- 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
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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
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Tbe 0-P-Pide o-P /\dadernid Advising is looking -Po
well-or^ani&ed, dependable, independent
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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