i's Ms. X If You Please...
et caught up in a game of murder, love and
strigue as Alley Cat Productions brings Paul
e's "Madame X" to the Mendelssohn Theater.
st 3 through 5, $15 for students.
nichigandaily.com/arts
ARTS
MONDAY
JULY 30, 2001 9
Outkast rules as heat wave rolls over Area: One
ly Rob Brode
aily Arts Writer of psychedelic spider webs on large TV group to have a backing band, but The
screens and of course a slew of rabid Roots forego canned booty bass mixes
ything that isn't 'NSYNC, or one ravers. The air conditioned tent provided in favor of their supertight band. Per-
f the other purveyors of pre-pubescent a welcome break from the sweltering haps the most impressive part of the set
up, is seemingly labeled alternative; sun and the main stage. was Roots member Scratch. In the mid-
ut alternative can be extremely popu- The action on the main stage kicked dle of a festival which featured many
sr. In what may have been the most off at 3:50 p.m. Nelly Furtado per- expert turntable-ists, Scratch outper-
cceptably hip "alternative" concert of formed to a sparsely populated pavilion formed many of them without the
e summer, Area: One parked its travel- as many fans were still lined up outside turntables. Eyes scanned the stage look-
ing circus of elec- waiting to get in. Furtado became the ing for the hidden DJ, but rest assured
tronica, hip hop, most familiar face of the day making there was none; Scratch the human
rock and pop multiple appearances, guesting on the turntable put the finishing touches on a
within the con- Roots track "You Got Me" and filling in great set by The Roots.
Area: One fines of DTE for a quite admirably for Gwen Stefani on The momentum was building and
DTE Energy sold-out show last Moby's hit single "South Side." Her Incubus was not about to drop the ball.
Music Theater Tuesday. radiant smile and ebullient performance Lead singer Brandon Boyd was the
July 24, 2001 Area: One, the started off the show on the right foot. focal point of the show with his disjoint-
phoenix rising The Roots took the stage next and ed movements and powerful voice.
from the ashes of thoroughly impressed the still paltry Boyd even donned a drum for a few
its defunct festival crowd. The group is well known for its select tunes and added to the already
predecessors, may live performances and much respected powerful percussive force of Jose Pasil-
be of the same for their musicianship. It is rare for a rap las. Boyd's staccato delivery on the vers-
genus as
.O.R.D.E, Lillith Fair and Lolla-;
oza, but certainly is its own species.
ble hordes of hippies happily hacked
SH.O.R.DE, loads of ladies loved the
illith Fair and gaggles of greasy
rungers grunted gratefully for Lolla-
alooza, Area: One exudes electronica.a
lhile the bike rack fences and long
nes resembled the wait in front of the r:n
lillennium Force, Cedar Point has f
ever seen a dance party the likes of the
ne the Ford Focus tent hosted. The tent
oused DJs Carl Cox and Paul Okenfold AL EX HCWaERT /Daoys
g others, along with the eye candy Moby brings electronica to the people with the Area: One tour.
Visually Stunning 'Apes': A
east for the eyes, not the brain
es of "Pardon Me" and "Stellar," along
with the soothing yet powerful drone of
"Drive" and "Miss You," propelled the
band's set and likely will propel them
into the mainstream.
Outkast took the stage next then stole
the show. The Stankonians from Atlanta
had no trouble working the crowd into a
raucous dance frenzy. Both the pavilion
and lawn were getting down to the
bootylicious grooves of Outkast's hits.
Not one booty rested during the set and
many rapped along, which is no easy
feat. The band rolled out familiar tunes
such as "Elevators (Me And You),"
"Rosa Parks," "Ms. Jackson" and "So
Fresh, So Clean," and finished off their
set, to the delight of everyone's collec-
tively quaking booty, with a song they
described as "Hip Hop on crack," the
favorite "B.O.B. (Bombs Over Bagh-
dad)"
After Outkast left the stage, everyone
was left to swim in pools of their own
sweat which had gradually accumulated
over the day. DTE felt like the bayou
because of the unbearable humidity and
like Texas for the forceful, unforgiving
rays of the sun. Those without the funds
to fend off dehydration ($3.50 for 20 oz.
of water) were left to slump in their
chair after expending their last few elec-
trolytes for Outkast.
For many, the festival was long over
by the time Moby took the stage. While
Moby may have put the festival together,
his guests (the opening acts) enjoyed the
Outkast rocks out DTE.
fruits of his labor. Many fans left before
Moby walked on stage and more piled
out at the end of each song. Moby ran
back and forth across the stage playing a
few notes on a keyboard and striking
electronic drums, while occasionally
stepping in front of a microphone to yell
a few words. Although Moby writes his
own music, his role in the live perform-
ance seems quite miniscule leaving his
group without a real frontman. His
music and performance style seem well
suited for a dance hall, but not so well
suited for DTE. While Moby may have
named it Area: One before the show,
fans will remember the show as Area:
Outkast.
ly Lyle Henretty
ail Arts Writer
The latest incantation of "Planet of
re Apes," says director Tim Burton, is
either a sequel nor a remake of the
lassic films that spanned the 1960s
ad 70s; yet some of the new film's
reatest flaws lie in its adherence to the
riginal's pop-political commentary.
he original was a nice satire that
aterialized out of a popcorn movie,
while Burton's
film is an attempt
at a social satire
Planet of that is simply the
the Apes most entertamimig
popcrn movie of
Grade: B the sutmer. The
A0S:ocse set-up' with
nd Stte oenslaved humans
(considered soul-
less by lbeir simi-
an captors) beaten
and mistreated,
could simply
nd as Iself as is oft:n tse case is
atoless sumrncc enthrtainnmnt. or
ore fully explord to slay lre to its
-emise.
The real reason most people will
(presumably) flock to see "POTA,"
though, is the unique visuals (by pro-
duction designer and long-time Burton
collaborator Rick Heinrichs) and the
peerless make-up effects by Academy
Award winner Rick Baker. Most people
will not be disappointed.
The Ape world melds primitive and
modern, calling to mind the Ewok vil-
lage from "The Return of the Jedi," re-
imagined with darker hues, more
characters and the occasional infamous
Burton arch. The fihn is not as richly
stylized as some of Burton's other
efforts, such as "Sleepy Hollow' or
"Batmats." yet the more earthy tones
and starker sets allows the audience to
believe this world may aclualy exist.
The makestp sa beets specially
designed for each actr, fully integral-
ing lbir unique 'is'go with he dis-
tinct look of earls up. Tim RolHs
villainos General Thd is lb most
cotmplcte meld of -atoe and coltu n
creating the most shoking, r alisic
creat re in the fits.
Tihe plcot is onimopornt to a fibs
sucs as this, servinog merely ax a way of
gliding fromt ore msagnificetst set piece
to the next. In a fairly uninerestitg
prologue with shades of "Project X,"
Captain Leo Davidson (Mark
Wahlberg) teaches his monkey Pericles
how to fly a surveillance vehicle safely
from a space-station in the not-too-dis-
tant future. After the monkey disap-
pears in a temporal disturbance of some
sort, Davidson takes off after him,
crashing on a planet inhabited by ...
Okay, you get the idea. The planet is
run by a Senate that cowers to the
malevolent presence of Thade, who is
believed to be in the direct line of their
savior, Simos (The ape Jesus, if you
will). Davidson escapes enslavement
with the help of bleedin"g-heart chim-
panzee Ari (Helena Bonham Carter)
and her ape-servant Krull (Cary-
Hiroyuki Tagawa). Chaos etsues
Wahlberg is a blank, drit1_b, Ameri-
can stereotype who is instiled by the
apes presumption of running an entire
planet. Roth pulls out all the stops from
"Supervillians 101' as the snarling
Thade, yet is so impressive in force of
personality and movement that his
hamboning can be forgiven. 0th'rApes
include Michael Clark Ditncats as
Thade's numbe, one guy, atsd Paul Gia-
matti as humorously corrupt human-
trader. Estella Warren and Kris
Kristofferson play fellow slaveswritten
ya. ss 0 O~eu~Fa
Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
Dirk Diggier (Mark Wahlberg) accuses Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) of really being a cop.
in mostly to look hot and take up space, as big entertainment, "POTA" is a
respectively. major success. As a creative effort from
Ultimately, in a summer that has one of Hollywood's most creative
given us both "Tomb Raider" and mainstream filmmakers, it is only mar-
"Jurassic Park 3" and passed them off ginally so.
Dont.UanEc.!.
C alus- elten, we care.
PROBLEM PREGNANCY HELP.
Any time, any day, 4 hours.,
Fully confidentiel.