Sip Hotly (Ear MM
Songstress delivers
impressive show
BY ALEXANDRIA SHEALY
STAFF WRITER
Jenny Lewis proved she can hold
her own Friday in her first solo tour.
The lead singer of famed Rilo
Kiley recently released her first
album, Rabbit Fur Coat, a blue
grassy parade of songs. Accompanied
by the Watson Twins (two sultry
Kentucky-born songstresses), Lewis
did not disappoint the sold-out audi
ence at Cat’s Cradle.
Opening bands Whispertown
2000 and Dan Sartain were mod
erately successful in gaining the
crowd’s attention.
Morgan Nagler, lead singer and
guitar strummer of Whispertown
2000, was the most disappointing
element of the evening.
Her band’s short set was so simi
lar to Lewis’ style that the band set
unnecessarily high expectations for
itself in attempt to match Lewis’
experienced sound. Nagler’s voice
proved too weak, and unfortunate
ly, her group faltered behind it.
Lucidly, Dan Sartain was able to
use silly energy to revive the crowd
after Whispertown’s set. Sartain’s
deep voice and penetrating guitar
was a much more effective crowd
pleaser, perfectly original, yet in the
Rowdy LP
a rousing
success for
rockabilly
MUSICHEVIEW
SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE
SKIDS
DOUBLEWIDE & LIVE
BY BRYAN REED
STAFF WRITER
Going to a Southern Culture on
the Skids show is a lot like going to
a carnival: It’s kind of sticky. It’s a
little sleazy. It reaffirms every ste
reotype imaginable. But it’s inevi
tably a damn good time.
The band famous for ruckus,
fried chicken and an energetic
blend of roots-rock style shows
that same grit on its live album,
Doublewide Live.
The songs are built around hot
rod guitars and double entendres,
both of which would make Chuck
Berry proud.
On the set, recorded at the Local
506, frontman Rick Miller howls
his way through 16 tracks, all while
tearing out blazing guitar licks.
Bassist Mary Huff does more
than her fair share in filling out
the sound with a driving, thump
ing low end. She also handles her
vocal parts with finesse. On drums,
Dave Hartman supplies a steady
back beat and is everything the
band needs and then some.
Unfortunately, the audio record
ing is nothing but a tease of what
a Southern Culture show is really
like. But, honestly, it couldn’t hope
to be anything better.
Other than letting certain bands
shine, live albums often do one of
two things: break an artist into the
mainstream or revitalize a career.
See Cheap Trick with At Budokan
and Johnny Cash with At Folsom
Prison for examples.
In other cases, a live album is
nothing more than filler made to
exploit overly loyal fans who will
buy anything with the band’s name
on it l’m looking at you, Green
Day and My Chemical Romance.
Southern Culture, on the other
hand, made a veritable greatest-hits
album and showcased the band’s
talent as a live act all at the same
time. The songs are recorded clearly
and played flawlessly.
While there are no new tracks
on the record, the set list spans the
band’s career instead of playing like
a rehash of the latest album.
The smorgasbord of fan favor
ites also doubles as a sampler dish
for listeners new to the band.
From the Dick Dale-esque surf of
“Meximelt” and “The Wet Spot” to
the rockabilly riot of “Whole Lotta
Things” and the electrified country
of “Just How Lonely,” the band offers
listeners an array of rocking options
for their listening pleasure.
Singing about topics such as
mobile homes, muscle cars and
banana puddin’, Southern Culture
also shows a knack for clever
songwriting that is apparent in the
humorous innuendo that is thrust
into every line.
And despite all the fun and games,
the band is rarely over the top to the
point of being obnoxious. Instead it
comes across as good-natured fun.
And Southern Culture recogniz
es that good-natured fun is a deli
cacy —just like fried Twinkies.
Contact theA&E Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
CONCERTS! EVIEW
JENNY LEWIS WITH THE
WATSON TWINS
CAT'S CRADLE
FRIDAY
same vein of the other performers.
After almost an hour of set-up,
Lewis with the Watson Twins finally
took the stage. With them came the
dusty California charm of Lewis’
image and the sophistication of
the Watson Twins who, in perfect
harmony, aided her scratchy, Laura
Nyro-esque voice.
It’s no surprise that the most suc
cessful songs of the hourlong per
formance were the intimate, vocally
focused tunes such as “Melt Your
Heart” and “Rabbit Fur Coat.”
Throughout the set, the band
evoked Neko Case’s country twang
with the confessional-style lyrics of
Rabbit Fur Coat, but Lewis’ expe
rience with the indie beats of Rilo
Kiley allowed the songs to display
their own spicy originality.
Still her voice doesn’t pack the
punch of competitors Emmylou
Harris and Allison Krauss.
After getting off to a rough and
ragged start with Whispertown
2000, the moody and atmospheric
repertoire of Lewis with the Watson
Twins allowed the indie star to prove
her worth outside of the shadow of
Rilo Riley’s popularity.
Lewis brings something new to
the genre, but her first outing leaves
room for improvement.
Contact theA&E Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
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DINING SERVICES
Diversions
Jarecki s latest a moving triumph
BY RACHEL BRODY
STAFF WRITER
In 1961, President Eisenhower
warned America, “In the councils
of government, we must guard
against the acquisition of unwar
ranted influence, whether sought
or unsought, by the military indus
trial complex.”
In 2006, Eugene Jarecki’s docu
mentary “Why We Fight” takes aim
at America’s choice to ignore the
President’s farewell address.
The film explores what Jarecki
presents as the U.S. government’s
manipulation of public opinion
to justify increased government
spending, wars, and most recently
the invasion of Iraq.
“Why We Fight” won the docu
mentary competition’s Grand Jury
Prize at last year’s Sundance Film
Steely Dan member releases mediocre disc
BY JACKY BRAMMER
STAFF WRITER
It has been 13 years since Donald
Fagen’s last release and three years
since the last Steely Dan album
(although it’s been 30 years since
the band’s best material).
But even with all that down time,
the material on Fagen’s Morph the
Cat sounds tired.
As one half of the seminal jazz
rock band Steely Dan, Fagen has a
wealth of experience in song craft
ing and arrangements.
But it’s hard to shake the notion
that he sounds like an artist who
needs a break.
With piano, guitar, drums and
tenor sax present on most tracks,
the album stays at home within the
jazz-rock.genre.
MOVIEHEVIEW
•WHY WE FIGHT'
Festival.
Its title is inspired by a series of
military propaganda films, “Why
We Fight,” that were shown to sol
diers in World War 11.
Jarecki critically reviews the
link between the Sept. 11 ter
rorist attacks and the Iraq war
without the blatant partisan
bias of Michael Moore’s 2004
“Fahrenheit 9/11.”
The filmmaker’s concern is
not with who is in office, but
rather with how any person in
office invariably will contribute
to America’s growing military
industrial complex.
.MUSIGIEIIEW
DONALD FAGEN
MORPH THE CAT
But with age, Fagen’s classic
sound has drifted away from his
strong suit and more into the adult
contemporary vein.
As an artist, that puts Fagen at
a paradox.
Whereas his older style would
have been more equipped for
improvisational solos and extend
ed codas, the neutered twang of
Fagen’s current work is more suited
for airport cocktail bars than for
jazz epics.
But the musician in him is
not willing to concede the higher
THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2006
War, as depicted in the film, is a
clear business.
There is a surreal tone sur
rounding scenes of army contrac
tors selling bombs and weapons as
if they were car salesmen.
The commentary is a collection
of varied interviews. Politicians,
Army and ex-Army officials,
Eisenhower’s family and Iraqis
all discuss America’s emphasis on
military power and what it will
lead to.
One interview follows a man
whose son was killed Sept. 11.
He describes his need to
avenge the death of his son, and
the betrayal he felt when the
rationale to attack Iraq revealed
no connection to the terrorist
attacks.
The exploitation of the father’s
ground to the limits of his style.
With only one track at less than
five and a half minutes, the songs
tend to extend well past the neces
sary conclusion into what could be
loosely called “jam sessions.” And
what should come off as righteous
crescendoes and climaxes instead
becomes tired and trite.
All is not lost, though. Fagen
excels as a songwriter where he
weaves empathic tales of lost love
and lust at first sight.
Particularly moving is “What I
Do.”
On the track, Fagen imagines
a beyond-the-grave conversation
between himself and Ray Charles in
which the Georgia icon explains his
purpose on Earth and in Heaven:
“Yes, I come to play, and I bring
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emotions is heartbreaking, but
perhaps even more so, it is haunt
ing.
It reveals the vulnerability in
every citizen to be convinced of
actions as strong and irrevocable
as war.
While the film tackles different
aspects of the business of war in
America, the information is clear
and fascinating.
The presentation can at times
be dry, but the message conveyed
needs no frosting to keep the audi
ence’s attention.
“Why We Fight” provides a
thoughtful, powerful, and fright
ing look at a pressing national
issue.
Contact theA&E Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
big soul/Well I could rock long
before they named it/Rock ’n’ roll/
It’s what I do.”
1 While the lyrics succeed as
stand-alone narratives, the notes
fail to complement adequately the
stories.
And that adds to the larger
problem with the incompatibility
of the song length to the musical
style at least to younger ears.
Perhaps this is a sign of a move
toward adult contemporary great
ness for Fagen. If that’s the case,
then maybe it’s a kind of a step
forward, but for more informa
tion on that, you’ll have to ask your
parents.
Contact theA&E Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
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