s
Glee Club makes musical tradition
Distinguished choir shows what 135 years of practice can accomplish
By EMILY LAMBERT
Practice makes perfect and, after
135 years of practice, the Michigan
Men's Glee Club achieved near-per-
em-
Men's Glee Club
Hill Auditorium
November 12, 1994
fection at Saturday night's Annual Fall
Concert in Hill Auditorium.
After opening the concert with
Albert Stanley's "Laudes atque
Carmina," as it has done for over 100
years, the Glee Club launched into
repertoire spanning the globe and the
years. Four sacred, more traditional
pieces were followed by Yamagata
Ken Miuyo's "Mo Gami Gawa Funa
Uta," a distinctive Japanese rowing
song. Next came an earnestly sung
spiritual by William Dawson, entitled
"Soon ah will be done."
The choir's sound had depth and
intensity, but it was the enchantingly
soft entrances and endings that capti-
vated the audience. The Glee Club was
under the direction ofJerry Blackstone,
co-director of choirs at the University.
'Two Jamaican Folk Songs," com-
posed by Paul Rardin, was commis-
sioned specially for the concert. This
marvelous piece highlighted the
strengths of the 1994-95 Glee Club.
While the first movement was sono-
rous and harmonious, the second al-
lowed one of the singers' best traits to
emerge: personality. Clapping, snap-
ping and dancing their way through a
cultural rollercoaster ride that even in-
cluded a brief Beatles snippet, the Glee
Club members displayed their frivol-
ity.
In this atmosphere, the Friars
amused everyone with their antics. The
Friars, an entertaining octet selected
from the Glee Club, charmed the audi-
ence and even took the time to ponder
the existence of those little pre-wrapped
sausages.
The Men's Glee Club is steeped in
tradition. In celebration of its long and
impressive history, the present Glee
Club was joined on stage in the second
half of the concert by approximately
140 alumni. In James Erb's exquisite
arrangement of "Shenandoah," begun
by a beautiful solo sung by Glee Club
president Jack Anthony Pott, the pow-
erful sound of 250 voices was realized.
Then, the alumni on stage relived their
collegedays asMichigan songsbrought
the program to a close.
Blackstone appeared justifiably
proud of his group at the evening's
conclusion. The Men's Glee Club, the
second oldest collegiate chorus in the
country, has achieved a high standard
of musical excellence. Saturday's con-
cert showed the University what can be
accomplished with 135 years of talent,
dedication and practice.
be Men's Glee Club put on one heck of a show on Saturday night.
Vampire' sucks life from Rice's novel
By SCOTT PLAGENHOEF
Anne Rice's initial fear about the
page-to-screen transformation of "In-
terview with the Vampire" was that the
film version would lose the sensuality,
interview With
The Vampire
Directed by Neil
Jordan with
- Tom Cruise
and Brad Pitt.
ticism and darkness that she con-
tinuously proclaims her novel pos-
sesses. Unfortunately, about half way
through the film, it does.
As Louis (Brad Pitt) - a vampire
still torn by the mortal tendencies to-
ward feeling grief, loss and compas-
sion-leaves New Orleans to return to
Europe in an attempt to discover more
about what a vampire is and should be,
e film loses its focus and edge.
Surprisingly, it is the very element
which Rice bemoaned since the film
went into production -the financially
rather than artistically motivated cast-
ing of Tom Cruise as the vampire Lestat
- that proves to be amongst the most
interesting aspects of the picture. Ad-
mittedly, it is the writing of the Lestat
character, more than the acting ofCruise
that makes Lestat so vital to the film's
success. Yet, it is difficult to separate
the two. When Tom Cruise bites a
chunk out of a rat and drains the blood
from it like he's wringing a towel, you
can't help but enjoy it more knowing
that it is disturbing the expectations of
the white-bred from coast to coast.
Cruise has historically performed
to the level of the production. In films
such as "Rain Man" and "Born on the
Fourth of July" his potential as an actor
was made apparent. But he typically
chooses to portray the cocky kid whose
only weakness is the need to live up to
the expectations of his father (usually
dead) or father figure; no less than nine
Cruise films fit this description.
Yet in "Interview with the Vam-
pire," it is Cruise as Lestat that sets the
agenda both for the style and substance
of the film. Lestat seduces both Louis
and a 10-year-old girl, Claudia (Kirsten
Dunst), into his world of immortality,
passion and feeding on human blood.
These scenes-when the three of them
are together as a surrogate family -
are when the film has appeal and charm.
Lestat's bombast and Louis' stoicism
play off of one another, creating more
chemistry in this faux "My Two Dads"
scenario than most heterosexual film
couples manage.
It is when Louis and Claudia break
from Lestat that the film goes on a
downward spiral. Lestat was not only
the single character with a sense of
humorin the film, but the only one who
could detract attention from its highly
visual nature.
Louis and Claudia seem outoftouch
on screen together. There is nothing
that binds them, except them telling
each other that they love each other.
Claudia, forever stranded in the body
of a 10-year-old, yearns to grow up. As
her mind and soul supposedly mature,
she grows from a charming character
into a spoiled whiner. Dunst provides
highly promising and enchanting work
as the child learning to be a killer, but
becomes a liability when her character
is supposed to have matured.
Director Neil Jordan plays the gothic
aspect of the film to a hilt. When Louis
and Lestat are together, Jordan allows
the film to remain intimate. However,
as the film shifts to Europe, the home-
land of vampires, Jordan feels the need
to expand the film to epic proportions.
The vampires which Louis and Claudia
discover in the old land are overly
theatrical and truly unappealing.
The film then slips into an us vs.
them action-adventure in which the
collected vampires feel threatened by
Brad Pitt's well managed hair or some-
thing and decide they need to kill him.
The sensuality is sacrificed for
overambition.
"Interview with the Vampire," held
together by Brad Pitt, is in the final
analysis, a worthwhile effort (certainly
more so than the otherAnne Rice novel-
A
Okay, we know that Tom Cruise and
Brad Pitt are hot, but where is Antonio Banderas, the true babe of the film?
turned-film this year, "Exit to Eden").
Yet despite all of its positive attributes,
it cannot keep its momentum, fizzles
toward the end and finally concludes in
a puzzling bit of Hollywood crowd-
pleasing.
INTRVIW WMT THE VAMPIRE-
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BARGAIN M ATINEESBFORE 6 PM GOODRICH QUALITY HEATER FREQUENT MOVIEGOER
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?Sosstones rock the Motor City mighty mighty good 'n hard
m
By MARK CARLSON
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones want
you tohave fun. Ifyou are lucky enough
to witness them in concert, then chances
Mighty Mighty
Bosstones
St. Andrew's Hall
November 10, 1994
are this is going to happen. Their show
at St. Andrew's last Thursday was cer-
tainly no exception. While there were a
glitches in the proceedings that
ning - such as the first band, Total
Chaos, not showing up, and the
Bosstones stopping mid-song due to
someone in the crowd having an appar-
ent epileptic fit - the show was a
perfect example of just how much fun
can be had at a rock 'n' roll concert.
After about an hour of waiting to
see if Total Chaos would show up, the
second band, the Voodoo Glowskulls,
took the stage and won the crowd over
with their own special blend of ska and
hardcore. The Glowskulls played origi-
nals similar to early Bosstones songs
mixed in with covers of some punk
rock classics, such as the Clash's
"Should I Stay or Should or Should I
Go" and the Descendents' "I'm Not A
Loser."
The fun was just beginning, how-
ever, and as soon as the Bosstones took
the stage, all Hell broke loose. They
opened with the horn-driven "Cowboy
Coffee" and from that point on, the
floor of St. Andrew's was transformed
into one giant mass of swirling bodies.
After the first tune was finished,
Bosstone singer Dicky Barrett made a
request to the security that fans be
allowed to stagedive. The guards re-
luctantly agreed and the place went
even wilder. Fans would make their
way to the front and climb on to the
stage, where Dicky (if he wasn't in the
crowd body surfing) would hug them
in some twisted Morrissey-like scene.
The Bosstones played with amaz-
ing ferocity all night, their sound an-
C
chored by guitarist Nate Albert's thick
wall of distortion and embellished by
the awe-inspiring horn-section, who
alsoprovidedsomegreatvocals (Dicky
was often much too busy having fun
with the crowd to be bothered with
petty little things like singing). One of
the highlights of the show was sax
player Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton
stepping out front to sing "Chocolate
Pudding," sounding like he was born to
be a lounge singer.
The band roared through tunes both
old and new, stopping once in a while
to tell everyone how much they love
Detroit (except Harpo's, of course).
They played songs from all four of
their full-length albums including old
favorites like "Devil's Night Out" and
"Where'd You Go?" and newer, more
experimental numbers like the jazzy
"Hell of a Hat." They even took re-
quests, rocking outon the violent"Guns
and the Young" and "Tin Soldiers"
when the crowd yelled for them.
Then, ithad to happen. All nightthe
Bosstones couldn't stop talking about
how Detroit rocked, so naturally they
See BOSSTONES, Page 8
Laureen Barrameda
Corinne Bohjanen
Emily Bond
suzie Borowski
Laura Cochrane
Julia Doifin
Jocey Fazekas
Molly Feeney
Cara Foley
Jen Foley
Suzy Gauger
Amy Grace
Jona oughtaing
Jn wouse
Aarida Lawson
Qjsan Lockup
Margaret Magee
Katie Masek
ghabrtn Mehra
Elan Mesch
Kerry Murray
Meghan Mc inney
Sarah NeWin
Kim Pargoff
Gina Parlovecchio
9uzane Payne
Karin Perry
Julie Rivera
Kim Roberts
Kim Robins
Jessie Rothman
garah Schwab
Jennifer share
Laura gimnon
Mari aookler
Kim Stec
Karen Stewart
Quma 9&*umaran
Kelly 1-16rdt
Rebecca Tongsinmon
Natalie Vanderburgh
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