M usic , M oviesand M ore

TheBuzz
Aug. 22. 2005
Music, Movies and More
MUSIC: The Reggaeton scene brings the beat to Southern California
MOVIE: “Red Eye” falls short while Four Brother pleases viewers
MORE: Restaurant reviews, book reviews, plus the latest entertainment news
2 THE BUZZ
Contents
02 Entertainment News
03 Restaurant
aurant Rev
Review
Flashback Favorite
Book Review
04 Movie Reviews
05 Movie Reviews Cont.
06 Concert Venues
07 Teen Choice Awards
08 Concert Reviews
ON THE COVER: Lennox, part
of the group Zion y Lennox at
the Gibson Amphitheatre (photo by Mahsa Khalilifar)
THE BUZZ
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
AMANDA PENNINGTON
A
ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
MAHSA KHALILIFAR
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
NICOLE M. SMITH
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
CAN SENGEZER
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
EMILY ALFORD
PRODUCTION
AMANDA PENNINGTON
MAHSA KHALILIFAR
THE
INSIDE
BUZZ
By MAHSA KHALILIFAR
Daily Titan Asst. Entertainment Editor
Hey guys, it is time for our first
issue of the semester and it is time
for the first Inside Buzz of the
new section for Fall 2005… this is
where you will get the latest scoop
on the celebrities and music makers making headlines in the news
and let you know what Hollywood
has been up to … Eminem a.k.a.
Marshall Mathers has cancelled
the European leg of his Anger
Management Tour which also featured rapper and protégé 50 Cent.
Looking more fatigued than usual,
the 32-year-old notorious rapper
is blaming it on exhaustion. His
publicist has confirmed that he has
been admitted to a center to get
treated for his addiction to sleeping medication. The dates for the
tour will not be rescheduled … another drug addiction story, singer
of the group Courtney Love has
admitted to being under the influence while under probation for a
past incident. Shocked? Didn’t
think so but nevertheless she was
ordered by a judge to complete
a 28-day drug treatment facility
according to People. The rocker
has been in and out of court the
past few years and going against
her probation terms can be possible jail time in the future … on
to marriages and divorces … Jennie McCarthy and
her husband, John
Asher, of about six
years are getting a
divorce. The 32year-old McCarthy
and
34-year-old
Asher have a 3-year
old boy, but have
cited irreconcilable
difference according
to reps … on wedding news, “Desperate Housewives” star
and
Emmy-nominated Marcia Cross
(plays compulsive housewife Bree
Van De Kamp) is engaged at 43 to
a stockbroker. It will be the first
wedding for both … Another first
was Julia Robert making her first
music video appearance. The actress and mom of twins is featured
on the new Dave Matthews Band’s
video appropriately titled “Dreamgirl” … Mom Madonna is recovering now after her severe fall
on her 47th birthday. The famed
A new Ent. Guide
Welcome to The Buzz Titans!
The formally named Full Effect
section has now been revamped
and renamed.
We still have your old favorites
such as Flashback Favorite, movie
reviews, music reviews, and DVD
reviews, but we are adding more
things into the mix. Each issue,
we are going to try to bring you
the most updated music, movie,
and media news we can find.
This semester we are going to
have MORE of an in-depth look
at music performers, concerts,
and other events taking place in
the entertainment world.
In this issue, we have gotten in-
terviews and backstage information that we want you as a reader
to enjoy.
In the upcoming issues we will
have more interviews up-closeand-personal with local and also
big artists … we are just excited
to bring you an entertainment
guide you can check out every
Thursday and hope you will like!
If there is anything you would
like to request or want to see
more of in The Buzz, send us an
e-mail and we will make it happen! Thanks!
Your Buzz Entertainment,
Amanda & Mahsa
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES
LESLEY WU, DERRICK SALATNAY,
VANESSA RUMBLES, RICH BOYD,
KIMBERLY LEUNG, JACKIE KIMMEL
The Daily Titan 714.278.3373
T
The Buzz Editorial 714.278.5426 [email protected]
Editorial Fax 714.278.4473
The Buzz Advertising 714.278.3373 [email protected]
Advertising Fax 714.278.2702
The Buzz , a student publication, is a supplemental insert for the Cal State Fullerton Daily Titan. It
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is printed every Thursday. The Daily Titan operates independently of Associated Students, College
of Communications, CSUF administration and the CSU system. The Daily Titan has functioned
as a public forum since inception. Unless implied by the advertising party or otherwise stated,
advertising in the Daily Titan is inserted by commercial activities or ventures identified in the advertisements themselves and not by the university. Such printing is not to be construed as written
or implied sponsorship, endorsement or investigation of such commercial enterprises.
Copyright ©2004 Daily Titan
CHANTEL CANIPE/ For the Daily Titan
Reggaeton perfomers Angel (right) and Khriz with Asst. Entertainment
Editor Mahsa Khalilifar in L.os Angeles before their show at Gibson Amphitheatre. Look at pg. 8 for more on the story and concert review.
singer was rushed to a hospital
on Tuesday where she was found
to have a broken hand, a broken
collarbone and three cracked ribs
according to MTV News. The
incident happened while she was
riding a horse but her reps say she
is recovering and it will not affect
her November 15 ‘Confessions
on a Dance Floor,” album release
date … new notable CD releases
coming out this Tuesday include
rapper Kanye West’s “Late Registration” … singer Rihanna’s “Music of The
Sun,” which features
her popular summer
single “Pon De Replay”
… band 30 Seconds
to Mar’s “A beautiful
Lie,” and singer Anastacia’s self-titled album
“Anastacia” … new
DVD releases this week
include … Penelope
Cruz’s “Sahara (widescreen edition)” …
Hit series “Curb Your
Eminem
Enthusiasm – The Complete Fourth Season,” … and Jennifer Lopez’s comedy “Monsterin-Law” … Celebrity sighting of
the week: The Gotti Brothers and
comedian Andy Dick talking with
fans at the Teen Choice Awards
post FOX VIP Party at Jillian’s in
Universal City Walk … Celebrity
gossip of the week: Mase signing
up to be part of the G-Unit crew?
…. Stay tuned for that and more
on the next Inside Buzz ...
MEDIA
REVIEWS
3
Newport Beach Sushi bar is on a roll
By JULIE KIM
Daily Titan Opinion Editor
When I hear the word sushi,
I usually think of a lot of dislikable adjectives. “Slimy” is one;
“squishy” is another and “raw” always comes to mind.
But the food at California Beach
Restaurant & Sushi Bar, located
in Newport Beach is acutally delicious. Even better for a broke college student, it was moderately
priced.
What did conjure up those same
adjectives: slimy, squishy and raw
was the strange debauchery that
went on inside, with some sushi
chefs drinking what looked like
shots of Sake and female customers
voluntarily going up to be groped
and oogled.
But putting aside the possible
legal and definite ethical issues for
a moment, for anyone who could
handle the heat – and I’m not just
talking about the wasabi – the menu
at California Beach Restaurant offered enough tasty appetizers, sushi, hand rolls and dinner entrees to
satisfy most palates.
Guests recommended the spicy
tuna roll ($6.50 for a cut or about
eight pieces) and the popular California roll ($6 for a cut with the
same amount of pieces). The restaurant also carried salmon skin,
vegetable and shrimp asparagus
rolls – to name but a few – and
cucumber rolls ($3.50 for a cut or
about four to five pieces), which,
to the dismay of my younger sister,
ended up being just cucumber slices wrapped in seaweed and rice.
In addition, the shrimp and
vegetable tempura dinner entrée
($11.50) was surprisingly filling
and induced some lip smacking; it
comes with miso soup, fresh salad
with a light dressing, a side dish of
cooked rice and shrimp pieces and
various vegetables all fried in flour
batter.
At the risk of sounding like a food
critic on “Iron Chef,” the crispiness
of the seafood and vegetables was
a nice contrast to the smooth miso
and rice.
Those on a diet can keep it light
with a simple mixed baby greens
salad ($4.50) or the calamari salad
($10). Others with heartier appetites can enjoy Sake bombs ($6 per
Sapporo beer and $6.25 per Sake
bottle) and take advantage of the
50 percent-off “All-You-Can-Eat
Specials,” which offer choices like
beef tataki sashimi ($5) or Cajun
ahi steak ($4.50).
In addition to the cuisine, the
setting for the 20-year-old California Beach Restaurant & Sushi Bar
was agreeable. The small building,
nestled smack dab in the center of
Newport Beach’s business district,
has a welcoming feel, with unassuming American pop music blaring from the sound system and a
105-inch TV next to the bar.
But despite the good food and
seemingly homely atmosphere, the
rampant hedonism I witnessed my
first time at the restaurant – friends
Flashback Favorite
‘Smurfs’ brings smiles
By VIRGINIA TERZIAN
Daily Titan Asst.Production Editor
It was your typical Tuesday
night and I had decided to try
out my new facial mask. Applying an even coverage of
the blue goop onto my face
and waiting patiently for it
to dry, I suddenly heard the
doorbell ring.
I frowned, hoping that
someone else would open
the door.
But as the bell rang for
the third time, I got up and
headed for the front door.
Placing my hands in front
of my face and making a silent prayer that it was just a
Jehovah’s Witness, I opened
the door to find my uncle.
He took one look at me in
my blue state, and said,
“You look like a Smurf.”
“The Smurfs” was one
of my favorite cartoons as
a child. Where else in the
world do over a hundred
blue creatures that stand
three apples tall, live in a
village filled with kindness, happiness and joy exist?
Episodes consisted of the
Smurf’s outsmarting Gargamel,
the evil wizard and lone villain.
by working as a team.
The show taught children
that size didn’t matter in the big
scheme of things if the smurfs
were willing to work together
they could defeat anyone.
The Smurfs each had a skill
and each had a responsibility to
keep the village safe and running like a well-oiled machine.
Some cooked, some cleaned, but
they were all good creatures living near the woods, making the
world a better Smurf place one
Smurf-day at a Smurf time.
The characters were named
based on what they could do:
Brainy Smurf, the smart one;
543-year-old Papa Smurf, the
leader and father of the 100member bunch and a very powerful wizard who was always
blowing things up by mistake; Smurfette, one of two
girls in the land of blue boys
and originally created by Gargamel as a ploy to destroy the
happy Smurf village; Handy
Smurf, who was good with
tools; and Lazy Smurf, who
wasn’t good at anything but
sleeping.
What I remember most
fondly about “The Smurfs”
was the fact that practically every other word out of
the characters’ mouths was
“Smurf” or “Smurf-esque,”
making for a very interesting
dialogue and years of inside
jokes between my fellow
Smurf fans and myself. As
we sit during long car rides,
it’s common for at least one
of us to ask, “Are we there
yet, Papa Smurf?”
Despite some of the controversy that always follows the
show like the fact that Smurfette
was originally the only female
Smurf in the show, it was popular for most of the 1980s and
will always hold a special place
in this Smurf’s heart.
JULIE KIM/Daily Titan Opinion Editor
California Beach Restaurant & Sushi Bar is located at 3355 Via Lido Suite
H at Newport Beach. For hours and information call (949) 675-0575
have observed similar behavior on temporary tattoos onto apparently
other occasions – left me unsettled drunk customers, the establishment
and somewhat disturbed.
should re-organize itself so that
If the sushi chefs would like children aren’t allowed in.
to continue to drink at work and
For those who are not faint at
continue to rub, what looked like, heart: Enjoy.
Stale Yale lets
loose with Chloe
By VIRGINIA TERZIAN
Daily Titan Asst.Production Editor
I’ve always felt that there are
three kinds of books in the world:
ones that you read and think “I’m
a better person for reading this,”
ones you read and think “I want
my money back for this piece
of junk,” and then there are the
best kinds of book out there like
“Chloe Does Yale” By Natalie
Krinsley, which will put you in a
great mood.
This funny, fantastically sarcastic, and well-written book was
not at all the kind of girlie book
I was envisioning when a friend
recommended it to me this summer. When I finally sat down and
read the novel I couldn’t stop
smiling, let alone put it down.
The story is a fictional firsthand account of the life of Chloe,
a junior literature major at Yale
University and Writer of “Sex
in the (Elm) City,” a column
in the Yale Daily News. Based
on Krinsley’s true life story, the
book shows life through the eyes
of the young 20-something as she
searches for Mr. Right, or at least
Mr. Right-Now, while being a Blist celebrity at Yale as the author
of the school’s sex column.
Chloe is a “half Israel Jew, half
Wasp, New Yorker” as she describes herself searching for love
and a good time. The story follows
Chloe as she goes through a year
of crazy ups and downs that any
woman can relate to while searching for love and a good time.
The book is a combination of
life through Chloe’s eyes as she
deals with her family, heartbreak
and her crazy friends. The book
follows her parenting in such
important events as the annual
Exotic Erotic party - where students dress in next to nothing- to
the ever popular Harvard versus
Yale football game, a time-honored tradition of getting drunk in
a parking lot to poker night. The
book also includes Chloe’s editorials, which talk about everything
from sex to shaving to falling in
love.
But, it isn’t all about Chloe.
Some of the best parts of this
book occur when Chloe is talking
with or about the secondary characters such as Bonnie, her goodhearted but at times close-minded
roommate, friends like hot Rob,
activist Adam and her friend Lisa,
who is sleeping with not one, but
two of her professors.
What makes this book so amusing is that it isn’t what you would
expect.
While the book is not something I’d recommend to the Alpha-males out there, this is a book
I can recommend to any woman
with a little time to kill.
As a friend of mine put it after
I lent her the book “You may not
be intellectually better for it, but
you’ll be in a better mood.”
4 MOVIE
REVIEWS
‘Deuce’ sequel a dud
By COURTNEY PUGATCH
For the Daily Titan
Dreamworks Pictures
‘Red Eye’ makes
viewers drowsy
By NICK COOPER
Daily Titan Asst. News Editor
I walked into Wes Craven’s
new thriller, “Red Eye” with
very mixed feelings. On one
hand, he is the genius behind
“A Nightmare on Elm Street”
and “Scream,” which were
both awesome movies that
kept me on the edge of my
seat. On the other, movies
such as “Vampire in Brooklyn,” which is only good for
a quick laugh, and “They” left
me wondering if I would ever
pay money to see another horror movie again.
I was right to be apprehensive.
From its predicable thrills
to its slow dialogue, the movie
“Red Eye” left me with mixed
feelings. It has its high points,
such as the climatic ending sequence that, while it had an “oh
my god, he’s standing behind
the door” feeling to it, was still
fast-paced enough to entertain
the audience and cause at least
one good jump.
Sadly, one has to sit through
the first hour and-some-oddminutes of the movie while
the characters are aboard the
plain. The audience is left
wondering if the movie will
ever take flight or if the thrills
were delayed do to inclement
weather.
I was somewhat impressed
with the on-screen chemistry
between main characters Jackson (Cillian Murphy) and Lisa
Reisert (Rachel McAdams).
Their witty banter helps to add
some slight humor and speed
up the slower parts of the film,
namely the whole airplane
scene.
The film revolves around
Lisa, who is faced with a
choice: to help in the assassination of a major government
figurehead or stand by helplessly as her father dies.
As their lives hang in the
balance, Lisa must use any resource at her disposal to save
their lives and stop the charming bad guy. A formulaic plot
with few genuine thrills, “Red
Eye” tries to keep the audience at the edge of their seat
but falls short.
At only 85 minutes, this
film is good for a quick if not
subtle rush of thrills that marks
Craven’s best attempt at horror
and might help people forget
“Cursed,” his cheesy attempt
at the werewolf genre.
As the summer of sequels and
remakes comes to a close, one
more sneaks just under the radar.
Reprising his role from the 1999
comedy by the same name, Rob
Schneider stars once again as
Deuce Bigalow—a gigolo with all
the wrong moves and the biggest
of hearts.
Produced by Happy Madison
Productions and directed by Mike
Bigelow, “Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo” takes place several
years after the original. This go
around, Deuce has to rejoin the
working class of gigolos when
Deuce’s former pimp T.J. Hicks
(Eddie Griffin) is accused of murdering the greatest gigolo in Europe.
Working undercover, Deuce
wines and dines the former clients
of the elite, deceased prosti-dudes
in order to figure out just who is
the murderer and clear his friend’s
name.
Hidden beneath a semi-sappy
love story that mirrors the relationship with former girlfriend Kate in
the original “Bigalow,” the viewer
will immediately notice that it’s
the same storyline as before-- but
instead of Hollywood, Deuce finds
Columbia Pictures
himself in Holland. When he’s not
trying to find love with the quirky
Eva (Hanna Verboom), a girl with
over 100 different obsessive compulsive disorder habits, he’s instead working his quirky style of
man-whoring with the clients.
For 80 minutes the movie drags
on to what can only be described
as a series of unfunny events, each
more grotesque than the previous
one.
Schneider’s inability to act is
only second to the fact that the
movie utilizes toilet humor to
produce scenes that make the audience wince instead of laugh.
“Bigalow” goes for the cheap
laugh, whether it’s a client’s feline
playing with more than one set of
balls or even awkward appendage
humor. Instead of laughing at the
antics on screen, the viewer tends
to feel queasy—such as learning
that it isn’t just snot coming from a
woman’s nose during the ballroom
dance.
It is clear that “Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo” is targeted
to pre-pubescent males, which
is very odd considering that the
movie garnered an R rating from
the MPAA.
The admission fee to the movie
would be better spent watching a
film that allows the viewer to retain a few brain cells during the
movie.
Suspense is ‘key’ in Hudson film
By JENNIFER BELLENDIR
For the Daily Titan
Universal Pictures’ “The Skeleton Key” keeps the audience thinking and on the edge of their seats
with continuous revelations and
an abstract plot. If you are looking
for an easy scare,
look elsewhere.
Although there
are a few teeth
clenching, hold
onto your seat
thrills, the majority of the film
is spent in constant suspense as
the pieces of the
puzzle are put
together,
until
all questions are
answered in the
end.
Kate Hudson
moves out of the
comedy/drama realm
into this horror/thriller to play Caroline, a young nurse
who is hired as the caregiver for an
elderly woman’s dying husband.
Caroline must move into the couple’s aging mansion, located in the
swampy outskirts of New Orleans,
where the magic of hoodoo still
peers its evil eye time and again.
When creaks and bangs in the
attic spark Caroline’s interest, her
detective senses prevail and she
embarks on a mystery that has
lasted 90 years.
As she unravels the secret of
what really caused her patient’s
stroke, not only does she learn that
people are not who they seem to
be, but she also begins to believe
in the magic of the south herself.
Hudson’s performance is phenomenal, proving she is a versatile
actress.
The audience gets sucked into
her detective demeanor as they
follow along with the trail of clues
right beside her. Gena Rowlands,
who plays the elderly woman Violet, is the villain we love to hate;
think Kathy Bates in “Misery.” Although John Hurt, the dying husband Ben, only says three words in
the film, his facial expressions are
enough to give chills.
Lastly, Peter Sarsgaard plays
the
handsome, young
man developing into Caroline’s love
interest until
he pulls a 180,
answering so
many lingering questions.
Made by the
creators
of
“The Ring,”
the
movie
has the same
ghostly feeling with a
mystery that
Universal Pictures
needs solving,
although not as
many scares.
The trailer does not give justice to this film, nor do the harsh
reviews, but “The Skeleton Key”
will not disappoint. It is a suspenseful film that will leave you in
awe, with many revelations still to
be discovered on the drive home.
MOVIE
REVIEWS
5
Sweet revenge proves successful
By LISAJOYCE VERGARA
For the Daily Titan
From director John Singleton,
who directed “Boyz N the Hood”
and “Baby Boy,” comes a story
about four brothers, Bobby (Mark
Wahlberg), Jerry (Andre Benjamin, from the music group OutKast), Angel (Tyrese Gibson), and
Jack (Garrett Hedlund, “Troy”),
who come from different walks of
life and were raised by their loving mother who adopted them and
saved them from the mean streets
of Detroit.
One tragic night, their mother,
Evelyn (Fionnula Flanagan), isgunned down in a liquor store robbery. Police are on the scene investigating her killers, but the Mercer
brothers unravel the death to be a
set-up, execution style.
Despite their different races,
they are bound by ties thicker than
blood. They all come together to
bury their mother and to bury her
killers. The brothers are determined to find her killers and will
stop at nothing to find answers.
While the movie revolves
around a murder, it also focuses on
how the brothers grew up together
and lean on each other in their time
of tragedy.
The boys were the worst of all
delinquents. No one wanted to
adopt these four troubled boys until one woman saw the goodness
inside each of them. Bobby, the
hot-headed big brother is an exthug, Jerry is the ex-hustler, Angel
is the pretty boy and ex-thug of
the family, while Jack is the baby
boy rocker. Together for the first
time in years the four catch up on
their lives while dealing with their
mother’s death.
The four set out a mission to
find these thugs. Aside from police
investigation, they decide to take
the murder into their own hands.
Their investigation intensifies and
they start to use methods outside
the law.
Violence and bloodshed is
showcased throughout this actionpacked film, with gun battles, car
chases and good old-fashioned fist
fighting.
Singleton once again brings out
Paramount Pictures
the best in filmmaking with his
signature action and drama filled
sequences. The ethnically mixed
cast gives great chemistry of different personalities. It was strange
to me to see Andre from OutKast
in this because I didn’t know he
could act and he’s actually good!
Watch this movie, it’s a must-see!
40-year-old
Hustle keeps it movin’
virgin star still
not getting any
By DAVID BARRY
Daily Titan News Editor
By SUZANNE SULLIVAN
Daily Titan Photo Editor
The film 40-Year-Old Virgin
is about Andy Stitzer, a man who
works in an electronic store, lives
in an apartment filled with action
figures and video games, and who
is, big shock…a virgin!
40-Year-Old Virgin looked like
a promising film initially, with
Steve Carrell from “The Daily
Show with Jon Stewart” and the
american version of The Office
playing the main character and
Judd Apatow, director and cowriter with Carrell who has been a
part of many entertaining tv shows
and movies (Freaks and Geeks
and Anchorman), it seemed like it
was destined for comic gold.
The fatal flaw is that all of these
jokes have been done before: the
over-sexed females that scare
Andy, the co-workers who give
horrible advice, and the stunted
man who still plays with action
figures.
Catherine Keener, plays Carrell’s love interest, Trish, who
works across the street from him
in her “We Sell Things on Ebay”
store. Andy meets Trish when she
comes into the electronic store to
buy a VHS player. After a week or
so, Andy finally gets the nerve to
go over to her shop and ask her for
a date. The relationship between
the characters is fairly dull and as
the story progresses you don’t really care if they stay together.
The supporting characters are
not developed enough to make
them interesting. They try to assist
Andy on a quest to get laid, but
while they are experienced, they
too have no success with women.
Paul Rudd’s character, David, is
obsessed with his cheating exgirlfriend, Jay (Romany Malco)
cheats on his girlfriend, and Cal
(Seth Rogen) doesn’t have a girlfriend either.
The minute a character comes
into view, you know exactly what
he is going to say. It’s not to say
that predictability is what kills
everything, but a film needs to
have a little imagination. What is
sad is that the funniest scene of
the movie is the last scene, once
you have already given up on the
movie.
No chemistry between characters, a plot that is annoyingly
predictable, and jokes that are just
not that funny.
Once the excitement of buying
textbooks dies down and the endof-summer blues settle in, one may
find oneself browsing the comedy
section of Blockbuster or Netflix,
searching for that perfect distraction.
Fresh out on DVD, “Kung Fu
Hustle” delivers the kick-ass martial arts spoof that its trailers promise. Surprisingly, it contains a bit
more substance than most farces,
action flicks or combinations
thereof.
Stephen Chow, who also wrote,
directed and produced the film,
plays Kung Fu Hustle’s main character, Sing, a wannabe Kung Fu
gangster. He desperately wants to
join the violently successful Axe
Gang, but his incompetence seems
to doom him to the life of a petty
criminal or a homeless person.
Sing’s wretchedness is somehow
endearing – so much so that the
audience is magically hustled into
rooting for him to transform into a
hero either a hero or anti-hero.
This transformation, hinted at in
the opening title sequence which
shows a butterfly fluttering along a
Grand Canyon-like landscape, materializes in the strangest of ways.
More fumbling than fluttering,
Sing and his loser sidekick enter an
impoverished district – Pig Sty Alley – and try to extort money from a
barber who has just given the sidekick a reasonably good hair cut.
Sony Pictures
Sing complains that the haircut
doesn’t make his friend look tough
enough, and demands ‘protection’
money from the barber. This logic
doesn’t work with the bumpkin of
a barber, who’s genius is not noticing that his sagging pants reveal a
bit too much cheek.
Sing’s sidekick also tries to intimidate the barber, but suddenly
falls into a narcoleptic nap. When
Sing continues to harass the barber, the other residents step up to
defend him. Sing singles out people from the crowd who appear to
be weak, but when they approach
they are considerably taller or more
muscular than they first appeared
to be. An older woman approaches
Sing and gut punches him so hard
he spits blood. She turns out to be
quite sturdier than she appeared.
Several other Pig Sty Alley residents reveal unlikely strength and
fighting skills. A cowering tailor, a
reserved noodle cook, and a humble coolie deliver unexpected help
to defend their Pig Sty from the
Axe Gang that Sing desperately
wants to join.
These unlikely heroes, and others, emerge from their masks of
weakness and idiocy with strengths
sometimes even unknown to
them.
Like the bumbling, mumbling
fool in “Office Space,” Sing steps
out of the rubble of his senseless
life and into one neither he nor
the audience imagined. In other
words: this DVD is a perfect distraction from the start-of-the-semester stress.
6 MAINSTREAM
Small venues bring big fun for students
By NICK COOPER
Daily Titan Asst. News Editor
It’s the start of a new semester; a
time for homework, books and the
debt left behind from tuition and
fees. School though is still simple
enough to enjoy a night out or two
without the worry of tests or papers. Luckily there are some cool
places to spend those hard earned
and little dollars close to campus.
Listen up music lovers, three
cool concert venues are no less
then 20 minutes away from campus.
“I go to concerts because they’re
fun, the crowd is full of energy and
it wears off on me,” said Christina
Tichenor a frequent concert goer.
The Glass House in Pomona
and is about 17 miles away from
campus. Located at 200 W. Second St. the Glass House is an all
age venue that plays a variety of
music but sticks mainly to rock
and independent music.
“Being an all age venue helps to
draw people in,” said Mike Ojeda
a promotor for the Glass House,
“Also we like to mix it up. A lot of
other venues play the same types
of music. We have a large variety
of shows.”
The Glass House has had many
small acts play that have since
blown up with success, he said.
Bands like the White Stripes and
Bright Eyes played at the Glass
House.
“Many bands that are well
known played here,” Ojeda said,
“now that they’re famous they’re
NICK COOPER/Daily Titan Asst. News Editor
The stage is set for a night of rock and punk at the Glass House, an all age concert venue in Pomona, Calif.
a little harder to get though.”
Hundreds of band T-shirts clutter the walls of The Chain Reaction another all age venue located
in Anaheim. This small venue
packs a great price and has a great
line up of bands to choose from.
Though lacking in decent ventilation, Chain Reaction is the closest
to campus. It is located near the
corner of Lincoln Avenue and Euclid street.
“A lot of great bands play at the
Chain Reaction,” Tichenor said.
“I’ve recently seen Dashboard
Confessional and am looking forward to seeing Rufio there soon.”
If it’s VIP rooms, dining and
good music your looking for try
The Galaxy Concert Theater in
Santa Ana, a mere 15 miles from
campus off Harbor Boulevard.
“We get a pretty good amount
of local bands,” said Marjy Taylor,
a director of marketing and publicity for the Galaxy Concert Theater.
“We try not to restrict ourselves to
a typical style of music. We have
club nights, DJs, local nights, even
Reggae, although we don’t do a lot
of Hip Hop.”
At each venue tickets are moderately priced at $10 and up which
makes seeing live bands a great
alternative to the mundane trip to
the movie theater.
MAINSTREAM
7
FOX awards show still tops teen’s list
By MAHSA KHALILFAR
Daily Titan Asst. Entertainment Editor
2005 was another big year in
the young Hollywood scene. Fans
were introduced to the new young
Hollywood newlyweds- One Tree
Hill’s pretty Sophia Bush and
cutie Chad Michael Murray; Britney Spears got pregnant; Lindsay
Lohan went blonde; and lastly of
course, the Olsen Twins’s latest
conquests.
The important issues of today
might not be the above tokens of
Hollywood fact vs. fiction but for
a night, the Teen Choice Awards
last week embraced such gossip
and just had what teens want:
fun!
I went to the show hoping to
glimpse some of my favorite acts
from my teen years and just when
the show seemed mundane and
rather boring, surprise superstars
made the show worth it all.
A skinnier version of actress
and singer Hillary Duff hosted
the soiree alongside funny man
Rob Schneider, who’s in the new
movie “Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolow.”
Gwen Stefani put on quite
a show, opening the awards in
marching band uniform and all.
The crowd was pleasantly surprised as Stefani came in with
her borrowed marching band and
was feet away from adoring fans
in the audience.
The singer’s fashion sense was
less then stellar at the awardsshowing off what seemed to be
boxers under her white shortsbut she was a crowd favorite.
The singer showed up alongside her husband, Bush singer
Gavin Rossdale and she took
home the Visionary Award for her
influence on the teen generation.
Other performers included
Black Eyed Peas, who opted for
a Halloween colored orange and
black stage and outfit set-up and a
heartfelt performance by Simple
Plan, who sang their newest single “Untitled,” which discusses
the scary consequences of drinking and driving to the target teen
crowd.
Big Hollywood names also
joined in last Sunday’s award
festivities. Singer, Mariah Carey,
came out surprising the mostly
young audience and famed ac-
MAHSA KHALILIFAR/Daily Titan
Hulk Hogan, pictured here at the
Teen Choice Awards which was
taped last Sunday in L.os Angeles.
tresses Halle Berry and Demi
Morre (who was with Ashton)
were among the guests.
Teen Choice Award pleaser
and annual visitor Jim Carey,
who won best movie bad guy for
“Lemony Snicket’s: A series of
Unfortunate Events,” and funny
man Adam Sandler.
Other winners of the night
included choice hotties Rachel
Bilson from “The OC,” and Murray; Rachel McAdams and Ryan
Gosling, who won many awards
for their movie “The Notebook;”
Sandra Bullock for Ms. Congeniality Two; and Gilmore Girl’s
Alexis Bledel for choice “it” girl
and choice TV actress for a comedy.
Paris Hilton also showed up to
the event with a new shorter do
and the Hogan family came to
watch the show, while the head
of the household: Terry a.k.a.
“Hulk” Hogan was a presenter.
The show was short, simple,
and had quite a few surprises.
A few bleeps from Sandler and
the Wayan Brothers made the audience anticipating what would
come next. Although those were
not the only highlights of the
show, they made the awards interesting.
One highlight was when Ashton Kutcher accepted choice male
TV personality and had an audience member read his speech.
The audience was laughing away
and the Punk’d star was charismatic as usual.
The official FOX networksponsored after-party, which also
broadcasted the awards show,
was held at a location nearby in
the City Walk, and some celebrities hung out to take pictures with
fans.
Guests were given free gift
bags full of goodies such as bags
and shirts at the party. Food and
drinks were also complimentary.
people also played games, courtesy of FOX.
Overall, the awards served as a
place for singers, actors, and other Hollywood elite get together
and have a fun time.
The audience was able to purchase tickets to see their favorite
young celebrities, so overall the
FOX show was a teen hit.
The show was no Oscar extravaganza, but still entertaining
to the young generation.
8 MUSIC
REVIEWS
Reggaeton brings the noise to SoCal
By MAHSA KHALILFAR
Daily Titan Asst. Entertainment Editor
Gibson Amphitheatre was once
again filled with the screams of
fans, mostly of Hispanic decent,
on Friday night as Reggaeton
once again invaded the L.A. area
to the delight of concert goers.
The concert started at around 8
p.m. and ended a little past midnight, ending a little earlier than
the first Reggaeton Invasion in
the same theatre months earlier,
but it still left many people content with the show.
Reggaeton stars Zion y Lennox, Wisin y Yandel, Angel y
Khriz, Ivy Queen and others performed for their Latin fans in the
audience and let the music speak
for itself.
The four-hour show was filled
with energy despite some empty
seats and notable big acts such
as Don Omar and Daddy Yankee
missing from the second Reggaeton invasion, the performances
were still good and the amphitheatre was filled to close capacity.
In the orchestra section of the
seating, audiences were given
towels that advertised Wisin y
Yandel’s album and gave sweaty
concert-goers something to wipe
off with after their dance moves
got them worked up.
The show featured many radio
hosts in the show as well, such as
96.3’s Miko, who seemed to be
the MC for the event.
The new Latin radio station
96.3 has been hitting airwaves for
a few months now and has been a
hit among Reggaeton fans. Also
radio personality, Kool-Aid, from
Power 106 got the crowd pumped
up.
The undisputed queen of Reggaeton, Ivy Queen, definetly had
the best show of the night and
mixed Westside urban sounds
with latin beats to make the show
a rythmic showcase.
Wisin y Yandel, a Reggaeton
duo that has gotten a huge fan
base, especially with their recent
hit “Rakkata,” made younger fans
scream and dance to their heart’s
desire.
We caught up with Reggaeton
performers Angel y Khriz a day
before the show.
The Puerto Rican duo still resides in the home country but
flew in for the show.
Both of the singers/rappers
were dressed casually but also
full of bling bling that you would
think they were your average
famed hip hop singers.
Although Angel’s English is
limited, Khriz’s English is fairly
decent and we sat and talked about
their excitement for the show.
“We are very happy to be in the
same boat with the other singers,”
Khriz said about the next day’s
show. “Sharing this experience
together is more important then
money.”
Angel y Khriz formed their
group a couple of years ago in
Puerto Rico in their early adult
years, and now Angel, 25, and
Khriz, 24, are really glad that the
Reggaeton scene has exploded
onto mainstream markets.
Their song “Ven Bailalo” is
burning up the Latin Billboard
Charts, and their first self-entitled
album on Los MVP Records is
making a name itself among diverse fans.
They both said their songs are
about real life situations. If it is
about a break-up, about life on
the streets, or just about dancing
in a club each song individually
speaks to someone they said.
Coming to perform in the West
Coast, Khriz admits they were
nervous since the demographic is
so diverse, yet the pressure with
doing a good job weighs heavily on them. He said though that
Reggaeton is a universal beat.
“It’s a contagious rhythm,” he
said. “It’s like Dancehall, it’s all
about the music. Reggaeton and
Hip Hop both come from the ghetto, it’s from the same culture.”
The guys expressed their love
for hip hop and how in the future
they would love to work with
famed rappers 50 Cent and Eminem.
Angel also said they want to go
far with their goals. Khriz agreed,
adding that he wants the skeptics
of Reggaeton to just give it a try.
“Keep on supporting the music,” he said as a message to the
fans. “We are doing [our music]
with a lot of passion.”
The guys also said that people
can expect only one main thing in
their shows: Adreneline.
Although the guys were set to
perform the next day, Khriz unfortunately got sick moments before the show.
Unofficial sources said he got
Mon. 08/22
John Legend
House of Blues
Sunset Strip
food poisoning and was rushed
to the hospital. His publicist was
unavailable at the time of press
for official confirmation.
Although Khriz missed on performing, Angel and a stand-in for
Khriz performed to the best of
their ability.
Angel apologized in Spanish to
the audience for Khriz’s absence
but the crowd seemed to embrace
the group’s music even without a
part of the duo missing.
The show seemed to be another
success for the Reggaeton scene.
Angel y Khriz said they are
planning great things for the future and their sophomore album
is set to come out sometime in
Spring 2006.
“2006 is the big explosion this
is only the beginning,” Angel said
the day before the show.
Khriz smiled and they both
laughed in agreement.
“We’re going to rule the [music] world,” Khriz grinned, confirming.
Above: Wisin y Yandel
at the Reggaeton show
Left: Ivy Queen on the Gibson
Amphitheatre stage.
Photos by MAHSA KHALILIFAR/Daily Titan
Johnson strums strong
rong in Ir
Irvine
By AMANDA PENNINGTON
Daily Titan Entertainment Editor
On a lovely Southern California Sunday evening, people
flocked in droves to the Verizon
Wireless Amphitheater to mellow out with the sounds of Jack
Johnson – and to pay $10 for a
24-ounce beer.
As I made my way up the hill
to my seat Aug. 7, trying not to
spill my money—I mean beer—I
pondered how Jack Johnson’s serene Hawaiian style would play to
a crowd this large in a venue this
massive. As Johnson riffed on,
however, my nerves were eased,
and I don’t think it was from the
constant marijuana smoke wafting in all directions that did it.
No, to my delight Johnson
was incredibly in tune with the
15,500 people that attended his
concert, and from the top of the
terrace seats, I felt like he was
playing right to me. The only
pin to pop this dream was the explosion of screaming fans at the
start and finish of every perfectly
strummed note.
Johnson started his set with
“Never Know,” from his newest
release, “In Between Dreams.”
As the piano notes projected
flawlessly from the state, the fans
were getting into Jack Johnson
mode, swaying back and forth
and closing their eyes while they
sang along.
He played a mix of tunes from
past and present, thus sparking
audience participation from every
single person in the crowd. The
participation of the crowd was
especially fervent when Johnson played his hit, “Banana Pancakes.” As everyone sang about
staying in and not worrying about
the hustle and bustle of their daily lives, it became apparent that,
that is what Jack Johnson stands
for and that is what he aided all of
the fans—from the front row to
the back of the lawn—to do.
Jack and his buddies could do
no wrong at this concert for Orange County. He rocked us, lulled
us and made us smile.
Concert
Calendar
The Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, however, did. The atrocious price of drinks and food,
coupled with the outrageous
parking situation, put this venue
on my “I would rather NOT go”
list.
After parking in one of the
last spots available, the attendant
started pointing others cars towards the exit.
The venue also now prohibits
tailgating, which guarantees the
venue the monopoly on beer and
food distribution.
Complaints aside, however,
Jack really put on a great show
and all his fans should go experience the music they love in their
car LIVE.
Tues. 08/23
Mike Peters
House of Blues
Anaheim
Wed. 08/24
Marc Anthony
Verizon Wireless
Amphitheatre
Irvine
Thur. 08/25
Backstreet Boys
Verizon Wireless
Amphitheatre
Irvine
Fri. 08/25
Snoop Dogg
Dogg/Red
Hot Chili Peppers
Greek Theatre
Los Angeles
Sat. 08/27
Dave Matthews
Band
The Home Depot
Center
Carson
Tickets are available at
Ticketmaster.com