The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
[the b-side)
Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 3B
A full night of indie rock
Castanets, Shapes and Sizes to rock
East Quad's Halfass tomorrow
By Karen Stasevich Daily Arts Writer
Boy does he look happy.
Smile, just don't
ask questions
By BLAKE GOBLE and a Q & A session to follow. All is
Daily Arts Writer not lost. Let's go seea movie.
It was one of the most bewilder-
ing experiences of my life.
On Sunday in Birmingham, there
was a private red-carpet screen-
ing of Mike Binder's new Adam
Sandler-led drama "Reign Over
Me," which opens tomorrow in Ann
Arbor. Binder, a native of Detroit's
suburbs, recently found the success
of his career with "The Upside of
Anger," which was also set and par-
tially filmed locally. Allow me to tell
you the story of my night.
5:35 p.m.
A photographer and I arrive in
Birmingham. We have to get to the
Palladium 12 theater for the Detroit
premiere of "Reign Over Me."
Why would a major studio drama,
which touts heavy performances
from Adam Sandler and Don Chea-
dle with a New York sensibility for
post-Sept. 11 trauma, premiere here.
of all places?
Simple. Binder is somewhat of a
W hometown hero. The line of people
waiting to see this Birmingham
native doesn't feel like people excit-
ed to see a new movie so much as a
bunch of buddies getting together.
6:37 p.m.
After a fair amount of waiting,
informal dialectics and growing
impatience, we're on. People start
to arrive: Bob Seger is the first big
name. But I don't realize it's him,
I just thought he was another ran-
dom, middle-aged man. Sorry Bob.
P.T. Anderson appears, the direc-
tor of "Punch Drunk Love." As the
only one who recognizes him, I call
outhis name.I askabouthisupcom-
ing film, "There Will Be Blood."
He makes a slight acknowledg-
ment and walks on by.
Allen Covert shuffles in, the lead
in last year's comedy "Grandma's
Boy" and frequent Sandler collabo-
rator. Being the jackass that I am
(I gave "Boy" a positive review), I
scream out "Grandma's Boy!"
Covert does a double take, stops
and slowly says, "Yeah"?
"I loved that movie! I actually
gave it a good review," I stammer.
I am a whore, trying to get an
autograph: I might as well pull out
his headshot and beg. But Covert
is surprisingly kind. He shakes my
hand, says thank you very much and
makes his way to the elevator.
Sandler and Binder finally
emerge. When you wish to ask
about the film, its makers and the
story behind it, it's hard to get a
word in when 100 people are jam-
ming "Happy Gilmore" DVDs in
front of your face.
Sandler and Binder come near
me, and I'm ready to ask a question.
I try to ask Sandler about the
project, and he belts out at me,
"Thank you, guy!" Twice.
I try to talk to Binder about Ann
Arbor and its uses in his last film.
"We love you," he blurts out.
, Within about 30 seconds, it's all
W over-they'reinthatmagic elevator
separating us from the screening.
Everyone disperses, and I realize I
didn't get my questions in. But I still
have a free viewing of a new movie
7:25 p.m.
Sandler and Binder enter the the-
ater to induct the movie; their words
are as kind as they are brief. Binder
is revered by locals and well-wish-
ers. Sandler quips that the seats are
"squishy" and that Binder's been
eating well in Los Angeles. There is
hope tbe film will speak for itself.
The movie turns out to be
legitimate. "Reign Over Me" has
emotional intelligence, heart and
humility. Sandler can definitely act,
Cheadle was at his most affable and
Binder directed with the assurance
and control of man who cares about
and understands his work.
Chasing Adam
Sandler and a
local hero.
9:30 p.m.
The movie is over, and there's a
10-minute standing.ovation. Binder
and Sandler are pleased with the
public response. Maybe they think
they'll turn a profit, or if they hold
out long enough, get an Oscar nomi-
nation. The first is possible, the sec-
ond, not so much.
The floor opens for questions, but
it's more like an exercise in heck-
ling.
"You deserve an Academy
Award!" one woman shouts out.
"Will you come over for Pass-
over?" a young girl begs of Sandler.
It's all in good fun, and the com-
bination of Sandler and Binder at
the mic makes for an enjoyable story
hour. Soon the questions become
more legitimate, and the answers
more earnest. Binder speaks about
the film's "communicative pow-
ers," hoping that people will leave
"Reign" thinking about being more
honest and open to others. Sandler
admits to the fears of doing a proj-
ect that req'uired such gravitas,
acknowledging. his hesitation to
play such a serious role. To quote
him, he was "scared as shit."
Sandler and Binder appear to
be men working to make some-
thing that people can appreciate
and understand. The goal was to
make a drama about grief and loss,
and "Reign Over Me" is an articu-
late reflection of that. The film was
about mending, and luckily the
audience got it.
10 p.m.
Q & A over. Sandler lurches out,
but not without dozens of fans try-
ing desperately for that last-chance
autograph. I need to ask a question.
Now or never: I see Binder isn't
nearly as crowded by fans, so I try
to make it in for a question. I get up
to the man and grab his attention.
We make eye contact and he smiles.
I look down read my question. I
wantedto ask about where the story
came from, seeing as he wrote the
film.
As soon as I asked, I looked up,
and he was gone.
Damn it.
"Well,I hear we're playing at the Halfass Friday." "Really? I can't see my face."
B ring the frat to the
show," said Ray-
mond Raposa, mas-
termind of Castanets. "It's loud
and we are all very attractive
- half of us are very attractive."
Need more incentive?
Castanets is an amalgamofthe
darkerside offolk, indie andblue-
grass. Raposa began his music
career playing in punk bands
in San Diego, where his debut
album Cathedral was recorded
and released in 2004.
"I was just making tapes for
my girlfriend and a friend want-
ed to produce a record," Raposa
said. "Singing songs was sort of
accidental."
"I grew up listening to hard-
core stuff, so it's always impor-
tant to me," Raposa said, citing
his darker musical roots.
This eclecticism no doubt
accounts for the shadowy tones
of his music, but mix that with.
hip-hop infected R&B like R.
Kelly, and you might begin to
get a feeling of where Raposa's
music comes from - musically
and demographically. The band
moves around a lot, though
they're currently based in New
York.
Cynical and mournful lyrics
characterize songs like "Danc-
ing With Someone": "In between
me and any / any true rejoicing
/ I wanna forget this reckoning
/ proud and disbelieving / get
the hell out of Denton / with the
privilege of everything / alive
truly in everyone."
At times, Castanets's sound is
woeful - think Okkervil River
- but with an additional element
that sets it apart. The band's style
varies, as the number of mem-
bers changes from solo tours to
an eight-piece project, wield-'
ing diverse instruments, from
the staple guitar and drums to
indistinguishable and distorted
sources. -
Despite the overall musical
theme of life's downward spiral,
it's unlikely this sentiment will
weigh heavy on the hearts of
University students during the
show.
"A guy in Florida was shaking
his dick at us the whole time we
were playing," Raposa said of a
Courtesy of Asthmatic Kitty
particularly enthused spectator.
"He was a fan, but somehow it
manifested itself that way. It was
awesome."
If making music hadn't fallen
into his lap, Raposa might be
experiencing a very different
lifestyle: "Driving Nascar. It's
fast, a lot of people get a lot of
enjoyment out of it," Raposa said
of his alternative. "I think it's a
noble profession."
Castanets recently finished
recording a new album to follow
2005's First Light's Free, and is
touring to promote their latest
work, which currently has no set
release date,
"I think it would be too early
to say anything about it," Raposa
said. "I heard that it was good."
Facial hair rocks!
n their debut, Shapes and
Sizes welcomes you: "We
come from the wilder-
ness / We come bearing gifts for
you / We happen to like the city /
We happen to like you, too."
If the Canada-basedband's self-
titled album is its salutation to the
world, then their second album,
SplitLips, WinningHips, A Shiner,
is their triumphant proclamation
to society- it's a debutante's com-
ing out, a son's rite of passage.
Although Split Lips - available
in May - comes just 10 months
after their first album, the band
promises the maturation between
the two is significant.
"On our first album, it was
very obvious when a trumpet
was a trumpet. On this album, we
brought in a trumpet and distort-
ed it," bassist and vocalist Nathan
Gages said. "We tried to find
sounds or create abstract sounds
that didn't sound like an instru-
ment."
While the combined male and
female voices on the first album
sound like. a fusion of Dismem-
berment Plan and Rilo Kiley, this
next album will add in styles that
Gages ambiguously described as
"a little more foreign or alien" and
"aggressive, less uppy."
This is the predicted sound for
their upcoming performance at
the Halfass in East Quadrangle
Residence Hall this Friday.
The band has taken huge
strides in the past year, even
though they've been together for
four. The group exhibits a more
complex persona than just anoth-
er run-of-the-mill indie rock band
from the North, deriving their
songwriting power from sources
beyond their own lives.
"They think we're from an
island," Gages said. On the self-
titled album's first track,. "Island
Gone Bad," listeners tend to take
the lyrics literally, but their inter-
pretations are often incorrect.
"They equated it to an Adam and
Eve story. It was funny listening to
it afterwardsbecause we could see
where they got it from," he said.
This interpretation doesn't fit
Shapes and Sizes's real meaning
for the song, which, for anyone
who's read "Lord of the Flies,"
should conjure clear images of
the island created by author Wil-
liam Golding. The words "Eating
moms, eating dads / Children
going bad" neither evoke visions
of a biblical paradise gone awry
nor describe any known province
of Canada.
But Shapes and Sizes try not to
fit into anymold one might expect
- even those that they've created
themselves. Realizing their own
range and fan appeal, the band
admits that their sound is "a little
hard to pigeonhole."
"We played this show in Louis-
ville, Kentucky, and the moment
we got into the bar, it was like,
'These people aren't going to like
us.' After the first song, the crowd
went crazy and they really liked
us," Gages said.
Despitethefactthatmanyofthe
shows they play are small and that
they're only on their first tour for
the Asthmatic Kitty label (owned
by SufjanStevens), forecasts prom-
ise an optimistic future for Shapes
and Sizes. Having recently played
alongside hundreds of bands at
SXSW - including Cursive, Girl
Talk and Apostle of Hustle - they
might have the opportunity to
reach for widespread fame.
THE
"ese
CE N T E R
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ti Collectibles
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PRESENTED BY THE ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL
El TopO
(The Molel The
FRI, MARCH 23 Holy
@ MIDNIGHT Mountain
SAT, MARCH 24 @ MIDNIGHT
FOR MORE INFO VISIT MYSPACE.COM/STATETHEATREA2
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