0
Like the Southern ...
The local band will reunite
at the Halfway Inn in East
Quad tonight at 9:30 p.m.
iftAwtotmaou
RTS
FRIDAY
JANUARY 25, 2002
michigandaily.com/arts
0
Houston ensemble
honors Proust
Iconic Chieftains
bring new, eclectic
repertoire to Hill
By Autumn Brown
Daily Arts Writer
In the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, one extremely gifted
individual took
it upon himself
to ponder the
Da Camera effect of music
of Houston on human cre-
Mendelssohn ativity.
Theatre Influenced
Tomorrow at 8 p.m. by prominent
composers
such as Rey-
naldo Hahn,
Gabriel Faure,
Cesar Franck
and Claude
Debussy,
Marcel
Proust
went on
to compose brilliant literary mas-
terpieces heavily' doused by French
culture.
Tomorrow night, UMS's presen-
tation of Marcel Proust's works by
Da Camera of Houston Produc-
tions will include "Paris,"
"Swann's Way," "Without a Bud-
ding Grove" and other noteworthy
compositions.
The French government has hon-
ored Sarah Rothenberg, artistic
director and pianist of Da Camera
of Houston, with the presentation
of the Medal of Chevalier in the
Order of Arts and Letters. Rothen-
burg believes that the reading of
Marcel Proust's literary works by
the essayist and critic Andre Aci-
man will make this particular per-
formance stand out from other
performances which follow the
same program.
"Each project I try to find
something new, a different
way of presenting, which
brings an element of sur-
prise to the
Baritone audience -
William they might not
Sharp know how fast
taking a or slow a
break. musician will
Courtesy of m an will
UMS play," she said.
By Jim Schiff
Daily Fine/Performing Arts Editor
At some point in their 38 years
together, The Chieftains stopped
"ourtesy or
The American String Quartet will back up Da Camera in their tribute to Proust.
"The spontaneity is something I
want to bring into the concert.
Aciman composed the memoir,
"Out of Egypt," which retells his
refined and cosmopolitan Jewish
family's experience in Alexandria,
Egypt, spanning the time between
their arrival in Alexandria in 1905
and their forced departure in 1965.
One critic has dubbed him as "our
contemporary Proust."
The American String Quartet will
provide the musical accompaniment
to the performance. Created in
1974, the Quartet celebrated its 25th
anniversary with a 50-state tour in
1998. In addition, the Quartet has
had the distinction of performing in
Japan alongside the Montreal Sym-
phony, the New York City Ballet
and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The
Quartet is comprised of violinists
Peter Winograd and Laurie Carney,
violist Daniel Avshalomov and cel-
list David Geber.
To belt out the deep, resonant
music of the French compositions,
William Sharp will be the baritone.
He is known for performances that,
according to the Chicago Tribune,
"are so caring of words and music,
so direct of declaration that (they)
cease to be performances at all, but
emotion itself."
The
Chieftains
Hill Auditorium
Sun. at 3 p.m.
being just an
ensemble and
started becom-
ing an institu-
tion. Drawing
inspiration
from every cor-
ner of the globe
and their native
country, The
Chieftains have
the distinction
of being Ire-
land's official
" M u s i c a 1
Ambassadors."
King s 'Rose Red' smells
like a dull horror retread
By Jennifer Fogel
Daily Arts Writer
As most of us know, remakes are never as good as
the original. Case in point, Kubrick's "The Shining"
was definitely a cut above author Stephen King's
own television adaptation of
his novel. The so-called master
of horror is at it once again to
prove that "The Haunting"
would have been better if done
Rose Red his way. Alas, King's
deplorable "Rose Red" exudes
S Ay M nothing but trivial ploys and an
Sunday, Monday overwrought script. It's enough
9 pm. to make Shirley Jackson roll
P.M. over in her grave.
Starting Sunday and airing
over the course of three nights,
"Rose Red" examines the
supernatural energy encased in
a Seattle mansion built by John
Rimbauer, a wealthy oil mag-
nate, for his new bride, Ellen.
Even as building on the house began, extremely odd
occurrences plagued the house ... particularly the
mysterious and violent deaths that befell some of the
workers. Legend holds that John was a cad, constant-
ly cheating on his naive wife. On her behalf, the
house allegedly began to consume (literally of
course) these women and kill men who had become
a threat to Ellen. Topping off the mysterious disap-
pearances, the Rimbauers' own daughter vanished,
taken into the folds of the house.
After John's apparent suicide and Ellen's own dis-
appearance in 1950, the house - which had grown
quite extravagant from Ellen's wish to keep building
- was shut down and has laid dormant for the past
decade. Well, dormant except for the fact that the
house has kept growing on its own accord, effective-
ly able to shift its shape and size at will. Presently,
the house is about to be razed on the orders of the
Rimbauers' surviving grandson, Steven (Matt
Keeslar, "Psycho Beach Party"), who fears the evil
of Rose Red. Yet, why let all that good psychic ener-
gy go to waste? Pressured into giving the house one
last "wake-up" call by his lover, Professor Joyce
Reardon (Nancy Travis, "So I Married An Axe Mur-
derer"), Steven opens up Rose Red for a rag-tag
group with psychic powers on a mission to prove the
existence of paranormal phenomena.
It seems unnecessary to go into great detail
about the members of the group, what powers
they have, etc. since night one's only function is
to provide expository information. We don't even
get into the house until night two, and even then
nothing remotely terrifying happens until the
third night. Suffice it to say that the extraneous
members of the psychic all-stars are weeded out
fairly quickly as the house begins to "feed" off of
their energy. As denial and ambition overtake
Reardon, she fails to heed the warnings of her
cast and instead clings to her "key" (the power
behind Rose Red), Annie (Kimberly Brown,
"Tumbleweeds"), a 15-year-old autistic with tele-
kinetic abilities. Meanwhile, the others have a
case of the heebie-jeebies as the house brings
itself to full force, as ghosts roam the hallways
and nothing is as it seems.
By far, the miniseries' biggest failure (other
than being completely boring) is its misuse of the
But titles aside, this prolific sextet is
truly worshipped for its live perfor-
mances. This Sunday, the Hill Audi-
torium stage will be transformed
into the rhythmic, enchanting world
of The Chieftains.
The roots of The Chieftains lie in
the traditional Celtic music of Ire-
land, which is as diverse as the
backgrounds of each of the group's
members. The fiddle itself is a mal-
leable instrument, varying in style
and technique from county to coun-
ty. "Water in the Well," their most
recent album, features the swing-
like fiddle of Kerry, the laid back
sound of Clare and the Scottish-
influenced sound of Galway.
"Chief" Chieftain Paddy Maloney
likens the regional differences to a
journey of fiddles. "If you listen
attentively you'll hear the different
styles, the construction of tunes in
each little place you go," he said.
The Chieftains' unique combina-
tion of instruments - uileann pipes,
fiddle, harp, bodhran and flute - is
the brainchild of Maloney. And
while Maloney does
much of the composing
and arranging himself,
The Chieftains are
foremost a collection of
accomplished solo
musicians. Each mem-
ber hails from a differ-
ent part of Ireland,
providing the group
with a great deal of
breadth. Fiddler Sean
Keane's version of
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a
favorite piece of The
Chieftains. Part Irish
jig, part guitar-driven
rock, this song is just
one of many that com-
bines sounds from sev-
eral countries.
It is their thirst for
new musical inspira-
tions that has led The Monstersc
Chieftains to collaborate with
dozens of famous artists. Their
extensive roster includes Paul
McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Paul
Simon, Sting, Bryan Adams, Elvis-
Costello and Sinead O'Connor.
Maloney began backtracking on a
McCartney album back in 1972 and
since then has forged a number of
musical connections. On many
occasions, artists will approach The
Chieftains with an idea and Mal-
oney will try to adapt it into tradi-
tional Irish music. The song "Long
Black Veil," for example, features
Sting's vocals in the Irish language.
"It's from the heart-it's great
music, it's music that belongs to
everyone," said Maloney. "You
don't have to be Irish to sing or play
Irish music."
Last October, The Chieftains
traveled to New York City to play at
a memorial service for the victims
of the Sept. 11 attacks. Visiting
Ground Zero the next morning was
an emotional experience for Mal-
oney, who found the awfulness of it
to be overwhelming. He pulled out a
tin whistle and played the heartfelt
Irish tune, "I am Asleep, Don't
Wake Me." A lot of the workers
stopped to listen to Maloney's play-
ing, which surely brought some
tranquility to the scene. "I just
played it as a mark of respect," said
Maloney.
Sunday's program is brand new
material for The Chieftains.
They've surpassed even their own
high performance standards with
this show, which is comprised of
bluegrass, country, traditional Irish
music and even a tap dance
sequence. Natalie MacMaster, a
Canadian bombshell who plays fid-
dle and dances at the same time,
will take center stage. "It will be
quite a night," said Maloney.
6
Nancy Travis kissing credibility good-bye forever.
cast. None of the characters are fully fleshed out,
playing out in a stereotypical fashion. Nancy
Travis moves from self-possessed to merely pos-
sessed overnight, while the others just sit around
and say she's under a lot of pressure. Pressure?
People, the house is trying to kill you ... haven't
you watched a horror film before? Travis'
mantra the entire movie is: "The house is alive.
This house is bad." Can we say stale?
"Rose Red" is a clear disappointment for
devoted King fans who enjoyed "It" and "The
Stand," two of the seven miniseries that King has
provided for the ABC network. Particularly dis-
heartening is that "Rose Red" came about from
conversations between King and director Steven
Spielberg. Luckily, due to his busy schedule,
Spielberg never had anything to do with this pro-
duction.
If you are even considering watching "Rose
Red" for the benefit of finding King in his
Hitchcockian cameo, don't bother. He shows up
as a daft, "whoa man, this house is scary" pizza
delivery boy in night two. And if you're planning
on watching for the late David Dukes' final per-
formance, send your condolences instead.
of (celtic) rock "The Chieftains."
Habitat scores with
Necto' s electric funk
Just call me Mr. Butterfingers.
REDEFINING DANCE THROUGH
THE WONDER C) INNOVATION
Choreography by David
Dorfman, Jessica Fogel,
Bambang rawan, Neor
Rahma ina and Peter Sparlirgs
Jan.31, Feb. 1-2at pm
Feh at2nm
By StacyAnderson
Daily Staff Writer
So we've all been to the Necto.
But how many of us can say that
'Rings' will indude
Two Towers' peek
By Jeff Dickerson
Daily Arts Editor
Although "The Lord of the
Rings: The Fellowship of the
Ring" failed to win any Golden
Globes awards Sunday night, the
epic fantasy film crossed the
$250 million mark in the U.S.
box office this week. The film
has become one of the top 20
highest grossing films of all time
in only five weeks.
New Line Cinema, the film's
distributor, is already looking
toward the future of the
franchise and the
Fellowship of the Ring" at least
six months away, fans are clamor-
ing for new footage of the upcom-
ing "Two Towers."
David Tuckerman, distribution
president of New Line Cinema,
stated "We're going to give
(audiences) a preview of ("Two
Towers").We're going to change
the last reel out and do a preview
of "Two Towers" at the end of
the last reel. (Audiences) are
screaming for it."
With Academy Award nomina-
tions coming soon, New Line is
going to wait until March to
release the new material.
Cloud Nine
Music
The Necto
Tomorrow at 8 p.m.
we've been to
the Necto and
benefited char-
ity at the same
time? This
Sunday, the
University's
chapter of
Habitat for
Humanity will
be hosting a
concert to raise
money to bene-
fit them and
their goal of
building a
third house for
Music with DJ Virus have
described themselves as "'70s era
funk, jazz and vintage Motown
soul." Their recently released, self-
titled EP is filled with soulful,
dance-inciting lyrics and beats
and, having sold out the Blind Pig
many a night, they know how to
work a crowd.
But besides the electric funk
that you'll encounter when you
walk in the door, the real cause
shouldn't be overlooked. With
over 2,000 members on campus
and support from companies such
as Detroit Edison, Best Buy, John-
son & Johnson and others, the
University's Habitat for Humanity
has already built and dedicated
two houses to people in the Ann
Arbor area. They need your help
to build the third.
So come to the Necto at 9 p.m.
on Sunday night, bring $8 and
some friends, and enjoy the essence
of music and the spirit of dancing,
all the while knowing you're giving
your hard-earned money to a cause
worthy of every penny.
A
people who desperately need it.
The show will feature local acts
Notice Co, DJ Virus and Cloud
Nine Music, mixing up funk, soul
and techno to appease the masses
and allow everyone to enjoy their
night. Headliners Cloud Nine
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