Monday January 30, 2006 arts. michigandaily. com artspage@michigandaily.com RTSe fciig w Bilg 5A .......... . . . . .. . ............... The business of buzz Eclectic A2 Folk The media traffics in hype, but occasionally they try to pedal something America just can't buy. If you browsed through any repu- table entertainment coverage during the past week, you might have heard that one of the world's trendiest film festi- vals is spotlighting a lot of movies that star a lot of actors you'll never hear of again., Prettily elocuted diary entries from Park City - the ski resort-cum-international cinema hub that hosts the annual fest - are splashed in front of important news. For example, the fallout from Lindsay Lohan's "Scarlett-(Johansson)-is-a- cunt" bathroom-stall poetry. AM, And here's the strange ANI part: Outside the buyers jockeying for prestige positions and blow- ing through studio spare change, Sun- dance just doesn't do it for the masses. As an American film festival, we might appreciate it, but Sundance lacks the aus- terity of Venice, the industry importance of Toronto and the champagne-swilling sex appeal of Cannes. In fact, for all the focus on how mainstream it's turned (it probably has), and all the celebrities hit- ting the slopes between promotions (they probably do), what Sundance still really lacks is star pedigree. Not that it wants it. In a quaint tradi- tion, Sundance organizers stand on their soapboxes and attempt to reaffirm their mission to bring international attention to independent film. Glamorous celebs and glitzy parties can take it back to Hol- lywood and the French Riviera, they say. Sundance opened this year with "Friends with Money," a comedy directed by Nicole Holofcener ("Lovely & Amaz- ing"), starring tabloid staple and jilted wife Jennifer Aniston. Of the two, guess whose picture ran next to every Sundance headline. Without a famous face, it's hard to get your moderately dedicated film buff to care. It's the same in film marketing. Movies need hype to sell, and a celebrity name on the marquee is a guarantee of precisely that. This year, however, there's been a surge in a different kind of hype. Call it the sexiness of indie acclaim. It turned "Crash" into an $80-mil- lion international summer must see. Acclaim also made a top-five box office smash and pop-culture punch- A DI line out of cowboys in love. All right, these films had recognizable stars, but it's hard to argue that the appeal of Heath Ledger - box-office heavy- weight of "The Brothers Grimm" - is responsible for shouldering the success of "Brokeback Mountain" Acclaimed films, particularly those hyped as contenders for an Oscar, can go pretty far in today's marketplace. Of course, acclaim doesn't always get you to the top of the box office. In fact, it doesn't even guar- antee inclusion at the local multiplexes. One of the big award winners at Sundance, "Quinceanera," chronicles a pregnant 15-year-old Latina .NDA who goes to live with her RADE gay cousin. Not exactly the stuff to play next door to "The Da Vinci Code" this summer. But while it may not always work both ways, indie movies absent big stars are absolutely dependent on acclaim. If you don't recognize someone 10 seconds into a trailer, you better believe a fistful of laurels are about to bombard the screen. Otherwise, what's the point? Film culture today makes going to the movies only worthwhile if the movie is hot. Nobody sees Woody Allen movies anymore, but "Match Point" has Oscar buzz. "King Kong" was an extremely audacious and accomplished film that many people avoided on the assumption that it was flopping. And ultimately that's the whole point of Sundance - to bestow those neces- sary accolades on films that can't make it any other way. The irony is that while a Sundance branding can turn a film white hot, Sundance itself lacks appeal because films come in stone cold. But the movies people don't read about now, instead scanning their way down the page to Lindsay's party antics, are the ones they'll be lining up for soon. It's the culture of being "in"; it's not wanting to blow $9 on limp cinema you can't even discuss over lunch. But less cynically, it has one very beneficial side effect: If people see a movie because it has the hype of critical acclaim, they just might get tricked into seeing some- thing really good. - Andrade never pays to see movies, but she likes to bitch about the $9 anyway. E-mail aandrade@umich.edu. The first nightc 29th annual Ann found MC Cheryl Wheeler wearing an outfit made up of a faded t-shirt and sweatpants - more suitable for a night on the couch than onstage at Hill of Hill Auditorium's Arbor Folk Festival Ann Arbor Folk Festival Friday and Saturday Hill Auditorium Festival By Kimberly Chou Daily Arts Writer Auditorium - while Blanche bassist Tracee Mae Miller sported a '50s-style, dusty pink party dress and oversized bouffant hair. Older, country-fried rocker Bill Kirchen showed he was still able to knock out Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix impressions; young folkie James Hill dazzled on the small-scale with a cutting, cheetah-fast variation of the traditional "Miserlou" on ukulele. Friday's performances were an amal- gamation of vintage and up-and-coming talent, brought together two nights a year at one of the largest and most prestigous folk festivals in the country. Though sponsored by the Ark, a Main Street con- cert hall, the event moved to the more spacious Hill Auditorium four years ago. Fans travel from across the state as well as from across the country for the gig, which clocked in at a lengthly five hours by the end of headliner Robert Cray's set. The performers' energy was not dampened by the length; they were ever enthusiastic and championed the merits of the venue, the festival and Ann Arbor's folk music legacy. To top it off, Hill is in the middle of Central Campus - yet it's doubtful the majority University students knew about the folky weekend festivities, much less found them relevant. The festival's opening night was meant to be more diverse - a louder and more eclectic gap of artists for the presumably hip Friday-night crowd. Saturday night, headlined by the Lyle Lovett Trio, saw more traditional folk and rootsy Ameri- cana. But Friday - if a ticket holder rMMA NOULAN-ABRAHAMIAN/Daily Blanche performs during the first night of the Ann Arbor Folk Festival at Hill Auditorium Friday. wanted everything from chill-inducing, campfire sing-a-longs (Catie Curtis's closer of "Passing Through") to the afore- mentioned ukulele maestro - was defi- nitely a lot of bang for $45. The Robert Cray Band headlined, playing a predictable (but still satisfy- ing) dirty blues-based set more than four hours after guests started filling the seats. Tired attendees started to sneak out of Hill between songs, but Cray still tried to work the crowd, proclaiming, "Thank you kindly!" between every other song. Cray's style of blues is solid but almost too pop-oriented - maybe too easy-lis- tening to keep an audience alive after they've sat still for the past five hours. Singing about "Poor Johnny" and los- ing your baby to a 12-year-old boy works better when the venue is packed tightly and the crowd isn't escaping during your set. The audience's reaction to the Rob- ert Cray band reflected the rest of the night - for the most part, they ate it up. Certain members of the crowd didn't quite get the memo that Hill acoustics guarantee well amplified sound or that Blanche isn't quite as tame as their thrift- store suits suggest: A number of people covered their ears during Blanche's last song, a blistering cut that segued from pedal-steelist Dave Feeney chanting the lead to dirge-like three-part harmony. But Blanche's performance was one of the strongest of the night. A few tried not to listen during Iris Dement's set - her aggressive soprano proved too much for a couple of the baby boomers on the main floor, though they couldn't seem to get enough of MC Wheeler's quirky sex jokes and rewritten verse. Throughout the night, it was clear that the show would be Ann Arbor-centric. Besides the local artists and Ark president explaining the donation cards stuck inside the programs, performers showed love for the Ark, its legacy and its home city. Wheeler described her excitement at find- ing booking contracts for the Ark in her mailbox; the Greencards' Carol Young, on the other hand, burbled about how the food at Jerusalem Garden is incentive for her and her band to return for shows. Today's folk music isn't all Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, or world-peace-orient- ed lyrics and acoustic guitars. The hus- band-and-wife-led Blanche isn't even associated with the Ark scene. The band spent several months of last year open- ing for Wilco and the White Stripes. Friday night was a stylistically diverse experience for those who attended - and folk music might stand a chance with University students once they real- ize what they've been missing. 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