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The Blue Banner
September 9,2004
Features
Appetite for Destruction: not quite G N R but close
BY Apryl Blakeney
Staff' Reporter
Alright you children of the
‘80s, it’s time to dig out that
spandex, tease up your hair and
tune up your air guitar because
we are going back to the Para
dise City. Or perhaps the town
of proxy will suffice, 20 miles
short of the Paradise City where
the grass needs cutting and the
girls are...alright.
C^bviously, anyone who can
rock out wearing tighry-whiteys
while maintaining an aura of raw
sex appeal demands respect.
Axl Rose is no exception.
But what about an Axl Rose
impersonator, a Slash copycat,
and a couple of Duff
and Izzy wannabe’s be
longing to a Cuns N’
Roses tribute band aptly
named Appetite for De-
What can
struction.
they get away with a decade af
ter the retirement of acid washed
jeans and the career of Guns N’
Roses?
Apparently, anything they
want.
Playing at the Orange Peel,
Appetite for Destruction “cre
ated a really great vibe among
the audience,” said Mary Snow,
senior psychology major. “Every;-
one was so into it. It was a lot of
fun to bring back this band from
the past, it was like they resur
rected Guns N’ Roses.”
To resurrect Guns N’ Roses
is to resurrect the ‘80s in all their
vulgar glory. After all. Guns N’
Roses defined bad boy rock-n-
roll to become the quintessen
tial hard-rock band of the era, a
fact unescaped by Appetite for
Destruction.
They not only provided an
impeccable sound, but they cap
tured with astonishing accuracy
the vibe distinct to Guns N’
Roses. From Slash’s trademark
top-hat, to Axl’s mouth of innu
endo, over to Izzy’s chill sexual
allure they were Guns N’ Roses,
and even presented themselves
as such.
The band appropriately
kicked off their show with a tune
from the Appetite for Destruc
tion album called It’s so Easy and
after an inordinately long inter
mission they concluded with
Bob Dylan’s classic “Knockin’ on
Heaven’s Door,” covered by
Guns N’ Roses for their album
Use Your Illusion.
“The only thing I was disap
pointed about is they are doing
covers of Guns N’ Roses doing
covers from other
bands,” said Charlie
Green 27-year-old mu
sician. “Like they did a
cover of Aerosmith’s
“Momma Kin” which
G N’ R covered for the album
Lies, and I think that was
cheesy.”
Appetite for Destruction re
deemed themselves by returning
to the stage for an encore of a
jazzed up rendition of “Paradise
City,” during which the crowd
turned hysterical.
The mosh-pit took over the
majority of the fans and those
who managed to flee broke out
with their own convolution-like
dance moves.
If any skeptics remained,
“Slash’s” extraordinary guitar
solo dispelled their doubt. End
ing his extensive introduction
with the love theme from the
“Godfather,” “Slash’s” chords
mesmerized the crowd.
“They were good,” said
Green. “I have to give props to
the guitarist, the guy playing
‘Slash,’ amazing- amazing. He
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Axl’s” lead vocals drive the furious melodies of Appetite for
of sound,” said Tom Peters
sophomore music major.
T think part of the reason
Destruction’s “Paradise City.”
SARA house/staff photographed
pulls that off awesome.
The audience not only en
joyed great music, but also what
appeared to be the most consid
erate mosh-pit on the East coast.
Fans, in their cut-off jeans,
completely freed themselves of
inhibitions as they danced and
screamed to the beat of the mu
sic with utter disregard for any
thing outside of their moment.
Chatting with fans during the
intermission felt like belonging
to a scarcely known and often
dismissed secret club where to
get inaugurated members simply
rattle off all the reasons Guns N’
Roses “kicks ass.”
Or perhaps everyone was just
drunk and in love with their
youth. Fans enjoyed Appetite for
Destruction “because there is
not much of a market these days
for original rnusic with that kind
they are so popular is because
of nostalgia.”
Speaking as a closet Guns N’
Roses fan and perhaps even one
of those spastic dancers. Appe
tite for Destruction delivered
a convincing imitation of the
real thing, which is no simple
task.
“It is not easy to put Guns
N’ Roses songs together,” said
Green. “They are very talented
and these guys put a lot of work
into it.”
With the exception of the
epic love song “November
Rain,” the band sang all the
classics.
“Appetite for Destruction
is a lot better than the real
Guns N’ Roses,” said Peters.
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SARA house/staff photographer
“Slash” shreds his ax in front of a rabid rock n’ roll crowd.
Not So Art Show anything but
BY Rachel Wright
Staff Reporter
Within T he New French Bar on
Biltmorc Avenue, a man squats in
front of a rectangular cut, white par
ticle board and measures out the ex
act spacing for the eye’s pleasure,
while briefly blocking out the sound
of reggae mixing into pulsating
house music. He drills three sepa
rate napkins into the wall while be
neath a beam of holistic overhead
lighting shines a mere horrible,
child-like sketching done with
purple and red ink. The Not So Art
Show on Tuesday
nights at the bar pro
vides an atmosphere
for anyone to pro
duce or exhibit their
work.
“The show was
started last summer
by T homas Brown,
bartender at T'he Flying Frog Cafe,”
said Sterling Noris, DJ and partial
overseer of The Not So Art Show.
“His idea was to give people like
himself who make art as a venue a
chance. He was a self proclaimed bad
artist, and he knew a lot of folks in
the service industry who were art
ists, but never got a chance to get
their art out in the world and com
mune with other artists.”
Brown and his girlfriend moved
in May, leaving the responsibility to
Noris, said David Huntsbarger, over
seer of the art’s layout and lighting
at both I he New French Bar and
Asheville Art Museum. Huntsbarger
has held this title for a little over the
month, since Noris asked him for
help.
“I wanted to give the art a better
venue. It was really dark and you
couldn’t really see the art, and the
music was so over powering,” said
Huntsbarger. “Work was just hang
ing eight feet up. No one could see
it Thete was no light on it. Any art
wotk deserves to be shown with the
best possible light. Let the art work
stand on it’s own, make it as success
ful and noticeable as possible. Then,
the att wotk stands out that much
The New French Bar
on Biltmore Avenue
hosts The Not So Art
show every Tuesday
from 9p.m.-until.
mote.
Huntsbarget’s gallery style-light
ing highlights a range of mediums,
from ethereal paintings of silvery
trees to handmade jewelry to a col
lage of leaves bleeding soft hues of
watercolot paint.
Sonya Phares bends her body over
her acrylic painting. Above her hangs
two works by another artist of face
less figures against empty back
grounds of sharp
reds and browns.
Sometimes
Phares works
with oil ot glittet.
As the “food po
lice” or techni
cally a registered
dietician in
Mation, her stay in Asheville accu
mulates to six months.
“If this wasn’t going on, I would
be doing this at home and not meet
ing anybody. It’s wonderful, ‘cause
you can come out, meet people, meet
other artists, get ideas from othet att-
ists,” said Phares with five pieces
showing as she works on her sixth
one. “People get to meet you and you
get exposure.”
West Virginian born, Phares de
scribes her work as a hyper-reality
fantasy driven by symbolism.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity
to be able to see people come in, so
cializing, getting to know each other
and talk about their art,” said Aletha
Ropet, ownet of The New Ftench
Bar and alumni of UNCA. “I try to
talk to the artists and try to find out
what’s it about for them. It’s my fa
vorite night to work. It’s hatd for
me to stay in my office and work.”
The numbers and types of artists
who pass through The Not So Art
Show varies from week to week.
“People call me and ask what
kind of art I accept. Basically any
thing as long as it is tasteful, and
I’m pretty liberal about my taste,”
said Roper. “Art is what is in your
eye, and what’s in the artist’s eye, not
in mine.”
Ropet temembers a diffetent in
stance, where a man brings in a large
white canvas.
“He took a projector and put a
projection on the canvas. Then he’d
paint some of that and then change
the picture to something else and
paint that. People come in and make
jewelry, people knitting,” said
Roper. “I love being an outlet where
people can come and express them
selves.”
Roper and Huntsbarger said they
would like to see it grow to the point
for the need of more advertisement.
Roper recently placed an ad in the
Mountain Xpress, while Noris
makes his path along the stteets
spreading the word as he staple guns
announcements to telephone poles.
The Not So Art Show charges no
admission for entrance compared
unconventional to the strict and few
galleties in Asheville, said
Huntsbatger.
“They are all emerging artists,
they’te just getting into their career,”
said Huntsbarger.
“And maybe they ate not even
artists, maybe they just like to
doodle and paint on the side. These
guys are up here drawing on their
napkins, but they still get a chance.”
The show interrupts the barriets
brought forth by gallety admittance.
“In historical context, outside art
shows or not so art shows would
show the avant-gatde,” said
Huntsbarget.
Yet, whether or not the show falls
into the categoty of a change in art
history, but it gives people oppor
tunity with a bonus of $2.50 draft
pints.
‘Exorcist: the Beginning’
doesn’t live up to the original
BY Chris Beck
Staff Reporter
A new chapter of evil emerged
in the world and made its appear
ance at theaters. If you’re a fan of
gore, good acting and decorated
cinematography then watch the
flick “Exorcist: The Beginning,”
but if you’re a religious
cult member or diehard
Christian then stay
home.
“Exorcist: The Be
ginning,” the prequel to
all the other Exorcist movies,
strives to explain how it all began.
“I thought it was one of the best
horrific movies in years” said Billy
Midgett, Asheville resident.
As a Christian, Midgett later
made the claim that he needed to
be blessed after watching the
movie. Strictly dealing with the
concept of evil, “Exorcist: The Be
ginning” contains a lot of symbol
ism with regard to the fall of Luci
fer. Disturbing images, upside
down crosses mocking Jesus and
sprinkles of excessive gore with dis
jointed madness made up the bulk
of what appeared on screen.
Director Renny Harlin starts
things out hy showing Father
Lancaster Merrin, (Stellan
Skarsgard) trudging through a
desert witnessing the results of a
massacre. This scene, although
meaningless to the viewer until
latet in the movie, plays a signifi
cant role in explaining Merrin’s
memories in poorly placed flash
backs.
Once a priest now Oxford ar
cheologist, Mertin departs to dis
cover an ancient relic hidden un
derneath the church before the
British.
Once in Kenya, diggers begin to
refuse work and strange events be
gin to happen to everyone around
the digging site and beyond.
Upside down crosses, maggots,
bods, madness and death plague the
small town as Merrin comes closer
and closer to, finding the truth
about what lies beneath the church.
In the end, Merrin
watches helplessly as what
happened in the beginning
of the movie happens
again to eventually lead
into the Exorcist series. In
the place where evil was horn,
Merrin will get to see its true face.
“It btought hack some of the
original creepiness to the series,”
said Brandon Smith, Exorcist en
thusiast.
The movie
chill ail
you wondering about your own
faith, but this movie mirrors most
other horror flicks, not having
much to distinguish it from tht
others. Just highly decorated effects,
good casting and poor depicting ol
the original.
The original “Exorcist” in 1973
spawned a lot of debate and anga
toward the thematic value of its
content. Now in 2004, movies lit
“Exorcist: The Beginning” doa
nothing more than make us go
“wow” or “that was cool.’
“Overall I thought it was a good
movie,” said Kendred Wallen, se
nior political sciencE major.
“The only problem I had was
the priest’s character. It wasnt de
veloped enough ”
can
spine with creepi
ness, but could
use better tie-ins
to the original se
ries. “Exorcist:
The Beginning”
had plenty of ac
tion, gore and
scripting, but the
special effects
looked too deco
rated and flashy.
“Overall I thought it was a
good movie. The only
problem I had was the
priest’s character. It
wasn’t developed
enough.”
Kendred Wallen
senior political science major
Wallen didn'
like the arbitrar
role the Nad
played am
thought the;
needed more de
velopment.
“He was ver
jaded from h*
experiences h
Nazi occupation
but I felt *
should have h»
more back
ground on him-
While parte
The original “Exorcist” in 1973
had smooth transitioning, autono
mous experimentation, hands on
make-up effects, and a real depic
tion of the pros and cons of the
Christian faith.
Father Merrin and his quest of
finding his true faith brings, poorly,
the book to life for modern times. “Alien vs. Predator” or .-
Needless to say the compilation . pion King” wins a favorable
ofthe original book and film added quiet, clap because at least
that special touch of evil that left movie made sense.
his experience dealt with being
priest during the Nazi regime a
key to understanding why Men
fled to Cairo and left the ptie
hood, Wallen’s need for more t
velopment is justifiable
TheB
In any case “Exorcist:
ginning” compared to movies
“Alien vs. Predator” or “The Sco