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~~