art-house explosion art

issue no.
148
$O
september 4, 2003
Magazine
ART-HOUSE
EXPLOSION
IS SALT LAKE CITY BIG ENOUGH FOR THE
BOTH OF THEM?
4
09-04-03 1
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ATMOSPHERIC LOW SKIES
Chicago rockers rain on Kilby
8
ARRESTING ART
Dan Gerheart’s new
police-inspired artwork
9/3/03, 10:16:01 PM
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f
HERRING
My Fair Lady Gots the inside
Biggest Pumpkins
REDhead
During his band’s recent performance in
Salt Lake City, this sullen, anemic-looking
musician apparently summoned up enough
energy to elicit at least one audience member to suggest that he “should have his own
workout video.” Simmons, watch out!
by Craig
Froehlich
I
t’s September and autumn beckons us with its burnt-orange
glow.
A sure sign of this succulent
season—our beloved Utah State
Fair—faces troubled times with
dwindling attendance and a cow
doping scandal.
Agricultural fairs such as Utah’s
date back to biblical times when
people gathered to celebrate an
ample harvest. In these complicated times, why not harken back to
ancestral roots and make the fair
a new autumn tradition? Because
if you were waiting for the Kanab
Testicle Festival (a fair dedicated to
getting cheap laughs and noshing
on genitalia), it was back in June.
Autumn, a word crisp and full
as the season it connotes, derives
from autumnus—a Latin word
meaning autumn.
Ah, what would a state fair be without this refined gentleman taking in
a bit of legitimate touring theater.
We also call it “fall”—and when
we look at the medley of color
wafting and drifting from the tree
tops, its origin becomes all too
obvious. The season was named
after The Fall, a post-punk band
from Manchester, England that
concealed a fierce underbelly with
artsy cleverness until an amicable
breakup in 1988.
Autumn, a time when we reap
the bountiful crops of summer.
That is, we WOULD be reaping—
big-time—if someone didn’t tip
off the DEA and their contingent
of county piss boys, leading them
to burn our entire goddamn crop
for the local news. This federal
douchebag with a late ’70s porno
mustache was all:
“This marijuana crop was worth,
like, a billion zillion dollars and
this is huge victory in the war
against drugs, ’cuz I have two kids
in grade school and thanks to the
snitch, because I couldn’t find my
own mother’s G-spot without a
map, which is widely available on
the Internet.”
The Utah State Fair boasts all
the trappings of an old-time village feast. Proud farmers display
their most-prized produce, as if to
say, “Gosh, I seem oblivious to the
fact that this blue-ribbon zucchini
resembles a magnificent, slender
green phallus.”
The fair assaults the senses, but
it’s a nice assault. The aromas of
cider and fresh bread mingle with
sweet, sweet animal dung. Lots
and lots of animal dung. Children
never tire of pointing out the
many acts of defecation: “Look
Every week RED will provide a head.
Your job is to identify it. E-mail us
at [email protected] or drop by
the office at 240 Union. Tell us who
the head belongs to. If you’re right
you may be selected to win a prize!
theBeat
Low Skies loom over Salt Lake City > R4
CoverStory
theArts
Corporations battle locals for art films > R6
Dan Gerheart goes to the precinct > R8
theReel
David Spade is “Dickie Roberts” > R10
What’s Up > R12
Proud farmers
display their mostprized produce, as if
to say, “Gosh, I seem
oblivious to the fact
that this blue-ribbon
zucchini resembles a
magnificent, slender
green phallus.”
Daddy, the cow’s going poop.” (Insert hysterical children’s laughter.)
Sometimes I could just scream.
I want to grab the scatological
little imp and bellow, “Look Daddy,
they’re gonna slaughter that idiot
cow! They’re gonna shoot a bolt in
its tiny brain and soak the slaughterhouse floor with sticky, dark
blood. The only intelligent thought
of its entire pointless life will be
its last when he moans in his pathetic cow language, “Why? Why
wasn’t I born a dolphin? They love
dolphins! Dolphin-free tuna? What
did me and goddamn tuna ever do
to deserve…” (Fade to black.)
Entertainment. The fair’s got entertainment, albeit mostly in the
unrecognizable form of modern
country music.
Modern country music is God’s
see herring, page r12
Jeremy Mathews
Jamie Gadette
Dave Howell
Janean Parker
Craig Froehlich
Stephanie Geerlings
Christian A. Gentry
Haley Heaton
Bobbi Parry
Jordan Scrivner
Autumn Thatcher
chronicle editor in chief Sheena McFarland
publicity manager Luciano Marzulli Vargas
editor
assistant editor
art director
webmaster
writing staff
RED Magazine is a publication of The Daily Utah Chronicle. RED is published every Thursday. For information on advertising, call 581-7041. To
have your event considered for publication, write to [email protected].
For more information on events or people, refer to www.RED-Mag.com.
Copyrighted material remains the property of the original owner.
cover photo by sarah morton | red magazine
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PRESENTATION
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theBeat
My Soul Soars Elsewhere REDreviews
Low Skies Arrives in Utah
by jordan scrivner
The Howling Hex
Neil Michael Hagerty
& The Howling Hex
Drag City Records
by Jam i e G a d e t t e
L
ow Skies will break your heart.
The Chicago-based quintet’s
debut album, The Bed, is a vagabond’s companion—a soundtrack
for missing out and moving on.
However, lead vocalist Chris Salveter is not as lonely or depressed
as his lyrics might attest. In fact,
ever since the former visual art
student opted for a career in music,
the road to burgeoning success has
been paved with relatively good
fortune. Though he has bounced
back and forth between states and
vocations, Salveter has never had
much trouble finding inspiration—
or collaborators. His search for the
ever-elusive drummer ended after
a brief flier posting spree resulted
in a lone respondent.
“Only one person answered the
ad,” Salveter says. “And that was
the person perfect to be a drummer for Low Skies. It was such a
crapshoot.”
The band had a similar chance
meeting with its current label,
Flameshovel Records. Salveter was
working at Chicago’s Empty Bottle,
slinging drinks with another
future labelmate when a tipsy
Flameshovel executive walked in.
The two men struck up a conversation and a few hours (and many
beers) later, Low Skies was en route
to becoming legit. Perhaps it was
the alcohol, or simply Salveter’s
approachable demeanor, that lead
to a professional union. Regardless, first impressions were only a
gateway to success. Proof of Low
Skies’ potential to succeed was in
the music itself. “They were on the
on-search for a few new bands,”
says Salveter. “I sparked his interest, passed the CD along and sort
of took it from there.”
Though there remain only a
few copies of the group’s first EP,
it’s safe to assume that the songs
emanated a vibe similar to those
on The Bed. Each track is layered
with dense atmospheric tension,
brooding chords and droning, yet
powerful vocals. Salveter’s voice is
ƒƒƒ
N
The members of Chicago’s Low Skies aren’t as gloomy as the music that
they skillfully produce. But they are just as appealing.
both intimidating and compelling.
It is the sound of an edgy artist—or someone who watches too
much David Lynch.
“I’ve been influenced a lot more
by films and books than I have by
any music,” he says, citing Lynch
as a main source of creative insight. Salveter also draws inspiration from visits to Texas. The East
Coast-bred musician finds comfort
in its expansive landscape.
“I don’t really walk around the
streets of Chicago and feel inspired
to write songs,” says Salveter.
“I don’t think that land is very
influential on me. I don’t find it
to be as inspiring as the Southwest is to me.” That’s not to say
that the Windy City is completely
unappealing. As a resident, he
recognizes the locale’s positive
aspects, mainly the people inhabiting its condensed streets. Though
Salveter may live in Chicago, his
home seems to exist elsewhere.
Texas, and imagery associated
with the state, appear throughout
The Bed. “I ain’t been through
Austin or Dallas/but I done spent/
too much time in Texas,” Salveter
claims ironically on “Palmyra.”
Yet clearly he has not been there
long enough. He begs a lover to
come home—a location that may
not be found on any map, but one
that most certainly recalls a place
similar in spirit to Texas—a place
where his soul becomes whole.
“There’s a certain richness in
that state that has spawned a lot
of bands, a lot of stories,“ Salveter says. Fellow band members
Brandon and Jacob Ross were
physical gems among the spiritual
substance extracted from longhorn country. The two brothers
“were very inspiring...very different people.” The Rosses, along
with Luther Rochester and “lone
respondent” drummer Jason Creps
help translate Salveter’s varied influences into a coherent form. Now
spiritual branches can meld with
sonic roots, specifically the musical legends that shaped Salveter’s
vocal stylings.
“I’ve always been a fan of soul
music. I grew up on Otis Redding,
Sam Cooke...” he says. “(When I
first started developing my voice) I
was listening to a lot of Tom Waits,
and...was also really influenced by
Nina Simone’s singing.”
Salveter has a lot to draw upon,
however, his voice is very much his
own. It is one sure to reverberate
across both dense cities and open
plains—wherever there’s room for
Low Skies.
Discover the band when it plays
Sept. 9 at Kilby Court, 741 S 300
West..
[email protected]
Radiohead Displays Members’ Musicianship
by Christian Gentry
R
are are the bands that
surpass the studio and surmount the stage. More rare
are the occasions that such bands
are heard in Salt Lake City. But
such an occasion occurred when
Radiohead stopped at the USANA
Amphitheater as a part of its world
tour.
My biggest beef with rock
concerts is simple: too noisy. Yeah,
I know, I sound like a crotchety
old man or something. But much
to my dismay, this 20 something
thinks some of the music that
represents “us” is just too noisy.
Before you get all up in my grill
about my words of blasphemy,
hear me out. What I mean by
noisy isn’t loud. Loud and noisy
are different. I have been to many
classical and jazz concerts that
were loud, but not noisy. Noisy is
overblown dB with feedback that
extends into the stratosphere.
Noisy is poor micing (pronounced
Mike-ing), which is usually results
in the former. Noisy is screaming.
Noisy is a fuzzy, nondescript bass
line supporting upper register
eil Michael Hagerty is
something of a legend in the
genre of the music commonly referred to as indie rock. Starting
in the ’80s with Pussy Galore, with fellow indie-legend-guy Jon
Spencer, Hagerty cemented his hipster status by forming Royal
Trux with Jennifer Herrera in the ’90s. Their drug-frenzied noise
fests were the stuff of legend, and the music was pretty good too.
But now it’s the 21st century and Hagerty has gone solo. In the
two years since the Royal Trux’s apparent demise, Hagerty has
already made three albums. His latest, The Howling Hex, is an
epic (21 songs) hour-long album that includes distorted horns and
live tracks. The album sounds a bit like old mid-’70s rock on some
tracks, and there is a lingering bit of fear that the recent success of
The Strokes and The White Stripes might have influenced Hagerty.
That he’s doing songs at all is surprising, considering the type of
music the Royal Trux played.
The songs on The Howling Hex are as diverse as they are rockin’.
The tracks that stand out the most are “Gray” (an incredible lo-fi
mini ballad on an acoustic guitar) and “I’m Your Son,” which has a
guitar melody on it that simply kills.
The Howling Hex also comes with a lengthy anti-narrative in the
liner notes. This stream-of consciousness story, apparently called
“The Howling Hex” and written by Neil Michael Hagerty, is about
as decipherable as Hagerty’s earlier music.
Hagerty’s “anything goes” style of music may turn off as many as
it turns on, especially when it comes to Royal Trux fans. But if this
album doesn’t grab ya, I’m sure next year’s will.
Body Kiss
The Isley Brothers Featuring
Ronald Isley aka Mr. Biggs
Dreamworks Records
ƒƒ
I
f the members of the Isley
Brothers stopped making music
tomorrow, they would still be
remembered as pioneers in R&B music. Perhaps they should just
top now. Their new album, Body Kiss, shows the old masters back at
work, but doesn’t add anything to their legacy.
The Isley Brothers have been around for a while. Originally
formed in 1954, members have already made more than a mark
on the history of R&B. Their biggest claim to fame is penning the
call-and-response classic “Shout” and the supa-funky hit “It’s Your
Thing.” They were also one of the first groups to cover The Top
Notes’ “Twist and Shout,” preceding The Beatles.
The lineup of the Isley Brothers has changed a lot since the ’50s,
often incorporating two generations of Isleys. In this outing, the
Isley Brothers are Ronald (lead vocalist since Vernon Isley’s death
in 1955) and little brother Ernie. However, like today’s more colorful
hip-hop artists, Ronald Isley has changed his name to Mr. Biggs on
this album, and the cover features him dressed like “The Pimp of
the Year.”
All the songs on Body Kiss were written by R. Kelly, which is
obvious from the first track. A good majority of the songs are about
“gettin’ freaky”, but the Isley Brothers use strange metaphors to
describe how sweet their girls be. In “Lucky Charm,” inspired by R.
Kelly watching his daughter eating the cereal of the same name,
Ronald Isley’s honey voice sings painfully obvious metaphors that
incorporate the subject of the song. “You’re magically delicious,
baby.” The lyrics sound like they’re from a really bad Dave Chappelle skit.
see red reviews, page r12
This crop of GQ models—oh, it’s Radiohead—prove function beats form.
power chords. Noisy is basically
crap.
To achieve a full sound by way
of careful micing, mixing, instrument registration and scrupulous
writing is the ultimate task for the
ultimate musician. A great recording engineer can make any crappy
band sound incredible. But this
great sound is often sacrificed at
the venue, where a weak replacement of noise shortchanges it, in
part due to poor musicianship on
account of the band.
It would be an injustice at this
point to say that a live band should
sound like their studio recordings. Contrarily, the band should
sound significantly better than
the LP found in the record store.
This is often not the case. Most of
the time we are just so excited to
see our idols in the flesh we don’t
hold them accountable in concert
Classic
Damn Fine
Swell
Mediocre
Ugly
ƒƒƒƒƒ
ƒƒƒƒ RED CD
ƒƒƒ
Review ƒƒ
ƒ Rating Scale
see radiohead, page r5
R4 | september 4, 2003 | RED Magazine
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Men of the Past, Present and Future
YOU SUCK!
If you just shouted this, why don’t you tell us in our forum at
www.RED-Mag.com
We love feedback.
Utah's Piano Man
The Wailers Continue to Promote Peace
by A utum n Thatc h e r
W
orld-renowned reggae band
The Wailers performed at
Harry O’s on Aug. 26. Emanating from the stage was a sense
of unity between the fans and
the band. Longtime bassist Aston
Barrett reveals that “Reggae is the
heart of the people, the universal
language.” Fans at Harry O’s clearly
spoke this language, and allowed
themselves to prove it by dancing
harmoniously with each other.
Though the legendary Bob Marley has been dead for many years
now, the band that helped make
him an icon is still in full swing.
Headed by “Family Man” Aston
Barrett, The Wailers frequently
tour both in and out of the United
States, continuing to spread the
message of peace and love that
they began sharing more than 20
years ago.
The Wailers adhered to a program consisting of songs that were
created and performed when Bob
Marley was alive. Nearly all of the
songs were recognizable and fun
to sing along with. Though most
of the members in the band are
original performers, it still seemed
incomplete. This lack of wholeness
can only be explained by the void
on stage where Bob Marley should
have been standing.
The band opened with two
instrumental numbers that
welcomed the Jamaican vibe, and
made everyone excited for more.
Fans stared at the stage, watching
as Barrett and friends played their
instruments. One couldn’t help
but notice that the microphone
stood eerily isolated, ironically in
the center of the stage. Suddenly,
frontman Gary “Nesta” Pines
jumped out from the shadows,
and started singing the songs
that Marley once performed. The
presence of Pines was welcoming,
but felt more like a Vegas-style impersonation of Marley, rather than
true authenticity. Pines was clearly
a Marley wannabe, from the way
in which he jammed on his guitar,
to the swinging of his dread locks.
Though maybe not truly appreciated by everyone, Pines did an
excellent job in maintaining the
energy. He was obviously having
fun, and making most of the fans
feel like they were watching the
’70s-era band complete with Marley as frontman.
The Wailers’ ability to maintain
this connection to the past is due
largely to the efforts of Barrett. In
regard to the music performed by
the Wailers, Barrett claims, “The
music that we play is for the past,
present and future. It’s deep music,
it’s like salvation, which is the only
thing that can last forever.” The
performances given by the Wailers
do indeed “save” the viewers. It
rescues them from reality, and carries them to the island of Jamaica,
where peace and love are dreamed
to reign, and war is a distant
concept.
Despite what many may think,
this feeling of escape during a
Wailers performance is not the
result of too much marijuana.
Instead, it is the way in which
the band connects with its fans,
and plays music that preaches
peace and happiness. It is nearly
impossible for anyone to be angry
at a Wailers concert. This feeling
of peace is one that the Wailers
would be proud to know that they
created. The efforts that the Wailers put forth to create harmony
are evidenced by the way that
they feel toward mankind. Barrett
reiterates the importance of love
among mankind by saying, “How
good and how pleasant would it
be to see the unification of our
nation?”
The small unification of people
takes place in the presence of
the Wailers. Performing only the
songs that were created years ago,
the Wailers try their hardest to
maintain the feelings and emotions that existed when Marley
was alive. Barrett’s role in this
process is of great importance due
to his work with original songs
performed by Bob Marley and the
Wailers. “I created and arranged
them all. I am the band’s musical
producer and the foundation of the
great success of Bob Marley and
the Wailers. I am the mastermind
behind it,” said Barrett.
Barrett values his self-assigned
role as the “family man” because
he knows that it is his responsibility to keep the band together,
claiming that, “We all have to work
and live together as a family.”
Barrett has kept the band moving
for many years now. Though the
Wailers have not produced new
music, they have created a variety
of compilation albums, performing the original songs that deeply
struck an audience years ago. The
band tours on a regular basis, carrying with it “the message of roots,
culture, and reality.”
Though not truly authentic,
the efforts of Barrett and the rest
of the band are duly noted. The
music still rings with messages
that come from the heart, and
induce people to get along. The
Wailers will end their current tour
on Sept. 10, take a break and begin
touring again. The band members
may not all be originals, but the
message is still there, and that is
perhaps the strongest element
that holds the Wailers together,
pushing them to tour and promote the one thing that our world
lacks—peace.
[email protected]
Jon Schmidt
Their legendary frontman, Bob Marley, may be dead, but The Wailers still keeps its music positive and vibrant.
at Thanksgiving Point
Friday, September 5th at 7:30 pm
“Jon's music touches your spirit
and soul in ways that you won't
believe are possible. You will be
treated to a fantastic, beautifully
articulated, musical experience
far beyond your expectations.”
— L. Catserline
Purchase tickets online at
www.jonschmidt.com
Students (with ID): $7
General Admission: $8
Children (under 2): FREE
visit www.jonschmidt.com for more info
RADIOHEAD
continued from page R4
for their supposed musicality
displayed in the studio.
The concert covered the gamut
of the Radiohead discography to
date, from The “end of grunge”
rock sound of The Bends, to the
dabbling of electronics of Kid A
and Amnesiac, to the hybrid of
styles in the recent release Hail
to the Thief.
Most of the show consisted of
the tracks from Hail to the Thief
and a great handful of tunes
from previous albums, excluding Pablo Honey. The band
members opened the show with
“There, There,” a unique piece
that required the Greenwood
brothers to come out on stage
playing two low-tom drums.
After Thom Yorke crooned the
opening tune they began immediately with “2+2=5,” the first
track on Thief. This rhythmically
intense piece begins in a 7/8
meter that propels the music
forward to a great flash of lights
and a change to the more common time of 4/4.
Other stand out songs include
a powerful rendition of “My Iron
Lung” from The Bends, “Paranoid
Android” from OK Computer
and a charming performance
of “You and Whose Army” from
Amnesiac. The encores brought
about great performances of the
rhythmically complex “Pyramid
Song,” “Dollars and Cents” and to
finish things up, “Everything In
Its Right Place.”
Yorke and Co. stifled my
gripes about rock concerts. If
there is a central core to the music of Radiohead, it is craft and
musicianship. There weren’t
any cheap imitations of the
well recorded studio tracks. The
stage was simply full of great
musicians who demonstrated
that a recording engineer isn’t
necessary to make great music.
No gimmicks, no ranting to the
audience aimlessly, no tangents
of drunkenness—just great
music making, in theory and
performance. Noise it was not,
music it was.
[email protected]
RED Magazine | september 4, 2003 | R5
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words by JEREMYMATHEWS
images taken by SARAHMORTON
IS SALT LAKE CITY BIG ENOUGH FOR THE
BOTH OF THEM?
he Salt Lake
City cineaste’s
dreams have
come true. In about a year, the city
has gone from one screen showing
art-house films to 11. This art-house
insurgence has shifted concerns
from whether all the talked-about
new films will play to whether or
not the city can sustain its locally
run theaters and a new corporate
chain.
Three weeks ago, Madstone
Theaters opened its new Salt Lake
City location in the four-screen theater space in Trolley Square Mall
that hadn’t been used since 2001.
In the past year and a half, the
startup company from New York
City (founded in 1999) has opened
theaters in nine cities, ranging in
size from Denver to Chandler, Ariz.,
and will soon open another in
Baltimore.
These four screens arrive less
than a year after the Salt Lake Film Society took over the sixscreen theater in the Broadway Centre. This significantly multiplied programming possibilities from that of the Film Society’s
single screen Tower Theatre and Video, the city’s long-established
theater for art, independent and foreign film.
The Madstone brand of theaters is intended to appeal to adults
instead of the juveniles who occupy many seats at the multiplexes. Snack bars offering a variety of items, a TV, a stereo playing
film soundtracks and a wide variety of seats are meant to supply
a pleasant atmosphere before and after the movie.
The films themselves are sometimes identified as good films
for adults to avoid the restrictions implied by the term “art-house
films.” This terminology mainly means that some of the chains
show mainstream films like “Seabiscuit” or, in less-frequent
cases, “American Wedding,” “My Boss’s Daughter” and “Freddy Vs.
Jason.”
The company has several programs planned to appeal to its
target audience, which skews toward the older and wealthier, including the Dinner-and-a Movie program, in which the audience
watches a film and then visits a nearby restaurant to discuss it.
Many locations, including Salt Lake City’s, are only showing
art films, while others are split in various ways. The Cleveland,
Ohio, location is the only location currently showing nothing but
Hollywood films.
The programming variances are described as community-oriented, but Brooke Harper, president of the Salt Lake Film Society,
feels that her locally run theaters contribute more to the community. “If you go to their Web site, you’ll see that they have a lot
of the same movies playing in all their locations…We don’t just
play great films,” Harper said, “but films that the Salt Lake City
community is interested in.”
Chip Seelig and Tom Gruenberg started Madstone in 1999, but
didn’t open any theaters for three years.
The company’s financial power allows the theater not only
the ability to throw such events as the inaugural Free Movie
Weekend, but also projects like Madstone Films. The production
company offers directors a salary and a $1.5 million budget to
make a digital movie. The first result of this venture, “Rhinoceros
Eyes,” will premier at the Toronto International Film Festival in
September. Also, the company recently acquired the well-known
distributor and marketing company New Yorker Films.
This supply of funds allows the theaters to remain open while
waiting for communities to catch on and begin frequenting the
business. Most locally owned theaters don’t have such a large
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The Salt Lake Film Society’s six-screen
Broadway Centre location has been programming art films since it opened less
than a year ago. Now, it faces competition from the national chain Madstone
Theaters, whose Trolley Square Mall location (above) offers a gourmet concession
stand selection in addition to the arthouse film lineup.
reserve, as evidenced by the Tower’s near-closures in 1999 and 2000.
Currently, however, the Film Society is collecting solid funds and reportedly hasn’t lost
any business to Madstone. “It’s really easy to
say: So far, no impact,” said Brooke Harper,
president of the Salt Lake Film Society.
Seelig, a friendly middle-aged man with a
background in financial work with companies like Goldman Sachs, spoke with a smile
and at a grand opening party and commented “Oh, that’s a good one” almost every time
somebody mentioned a film.
Seelig identified Salt Lake City as in some
ways “the birthplace of independent cinema”
during his speech. While it might be a far
reaching statement, he believes that the city
that co-hosts the Sundance Film Festival will
be open to independent film all year.
Others, however, think that Madstone is
crowding the market.
SALT LAKE CITY’S ART AUDIENCE
Art and independent film haven’t always
been a lucrative business in Salt Lake City,
bringing into question what elements made
it such an appealing city in which to open a
Madstone.
Four years ago, the city’s long standing
art-house theater, the Tower Theatre, was
on the verge of closure after attempts to
make additional income by renting the place
out as a concert venue clashed with zoning
ordinances.
In 2000, Paul Liacopoulos bought the
theater and Harper became the manager.
Last year, they formed the non-profit Film
Society and later took over the six-screen
Broadway Centres Cinema after its previous
owners turned it into an art house, but failed
to make rent.
During its inception, Madstone co-CEOs
Gruenberg and Seelig made a list of the 35
cities with the most underserved art-house
markets. “At the time the list was made, the
Tower was the only art theater in town,”
Harper said.
Harper said that before she operated the
Broadway, when other theaters would open
only one art film against the Tower’s, you
could feel a decrease in audience with only
two films opening. “I also know that if it had
been just the Tower against a four-screen
multiplex, it would have really been hurt,”
she said.
Since opening the Broadway, however, the
increased number of screens hasn’t thinned
out the audience as much as previous business might suggest. “There’s the sense at the
Broadway that having all these great films in
one place excites people more,” Harper said.
Still, she’s doubtful that there’s a big
enough audience to maintain all the screens:
“The reason so many cinema chains went
out of business in the recent years is that
[theater operators] assumed that the number
of screens was directly related to the number
of ticket sales, and it’s not.”
“If you listen to Chip Seelig talk about how
they chose what venues, it’s a lot of numbers
based on per capita movie tickets combined
with number of screens, and they look at
that to decide whether or not to open more
screens,” Harper said.
Other factors in Madstone’s ranking
include time spent abroad, a questionable
factor since many Utahns were on religious
missions during which they weren’t allowed
to watch films. But many missionaries are
interested in foreign films, Harper said: “Returned missionaries do have an appreciation
for foreign cultures…which can lead to an
appreciation for foreign film.”
While some cities Madstone has entered
had no previous art houses, others have had
to compete with Madstone in various ways.
One of the most similar markets to Salt Lake
City is Ann Arbor, Mich., where the non profit
Michigan Theater, a restored movie palace
whose management operates three other
screens. A seven-screen Madstone, now with
three screens currently showing art films,
opened last September.
While Emily Phenix, marketing director
of Michigan Theater, doesn’t feel like much
business has been taken away, she questions
the strategy of opening art-house theaters in
communities that already have them.
“You have a nationwide chain going into
a community with an established art-house
theater because they see that there is already
a developed customer base. But does that
serve the community? Madstone could go
into a community that doesn’t already have
an art-house theater and become the town
hero by bringing in specialty product that
the community would never otherwise get to
see on the big screen,” Phenix said.
In art-house cinema, however, the audience will often follow a film to whatever
theater is playing it.
THE IMPORTANCE OF
WHAT’S NOW SHOWING
Competition for product is a much bigger
issue in the art-house circuit than in the
mainstream market, where the same film
can open on 10 or more screens in the same
area. Due to the limited audience and the
number of available prints, many films play
exclusive engagements on one screen.
In many towns where Madstones have
opened, the company’s booking advantage
was having more screens to program, but
in Salt Lake City, that advantage goes to the
Film Society. Madstone’s greatest advantage,
then, is probably the appeal to distributors to
open films simultaneously in multiple cities.
Unless a film has a great deal of hype behind it, in which case a mainstream theater
might try to play it anyway, a film’s success
depends greatly on how good the audience
perceives it to be. Oftentimes, the success of a
film depends entirely on in how high esteem
the critics of the two downtown daily newspapers hold it—unlike the many mainstream
films that are often called “critic proof.”
While programmers can predict based
on trends what films the critics will like,
nothing’s certain until the reviews run on
Friday, when the films open.
Often, film companies prefer that their
films play alone on a screen, putting singlescreen theaters—which often program for
two films to share a screen—at a disadvantage. If a film tanks at a single screen, the
entire weeklong engagement goes to waste.
It’s hard for theaters to receive advance
confirmations from distributors, whose
operators often wait to see how big an attraction a film becomes in major markets before
committing to any theaters.
Phenix said that the theater’s audience
consists of film-savvy individuals—many
students and university faculty and staff
members who keep an eye on upcoming
films.
“The Madstone is only located 3.2 miles
away from us. It doesn’t really make sense to
play the same movies they are,” Phenix said.
“We always look to providing a service to the
community... to bring them something that
they can’t see at the multiplexes.”
Phenix also said that the unique local experience pulls in audiences. “At certain times
we’ve had to remind our distributors how
good our position is,” Phenix said. “We’re
non-profit and located in a beautiful building…We also have a really loyal membership
base, so we have a pretty strong position in
the community.”
Harper said that she is doing as much
as possible to make sure the Film Society’s
programming maintains its strength: “You
need to be thinking as far in advance as possible about what movies you want to play,
expressing your interest to the film company
and getting it locked.”
It’s unclear what will happen down the
road, but at this point, Harper says she’s
confident that her organization will be in
good shape, and Seelig says that he feels
that his company will find a strong audience
that won’t take any business away from the
established locals.
[email protected]
The Broadway Centre recently completed
its own cafe area in its lobby, where
patrons can discuss the latest foreign,
art and independent films. Salt Lake Film
Society president Brooke Harper was
already planning this addition before
Madstone moved in with its own sit-down
lobby.
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theArts
ART
THE
POLICE!
GEOMETRY AND NATURAL LAW
T
here is a myth that comes
from the Czech Republic:
“Every time there is a pause
in conversation a police officer is
born.” There was enough thoughtful silence to produce a brand new
police station in Rose Park. The
good news is that it also stormed
up a public art commission to
create two pieces—one inside
and one outside the station—that
could feed the ideals of good police behavior.
Dan Gerheart, the conceptual
frontman, and Shawn Porter, the
technical genius, stood in the
only lit warehouse in an industrial park, perfumed with lacquer
thinner. A pristine multifaceted
wooden disk spanning 7 feet sat
between them and their weathered jeans.
“The night is the only time we
get time to work,” Gerheart says
without even seeming tired after
his 100-plus-hour work week.
They exude an excited energy,
pardon the assonance.
The artwork consists of those
wooden disks, each devoted to
a basic shape. Circles, squares,
and maybe an assortment of the
following: an interplay of circles
mingling with circles, and squares
fighting their right-angle-hood
around the perimeter while
triangles shock and dazzle in sun
beaming arches. Convexed round
shells of bronze lace set the center
for each dish. They are bowed
over—perfect circular sprockets
only imagined in sci-fi novels.
The exterior piece puts the bronze
structure on stilts in a spherical
cluster of bubbles.
The board that chose Gerheart
for the commission was made up
of police, architects and community members, allowing for a
link between the police and the
citizens.
Many applied. The decision was
made after studying artists’ portfolios and plans for the commission. Gerheart worked for a month
on a quarter-scale model for the
exterior. The model is still large
and it took a huge amount of dedication. “I had to work as though I
already had the job,” he said. Gerheart was overjoyed to receive the
commission and was content that
much of the troubleshooting took
place in the tryout period. This is
the largest art commission in the
city right now, at $75,000.
Gerheart hopes that all people
can respond to the piece’s recog-
nizable elements—circles, squares
and triangles. He utilizes natural
law and the geometric principles
that he believes ancient Greeks
used to inculcate democracy.
The inside piece is very refined
and perfected. Gerheart allowed
the exterior piece, which is already up in front of the station, to
be more chaotic. “I try to control
the destructive process of casting.”
This is a metaphor for the reality
of what happens on the outside
of the station. It mirrors the
memorial to slain officers on the
opposite corner. Gerheart realizes
that police work does not always
equate with favorable outcomes.
“The police officers I’ve known
have been social workers. It is
their day-to-day life to calm situations,” he says. “Art is supposed to
humanize.”
Gerheart wishes to lend natural
law in its most ideal forms, thus
“augmenting the system.”
Instead of sending the steel and
wood work out to a foundry, Gerheart recruited his skilled friends.
“Finally, they get to be paid
what they are worth,” Gerheart
says. He is immensely impressed
with their master craftsmansee gerheart, page r9
josh caldwell / red magazine
B y Ste p h a n i e G e e r l i n g s
Dan Gerheart’s completed external portion of a two-part art project commissioned to decorate the new Rose Park police station stands at attention.
UTAH BALLET COMPANIES ANNOUNCE SEASONS
BALLET WEST ANNOUNCES 40TH ANNIVERSARY LINEUP
UTAH BALLET PREPARES FOR UPCOMING FALL PROGRAM
for more than a century.
The season will then continue in February
with Kage’s version of the timeless classic
“Sleeping Beauty.” Following will be the
season finale, “40 Years of JUBILATION!” This
is a four-ballet event featuring the Utah premiere of Glen Tetley’s “The Rite of Spring” as
well as two Balanchine favorites—“Concerto
Barocco” and “Tchaikovsky pas de deux.” The
much-awaited return of Bruce Mark’s “Lark
Ascending” will complete this breathtaking
collection of ballets.
This season celebrates when William F.
Christensen founded Ballet West in 1963 as
the Utah Civic Ballet, and is the first American to choreograph full length versions of
“The Nutcracker,” “Coppelia” and “Cinder-
T
he start of a new school year inevitably
brings change—probably the most
common one being the transition from
relaxing tourist to hard working student.
This is no exception for members of Utah
Ballet, the premier performing group of the
University of Utah’s nationally renowned
Department of Ballet. Diving head-first into
a rigorous rehearsal schedule, the company
is already preparing for its annual fall
program.
William F. Christensen founded the
Department of Ballet in 1951, the first of its
kind in an American university. Utah Ballet
is the resident company of Kingsbury Hall
and has toured extensively throughout
the Intermountain West. Each year, faculty
members take turns acting as artistic director for the company.
Associate Professors Maureen Laird and
Sharee Lane are the company’s co-artistic
directors for the upcoming fall season. The
season offers a mixed repertoire of various
works by guest choreographers.
Jiang Qi, former principal dancer at Ballet West, is currently setting a work to the
spring section of “The Four Seasons” by
Vivaldi. The style of the piece is classical/
contemporary.
Other guest choreographers will include
Eloy Barragan, assistant professor of dance
from the University of California-Irvine,
and directors Jean-Philippe Malaty and Tom
Mossbrucker of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, who
will set the famous balcony pas de deux
from “Romeo and Juliet.” According to Lane,
the program will feature “an additional
pas de deux or pas de trois” that is yet to be
determined.
Utah Ballet is made up of 26 dancers, and
approximately half of them entered this
year. Laird says she hopes to expose the new
see utah ballet, page r9
kevin buehler / red magazine
B
allet West will begin its 2003 2004 season by celebrating 40 years of ballet.
“For 40 years, Ballet West has been
proud to present the best of this delightful
art form to Utah audiences and abroad,” said
Jonas Kage, Ballet West Artistic Director,
according to a press release. “Our 2003-04
season is a culmination of hard work, dedication, innovation and vision. I am thrilled to
be a part of it.”
The commemorative season opens Sept.
26 with the Utah premiere of Kage’s newly
staged production of “Giselle.”
Kage joined Ballet West as Artistic Director in 1997. Kage’s association with ballet
as a dancer, choreographer and director has
see ballet west, page r9
resulted in the company’s wide variety of
works by renowned choreographers. Under his direction, Ballet
West has performed works by
George Balanchine, Glen Tetley,
Hans van Manen, Val Caniporoli
and William Forsythe.
“Giselle” is the unforgettable
story of love and betrayal that
has endured for more than 150
years (you may remember Utah
Ballet’s production of “Giselle”
from last year). A masterpiece of
romantic ballet, audiences will
likely be captivated by Ballet
West artists as they portray a
world of passion, duplicity and
the saving power of love.
In late October, “A 40-Year
FASCINATION” will feature the
Utah premiere of Richard Tanner’s “Ancient Airs and Dances.”
Also on the program are the
outstanding “Theme & Variations” by George Balanchine and
the return of William Forsythe’s
highly popular “Artifact II.”
The holiday tradition of “The
Nutcracker” begins Dec. 5. This
popular production is the classic
Ballet West principals Maggie Wright and Seth Olson dance
ballet that has delighted both
a pas de deux for you in “Giselle.”
the young and young at heart
by M a r i s sa M u l l e n
photo courtesy quinn farley / ballet west
by M a r i s sa M u l l e n
Utah Ballet dancers, who are also University of Utah students, prepare for another season of
dances choreographed by the department’s falculty and advanced students.
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GERHEART
BALLET WEST
UTAH BALLET
continued from page R8
continued from page R8
ella.”
Ballet West will maintain
a company of 40 artists for
the 2003-2004 season. New
promotions this year include Chrisitana Bennett to
the position of soloist, Ross
Bearden and Elye E. Olson
from artists to demi soloists
and Sophia Priolo from firstyear apprentice to second
year apprentice. New dancers joining Ballet West are
Daniel Escudero from San
Francisco Ballet, Aaron Orlowski from Nevada Ballet
Theatre and Nicholas Scott
from Norwegian National
Ballet in Oslo, Norway.
Tickets to Ballet West’s
Capitol Theatre performances range from $17-$55 and are
available at ArtTix by calling
355-ARTS or at the Capitol
Theatre ticket office.
[email protected]
members to lots of dancing
experience in a professional
company atmosphere. This
season, Laird aims to invite
renowned choreographers
and help those students
who may feel a little
weaker to gain confidence
in themselves.
If you’ve never been to a
ballet before, be sure to take
advantage of all the talent
right here on campus. Come
on out and support your fellow dancing Utes this fall
at Kingsbury Hall—and be
prepared for an impressive
performance.
Utah Ballet performs
Nov. 20-22 at Kingsbury
Hall. Tickets are available
by calling (801) 581-7100 or
at the Kingsbury Hall ticket
office. Student discounts are
available.
[email protected]
continued from page R8
ship—not to mention that if the
piece were sent out it easily would
be $125,000 over budget.
Larry Wheeler, a sculpture
graduate of the U, helped Gerheart with much of the casting
and welding. “He is just a better
welder than I am,” said Gerheart.
The ornate work is the product of
an exhausting process of slumping, chasing, cutting, welding,
casting…there is more, but let’s
stop.
Porter solved problems and
kept Gerheart time-efficient and
cost effective. He was especially
in charge of the wood and is well
practiced after doing woodwork
for more than 13 years. He wanted
to do all of the wood himself, but
eventually Porter’s fussy fastidiousness trained Gerheart and he
contributed.
One of the disks took a week,
but with the help of Holly Christmas, Porter’s girlfriend, the process was narrowed to a weekend.
Porter’s pet, Dogie, played dodge
ball safely in the alley. “Getting
kind of a goofy buzz off of that
lacquer thinner,” Porter said as the
dog simpered and shook his head.
Gerheart recalls how he would ask
if a task was possible and Porter
would find the most simple and
correct way to do it.
“I definitely could not have done
this without him.”
“I have been a lackey. I have
been a lackey for a long time,” explains Porter through the ongoing
joke of being Gerheart’s art slave.
“Art demands complete slavery.
You have to pursue it hard,” Gerheart admits.
“I’d rather be a slave to art,” Porter shrugs and goes back to work.
Some of the exotic woods include walnut burl, bulbinga, fiddle
back movingui, pillowed maple
and zebra wood. The wood was cut
to give off an iridescent shimmer.
Two solid coats were painted to
protect and fill the wood and a
shiny top coat was added with a
special no-air pump and sprayer.
In order to create the piece Gerheart has found, there are many
“crazy little tools that you have to
have and have to know how to run
just right.” It is an involved process
from every angle.
Porter even made little suction
cups to keep all of the pieces in
their perfect place. The geomet-
ric wooden disk is painstakingly
boxed out to make it a bit lighter.
It is still 250 lbs. without the 75 lb.
bronze-laced domes.
Global Artways, a government
sponsored organization created
to give public schoolchildren
more access to art, recently gave
Gerheart the director position in
administration. He has worked as
an art educator for years. He got
his undergraduate degree from
Colorado State University and is
certified to teach K-12. He finished
his masters in sculpture at the U.
During his work on the commissioned artwork, Gerheart “discovered food at the 7-Eleven” in
the forms of protein bars, protein
shakes and good-but-low in-protein coffee. He and Porter have
listened to massive amounts of
NPR and KRCL. “We went through
every CD I own.”
There is no end in sight for helplessly art-devoted Gerheart and
Porter, and they hope to apply for
more large-scale public commissions. May the Power Bar and-coffee lunch keep these boys off of
the crack and let them actualize
their artistic visions deep into the
night.
The new precinct is located on
700 S. 1000 West and is scheduled
to open at the end of September.
[email protected]
STUDENT TICKETS FREE,
$5 OR HALF PRICE!
FREE STUDENT TICKETS
NOW AVAILABLE
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‘Dickie Roberts’ Fails to Revive Spade’s Comic Career
“Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star”
Paramount Pictures
Directed by Sam Weisman
Written by Fred Wolf and David
Spade
Produced by Adam Sandler and Jack
Giarraputo
Starring David Spade, Mary McCormack, Jon Lovitz, Craig Bierko,
Alyssa Milano and Rob Reiner
Rated PG-13
(out of four)
by J e r e my M at h e w s
“D
ickie Roberts: Former
Child Star” starts with
a somewhat amusing
sequence and ends with a somewhat clever end-credit sequence.
Everything in between misses the
opportunity for Hollywood satire
and fails to examine the public’s
perception of child stars. It’s one
clumsy, poorly conceived slapstick
sequence after another, punctuated with moments of overdone
sentimentality.
David Spade, who rarely seems
to make films with people who
have senses of humor, plays the
title character, who pays a family to treat him like a child. Rob
Reiner, playing himself, might give
Dickie a role if he can learn a little
something about life and understand the point of a film that starts
shooting soon.
The film opens with a short
imitation of an “E! True Hollywood
Story” clip in which a kid who
looks a bit too much like Macaulay
Culkin is shown in snapshots with
his cruel, money hungry mother
and no father. After the network
canceled Dickie’s show, his mom
left him and he became a compulsive glove-wearer.
The first sign that the screenwriters neglected their duties
to comedy is his signature line,
“That’s nucking futs.” Once several
people see Dickie and say the line
to him, it’s clear that it’s no “What
you talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” Besides
the obvious point that no network
in the ’70s would allow that catchphrase, no one in the film seems
to really believe that Dickie said it.
It’s not so ridiculous that it’s funny,
it’s just stupid.
Then we see him in a predictable celebrity-boxing match with
Emmanuel Lewis from “Webster”
and realize that the film has no
juice behind it. Watching an
unlikely celebrity beat up a film’s
hero is a tired task that’s been
overused in recent years. Maybe
it would have worked better if
Dickie for some reason became
too angry at Lewis and beat him
silly, earning a reputation as a
madman.
Instead, the movie just becomes
stupider and stupider. Cameos,
which exhibit the desperation of
many child stars, weigh down the
paper-thin story.
If the introduction is an homage
to the “News on the March” sequence in “Citizen Kane,” a poker
game with Dickie, Leif Garrett,
Corey Feldman, Dustin Diamond
and many other child stars resembles the “waxworks” bridge
game in “Sunset Boulevard.” But
perhaps I’m giving the filmmakers
a bit too much credit, as anyone
who has seen a Billy Wilder film
would likely have a better sense of
comedy.
The longest—and weakest—part of the film comes when
Reiner tells Dickie that he can’t
play the part because he isn’t
wise to the ways of the world. He
decides to sell his memoirs and
use the money to pay a family to
replace his lost youth. The rarely
seen father (Craig Bierko) makes
arrangements for Dickie to stay,
but doesn’t mention it to his wife
(Mary McCormack), who happens
to be pretty enough to be Dickie’s
romantic interest.
While the house looks nice from
the outside, the son and daughter—and now Dickie—sleep in
the same room, an accommodation few parents would allow for
$20,000.
Soon, Dickie becomes a father
figure to the kids while he learns
what it’s like to be loved.
Perhaps if the writers, Spade
and Fred Wolf, spent more time
thinking about what makes the
child-star phenomenon interesting, they could have made a film
with a consistent tone. Instead, the
film shifts from cruelly making
fun of its characters to saccharine
scenes in which Dickie bonds with
the kids and discovers the meaning of life and love.
The film’s studio, Paramount, is
releasing “The School of Rock” in
a month. That film proves that a
balance can indeed be found in a
mildly crude comedy with child
actors. All “Dickie Roberts” proves
is that a concept doesn’t make the
movie.
[email protected]
While David Spade looks like he’s masturbating here, he is pleasuring neither himself nor the audience in his latest vehicle, “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.”
OPENING THIS WEEKEND
by J e r e my M at h e w s
“Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star”
1.5 reels (out of four)
(See review)
“Dirty Pretty Things”
3.5 reels (out of four)
(See review)
“Mondays in the Sun”
Lion’s Gate Films
Rated R
Opening at the Tower
(Not reviewed)
Fernando León de Aranoa’s
“Mondays in the Sun” beat out
“Talk to Her” as Spain’s Best Foreign Film Oscar nominee candidate, and “Talk to Her” ended up
with the Best Screenplay award,
so it must be pretty good. The title
refers to unemployed dockyard
workers who now spend all days of
the week under the sun. Acclaimed
actor Javier Bardem stars.
“The Order”
20th Century Fox
Rated R
(Not reviewed)
Australian hunk Heath Ledger
again teams up with writer/
director Brian Helgeland, who
catapulted him to stardom (or
into a movie, anyway) with “A
Knight’s Tale.” Ledger plays a priest
of the arcane order known as the
Carolingians. He goes to Rome to
investigate mysterious deaths of
the head of his order and uncovers
one crazy mystery involving Sin
Eaters. Don’t worry, it’s not as cool
as it sounds.
“The Secret Lives of Dentists”
Manhattan Pictures
Rated R
(Not reviewed)
Director Alan Rudolph has been
receiving some of his best reviews
in a while after flops like “Trixie”
and “Breakfast of Champions,” an
adaptation of a novel that begged
not to be adapted. Campbell Scott
plays a dentist dealing with a
midlife crisis that calls his family
life into question and makes him
start seeing Dennis Leary.
[email protected]
Sin Eaters are renegade priesttypes who absolve people of
their sins without the church’s
permission. Heath Ledger plays a
priest investigating a murder and
the Sin Eaters in “The Order.”
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Frears and Tatou
Strike Political Chord
“Dirty Pretty Things”
Miramax Films
Directed by Stephen Frears
Written by Steve Knight
Produced by Robert Jones and
Tracey Sea
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey
Tautou, Sergi López, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Wong and Zlatko Buric
Rated R
Opens at the Broadway
(out of four)
by J e r e my M at h e w s
I
mmigrants in England risk
their lives selling their bodily
organs for passports. This isn’t
something they’d likely want to
do if conditions weren’t overly
oppressive in their respective
motherlands. And yet, for various
reasons, the government doesn’t
grant them citizenship. Stephen
Frears’s politically charged “Dirty
Pretty Things” uses these issues
as the backdrop for a personal
story about people living in harsh
conditions.
So harsh that the main character
doesn’t sleep through the whole
film. Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor)
drives a cab by day and works a
hotel’s front desk at night, eating
a stimulant herb to stay awake.
He knows how bad this is for his
health because he was a doctor in
his former country, Nigeria. His
cab manager asks him for help
curing STDs, but the hotel is the
real medical nightmare.
French star Audrey Tatou plays
Senay, a Turkish immigrant who
works the day shift in the hotel,
even though her papers require
that she not work for six months.
She lets Okwe use her room as a
rest stop, but remains very secretive about it due to her religious
beliefs.
Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski’s
production design and Chris
Menges’s low-key cinematography
help create the hotel’s sleazy feel.
Prostitutes make the rounds and
the doorman has his own business
interests, including keeping room
service going after the kitchen
closes by making the sandwiches
himself.
The real source of evil, however,
is the hotel manager, Sneaky
(Sergi López of “With a Friend Like
Harry…”), whose shady dealings
become clearer and clearer as
the truth unfolds, starting when
Okwe, on a prostitute’s tip, finds a
heart in a clogged toilet in one of
the rooms.
He assumes that a murder took
place, but can’t call the cops himself. When Sneaky hears the news,
he surprises Okwe by caring little
and doing nothing. As it becomes
clearer what’s happening, Okwe is
powerless to stop it because of his
status.
At the same time, Senay faces
investigation from immigrant officials who suspect that she’s been
working. Tatou creates sympathy
for her character, whose labor restrictions clash with financial and
moral problems. This surprising
performance is her most complete
and impressive one since “Amelie.”
Okwe’s friend Guo Yi (Benedict
Wong), who has a job in the hospital morgue, acts as an aid to Okwe
see dirty pretty, page r12
While the ad campaign for
“Dirty Pretty Things” takes
advantage of the film’s ambiguous, sexy-sounding title, it’s actually a political piece about illegal
immigrants in England.
RED Magazine | september 4, 2003 | R11
09-04-03 11
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What’sUP
FRIDAY
THURSDAY
SEPT. 5
plenty of time to get loaded before
driving back down the canyon*!
*Don’t forget your designated
driver.
SEPT. 4
Bandits Invade Salt City
Everyone can, or should, remember
a time when they couldn’t catch
concerts due to that pesky underage status. Nothing was more
tragic than standing outside of a
bar listening to the dull, throbbing
bass of a favorite song, picturing
what it might be like to also see
those chords played live. When
Kilby Court opened, all rejoiced,
until bitter cold rolled in and a
favorite all ages joint became as
tempting as a stay in Mom’s fridge.
Fortunately for those 18 and older,
Club Axis has added a live musical
showcase to its usual rave bumpand-grind dance track. Tonight,
local act Salt City Bandits will be
on hand to play aggressive rock
hits such as the newest anthem on
station 105.7’s Homegrown (a show
dedicated to playing “homegrown”
local acts—get it?). Nimh (the
“Secret of?”) and Middle Distance
also appear. It all goes down at
Axis, 100 S. 500 West.
Super Kryptoman...
Or something like that
It’s that time again. Time to strap
on your boots, shimmy into those
Wranglers and head on down to
the fairgrounds and prove to big
city folk that we are not “square,”
just “simple” folk who know how
to really get down. For some
reason, this year’s Utah State
Fair features not only the usual
clowns, jugglers, livestock shows
and demolition derbies, but also
an appearance by 3 Doors Down.
Apparently the lowstream rockers
have gained small-town credibility
after formulating a cloying piece of
sentimental crooning designed to
increase patriotism during the war
in Iraq. Don’t forget your to wave
your flags when the band plays the
Pepsi Grandstand Stage tonight.
DIRTY PRETTY
continued from page R11
and Senay and provides humanity
to contrast with Sneaky’s opportunistic exploits as well as success to
counter the suffering of so many
of the other characters.
The great Frears has made several impressive films in his time,
exploring political topics in works
like “Sammy and Rosie Get Laid,”
but also grasping personal relationships in BBC play productions
and great films like “High Fidelity”
and “The Grifters.” The latter film
explores a tragedy fated underworld very different from that in
“Dirty Pretty Things,” but similar
with its desperate characters facing dilemmas.
Okwe refuses to help Sneaky
with the surgeries because it’s
unethical and illegal, but at the
same time, he’d be ensuring the
willing victims better health for
them than if they were to undergo
the unsanitary operation, when
they would inevitably give up
their organs.
The film also deals with love
and romance and how unlikely
they are in situations in which one
has to struggle all day to survive.
Frears, Ejiofor and the other
actors keep some of the more
preachy material from going over
Return of the Rock
It seems that while students took
a break from classes, most of Salt
Lake City’s best and brightest
musicians also went on holiday
(at least vanishing from the club
scene). Now that school has reconvened, local bands are participating in more live performances.
Tolchock Trio is one such group.
Since there were few shows to
catch over the summer, everyone
should have had plenty of time
to listen to Hello Bird. Those who
have committed the band’s debut
album to memory should come on
out and sing along when Tolchock
hits Todd’s, 1051 S 300 West.
Midnight Moie:
“The Usual Suspects”
How much boredom can you
endure for a shocking twist of a
surprise ending and some decent
performances by Kevin Spacey and
co.? Watch this cult crime caper to
find out and see where the director
of the boring “X-Men” movie and
its entertaining sequel started. If
you couldn’t guess, it’s part of the
Tower Theatre’s Midnight Movie
Series, every Friday and Saturday at
11:59 p.m.
SEPT. 7
SEPT. 8
Happy
Happy is apparently a singer/
songwriter from Vancouver, B.C.
Unfortunately, his all-too-common name and a lack of any additional information prevent us from
doing a Web search to get more
information. This is all the more
embarrassing because RED editor Jeremy Mathews’s band, NSPS
(www.nsps.net), is opening the
show. We know stuff about that
band, but can’t tell you because it’s
a conflict of interest. That leaves
local act Medicine Circus, so go
check out some lions on penicillin
rock out and have a good time for
$6 at 8:00 p.m. in Kilby Court (741
S. 330 West)
RED Book Club
This week, pay homage to music
criticism by checking out one of
the following: Let It Blurt, Psychotic
Reactions and Carburetor Dung
(Lester Bangs) or Fargo Rock City
(Chuck Klosterman). Maybe then
you’ll have a greater appreciation
for journalists. Or not. At least we
tried.
Film Front: “Ten”
Is Abbas Kiarostami a minimalist
genius or a lazy hack who makes
boring films about nothing, only
to be praised by the international
film community for creating a bold
Iranian cinema? You decide at the
screening of his latest film, “Ten,”
at Film Front in the University
of Utah’s Orson Spencer Hall
auditorium almost every Sunday.
Kiarostami made the movie by setting up two stationary digital cameras in a car in which non-actors
improvised. Then he had a movie.
Peace Officer
Hopefully most people are familiar
with Jimmy Cliff beyond his 1993
hit cover of “I Can See Clearly Now”
from “Cool Runnings” (the best
film ever made about Jamaican
bobsledders). However, given the
state of contemporary popular
culture, it’s safe to assume that not
everyone is aware of Cliff’s significant contributions to reggae. The
charismatic artist has a knack for
crafting upbeat songs that, though
ripe with pep, also exude an abundant spiritual conscience. See him
perform in an intimate setting at
the Zephyr, 301 S. West Temple.
Hupah!
Long before fraternal organizations
or the phrase “My Big Fat” were
ever associated with being Greek,
those who identify themselves
as such have been putting on a
festival designed to promote that
which makes their culture unique.
Come broaden your horizons by
participating in this year’s celebration and learn how to pronounce
that scrumptious food often
referred to as the Ji-Roh. The event
(which began on Friday) runs from
noon to 10 p.m. Live it up downtown at the Hellenic Memorial
Cultural Center, 279 S. 300 West.
SEPT. 6
Germans Love David Hasselhoff
Previously, unbeknownst to me,
Oktoberfest was actually held in
September. Perhaps the premature
placement of this German-born
Dionysian festival was enacted in
order to make room for all of the
life-enhancing accouterments of
“Rocktober.” Nevertheless, the
celebration of bratwurst, barley
and hops is here and will continue
its presence every Saturday and
Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. at
Snowbird Ski Resort. Six hours is
RED REVIEWS
continued from page R4
It’s admirable that the Isley
Brothers are able to get their
freak on at such an old age, but
it’s hard not to be a little disturbed by the idea of a 60-yearold man dressing like a pimp
and getting it on with Lil’ Kim.
Also, it seems Ronald Isley’s
old-fashioned ways played a part
at certain words being cut from
the album. There are no clean or
dirty versions of Body Kiss, but on
the song “Busted,” Isley actually
mumbles certain dirty words
during the song’s chorus. Even Lil’
Kim’s normally filthy mouth has
been muffled when she goes into
too much detail.
Because of the lack of swear
words, though, any LDS sex
machine might want to consider
buying Body Kiss.
[email protected]
MONDAY
Play in the Streets!
Though it’s certainly lovely to
watch the Sugar House and
Downtown areas thrive as a result
of focused efforts to raise the
locales from the deteriorating
effects of urban sprawl, another
gem has been overlooked and is in
need of your attention. The eclectic
Ninth and Ninth region—refuge
for artists, cinephiles and lovers of
premium bread—is slowly decaying. Today is the perfect opportunity to show the block some love
by visiting its annual street fair.
All of the token “fair” fare will be
on hand to entice all your senses.
Hopefully though, the biggest
sense struck will be the common
one—and stopping by will become
the only logical thing to do.
SATURDAY
the top, playing it low-key for
added emotional impact instead
of over-playing the scenes and
becoming comical. Instead, the
characters create an emotional
platform from which the real political situation can be examined.
[email protected]
SUNDAY
TUESDAY
SEPT. 9
Rough Skies Ahead?
Chicago’s Low Skies is a rock band
with a penchant for darkly atmospheric music and songs about
Texas. Tonight they’ll play another
Western venue when they hit Kilby
Court, 741 S. 330 West. Read more
about the band’s sources of inspiration in this week’s Beat section.
WEDNESDAY
SEPT. 10
Stark Raving Mod
Tonight is production night. This
means that all of us are holed up
in The Chronicle’s dungeon eating
cold burritos and pulling our hair
out trying to perfect perfection.
Oh, how we wish we could be out
on the town, gallivanting about
like a bunch of late ’60s-era hipster
Brits. Perhaps we could live vicariously through you as you groove
at Ready! Steady! Go! Do it at the
Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East.
HERRING
continued from page R2
music, provided God speaks with a
drawl, thinks carpet-bombing kicks
ass and likes to decorate his truck
with decals of little boys peeing on
Chevrolet logos.
Hello, what’s this? Gallagher is
performing on Friday. Gallagher is
the comedy profession’s version of
graphic driver’s ed videos and antismoking ads that show cancer-ravaged lungs. This could happen to
you, kids.
I’m starting to think Gallagher’s not taking his run for
governor of California seriously.
Gallagher wowed audiences in
the 1980s by smashing watermelons with sledgehammers. If we’re
lucky, he’ll smash an award-winning melon and the melon’s distraught grower will slap him silly.
What’s the matter, Utah State
Fair? Couldn’t you book Yakov
Smirnof?
Line dancing, butter cow sculptures and demolition derbies— if
all the crap about the autumn
harvest didn’t reel you in, there’s
plenty of other stuff to appeal to
your redneck ass.
So pry that bottle of Old Crow
from your festering pie-hole and
let’s go a-fairin’. f
[email protected]
Ah, few people covet any position more than that of the Hairless Dog Queen
of the Utah State Fair. We love you Fifi/Fido and your goddess keeper.
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