Pulse Editor
Jacquelyn Lewis
jacquelynlewis@dailyemerald.com
Oregon Daily Emerald
On Tuesday
Dreadlocks,
tattoos and
piercings
— oh my!
Thursday, January 23,2003
‘Star Wars’
has bounty
of options,
stiffs ores
Mason West
Movies/Music/TV Columnist
I love movies. I love video games.
The marriage of the two is so natural,
it would seem to be part of God’s plan.
Why, then, are there so many crap
py movie games?
I rented “The
Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers”
after some gaming
friends threw
around words such
as “awesome” and
“dude” on its men
tion. After seeing
the MTV documen
tary on making of
the game — which
has no precedent,
and in itself is
amazing — I knew that all the original
actors recorded the voices and that
there were snippets of movie footage
here and there.
The synergy the game has with the
films is impressive, but easily taken for
granted. It would be wholly unaccept
able to have scenes from the movie
and then have different voices for the
game cinema. But the movie selections
don’t really help the game. Sure, they
comfort me until I can buy the second
DVD, but otherwise I’m just waiting to
get to the gutting.
The game is essentially a brawler
where I slaughter assorted ores, gob
lins and trolls. So it really doesn’t mat
ter that Viggo Mortensen is the one
making Aragorn say: “Huh! Hoo!
Haa!" while I furiously mash buttons.
The other playable characters are
Legolas and Gimli, and once you beat
the game with all three, a secret char
acter becomes available. It’s not Gan
dalf. I don’t care.
There are other incentives to mas
tering the game, mostly interviews
with the actors, that dangle like carrots
promising to stretch out a relatively
short game. As it turns out, I don’t like
carrots that much.
Instead of putting me in the movie,
the game makes me feel removed by
my lack of play control — I hate games
where I can’t jump; real people can
jump — and insulted by the way the
game glances over the films. The game
action starts when Aragorn meets the
hobbits in “Fellowship” and continues
through the battle of Helm’s Deep at
the end of “Two Towers.” All this is 13
levels. Pfft. It’s like a Reader’s Digest
video game.
The game isn’t a loss, it’s just not up
to snuff. The battle at Helm’s Deep
(broken into three separate parts) is
frustratingly hard — it captures a feel
ing of despair from the books that
doesn’t always transfer in the film. You
know they’ll live in the movie. In the
game, you can die — and I did ... a lot.
A more successful franchise game is
“Star Wars: Bounty Hunter,” where
you play as Jango Fett. Like most Star
Wars games, this is an extension of the
Turn to West, page 6
Mason
West
Selling out
Music magic tuning up
Mark McCambridge Emerald
Mason West
Movies/M usic/TV Columnist
Any man who can throw a bass guitar to the floor, pull it back like a yo-yo
and then play notes that go faster than a hummingbird flaps its wings de
serves a modicum of respect. But when that man levitates, it’s time to get
on your knees.
Monday night, that man was Victor Wooten: bassist extraordinaire and,
apparently, amateur magician. During an introduction to “Yinin’ & Yan
gin’,” Wooten, clad in a casual Spider-Man baseball jersey, sat on a stool
and proceeded to put about three feet of air between him and the seat
— while still playing the bass. David Gopperfield has nothing
on this guy.
The word “virtuoso” was invented for him. He could pick
up a broom and make it sing. On one level, Wooten is a
musician’s musician. He did things with the bass that,
even though I was 15 feet away watching, I’m still ask
ing, “how.” All I saw was his right hand in a man
gled claw shape attacking the strings
and notes sprung forth like corn
popping to a tune.
But performance isn’t
having technique; it’s
using it. Wooten tru
ly understands the power
music has to touch people, and
he takes full advantage of it. Some
thing about the bass amplifies the con
nection. It has a physical sound that
literally penetrates people with warm tones
or thumping punches.
The show started in bombastic style, taking a few
cues from game show introductions. Accompanying
Wooten on stage were his brothers Regi (guitar) and
Joseph (keyboard), drummer Derico Watson and rap
per/bassist MG Divinity. Each musician stepped up
to the spotlight during the show as all others vacat
ed the stage.
Though Victor’s name was on the marquee,
Regi almost stole the show when, after an epic
solo that skated the boundary between music and
Turn to Wooten, page 7
Local band Wish covers ‘Abbey Road’
This Saturday, Wish will
play a psychedelic tribute
to the Beatles at the Wild
Duck Brewery
Helen Schumacher
Pulse Reporter
Local band Wish will channel the
legendary Liverpool group when
they perform the Beatles’ “Abbey
Road” album in its entirety. The
show will take place Saturday at the
Wild Duck Brewery.
Lead singer and guitarist Kent
Goodman said the performance
will be a trip back to the psyche
delic age. The musician, who ad
mits to lighting incense on stage,
said the group is attempting to
recreate the 1970s.
“We’ll have lava lamps and
British flags,” Goodman said. “I’d
like it if people came wearing bell
bottoms. We’ll be dressing up.”
The classic rockers who make up
Wish formed just over a year ago.
The band is composed of drummer
Scott Smith, bassist Erick Garman
and keyboardist Tom Schonhardt.
Also on keyboards and lead guitar
is G.R. Eyman. All members con
tribute vocals, as well.
Goodman, who lived in England
for a decade and moved to Eugene
about a year ago, said he hopes to
recreate the political feel of the
late 1960s. He said the mood
today is similar to that of the Viet
nam War era.
“The time is ripe again for ac
tion,” Goodman said. “I plan on
getting a little political.”
However, he said the show isn’t
just for aging baby boomers.
“The show is kind of timeless,”
Goodman said. “People still like
the music.”
The group said it decided to cov
er the Beatles because the mem
bers are all fans of the quartet.
“It was pretty much decided to
do this when we first formed,”
Smith explained. “We decided to
learn ‘Here Gomes the Sun,’ and we
did it so well we decided to try the
whole album.”
He also said the show springs from
Wish’s reverence for the Beatles.
“I have an emotional attachment
to the Beatles, and a lot of respect
for their music,” Smith said. “We
have such a love for the music and
who they were. It’s a tribute to
them, and to keep it alive.”
Smith said the band members
were especially fond of the “Abbey
Road” album.
Courtesy
“The entire album is connected
musically,” he said. “The B-side, in
particular, is one piece of music,
Turn to Wish, page 6