Oregon Daily Emerald
Thursday, January 6, 2005
“Yes, I suppose most editors are failed
writers — but so are most writers. ”
T.S. Eliot | Poet
Night
of the
The WOW Hall will host
LIVING
a night of entertainment
with an amateur
Elvis impersonation
contest. A specially
created group of
musicians will
accompany the
impersonators and
contestants
while
onstage.
BY NATASHA
CHILINGERIAN
SENIOR PULSE
REPORTER
Ivis has not left the building—he will appear at the
WOW Hall on Saturday night equipped with a variety of
looks and personalities. Eugene's 16th annual "Night of
the Living Elvis" will attract Elvis fans of all ages for an evening of
professional impersonations, music and an amateur Elvis impersonation
contest.
H Since the Elvis tribute show debuted at Max’s Tavern in 1990, it
m has found success in Portland, Seattle, Salem and Bellingham,
M Wash., in addition to local productions. This will be the first year the
f Eugene show will take place outside bars so the under-21 crowd can
attend. It's also the first time Eugene will host an amateur Elvis contest.
"It's an opportunity for younger Elvis fans to come out," WOW Hall
Publicist Bob Fennessey said.
Appearing at "Night of the Living Elvis" will be a specially
created group of musicians who will accompany imper
sonators and contestants: guitarist John Barley, former
ly of the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins Band; drummer Dave
Fitzgerald, formerly of the Malchiks; tenor sax player
Sean Flannery; and keyboardist Dustin Lanker,
bassist Dan Schmid and trombone player Bryce Pelti
er, all of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Standing in for
Elvis himself will be three impersonators: Pete
Christie of Eugene, Fitzgerald and Mike Dippery, both
of Seattle.
ELVIS, page 10 ^
rwANGLER I Graphic artist
i
■ In my opinion
RYAN NYBURG
BUDGET RACK '
Animated shows
most appealing
So, did you all have a good vacation?
OK, enough idle chitchat. I have a theory I
wish to expound upon. Whenever I go home from
college, I tend to spend an inordinate amount of
time watching television. I guess the simple
pleasures and hometown charms of good ol'
Junction City just don't fill me with the same
sense of wonder and whimsy they used to. Of
course, when you come from a town where the
only thing open after 10 p.m. is the Chevron (ex
cept on Sundays) and the biggest thing happen
ing on a Saturday night involves a shotgun, a
flashlight and a large, ditch-dwelling vermin
known as a nutria, cable television will beat
hometown charm any day of the week.
ANIMATED, page 11
PULSEMUSIC PULSEMUSIC
Love. Angel. Music. Baby.: Gwen Stefani first
emerged onto the national music scene as the lead
singer of the ska band No Doubt in 1995, and its mega
hit album "Tragic Kingdom" produced fan favorites
such as “Spiderwebs" and "I’m Just a Girl." "Love. An
gel. Music. Baby." marks Stefani’s debut as a solo artist
and shows that she has developed into quite an original
woman. Stefani went through odd phases such as
baby-blue hair, bindis and braces before settling on an
old Hollywood glamour style with a quirky twist that
only Stefani can (occasionally) pull off. Her evolution is
apparent in "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." a mostly
Madonna-circa-1986 inspired pop album.
"Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” feels messy, butthere are
some definite hits, such as “The Real Thing” and “What
You Waiting For?,’’ which would send Stefani soaring to
diva status if the CD didn’t also includes some terrible
misses. The strange "Bubble Pop Electric,” in which Ste
fani channels her high-school days of losing her virginity to
her boyfriend in the back seat of his car, is a weird and un
comfortable song. Stefani also brings a high school feel to
the cheerleader-inspired “Hollaback Girl." Some critics
say it’s a hit, some say it’s ridiculous. I’d go with the latter.
The jump from hip-hop to rap to ‘80s grooves is a diffi
cult one to pull off. But having friends in high places can
sure help a girt, and with big name collaborators such as
The Neptunes, Dr. Dre, Eve and Outkast’s Andre 3000
lending their talents as producers and guest stars, “Love.
Angel. Music. Baby.” almost feels like a winner.
—Amy Lichty
INSIDE PULSE
The Rogue Ales Eugene City Brewery
offers good food and drinks, but it might
be outside the price range for students.
The final DVD collection of HBO’s popular
series, "Sex and the City," contains
special features fans will want to see.
The WOW Hall is involved in a dispute
with the city over the use of a lot next to
its property.
EVENTS
MOVIES
BOOKS
MUSIC
— PULSE.EUGENE
Tonight: Cloud Nine
Music, Sam Bond’s
Garage, 9 p.m., $4
Hip-hop, soul, house and
drum 'n' bass jams
Friday: First Friday
ArtWalk, Eugene Public
Library, 5:30 p.m. to
8:30 p.m., free
A monthly tour of local art
galleries and other artistic
attractions
Saturday: Brian
Collins, Tsunami’s in
Kowloon’s Restaurant,
9 p.m., $6
Stand-up comedy
Sunday: Oregon
\ Mozart Players, Beall
I Hall, 2:30 p.m., $40 for
' students and seniors
A classical performance of
“A Trumpet Will Sound”
TOP 5 MOVIES
1: "Meet the Fockers”
2: "Lemony Snicket’s
A Series of Unfortunate
Events”
3: "The Aviator”
4: “Fat Albert"
I 5: "Ocean’s Twelve”
NEW YORK TIMES
BEST-SELLERS
1: Dan Brown,
“The Da Vinci Code”
2: Mitch Albom,
“The Five People You Meet
in Heaven”
3: Michael Crichton,
“State of Fear”
4: Jimmy Buffett,
"A Salty Piece of Land”
5: James Patterson,
"London Bridges"
BILLBOARD TOP 5
1: Eminem, "Encore"
2: Various Artists,
“Now 17”
3: U2, “HowtoDismantle
an Atomic Bomb”
4: Destiny’s Child,
"Destiny Fulfilled”
5:ShamaTwain,
“Greatest Hits"