Grand Master of Rap...
le invented r1p and he's coming tc cam
juas. No, not Al Gore. Grandimaster Flash
Jppears at the Michigin Leage tonigbr
at 6 pm. with Kurtis Bkw.
michigandaily. com/arts
RTS
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 27, 2000
Nada Surf kicks
off tour at Shelter
Gameplay makes foi
a truly 'Evil' sequel
By Jeff Dickerson
For the Daily
By Luke Smith
For the Daily
Doors were at 5, and i arrived
promptly at 5:30, only to find that
there was a line of about seven peo-
ple who hadn't been jet in to the
hasement of Saint Andrews vet.
Nada Surf
The ShelterI
September 22, 2000
sclassroom a bout
Surely more peo-
ple were going to
come to see
Nada Surf than
this. i mean
c'mon, these
guys blew up on
MTV back in the
'90. You remem-
ber the video,
with that cute
c h e e 'l e a d e r
dancing around
and the exceed-
ngly dorky
Matthew Caws
talking ,in a
the necessity of
beer, and had one of the guys he was
talking with light his cigarette for
him.
Caws took the stage and slung his
guitar over his shoulder with little
fanfare, as Ira Elliot slid into place
behind him at his drum kit. Caws
looked at Lorca (bassist) who was
still meandering thru the crowd and
shrugged. Lorca hopped up on stage
and nicked his bass off the amp it
had been leaning on, and without
hesitation, and just a puff from a cig-
arette the band launched into
"Hyperspace," the first song on their
September release, "The Proximity
Effect." The crowd had blossomed
into an intimate size of 60 or so.
The band continued the set with
the second song on "The Proximity
Effect," "Amateur" and after that
began to mix it up, playing songs
from their debut, as well as the new
release. The small crowd collective-
ly cheered when the opening chords
to "Stalemate" off of "high/low"
were played, and again roared quiet-
ly when the band whipped into "The
Plan" another "high/low" track.
Caws and Lorca chattered back
and forth on mike between songs,
and occasionally with the audience.
At one point Caws thanked the
crowd for coming out, and said he
was surprised to see this many peo-
ple out for the show.
I looked around and thought he
was making a joke.
He wasn't.
Grade: D
Resident Evil:
Survivor
For Playstation
Capcom
Evil: Survivor" is
the most horrify-
ing of series, not
because of the
haunting music or
eerie zombies, but
because of the
god-awful game
play. Considering
the quality of their
earlier . efforts,
Capcom's latest
COur tesV or uapCOM
Chances are you've played one of the
previous four "Resident Evil" games for
the Playstation or Dreameast. "Resident
Courtesy of Nada Surf
Nada Surf "rocked" The Shelter last Friday. Would we pay to see them? Nada Chance.
ashing one's hair, "once every two
-weeks, at least once every two
-weeks."
These guys were Gods.
And now there were just seven
>,pcople in front of me to get into the
-shelter.
Matthew Caws;Daniei Lorca and
bra Elliot walked around the Shelter
gonchalantly in the post sound check
period before the band actually took
the stage. I watched as Lorca made
--mall talk with some fans, grabbed a
This was the first stop on their tour
in support of their new record. They
had just finished opening a series of
dates with Ultimate Fakebook, who
bassist Daniel Lorca describes as
"Weezer on steroids." '
The band proceeding energetically
thru the set, and peaked unveiling a new
song, "Treading Water." Before the
song Caws said from stage, "We are
hoping to record this one during the
winter, now that we are our own label,
we can release stuff when we want to."
The band concluded with a feedback
filled version of "Firecracker," and
calmly stepped off the stage, immedi-
ately setting up their merchandise table
in the corner. A crowd swarmed around
the band as they exchanged pleasantries
with fans. Caws said after the show that
they expect to hopefully get some
recording done over the winter, and
plan on doing another tour in the spring.
Nada Surf played virtually flawlessly,
their live tracks mirroring what came
off of both of their full-length albums.
They were performing for a small
crowd where everybody knew the
words and it was a fitting enough
launch to their own tour. It was a show
more than worth the six bucks it cost for
the ticket.
And no,. they didn't play that
famous song that was all over MTV
Apparently, it's not important to
them to be "Popular" anymore.
entry into the franchise comes as a stag-
gering disappointment.
With their fifth game, Capcom chose
to revamp (why?) their thriving series.
The first thing you'll notice is the first
person perspective a la "Doom" and
"Quake" rather than a third person view
as in the earlier games. Along with the
new point of view comes awkward con-
trol that will have you constantly running
into walls.
Unlike most first person shooters, the
control in "Survivor" suffers due to the
lack of ability to strafe. Another big
change made by the folks at Capcom is
unlimited ammo. Part of the appeal to the
series was the rationing of ammunition in
order to proceed through the story.
Another new element to the game is the
reappearance of zombies after you've
eradicated them. When re-entering a
room you'll have to mow down the same
zombies you waxed just a minute ago.
As for the aesthetics, the graphics ate
standard Playstation fare. Don't expect
any hi-resolution cut scenes as were
riously displayed in the other games.
backgrounds lack detail and seefn to be
thrown together while the zoibbies therh-
selves have little variations.
The audio suffers from sinilai prob
lems. Voice acting and "Resident Evil
go hand in hand. Whether it's the campy
feel of the original game or the realism o
the sequels, the sounds were always right
on. Such is not the case in the- latest
installment. The voices are poor; the
music is trite, and the sound effects
uninspiring.
"Resident Evil: Survivor" is a'perfect
example of an awful game that flies o
the shelves simply because of the illustri-
ous name attached to it. The-half-as ed
production leaves for a game that wilt be
soon forgotten. The previous Resident
Evil games are some of the finiest on the
market today, it's a shame the trend did
not continue. Go pick up one of the orig
inal games and pass over this lackl
title.
.a
Gadfly Records pursues originality over mainstream commercialisn
By Sonya Sutherland
5r the Daily
In the days of super teen divas and thong
bongs, on what record label will you find the
iumber one Russian country-bluegrass
band ? Yes, such a band does exist, and its
Nork can be found among the 82 other
unique releases on the Gadfly Record label.
What you won't hear on the radio but will
find at iuan.gad//vr cords.com is a
mcenacerie of unusual sounds ranging from
Ole aforementioned Russian group to country
cellists to Australian jazz-tinged rock artists.
Founded in 1990 by Mitch Cantor, Gadfly
Records pledges to present projects that are
ffbeat -musical projects that you won't
find anywhere else.
Even though Gadfly is host to artists from
the UK, Sweden, Australia, Finland and
Russia, it still remains a small independent
label with less than 100 acts in its stable.
Releasing 12-13 new records each year,
Gadfly has simply picked an edge and stuck
to it.
Being a smaller label has its advantages,
and Gadfly is able to give its artists the cre-
ative license that helps to maintain long-term
relationships. "If an .Irtist wants to talk to me
they can simply pick up the phone and get
me. Thev don't have the run around of a larg-
er label which transfers you to someone's
secretary," said Cantor.
He added, "We have had Grammy winners.
top bands and unique bands that stay with us
because of the personal relationship we have."
Aside from constant communication with its
artists, Gadfly's vantage point lies in peculiar
sounds that the larger labels have overlooked,
which prefer to release a more image-driven,
profitable and often times less thought-provok-
ing albums.
Gadfly has no interest in promoting an artist
based on their appearance and instead it looks
through dozens of submissions for what the
label feels could add to its overall feel.
"Often we get demos that sound like the could
sell. They are pop tunes that everyone has heard
before. We don't want that. We would rather have
less artists than ones that would just sell," Cantor
said.
"It takes millions of dollars to put out those
super groups, to get a video on MTV and we
don't want that. We want to reach the listener
who appreciates music and doing that is like a
really hard crossword puzzle. Finding an audi-
ence is especially hard these days because the
radio isn't what it used to be"
Instead of targeting consumers with
mediocre music, Gadfly relies on their fan
base to spread their popularity. "We have
artists that were famous years ago and their
fan base doesn't just disappear, they are still
out there somewhere."
Since Gadfly produces less mainstream acts,
the label cannot rely on record stores to pro-
mote its releases.
Working with a web page and a catalogue,
Gadfly sells its products directly to. consumers
with out having to spend millions on publicity.'
Maintaining a strong fan base, Gadfly
Records continues to grow. Looking forward
into the next years, the label hopes to exp
and bring harmony into lives that. are ot
wise over-saturated with the sameold tune.
"Record labels these days cater to a spoon-
fed generation disinterested in new music,
Cantor said.
"Gadfly, on the other hand, aims to please
the often over looked 20-50 year old listen-
ing group ... We won't put out a commercial
record just to sell, we are fighting the battle
of the bland and (to put out commercial
music) that would be contrary to our w~
existence."
STAY TUNEDIOR
Wednesday
Burger Special
1/3 lb Cheeseburger, Fries
& Soft Drink
only $4.49
Why eat fast food
when you can have
real food!
MORE THINK-PIECES
ABOUT MID-LEVEL
BANDS STRUGGLING
WITH THEIR OWN
LiMrTA11ONS.
338 S. State
996-9191
www.ash leys .com
I-
Happy hour complimentary appetizer buffet 4-6pm
$1.00 off all pints, mixed drinks, and wine
---------- I
1
I
$5.00 Matinees til6pm.& all daTuei
$4.75 Kids & Seniors all'shows
$5.75 with Student ID
$5.75 Late Shows Fri & Sat
0 No passes or Tuesday discoul
Unlimited Free Drink ReWills a.25 corn
Stadium Seating Gives YOU q
An Unobstructed View
The High
Holidays are
Coming!
Rosh Hashanah
(Sept. 29, 30, Oct. 1)
m
MOVIE 40tJI
own %.W s W- vo S/ a
L.
Yom Kippur
(Oct. 8, 9)
Tickets are required and
can be purchased in
advance at Hillel. Students
will receive a ticket free of
charge by showing valid ID.
0 BAIT (R) 2 RuiTs
12:05. 1:30, 2:30, 4:00, 5:05, 7:35,
9:00,9:55
4 ALMOST FAMOUS (R) 2mm
1200 145225,4:15,5:00,7:00,
7:30, 9:30,9:50
o URBAN LEGEND: FINAL CUT (R)
2 Pam 12:10 1:30. 2:20, 3:40, 4:30,
5:45, 6:45, 7:45, 8:45, 9:45
O WOMAN ON TOP (R)
1:25, 3:20, 5:15, 7:10, 9:10
LOVE AND SEX (NR) 7:05, 9:05.,
THE WATCHER (R)
12:20, 2:35, 4:40, 6:50, 8:55
NURSE BETTY (R)
Stop by Hillel between 9:00 am
and 5:00 pm any day this week
_p
'I