Indie freshness, teen issues populate McKay's 'Town'
Is a 90-minute film that tries to capture a high-school world of suicide, class differences, violence, rape, friendship, college fears, popularity and revenge trying too hard?
"Girls Town," written and directed by Jim McKay, subtly invites its audience to ask this question almost immediately.
Scrawl etches its way into indie rock scene
"Disintegrate and move on ..." sings Scrawl's main songwriter and guitarist Marcy Mays on the group's latest effort, "Travel On, Rider." For more than 10 years Ohio's Scrawl has been doing just that - moving on while quietly making a name for themselves in the indie rock scene.
Daniels' 'Apartment'delivers
Billed inexplicably as an "adult comedy," Jeff Daniels' latest play opened Friday to as many powerful silences from the audience as belly laughs.
"Apartment 3A," the first play of the Purple Rose Theater Company's 1996-97 season, coupled Daniels' effective common-man humor with his most passionate and inventive work yet.
Performance's 'House,' 'Julia' triumph
Dead silence enveloped the theater as the lighting on the stage began to reveal a mystical garden composed of two statues, a fountain and some hanging lamps. A well-dressed man (Jeffrey Willets) appeared with a book in hand as he began to read aloud a poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. As he closed the book on his completion of the sonnet, a piano struck out at the silence and carried Willets along with the music as he began to sing the first of four song cycles in the piece. In the background were slides of Rossetti's paintings of his love, Elizabeth Siddal, whom he lost to suicide two years after they were married. And that's where the dancing came in, adding yet another performance style to this piece.
Cherry Poppers come into Detroit
Any fan of ska is in for a big treat this Thursday night. This is due to the appearance of three excellent bands converging on the mecca of music venues, St. Andrew's Hall. Attending this ska-fest are Let's Go Bowling, Reel Big Fish (a seven-member, completely energetic ska band) and the Cherry Poppin' Daddies.
The music of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies is an unusual blend of swing and ska, added to a purely "modern rock" sensibility. This combination has made the Daddies one of the West Coast's most popular bands, consistently selling out shows throughout the Northwest and California. After touring extensively for the past year and a half, the Daddies are just now building a major fan base in the rest of the country. Their shows in the Midwest have met with relatively success, given their current status as somewhat of a "local" band from an entirely different part of the country. Fortunately, their style seems to be universally appealing.
10-09-96