8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, February 12, 2001

ARTS


High stakes 'Hand'
a Vegas-style thriller

By Ryan Blay
Daily Arts Writer
I had a good feeling about this novel

from the first time I
High Hand
Gary Phillps
Kensington Books
Grade: B

MELISSA GOLLOB/SpxiaI to Thi sDaily

Monsters of their own making, Amazin' Blue performs at Rackham Auditorium.

saw the cover -
an alluring
female protago-
nist holding a
smoking gun
posed on an
image of the
queen of hearts.
The dedication
"To all the
squares, players.
shot callers, and
eight ballers
who ever made
it off of Flower
Street"
makes it clear

A cappella jons for Ozone House

By Jamie Schey
Fr the Daily

Last Saturday marked the 1 1 th
annual "Monsters of a cappella" con-
cert. The show featured a unique

blend of talent fro
Monsters of
A cappella
RackhamAuditorium
February 10, 2001
opened with The

m various Midwest-
ern universities.
G a t h e r e d
together to raise
money for the
Ozone jlouse, a
home for trou-
bled teens in
Ann Arbor, five
groups provided
the audience
with a niuht of'
musical antics
that were both
fun and philan-
thropic.
The show
Friars. an animated

miered next. These chic ladies made
for a fun and upbeat performance as
well. Their sones allowed the talents
of a number of singers to stand out,
and their diverse musical repertoire
highlighted the unique talents of each
singer. The song "Our Children" fea-
tured a crisp blend of harmonies. as
did "The Storm is Passing Over."
Their cover of "Breathless," a recent
hit by The Coors, was extremely
good. featuring an impressive solo
performance.
The Acafellas, an outstanding male
ensemble from Michigan State Uni-
versity performed next. Beginning
their performance with an upbeat ver-
sion of the song "Celebrate," these
suit-clad gentlemen certainly looked
like ones that any girl would want to
bring home to her mother. Their
musical repertoire is incredibly
diverse, and each song allowed the
incredible talents of these singers to
be show cased. Their rendit ion of'
Bruce Springsteen's "Secret Garden"
was sweet, yet incredibly beautiful.
highlighting the strong, clear sound
of the group. Their animated cover of'
David Lee Roth's "Just a Gigolo"
brought the house down, and the song
entitled "The Tale of Tommy and
Gina in ballad form." (Bon .lovi's
"Living on a Prayer"), was absolutely
hysterical. Although they are Spar-
tans, their performance more than
made up for this fact.
The next group featured was the
Ripcords, a female group from the
University of Illinois. These girls are
also invited to become honorary
Wolverines, and their. performance
was excellent. Clad in black and
white striped apparel. their version of
Madonna's "Vogue" resembled a
dancing scene out of the movie

"Austin Powers." They performed a
powerful rendition of "Witness," by
Sarah McLachlan, highlighting their
incredible solo skills. The girls claim
their final number, a version of the
Beatles' "Yesterday." as their theme
song. The song featured strong, clear
harmonies and crisp, precise rhythms.
Although they were not performing
on their own turf, these girls definite-
ly shined in Ann Arbor.
The final group to perform was
Amazin' Blue, the University's oldest
a cappella group. They live up to their
name, because they truly are amaz-
ing. Their performance featured the
song "Cowboy Take Me Away," an
Amazin' Blue classic, and a favorite
among their fans. The song "She." an
upbeat, almost Rent-like song. high-
lighted both the animated and the
professional style of the group. Most
notable, however, were the songs
"Why Should I Cry for you" (a Stine
cover) and "Forgiveness" (originally
sung by Patty Griffin). Both songs
featured outstanding soloists, and the
accompaniment voices were well-
blended and strong. Their final num-
ber, however, could simply not be
topped: 'N*Syne's "Bye Bye Bye."
complete with the dance from the
music video. Their rendition was as
good, if' not better, than the original
version, and the featured soloist could
certainly pass for a member of
'N*Sync any day. Overall, their per-
formance was excellent, and made for
an enjoyable and fun experience.
The "Monsters of a cappella"was a
wonderful show, featuring the diverse
talents of a number of musicians. The
performances proved to be interesting
and exciting from beginning to end,
an overall successful night of fun and
philanthropy to all in attendance.

all-iale ensemble. From their rather
"monstrous" version of Dion's
"Runaround Sue" to a cover of Neil
Diamond's "Sweet.Caroline," The Fri-
ars were upbeat and humorous
throughout the show. These men do
notonly sing, but dance as well. Their
version of the Motown classic "Ain't
Too Proud" was lively and energetic,
highlighting the many talents of these
performers. Their sound is incredibly
strong. and they successfully create a
Wonderful blend of their voices
thirughout their performance. Espe-
cialy notable was the piece "Lone-
some Road." Its tone was beauti ful
and melancholy, and the featured
soloist was excellent. The Friars
proaed that they truly are "the best
seven-member octet around "
The IHarmonettes, the University's
only all-female a cappella group, pre-

I WSW

Joining Chainey would be the majority
of the women in Phillips' Vegas, since
so many seern to be ex-strippers, ex-
prostitutes or ex-junkies.
Phillips. a man who has written a
series of hit books about private eye
Ivan Monk while remaining a commu-
nity activist, has a lot to say about
humans and the "new" Las Vegas. His
contrasts between men and women in
the book are striking. All the men in
the book think with their penises. The
most successful at their respective jobs
tend to be the more composed
females, beginning with tough-woman
Chainey. In addition, Phillips makes
reference to hostilities between Native
Americans and Caucasian casino own-
ers in Vegas.
In the end. "Hligh Hand" states its
case: That Vegas hasn't changed much
since the old days of Bugsy Siegel and
the other notorious mobsters that erect-
ed the now-famous desert oasis. The
new wave of casino men may be Iy
Leaguers and have MBAs, but their
dealinus are as shady as always, with
mob ties, politics and vengeance still
carrying a great deal of weight in Sin
City. The climax of the work, a high-
stakes poker game that lends its name
to the book's title, further shows that in
Vegas, the more things change, the
more they stay the same.
Incidentally. I decided to look on
Amazon.com Ror some insight into this
book. Fortunately, one soul had some
helpful information on the book (most-
ly copied from the book jacket) and
gave it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it excit-
ing. That avid reader? None other than
theu author himself' Garv Phillins

that this is not going to be a piece for
anyone with a weak heart.
The main character is Martha
Chainey, a money courier for a Las
Vecas casino owner. There's not much
that's special about her, unless you
consider a tall, beautiful. street-smart
ex-stripper who is running for her lifit
"special." Clearly. her character is
based on Cleopatra Jones and other
blaxpoitation females.
Chainey was on a routine delivery
when she was robbed of her S7 million
delivery and nearly killed. Accused of
stealing the money herself, she must
find the money within 72 hours or else
face one pissed-off casino owner. That
owner is one Frankie Degault. Along
with his much cahner sister, Victoria,
Degault runs the Riverhead Casino,
among his other questionable activities.
Along the wav Martha encounters a
seriesof friends who may be foes and
vice versa. Vern Sixkiller and Leopold
are two Native American investigators
trying to crack some murder cases for
their own personal interest. Rena
Solomon. a reporter for a questionable
Vegas publication, provides some
valuable information to help Martha
try and find the thieves. Baker is a
white South African hit man sent to
finish Chainev o!f if' she can't recover
the money. All of these characters pro-
vide for a wild ride as Chainey
bounces everywhere from gay clubs to
casinos in an effort to track down the
criminals.
On the surface, it may sound like a
bad Jenny Jones episode. but take a
closer look. This novel about a black,
female. ex-stripper money courier for
the mob,. who may be confused about
her sexuality, works surprisingly well.

Mavi Jeans
- so many.
varieties
By Caitlin Fredemann
Four the D~aly
Mavi Jeans A phenomenon Hirts
ally unknown to students before they
come to the University of Michigan
these jeans are now a part of everyday
life. Worn by everyone from honor
students to sorority girls, they are
made of' soft denim and are almost as
comfortable as sweat pants. They
come in a variety of colors and designs
and cost S52-56 a pair. With six styles
to choose from, deciding which to buy
can be a mind-boggling task. To allevi-
ate this stress. I brought three diflere*
sized young women with me into
Bivouac to try on and evaluate the var-
ious styles. The results ofour observa-
tions allow me to now make several
observations and recommendations
about the assorted styles.
The most common style on campus
is the Molly. A slightly flared pant, it
comes in both regular and stretch as
well as in many different colors. Reg*
lar Molly jeans are tight in the hips
and thighs and fit most figures well.
The stretch jeans are a completely dif-
ferent story. The excessively long fly
tends to make legs look shorter. Also.
anyone with a smaller waist than hips
will find that they leave a gap in the
back of the waist.
The next style we tried was the
Maggie. Similar to the Molly but with
.a larger flare, the Maggie is becoming
one of the most popular fits. The larg4
flare creates a flattering, curvy silhou-
ette that is unparalleled by any other
Mavi.
Although the Molly and Maggie
work for most girls, there are several
styles that I would only suggest for
certain body types. The Mia is a low-
rise pant with a flare and two-toned
stitching. It fits extremely tightly and
is a little short, so no one should fee
bad about having to go up a size. Tb
Mariah does not have a waist and ii-
cut incredibly low in the back. Also'
because both of these pants were cut
smaller in the back than the othersv
they look best on girls with smalle
hips and backsides.
The final style we tried on, the Kate
is the only Mavi that I would discour-
age anyone from wearing. It fits like'
the Molly and Maggie through the
hips and thighs, but has a complete
lack of flare that gives almost everyon*
an unflattering pear shape. One tall.
thin tester even found that she looked
terrible because they were too loose in
the knees and tight everywhere else.
Although girls' jeans are much
more popular, there are two styles
available for guys. The Max is tight in
the top with a wide leg that looks flat-
tering on most guys. Less attractive is
the boot cut Matt, which rides high i
the waist and is tight in the hips and
thighs.
The comfortable denim of Mavi
jeans draws many people in to test
them. The wide variety of styles can
lead to a difficult decision about what
to try on let alone what to buy. I low-
ever, there are clearly some that are
unattractive but also others that can
flatter every body shape.


I

Jflb Va~ntin5Oauk
JupSewceb,.,,

I

-ltl-01K-l 1) MV r.


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taking orders at the Michigan Student Union
February 12th-15th, 11-4pm.

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Gifts of Passion V Provocative Greeting Cards
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Customizable Balloon Bouquets And more!
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4 TEvery Monday Ashley's will host a
brewer from one of the region's
breweries. They will be offering
samples of their beers including
some found only at the brewery.
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setting in Ashley's Underground Pub.
Monday Feb. 12th.
8-10 pm

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