nesmsiits Detroit ncess Caroline of Monaco will visit Detroit tomorrow. Los Ballets de Monte Carlo opens the Detroit Opera House's fal sea son with Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet." HRH Princess Caroae' founded the company in 1985 and is expected to attend as a ds tinguished guest. The ballet runs through Sunday. For tickets or more information, call (313) 874-7464. U e Lid jiqun uilg Tomorrow in Daily Arts: Weekend, etc. Magazine. The weekly ent erianmment rag reappears with feature articles detailing the plans for the new campus Arthur Miller Theater, as well as a candid look into Miller's early works written while enrolled here as a student. Wednesday September 23, 1998 9 andals StrPi nalked By Gabe Fajuri Daily Arts Writer When a band opens its set with a song entitled "Live Fast, Diarrhea, you know that you're in for a treat. Leave it to the Vandals to not only open their set with said tune, but to dub one of their albums with the very same name. The Vandals, for those in the out- Wup, is known in the world of punk rock as, let's say, one of the most "eccentric" bands in the scene today. Warrants for their arrest have been issued in at least three foreign coun- tries and at a now infamous show in California, fans started an all-out riot in the streets. Why, you may ask, do these punks draw so much attention to themselves? Had you been at the Shelter on Mpnday night, you would've discov- ed what so many other fans already know. The evening started off with Chicago's Apocalypse Hoboken, with- out a doubt one of the worst bands the Windy City has ever producod. Fortunately, the Aquabats folloved that band. The real attraction for some in the crowd, including members of e Atomic Fireballs, there's only one way to describe Midnight awakens By Ed Sholinsky Daily Arts Writer Hollywood has a history of making addiction films, from the classic morali- ty tale "The Lost Weekend" to "Arthur." But recently, a new breed of independent films about addiction has appeared, tak- ing a darkly comic approach to the sub- ject. "Permanent Midnight" fits in better with "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Trainspotting" than it does Hollywood drug and alcohol films. Ben Stiller, who has been busy this year in supporting roles ("Zero Effect," "There's Something About Mary" and "Your Friends and Neighbors"), takes his first starring role and first dramatic role in "Permanent Midnight." Like Jim Carrey did in "The Truman Show," comedian Stiller excels in his dramatic role as the heroin addicted Jerry Stahl. The part's difficulty comes from the fact Permanent Midnight At Briarwood and Showcase that Jerry Stahl is a real person (who appears in a c a m e o ) . "P e r m a n e n t Midnight" comes from his memoir of the same name. Stiller is excellent as Stahl, giving a harrowing, honest pe r fo r m a n c e, deftly handling not only the com- edy, but also achieving great Stahl can h ;d perform sober - Kitty asks Stahl ho, he hi rock bottom. The fm shes ack over Stahl's life, as he brings Kitty up to speed. Stahl is a writer who mox es to L A ("the only town with a 24-hour a day self-help station") and gets married to Sandra (Elizabeth fiurley in a wonderful performance), a TV executive in need of a green card. In exchange, she gets him a job writing for "Mr. Chompers,' which is a stand-in for "ALF" (a show Stahl wrote for). The job pays i00() a eek, which helps support Stahl's habit, which grows to S6,000 a week. Stahl shoots heroin to enable his writ- ing, to get him through married life, to cope w ith his job, to attend the birth of his daughter and to just get by - heroin is his fuel. Ultimately, Stahl falls from his heroin heaven, landing in junkie hell. Ile can no longer write without exces- sive amounts of heroin, he loses his job and eventually loses his wife and daugh- ter. In a powerful gut-wrenching scene, Stahl shoots heroin into his jugular vein while his haby daughter looks on from the passenger scat. Despite the gloom of heroin addic- tion, like "Leaving Las Vegas" and *'Trainspotting:' "Permanent Midnight" manages to find the humor in Stahl's descent. Whether Stahl is hallucinating that Chompers is trying to steal his hero- in, hopped-up on crack while meeting his future agent (Janeane Garofalo) or sober and recounting his battle with heroin to Maury Povitch, Stiller gives a dark, yet comical, performance. "Permanent Midnight" is the first directorial effort of screenwriter Dave Veloz -- who's largely responsible for "Natural Born Killers"' excellent script. "Permanent Midnight" loses its thunder in the last five minutes by trying to candy coat the story. Still it's well writ- ten, edited and shot. Veloz gives the film a hallucinatory feeling, while conveying with tightly framed shoots how trapped Stahl is. Showing Stiller pressed into the corner of a bathroom with a spike in his ahm or moving through a crowed nightclub with his baby, in a vain attempt to find his dealer, Veloz gives the audience the sense that Stahl has created a hellish prison for himself, "Permanent Midnight" is a graphic account of drug addiction, which proba- bly won't fly with audiences looking for something wholesome and uplifting. Instead the film glimpses the dark side of life, showing that sometimes a person must plummet into hell to discover his humanity. Dave Quackenbush, Doug Macinnon and Nils Ackerman are some strange bandits. r The Vandals The Shelter Sept. 21, 1998 ver skullcaps andt some fireworks, a man-sized chicken The Aquabats: superheros who play ska. Picture this: a stage with a small picket fence surround- ing the drumset, a forest-like set- ting with a beau- tiful sky-blue banner in the background, and nine men in pur- ple spandex;, lime green shorts, sil- masks. Throw in giant cyclops, a and you have an up their fellow Californians. Their equipment looked shabby and road worn (a result, no doubt of a t 20 years as a band), and almos as if it was thrown together at the l minut The band members thense loked like a group of unlikely pun pied up off the street to fill in at the ls minute. A group of unlikely punks and one psycho, that is. The Vandals carry a secret weapon on every tour one that promises a spectacle at each and. every show. His name is Wariren Fitzgerald, and he plays guitar. Rumored to be a classically trained pianist, Fitzgerald is no (Carnte H11all performer. Admittedly a talented gci- tarist, there's much more to Fitzgerald than music. Warren, Vandals fais know, is famous for his habit of expo- sure. And not with film. Monday night was no exception. The 45-minute set inclded both new and old Vandals sous ow lie "My Girlfriend's Dead," "Ape Drape" and "Come out Fighting" from their latest release, "Hitler Bad, Vandals Good" (Nitro) were mixed with staples of every Vandals show like "It's a Fact," "Happy Birthday to me," "And now we Dance" and "Pizza Tran." After inces- sant begging from the crowd, the band agreed to take a few requests, including "Power Mustache,' and its Christmas anthem "Oy! to the World." As usual, the real chaos began at the end of their set, when lead singer Dave Quackenbush took over the duties of guitar player and Warren the responsi- bility of lead singer.After a rousinO ren- dition of "I Wanna be a Teen Idol"' Fitzgerald and company launched into their now classic version of "I Have a Date." As the song progressed, Warren mounted the stage left speaker stack, climbing to the top and cramming his small frame in between the uppermost cabinet and the low ceiling of the Shelter. Perched, or rather wedged there, Warren sang at least one verse of the song before the audience, not to mention Shelter management, fearing for their lives and lawsuits, urged him down from said heights. Before leaving his place in the sky, however, Warren did mounting of anoth- er kind, taking out his sexual urges on a pole that supports the Shelter's ceiling. Love-making oxer and done with, Warren ended the anthem to teenage sexuality while standing on top of the bass drum, with his shorts hiked up g- sting fashion, just before he took a dive to the stage floor. le ended the tune with his shin: gone, standing atop the center stage monitor, pants falling halffway of his otherwise naked frame. Quackenbush returned to rock the mic one last time at nieht's end for the band's version of "Summer Lovin"' from "Grease." It seemed a fitting end to a sultry summer night full of super- heros, punk rock and insanity. dramatic effect. Though film is a heavy fictionaliza- tion of Stahl's book, it manages to keep the comic tone and the dark mood of the book. In the '80s, Stahl was a well-paid TV writer, but had very little self-respect due to his soulless profession. Coupled with a preexisting drug habit, this lead him to a more intense use of narcotics - a mix of heroin, crack and a plethora of other drugs - which cost him a job, a wife and a luxurious lifestyle. Like all adaptations, "Permanent Midnight" is an abbreviated version of the book. Missing from the film is Stahl's multiple stays in rehab, his crack/cocaine problem and his stint in the porno industry. Even though the film is a simplification, that in no way saps the story's power. The film version of "Permanent Midnight" actually begins with Stahl a day away from completing rehab. lie recounts his story to a recovered addict, Kitty (Maria Bello), who picks him up at the fast food job his rehab counselor has forced him to get. After sex -- which Aquabats show. Devo, eat your heart t. mazingly, the Vandals needed no costumes, fences or chickens to show Pe rIormance N eases down avenue, wihotmusic 9 Garth Heutel For the Daily Those looking for a musical at the Performance Network this weekend may notice one crucial component of a tradi- tional musical theatre performance absent: the orchestra. That's because Avenue X: an a cappella musical Performance Network Sept. 24.Oct. 18 "Avenue X," writ- ten by John Jiler and Ray Leslee, is an a cappella musical. It makes its Michigan pre- miere this Thursday, under the direction of Music Prof. Darryl V. Jones. Set in a 1963 Brooklyn neigh- borhood torn by them are holding them down. "The spine of the play is resne to change, and how change can sometimes be painful," said Jones. who first came across the musical three years o x bile at the Arena Stage in Washingon, D(l ! lie- was immediately drax n to both the soty and the music, which he fel ax cry di - ferent, terribly uplifting and excitmo." He was happy to be gien the opou- nity to direct it as his first piduenon with the Performance Neto. Jones, who is also the show's choregapher, seeks shows which excite his pu n and address issues which he feels need to be aired for discussion and enl enment within the community. The unifying element in the shoxx is thn music. "When the characters sing, t-y are singing from their souls. That is x hen they transcend the ignorance and itler- ance and can relate to one another Jones was trained in impo i ona theatre, and it shows in his iesa process. He attempts to stimule e per formers' creativity, and tis job as a direc- tor entails putting the pieces tother, not creating them. Both the music and the movement in the show utiie ths tech- Welcome bai WA wow (T nicue, and both are external expressions of whom the characters are internally. Johanna Broughton, the show's artistic producer, calls the play "one of the first musicals I've seen that's not just fluff" She said she sees the music as part of the story, w ith all aspects fused together. Jones promised that the show, although set 35 years ago, will have a res- onanc( of 1998 in a very particular way. "Perhaps we haven't come as far as we think," he said. The show opens this weekend and runs for four consecutive wxeekends. Per/ormance Network is located at 408 1Y ilashington, west ofMain Street. Thwurdais are pa-'-what-'ou-can da's, student tickets are $12. "Avenue X" runs through October 18th. with perfor- mances Tursdav-Saturday at 8p.min., Sundavs at 2 and 7p.m. Call 663-0681 for more information. Courtesy of Performance Network Donny McNeal & Curt Waugh have a little street discussion In "Avenue X." 1 _ _ t racial violence, the play examines the h es of an African-American family moving into a predominantly Italian- American part of town. The two central characters are both singers, seeking to use their talent to find a life outside of their neighborhood, while ,those around * One last chance! The final Michigan THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK Presents The Fedele F. and Iris M. Fauri Memorial Lecture on Child Welfare "Challenges to Children's Well-Being in a t 1.,1Th-1,-1 fUnr1 r1. A T TNTT(T71 D rcnpotip"