Doug Martsch,
who is most
famous for his
involvement in
the Idaho-based
band Built To
Spill, performs in
front of a WOW
Hall crowd June
19. Martsch was
in Eugene
promoting his
new solo
album.
Nancy Suryan for the Emerald
‘Spill’-ing
his heart
CONCERT REVIEW
By Chris Delissio
for the Emerald
The crowd at Eugene’s WOW Hall was
small at first, with about three dozen peo
ple listening to the first opening act. By
the time the second opening act had finished,
the crowd had swelled to more than 200.
The room was dark and relatively quiet as
most of the audience sat patiently on the floor
awaiting the main show as if they were children
sitting in a library before story time. When the
main act took the stage, the crowd whooped and
hollered with anticipation. It wasn’t the per
former’s first time in Eugene or even at the WOW
Hall, but it was his first time playing alone.
Doug Martsch performed a solo concert on
Wednesday, June 19, with longtime friends Mike
Johnson and Ian Waters as the opening acts.
Martsch is the mastermind behind the popu
lar Boise, Idaho-based rock band Built To Spill,
which has produced numerous hit albums
since its debut recording, “Ultimate Alterna
tive Wavers,” in 1993. Martsch’s popularity,
which started with his earlier Northwest bands
such as the Treepeople, won him and BTS a
contract with Warner Bros, several years ago.
His career with BTS has given him the recog
nition to pursue his solo project, “Now You
Know,” which he was promoting Wednesday
night. The album is due to be released Sept 10.
Martsch’s solo work has a much different
sound compared to the fast-paced electric gui
tar rock of BTS. The music was almost all
acoustic with a pop/folk/blues feeling. His
honest lyrics on life and love and Martsch’s dy
namic tenor voice gave the songs unmistakable
power and sent a wave of positive vibrations
through the large audience in attendance.
Concert-goer Brian Poverman said the music
produced powerful emotions. “It was a really
mentally constructive event with a good feel
ing, but the feelings touch on more than just a
good time,” he said.
The major difference between this show and
BTS shows was that the audience got to hear
Martsch’s voice by itself. “Being able to hear
Doug (sing) alone was the best thing,” said Kel
ley Holmstrom, a fan who has seen several BTS
concerts. “I loved his voice, especially when he
sang Cat Stevens.”
The only problem with the show was that
the guitar playing could have been tighter,
and the show could have been organized bet
ter. The musicians fumbled hard chord
Turn to Martsch, page 8
Summer crop of blockbusters offers good, bad and stupid
From horror to comedy, moviegoers
have a wide variety of movies to choose
from during the summer season
By Jan Montry
Oregon Daily Emerald
With the sun shining, the soft breeze blow
ing and birds singing, what better place is there
in which to spend time than a big, dark movie
theater? With summer comes the summer
movies, as studios race to come out on top.
This summer, two anticipated sequels will be
released, along with other movies to shock,
sadden and scare. Read on for some sugges
tions of how much time to spend indoors.
‘Men in Black ir
Release date: July 3
Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith reunite
for this highly anticipated sequel. “Men in
Black II” will give viewers the chance to see
aliens, guts, big guns and Tommy Lee Jones
before he goes into the nursing home. Smith
plays Agent J, an alien investigator who gets
in over his head with a nasty alien named
Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle). Naturally, Agent
J turns to his old partner, Agent K, (Jones)
who is happily living his life in ignorance.
Together they battle aliens and work to save
the human race with a talking dog. Smith
once again tests Hollywood by asking the big
question: Can viewers stand a movie where
the star also does the soundtrack?
‘Austin Powers 3’
Release date: July 26
Mike Myers is a Hollywood phenomenon.
Not only has he successfully recycled the
same jokes twice and made a ton of money,
he seems to have retained his fan base even
after a Pepsi commercial. But let’s face it:
He’s a hilarious and dynamic actor, and
that’s why people will see this movie. In this
sequel, Austin Powers (Mike Myers) must
travel back to 1975 to save his father Nigel
(Michael Caine) from the diabolical Dr. Evil
(Mike Myers), Goldmember (Mike Myers)
and Fat Bastard (Mike Myers). Bey once
Knowles plays Foxy Cleopatra, Austin Pow
er’s trusty sidekick. This movie is sure to en
tertain with many sexual innuendoes, dys
functional families and British people.
Yeaaaaah, baby!
‘Mr. Deeds’
Release date: June 28
For Adam Sandler, who gained fame in the
goofy-but-funny movies “Happy Gilmore”
and “Billy Madison,” this remake of Frank
Capra’s 1936 film “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”
may signify a change in his acting philoso
phy. Or could it be another goofy movie? In
this Sandler release, Longfellow Deeds
(Adam Sandler) plays a young guy in the
town of Mandrake Falls who inherits $40 bil
lion from his uncle and moves to the big city.
As Deeds gets used to his new power, he
changes the company and must outsmart
people seeking to steal it from him. Sexy
tabloid reporter Babe Bennett (Winona Ry
der) plays an undercover tabloid reporter do
ing a story on Cooper. The film also co-stars
John Turturro as a valet named Emilio and
Peter Gallagher as Chuck Cedar.
‘Signs’
Release date: August 2
With so many great horror flicks coming
Turn to Movies, page 8