The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 12, 2000 - 9
Food, folks and Italian-style fun at Genitti's 'Blues'
By Jaimie Winkler
Daiy Arts Writer
When was the last time you were
harassed by the bride's brother at a big
Italian wedding? Genitti's Hole-in-the-
Wall gives you a good tongue lashing
and some fine Italian sausage.
Good Italian food and funny people
are hard to come by, but Genitti's has
both. The restaurant offers a traditional
seven-course Italian meal amid its latest
interactive comedic production,
"Wedding Bell Blues."
Just like at a real wedding, "guests" sit
at tables with people they hardly know,
but everyone is under suspicion for
being part of the act. (Im convinced the
qw
people next to me were involved because
no one enjoys chicken noodle soup that
much.) Audience members mingle with
each other, getting to know the other
guests at the table while waiting for the
promised meal.
Enter the older brother. He introduces
Genitti's to the patient audience and
announces - Gasp! - the groom has
not arrived yet. The show rests on the
pressing question: will the groom ever
arrive? The mothers of the bride and
groom flutter about during dinner. The
bride, clad in a white terry cloth
bathrobe, calmly greets her wedding
guests.
The restaurant, decorated for the occa-
sion, is owned and operated by the
*'NIBII' tribute for
diehard Sabbath fans
Genitti family who double as waitstaff, Service is family style and the cast
cooks and, at times, actors. Since 1975, draws everyone into the gigantic Italian
the family has offered the current menu, family. Audience cohesion is important
packed with its traditional recipies and for the second act - the wedding cere-
an entertaining performance. mony.
The seven-course meal begins with But has the groom arrived?
soft, perfectly toasted, parmesan bread Members of the wedding party use
and chicken noodle soup followed by a crazy antics to stall the ceremony. The
surprisingly flavorful garlic cream pasta. show relies heavily on audience partici-
Antipasto salad precedes a triple entree pation and response {just ask Dave, who
fit for any carnivore: baked chicken with was taunted for being an Ann Arborite as
zucchini, Italian steak with potatoes he played Bachelor #1). The script, writ-
(they say it's pork, but figure that one ten by Timothy Campos who also plays
out) and finally the Italian sausage. Save the photographer, has room to breathe
room for the sausage and plan to revisit and adapt to each audience.
for more. The dinner ends with cannoli Whether the groom arrives or not,
and drinks, which can be taken into the someone gets hitched and following the
"chapel."ceremony the wedding party and guests
The cast of quirky characters from "Wedding Bell Blues." Italian sausage, anyone?
gather together to share in the time hon-
ored classics "The Chicken Dance" and
"The Hokey Pokey."
Some of the jokes are a little cliched,
but the audience eats it up and never
stops laughing. The groom's father,
played by Duncan Williams, has little
stage time but some of the best lines.
The cast admits to having day jobs,
and although not professional actors,
they are great at entertaining and playing
with the audience. If you want good the-
ater, head downtown, but if you want a
good time, this is the place.
Genitti's Hole-in-the-Wall is located
in Northvile. CFall (248) 349-0522 or go
to rr'rmg ttenittis.c'orr for tickets and
directions. Ticketss arc e39.95.
When an artist or brnd reaches
mcgastar status, tribute albums are
inevitable. If that artist or group attains
the kind of cult followsing that Black
Sabbath has, sequels are bound tsr fol-
loss "Ntiity in B'lack 11" rs xc,rtiv
that. the flllvw-utp
to a Gratmv-
Grade: B r winning ode to
Nativity in the legendarv
Blc heavy mectal
Black II heroes of the 70s.
Various Artists Like its prede-
cO cessor, "N.1 B. 1"
r d b 5 , is loaded with
Drr it s Wrt5r stars, including
oad R .;er legends in their
own right such as
Megadeth, Pantera and Slayer. The
bands cover a variety of popular and
lesser-known tracks originally recorded
by Black Sabbath, adding their own
unique sounds to the already extraordi-
nary music of Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer
Butler, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward.
Some of the groups on the tribute
chose to perform their chosen tracks itl
near-original form, showcasing the
genius of Black Sabbath rather than their
own talents. Pantera's cover of "Electric
Funeral" and Slaver's "Hand of Doom"
are two good examples of this strategy.
The songs are virtually identical to those
recorded as many as thirty years ago.
In other cases, the bands chose to
retool a classic Sabbath tune to incorpo-
rate their own unique sounds. "Behind
the Wall of Sleep," performed by Static-
X, has little more than lyrics in common
with the original recording of the song,
but it is obvious that the band has been
heavily influenced by songs like the one
they are covering. System of a Down
contributes a version of "Snowblind"
that is similar to the original, but features
the distinctive vocai stylings and fren-
zied guitar work that are the group's
trademark. Primus, in a show of genuine
reverence, teams up with Ozzy himself
to present a reworking of "N.I.B" that
has a rmuch more pronounced bassline
''than the original. .
While the tracks performed as written
generally retain the sense and feel of the
originals, those with which the artists on
"N.I.B. II" take liberties may not always
be pleasing for diehard Sabbath fans.
Tracks by Sourlfly and Static-X, two of
the yssrrorer ssroups represented on the
albttmt. so in a different mrusical iree-
tion tha they were probably intended.
vAtx Calavera's enraged vocals and
irsrutis's pound in guitars make "Under
the Sun" sound incredibly menacin
and Static-Xs contribution is far more
artificial-sounding than anything pro
duced by the original toursome.
The album's worst moments come
when modern hip-hop artists lrusta
phym s and eIcd(pe) attempt to cover
vintage Sabbath tunes. led(pe)s ver-
sion of "Sabbra Cadabra" shares only a
guitar rifs ith the original, and even that
is sampled. The lyrics, supposedly those
penned by Ozzy Osbourne, are unintel-
ligible wails that grate on the ears.
Busta's cover of "Iron Man" is the only
track on the album that Ozzy actually re-
wrote the lyrics to, and the new version
contains annoying laughter and Bersta
repeatedly shouting "This means war!"
The track is, in Black Sabbath terms,
blasphemy.
While many of the tracks on "N.I.B.
II" are excellent covers of classic
Sabbath songs, a few of them become
something that Ozzy definitely did not
have in mind: Crap. The good tracks do
outweigh the bad, but Black Sabbath
fans, beware before listening. You
might not like what you hear.
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