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STUDENT PRESALE NOVEMBER 13-18
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HILL AUDITORIUM
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26
JASON ISBELL
AND THE 400 UNIT
JJ GREY & MOFRO
LORI McKENNA
STEPHEN KELLOGG
DEAD HORSES
CHASTITY BROWN
JOE PUG, EMCEE
SATURDAY, JANUARY 27
JOHN PRINE
AIMEE MANN
MOUNTAIN HEART
BIRDS OF CHICAGO
THE CACTUS BLOSSOMS
THE WAR AND TREATY
JOE PUG, EMCEE
*program subject to change
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6A — Monday, November 13, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
USA
Another western, but they get it right.
USA’s ‘Damnation’ is off
to a solid start in premiere
In the ongoing trend of western TV shows, USA gets it right
There’s just something about
the Wild West that captures
the
hearts
of
Americans.
Maybe
it’s
the
dilapidated
saloon doors, or the glistening
revolvers,
or
the
folksy
language, or maybe it’s all
three. Either way, at the risk
of overgeneralizing, I’ll say I
believe that, across the country,
the Wild West continues to
maintain a tantalizing aura
of mystique and possibility.
Part of this is likely due to the
genre’s consistently romantic
depiction in Hollywood. From
Sergio
Leone’s
Spaghetti
Westerns during the 1960s
to more recent entries like
“Bone
Tomahawk”
and
“Westworld,” it’s not hard to
find the glamorized world of
rustling tumbleweeds on your
television or in your local AMC
theater.
Seizing on the persistent
popularity of the Wild West,
USA’s latest foray into this
genre — “Damnation” — leans
more
toward
the
“There
Will
Be
Blood”
spectrum
of Westerns. Similar to one
of
my
personal
favorites,
“Damnation”
juxtaposes
Christian
proselytization
with the brutality of the Wild
West. While nowhere near as
effective or groundbreaking as
its distant Hollywood relative,
“Damnation” remains a solid
addition to the Western genre,
with
substantial
potential
for growth if it can adopt a
less heavy-handed approach
moving forward.
Immediately, the first thing
I
noticed
while
screening
“Damnation” was its gorgeous
sweeping
landscapes.
With
shots of barren rolling hills
and
farmland
stretching
into the horizon, the series
provides the type of visual
highlight reel that audiences
have come to expect from their
Westerns. I’ve never visited
Iowa or Kentucky — the two
locales featured in the show —
but I’ve been to Nebraska and
Tennessee, so I feel marginally
qualified to hazard a guess
that “Damnation”’s vistas are
accurate for these two states
during the 1930s.
Side note: if you’re from
Iowa or Kentucky and want to
dispute my scenic evaluation,
feel free to pay a visit to my
editor — he lives on East
University Ave. and simply
loves critics dropping by.
Beyond
its
excellent
cinematography, “Damnation”
succeeds with its talented cast.
Frankly, I had no idea who the
hell Killian Scott (“Calvary”)
was before watching the show,
but I can now say that I’m
quite a fan. In the series, Scott
carves out a distinct identity
as a manipulative roaming
preacher
who
knows
how
to handle a Colt .32 as well
as he knows Genesis verses.
Elsewhere, fellow unknown
Teach Grant (“The Tall Man”)
effectively makes the most of
his limited screen time in the
show’s premiere. The show’s
veteran presence comes in the
form of established Wild West
actor Christopher Heyerdahl
(“Tin Star”), who turns in a
quality performance as the
cliché, devil-may-care cowboy.
There’s nothing new about
Heyerdahl’s
character,
but
every Western needs a cunning
villain, and Heyerdahl does a
great job of inspiring hatred
for his persona.
I
especially
appreciated
Heyerdahl’s
role
since
he
comes to “Damnation” after
a five-season run on AMC’s
own wild west series, “Hell
on Wheels.” As a longtime
Western fan, I couldn’t help
but love that the show cast
Heyerdahl in a prominent role
in a Western a year after he
finished his run on a different
Western. It instantly recalled
in my mind Leone’s usage
of
Clint
Eastwood
(“Gran
Torino”) in three back-to-
back-to-back wild west forays.
As flattering at it is for
“Damnation” to be compared
to a Leone Western, the two
entries diverge in terms of their
plotlines. While a typical Leone
Western is comprehensive yet
concise, “Damnation” is just
comprehensive to a fault. The
series suffers from its gradual
pacing
that
extends
every
scene a few minutes too long.
By drawing out every shot,
the show becomes somewhat
clumsy, spending five minutes
on a scene that audiences
understand in two. It’s not the
worst quality in the world for
a series to possess in an age
of meticulous television, but
it renders the show tedious to
seasoned viewers who rely on
more succinct storylines and
more exciting writing — both
of which “Damnation” lack
— to keep them entertained.
“Damnation” could use a little
bit of “Westworld”’s magic in
this area, so someone dial up
Jonathan Nolan (“The Dark
Knight”) for USA.
With
some
added
flair
and a few trimmed scenes,
“Damnation”
could
truly
cement itself as the network
alternative
to
“Westworld,”
which is already dominating
the
small-screen
western
genre after only one season.
It’s a long way to go for
“Damnation” to reach such
heights, so it better holster its
pistol and start climbing.
CONNOR GRADY
Daily Arts Writer
TV REVIEW
CAPITOL
Sam Smith is back with his silly, sappy love songs.
Sam Smith proves king
of the modern love song
On his sophomore album, Smith’s heartbreak won’t destory you
After a three year absence,
British vocalist Sam Smith is
back, and as cliché as it sounds,
he really is better than ever.
With his sophomore album,
The Thrill of it All, Smith
exploits and emphasizes all of
the pieces that made his debut
project, In the Lonely Hour,
a huge hit, giving listeners a
record that is Sam Smith to
the max. Piano-driven beats,
forty-piece background choirs,
and the singer’s out-of-this-
world vocal talent are the
primary components of the
singer’s formula for love-song
success, and they all make
The Thrill of it All a gripping
album. These proven pieces
are met with Smith’s new and
obvious musical growth, and
when combined with a venture
into
the
artist’s
relatively
undiscussed
homosexuality,
they convey one major thing:
Smith is the king of the modern
pop love song.
The
album’s
first
track,
“Too Good at Goodbyes,” is a
pleasant kick in the teeth, an
enjoyable overload of all things
Sam Smith. It opens with the
classic
Smith-piano
combo
that listeners so thoroughly
enjoyed on In the Lonely Hour.
This sound is comfortable for
both Smith and the listener,
and
plays
right
into
the
aforementioned
love-song
formula (piano + voice = really
good Sam Smith love song),
making it the perfect way
to open an album with such
weight and anticipation. At this
point, the singer is warming
the listener up for what’s to
come; instead of throwing
us head-first into cold and
unfamiliar water, Smith guides
us slowly down the steps feet-
first into the shallow end so we
can properly acclimate to the
temperature. Eventually, the
track picks up with a bouncy
beat and infectious melody —
it’s new, but it feels and sounds
like your forgotten favorite
track from a few years ago.
When the massive choir hits
(the “choir” is typically just
a massive layering of Smith’s
vocals), it’s all over; the song is
“Stay With Me” times ten, and
the listener has no choice but
to submit to the power of the
love song.
Many of the songs on the
album follow this same trend.
They are built on something
comfortable
and
familiar,
and many could have easily
appeared on In the Lonely
Hour, but Smith introduces
something
new
and
fresh
that is just enough to make
the tracks exciting, rather
than obsolete. “Say It First” is
grounded on a gloomy, guitar-
driven beat that is right in
Smith’s wheelhouse, but the
chorus introduces electronic
vocals akin to something Diplo
might
endorse.
“One
Last
Song” opens with a sliced and
pitched-up vocal sample that
one could hear on a Kanye
West track, but it quickly falls
into a classic and infallible 6/8
shuffle that Smith murders
with his soulful belting. This
tactic is safe and pragmatic;
Smith knows what works, and
he blends the proven with the
experimental to remind the
world of his talent. He’s grown
as an artist over the past three
years, and the proof is in the
pudding.
Smith
is
most
at
the
vanguard
on
“HIM,”
a
song that professes Smith’s
homesexuality in bold, and
details his personal struggle.
The track opens with, “Holy
Father, we need to talk / I have
a secret that I can’t keep,”
addressing his pain head-on;
raised religious and educated
in catholic school, it’s not
surprising that the now openly-
gay vocalist has struggled with
the implications of his sexual
orientation. In the chorus,
Smith sends a message to the
world, singing “Don’t you try
to tell me that God doesn’t
care for us / It is him I love, it
is him I love.” This song marks
the first instance in which
Smith
explicitly
discusses
his sexuality in his music,
contributing to the already
established trend of blending
new with old.
While some might get tired
of Smith’s tales of unrequited
love, such is the singer’s brand,
and at a short and sweet 35
minutes, The Thrill of it All
will
certainly
not
dampen
your thoughts with ideas of
heartbreak. Take a half-hour
out of your day to indulge in
the moving love songs and
other-worldly voice of the self-
professed diva boy — you won’t
regret it.
ALBUM REVIEW
“Damnation”
Series Premiere
USA
Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
MIKE WATKINS
Daily Arts Writer
The Thrill of It
All
Sam Smith
Capitol