Stanley Kubrick's 1964 thriller plays at the Michigan Theater today.
Check out the Cold War masterpiece in the historic theater's larger-
than-life screen. Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, among others,
helped the film achieve huge international acclaim. "Dr. Strangelove"
shows at 4:15 p.m., and tickets are $5 for students, $6.50 for others.
For more information, call the Michigan Theater at 668-8480.
Wednesday
March 26, 1997 ,J
Indigos folk out at the Michigan
By Elan A. Stavros
Weekend, etc. Editor
Nearly 2,000 people - largely University students,
among others - got the rare treat of seeing a big-time
band in a packed local venue Monday night at the
Michigan Theater.
Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emi ily Saliers, a folk duo
who can sell out major stadiuns,
graced the Michigan to introduce
songs from their latest record, R
"Shaming of the Sun," due in
stores April 29.
"We wanted to try intimate M
spaces because if people are hear-
ing the songs for the first time, it's
hard," Ray said in an after-show
interview with The Michigan Daily. "We love Ann
Arbor. It's the bastion of liberalism."
"This is a great crowd.... We:;love playing colleges"
Saliers added, smiling cheerfuly.
In an almost-shy, casual jeais-and-T-shirt style, Ray
penetratingly crooned to the audience with her char-
acteristic closed eyes and shlder slouch as Saliers
sang higher, eyes gazing out. Folk-guitar newcomer
David Wilcox competently opened for the two, pro-
moting his upcoming album.
The Girls' forthcoming record has some different
sounds, such as stinging guitar, heavy bass and even a
few hip-hop tinges added w) their folky, country-
inflected music.
"(The different sound) just came up for us," said the
more talkative, introspective Ray. "Sometimes I listen
to it and love it. Sometimes I find a lot I'd do differ-
ently, but that's just me."
The fairly limited performance wasn't perfect for
them - the duo's plane fromi their hometown Atlanta
was canceled, so the show 'was delayed. Then there
were technical difficulties.
"I think if we had the momentum of one song to
lIc
another, and not making mistakes, there would've
been more dancing," Ray said apologetically. A full
house stayed on its feet for most of the concert.
But the two recovered nicely, humbly joking with
the audience. "Thanks, ya'll. Ya'll are very nice and
we don't even know you. You're sweet," Saliers told
the understanding crowd in her soft southern drawl.
"Thanks for being patient with
the new stuff," Ray added.
V IEW "You're probably saying, 'Poor
Indigo Girls, they screwed up.'"
Indigo Girls The audience cheered at the
higan Theater lyrics of some of the harder
upcoming pieces (as Ray broke
March 24, 1997 two strings), including the politi-
cal commentary of "Scooter
Boys" with the lyrics "Europe shed the blood of the
Indians / here I sit in the land of plenty" and the social-
ly aware "It's Alright" with "It's alright, if you hate
that way / you hate me 'cause I'm different / hate me
'cause I'm gay." Given the history of the band's
activism, Greenpeace's information table outside the
auditorium seemed appropriate.
Never fear, ye fans who yearn for the older, spiritu-
al ballads. The more reserved Saliers plucked the
haunting new "Everything In Its Own Time" hushing
a vocal audience. The piece recalls 1989's philosophi-
cal, classic, self-titled album.
Playing without a backup band, which increased
the intimacy of the performance, the two switched
guitars (even a banjo and mandolin) after every song.
"We've learned some new instruments," Ray
announced.
They played some of the more upbeat standards the
crowd was probably hoping for, too. Fans sang whole
verses and choruses of 1994's "Least Complicated,"
"Galileo" and the inspirational "Closer to Fine." Ray
and Saliers also strummed along with the crowd,
singing the amazing "Kid Fears" (even doing Michael
Stipes' deep guest vocals).
The lengthy encore gave the audience more of what
they know and love: the raw "Chickenman" and the
emotional "Love's Recovery," nicely harmonized as
Wilcox joined them.
After the college circuit through April (this week
the Girls are at Grand Rapids' Calvin College), the tal-
ented guitarists plan to tour the country this sungmej,
with their band back together and more opening acts.
The Indigos may even go to Europe, Ray said. "We're
also doing small venues sponsored by high schools
with only high school kids allowed."
"They get shut out of concerts," Saliers said from
beneath her baseball cap. The down-to-earth pair
seem to be very considerate of their fans - gra-
ciously taking time to sign autographs after the per-
formance.
The Indigo Girls will also rejoin the Honor the
Earth concert this summer, a benefit for Native
American environmental groups. This follows a
recent transforming trip to Mexico, studying the peo;
ple's grass-roots organizing for military indepen-
dence. "It's a long, learning experience," Saliers said.
"Those people's lives. It's the same old thing that gov-
ernments have been doing to indigenous peoples fer-
ever."
"The military surrounds the villages," Ray said pas-
sionately. "(We're) protesting. Our government is sup-
porting the Mexican military with money right now."
The pair, who write their lyrics and music predorn-"
inately separately, do plan to stick together for a
while. They've known each other since they were 16
years old. Ray said they like touring and being in the
studio.
"Yup, including being home," Saliers chimed in.
"That energy exchange that happens when you play
music," she said quietly, "I feel the same way when]I
go to hear a concert. We have incredible fans, for one
thing."-
JENNIFER BRADLEY-SWIFT/Daily
Indigo Girl Amy Ray performs at the Michigan Theater.
M
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Oscars laden with
star-studded zeal
istin Long tinued the excitement of the event
hrts Writer itself, and of Crystal's humor. For Best
ile at the base of every other Supporting Actor, it was no surprise
night lies vogue fashions, drunk that Cuba Gooding Jr. walked away
otes, random surprises and high with the golden man for his work in
tations, the 69th Annual "Jerry Maguire," but what was unex-
emy Awards was like no other. pected was his acceptance speech. Mr.
e it had the normal routine of "Show Me The Money" was now Mr.
rs and losers, but this year, it was Show Us How to Thank Everyone in
the presentation. Cheesy dance 30 Seconds. As expected, he became
ography was graciously kept to a the hub of jokes for the remainder.
rum, and winners made creative The next big surprise came when
hes rather than laundry lists of Juliette Binoche was honored for her
e none of us know. work as the nurse, Hana, in "The
ose nominated were distinct from English Patient:' Most expected the
years. It was the reign of the inde- ever-distinguished Lauren Bacall to
nt film, with independent talent receive the Best Actress nod, but to
g to make an impression on everyone's surprise - including
emy voters. In winning 18 of the Binoche who didn't prepare a speech
wards, the non-studio achieve- - the French-accented woman left
sreminded Hollywood that it real- with full hands.
cot all about the money, but rather This was all the momentum "The
bout making real movies. English Patient" needed to take control
e evening began as with any other of the podium. The anticipated victories
night; the glitter, the pizzazz and of the post-war modem classic, "The
shion anxiously awaited to enter English Patient;' did not fall below any
e Auditorium for the ultimate expectations when it captured nine
For some, making it inside was Oscars, including Best Director and
nge enough. The traffic jam on Best Picture. In fact, it stole the monu-
d carpet looked like rush hour on mental surprise of the evening when
vorst Los Angeles freeway. Mira Binoche received the Best Supporting
no had to struggle to prevent her Actress Oscar over expected Bacall.
and main man, the inebriated After Gooding's humor and the
tin Tarentino, from making a total Binoche surprise, the rest of the
of himself. Others just wanted to evening was about how many awards
to their seats, like Francis "The English Patient" would actually
ormand, who could hardly stop to win, and if it could take everything.
o a couple of reporters. As close as it came, "Fargo" made its;
t once the Master of Ceremonies mark, with Ethan and Joel Coen takinga
e evening took the stage, it was all the Best Original Screenplay Oscar,'
nerves. Billy Crystal's return as and Frances McDormand receiving the
ost was much welcomed, and his Best Actress Award for her stellar job
rous monologue played on all the as the pregnant-cop Marge.
e and outside jokes that make Billy Bob Thorton was not forgotten,
'wood tick. Immediately, he set either. The writer, director and star of
ne for his comedic interludes that "Sling Blade" was honored for his
the evening livable. adapted screenplay. The man from the
he first award of the evening con- South, decked out in his cowboy attire,
Barnes to read in A
By Jessica Eaton
For the Daily
As part of the University's Visiting
Writers Series, Jane Barnes will be
bringing her unique style to Rackham
Amphitheater tomorrow evening.
Barnes, the author of several short sto-
ries, two novels,
numerous docu-P
mentaries and P
screenplays plans
to read from a
fresh, as-yet-
unpublished work
about a couple's
relationship problems at Disney World.
One member of the couple is a writer
who is constantly experimenting with
new forms of writing, attempting to get
around the problems.
"In Walt Disney World, there is no
future," said Barnes, describing her lat-
est piece in an interview with The
Michigan Daily. "There is a place called
Tomorrowland, which was unpopular
because it tried to explore the future; it
has only become popular because they
turned it back to the past, only with
futuristic robots." This aspect of the set-
ting gives the story an unusual twist.
Barnes received a bachelor's degree
in English literature from Sarah
Lawrence College in 1964, and a mas-
ter's in creative writing from the Iowa
Writer's Workshop in 1968.
Barnes had her first piece of writing
accepted at 17, but the editors changed
it so much that they eventually took her
name off it. After several years of
attempts, she finally published her first
novel, something that is unusual in this
time when most writers begin with
although it's natural to want to begin
publishing them;' Barnes said.
Her literary influences have changed
drastically since her early days a, a
writer in college. "When I first started
to write, I would have loved to be ableto
write like George Eliot, Thomas Hardy,
I
and Tolstoy ...
Recently, I've
come to adhire
Jane Barnes Jane Smiley. She is
a writer who said to
Tomorrow at 5 p.m. awie h adt
Rackham Amphitheater herself, 'Well, I'm
Free going to write short
stories, a novella, a
mystery, then a tragedy, then a comedy'
She knew that we're living in a time
when the forms that a fiction writer
would write in are kind of up for grabs,
and so instead of trying to be a pioneer,
she decided to try and write in one form
after another.
"I guess that the best way to descrie
it is to say that I started out feeling that
I had these giants that I was tryingto
emulate, and once I found myself in iy
own time, I changed a lot and came to
value different writers as they do differ-
ent things. There is a sense that we live
in this great supermarket of forms:"
Much of Barnes' work so far is his-
torical. She has written documentary
screenplays on Willa Cather, Mark
Twain and, most recently, Mary Lincoln.
In the future, Barnes plans to wile
articles on political subjects for
Mirabella magazine. She is also looking
to publish another novel and expects to
go back to work on another documentary.
"What I'm trying to do here is to go
on as I have," she said. "Part of what
pushed me into other forms was the
need to make money, and so now there's
a kind of necklace of things that I do,
hopefully with a diamond at the center,
which is fiction."
Billy Bob Thorton, write% director and star of "Sling Blade," took home an Oscar
for Best Adapted Screeqlay at Monday's Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
next to buddy Dwight Yoakham, smiled
from ear to ear the entite evening.
"Shine" also did not go unrecog-
nized. The Academy acknowledged
Geoffrey Rush for his performance as
piano-prodigy-turned-mentally-dis-
abled David Hilfgott. A live perfor-
mance by Hilfgott himself deterred
from the mid-ceremony stalemate.
The performance of the Best
Original Song, "You Must Love Me"
by the Oscar-ignored Madonna, also
added to the ceremony's style. Crystal
prefaced the act by acknowledging
Madonna's grace in asdng to sing.
When it seemed like "The English
Patient" was the only film nominated,
the greatest reprieve *om the monoto-
ny came from returring host Crystal
who took Oscar on a pleasantly revisit-
ed road. His wit kept the crowd inter-
ested, with his sportaneous plays on
previous moments 'made him even
more appreciated.
Other presenters aided in keeping
the show moving and interesting. The
hilarious women of "The First Wives'
Club," Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and
nominee Diane Keaton looked like old
high school girlfriends out for a good
time. There was also Kevin Spacey's
impression of Christopher Walken pre-
senting the awards that deviated from
the norm. And when it came to getting
to the point, last year's Best Actress
Winner Susan Sarandon cut all the
hoopla to give Geoffrey Rush a bit
more time to speak.
And with a tribute to the achieve-
ments of "The English Patient" pro-
ducer Saul Zaentz, and a special
acknowledgment of Shakespeare's con-
tribution to the movies as an additive,
the evening ended, 3 1/2 hours later,
with few surprises, a few lip-biting
moments and tons of charisma.
short stories.
"Something about the novel form
made me feel more relaxed. I think that
it's really hard to write short stories.
:m
LE NOZZE DI F
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