Wednesday
October 30, 2002
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ARTS
5
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs revive
garage music at the Magic Stick.
By Joel Hoard the release of their first record, They Threw Us All in a
Daily Arts Writer Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, the band toured
Courtesy of Matador
The boys of Pavement are no more, but their music lives on.
Pavement celebrate 'Slanted'
anniversary with grand reissue
Garage revivalists the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liars brought
two different flavors of New York punk to Detroit's Magic
Stick last Thursday night, as the Yeah Yeah
Yeahs dropped their brand of raw, yet hip-
n-sexy rock, and Liars threw down some
trashy dance-punk.Y
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have risen to the THE YEA
top of New York's punk underground by YEAHS Ar
means of word of mouth rather than the At The M
hype machine that's responsible for all the
plural-noun bands. With only a self-pro- Thursday
duced EP in their catalog, the YYYs have
been touring relentlessly, with Thursday
marking their first stop in D-Town.
Firing off punk gems at a frenzied pace, the Yeah Yeah
Yeahs powered through a 45-minute set. Lead singer Karen O,
her voice ranging from sweet and innocent chirps to throaty
screams, prowled the stage like a female Mick Jagger, while
guitarist Nick Zinner, looking not unlike Dylan circa Highway
61, and drummer Brian Chase laid down fat and driving riffs
that both countered O's vocals and made up for the YYYs'
lack of a bass player.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' set, which featured an assortment of
tunes from their lone EP and some yet-to-be-released mate-
rial, was highlighted by Karen O's giddy energy and Nick
Zinner's aggressive garage guitar. O's intense, piercing
vocals shined on the sex tirade "Bang," backed by Zinner's
thumping riff. Other standouts included the hypnotic elec-
tronic-loop-based "Rich," and "Art Star," which featured O's
alternating primal screams and cutesy doot-doot-doots.
O's antics kept the mood blithe, as she elephant-walked
onstage and poured out a beer for her homies.
Saving the best for last, the YYYs closed their set with the
NYC ode "Our Time," which cops the pretty li'l melody
from Tommy James' "Crimson and Clover."
After the audience had a bit of a breather, Liars took the
stage and shook the already-unstable Magic Stick floor with
some filthy, grinding dance-punk. Liars' heavy drum-n-bass
grooves and Aaron Hemphill's raspy guitar kept the crowd
moving throughout their set.
Brooklyn-based Liars formed in late 2000, and following
kH
NT
ag
YC
Europe with Sonic Youth.
Lead singer Angus Andrew was one of the night's more
entertaining items. Looking like the anti-Stroke, Andrew
was dressed in a delightfully white-trash getup
that included a yellow mesh hat and Sonny
Crockett-style white sport coat - Detroiters
Kid Rock and Andrew W.K. would be proud.
YEAH Angus ruled the stage as he violently danced
D LIARS with every bit of his six-foot-six-inch frame
ic Stick and screamed oddball lyrics.
But the wackiness wasn't confined to
pct. 24 Andrew, as bassist Pat Nature flailed about with
synthbox in hand and guitarist Aaron Hemphill
spent equal amounts of time shaking his ass at
the audience and gyrating on the floor.
Even though they have the talent to hit it big, let's hope
the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liars never do. With wonderful
sounds and styles just this side of garage-rock bedlam, they
just wouldn't seem right outside beer-soaked venues like
the Magic Stick.
By Luke Smith
Daily Arts Editor
With Nirvana being championed
as the saviors of rock and torch car-
rying kings of a now very irrelevant
Seattle "scene," Pavement carved
out a niche of their
own on college radio.
Disregarding commer-
cial music's reverence
for Beatles-y hooks in SLANT
favor of stripped down ENH
low-fi junk-rock Pave-ENCH
ment's Slanted and LUXE AN
Enchanted had an Pave
influence reaching far Ma
beyond the Seattle Ma
S scene's progeny. As a
result, one of America's greatest
'94s bands gets a grand reissue
befitting of the slacker-poet noise
kings they were.
When formed, Pavement was
shrouded in mysterious cryptic
antics. The band members resided
CE
[Al
vD
,em
tac
throughout the country corners; the
founders went so far as to give
themselves epithets (S.M. and Spi-
ral Stairs). When Pavement granted
interviews, which they rarely did -
they were mercurial and tempera-
mental. Pavement's leader and chief
songwriter, Stephen
Malkmus served to
continue the mystery
surrounding the band
D AND with off-kilter, off-
D AND topic and sometimes
NTED: off-key vocals becom-
REDUX ing Pavement trade-
nent marks stolen with a
smirk from Sonic
d1or Youth and The Pixies.
Pavement's 10-year
anniversary album features a remas-
tering of the original 14 album
tracks followed by extra songs from
the Enchanted sessions. The won-
derful Watery, Domestic EP catches
Pavement mid-crawl sandwiched
between their two best albums at a
time when even their EP cast-offs
and b-sides ebbed genius. Luxe &
Reduxe sports almost 50 percent
never-before-heard material, includ-
ing a 1992 December concert, and
previously unheard John Peel ses-
sions. The 48-track collection focus-
es on Pavement's fetal period, years
before the summer babes made the
major leagues.
4 "~ -Pt
Richard Levine's book 'Tenure'
At';examines professorial hardship
By Justine Silver
For the Daily
Enthusiastic Orquestra brings
Brazhilan music to Ann Arbor
The chair of the English department
is married with two children;.how-
ever, the reader discovers that he
also is involved in a homosexual
relationship. He is always extremely
anxious that someone from the uni-
Have you ever wondered what
these professors are actually doing
or thinking when they're not teach-
By Jim Schiff
Daily Arts Writer
The Orquesta de Sao Paulo has had
its share of ups and downs, but things
are definitely looking up in 2002.
Perhaps this is because, for the
hiking salaries and most of all, find-
ing a stage to call home - the beau-
tiful Sao Paulo Concert Hall,
constructed in 1999. With a publish-
ing house,
educational
Neschling's
come.
first time in nearly a
stars are finally aligned
in its favor. An enthusi-
astic conductor, a mag-
nificent new concert
hall and a devoted
audience all contribute
to the revitalized
orchestra, which is
making its debut U.S.
tour this year. In two
exciting performances,
the ensemble will bring
the rich classical music
tradition of Brazil to
the Michigan Theater.
Founded in 1953 by
decade, the
ORQUESTA DE
SAO PAULO
At The Michigan
Theater
With the Assad Bros. -
Tonight at 8 p.m.
918-$42
With Banda Mantiquera -
Tomorrow at 8 p.m.
$1 6-34
University Musical Society
youth ensembles and an
program, it's safe to say
presence has been wel-
"I've been faced
with other challenges
with established
orchestras, but this was
the first opportunity I
had to start from
scratch," Neschling
said. "It's the circum-
stances that permitted
me to do it - every-
thing just got together
at this specific moment
and I took advantage of
it. It's a once in a life-
time dream that a con-
ductor gets."
tenuovo-Tedesco's "Concerto for Two
Guitars and Orchestra," featuring the
renowned Assad brothers on guitar.
The brothers, also native to Brazil,
have been instrumental in reviving
contemporary guitar repertoire, and
have collaborated with such artists as
Yo-Yo Ma, Astor Piazzolla and
Gidon Kremer.
For a complete change of sound,
the Orquesta is joining with the
Banda Mantiqueira tomorrow for an
evening of Brazilian big band jazz.
The band has gained considerable
recognition since their Grammy
nomination in 2000 for Best Latin
Jazz album, and that same year, the
Orquesta began working with them.
Their collaboration, Neschling said,
is aimed at bridging classical and
jazz music.
"We just started trying to work
together and find a way of expres-
sion and develop a language," he
said. "I think we achieve a jazzy lan-
guage with a symphonic sound -
we have a lot of fun playing it, and
the audience loves listening, dancing,
and singing to it."
students never see. This
includes professor's
dealing with similar issues that stu-
dents deal with such as affirmative
action, sex, competition and sexual
orientation.
"Tenure" revolves around two
characters, Prof. Billy Mann and
Prof. Abraham Smith. Both profes-
sors are in the running for tenure in
the literature department at an
unnamed university that strongly
resembles our own. When the admin-
istration decides that only one perma-
nent appointment will be distributed,
the department goes wild. Besides
Billy Mann and Abraham Smith, the
older professors of the department
want to bring in a professor from out-
side the university.
The novel addresses some serious
issues such as sexual orientation
affecting positions in the university.
ing for a
ing'? Richard Levine's
first novel, "Tenure,"
digs into the lives of
several professors and
administrators to reveal
what their lives are
really like. The novel
paints a picture of uni-
versity life that most
TENURE
By Richard Levine
Sunstone
versity will spot him
with a man, something
that would jeopardize
his position.
Affirmative action
and treatment towards
minorities is brought
up in the novel several
times. The African-
American group on
campus is campaign-
separate student union.
Souza Lima, the orchestra has been
blessed with talented musicians but
cursed with an unfavorable political
climate. From 1972 until the early
'90s, under the direction of Eleazar
de Carvalho, it enjoyed considerable
success performing classical works
at home. But a lack of funds and an
unsupportive state government
proved troublesome for the orchestra,
which had yet to establish its pres-
ence abroad. Now, under the leader-
ship of artistic director John
Neschling, the orchestra is finally
taking off.
Building the orchestra from the
ground up, Neschling has proved to
be not only a phenomenal conductor,
but also an effective politician. In the
course of five years, he has trans-
formed a group of unmotivated, frus-
trated musicians into the powerhouse
group it is today. This process
involved re-evaluating the old mem-
bers, bringing in several new ones,
Luckily, Neschling has a cultural
tradition steeped in the likes of Villa-
Lobos and Guarnieri to work with.
Wednesday's performance features
one piece from each composer, both
named "Uirapuru," after a bird found
in the Amazon rainforest. Though the
two works share a title, Neschling
says they are quite distinct. He calls
Villa-Lobos a "once in a century
composer in terms of talent and cre-
ativity," and his "Uirapuru "a master-
piece of coloring and climates."
Guarnieri's version, more akin to the
symphonic works of Shostakovich
and Prokofiev, is considered more
traditional in its structure.
"One is a sonic inspirational piece,
the other is a rationalist, formalist
mathematical piece,' said Neschling.
"Both have very beautiful results, but
they have opposite intentions."
In addition to "Uirapuru," the con-
cert includes Krieger's "Passacaglia
for the New Millennium" and Cas-
v r
KNWICONO RA> ICS
I KNOW WHAT I KNOW. WE COME & WE GO. ITS IN THE BACK OF MY EYES.
Oct. 28th - Nov. 1st
10am - 6 pm
Michigan Union
Ground Floor
Help Wanted!
Call 800.279.9779
rtp fsw.icrgr hi:.rV
Issues come up such as whether this / MADT i N E
action will segregate the student __ THEATERS
body even more or create equality. ____________
Levine is the author and editor of BRIARW MAL
five books about Victorian literature MOVIES PLAYING NOW UNTIL THURSDAY!
but this is his first novel. Though at MOSTLMARTHA100,5057
times "Tenure' is captivating, its
more than 400 pages seem to drag SWEET HOME ALABAMA (PG3)1:20,3:20,5:20,720920
on. Students will be most interested ED DRAGONR8:15,,150:35
in this behind the scenes look at THE RUFATRKEING(R) 10035,5:30,5
academia while professors may find MYBGATGREWEDIG sp1,3!1,:0s1,91
the book's contents far fetched and (734)9 0
unrealistic. - madstonetheaters.om
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