A RT'S_ _The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 29, 2000 - 9 Lights, camera, zany action:Pish goes silver screen By Chris Kula Daily Arts Editor "Bittersweet Motel," the first full- length feature film about Phish, Ameri- ca's favorite not-so-underground band, successfully captures everything that makes the band's - live show so addictive: Spirit- ed jamming, a Bittersweet crazy light show, Motel a shaggy, red- Grade: B+ haired guitarist + who can't stop At Michigan Theater grinning and an eager audience hanging on every note, But the real fun or, perhaps I should say, phun starts when the band walks off-stage. And that's because the four members of Phish - guitarist Trey Anastasio, keyboardist Page McConnell, bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fish- *rpan - are pretty much the most pleas- ant, vanilla-flavored non-rock stars in popular music. Sex, drugs, hotel destruction -- sorry, but the only thing in excess in this rockumentary is hearty laughter. The film, which follows the quartet from the final concert of their '97 sum- mer tour through a run of European shoes in July of '98, finds the band's tradetark sense of humor on full dis- playor devoted fans who have ever woncred what goes on backstage dur- ing s: break, seeing a tipsy Anastasio singan impromptu song about McCnnell's spiffy new shirt is like sneaklg a peek into a secret world. Fisman's story of the band's first paid ;g, Anastasio posing for fans' pictur; on a beach in Spain -- basical- ly anycene that has the band members interasing with each other is worth some pod giggles (and you don't even need thnitrous). In prhaps the film's funniest sequere, Anastasio and Gordon go into a arcelona gun shop and haggle over thiprice of a Magnum .357, with Anastan eventually settling on a bull- whip ittead. Its a bizarre, surreal, hilariou:moment, and even those who are comletely unfamiliar with Phish will be hrd-pressed to stifle a laugh. Whici brings up a valid question: Can a nn-phan enjoy "Bittersweet Motel"?:')ue t aPhish's long history of inside jots ansd far mythology (not to mention s left-ofmainstream musical tendenciei, :s fair amount of casual lis- teners bus don't "get it" when they attend tlisdirst live show - it's simply too much Ir them to absorb in only one night. But w t'iBittersweet Motel," nev- bies won't ave to worry about being left on themutside, because director Todd Phillips chose not to focus on the aspects of the band that only would appeal to a diehard fan who's been sell- ing veggie burritos on Phish tour since 1991. Phillips, who was a total newcomer to Phish's music when he took on the project, instead tells a straightforward story of life with four very normal, very likeable friends who have a lot of fun on the job - it's just that their "job" happens to be rocking out in front of thousands of people every night (which is good for film-goers, because a docu- mentary on four very normal, very like- able accountants just doesn't have that same appeal, you know?). Not surprisingly, much of the film's cornmentary comes from Anastasio, who has been the groups de facto spokesman since its 1983 inception at the University of Vermont. Many Phish fans will gripe about the band meri- ber's unequal screen time, but the bot- tom line is that Anastasio's on-screen presence is much like his guitar play- ing: Engaging, demanding of attention and, when you get down to it, the heart of the band. Of course, a rockumentary without the rock would just be a nonsense word like umentary, so Phillips loads up "Bit- tersweet Motel" with a healthy amount of live concert footage. In addition to concert standouts like "Down with Dis- ease,""Wilson" and "Tweezer,"the film also features neat rehearsal run- throughs of "Birds of a Feather," "Brian and Robert" and the Ween cover "Roses are Free." The musical showstoppers, though, are the several montages that Phillips and his crack editing team pieced together. An awesome "Frankenstein" segment is the highpoint of the Euro- pean tour, while the best moments of the Great Went, Phish's 1997 end-of- summer festival that drew 70,000 peo- ple to northern Maine, are set nicely to the funked-out theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey." "Bittersweet Motel "Premieres in Ann Arborat 9:30 p.m. Frida' night at the Michigan Theatr: Bringryorrglotr- sticks. If you sing a cappella, they will come: Phish's '97 summer festival drew 71 I. U University of Michigan students are invited to attend our presentation: DJS Continued from Page 8 This night, however, belonged to Grandmaster lash. His set lasted for about an hour and featured a r'xture of break beats, "new" school, "old" school ancom- mentary on hip-hop. Most of the tracks were sindard crowd pleasers like "Jump Around" and "Scenari' cou- pled with older joints like "White Lines" and "Rpper's Delight." Though the music selected wasn't out of the (dinary for anyone who's attended their share of hip-hop shows, Flash's mixing and cutting ability proved to take prece- dence. He added his own commentary about what he thought when he first heard certain artists and briefly expressed his grief about the Notorious BIG's death. This all kept the crowd's attention and caused the show- goers to keep bouncing to the rhythms. More important- ly, due to the racial and ethnic makeup of those in attendance, it proved what Flash meant when he said, "Hip-hop belongs to all of us," regardless of our back- grounds. Monday, October 2, 2000 5:30 PM Payton Room P1016 Office Hours:10am-4pm D2235 Opportunities available for BUSINESS ASSOCIATE OPERATIONS RESEARCH ANALYST L. BUSINESS INFORMATION SPECIALIST GLOBAL LEADER IN SALES AND MARKETING CONSULTING www.zsassociates.com Evanston " Menlo Park " Princeton " Frankfurt . London Paris Dance Works hits premiere With flash By Shannon O'Sullivan Daily Arts Writer It was a Wednesday and the audi- ence for the Ann Arbor Dance Works Fall season seemed glazed over, tired om a long day of classes and work. Suddenly the performance began, the audience sat up a little straighter in their chairs as J.S. Bach's familiar, Italian Concerto in F Major drew everyone's eyes to the backdrop, where off to the side was the piano and at center stage a trio of women splendidly performed Gay Delanghe's newly choreographed piece. The trio captured the audiences' full attention with their eneretic, rely moves. Much to everyone's sur- prise, a dancer even danced under te piano. Although each of the six perfor- rances were magnificent, the high- Eght of the night must be given to Annabel Weiner, the youngest, most lorable dancer in the show. Weiner is choreographer Jessica Fogel's four ynar old daughter, and performed in : dance Set of Eight: Routines anc 'veries. Adding variety to th evtning, this set presented prints ir Jaanese-style" personal monsents in itheevery day lives of 19th Centuruy wonen. Along with the traditiona shaluchahi music, simple props suet as alamp, a bath, and a letter lef roon for the imagination to wander backto 19th Century Japan. Nc only did the performers dance they ramatized and acted out scenes. romthe calm quietude that goes ith rading a letter to swaying bac< and farth on a bus, the dynamics oh the misic accompanied the perform. ers' moves. This dance, austere yet gracefl, was divided into eight sec- tions. An olslent and dynamic group ol dancers hen took over the stage, per formin'a powrful intrpretation o yynnsest Boch's Bal Shem. This vigr sly choreographed dance told story offeminine archetypes wit . pecial guest violinist Marl Thomp- son yieldng an equally impressive performarte. The nigit came to a close with a moving dace inspired by a biograph about the cvil-rights activist Septim' Clark. Thisdance was rejoicing in ths1 human sprit and the power o women, One woud never know that An bor Danea Works consisted of only of seven chireographers, a lighting designer andtwo musical directors. Area prohfssionals, student per- formers, cheeographers and musi- cians all conbined to kick off AA Dance Works nto a moving season. DAILY ARTS. 9 HOTTER THAN YEE MOM. First United METHODISTS at the MICHIGAN Theater 603 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor During our renovation, please join us at the Michigan for worship, 9:30 a.m. each Sunday in October. First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor 734-662-4536 p mlj J rml[,JEL ML JOL w j a K At WMAW JIF W KI Steelcase, Inc. is a successful company that promotes a healthy balance between career and personal life. As the preeminent designer and manufacturer of over 540 different lines of products used to create high-performance working environments, it is by no coincidence that we know what it takes to accommodate our own employees. We are now making it more convenient than ever to learn more about us by coming to visit you! Take the first step toward a rewarding new career by stopping by to see us at the U of M Job Fair 2000 Tuesday, October 3rd We are currently considering new graduates for the following positions: " Marketing/Sales " Information Systeims e Engineering * Finance At Steelcase, we won't try to mold you into something you're not. Instead we'll nurture and develop the talents you already have. We hope that you will stop by our booth and learn more about the advantages and benefits that Steelcase has to offer. If unable to attend the Career Fair, we are still willing to accommodate you. Just visit our Web site at www.steelcase.com or send your resume to: Steelcase, Inc., CR2001, P.O. Box 1967, CS-3E, Grand Rapids, M1 49508; Fax: (616) 246-4603; E-mail: staffing@steelcase.com Steelcase strongly supports a diverse workplace and welcomes all applicants. Transforming the ways people work i