m-- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 18, 1998 'CELEBRITY' PROMOTION Trio brings funk to the Michigan, Miramax Films is hosting a special promotion for its new film "Celebrity" the new Woody Allen flick, at Rick's American Cafe (611 ' Church St.). The film stars none other than the Oscar-snubbed (and rightful- ly so) Leonardo DiCaprio, Gretchen Mol and Kenneth Branagh. The event is tonight and the fun starts at 10:30 p.m. It's a normal night at Rick's, so you must be 21 to enter, but you can submit your name to win passes for the movie, gift certificates to New York Pizza Depot and the grand prize, which is a limo to take you to Sweet Lorriane's for dinner, then to a Deftones concert, and then back to your home. Gretchen Mol and Leonardo DICaprio fight off crowds in "Celebrity." It's as though you're a "Celebrity" or King of the World for a night - whichever you prefer. :.. By Chris Kula For the Daily Roll out the red carpet and regal fan- fare - the kings of groove have arrived. Medeski Martin and Wood, the royal masters of the modern organ trio, will hold court to the booty-shaking masses at the Michigan Theater tonight. Deeply rooted in the improvisa- tional world of jazz, yet delving Medeski often into the Martin and realm of greasy Wood funk, MMW Michigan Theater has, over the Tonight at 7:30 past eight years, carved itself a niche at the very top of the hip- ster youth groove scene. Many fans of the neo-hippie jam band genre have steadily latched onto MMW, seek- ing the in-the-moment, improvisational excitement for which the live shows are renowned. "I think it's cool," said drummer Billy Martin, "because, in general, that kind of culture represents someone who likes to see something different from the main- stream." Similarly, the band's smooth treatment of funky rhythms and feels has eagerly attracted hip-hop enthusiasts. "I appreci- ate anybody who comes out (to the show) and listens and gets something out of the music,' Martin said. And there's plenty to be found within the music of MMW Keyboardist John Medeski uses his Hammond organ, clavinet and various other musical tools to produce tones ranging from soulful to shrieking. Chris Wood simply owns the funk, lay- ing down some of the fattest basslines in music today. And Martin is phenomenal behind the drums. His swinging approach to rhythm encompasses every style from New Orleans second line shuffles to Latin sambas. But it is the sum of these individual parts that creates MMW's unique style. Live shows are dominated with exhila- rating spells of spontaneous composition during which each member is equally responsible for the feel and texture of the jam. This level of on-stage, creative chemistry translates directly over to the audience, resulting in a highly energetic event for all those present. "We love to dance and groove, and that's where a lot of that whole vibe in the music is coming from," Martin said. Concertgoers at the Michigan Theater can expect an added treat tonight in the form of turntable wizard DJ Logic. After collaborating on three tracks for "Combustication," MMW's most recent release on Blue Note Records, Logic has taken to the road with the band, perform- ing on-stage with the group in addition to his own solo set. '. Summer Orientation Employment Opportunities courtesy at Gramais Medeski, Martin and Wood supply the groove at their performance tonight at the -1 Michigan. The special guest of the evening is Marc Ribot. "Logic is totally inspiring," Martin said, "because he throws in sounds and effects that no one else can get, so there's always that element of surprise, and that can sometimes move us in a whole new direction" Martin also mentioned that Logic, as well as a host of other performers includ- ing Bill Laswell and Prince Paul, will col- laborate on a MMW remix record, tentaR tively scheduled for a January release.: "We're really looking forward to this Martin said. "There's some funky stuff it but there's also some very expansive things, too." Of course, later tonight at the Michigan Theater, the funky stuff will certainly be in no short supply, either. Predictability makes Lamb novel boring 0 i snow Tnis mucn is True Wally Lamb Regan Books Wally Lamb, a highly acclaimed writer, has recently released his lat- est book, "I Know This Much Is True." Though it has received much praise and is even part of Oprah Winfrey's book club, it simply does not deliver. It is the story of Thomas and Dominick Birdsey, two identical twins born on Dec. 31, 1949, and Jan. 1, 1950, respectively. They are twins who were born in different halves of the century and led extremely different lives. The twins were born to an unwed mother, Concettina, who had a hare- lip that she covered using her hand. Lamb refers to this as her constant apology to the world. The mother is a weak character throughout the novel for she is a submissive woman to the twin's overbearing stepfather, Ray. Ray, a former Navy man who works in a factory for "Electric Boats," desires to raise his two step children to fear him. The story is, in essence, a charac- ter study of Dominick. He is the sane brother, while Thomas is schizo- phrenic and a constant worry to his twin brother. Throughout the novel, Lamb inter- sperses flashbacks to the twins' somewhat traumatic childhood with their subservient mother and their sometimes abusive stepfather. Concettina is the daughter of a widowed Italian immigrant, Domenico Tempesta, who immigrat- ed to the United States in 1901. Lamb describes Domenico as a tough and stubborn person who made his daughter obey him with absolute authority. Unfortunately, this is about as complex as the rela- tionships get. Lamb seems to just barely skim the surface of deep issues that upon further analysis would prove quite interesting. For example, the gender roles throughout the novel are about as complex as a '50s television show. The characters are all cliches. Thomas is a nerd, Dominick is good at sports, Ray is a factory worker who likes sports and does not like to read. Ray favors Dominick and abuses Thomas, which, in turn, leaves Dominick with a tremendous sense of guilt. There is also a subplot of Dominick being married to his true love, Dessa. Unfortunately, she mis- carries a baby, which eventually ruins their. marriage. This leads Dominick to marry a younger unsta- ble woman, which does not make him happy. The driving force for Dominick, an ex-history teacher who now paints houses, is his relationship with his twin. When Thomas decides to cut off his hand as a sacrifice to make George Bush stop the Gulf War, he gets media attention and makes Dominick's unhappy life even worse. This leads Dominick to an amazing- iy deep search for himself in Italy. The rest of the book continues to present more simple characters ar* predictable plot lines. The surprising ending is only surprising because it makes absolutely no sense. Although the story is a good idea, the book is 897 pages long. The plot is in some ways compelling and would be well done as a short story. Regardless of the praise from Oprah, this is not a good book. It is a per- verted '50s television show at best. It is adept at making everything see: more simple than it is. 6 It would seem that a brother of a schizophrenic twin would be more complex than Dominick appears to be. His observations on life are pre- dictable and uninteresting. The story would have been better if the narra- tion was more analytical and less annoyingly obvious. - Caitlin Hall 1 4 4MICHIGAN% * U"9 / CV; 1.1p realmusic. ga. p -mEIE phone: 663.5800 1140 south university (above goodtime chadeys), AA - mon.-thurs.: 9:OOa-10:OOp sundays * fri & sat.: 9:00a-11:00p 11:OOa-8toop w IN MANY COMPANIES IT TAKES YEARS TO PROVE YOU CAN LEAD... _w , . , ..- .: ~ . t 4 ' i . . ° P .. 3 o Ircc oui chtes X'h svc-k OW A LU I'I. * 999 hA j070 easf ck r . ories 4 3 -) 0 ' .t O~~eiI~1'I1iViIIU Yofr 1'M YV5rCi~olittile. w~%e now Ct~rfICoot cMDLFs , FT-16 I I