The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 11, 1996 -11A Showasis!Brits quench fans' thirst t By Heather Phares Daily Arts Writer Like all mysterious things, there's more than one way to look at Oasis. On one level, the band is just five arrogant Mancunians exhuming classic rock's corpse. On another, it's a group that demands a place for itself with legend- tagrock'n'roll acts-and is wellon its way to achieving that status. Without wind machines, dry ice or any mther rock theatrics, Oasis creates a stadium-sized atmosphere at its gigs. Their sweeping guitars, anthemic lyr- ics and beautiful melodies are big enough to fill stadiums like Earl's Court in England and stretch the group's fame worldwide. The now-ubiquitous but still great'"Wonderwall" has been in the clrts for more than 10 weeks, and their second album,"What's the Story (Morn- ing Glory)," has gone double platinum. Mysterious indeed, considering that Oasis was still playing small clubs like St. Andrew's Hall just under a year ago. However, their third time through Detroit definitely, not maybe, holds fame's charm. Twenty-eight-dollar T- shirts, young 'uns swathed in flannel and a mosh pit that won't quit christen hesis as officially massive, a literal oasis for music fans gasping in the desert of grunge and hippie rock. If the wild crowd at the State Theater is anything to go by, there's a lot of people thirsty for Oasis' brand of mu- sic. From the first strains of "Swamp Song" to the end of the lengthy jam ofN "I Am the Walrus," the sold-out crowd moshes, dances and whoops as if Oasis is the only band on the planet. And while they're on stage, they *ght as well be. Even though the group plays basically the same set every night of their 12-stop tour, it's just another example of Oasis' power to make the tried and true seem fresh and new. Even though the group's husic is mid-tempo at its fastest, songs like "Cigarettes and Alcohol," "Supersonic" and "Morning Glory" keep the atmosphere charged. Much of this spark originates from REVIEW Oasis State Theater March 3, 1996 lead singer Liam Gallagher, who, like all other things about the band, is a bit ofamystery. Though considerably more animated at this show than at previous outings, Liam remains a mostly static, blank figure that sings with a sneer and rattles an oddly-shaped tambourine. By turns sensitive and a scalawag, he ex- udes a deadpan cool when he sings "Some Might Say" - and then throws his tambourine down to help Alan White play drums on "I Am The Walrus." While he's not as technically good a singer as brother/sparring partner Noel, Liam is a large part of what makes Oasis such a phenomenon. Noel Gallagher's talent will always be dimmed by Liam's superstar status. Still, he grabs a chance to shine in the middle of the concert. "The acoustic set" has already become something of a small legend at Oasis gigs, and it's easy to see why. Sitting alone on a stool, Noel sings three of his finest songs: "Cast No Shadow," "Talk Tonight" and "Wonderwall," emphasizing his fine singing and song writing skills, which often get overlooked in the hype sur- rounding the band. And Oasis is indeed a band, not just The Gallagher Experience. Like a mu- sical gang (though much tougher than the ones in "West Side Story"), guitar- ist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and new drummer Alan "no nickname yet"White flesh out Oasis into the rock 'n' roll monster the band becomes live. White especially adds to the group's stage presence with booming drums on songs like "Live Forever," proving that there was reason for Tony McCarroll,the Stu Sutcliffe of Oasis, to get sacked. Ultimately, Oasis are at the top be- cause they are true to themselves. While that might mean ripping off the Beatles, T. Rex, Stevie Wonder and their grand- mothers, standing almost stock-still in concert and refusing to do encores, it's nevertheless refreshing and exciting to see them perform. Like new jeans that surprisingly fit like broken-in ones, Oasis' music makes their fans feel good. That's no mystery. Nathan Lane and Robin Williams sit on the dock of the bay in Mike Nichols' new comedy, "The Birdcage." Lacking humor, Birdc'doesnt 0y By Bryan Lark Daily Arts Writer Starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a Miami couple who operate and live above a drag queen nightclub called, appropriately, the Birdcage, the film is utterly unenthralling. Aside from the few sporadic moments of true wit, every minute of the movie's two hours can be felt. Like "La Cage Aux Folles," on which this film was based, "The Birdcage" is the story of Armand (Williams) and Albert (Lane), who have raised Armand's son Val (Dan Futterman) together; the film follows their reaction to Val's announcement of his engagement ... to a woman. As the plot progresses, Armand's and Albert's openly homosexual world, partially populated with drag queens, REVIEW The Birdcage Directed by Mike Nichols with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane At Briarwood and Showcase collides with the prejudiced, ultra- conservative lives of Val's future in- laws, the Keeleys, played to bland perfection by Gene H ackman and Dianne Wiest. The fact that the families are polar Wesley Snipes and Patrick Swayze before him, to don his women's apparel as Val's "mother" to keep up the false front. Under the direction of Mike Nichols, who is responsible for such disasters as "Regarding Henry" and "Wolf," as well as the shockingly good Melanie Griffith vehicle, "Working Girl," the film is brightly decorated and attempts to be an effervescent comedy. Ultimately, however, the film garners roughly as many laughs as "Waterworld." Greatly impairing its success is also the grossly unamusing script by Elaine May. As the basis for the film, the screenplay takes itself a bit too seriously, instead of emphasizing the zany antics of the purposely stereotyped characters. None- theless, the film should be commended for its overall mes- sage of the acceptance and adoption of diversity. Also impeding the light, farcical tone is Robin Williams' mostly humorless performance. Not in top comedic form since "Mrs. Doubtfire," Williams' work here fails to match the unabashed hilarity of his annual appearance on "Comic Relief." Then again, in such appearances, he acts naturally wild, and in "The Birdcage," he is playing it straight, so to speak, compared to those around him. Shining through the otherwise dull film, isNathan Lane as the fragile, effeminate cabaret performer Albert. A Broadway mu- sical veteran, Lane showcases his impeccable comic timing and natural acting talent in a role he seems born to play. Hank Azaria, as the inept, Gloria Estefan-worshipping houseboy, Agador, is another highlight. Recognized for his work on the sit-coms "Herman's Head" and "Mad About You," Azaria portrays Agador as a lusty, supportive lunatic, with a penchant for cut-off shorts and bare feet. All negative aspects aside, "The Birdcage," does offer several hilarious sequences for your movie dollar, or unfor- tunately, your $7. Three such scenes, alternately involving a delightfully boring study of American foliage by Senator Keeley, pecu- liarly patterned soup bowls and Armand's training of Albert in the mysterious ways of masculinity, fail to make the film worthwhile as viable entertainment. Mark Brown, M.D. Emergency! True Stories From the Nation 's ERs Villard "To talk of diseases is a sort of 'Ara- an Nights' entertainment," writes l iam Osler. If this is true, then 'Emergency! True Stories From the Nation's ERs" is a safari into the dense, tangled mass of people and problems that converge in the jungle of the emer- gency room. This book pounces on the craze of hospitals as hotbeds for human drama, as sparked by television's "ER" and "Chi- cago Hope."You can almost seethe agent the phone: "Dr. Brown? Remember t book you had always wanted to put togeth erbasedon experiences in the emer- gency room? Well, this is the perfect time to milk it for all it's worth." Brown apparently spent a few years researching this book, inviting ER doc- tors and nurses from across the country to submit their favorite tales about their profession. Then he arranged them into what feels like a -mix between "All Creatures Great and Small" and those Ocdotes in the humor section of the 'Readers' Digest": Tales of life and death enclosed in bite-size pieces to be snacked on at your leisure. The book jacket promises the "raw power of life and death" and that "you might laugh out loud, perhaps even cry." In some respects, Brown remains true to his promises. There are some humorous sections here, and the writ- ' g-ranging from the straightforward the poetic - is certainly raw. But there is a fine line between enter- tainment and exploitation on which this book balances. The author seems to remain oblivious to the fact that most of its reading public is used to being in the position of a patient, vulnerable at the hands of these doctors. Maybe that's why I found myself cringing as I read that the favorite pastime in the ER is "making fun of the patient," and read- ing stories of suicides and rapes under such cutesy-morbid titles as "A Bloody Mess" and "Doggie-style." Many sub- jects that seemed to warrant a serious, or at least respectful, attitude were treated with a dismissive shrug and a knowing chuckle. So much for human drama. At times, "Emergency" sinks into disgusting detail, more than once mak- ing me mutter aloud, "I really didn't want to hear that." There are maggots, disembodied limbs and objects discov- ered nestled in various bodily orifices. As these scenes are paraded across the page like a freak show, their signifi- cance is not fully explored. The best stories here are the ones where the doctors struggle with their decisions, are somehow affectedby their patients, or have the guts to admit oth- erwise. One doctor admits a difficult truth about learned numbness, "I rarely suffer for my patients anymore." In a series of letters, another doctor realizes he cannot handle the rigors of his job; hetakes a position as a director of a medical department. These are stories that say something worth saying. Too often in this book do we feel an impersonal distance between doctor and patient, inspiring a mental picture of a group of physicians on some lofty height, staring down on patients with disinterest. A real strength of "ER" is that we get a chance to see the doctors as human and imperfect, we see the messiness oftheir marriages, the thought that goes into daily decisions - and it is moving. You can read "Emergency," on the other hand, and expect to keep your Kleenex box intact. Nor will you likely be forced to set it aside to calm the beating of your heart in the wake of"the raw power of life and death." For that, pick up the remote control. - Sarah Beldo opposites is not an issue; Val and his fiancee, Barbara (Calista Flockhart), have neglected to mention to Senator and Mrs. Keeley that Val's "parents" are Jewish and both men. To ensure that the uptight Keeleys give their blessing for Val and Barbara's wedding, Armand reluctantly agrees to pretend to be an ambassador to Greece - and a heterosexual - when the in-laws come to visit. In the best interest of his son, Armand redecorates his flamboyant apartment, changes his mannerisms and asks Val's biological mother (the disappointingly unfunny Christine Baranski), who has never known Val, to play house- wife for a day. Supposed fun ensues when the Keeleys arrive at the Birdcage, while Val's mother is stuck in traffic. Albert is forced, like ,4 : Jf 1' .4 9W Do you want to write movie, music, theater, fine arts or books reviews and features? Sure you do. L... L. Come to the Daily's mass meeting, Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Student Publications Building, 420 Maynard St. 1. .1 This summer you can speak Russian, meet Jefferson, and get to know Billy Wilder... Whether to catch up, get ahead, or get out, Columbia University is the place to be this summer. The Summer Session offers an extensive range of graduate and undergraduate day and evening courses in the Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences. K7Y) L K EJ Fixed or variable interest rate option Our '96 offerings include: Business Careers Institute (certificate program nrarina lihral arts gradiuates for business JWW1 I I i