mmm q
S
Monday
March 22, 2004
arts.michigandaily. com
artseditor@michigandaily.com
2 RTS
8A.
THREE-BY-THREE
DYLAN TRIUMPHANTLY RETURNS TO
DETROIT
By Andrew M. Gaerg
Daily Music Editor
Bob Dylan's well-documented "Neverending Tour"
once again hit Detroit last week, this time for three
nights at the intimate State Theater. It was a welcome
reprieve for fans used to seeing him play huge arenas,
and a change of pace for the perpetually touring
Dylan and his troupe.
Judging by his stage manner, Dylan was barely
present at Monday's opening show. He didn't look
at the audience once, except for when he intro-
duced his bandmates, coughing up some broken
names and staggering around the stage. The rest of
the night he was a slave to the
piano - not much more to look
at than a cowboy hat and a Bob Dylan
black suit. Mon., Tues. and
But he was only being effi- Wed., March 15,16
cient. The energy he saved in At the State
personality went into the music, Theater
which kept the audience enrap-
tured. Somewhere in the space between his key-
board and the rest of the band, Dylan still made his
best songs sound urgent.
Old numbers like "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"
and "Tell Me That It Isn't True" sounded graceful
under Larry Campbell's pedal steel. "The Lone-
some Death of Hattie Carrol" opened the sound up
with the harmonious dueling of electric and
acoustic guitars.
Songs off Love and Theft departed little fron
their album versions. But whereas the songbook
style of "Floater" made Dylan seem old, the jump-
jazz beat and upright bass swing of "Summer
Days" brought the past to the present.
During the encore, "Like a Rolling Stone"
chugged along with its former glory intact. It's
significant that Dylan has ended most of his
recent shows with "All Along the Watchtower." On
Monday, the song was a dark, pounding manifesto
of malcontent as he yelled "I can't get no relief in
this world."
Dylan took the stage Tuesday night, once again
glued to the keyboard. Ironically, the songs that
secured Dylan's iconic status in music history were,
again, nowhere to be heard. The set had a modern
slant that mostly ignored his best days, instead turn-
ing to more recent tracks for the bulk of the show.
The few throwbacks he performed proved timeless
- "Boots of Spanish Leather," "Stuck Inside of
Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" and "High-
way 61 Revisited" - but they highlighted the lack
of older material.
Dylanites disappointed by the absence of
acoustic anthems couldn't resist tapping their
toes to his recent material. "Cry A While," a reg-
gae-infused jam off Love and Theft, was beauti-
fully performed, as was the heartfelt "Make You
Feel My Love."
Following the setlist of newer material, Dylan's
encore of popular numbers felt contrived. Classics
"Like a Rolling Stone" and "All Along the Watch-
tower" were too predictable. More successful was
Dylan's rousing cover of Bob Seger's "Get Out of
Denver," a classy nod to the native Detroiter and
newly inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.
Dylan's third night in Detroit was a different
affair entirely. His band seemed anxious to change
the setlist, and although it was still skewed too
heavily towards the last 25 years, the selections
were superb. "Every Grain of Sand" was reworked
into a beautiful guitar orchestra and "Under the Red
Sky" wrapped itself around majestic lyrical turns.
Older material also benefited from full arrange-
ments. "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding," was a
propulsive rock'n'roll thrill and "The Wicked Mes-
senger" was barely recognizable under two electric
guitars. "Girl From the North Country" was the
night's most impressive performance, still echoing
with a warm, lovely charm.
The night did have its problems. Dylan's
piano was turned far too low in the mix and
Koella's leads seemed to be a bit off. Some
selections, like "Moonlight" and "Honest With
Me," were a bit bland - as was the encore. The
band began with a forgettable version of "Cat's
In the Well," and even after a charged version of
"Like a Rolling Stone," "All Along the Watch-
tower" seemed stale.
So the crowd was especially pleased to see Dylan
walk out for a second encore. Striding onstage with
the band was a pedestrian Jack White. White, seem-
ingly ignorant of the crowd's collective dropped
jaw, picked up a guitar and launched the band into a
version of The White Stripes' "Ball and Biscuit."
Dylan sang the first verse and White took the song
from there. It was a symbolic moment and the
crowd proudly cheered on their native son.
Dylan's three-night stand in Detroit produced
mixed results. His setlists were plagued by new
material. Complaints of his faltering voice were not
uncommon and many fans longed to see the old
bandit pick up a guitar. For the most part, though,
Dylan was amazing. His band is a thrilling rhythm
and blues machine. The man himself is still a spec-
tacle: cowboy hats, playful nods and cryptic apathy.
He payed homage, passed torches, and reworked
classics. Most importantly, however, he played.
Dylan is a landmark American musician, and his
three nights in Detroit proved that he is as relevant,
revered and enthralling as ever.
-DailyArts writers Steve Cotner and Nicole
Frehsee contributed to this article.
There have been lunch buffets at strip clubs all along?
FOX' s 'Futurama'
blasts back to DVD
By Adam Rottenberg
Daily Arts Editor
DVD REVI EW
With beautiful animation, irrever-
ent humor and a scilfi setting,
"Futurama" - created by "The
Simpsons" mastermind Matt Groen-
ing - seemed poised to become the
next FOX hit. After five low-key
seasons buried at
an unfriendly
time slot, howev-
er, the show
finally suc-
cumbed to the
lack of faith
Futurama:
Volume
Three
FOX
shown by the network. Cartoon Net-
work has helped to spur a revival of
this animated gem, but the release of
the DVD sets truly enables fans to
relive the craziness of the Planet
Express team.
Set in the 30th century, "Futura-
ma's" cast of misfits includes a
dimwitted 20th-century pizza deliv-
ery boy, a foul-mouthed robot and a
strong willed one-eyed alien, Leela.
Groening created a unique universe
with "Futurama," which is exempli-
fied by the characters. In season
three, Fry, Bender, Leela and compa-
ny were fully fleshed out, and the
plots were able to explore new facets
of their lives.
Bender and the rest of the cast are
truly original creations. Constantly
chomping on cigars, guzzling beer
and threatening to sell out his
friends, Bender became the breakout
character in the series for obvious
reasons. Season three acknowledged
his growing popularity and began to
enhance his role in the individual
episodes.
The sarcastic tone taken in the
first two seasons remains, creating
constant comedic banter and witty
asides referencing current pop cul-
ture. In fact, the futuristic setting
actually helps to poke fun at the 20th
and 21st centuries because of the
extremes to which ideas can be
shown and explored through future
technology and events. Nevertheless,
the harsh and mean-spirited nature
of many of the barbs - specifically
the ones from everyone's favorite
bending robot - separates "Futura-
ma" from its "Simpsons" roots.
Animated shows often suffer when
transferred to DVD, but the digital
and computerized effects employed
in "Futurama" prevent this problem
from occurring. Standard TV stereo
sound suffices, but fails to impress
like the picture quality.
As is standard in the previous
"Futurama" sets, there are commen-
tary tracks for every single episode.
Few series offer more than a single
commentary per disc, yet all of the
key players - writers, producers
and cast - contribute here. Addi-
tionally, there are a couple of deleted
scenes per episode, animated stills
and even animatics and storyboards.
"Futurama: Volume Three" suc-
ceeds on nearly every level. Even
Fry wouldn't be dumb enough not to
enjoy this DVD set.
0
0
Couresy of Coumia
Don't believe me? Here's my driver's license, baby.
'Creek' up a river without a paddle
Show: ****
Picture/Sound: ***
Features: ****
By Hussain Rahim
Daily Arts Writer
DVD rE
Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone
team up in "Cold Creek Manor"
genre-trapped psychological thriller
about city professionals who try to get
in touch with their
inner hick by C
moving out to the Cold Creek
country. Fleeing Manor
New York City for Buena Vista
reasons that only
make sense to move the movie along,
the couple and their two kids move out
to a rundown, foreclosed house where
they slowly discover that the quiet of
rural life is only on the surface.
The film more than anything serves
as a discourse on masculinity. The
house's previous owner, Dale
(Stephen Dorff, "Blade"), is hired by
the family as the groundskeeper and
breeds immediate ground for male
conflict. As the alpha male, Dale is a
man of the earth, whose shirts never
stay on as he asserts his dominance
over the household. Dennis Quiad
stars as Cooper, the quiet film-mak-
ing, scientific-minded husband who
plays second fiddle to a wife with a
high-income job.
As Dale usurps Cooper's standing
in his home and in the community,
Cooper has to prove his manhood as
the time winds down until the
inevitable final fight. The problem
with the film is that the audience is
just too far ahead of the characters to
maintain any thrill in in this so-called
"thriller." The role is ill-fitting for
Dennis Quiad, as he plays the con-
fused husband Michael Douglas made
his career on and Sharon Stone just
smiles and waits to scream.
The extra features consist of a self-
congratulatory documentary by Coop-
er as well as a segment entitled "Rules
of the Genre" which lists the conven-
tions that construct the thriller. This is
ironic because the blind adherence to
these rules is what hampers the film.
The deleted scenes are removed for a
reason, but there are a few that create
an interesting tension and further the
phallic battle of masculinity. The alter-
nate ending is too hokey but leaves a
few characters in radically different
places than the original. The director's
commentary adds an odd weight to
such a silly film; however, it ends up
~y C~ys xu4yr;
~~li E c.Jg t oudmil fr i ei~ls~~~ 44
of A~&P nd ~~t~s~ 7~a ~v4ii M
~Roc~s ensly'laye~d yriM t& ~ etheeal~o~l~ ii&
tetip ii~nu~i~l e~~eLo te m~k sU~~ <edb
NiD~~ Ti4*~ ~b~~Wbi,~ Asop ~s~i trp4~& i w',~
couldea~ilr he t h~r~c pmth~se whatshat xi y~ 4 j
m.. a
:.....h e ?..i.5.:}::.::.to-}:.?} :s.:. .:?i :::...y :..: C:; :i{.{. :«
' :.: .::.::::. . .: .;vi...ff:. :t :n:v o";..: v..,: . i.}}':.'}ii i;yx.iK
being more interesting than the actual
movie.
Movie: **
Picture/Sound: ***i
Features: ***
for more information call 734/998-6251
The University of Michigan College of Literature, Science,
and the Arts presents a public lecture and reception
Biochemist of Zinc:
Catalysis & Ho eostasis
Wednesday,
March 24
. 2004
Rackham
y Amphitheatre
14.1 () DTif
EARTH AND SKY: ASTRONOMY AND GEOGRAPHY
IN THE LATER ISLAMIC PERIOD
Saturday, March 27, 9am-12pm
Hussey Room, Michigan League
Sonja Brenties
The Cultures of Mlaps in Pre--Modern Islamic Societies
Bernard Goldstein
The Practice of Islamic Astronomy in Medieval Spain
Ihsan Fazlioglu
The Introduction of Modern Scientific Thought to the Ottoman-Turkish
Intellectual Community: Towards an Understanding of Attitudes of
Ottoman Scientists
Closing Remarks - Cornell Fleischer, Kanuni Suleyman Professor of
Ottoman & Modern Turkish Studies, U Chicago
Saturday, March 27, 1-3pm
Ann Arbor Public Library
343 S Fifth Ave
SPRING AND SUMMER
VACATIONS
*
0
i
m
-.&Taft-
A hl