Jeepers Creepers!
The Michigan Theater presents a special 3-1)
screening of 1953's "House of Wax," starring
Vincent Price and Charles "Death Wish"
Bronson. Friday and Saturday, only 75 cents.
michigandaily.com/arts

lo R7 'S

MONDAY
JULY 9, 2001

4
(-N s performfeince more
7'T

nrewfoundl lDtdos tanr tavmsg herd
nsthiog other ihani the trip-pop singer's
MITV-licioas "Thank Too," I was pleas-
antly surprised by
the not only
catchy, but often
interesting offer-
Dido wI ings the English.
Travis Guildhall School
of Music educat-
DTE Energy ed, artist per-
Music Theater formed. Aside
July 5, 2001 from a certain
feeling that the
songs seemed too
much like the
recordings, I was
very pleased.
Despite sound-
ing a little vocally tired during her
encore - which included a new song
called "Do You Have A Little Time,"
and "Don't Think of Me" from the
three million plus selling, No Angel --
the former Faithless member and her 6-
person band played what (to an unedu-
cated Dido listener) seemed to be a
very entertaining performance. The set
included solo performances by her
backup bassist, guitarist, percussionist
and accompanying DJ.
The first third of her portion of the
concert seemed somewhat laid back

SIer n11k C, ' 0 e rio
of her 2J)O sibum. o Is/ atd svlrar
ended up beoin -r sing-a-long of 'Thank
You".
Offering "p an eighteen-song set.
including three new songs that will be
on her upcoming album, Dido did well
to entertain what, towards the end,
looked like a nearly full house. On her
first large scale tour of the states, the
former classical music prodigy
admirably entertained the crowd en-
masse. However, those who came late
to the show missed two other great acts.
Emiliana Torrini, an up-and-coning
Italian-Icelandic songstress, opened up
the night. With a voice somewhere
between Bjork and Gwen Stefani, her
music sounds like eclectic orchestral-
electronica standouts Portishead.
With strong recognition in Europe,
Torrini is touring the U.S. with Dido,
and later this summer with Tricky to
garner support for her 2000 Virgin
Records release, Love in The Time of
Science.
Scottish neo-brit traditional rock
band Travis followed, putting on a long
and energetic set, managing to catch the
attention of the concert-goers in the still
half-full pavilion and crowded lawn
areas. They played an hour and a half-

i veot rirr or to he a leavier set
than expected. OIle adding a decided
element of distooir and flat- out rock
and roll groove to a set of already
catchy tunes, the band not only presen-
ed a worthwhile time, but something
much more than a stale rendition of
their recordings.
Ending the set with a decidedly thick
version of the hidden track "Blue
Flashing Lights" off of The Man Who,
the audience, in appreciation for the set,
rewarded the Glasgow quartet with a
short standing ovation.

David I 3ae ol selslost amongis robotbehta
byt a
connect in

Court 5yo
Dido thanks you for being a friend.

By Mandy Taylor
Daily Arts Writer
In Steven Spielberg's sci-fi drama
"A.I.: Artificial Intelligence," Haley Joel
Osment plays David, a robot boy created
by Cybertronics to feel love. The story
revolves around him and his Pinocchio-
like quest to
become a real
child and reunite
swith his "mother"
A.I.: Henry (Sam
Artificial Robards) and
Intelligence Monica (Frances
O'Connor) are a
Grade: C+ couple whose own
At Showcase, child Martin (Jake
Quality 16 & State Thomas) is termi-
nally ill and has
been cryogenically
A frozen in his com-
atose state. In
order to comfort
his wife through the assumed loss of
their child, Henry obtains David to fill
the void and act as a new child. David's
charming character, as a programmed lit-
tle boy, eventually convinces Monica to
imprint herself as David's mother. From
then on, he will love only her uncondi-
tionally, forever (until he is destroyed).
Problems arise when Martin miracu-
lously recovers and becomes jealous of
David, tricking him and putting him into
situations where he may seem malicious.
After all, if a robot can love, why can't
he hate? The last strav is when David
becomes afraid and accidentally pulls
Martin into a pool, nearly drowning him.
Monica decides that they can no longer
have him around the house, so she opts

Memoirs of an 'Invisible Band'

to leave David in the woods. Luckily, 1
robotic teddy bear, Teddy (voiced
Jack Angel), is also taken to the woe
so David has a companion.
In the woods, the harsh reality of t
futuristic world explodes around Dat
in the form of other rejected, deter
ing robots (a scene which looks a lot lr
Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video) w
are hunted down for Flesh Fairs -
place where humans "celebrate life"
violently destroying robots.
Through his journey, David exhib
more humane qualities than most of t
humans in the film.
Due to the sci-fi nature of "A.l.," 1
quality and variety of the film's vist
effects are key, and director Spielbe
Stan Winston (make-up) and
Muren (visual effects) do not disappoi
Most of the actors and actresses convir
ingly look like robots made to look ee
ly like humans.
The story (written by Spielherg, ha
ott the short story 'Super-Toys Last.r
Summer Long" by Brian Aldiss) h
some holes. For instance, no one expla
what illness Martin has or why he g
better. This instead just seems like
dom reason for necessary problets
occur. It also doesn't make compl
sense why David is so cruelly abandot
in the woods. This latter problem co
occur because of inconsistent acting
the part of Frances O'Connor.
Despite the assumed loss and un.
pected recovery of her character's s
O'Connor manages to over-dramat
her character to the point that her er
tions feel inauthentic and often us
plained. Osment expresses a ran
emotions, from extreme violemi
heartbrea king anguish, and he is,
usual, cute enough for anyone to want
take himhome.
"A." is interesting, drawing on iss
that Atoerica baa dealt vit'o in its p
51r1! re-sores. The i-itnemtgrail
manages,2 to1 c.nvey meain thrs

The Invisible Band,Travis;
Sony/Epic
By Jeremy Peters
For the Daily
It their sophomore major label
release, The Invisible Band, Scottish
band Travis does its best to put off the

inevitable stress of trying to release an
album of equal quality as their first.
Deciding to infuse banjo into the
already acoustic nature of their sound,
the result could have easily been that of
the neo-country rock bands: An evil mix
of country stylings and modern pop
song writing that is, well ... a pain to lis-
ten to. Luckily, the album tells other-

wise.
Without totally divorcing themselves
from the style of their previous albums,
Travis has managed to, with the help of
Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich,
present what seems to be a coherent
album of warm, yet strong writing by
lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Fran-
cis Healy. Godrich's influence is noted
by small spacey keyboard fills between
songs and the use of electronic drums
on the last track, "The Humpty Dumpty
Love Song"
The first single "Sing" is quite remi-
See TRAVIS, Page 11

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