual way she carries herself makes her appear less like a celeb rity and more like everyone else. Her personality is only part of the attraction. Her lyrics have multi faceted effects. Some of her songs are political in nature while others are saturated with personal experi ence. Those songs addressing the com monplace theme of heartache and disappointment scream what every hurt girl I have ever met likes to hear: It is more than okay to be pissed off, loud, and mildly neu rotic toward those who have done you wrong. Although the guitar is her main instrument, DiFranco also played the bongos and the banjo. The most compelling trait about DiFranco is her overwhelming pas sion towards her work. The show contained a balanced mixture of upbeat and slow songs. She accommodated her fans by first playing her more well known songs, and,then introducing her new mu sic every chance she got. The one new song that remains Review music and strange brews. Microbreweries are small brewer ies usually run by people interested in the high-quality, low-quantity approach to zymurgy, the art of creating fermented beverages. This concept was almost unknown ten years ago, when most Ameri cans thought Zima was classy. While there is no one style of beer typical of these companies, they can be oversimplified into two cat egories, comparable to two types of bands. There aretraditionalists, who faithfully re-create drinks such as Iambic, a fruit-infused strong beer that is similar in taste and fermen tation time to wine. On the other hand, there are brewers who cook up things like hemp beer. The festival featured 25 breweries offering 1 GO exotic varieties of beer to people passing by the vendors’ booths. Most of the breweries rep resented at the festival are based in the Southeast region, although the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company makes its home in Chico, Calif. Although a vendor for one of the local breweries told me that they brought less beer than in previous years, this may have been due to the increasing competition from microbreweries from across the country. Whatever the cause, by the end of the festival most of the tents were running low, if not en tirely dry. Breweries from the Asheville area included Highland Brewing Com pany, Green Man Ales and the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Com pany. The most honored brewery present was Rogue, which has won over 100 awards. Microbreweries now produce See BREWFEST page 5 Hispanic culture viewed in films Kristina Elliott Staff Writer The second annual Hispanic Film Festival features five films from Spain and Latin America for any one interested in movies, or for those who want to brush up on their Span ish. The festival began on Sept. 11, and will show one film each week until Oct. 8. All of the films are in Spanish, but there are subtitles for those of us who are unable to quickly translate thedialogue. GretchenTrautmann, an assistant professor in the foreign language department, chose the films. “I wanted to do something out side of the academic atmosphere. I do not make everyone stay after for long talks. I am definitely able to stay afterwards to answer any ques tions though,” said Trautmann. The films will all be shown in the Whitman Room, which is located in Ramsey Library. The room seats only about 45 to 50 people com fortably, so you might want to get there early to reserveyour seat. Many people were left standing and sit ting on the floor during the show ing of the first film, “Alas de Mari posa.” There has been a large increase in attendance compared to last year’s festival. Trautmann credits this to an increase of promotion from the multicultural services office, which is co-sponsoring the event. The film festival coincides with Hispanic Month and is free to the public. “Last year we just saw students Profile who wanted to do their cultural events. This year we are seeing much more of a crowd from UNCA and the outside community,” said Trautmann. Students are attending for a vari ety of reasons. Kristina Hartenstine, an undeclared sophomore, attended so that she could test her Spanish skills. Others at tended because of their interest in film and Hispanic cul ture. “It is a great op portunity to get a different perspec tive on Hispanic culture and watch a well crafted movie,” said Joseph Wilbe-Ramsing, a senior Spanish major. The first film of the festival, was entitled “Alas de Mariposa” (“But terfly Wings”). The film was re leased in 1992 in Spain and was directed by Juanma Baho Ulloa. It is a highly poetic and symbolic film that gives a critical historical view. “Hombre Mirando al Sudeste,” (“Man Facing Southeast”) was shown this week. It is an Argentinean film from 1986 that was directed by Eliseo Subiela. It is a science fiction flick that also serves as a religious parable with some social commentary. U was consid ered to be a very important movie when it came out, but is no longer in circulation, according to Trautmann. The next movie is about African immigration in Spain. It is called “Las Cartas de Alou” (Letters from Alou). It is a Spanish film from director Monxto Armendariz. It is a fictional narrative filmed in a docu mentary style. It deals with con- See FILM page 6 Cl Bridj Staff V' Coyot of its tr exciting promot The o after th of the was fea an art GentI' Quartet line. H this is n of life i art; in 1 real bar Jly a ho vail V ;rungyc As ad\ le ro omedy mother if age i ork Ci nd thert he story The pl( ;ratuitou sometl appy wl ccretly f le a Coy Violet S ffETIBEMENT l«SUffANCf MUTUAL FaNDS TRUST SfEBVlCEST , TUITION FINANCING PHOTO BY PRESTON GANNAWAY the Civic Center on Sept. 12 vivid in my memory defined and explained the beautiful relation ship the musician has with her husband. By this point in the show, I was ready to hear some of her older outlandishly angry songs. It was overtly obvious due to her newest songs that she had transitioned into a more peaceful point in her life, and this clashed with my expectations. Still, this is not to say that the performance was not musically fulfilling. DiFranco inspired me with her music and poetry. She has a uri ique and sturdy voice that frequently ranges from loud and harsh to sweet and soft. While delivering her poetry, she maintains perfect rhythm and ef fectively stresses the most influen tial words. She performed three of her po ems, “My IQ,” “Fuel” and “Not So Soft.” All three are political in nature See DIFRANCO page 6 Why is TIAA-CREF the #1 choice nationwide? ongwnti in tl ;aves hei rsey an ngle c oodmai )ugh-an Violet is It yet sh bstacle, 5re luch of 1 'Cal gro ars ago iinmer. Speakin as won The TIAA-CREF Advantage. Year in and year out, employees at education and research institutions have turned to TIAA-CREF. And for good reasons: • Easy diversification among a range of expertly managed funds • A solid history of performance and exceptional personal service • A strong commitment to low expenses • Plus, a full range of flexible retirement income options For decades, TIAA-CREF has helped professors and staff at over 9,000 campuses across the country invest for— and enjoy—successful retirements. Choosing your retirement plan provider is simple. 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Sept. 21, 2000, edition 1
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