The Michigan Daily - Wednesday March 9, 2005 - 8

ARTS


One-man show 'Moon'
examines '60s society

Post-rock orchestral
group plays at UMMA

.

By Melissa Runstrom
Daily Arts Editor
"The whole show is a mirror on

life and what it is
Jacques, the star
show "Far Side
of the Moon,"
said. The goal
of the produc-
tion, according
to Jacques, is that
the audience will
see themselves
on stage.
In the midst
of the '60s space
race, the play

all about," Yves
of the one-man
Far Side of
the Moon
Thursday thru
Saturday at
8p.m. and Sun-
day at 2p.m.
$26-$42 and $10
Student rush tickets
Atthe Power Center

hard-core capitalist; the two eventu-
ally undertake a long journey toward
reconciliation.
Touring the world over with the
play, Jacques credits its success in
the writing and direction of Rob-
ert Lapage. He said that the direc-
tor works through improvisation and
takes the audience's input very seri-
ously. The performance, which runs
just over two hours, had been cut from
its original three-hour running time
- something that Jacques said is not
unusual for this writer/director. The
actor also noted that a haunting musi-
cal score by Laurie Anderson adds to
the play's dimensions.
Not only does Jacques play the
roles of Philippe, Andre and a doc-
tor, but he also dresses in drag to play
their deceased mother. According to
Jacques, he was actually sporting a
dress for the Montreal equivalent of
the Oscars when Lapage approached
him about taking on the role. "I was
wearing this dress and Robert's sister
said, 'You're (the) mother!' "
Despite that this is his first solo
role, Jacques doesn't ever feel alone
because he is still interacting with
characters even if they aren't onstage

By Alexandra Jones
Daily Arts Editor
Music Riw***
It can be difficult to describe the
kind of post-rock electronica music
that's made by Rachel's. This difficul-
ty comes from one of the trio's most

9

Courtesy ot UMS

"Mommy, Is this normal?"

revolves around Philippe, a man
who has recently lost his mother
and must come to terms with his
estranged brother Andre who is his
opposite in many ways. Just as the
Americans and the Soviets vied for
their place on the moon, the two
brothers try to determine their place
in the world and the universe. One
brother is a lifelong student who puts
off the real world and the other is a

with him. "The visual effects are like
a character," and he added with a
chuckle, "You have to be very humble
as an actor to work with 10 technicians
because they are very demanding."
The task of acting solo is challenging,
but one that Jacques wanted take. When
asked he said, "I feel great because (I
am) experimenting as an actor."
And in retrospect, he looks at his
position in Lapage's production as
a very privileged one. The two have
become excellent friends during the
nearly two years since the tour started.
"(The play) is such a gift," he said

also noting that "it is a very intimate
story ... all about his childhood."
Jacques feels the audience will
take an understanding of humanity
from the performance. "They will see
themselves," he said. "It is all about
the infinitely insignificant and the
infinitely important because we are
looking at other planets in the show
and comparing the earth to the galaxy
and the universe."
In that respect Jacques said that he
hopes, during the performance, that
audiences will see "a flash of what life
is all about."

distinctive traits:
They don't have
a vocalist. So do
they sound pretty?
Often. Brooding?
Rhythmic? Lam-
entative? Yes, yes
and yes. Poppy?
Sometimes. But
boring? Never.
Rachel's will
perform their
mesmerizing
experimental

Rachel's
Systems/Layers
Touch & Go
Rachel's
Tonight at 8 p.m.
University of Michigan
Museum of Art

chamber music tonight at 8 p.m. at
the University of Michigan Museum
of Art.
Although they rely on violin, cello
and piano to play their music, they
pepper their instruments' strains
with found sounds and ambient noise
rather than choruses and vocal hooks.


Rachel's can't be classified as a classi-
cal ensemble: The group owes as much
to Sonic Youth as they do to Haydn
and Beethoven: They're innovators in
experimental music, mining ideas and
forms from two different spheres of the
music world.
Members Jason Noble, Christian
Fredericksen and Rachel Grimes have
been creating music as Rachel's since
1994. Since then, they've released five
albums - one a collaboration with
electronic outfit Matmos - created
music for theater, dance and orches-
tral productions and contributed piec-
es to film music, most notably Oliver
Stone's "Any Given Sunday." Sys-
tems/Layers was a product of one of
these collaborations; Rachel's joined
SITI Company, a New York City the-
ater group, to create the album. The
work incorporated recordings of city
sounds to follow characters through a
day in New York.
The pieces on Systems/Layers,
Rachel's most recent release, may
feel slightly unapproachable to even
the most open-minded indie listeners
- despite the eclectic nature of the
genre, fans don't often traffic in instru-
mental recordings that aren't consid-
ered classical or jazz. But the intimate
violin call on "Expect Delays" and
the spooky, robotic cello ostinato and
theremin-like string swoops on "even/
odd" create sound stories that are intri-
cately structured and intensely bal-
anced enough to overwhelm listeners
- you won't notice the absence of a
singer. Like a more demure Godspeed
You Black Emperor!, Rachel's reserve
space in their music for recorded
noise and sound clips, highlighting
the urban context with compositional
skill. The group sounds very GYBE!-
like with the mellifluous drumbeats
and moaning, synthesized drones on
"Singing Bridge."
Tracks like the solemn, string-based
"Esperanza" recall a more formal, clas-
sical-derived approach, but Rachel's
also use less conventional instruments.
On "Reflective Surfaces," a rolling
groove is created by layering two dif-
ferent beats in different time signa-
tures; male and female voices speak
simultaneously on different subjects,
creating a structural parallel between
rhythm and content. Rachel's artistry
is apparent, but there's nothing classi-
cal about this piano trio.

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ATTENTION ALL
STUDENTS WITH
CROHN'S DISEASE
OR. ULCERATIVE
COLITIS
Please join
Dr. Ellen Zimmermann
Associate Professor of
Gastroenterology, U of M
for the first 1BD student
group meeting of 2005
Thursday, March 10th at
7pm in Mason Hall 3314
Our informal discussion will
include:

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