Tuesday, October 3, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 9 Sitarist comes t'U' By Catherine Smyka Daily Arts Writer The disparate elements of cul- tures as different as those of India and America don't always mix well. Enchanting guitar talent most often breeds No. 1 blues and country hits in America, while the Indian sitar produces peaceful ballads. Pandit Debashish Pandit Bhattacharya Debashish has merged Bhattacharya the unique Tonight and sounds of tomorrow bothtraditions at 8 p.m. through his At the School of Hindustani Music E.V.Mto classical slide BuildiegBritt Recital Hall guitar music, which he will unleash tonight at the School of Music's Britton Recital Hall. "Because (Bhattacharya) will be playing guitar, an instrument Westerners are already familiar with and can relate to, it removes one of the first potential barri- ers and makes (the music) easier to understand," School of Music senior Robert Lester said. "He approaches music differently, crossing borders and hybridizing while maintaining authenticity." Lester, the event's primary organizer, knew he wanted to bring the guitar genius to cam- pus from the first time he came in contact with the classical Indian melodies of Bhattacharya's latest album "Calcutta Slide Guitar 3" in early 2006. "I personally-found his music compelling and beauti- ful," Lester said. "It's really, really great stuff." After petitioning the Univer- sity, fundraising efforts stirred. "I knew if I really commit myself to a purpose," Lester said. "I just had to craft the right sort of argument to the right people." Convincing the University of the Bhattacha- rya's excellence would bring to its grounds was not a difficult task. In need of 'Help': Danson's sitcom founders from start Debashish Bhattacharya will play the slide guitar tonight at the School of Music. The term "Pandit" is an Indian Sutapa (Vocals and Tambura) and title given only to scholars for sig- Sri Subhasis Bhattacharya (Tabla), nificant mas- did not have a tery of an area, "He adopted a place to stay particularly because the religion and the W estern instrument money raised arts. Bestow- could not cover ing this title on to an Eastern both pay- Bhattacharya, ment and hotel Lester thinks, aesthetic and plays rooms. Tel- is more than . luride House, fitting. Besides with a technique a scholarship the ingenuity that's all his own." organization of his individu- on campus, ally-designed stepped for- 22 string acous- - School of Music senior ward. tic guitar, Bhat- Robert Lester "They were tacharya has profoundly spent a great helpful," Lester deal of his life sharing his knowl- said, "and have the chance to bring edge, particularly at his School of a unique visitor to the house." Tel- Universal Music, in Calcutta, India. luride House offered rooms and "What distinguishes him from food for all three musicians. other traveling performers is that Though somewhat unknown in he is an educator as well as a per- the United States, Bhattacharya is former," Lester said. "He adopted held in high esteem in India and a Western instrument to an East- other parts of the world. Lester ern aesthetic and plays with a hopes the Ann Arbor community technique that's all his own." will spread his good name. "I've Raising the funds to bring a been able to play his CD for oth- foreign musician of such a high ers and they respond with lots of caliber wasn't simple. While the enthusiasm," Lester said. "I've University was getting a bargain never heard anything like (his price for such a performance, music), and the most exciting part Bhattacharya and his two siblings, is the anticipation of the show." By Imran Syed Daily Arts Writer Ted Danson is an old man. The strident face audiences came to know and love for his Emmy and Golden Globe-win- ning turn as Sam Malone on "Cheers" is now nearly 60. And while that's not exactly Help Me cutting it close to a date with Help You the guardian of Styx, he's no strapping free-wheeler any- Tuesdays at more, either. The worst thing 9:30 p.m. an older actor, even one as tal- Alt ented as Danson, can do is try to overwrite the blaze of age (just ask Harrison Ford). But that's precisely what Danson's new show "Help Me Help You" has him do, and the result is a bumbling, tedious sitcom with a star who plainly looks like what he is - a decade removed from his prime. Danson plays Dr. Bill Hoffman, a psychologist who holds small group therapy sessions to help people troubled by fractured relationships. Hoff- man is (obviously) old, and age has brought him a sense of complete sureness in himself and his meth- ods, leaving him inaccessible and slightly neurotic himself. He guides people through the fatiguing labors of making a relationship work, but his own marriage has fallen apart. He's nothing more than a loner who needs his small group of distressed patients as badly as they need him. From a premise that you'd think too dark for a conventional sitcom, the show seeks to extract nothing but the barest grounding. The largely accepted fact that "situation" is a big part of "situ- ational comedy" seems lost on the minds behind this show. The humor gains nothing from the setup and all the characters and jokes are generic enough to be inserted into any of the hundreds of other shoddy sitcoms we've seen in recent years. As such, "Help Me Help You" has no character or purpose. It tackles nothing original and only half- heartedly recycles jokes that weren't even funny when you first encountered them years ago. A large part of the humor is supposed to come from the apparently original neuroses of each of Hoffman's patients. But all we get out of them is stock apprehension and tired conflicts. The only character who stands apart is Jonathan (Jim Rash, "Sky High"), the blas6, jaded metrosexual who "Seriously, I haven't forgiven you for 'Gulliver's Travels.' Who does that?!" may also be gay. Though Jonathan's apparently suppressed homosexuality yields the only laugh in the entire show, the whole "maybe he's gay, maybe he's not, maybe just a little" routine itself is beyond prosaic at this point. Other than Jonathan, patients Dave, Inger, Dar- lene and Michael round out the small therapy group. Given that they do absolutely nothing origi- nal or even remotely inventive, the less you know about them the better. They're little more than faces filling the screen, saying things that are about as funny as YouTube clips of unsuspecting kids slip- ping on ice and breaking a tailbone - and about as painful, too. The comedy of this sitcom, then, rests squarely of the shoulders of Danson. He's a capable come- dian - no one can deny that - but miscast into a role that seems to entail a teenager trapped in an old man's body, Danson fumbles every thematic linchpin and does little to quell the drag creat- ed by the other characters and abysmal writing. There's nothing funny or worthwhile about the show, and indeed, without a laughtrack, it could probably pass for a dark drama, and a very poor one at that. DAILY ARTS. GOATS' MILK CHEESES, CAPERS AND LOTS OF OLIVE OIL. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LS&A Job Fair THURSDAY, 10.05.2006 @ 2:00PM - 6:00PM MICHIGAN UNION Can't wait until then? Apply online. Gn to Quickenloanscareers.com for more info. Rock FORTUNE' _________ 100 BEST Loans' financial' COMANES A to nats c r CO M P ANIES A QUICKEN LOANS COMPAN Y TO WORK FORC^, Our scholarship covers tuition, textbooks and supplies and even gives you a monthly stipend for living expenses. But it's the experience you'll gain after graduation that sets this program apart. 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