10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 3, 2001 Tenacious D rocks the' ARTS socks off Sta By Lyle Henretty and Luke Smith Daily Arts Editors The self-proclaimed "greatest band on Earth" gave the proletariat a treat by slumming it at the State Theatre in Detroit Mon- day night. Tenacious D, in the personage of Jack Black and Kyle Gass, took the nearly- Tenacious D sold-out crowd on an acoustic with Sounds odyssey through their souls, of Urchin in the process playing most State Theater of their new album and sever- al cult favorites from their Oct. 1, 2001 short-lived HBO series. Before The D transcended the stage for their nearly two- hour feast on the senses, opening act Sounds of Urchin brought the crowd to a seething frenzy for humor- tinged hard rock. Compli- menting The D's more folksy riffs, Urchin's lead guitarist (The Reverend B. Ill) sent volts of elec- tric energy out through the crowd. The good Rev- erend was kind enough not to talk in rhyme, and let his fanatical shred on his Fender do much of the chatting. After a thorough warming-up, the crowd te Theatre 'Citizen Kane' discs just larger than life By Lyle Henretty__ Daily Arts Editor W :r , UI a frothed for the greatness that was the night's main attraction. The soundtrack to "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" emanated through the speakers, occasionally heard over frenzied cries for The D. The tenacious ones began their set with crowd- pleaser "Wonderboy," their first single. While this pleased many, die-hard fans could be heard mum- bling about a "sell-out." Motion picture and music video master Spike Jonze has filmed a clip for the song, which is sure to catapult band to the forefront of the Total Request Live, teeny-bopper sect that has yet to be receptive to their music. As fans cried for their own favorite taste of The D , Black angrily asserted that they don't do requests. Gass then reminded that they would, on the other hand, play every song that they had ever written. While this was not entirely true, the boys did rip through both obscure gems and classics, such as their career-making "Tribute," a tribute to the "best song in the world," which they had also written but subsequently forgotten. They also commandeered a few songs from other, lesser bands, including Guns 'n Roses ("Mr. Brown- stone") The Who (From Tommy) and The Beatles (including a closing medley from Abby Road). The portly pair even found time to spontaneously treat the audience to "Eye of the Tiger." Ivan Drago was unable to make an appearance. The music intermingled seamlessly with the some famous D sketches ("Inward Singing," lots of oral sex jokes). Yet it was their musical and lyrical genius that made this the best concert Detroit has ever been privy to. "Fuck Her Gently" is the perfect anti-love song, and "Kyle Quit the Band" and "Kyle Took a Bullet For Me" are pitch-perfect odes to The D's quiet guitar prodigy. Black admitted that the concert really began in Detroit, at their biggest venue thus far, and their excitement was tripled by the D-loving audience, who received the duo for what they are, the homely, humble "greatest band in the world." And in true rock form, The D were treated to a host of female chests at stage left while they mer- cilessly kicked out the jams. Afterwards, fans of the D who had purchased the CD that evening were granted a meet and gree with the Two Kings. Patrons were funneled up a staircase where the scepters held by KG and JB were Sharpie pens and treated to an autograph and a kind word. It was more than a kind word though which made the D's trip to Detroit worth each fan's while. Ask anyone across the board, from the fry cook at the Coney Island to the film professo Citizen Kane DVD Warner Home Video course, many of r teaching German expressionism about Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" and they can tell you sim- ply and emphati- cally that it is the finest film ever made. Of the non film nerds Black sporting his 0 face. have yet to see the picture because, let's be hones "finest film ever made" most probably translates into "boring as watching competitive Tai Chi." Those of us that bow to the alter of "Kane" know that this is not only is this the technical achievement of the last hundred years (cars and planes not with-standing), but that it's also one damn cool movie. Sex, booze, music, and one crazy mystery surrounding "Rosebud," who or whatever that may be. The uninitiat- ed can finally learn with the first release of "Kane" with a double-disc DVD set by Warner Home Video. First of all, the film itself would be enough. Any old VHS copy is still better than a super-deluxe DVD of "Gladiator" that actually comes with Russell Crowe. The new DVD, th.ough, comes completely remas- tered in both sound and picture, giv- ing it a crisper look than the film probably had in 1941 when it bombed at the box office. Oh, yes, it bombed quite horribly, and you can find out why in "The Battle over Citizen Kane," the Oscar nominated documentary on the sec- ond disc. The documentary explores Welles as a young artist trying to fight the William Randolph Hearst newspaper empire. Kane is so obvi- ously based on Hearst that even Welles doesn't try to deny it, but he does take issue when the billionaire tries to buy every last copy of the film and burn it. The documentary charts RKO's fight to keep the film alive, the huge response from critics, and the aforementioned thud at the box office. Also along for goodies ride are two commentary tracks. One by film critic Roger Ebert, who speaks as both fan and film historian in his candid, informative discussion. A second commentary track is done by Welles historian and director Peter Bogdonovich ("The Last Picture Show") gives a fairly lackluster talk, wondering aloud and not answering his own questions. A newsreel of the movies pre- miere, storyboards, photo, call sheets, good God could a film nerd ask for anything more? OK, how about rare footage from Welles' "War of the Worlds" broadcast, when he had half of America believ- ing that there were aliens invading the country? How does that strike you? This is possibly the greatest DVD to ever be released. With "The Phan- tom Menace" hitting stores soon, I may eat my words. Yet, no matter what Lucas pulls out of giant bag of ILM tricks, his film will never stand up to the experience that is "Citizen Kane. Rosebud. 'Uh, actually you did stop singing Jack' quips Gass. Its a chubby not-so-teenage wasteland on stage. Jin's collection 'Bridegroom' engages the heart By Andrew Field Daily Arts Writer cutter. His pen is like a scalpel, exacting, slicing, and penetrating, to reveal - pardon the sentimentality -- a living, beating human heart. The short story is indeed an exact science. and Jin hovers above all the stories in his newest collection, "The Bridegroom," peering over Muji City, the same place his much- admired novel "Waiting" was set in. All of these stories are set in con- temporary China, with a socialist structure as absurd as a Godzilla Ha Jin's beautiful, stark prose brings to mind the pain-staking meticulousness of a master diamond movie (a Japanese The Briegroom Ha Jin Grade: A- Vintage Books creation nonethe- less), though far more frighten- ing and illogical in its monstrous tyrannical irony than the lumber- ing lizard ever was. Here the Godzilla is real. If you ever find yourself interro- gated for a petty crime (a con- stant in "The Bridegroom"), it might help to keep Jin's vil- h . --" a4"OCia.& AMERICAN EXPRESS* pu"OdA lainous, vague officers in mind to put things in perspective. There is only so'much exasperation and self- criticism a human being can take. Jin does a wonderful job in perusing just past this point, fusing the arbi- trary Chinese legal system with, intensely believable characters to form a face that might look some- thing like the guy in Edvard Munch's "The Scream" if only he had a sense of humor. In post-Chairman Mao society, homosexuality is a contagious dis- ease and a crime; to be well educat- ed is to graduate high school; housing is assigned by the govern- ment; cops throw hot tea at your feet and then arrest you for disrupting the civil order. Normal, daily life is awash in a mess of bureaucratic hogwash and communist hot air. People greet each other as "Comrade!" and then sneak.behind their comrades' backs to get them fired and land their wages. Luckily, we have a wonderful tour guide in Jin, whose refreshingly plain style of writing is deceivingly unpretentious and marvelously con- structed. When a joke can land you in prison for three years, and when this is not a joke but reality, follow- ing Jin as he weaves through the massive contradictions that consti- tute post-cultural' revolution China is both an education and a shock. If anyone comes out clean after read- ing these stories, they're either heartless or mindless. Jin's stories manage to engage both, seemingly effortlessly and sometimes simulta- neously. In the disturbing title story, a mar- ried man convicted of homosexuali- ty is subject to electric baths to purge his "condition." "Homosexu- ality originated in Western capital- ism and bourgeois lifestyle," the Chief of the Investigation Depart- ment says. In one particularly unset- tling scene, after a nurse offers to turn down the jarring electricity, the patient screams "No, give me more!" It is very upsetting to see this man buy into China's hypocrisy, desperate to cure what he has sor- rowfully misconstrued as his own sickness. The hilarious last story in the col- lection, entitled "After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town," is worth the price of the book alone. In it, a hapless thirty year old employee relates his experience deep frying at "Cowboy Chicken," an American company hazardously rooted in the code: "the customer is always right." A You cannot help but sympathize with this wretch, or feel guilty after laughing at his expense. In order to draw more customers, the owner, Mr. Shapiro, incorporates a buffet lunch, which backfires nastily. The restaurant then hosts a "wedding feast" for newlyweds bedazzled by the shiny counters, fries, biscuits and orange soda. The story is also a commentary on the confused culture of contemporary China, in essence a conflict between East and West, communism and capitalism. Nei- ther side escapes unscathed. Aside from one unsatisfying, bland story entitled "The Woman from New York," "The Bridegroom" is a superb collection. volunteer. to read services for students with disabilities volunteer reader program strauss library, 2nd floor, west quad phone 764-0182 call or stop by for information Noone undertheageof will be admited withoutparentar legal guardian Special Offer JUST FOR APPLYING. Receive a complimentary movie pass for 2 when you apply for Blue for Studentssm or the American Express Card for Students. FOR AMERICAN EXPRESS CARDMEMBERS. r . .._...-i n...,......:,.,.., C...- ('' -4 -4 .... , n Ir) *o roro .. n rmniimn r V r mvip MASS fr, N!0NS 400- The Michigan Daily Dis pla Ta mb AIJ