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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 2004)
- Nyburg: Pop parodies help deflate musician pomp Continued from page 5 with his misogynist world view. While the shock of songs such as “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” and “The Masochism Tango,” they still retain their humor thanks to Lehrer’s skill at crafting ingeniously clever lyrics. Lehrer’s recordings have all been released on CD and are readily available just about anywhere. Both of these styles have imme diate followers. During the 1960s, there were two groups around that made truly excellent, and subsequently offensive, musical comedy. On the East coast there were the Fugs (pronounced like the expletive, only a little gruffer). Made up of a revolving list of New York City poets and musicians, the band made some of the funni est protest music of its time, as well as a few other nice satirical jabs at the Man. Songs such as “Kill for Peace” might have lost the context of the Vietnam conflict, but they still seem remarkably relevant today. So much for the power of protest, but still some damn fine work. Some of the Fugs’ tunes still can’t be played on the radio between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., which is some pretty good standing power. I recommend “The Fugs Second Album” as the must-have of their catalog. $49 two-day lift ticket $69 rooms Jk. THE INN Of THE SEVENTH MOUNTAIN mtbachelor.com/college 800-829-2442 Students only, 18-23, restrictions apply: The other group is (bet you saw this coming) Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. The Mothers took the Spike Jones ap proach to musical comedy, throw ing out satirical jabs at modern so ciety between passages of remarkably complex music. Even though the subjects of some of the satire might have long passed from memory, the music still contains one hell of a punch. Their third al bum, “We’re Only In It for the Money,” is one of the best comedy albums of any sort ever released. These days there is some pretty good musical comedy out there, but much of this is in the area of song parody, which means it has the shelf life of a slab of pork left out in the sun. Some bands stick out though, specifically Ween. The group has also taken the Spike Jones route, crafting border line-brilliant pop parodies that ac tually work on their own as mu sic. Their most recent studio album, “Quebec,” has its share of gems. Personal favorite: The pep py lounge pop of “Zoloft,” a song about the title happy pill. So it seems unlikely that humor and music will be separated any time soon. Not while there is still some pomp in need of deflatin’. ryannybu.rg@ daily emerald, com N€W titles every week it out in the bottom level of the EMU '0825 Wdfit 'to y/ovk v/itb fee 6\a\v\ ^veat e%feriende? Tbe 0-P-Pide o-P /\dadernid Advising is looking -Po well-or^ani&ed, dependable, independent work-study student to work as a Redeptionist/ y | Re-Perral Assistant- 'V Job desdription is posted on the website Jrv'gpL Applications are ■ Theater review Shakespeare's 'Tempest' proves intricate, hard to interpret Lord Leebrick's presentation of a classic play portrays a story of magic and the struggle between power and love BY NAIASHA CHILINGERIAN SENIOR PULSE REPORTER The same thing happens every time I attend a Shakespeare play. I struggle the whole time with the plot and meaning of the show, wanting to know what is going on because the characters’ emotions seem so compelling. I leave think ing the production might as well have been in German. The Lord Leebrick Theatre Company’s rendi tion of “Tempest,” while intriguing and well-acted, was another Shake speare play that forced me to search out the synopsis once I re turned home. Here’s the run-down of the story line: Prospero, the Duke of Milan, and his daughter Miranda, are sent by Prospero’s brother Antonio and the King of Naples, Alonso, to live on an island because Prospero neg lected his duties as a duke in order to study literature and magic. When the play opens, Prospero uses his magical powers to create a tempest to wreck a ship carrying Antonio (who has since become the Duke of Milan), Alonso, Alon so’s son Ferdinand and their friend Gonzalo. The shipmates scatter about the island; the only other inhabitants are Caliban, a monster-like servant of Prospero’s, and Ariel, a dainty spirit who also serves Prospero. While the survivors wander the island, Miran da and Ferdinand fall in love and characters battle over political and land ownership issues. A small cast of six portray the story, which gives it an intimate feel, but two of the actors each play two characters, which lends confu sion. Kimberly Bates plays both Mi randa and Ariel, and Christopher Hirsh portrays both Ferdinand and Caliban. It was hard to tell if their characters were separate people or if they just had multiple person alities. The stage setup created even more intimacy — a one-level room housed the production, and audience members walked across the stage to find their seats, which allowed for up-close views of the actors. A set consisting of branches, a tree trunk made into a fireplace, a tattered curtain and an old trunk with books, all in a dusty, gray color scheme, set an earthy mood for the play. Costumes were similarly drab, which created a consistent tone, but using color for Ariel’s costume would have fit her fairy-like charac ter a little better. Audio effects such as storm sounds and ringing bells added mysticism to Ariel and enhanced the performance. The tone of the story is mostly in tense, but humor is injected in a few spots. As Antonio, Alonso and Gonzolo wander the island, they find glowing bottles of booze in a closet and proceed into a few drunken scenes. In another, they come out for a hilarious Renaissance-style dance in royal clothing and full makeup. The romance between Miranda and Ferdinand is the most enjoyable inter action to watch — the love scenes are intense and dramatic. One strange aspect of the setup is how close the audience is to the stage. When someone got up to get a drink while the show was running, they were forced to walk right by the characters and appeared to be a part of the show. Also, beware if you have any allergies because one scene includes a sprinkling of some sort of powder by Prospero, which made some of the audience mem bers sneeze. I wouldn’t recommend “Tempest” unless you’re a true drama junkie. Shakespeare can be difficult to inter pret, especially this play, which has a ton of intricate meanings. It’s sort of like reading a really abstract poem and struggling to figure out its pur pose. But if you take the time to un derstand the plot beforehand, “Tem pest” can be an enjoyable story of magic and the interpretations of pow er and love. natchilingerian@ daily emerald, com Neighbors: Smaller crowds, drag shows a benefit at bar Continued from page 6 comes to Neighbors every Friday. “I come to Neighbors to drink and dance. It is laid back here and you can be yourself. This bar is not full of college kids who are full of themselves. People here are not out to talk about teams and to fight.” While overall Landis enjoys Neighbors, she does have a couple of complaints. “When I come to Neighbors on Fridays, I tend to come after the drag show is over because the drag queens perform to cheesy music and I don't like that. I don't like paying the cover when I am not entertained, and I can't dance when the drag show is going on because the drag queens take up the dance floor.” Landis also mentioned that she wishes the women's bathroom was bigger and didn’t always have such a long line. While the bar does attract a large gay/lesbian/bisexual crowd, hetero sexual customers are just as wel come and can have just as good a time as anyone else. “A bar is usually a place where you can go to meet people of the opposite sex to possibly get inti mate with. I do not come here with that same satisfaction. I don't have to worry about impressing other women. I can just be myself and nobody cares,” 27-year-old Steve Larson said. On the flip side, however, Larson complains that the more he acts like himself at the bar, the more he tends to attract the same sex. Larson initial ly started going to Neighbors because of a friend he has who is a lesbian. Neighbors offers a different theme for each night of the week. There are Karaoke Mondays, Tues day Men's Night, $2 Wednesdays, Thursday Women's Night, She bang! Fridays (Shebang! is a group of drag queen performers), and Sat urdays With DJ Lynda. Dancing nights at Neighbors consist of top 40, house and trance music. Neigh bors also features $1 Pabst and $2.50 well drinks at all times. Neighbors is conveniently located at 1417 Villard St. dahvifischer@ daily emerald, com Thanksgiving: Time with friends essential ingredient Continued from page 5 from the grocery store’s bakery sec tion. Town, who said he didn’t go home for the holiday on several occa sions when he was in college, added that spending time with friends is the last essential ingredient to making a successful Thanksgiving dinner. “ (My friends and I) used to go to a movie and just spend time together, which is really important,” he said. “If you can’t go home with a friend, stay here with a friend.” natchilingerian@dailyemerald.com Advertise in the ODE classifieds 346-4343 Events: Music shows, multiple fetish performances pack holiday weekend Continued from page 5 will take place in Gerlinger Hall, Room 220 and will last until 11:30 p.m. The cost is $5 for the general public and $4 for students and Uni versity faculty. On Saturday night, Sam Bond’s Garage is featuring K.O.P. and Dirty Little Pedro. The show be gins at 9:30 p.m. and costs $4. John Henry’s presents Jerry Joseph (of Stockholm Syndrome and the Jackmormons) and The Ginger Hustlers. The show starts at 9 p.m. and costs $7. Dan Neal will be performing at Cafe Par adiso. Described as a mix be tween Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, Neal also adds humor to his songs. The concert starts at 9 p.m. for $5. Finally, on Sunday, John Henry’s is hosting its Broadway Revue, Eu gene's only live burlesque show be ginning at 10 p.m. The Broadway Re vue features burlesque dancers, cabaret singers, go-go dancers, drag queens, comedians, magicians, hula hoopers and belly dancers. There is a $2 to $5 sliding scale admission and semi-formal attire is encouraged. At Sam Bond’s Garage, the Irish Jam for all ages begins at 4:30 p.m. and it’s free. At Diablo’s and the Downtown Lounge Sunday at 10 p.m., Fetish Night aka Happy Spanksgiving, will be going on. Cost is $5 at the door and the dress code is either all black clothing or fetish attire only. amylichty@ daily emerald, com
