6
Thursday, March 6, 2003
Damnwells Greet Fans as Friends in Almost Empty De La Luz
By Tom Prevtte
Staff Writer
Who says you need a huge venue
with a throng of listeners to put on a
good show?
The Damnwells performed Thursday
at De La Luz in Carfboro before a group
whose numbers
could be counted
on two hands.
But that didn’t
phase the band
from Brooklyn,
N.Y. In fact, the
musicians pre
ferred it that way.
rey/ewr
The Damnwells
De La Luz
Thursday, Feb. 27
They played without caring about
who was watching or really if anyone
was watching at all. It was almost as if
Pulitzer-Prize Winning Author Captures Darkness, Visits Durham
By Philif McFee
Staff Writer
In his introduction to Viking Press’
1992 book “The Granta Book of the
American Short Story,” Richard Ford
confesses, “I don’t know why people
write stories.”
Then why read
them? Ford pre
sents a fine reason
to do so in his lat
est collection of
short fiction, “A
Multitude of Sins.”
, y.book'^f
cey/ew/
“A Multitude of
Sins"
★ ★★★☆
A former UNC Morgan Writer in
Residence, Ford was awarded the 1995
Pulitzer Prize for his novel
“Independence Day.” “A Multitude of
Sins,” a New York Times Notable Book,
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they were practicing in their garage and
a few friends happened to stumble in on
the jam session in progress.
The anonymity one usually feels at a
concert was dissolved as The
Damnwells took the time between songs
to get to know each audience member
by name.
Ted, Dave, Steven and Alex, as the
band members liked to be called,
offered the crowd touring anecdotes,
jokes and even beers.
They showed genuine gratitude to
those who braved the miserable weath
er.
The appearance of the band mem
. bers helped establish a relaxed and inti
mate atmosphere.
Each of die musicians sported cloth
ing more suited for a Thursday evening
is Ford’s third short story compilation.
The book delivers what it advertises
- plenty of sin. All 10 pieces (nine shorts
and the novella-length “Abyss”) center
on wrongdoing.
But don’t come looking for a variety
of transgressions - adultery is the insid
ious act of choice, and Ford explores it
in depth.
In “Quality Time,” secret lovers dis
cover the distance between each other
and the remoteness within themselves in
a frigid Chicago setting.
Asa man watches a stranger undress
across a wintry cityscape in “Privacy,”
he begins to understand desire and lone
liness.
Throughout “A Multitude of Sins,”
cold settings are overshadowed by the
frigidity of the characters’ thoughts.
DIVERSIONS
spent chilling with buddies than a public
performance.
In fact, The Damnwells easily could
have been a group of your friends. The
band’s music shed light on life lessons -
concerning everything from love to reli
gion - that everyone must learn. Lyrics
were like advice given over a beer
instead of preaching or wailing about
unapproachable pain.
The group’s style was a blend of mul
tiple rock genres with a melancholic
undertone.
Some times featured soft rock
rhythms with a hint of blues guitar.
Other songs were harder, taking bits and
pieces from grunge.
But all of the music was full of the
passion of experience.
Vocalist Alex Dezen’s voice was clear
Ford’s work is full of sadness and
weight. When it comes to describing the
bleakness of modem American life, he’s
one of the best there is.
Many authors struggle to capture the
apathy of an urban setting or the empti
ness of an open road.
Ford is a master of setting and emo
tion, establishing both with concise but
lyrical descriptions. His style keeps his
stories from ballooning, a problem that
plagues many writers.
A reporter in one story states,
“Deception (is) very American.” This
notion is echoed constantly in Ford’s
writing. “A Multitude of Sins" is all
about the sting of life in both thought
and action.
The pain is total, regardless of the
source. None of Ford’s characters
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Public Service Awards
Call for Nominations
"One thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really
happy are those who ivill have sought and found hoio to serve."
Albert Schweitzer
Know someone who is involved in service to North Carolina?
Nominate them for a Public Service Award today!
7 This award is based on a sustained
A / record of service over a period of
\> Ned Brooks / years carried out through the
<C Award for A> individual's roles in the
/ Public Service x University. All faculty and staff
are eligible. One award of SSOO
This award is for a particular effort (as a
opposed to an overall record) carried -7
out through the individual's role(s) \ R , , F /
in the University. Students, D . ' , /
faculty and staff are eligible. Up < Award <>
to four awards will be given (two / ‘ or ” u , 1C \
for students, two for faculty/staff). ~j Service
Each award includes SSOO for the
individual and SSOO for the public
service project/program they have worked with.
This award honors university units,
V'-' ' —7 including officially recognized
Office of the L ~~7 student organizations, for service
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/ Service Award \ U P to four awards wiU be & iven
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A—n p-A University departments or units and
two awards of SIOOO to student
organizations).
Additional information & online nomination
forms can be found at:
www.unc.edu/cps
Deadline for nominations is March 28, 2003
Sponsored by the Carolina Center for Public Service
ccps@unc.edu. 843-7568
and crisp with a slighdy raspy tone to it,
which was well-suited to the emotional
atmosphere the band was trying to
establish.
The singer took extra care in deliver
ing his vocals, for they contained a
degree of angst that stirred the blood
rather than raised eyebrows and sighs of
disgust.
The lyrics flowed smoothly enough:
“I’ve got a bright idea/Give me your
money and I’ll take all your pain/Come
here every Sunday and I’ll keep Satan
away/If you go away, go astray, there
will be darkness for you.”
Dezen pronounced this passage with
all the emotion and intensity of Kurt
Cobain on “All Apologies.”
While the performance was enter
taining, The Damnwells exhibited some
emerge from their respective situations
unscathed.
Sexual alienation and isolation are
portrayed without the type of excess that
has marked the work of John Irving or
Rick Moody (known for his graphic
1994 adultery fest “The Ice Storm”).
Ford’s handling of social decay also is
done simply and clearly, without the
pretensions of Jonathan Franzen.
Ford wastes no words, and his final
product is sad, insightful, clean and
entertaining.
Understated but skillfully written,
Ford’s descriptions include such gems
as, “so picturesque and clear and pristine
as to be painful,” coming from a man
lamenting a tourist-geared Maine.
Many of the author’s sentences are
long and complex, but the reader never
irritating quirks.
During some songs, the guitarists
would turn around, walk to the drum
mer and face him. With the small space
taken up by De La Luz’s stage, this
caused the band to crowd together and
look awkward.
Also, the vocals drowned out when a
couple of the louder songs reached the
peaks of their intensity. But these small
scale flaws took litde away from an oth
erwise strong concert.
The next time the Damnwells come
into town, try to catch their show. After
it ends, you just might find yourself sit
ting in the back room and sipping drinks
with four new friends.
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can
be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
is distracted from the core of each story.
In all of the pieces, Ford’s prose is as
clear as his cautionary message.
Accomplishing so much in so litde
space, Ford’s stories are strong examples
of efficient, powerful prose.
The market of mega-novels frequent
ly falls victim to excessive emotional
ramble. Ford’s tales of sin forgive that
trespass, delivering readers from evil in
the process.
Ford will be reading from his novel at
7 p.m. Friday at the Regulator Book
Shop in Durham. There will be a brief
question-and-answer session afterwards.
Admission in free, and the reading is
open to the public.
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can
be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
THE
STRING CHEESE INCIDENT
2.QQ3
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Slip Satly (Ear Hppl
dive
- •
recommends
■ Anthony Burgess, “A
Clockwork Orange” All right,
malchecks and devotchkas (boys
and girls) - you’ve probably seen
the sinny (movie) and think it’s all
horrorshow ultraviolence (good but
senseless filth). Not so, my brothers
- the book will razrez your malenky
rassoodocks (rip your little minds).
■ “Mr. Vampire” Hong Kong
cinema at its worst is entertainment
at its best. Be on the lookout for ter
rible dubbing, unexplained dancing
and, above all, those bunny-hopping
vampires.
■ Bad Religion It’s the smartest
punk band out there, headed for
more than 20 years by Ph. D.-hol
der Greg Graffin. Listen to the lyrics,
and come to know the true meaning
of “thesaurus rock.”
■ Yoshitaka Amano He’s a leg
endary Japanese artist whose resume
goes far beyond the character design
for “Vampire Hunter D.” Rich, dark
color and themes are present in all of
his surreal fantasy paintings.
■ “Fight Club” soundtrack
The only full release from the Dust
Brothers, their electronic score has
enough atmosphere to stand alone.
Songs are divided into sections -
almost movements - giving the
album around 30 different riffs.
Philip McFee can be reached at
pip@email.unc.edu.