8 - The Michigan Daily -Wednesday, November 12, 1997
Motor City bows
to Our Lady Peace
By Colin Bartos
Daily Arts Writer
The ticket stub said "Everclear,"
and so did the main billing, but it
seemed as if Our Lady Peace should
have been the headlining act. In
OLP's native Canada, they are huge,
selling out arenas all over the coun-
try.
Stateside,
however, suc-
cess has been
moderate, but
RE
Our 1
The highly unlucky Salinger clan now must battle Charlie's cancer in a series of
"very special" "Party of Five" episodes.
Salingers' 'Party'
Our Lady Peace
continues to1 Si
win new fans
with its friendly
guitar rock sound and intimate song-
writing.
At first thought, you might not
know who Our Lady Peace is, but if
you think hard enough, you definite-
ly have heard at least one of their six
radio singles from their two albums,
1994's "Naveed,' and this year's
"Clumsy."
Between lots of exposure on
Detroit radio and the fact that
Windsor is just 10 short minutes
from Detroit, Our Lady Peuce draws
quite a crowd in the Motor'City. The
sold out crowd at St. Andrew's was
just as eager to see OLP as the
"headliners" Everclear.
As vocalist Raine Maida, guitarist
Mike Turner, bassist Duncan Coutts,
and drummer Jeremy Taggart took
the stage, the crowd roared.
Turner mentioned before the
show, in an interview over a game of
pool, that in Detroit, especially, "we
can rely on the first record real heav-
ily because it was supported so
strongly. A lot of places in the
States, we'll play 'Starseed,' and
nobody knows it. It's kinda strange."
OLP delivered a good mix, as
promised, from both of their albums,
which made the set all that more
interesting.
The opener and latest single,
.t ;
"Automatic Flowers;" got the crowd
stirring early, as OP's big guitar
rock only sounded more peppy and
determined than on record. Maida's
unique vocal stylings shone through
brightly live, although it took hint a
couple of songs to really let loose
and get into the material.
OLP fol-
lowed up with
SVIEA, Wtwo hits from
their debut,
Lady Peace "Naveed," and
"Super-satel-
Andrew's Hall lite," which
Nov.&. 1997 built up
momentum to
an almost fever pitch. Right when
the time seemed right to attack, they
brought in their huge radio smash,
"Superman's Dead," during which
the crowd sang right along.
It wasn't until two songs later,;
though, when OLP dove headfirst
into their tribute to younger siblings,
"Clumsy,' that the band hit its pin-
nacle.-
During parts, Maida would stop
singing and the crowd would contin-
ue word for word for him.
You know the whole band had to
be playing up there with goose,
bumps, as Turner said that "it's just
luck" that OLP has even had some
success in the States.
The band finished up their very
impressive, impassioned, energetic
set with the single that put them on
the map, "Starseed" and a rocking,
unique cover of the Beatles' classic
"Dear Prudence."
After staying to see Everclear's
lame, boring and uninspired rock
star farce, Our Lady Peace's perfor-
mance looked all that much better. I
don't think anyone would have
minded if Everclear was even there
or not.
You can bet next time OLP comes
to Detroit, they will be the main
attraction.
e#
G.I. Ellen sparred with cranky drill sergeant Louis Gossett on last week's "Ellen.,
'Ellen' earns its sties
By Sangeetha George proceeded by Ellen coming out in real
For T1he Daily life. All these insights into Ellen's rdal
A-ten-tion!!! Private Ellen's on life have served to color the show, mak
deck!! Or at least she was in last ing it impossible, or at least very hard,
'Wednesday's episode of her hit show. to view it with the objectivity or respect
Instead of the usual dynamic of her for her talents that her show formely
L.A. apartment, or commanded. :
her downtown For exam pte,
bookshop, Ellen R E V I E W while there were
was transported to many genuinely
the setting of a Ellen comic moments 0
Civil War reenact- last weel's
ment, in order to ABC episode, it ws
spend 'quality Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. easy to read far-
By Gabriel Smith
Daily Arts Writer
The Salinger family is definitely the
opposite of the Bradys and the
Cleavers. They have dealt with literally
every problem life could throw at them.
Ever since the family was orphaned, the
"Party of Five" group has struggled
with the trials and tribulations of sur-
vival.
Oldest member
Charlie (Matthew
Fox) is a semi-
reformed philan-
R
derer who's trying
to run a restaurant,
be a father-figure
and still enjoy his
twenties.
Bailey (Scott Wolf), a college fresh-
man, suffers from alcoholism. Julia
(Neve Campbell) is a married high-
school senior with romantic debacles
galore including an unplanned pregnan-
cy.
Finally, there are youngest siblings
Claudia (Lacy Chabert) and Owen
(Andrew Cavarno). Claudia is an
eighth-grade violinist while baby Owen
spends most of his time off-camera.
After three years, the problems of liv-
ing and survival should have subsided.
But last Wednesday, the Salinger fami-
ly was dealt their hardest debacle yet,
when patriarch Charlie learns he is suf-
fering from Hodgkin's disease, a form
of cancer most prevelant in adolescents
and young adults.
This is discovered after Charlie col-
lapsed during a racquetball game.
Meanwhile, Charlie must struggle to
tell his family at a time where little sis-
ter Julia and husband Griffin are plan-
ning a real wedding ceremony that will
occur on tonight's episode. As Charlie
remarks, "This is Julia's day."
The six weeks of daily radiation will
cause great turmoil to Charlie both
physically and emotionally.
Thankfully, according to producers,
Charlie will not have to fight alone. The
cancer will bring the family back
i
together. Julia will begin taking care of
the family duties while Bailey will
assume the majority of C'harlie's
responsibilities at the restaurant.
Claudia will attempt to help out wher-
ever she can. but will feel left out.
The Salingers are at their best when
it comes to moving on. Several story-
lines will be interwoven through the
cancer plotline,
while characters
E V I E W will be developed
further in an
arty of Five opportunity to
FOX show another side
of themselves.
Wednesdays at 9 p.m. Charlie's ex-
fiancee is a prime
example. Kirsten. who last Season suf-
fered a nervous breakdown, will get a
chance to repay Charlie for helping her
through her tough times.
But not even this storyline may be
able to save this Generation X melodra-
ma. "Party of Five" currently ranks
83rd out of television's 136 prime-time
series. It also ranks 10th and 12th
respectively in the 18-34 and the 12-17
demographics.
Developed on a network that created
"Beverly Hills 90210" and "Melrose
Place," "Party of Five" contains realis-
tically flawed characters fueling the fire
for the 20-something and 30-something
generation. It is a show that equally
breeds hot-headed fans detractors. Fans
seem to enjoy debating the merits of the
self-absorbed family members as do the
detractors. Still, this "Party"'s followers
are extremely devoted.
Soon however, those followers may
dwindle if Party of Five does not show
a glimmer of happiness.
After three years, it is time for the
Salinger family to run into a little luck.
As for Charlie, the prognosis is excel-
lent. Hodgkin's is a disease that can be
cured if caught early.
But can the low-rated show be saved
in time for a fourth season? In the
meantime; good luck, Salingers. You're
going to need it.
time' with her
father, or in this case, General Grant.
By transposing Ellen to a different
situation, the show was able to take the
pressure off Ellen's love life for a
change, and show her in all her war
glory as she fought a tentative battle of
the sexes with guest Sergeant, Lou
Gossett, Jr.., whose idea of equality was
to give the women in the company a
choice of two roles: nurses or prosti-
tutes. This was of course, only for the
sake of realism, a token gesture that
Ellen derided by pointing out that the
actual General Lee was not in fact
Chinese, unlike his Los Angeles coun-
terpart.
Although she played Private Ellen in
this show, for the last year or so, comic
Ellen DeGeneres has been anything but
private.
Revelations have come thick and
fast, with controversy about Ellen com-
ing out on the Disney financed show
ther into the inten-
tions of the storyline: Was Ellen mk-
ing some kind of comment on honi-
sexuals in the army, or simply women
in the army? Or was the storyline just
that - a storyline? -
Testing questions aside, the juxtapic-
sition of Ellen and her rambling Wi
against that of Gossett's quasi-farcica
sternness was extremely funny. With an
excellent take on "G.I. Jane", Ellen
managed to show that one-handed pus-
ups are naturally a woman's forth!
Unlike "G.I. Jane", "Ellen" was inteb-
tionally hilarious in its send-up of men's
attitudes to women in the armed forces.
If "Ellen" can continue to produce
consistent quality episodes like tbe
majority of this past one. then the she.
will be back on top, judged solely for Ns
entertainment value and not for the
political correctness of its star.
Hopefully, "Ellen" can return to is
rightful three-stripe status.
Civic Theater makes sweet music of 'Night'
By Andrea Herzog
For the Daily
Madame Armfeldt tells her granddaughter that the
night smiles three times, once for the young, once for
the fools and once for the old. The Ann Arbor Civic
Theater will attempt to make
audiences smile with their pro-
duction of Stephen Sondheim's PFR
"A Little Night Music."
The show features a brilliant Litt
score characterized by light opera
and chamber melodies, including
a sweeping waltz. Tickets $16 a
The light operetta work is the
musicalization of Ingmar Bergman's movie, "Smiles
of a Summer Night." It recounts the story of mixed-up
and mismatched relationships.
An 18-year-old woman is married to an older man
and loves his son, a young man who is studying to be
a priest. Her husband is still enamored with his former
love, a woman who is having an affair with a count.
The count's wife is the 118-year-old woman's best
friend's sister. All of this confusion takes place in
Sweden.
The first act sets up these strange relationships.
Anne Egerman is Fredrik's young wife. Fredrik's son,
Henrik Egerman is attending a seminary to become a
priest, but concurrently is taking out his sexual frus-
trations with the housemaid, Petra. Anne and Fredrik
have been married I imonths, but Anne is still a vir-
gin.
m
tl
Ar
and
Fredrik and Anne attend a play starring Fredrik's
past love, Desiree Armfeldt. Desiree and Fredrik
rekindle their romance, much to the dismay of
Desiree's current lover, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm
who is cheating on his wife, Charlotte. He can tolerate
his wife's cheating, but not his
mistress'. Desiree's daughter,
E V I E W Fredrika is in the care of her old
mother, Madame Armfeldt.
e Night Music The first act concludes with the
Nov. 1323 climax of the Armfeldts inviting
in Arbor Civic Theater the Egermans to a "weekend in
$18: (313) 9712228 the country" at their chateau. The
second act opens with the count
and countess dropping in on this weekend gathering
by surprise. Their servants even manage a tryst in the
night amongst all the confusion.
The inappropriate relationships all come to terms
one night as the characters realize who they should
actually be with, and these twisted relationships sort
themselves out to make sense.
Director Glenn Bugala wants his audiences to leave
the show with a warm feeling and their thoughts
focused on their own inner truth. "The show is about
realizing who you're meant to be with, what's natural
instead of who society tells you to be with," Bugala
said.
"A Little Night Music" is considered to be one of
the best musical theater pieces of the 70's. It features
the hit song "Send in the Clowns." The ballad is sung
by Desiree Armfeldt at the moment when she realizes
that her purpose in life isn't what she had originaly
thought. It is a huge realization into her identity and
her career.
"A Little Night Music" is more mature than typical
musical theater. The song lyrics read very much like
dialogue.
Sondheim has included an abundance of internal
rhyme into his songs. There are also many pieces
where several characters sing their stories simultanc-
ously.
The players will be accompanied by a seven piec
orchestra to give the music more romantic appea.
Bugala hopes that the technical aspects will be 4s
beautiful as the music. "I want the lighting and
scenery to give nature a more welcoming look than
the harsh city," he explained.
Fredrik and Desiree make "A Little Night Music."
WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN
YOU MIX SEMICONDUCTORS
Fabulous Frivous: Toronto's sons shine at Ark:
By Stephanie Jo Klein
Daily T\/New Media Editor
if anyone at the Ark last Wednesday
night was deeply saddened by the
announcement that afternoon that
R.E.M.'s drummer had resigned, it cer-
tainly didn't show. Rather than distract-
ed sighs, audience members rejoiced
and let out wild cheers, stamping their
feet and wolf whistling until Canadian
folk heroes Moxy Frivous graced the
stage.
The full-capacity crowd was so
jazzed up after a 45-minute opening
performance by the Paperboys, a six-
piece Celtic pop group, that they called
for an encore. It didn't seem to matter
that they came for Frivous - they just
wanted and demanded lively musicality,
which they got by way of the
Paperboys' banjo, fiddle, maraca,
accordion and guitar medleys of down
'n dirty bluegrass.
But it was when the four prodigal
Toronto sons emerged onstage that the
crowd knew for sure that their musical
needs would be met. As they barreled
onstage with an intensity one might
expect after drinking a case of Jolt, it
was clear that the Fri-four had taken a
week off from touring and were ready
to truly entertain.
It wasn't until after Moxy slammed
their way through an a cappella "Get in
the Car," bass-heavy and dark "Poor
Mary Lane, and a sand-paper soft
"Horseshoes," that
they bothered to
breathe and smile. R
After the startlingly
fierce beginning, N M
lead singer and
drummer Jian
Ghomeshi wel- _
comed the crowd
and set them at ease with a few silly.
jokes, letting viewers know that the
groupdidn't take itself too seriously.
Ghomeshi, dressed in a vibrant orange
t-shirt and tight brown cords, bopped all
over the stage throughout the two-hour
show with such a manic air that could
only highlight the frivolity of the lyrics.
On "The Kids' Song," guitarist/per-
cussionist Mike Ford. bassist Murrav
.E
lo
They proudly played a smug "Michigan
Militia,'noting that the university oasis
of Ann Arbor was probably the ogly
safe place in the state to sing: "I hope
you like the double-barrel, / I thinks it
goes with your apparel."
Although they continually provid
their musical mastery by quickly swp@
ping instrumeits
and keeping up thie
V I E W pace, it was during
the changes of page
)xy FruvouS that Moxy Frtvis
really showed their
The Ark mettle. Donning
Nov. 5, 1997 black derbies, tfie
four men slunk
around stage for a dark "Boo TrimO."
Ford had the audience echo his eve A
bark, coo or meow until breaking out
into wild scat riffs. And the best perfr-
mance of the night came as Matheson.
blue stage lights shining oddly off hEis
newly shaven head, crooned out a sim-
ple, spare version of "Fell In Love."
Even those who didn't know song
names or words didn't vo home disa-
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