ART S
The Michigan Daily - Friday, April 2, 2004 - 9
Local band
develops
new sound
By Matt Kivel
Daily Arts Writer
"Come on let's go / let's not talk
about tomorrow / today." These are the
opening lines of Pas/Cal's debut EP,
The Handbag Memoirs. The song is
called "The Bronze Beached Boys
(Come on Let's Go)" and can be heard
Courtesy of Le Grand Magistery
I believe the murderer among us Is you, Col. Mustard with the candlestick.
in Saturn's latest TV
track is a sunny
piece of pop perfec-
tion, complete with
falsetto harmonies
and catchy bass
hooks that over-
ad campaign. The
Pas/Cal
Saturday at 9 p.m.
At the Magic Stick
Lyon Opera performers amaze onstage.
French dance opera of oddities
makes appearance at Power Center
By Lynn Hasslbarth
Daily Arts Writer
i A R EW
shadow the relatively drab car design
featured in the commercial. So the
question remains: What brought a
small indie-rock band from Dearborn
into the world of corporate tycoons and
nationally syndicated television?
Frontman Casimer Pascal, explained
this unlikely pairing: "We're signed to
La Grand Magisterey Records, which
is a very small indie label, and because
of that there isn't a lot of exposure.
When it came down to making the
decision about the commercial, we
asked whether or not we were selling
out, whether or not we were doing the
right thing. Its just something I'm
almost positive that I swore we'd never
do, but time changes all."
The band was born out of the musical
chemistry between Casimer and drum-
mer LTD. They originally worked
together in a kraut-rock/improv outfit
that Casimer now deems "unlistenable."
"We were getting into the microscopic
music, the relationship between two
notes, and anytime you start doing that
with something as pure and beautiful as
music you really start fucking it up."
When friend/guitarist Gene start-
ed jamming along, Pas/Cal began to
discover its signature sound: three
minute pop songs with irresistible
melodies that evoke memories of
The Beach Boys and The Beatles.
Casimer's high-pitched vocal croon
sounds like a young David Bowie
complimented by the wit of Jarvis
Cocker.
With the release of its second EP,
Oh Honey We're Ridiculous, the Sat-
urn commercial and the beginning of
its full length debut to be recorded
this summer, Pas/Cal is at an exciting
time in its career. "The record's going
to be all new songs; it's very nerve-
wracking," Casimer said. "Most
bands will combine old EP's to make
the debut record, but I have a short
attention span and I need change in
our music. Having a record made of
mostly old stuff doesn't sound that
exciting to me."
The two EPs exhibit great promise
for a band that is just beginning. Each
song is charming - both lyrically
and musically - and is surprisingly
polished for being recorded in
Casimer's studio/garage. Pas/Cal epit-
omizes the indie-rock aesthetic, mak-
ing sincere music that does not
sacrifice its artistic credibility for
commercial success.
The Lyon Opera Ballet returns to Ann Arbor today and
Saturday with an intriguing work by renowned French
theater artist Philippe Decoufle. Having just performed
its world premier in Lyon, Decoufl6's latest work "Tri-
codex" is an impressively original masterpiece.
"Tricodex" is the culmination of a trilogy of works
created by Decoufle since 1987. The collection was
inspired by Italian graphic artist and naturalist Luigi
Serafini and his fascinating encyclo-
pedia of plants and animals titled
"Codex Serafinius." This 400-page Lyon Opera
masterpiece features illustrations, Ballet,
graphs, charts and descriptions Tricodex
depicting an imaginary world of TodayandSaturday
nature and industry. First published at 8 p.m.
in 1981 and subtitled "A Visual Tickets $14-42
Encyclopedia of an Imaginary Uni-
verse," Serafini's work features a At the Power Center
fictional world of mythical crea-
tures, mathematical equations, hairstyles, playing cards,
flying machines and labyrinths. Decoufl6 brings all this
to life on stage, blending the worlds of circus, visual
arts and dance in a kind of graphics that he calls
'ensemble mathematics.'
One of the world's most fascinating publications, Ser-
afini's encyclopedia has inspired Decoufl6 throughout
his choreographic career. Serafini's surreal images were
seen in Decoufl6's choreography for the opening and
closing ceremonies at the 1992 Winter Olympics in
Albertville, France. Viewers saw performers dressed as
human snow-globes, bounding across space in synchro-
nized bungee-jumping routines.
Decoufl6's "Tricodex" continues the innovative and
adventurous choreographic tradition of the Lyon Opera
Ballet. Founded in 1969 under the leadership of Yorgos
Loukos, the company has commissioned works from
Student groups bringBen Folds to 'U'
By Scott Serilla
Daily Arts Writer
CONCERT PREVIEW
A glimpse of the encyclopedia imagery in "Tricodex."
young choreographers and performed inventive produc-
tions of classics such as "Cinderella" and "Copp6lia" as
well as a new interpretation of "Romeo and Juliet." The
classically trained dance company also presents works
by highly regarded American choreographers like Bill T.
Jones, Trisha Brown and Lucinda Childs.
The company has toured worldwide since 1987 with
ongoing success. In 1995, the Lyon Opera Ballet was
elevated to the same status as the 328-year-old Opera
National de Paris, the only other national opera house
in France.
At this weekend's performances, the Power Center will
be transformed into a psychedelic world where 30
dancers emerge as imaginary creatures, cloaked in near-
ly 150 stunning costumes.
Nerd-rock heartthrob Ben Folds will bring his current solo
campus tour through Ann Arbor this weekend thanks to an
alliance of committed student groups. Spearheaded by UAC's
recently reinvigorated Big Ticket Productions, the concert
will not only mark the reopening of the renovated 4,000-seat
Hill Auditorium for student-oriented rock shows, but hopeful-
ly also a revival of national touring acts
being lured back to town.B F
Best known for his commercial break- Ben Folds
through with his eponymously named Saturday at 8 p.m.
trio, Ben Folds Five, singer-songwriter At HillAuditorium
Folds has maintained a consistently
devout, if somewhat less visible following since the band's
break-up in 2000. Folds's appeal largely comes from his dis-
tinct range of pop craftsmanship, easily fluctuating between
wry Randy Newman-esque character studies, delicate melod-
ic heartbreak and smart-assed blasts of quirky rock.
Doubtlessly, fans can expect Saturday's show to include a mix
of Five-era faves, his solo album Rockin ' The Suburbs,
recently released twin EPs Speed Graphic and Sunny 16 and
his yet-untitled next solo album due sometime this year.
Big Ticket Production's student-run executive board has
plenty of reason to celebrate nearly selling out Hill for Folds's
Ben Folds Five. Not pictured: the untalented ones.
performance. Students may be unaware, BTP member and
LSA senior Melanie Kalisz points out, but most major univer-
sities fund specific student committees.to bring music and
comedy acts to its campuses. "It's been really difficult task for
us because here we have nothing, Kalisz added, "We have to
hook up and collaborate with Hillel and these other groups
and piece it together."
BTP hopes to, over time, consolidate these efforts at Michi-
gan. "I think this will give us some real credibility," said LSA
junior Chuoh Ngeh about the success of the Folds concert and
BTP's work with last fall's Comedy Central "No Class" tour.
"We've proven we can pull it off," said Ngeh.