Friday
September 29, 2006
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ARTs
5
Method
smokes up
the Pig
By Alex Dziadosz
Daily Arts Writer
Set against a solid red banner, The Blind Pig
looked unusually minimalist Wednesday night.
The stage design was sparse:
a couple of Sutter Home- Method
covered turntables, a bucket Man
of bottled waters and a
stockpile of blunts thicker Wednesday
than DJ Mathematics's At the Bling Pig
wrists. In short, the setting
was perfect. Method Man's gruff, effortless style
and menacing-yet-charming stoner/thug persona
thrives without ornamentation.
Fellow Wu-Tang Clan members Inspectah
Deck and Masta Killa made an effective open-
ing and supporting cast. They warmed up the
Pig with a sampling of their solo work and classic
Wu-Tang-era rhymes, including Deck's notorious
"C.R.E A.M." verse.
Over chants of "make marijuana legal," Meth
swaggered in with "Method Man," the 36 Cham-
bers track that was instrumental in building hype
for his solo career. From there, Meth stomped and
swayed his way through a spat of familiar Tical
material - from the pulsing, vicious "Bring the
Pain" to the oddly threatening romance of "All I
Need." - into pieces of his latest release, 4:21...
The Day After.
Then it happened. We hoped it wouldn't, but
S"it did.
Method Man, um, "performs" at The Blind Pig Wednesday night.
The tirade. ing out that he was the only guest appearance on
If you've seen an interview or listened to any the monolithic Ready to Die.
of Meth's lyrics in the last year, you know he's Meth's concerts would be nearly perfect if he
in a "contemplative" stage. Unfortunately, con- did what he refuses to do on his albums: Let his
templation for Meth is reduced to undernour- rap speak for itself. He's clearly at his best in front
ished claims that the media is brainwashing the of febrile, seething crowds like the Pig's. His voice
public to hate him. directs the audience like a conductor's wand. Eyes
Between "Ya'Meen" and his critic-bashing sin- expand and the collective adrenal rush pumps as
gle "Things They Say" Meth managed to work in he unleashes verse after graceful verse.
a stream of savage, affirmation-hungry rants. He's clearly at his worst when he's trying to act
"No matter if some magazine gives me two crucified. Entertain us, Meth, and we will love
mikes, three mikes, the streets give me five." you. Plead, and we'll be turned off.
"Fuck all that shit you read ... They been shit- Fortunately, Meth moved fairly fluidly to the
tin' on akid for two years" requisite Ol' Dirty Bastard tribute. The "Shim-
"Things They Say" is basically a rhymed ver- my Shimmy Ya" cover was credible, highlight-
sion of these sentiments set to a pleasant Lauryn ing some fascinating contrasts between the two
Hill sample. ("They writin' that I'm Hollywood, rappers.
trying to tell you my shit ain't ghetto when they In place of an encore, Meth returned to the stage
hardly hood / come on man / till you guys can to grab a female fan. "You know you're coming
write some rhymes keep that in mind when you with me "he said. And she did. If only that kind of
find yourself reciting mines.") confidence were more present in his act, he could
Even while introducing a fiery rendition of his spenda little less time on the insecure bitching and
renowned verse from The Notorious B.I.G's "The a little more on what makes him one of the fore-
What," Meth couldn't restrain himself from point- most MCs alive: ecstatic, visceral rap.
The Emerson String Quartet will perform tonight at 8 p.m.
Quartet hi'ts A
Contemplative studies to calm students
By Priya Bali
Daily Arts Writer
"(Music) takes us out of the actual
and whispers to us dim secrets that
startle our wonder as to who we
are, and for
what, whence, Emerson
and whereto."
The romantic String
mysticism of Quartet
Ralph Waldo Tonight at 8 p.m.
Emerson At Rackham
couldn't have Auditorium
been a better $20-$44
inspiration for Discounted rush
the Emerson ticketstudensble
String Quar-
tet, with music
both soft in its subtle melodies and
proud in its boisterous crescendos.
Tonight will mark the acclaimed
chamber ensemble's 13th visit to
Ann Arbor since 1989. This time,
renowned pianist Wu Han, wife of
the quartet's cellist David Finekel,
will take the stage during the second
half. Ken Fischer, president of the
UMS, calls her "a force of nature,
active as a concert and recording art-
ist, music educator, arts administra-
tor and cultural entrepreneur."
The audience will also have the
opportunity to hear the quartet as
a trio - due to violist Lawrence
Dutton's four-month hiatus, post-
rotator cuff surgery. -Quartet mem-
ber Eugene Drucker, primarily the
group's first violinist, will substitute
for Dutton on viola. Friday's perfor-
mance will feature Mozart's "E-Flat
Divertimento for String Trio" and
Brahms's "Piano Quartet in g minor."
With the uncommon nature of the
three-part piece, "Divertimento,"
presents a challenge to the musicians.
The composition is unpredictably
dynamic in form, giving new feeling
to the ever-changing sounds involved
in a musical transformation. In the
"Piano Quartet," the audience will
experiencea four-part harmony with
the piano, cello, violin and viola, all
of which help create a palpable state
of suspense.
"The Emersons are one of
today's premiere string quartets,
so UMS is always honored to
present them," said Susan Bozell,
UMS's marketing and media rela-
tions manager. "U of M students
not only have access to amazing
faculty, nationally ranked sports
teams, and myriad service oppor-
tunities, but also world-renowned
artists right on campus."
The quartet can list among its
accolades six Gmammy Awards
and three Gramophone Magazine
Awards, which have elevated them
to the level of the world's paramount
chamber ensembles. They uphold
this reputation by touring throughout
Europe, including Spain, Germany,
Austria, Italy and Switzerland. The
group now resides at Stony Brook
University in New York as chamber
music instructors.
The Emersons are not only
diverse in where they tour but
in their selections as well. Since
the founding of the quartet in
1976 the musicians have incorpo-
rated Shostakovich, Bart6k and
Beethoven, among others, into
their work. Call it classical or con-
temporary, vivacious or somber, the
Emerson String Quartet are artistic
masters at creating what the world
recognizes as great music.
By Caroline Hartmann
Daily Arts Writer
Tomorrow the University will
host a day-long symposium - Cre-
ativity, Con-
sciousness and Creativity,
the Academy Conscious-
- espousing ness and the
the philosophy Academy
behind the
growing field Saturday at
of contempla- 8:30 a.m.
tive studies. At the E. Moore
Bualding
The discipline McIntosh Theatre
fuses seeming-
ly unrelated areas of study through a
shared foundation in creativity and
consciousness.
Creativity is essentially the action
of consciousness. Prof. Ed Sarath,
chair of the Department of Jazz
and Contemporary Improvisation
Studies, described creativity as "an
innate impulse in human awareness
to understand, explore and express
through art and other disciplines the
nature of existence."
With a heightened appreciation for
all studies and sharper perception,
a student can be elevated to higher
ground by developing a broader
approach to the thinking process.
The concept is simpler than it
sounds. Scientists can learn as much
from a composer or psychologist
as they can from their professional
peers. The key is holistic reasoning.
Modernsociety has invested undue
faith in science's factual ground-
Hot Almod6var series
comes to the Michigan
ing, but, Sarath said, there are still
"dimensions of reality that science
is mystified by" A more comprehen-
sive outlook can provide unforeseen
insight into scientific investigation
that might not otherwise be possible.
Speakers at tomorrow's convention
make up a diverse crowd who will
introduce the audience to meditation
techniques and exercises in silence
and musical improvisation.
Lofty ideologies aside, contem-
plative studies doesn't just impact
conceptual worldviews, but has also
shown practical benefits. Students are
more engaged in what they're doing,
feel more inspired and have consider-
ably reduced stress levels.
Sarath said that "knowledge has
long been viewed in mainstream
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education objective and external."
Institutionalized education too often
transforms students into vacuous con-
tainers. Why dread going to class?
"The present generation of college
students clearly has a thirst for delv-
ing into their inner lives," Sarath said.
Students are looking for meaning in
their lives, and education as it stands
does little to cultivate that craving.
Not surprisingly, Yale and Har-
vard's progressive law schools have
adopted contemplative studies as an
integral part of their programs.
The University campus, a place of
"visionary spirit," is next in line.
Pre-registration online is required,
but all students get in for free. You
can sign up and see the itinerary at
www.contenplativemind.org.
By Hyatt Michaels
Daily Arts Writer
For anyone exhausted with the
disappointing returns from this
fall's rush
of Oscar Viva Pedro
wannabes,
head over to Today through
the Michi- Oct. 11
gan Theater At the Michigan
sometime in Theater
the next two
weeks to treat yourself. The the-
ater will briefly host "Viva Pedro,"
a nationwide series celebrat-
ing eight great films from one of
the most prolific directors of the
past 30 years: Pedro Almodovar.
Today through Oct. 11, "Viva
Pedro" will give art-house heads
and Almodovar virgins alike the
opportunity to see the Spanish
director's work on the big screen.
Sony Picture Classics claims
to be re-releasing the Almod6var
classics in celebration of the
auteur's distinguished contribution
to cinema, although the series also
conveniently works as promotion
for his forthcoming "Volver," the
Cannes favorite starring his stand-
by muse Penelope Cruz. While the
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director's most memorable films
revolve around strong female leads
and dysfunctional families ("Talk
to Her;' "All About My Mother"),
his most recent - the sexy noir
"Bad Education"- was dominat-
ed by male international stars.
The series will also include
"Women on the Verge of a Ner-
vous Breakdown;' "Flower of
My Secret," "Matador" and "Live
Flesh." For most, the "Viva Pedro"
series will serve as an introduc-
tion to the director's style: If by
some chance "Volver" disappoints
as so many other recent releases
have (though all signs point to the
opposite), there's always the older
work of Almoddvar to turn to.