The Michigan Daily-Monday, April 5, 1993-Page 9 Fab Five lose to Men's Glee Club by Melissa Rose Bernardo While the rest of the free world was watching the Michigan-Kentucky game, I enjoyed a different tribute to our University - the Men's Glee Club concert. Yeah, I know, you're wondering what kind of a schmuck would rather listen toa choir than watch a NCAA Final Four game. But amidst a lively crowd of some 4,000 people, I defend my character;the Glee Club's spectacular performance was just as intense, gripping and spirited as any old basketball game. (No, I'm not joking.) The Men's Glee Club knew they were in fierce competition with the Fab Five - and they made light of it. After their ' j traditional opening number, "Laudes Men's Glee Club atque Carmina," conductor Jerry Blackstone greeted us - "We're very Hill Auditorium glad you're here" - and gave a rough April 3, 1993 -translation of the piece. "It goes some- thing like this: 'Let all people, in all places at all times sing Go Blue Smash Kentucky."' Perhaps the most unique piece was "Kyrie," a contemporary Swedish work. Blackstone made the smart choice of highlighting and stressing the dissonances, rather than leaving them to sound like mistakes. The choir seemed very comfort- able with the dissonant sounds, which therefore gave the audience confidence in the musicality of the piece. Led by a triumphant Tenor I section, the piece ended by building dissonance upon dissonance, and suddenly winding down (steadily and melodically) to an empty hum. Effective manipulation of dynamics made the pieces engaging and exciting. "Steal Away," part of the African-American pieces, began ever so pianissimo, guided by Blackstone's light, flowing conducting. Then it burst open with a tremendous forte interlude, only to soften back to a whisper. The Nigerian Christmas song "Betelehemu" was a stirring addition to the program. The Bass section provided a drum-like beat, beginning the piece slowly. Then the seven-piece percussion (including tambourine and congo drums, played by choir members themselves) built up to a gripping accelerated movement, with the choir swaying and clapping along. The choir let loose in "Ballad of the Cross-Eyed Sailor." They donned sailor hats (some worn inside out), and led by "Captain" Blackstone, they sang about chasing girls on the ship - or rather, chasing them away. Eric Vesbit hammed it up with his gruff snarling solo. The choir actually simulated a storm - swaying, clutching onto each other and ducking tall imaginary waves. The Friars - or as they're now called, "The Fab Five plus three" - entertained as always. "Ann Arbor," Jeremy Findley mused, "Where else can you go to Hash Bash, the Glee Club concertandriotall in one day?" They even brought a portable TV with them and gave us a score update on the game. Dressed in a cowboy hat and boots, Jason Menges went country-western in the Friars' self- proclaimed tribute to Kentucky, "I've GotFriends in Low Places."Look out Garth Brooks! We also took a trip back to disco days with "YMCA" -yes, the Friars disco too! (I think a few of them have watched "Saturday Night Fever" one too many times.) The Friars continued to uphold their trademark as singers and comedians - but guys, the "let's introduce ourselves" bit is getting old. Michigan songs were a great tribute to every Michigan fan in the audience, and a reminder that the Glee Club is a big part of the University's rich history. "Go Blue" went right out to our basketball team: "In old Ann Arbor town/ there are men of great renown / they are ever out to fight and win the game." If you've got nothing better to do, see "The Crush," as in he thought it was just a crush, but it turned out to be a "Fatal Attraction" rip-off. 'The Hand that Rocks the Crush' by John R. Rybock Exams, papers, work, with spring just around the coiner - all of it leads to stress this time of year. That's where the new film, "The Crush," starring The Crush Written and directed by Alan Shapiro; with Cary Elwes and Alicia Silverstone. Cary Elwes, comes in. A formulaic thriller, "The Crush" is by no means a great film, but it manages to distract the audience from their troubles outside of the theater. "The Crush" is a member of the current trend in thrillers, where the vil- lain does not merely threaten one's life, but also one's peace of mind. Up-and- coming writer Nick Eliot (Elwes)rents a guest house in an upper-class suburb ofSeattle. There, hemeetsDarian (new- comer Alicia Silverstone), who devel- ops a crush on the young man. From Intermix Phaze Two Third Mind/ Roadrunner If you're into pure, hard-edged, sequencer based music, you can never go wrong with any of Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber's projects, whether it's Front Line Assembly, Noise Unit, Will, Delerium, or their most recent project, Intermix. With Intermix, they remain true to form, but effortlessly fuse ele- ments, of both ambient and hardcore techno as well as hip-hop with their consistent all-out aggressive approach. Right from the haunting opener, "Get Religion," heavy electronic beats and rough bass sequences are thrown into the forefront, while the hip-hop and ambient elements fight to weave their way into the mix, similar to Front Line Assembly's "The Blade." This formula works brilliantly on every track, espe- cially the nine-minute "Monument," which glides from hip-hop to techno to ambient house and back again over the course of the song, but holds a Shamen- like bass sequence constant throughout there, one knows where the film is go- ing. The film follows the basic formula for a thriller. In fact, some shots seem taken right out of other films, like "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle." However, for the duration of the film, much of this works. But after leaving the theater, the audience will quickly forget "The Crush" because there is nothing par- ticularly new. Shots like a close-up of a hornet nest, accompanied with a loud buzzing, are old, but the very nature of them gets under one's skin. Elwes ("Princess Bride," "Hot Shots") gives a nice little performance, though one gets the feeling he is capable of so muchmore than a formula picture. For most of the film, his character seems real. While he's busy falling for co- worker Amy (Jennifer Rubin), he is blind to the developing crush Darian has for him. Okay, the audience can buy that. But while very few audience mem- bers have been in situations like Nick's, it is hard for them to buy all his little lapses which exist primarily to advance the plot. They are the kind of mistakes that make the audience yell instructions at the screen. The audience will quickly forget "The Crush" because there is nothing particularly new. Alicia Silverstone's feature film de- but shows definite promise. With what she has to work with, she does well. Her facial expressions often tend to be the only way to get the character across - there is little help from the script in that regard. She can go from looking well over 14 to looking much younger in a blink of an eye, and she has a stare that lets the audience know when she is mad and that someone is going to end up getting hurt. Darian is, as we are told rather than shown, very intelligent, and some of her moves to win over Nick involve psy- chology. But looking at the final prod- uct, one feels that the script was incom- plete, or that some scenes were left on the cutting room floor. Darian tries to implant doubts into Amy about Nick - hinting thatDarian and Nick do actually have a thing going, and Nick is partly responsible. Amy does not, in that scene, shake it off as a desperate move by a little girl, but all the doubts Darian plants disappear, never to be seen again. Formulaic? Yes. Smooth and logi- cal? No. But there is enough on the screen to make "The Crush" a nice little diversion. It may only be around three more weeks, but then again, so will classes.. THE CR USH is playing at Showcase. the transitions. And Intermix's version of ambient house is not your boring old "new age with a beat." They know how to create an unsettling mood no matter what style of music they happen to be experimenting with at the time, and this is the album's strongest point. This is nota feel-good, get up and dance techno album. Intermix have exposed the dark, nasty side of dance music, something that has needed to be done for a long time. -Andy Dolan Dr. Dre The Chronic Interscope Records/Death Row Records Dre isn't really the bad guy you think he is. He'sjust a funky brotha who should be understood, but that's not possible if y'all sleep on his newest effort, The Chronic. Musically inspired by the hip hop herb of choice, Dre's first full-length LPappearance since NWA's Niggaz For Life is a hardcore intoxi- cant. This asphalt-and-neon playground of funky beats and piercing keyboard lines is soul music for the whole uni- verse, direct from the Third Stone From the Sun. In other words, there's notarap artist with a product out now that can contend with this. Most of the time, Dre spares us his usual squalid tales of gangstadom for more topical ideas. The Chronic's first two tracks document in tragi-comic termshis recentbreak with "Mr. Rourke and Tattoo," aka Jerry Heller and Eazy- E. Then, the euphoric pieces "Let Me Ride" and "Nuthin' But A G' Thang" transcend the standard ghetto pathos of See RECORDS, Page 10 INTHEARMY, NURSES AREN'T JUST IN DEMAND. THEY'RE IN COMMAND. Any nurse who just wants a job can with your level of experience. As find one. But if you're a nurs- an Army officer, you'll command the ing student who wants to be in respect you deserve. And with the added command of your own career, consider benefits only the Army can offer-a $500 the Army Nurse Corps. You'll be treated as signing bonus, housing allowances and 4 a competent professional, given your own weeks paid vacation-you'll be *ell in com- natients and resnonsibilities commensurate mand of your life Call 1-800-USA ARMY Fa Ll%-i1tJ aLLU t ,. J .IV I[JtUlllf. itJ ..V llit ll\.i tJ 42t at4 aaxaaau va yvua xaati. vuxa r vvv- vv< >. < >.a a. a. ". ARMY NURSE CORPS. BE ALL YOU CAN BE. F RIEGISTER NOW FOR 'a join the parade of organizations! ptember 14, 1993 on the Diag I 0 . " ComE Se r