Wednesday
January 29, 2003
michigandaily.com/arts
mrae@michigandaily.com
Urb ~diijan &dI
ARTS
5
'KIMMEL' OFF TO A
STRONG START
'MAN SHOW' STAR JOINS LATE NIGHT
By Adam Rottenberg
Daily Arts Writer
After the Super Bowl, ABC
unveiled the newest addition to the
long list of late night talk shows,
"Jimmy Kimmel Live." Ted Koppel
introduced the world to the show
by announcing that "Nightline"
wouldn't be airing so ABC could
bring out "this garbage." Kimmel,
best known for "The Man Show,"
"Win Ben Stein's Money" and to
football fans as a prognosticator
for "FOX NFL Sunday," brings a
different type of humor to late
night. The sophomoric mastermind
unleashed his raunchy humor on
the unsuspecting censors with the
help of writers Adam Carolla ("The
Man Show") and Bill Simmons
(ESPN.com's "The Sports Guy").
The influence of
these writers and the -
host himself is evi-
dent in the tone and M
jokes found within
the show. M
Snoop Dogg served as the first
guest host, and the rapper meshed
well with Kimmel. The two often
joked about Snoop's high school
yearbook picture, rap life and vow
of abstinence from his for-
mer favorite pastime,
marijuana.
A-list actor George
Clooney ("Confessions of
a Dangerous Mind") was
the first guest after the
introduction of the guest
host. The show really =
took off when the three
started making wise- w
cracks about network
censors and the fact
that the censors really
need to pay attention
to the five-second
delay. The discussion
Courtesy of Monls
I've got Ace Frehley. I've got Peter Kriss.
Mons 'hugs' local scene
By Niamh Slevin
Daily Arts Writer
KIMMEL
Kimmel sits behind
a desk like all of the
other hosts and has a
band of his own. The
twists on the old
standard talk show
LivE
Weeknights at
12:05 a.m.
ABC
included 1
going
through the
different words they
could and could not
say on network televi-
sion, cleverly attempt-
ing to use the
forbidden terms (i.e.
the word cock to
describe a rooster)
throughout the chat.
st-Super Bowl timeslot
The Olsen twins at U of M? I'll drink to that!
Courtesy of Comedy Central
I
format come in the guise of a
rotating celebrity co-host each
' week, the live screening and the
lack of an opening monologue
lampooning current events. With
his post-Super Bowl time slot,
Kimmel wasted no time in mock-
ing the event, the athletes and,
most importantly, the celebrities.
The
was maximized with the addition of
Warren Sapp (a member of the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers) as a guest,
flown from San Diego to Los Ange-
les in time for the show. Sapp, one
of the most charismatic players in
football, provided the perfect com-
pliment to Kimmel and Snoop. To
close the festivities on this inaugu-
ral broadcast, the British rock band
Coldplay played an outdoor concert.
The success of the first night car-
ried over to the second seamlessly.
Kimmel made fun of NBC's "bliz-
zard night" by having snow fall
during his broadcast. In a hilarious
skit, they showed a fat, green paint-
ed man running shirtless as the
"Incredible Hulk" to mock the
commercial from the previous
night. Snoop returned and The
Rock joined in on the fun with an
amusing bit with action figures.
Jimmy Kimmel's newest venture
should prove as successful and as
humorous as "The Man Show." This
show has the potential of avoiding
the disasters that have faced other
talk show premieres like the pathet-
ic "The Magic Hour" or the awful
"Chevy Chase Show." Instead,
Kimmel's show is now the best
thing in late night, excluding Conan
O'Brian's hour of course, and hope-
fully the audience that followed
him after the game will stick
around and enjoy Jimmy's sopho-
moric humor every weeknight.
Born of three freshman fledglings in
the winter of 2001 and originally
named Barbarian BBQ, Mons spent
most of its time tinkering with chords
and experimenting with new sounds.
Jack Conway, Tristan Hendy and Joe
Rothfarb crammed their equipment into
South Quad's overcrowded practice
room for jam sessions and often feared
the reverberations bouncing off of
every wall would permanently destroy
their hearing. Most of the early songs
didn't even have lyrics.
By their sophomore year, they had
found the style and skill they'd been
searching for. Conway covered guitar,
Hendy had the bass and, after much
hunting, Rothfarb secured his drums.
Within no time, the band had gigs at
the Blind Pig and the Wired Frog.
There were links to live concert MP3s
on their website and a CD in the works.
Hendy explains, "We got serious
about playing and then went straight to
the recording studio."
They each have their personal goals
for their music, but these interests meld
together without too much effort. Roth-
farb appreciates the more complex
rhythms and the break from traditional
4/4 world. As an English major, he's
also interested in the writing, not only
of the lyrics but the music as well.
"I write my songs on the guitar. I
write a lot in general: stories, poetry,
etc."
Hendy, too, writes some songs with-
out the aid of his bass. A piano player
for 14 years, he uses that skill as his
inspiration on occasion.
While Mons' sound isn't really rem-
iniscent of any one band, it does incor-
porate several into its individual
sound. Its members credit Rush, Rage
Against the Machine, Planet X, with a
hint of Tool.
Hendy says, "In other words, we
have an identity crisis."
The boys often go to incredible
lengths in an effort to make their shows
as interesting and fun as possible, even
to the point of physical injury.
"I usually smash my hands at one
point. Blood goes all over me and my
drums," Rothfarb proudly points to a
few stains on his pants.
Most artists will tell you a concert
just isn't complete without the right
audience, and the boys of Mons are
certainly no different. While hard-
core moshing is greatly appreciated,
smiles and a feeling of presence can
be enough to please the band. Audi-
ence participation can bridge the
gap between a good show and a
kick-ass rock fest.
Conway jokes, "We know we're on
musically if girls hug us after the show.
So far, our hug count is three."
Though the band is relatively new,
they've already discovered the difficul-
ties inherent in Ann Arbor's music
scene. Compared to some college
towns, Ann Arbor seems like a barren
wasteland for musical groups. In fact,
the number of legends to come from
this little city is almost laughable. But
this improbability doesn't bother Mons.
"It's kind of frustrating in a good
way, like we're creating something
here," Conway says.
The group agreed that the Michi-
gan League is one of the best venues
they've played. The setting is intimate
and free for students. More impor-
tantly, its staff is always welcoming
and helpful. Mons was even asked to
play a-special Welcome Week per-
formance at the League this past fall.
They are returning once again for
free performances Jan. 31 at 9 p.m.
and Feb. 7 at 8:30 p.m.
Conway, Hendy and Rothfarb may
appear to be shy college students at
first, but their enthusiasm for their
upcoming shows soon becomes
abundantly clear. From cleaning out
their bank accounts to roaming the
state for new venues, they're willing
to do all they can to get their music
into circulation.
'U' to premiere unreleased work of Philip Glass
By Archana Ravi
Daily Arts Writer
Dance company in a program called ance will commence with an overture
"Resonant Rhythms." This perform- which samples each of the dances in
Talk about unfinished business! In
1977, the American composer Philip
Glass released his composition, North
Star, to Virgin Records. He developed
bits and pieces of the composition and
then, accompanied by his ensemble,
edited the work together at the end.
Despite its release, North Star was
never completely performed in the
studio. Musicians also never even
attempted it in concert.
American choreographer Lar
Lubovitch later choreographed a five-
movement ballet to the composition,
which is also named North Star.
This week, the University communi-
ty has the privilege of viewing the
world premiere of Philip Glass' com-
position, performed by the University
ance also marks the first
time Lubovitch's chore-
ography will be per-
formed by a university
dance company. Prior to
this performance,
Lubovich's choreogra-
phy has been used by his
own company and by the
Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theater; a com-
RESONANT
RHYTHMS
At The Power Center
Thursday-Saturday at
8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.
University Musical Society
the show, and which
is choreographed by
Dance Department
Chair Bill DeYoung.
DeYoung likens his
opening piece to
"looking out of a
train window and
viewing the complete
landscape."
Other dances in the
"Studsa," Sandra Torijano's
"Pulso," "Fallout," by Ruth Leney-
Midkiff, "Clapping" and "Fire."
Each dance piece is inspired by var-
ious cultures, people and movements.
"Ndebele," for example, is named for
the Ndebele women of Zimbabwe and
is reflective of the interiors and exteri-
ors of their homes. Perhaps, even
more interesting, "Fallout" is a ballet
depicting combustions, when heat and
energy are produced by the collision
of opposing forces. It was named after
the "Star Trek" episode titled
"Doomsday Machine."
mendable track record to say the least.
Minimalism, a movement supported
by Glass, which includes the repetition
of short melodic fragments inter-
spersed between strong pulses, is the
base from which "Resonant Rhythms"
stems. With this base, the program will
include five worldly dances with short
interludes between them. The perform-
program include "Ndebele" by
Robin Wilson, Bill DeYoung's
Not the same old shampoo
in a new bottle ...
|| " ; The Sociology Department and the
|-|American Culture Program present...
Monday, February 3 " 3:30 P.M.
Michigan Union,'Kuenzel Room
"Facing Diversity: American Identity
and the New Challenges of
Religious and Cultural Pluralism"
The "cultural work" that ordinary Americans
engage in to make sense of people whose religious
traditions are radically different from their own.
- 3:00 P.M. RECEPTION -
Also, the Morikawa Lectureship presents...
"Christianity in the Third Millennium:
Seven Major Trends"
Sunday, February 2 " 4:00 p.m.
at First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor
For information e-mail tjmcginn@cdcpi.com
Prof. Wuthnow is the
Director of Princeton's
Center for the Study of
Religion, Editor-at-Large
of Christian Century,
and current President,
Society for the Scientific
Study of Religion.
Easy-to-use course guide
Student survival guide
Student-based navigation
Latest LSA news
.sa umich.edu
m
Beat the price
increaSe
The price of Kaplan's GMAT classroom
course is going up on February 1, 2003.
Enroll now and beat the price increase!
Michigan Reach Out!
In honor of National Mentoring Month, we gratefully recognize our volunteer math and science
mentors for the past year and our volunteer career mentors who have not yet been acknowledged.
Baxter Allen Lesli CastE
Dave Anderson Jodie Cha
Kelly Anderson Ruth Cher
Brook Anton Naomi Ch
Jennifer Anzo David ColI
Derreck Asante Jamie Col
Michael Barbieri Laura Col
Kathleen Barden- Eli Cooke
Perlberg Rachel Cr
Andrea Begnoche Nicole Cra
Beth Belloli Emily Cris
Caren Bieterman Kathryn C
Dick Bionall Angeli Dal
en
steen
Ong
etcuti
eman
eman
eman
aft
ane
te
uneaz
hiva
Simon Eaglin
Greg Earhart
Diana Eggleston
Casey Ehrlich
Tulga Ersal
Jen Fife-Adams
Andrew Finn
Jane Fischer
Kari Flicker
Kathy Fojtik-Stroud
Robert Fowler
Nora Fox
Katie Francis
Katherine Gregg
Elizabeth Haney
Jerry Hartweg
Chuck Hatt Ill
Lei He
Gwen Hekman
Eileen Helm
Pat Herek
Ramona Hicks
Kristen Holtschlag
James Hunnicutt
Karen Hwang
Felicia Inchauste
Becca Juliar
Felipe Karian-Torres
Sarvin Kashani
Sally Kelley
Zak Kieltkya
Audrey Kim
Danielle Kinkel
Alison Kolody
Jennifer Koshorek
Burt Lamkin
Lynne Lande
Jethro Law
Elizabeth Leddy
Amanda Lindow
Scott Littlefield
Melissa Lounsbery
Sam Lulla
Angela Maile
Augustus Makris
Meaghan McElroy
Jerry McMahon
May Mijares
Peter Moes
Priscilla Moseley-
Atchoo
Charu Nautival,
Neal Patel
Tracey Patterson
Louise Peterson
Prasad Phatak
Kyle Pine
David Podein
Germain Pollack
Natassia Polyne
Julia Power
Brendon Quilter
Angel Rivas
Charisa Roy
Teri Russiel
Ardaman Pal Shergill
Henry Shih
Meghan Shilts
Maitreya Simms
Stephen Sinas
Megan Stech
Jasmine Stone
LaTasha Thompson
Jim Vanek
Tara van Schaack
Jennifer Vassil
Brian Vincent
Jane Viventi
U I
i