Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / April 22, 2004, edition 1 / Page 2
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I i Page 2 Classic rock opera still a hit BY Kerrin Smith Staff Reporter The Who’s rock opera, “Tommy,” en tertained audiences at the Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville April 8 through 10. “I loved the show,” said Lela Stephens, a UNCA alumna. “The acting was good and the music was great.” “Tommy” comes from the imagination of the rock band The Who. The rock op era tells the story of a young boy. Tommy, who viewed a tragic event at the hands of his parents. They tell him never to tell about the unfortunate hap pening he witnessed making him deaf, mute, blind and non- responsive to any feeling whatsoever. Tommy goes through his childhood with everyone won dering how he fell victim to these medical conditions. He frequents different types of doctors who may have a chance of curing him, but none of the specialists can make sense of his condition. As he grows into his teens, his cousin, Kevin, takes him to an arcade and places him in front of a pinball machine for a laugh. Surprisingly, Tommy plays the game extremely well. In awe of this feat, people crowd around to see the boy play. Tommy’s mother, Mrs. Walker, becomes frustrated with him because his medical conditions are becoming a strain on the family. She does not understand the prob lems Tommy has, or in what they are rooted. Mrs. Walker breaks a mirror in which Tommy frequently gazes with intensity. The destruction of the mirror releases Tommy’s childhood pain and he becomes able to see, hear, speak and feel again. He receives a lot of attention due to this miracle he experiences. The family is sur rounded by new people and journalists in terested in hearing Tommy’s story. His par ents become upset Tommy forgot they were there for him during his hard times. The performance was very attention- grabbing and energetic. The music was fan tastic. The singing voices of the cast mem bers were low in volume and a little hard to understand at times. Overall, the large cast was very talented. Three different actors played Tommy at the different stages of his life. Jacob Fraize played Tommy at the age of four. The young boy was amazing. His vibrant en ergy was seen onstage throughout the per formance. Patrick Cassidy played Tommy at 10. Charles Pittman played full-grown Tommy very well. His strong voice made him stand out amid a talented cast. Observing from an area above the stage, Pittman also served as the narrator. Mrs. Walker, played by Katie Kasben, was a standout among the females of the cast. There was a sense of serenity in the scenes in which she was present. Her full voice blended well with the rest of the casts’. Cousin Kevin, played by Stiles Cummings, had a strong voice that was a standout in the show. His abilities were amazing. He brought an extra burst of en ergy to the stage with his voice and move ment. “Cousin Kevin was one of my favorite characters. He stole the spotlight,” said Stephens. “I could understand all the lyr ics in his songs, where ther.e were many other characters that I could not under stand. His voice was so full and powerful. He seemed to bring something extra to the stage.” Cummings said that he was excited about the show as soon as he heard about the production. “Backstage before the show I had so much energy,” said Cummings. “I was run ning up to other cast members, almost shaking with so much energy and all they could do was soak up some of my energy See play on page 3 The Blue Banner April 22,200i Features Death Cab for Cutie plays on despite audio issue BY Dearborn McCorkle Advertising Manager Death Cab for Cutie, one of college Indie Rock’s prized gems, performed to a near sold-out crowd at The Orange Peel April 18. Hipsters sporting thrift store threads, horn-rimmed glasses and hair styles that would give Starsky and Hutch a run for their money filled “The Social Aid and Plea sure Club” close to capacity for Death Cab’s much anticipated “Transatlanticism Tour.” Good friends and fellow Indie mates, Pedro the Lion, opened the show with their toned down, no-nonsense style gliding easily from one song into the next. Unfamiliar with Pedro’s work, dying from the lack of air-condi tioning and, quite frankly, de pressed from the crowd’s lack of energy, it proved difficult to get into the often slow, groove rock the band is known for. Pedro dedicated the first half of their performance to songs from their previous al bums, each sounding to the “untrained ear” al most identical to the next. Lead singer, David Bazan, then took time to conduct his apparently famous, and honestly rather dorky, Q&A session with the crowd and to announce the up coming release of the band’s new est album “Achilles Heel,” which PHOTO COURTESY OF DEARBORN MCCORKLE Though technical difficulties with sound frustrated the band and fans, Death Cab for Cutie continued to give an energetic performance of Indie Rock. n rhe :har mgt C«r^ iCj S( Igtl Pa! :orc is set to hit music stores May 25. The band’s stop in Asheville marked one of the 18 dates of their pre-release tour and offered the chance for fans to buy the new album in advance. With people still packing into the in creasingly crowded club. Death Cab for Cutie took the stage. Death Cab opened the show with high energy, yet diffi culty with the sound system made the lyrics impossible to hear and the music lopsided and bass heavy. The band played crowd favor ite “We Laugh Indoors” second, but with each sibilant in Ben Gibbard’s vocals, the treble screeched making the song nearly unbearable. Understandably frus trated, the band stopped playing and Gibbard asked the technician to fix the sound. The sound technician at tempted to fix the problems quickly while Gibbard began to banter the him. Gibbard’s attitude proceeded to decline, and he be came quite rude in his comments to the crowd about the club and its staff After several more songs, the technician had corrected the mi crophones and balance to some extent, but the overall sound quality did not do justice to Death Cab’s skillful execution of the songs. However, the cocky and discourteous manner in which Gibbard presented himself unfortunately, put the remainder of the performance on a some what sour note. Death Cab continued their quirky and energetic performance playing a large sampling of songs from all four of their full-length albums including “Photo Booth” from their “Forbidden Love EP,” but focused largely on tracks from their Oct. 2003 release. “Transadanticism. ” Despite the astounding within the club and rocky fans left the concert seemingly thusiastic and pleased. Death Cab for Cutie oj nated in Bellingham Gibbard, who previously formed under the name AU-Ti Quarterback, recorded “You( Play These Songs’ Chords” friend/guitarist/keyboardist Q e he Walla as a solo project. After receiving unexpeci positive response from project, the pair recruited has pk Nick Harmer and drunm ^^se Nathan Good to form a live bai tli’ Death Cab released its first bum, “Something About A planes,” in 1998 and quicklyj nered attention by critics iK the consumers alike. The group t ok idly gained a large and grotti fan base through word ofmoi tkts alone. Often compared to st tkg Indie staples as Superchui Quasi and Built to Spill, Dt ho Cab has risen to an iconic sti ks within the college rock scent tofo The group got its nameli a song called “Death Cabi tltth Cutie” on the 1967 debut alb fe>” * “Gorilla” by The Bonzo D tctk Doo-Dah Band. Good was li swt replaced by Michael Schori >tind drums. Recently, Schorr I ;The Death Cab and was replaced shot Jason McGerr. ftt ser They will continue on Transatlanticism Tour throi May 8 and are scheduled to a Sept. 4 show in Bend, OR its 1 Tarantino returns kfin with a vengeance BY Rebecca DeRosa Staff Reporter “Kill Bill Vol. 2,” which opened April 16, won’t disap point Quentin Tarantino fans and anyone who liked “Kill BillVof 1.” “I think I liked the second one better,” said Charla Schlueter, an unde clared freshman. “It connected more to the audience, I think, because it re lates to your emo tions. It also gives you more history that was lacking in the first one.” “Kill Bill Vol. 1” primarily shows action scenes without explaining the relationships of the characters in depth. The viewer wonders why the Deadly Viper Assassin Death Squad (DiVAS) kills The Bride’s (Uma Thurman) wed ding party and leaves her and her unborn her gang, the Crazy 88s. The anime sequences and unrealis tic bloodshed become comical in typically Tarantino fashion. “The first “Kill Bill” was the one that really nailed it in for me, just because of the way it was done,” said Crystal Rattazzi, a junior multimedia arts and sciences major. “It was different and kept you capti vated. It was beauti ful. It was bloody, it was violent and ev erything at the same time, and just pulled together everything really well.” “Kill Bill Vol. 1” ends with a surprise revelation which begs for an explanation. The second film fills in the missing information with more character development and dialogue. It chronicles the love between Bill (David Carradine) and The Bride, both trained assassins, who don’t break up easily, to say the least. child to die. After The Bride wakes up from a four-year coma, she de clares revenge and creates a “Death List Five” of her former col leagues. First, she vanquishes “(The second one) is more realistic with the human emotions. They got rid of the campy violence and the spraying blood.” Charla Schlueter undeclared freshman The Bride has three people left to kill: Bill, the head of the DiVAS; his brother B u d d (Michael Madsen); and the one- eyed Elle Driver (Daryl Vernita Green (Vivaca A. Fox) in front of Green’s daughter. Thurman’s character tells her to grow up and come see her in a few years, prompting ru mors of a third “Kill Bill” film. She then travels to Japan and obtains a samurai sword made by the legendary Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba), after which she exacts revenge on O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and Hannah). Revenge rules The Bride’s body and mind as she crosses oceans and deserts to find the people she must kill. Thurman mastered sword play and martial arts to play the character and learned how to do flips and jumps using wires which lifted her off the ground. Those with queasy -stomachs Daily Specials Monday $9.50 Pitchers Tuesday $1 Off Pints Wednesday $1.50 Off Martini List Thursday $3 Margaritas & Long Island Teas Friday $2.75 Highballs 7 Days a Week $2,50 Pint and Bottle Specials ank Come and watch your favority sporting event on Bier Garden’s 15 foot screen. Ho See movie on page 3 Smoking and non-smoking game rooms
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
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