12 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 17, 2002
Eliot indie-rocks GR
with hot new grooves
-ARTS
By Jeremy J. Peters
For theDaily
Finishing up a two and a half
week tour of the East Coast and the
Midwest, indie torch-bearing quartet
Elliott (no, not Elliott Smith) rolled
into Grand Rapids, bring the bands
Christiansen, and Baltimore natives,
The Liars Academy in tow. After
their second stop in Michigan, the
tour ended the next day
in Chicago.
Elliott was touring
early this summer in ELLIOT
support of their CHRISTI
upcoming and as of yet
untitled release, slated Pop!
to hit the streets in Grand
November. The band's June 7 at
website (wwwxelliottin-
transit.com) professes
that the release was originally meant
to be an EP released right around
now however, the members were so
enthralled in the process that they
decided to record more tracks and
release it as an LP.
In their first foray back on the
road since, essentially their early
2001 foray to Europe, the
Louisville, Kent group has had quite
a string of twists and turns. Last
summer, Elliott was' scheduled to
support the Toadies on their U.S.
tour, only to leave soon after it
began due to management differ-
T
CI.
.'C
l
:7
ences. As for personnel, only singer
Chris Higdon and drummer Kevin
Ratterman remain of the group that
recorded their heralded 2000 Revela-
tion Records release, False Cathe-
drals. Bassist Jason Skaggs (formerly
of Eleven Eleven) has replaced Jay
Palumbo, and Benny Clark (of the
Loved) takes Jonathan Mobley's
place on guitar.
New members and non-existant
tour outings aside,
Elliott sounds much
like the same Elliott
T WSG that came to Detroit in
IANSEN November of 2000.
Managing to play
Cafe expansive, orchestrated
Rapids and not orchestral,
7:30 p.m. emotive rock and roll
(read: not emo, because
what IS emo anyways?)
with only two guitars, an effects
rack, a drummer and a bass, Elliott is
much the same as it was, only with
new songs in hand. Higdon's vocals,
light and high to begin with, were
unintelligible as ever thanks to the
poor quality PA system at the venue.
Strangely enough, this wasn't annoy-
ing. Higdon's tenor ended up sound-
ing like another instrument added to
the surging ebb and floe of Elliott's
contribution.
Upstarts Christiansen and Liars
Academy, in supporting roles for the
most part, did well to compliment
More guitar for your money.
the performance they foreshadowed.
The Liars Academy, late to the gig
due to constuction on 1-96, played a
condensed set of what was good
honest Get Up Kids-ish songs.
Christiansen, however, seemed un-
focused and overly anti-climactic,
almost as if their instruments were
getting in the way of what they were
trying to do.
The small, bohemian, hole in the
wall-ish Pop!Caf6 had only a small
stage tucked in the corner of the
room, just slightly elevated above the
concert-goers. The resulting effect
was having the band perform right in
to your face, at times only two feet
from you. For lucky fans who staked
out a place in front, this venue pro-
vided for what rock and roll should
be: Loud, intimate and an experience.
Sadly, the concert was sparsely
attended with the crowd being main-
ly populated by those who have
either been with the band from the
start or who are devotees to the
national independent music scene.
If you are into intelligent inde-
pendent rock, look for Elliott to be
back on tour for a longer stint around
the United States after the release of
their upcoming album. For those
looking to fill that aching hole in
their hearts, this is this stuff. Or at
least, you can rock along with those
who seem to feel that way.
BOURNE gives the number and adress of a
Contnue fro Pae 1Swiss bank account (I'm not kid-
Contnue 1mmPag 1.ding).
two bullets in his back and a bad Bourne heads to the bank, which
case of amnesia. His mental and alerts the CIA to his stilt-alive
physical abilities are superior, and whereabouts. In his saftey deposit
he can't remember how he acquired box, he finds loads of passports
his razor-sharp skills ... (all different, naturally) loads of
The audience, of course, knows money from loads of countries and
that he works black-ops for the a gun. After a little authority-skirt-
CIA, and he was shot after a failed ing, Bourne pays a beautiful,
assassination attempt. down-on-her-luck hot-
He's a super-trained tie (Famke Potente,
killer who doesn't "Run Lola Run") thou-
exist and blah, blah, ** sands of dollars to
blah. All of this is Tdrive him to France.
revealed to the audi- THE BOURNE She balks, but needs
ence within moments, IDENTITY the money. They have
and all of the dark hot sexual tension. The
intrigue one expects At Showcase and CIA follow. Bourne
from a spy flick is Quality 16 kills some bad-ass
destroyed by excess Universal operatives. Sex is had,
exposition. This is not original
The film begins with Jason stuff, but the talented Damon and ,
Bourne (the most-used name in Potente make it bearable, until the
Damon's multi-monikered exis- brain-insulting climax.
tence) floating aimlessly (and boat- This film also wastes three of the
lessly) along the Mediteranian. He more talented character actors
is rescued from certain death by a working today in nearly-pointless
group of fishermen who pull two supporting roles. Brian Cox
bullets out of his back and a mini ("Rushmore")who looks nervous
flashlight-thing out of his pelvis, and does little else as CIA higher-
When the flashlight is shone, it up, has spent years honing and per-
fecting his acting chops. Check out
his take on Hannibal Lector in
1986s "Manhunter." Clive Owen
("Croupier," "Gosford Park,") is
an up-and-comer who is nearly
wordless as another super-CIA
agent. Julia Stiles ("O") spends
about three minutes making phone
calls at the assassin switchboard.
One expects more from director
Doug Liman, who helmed both
"Swingers" and "Pulp Fiction"-
knockoff "Go." While Liman for-
goes much of his usual creativity
to show the studio he can be a
"major action director," there is the
occasional glimmer of hope. In a
few scenes where the film seems to
be overcome by its own self-serv-
ing absurdity, Limon winks at the
audience. He understands his film
is Hollywood hokem, slight and not
to be taken seriously. He can make
Courtesy ofUniversal a big budget movie that's just dull
Yeah, she wants me, enough to appeal to the masses.
This may be good for his career,
_ but it's a shame for filmgoers who
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