The Horrorpops Are Sitcoms Dead?

t
l
Sa R
E
K
A
SH
28
-N
OV
. 10
The
THE UTAH DANCE EXPLOSION
.
CT
FI
O
NE
TASTE IN A&E
The Horrorpops
Danish spookabilly
comes to the Lo-Fi
Are Sitcoms Dead?
Fall’s new comedies,
one month later
Plus Bright Eyes at
Kingsbury, Local Indie
Rock from TaughtMe
and Reviews Galore:
‘Capote,’ The Silver
Jews, Boards of
Canada, Bret Easton
Ellis, ‘Backstairs at the
White House’ and more
The Salt Shaker
Contents
Issue No. 1, Oct. 28 through Nov. 10
DANCE
Dance-O-Rama page 4
Four big shows in two weeks
LITERATURE
A Trip to ‘Lunar Park’ page 5
Bret Easton Ellis’s latest exploration of modern life
TELEVISION
The Funny and the Foul page 7
How the new fall sitcoms have shaped up
DVD
Get Personal with the Presidents page 6
The 1979 mini series ‘Backstairs at the White House’
MUSIC
Horrorlicious Spookabilly page 12
The Horrorpops at the Lo-Fi Cafe
A Lesson from TaughtMe page 9
A local indie rocker hits the rode with a new CD
Bright Eyes page 14
Conor Oberst is on his way to Kingsbury Hall
FILM REVIEWS
The Different Layers of ‘Capote’ page 15
Philip Seymour Hoffman smells Oscar
SACCHARIN [SATIRE]
Flashback to ‘Star Wars’ page 21
The Salt Shaker’s original 1977 review
Comics page 22
‘Life in Hell’ and ‘The Sweetest of Dreams’
WHAT TO DO?
More Than 60 Events page 16
Welcome to
The Salt
Shaker
Still with that new magazine smell
C
ongratulations, you’re reading
The Salt Shaker, Salt Lake City’s
newest (as of print time) A&E
periodical. With news, interviews, reviews
and spotlights on the local and national
arts scene, The Salt Shaker provides a new
perspective on what the city has to offer its
many film, music, art, videogame, book,
dance and theater enthusiasts.
Whether you’re an expert, a
wannabe expert or have a casual
interest, The Salt Shaker provides the insight and information to help its readers comprehend and navigate the art world.
It is the magazine to turn to for
thoughtful A&E coverage and
thorough listings, whether you
feel like mingling at an art show,
sitting in a dark movie theater,
taking in a play, staying home
with a book, DVD or video game
or moshing at a dance performance. Whether you enjoy our
in-depth pieces or simply want to
spot a few recommendations and
scan “What to Do”—the calendar
of events—The Salt Shaker serves
your needs.
You might not have seen a
layout quite like our extensive
two-week calendar before, but
after months of experimentation and debate, its format
stood out as the best one that
didn’t require three months of
training to read. Rather than
spread information across several calendars dedicated to different subjects, our single calendar
reveals everything there is to do
on a given day. However, those
who know what kind of events
they’re looking for will find
that dance, film, literature,
music, theater, classical music
and “other” entries are grouped
with like events and identified
with icons.
Keep reading the magazine—
we’re adding lots of new features
in the coming weeks—and let
the staff know how to serve you
better. Please send your suggestions, comments, criticisms and
belligerent hate mail to
[email protected].
Sincerely,
The Salt Shaker staff
The Salt Shaker Staff
Oct. 28 - Nov. 10
Editor in Chief
Jeremy Mathews
Logo Design/Consultant
Stephen Coles
Assistant Editors
Chris Bellamy
Craig Froehlich
Illustrator/Webmaster
Janean Parker
Business Manager
Patrick Waldrop
Graphic Design
Stephanie Geerlings
Jeremy Mathews
Promotions/Sales
Trever Hadley
Photography
Dave Tada
Contributing Writers
Rory L. Aronsky
Stephanie Geerlings
Trever Hadley
Andrew Haley
Jessica Mathews
Brent Sallay
Jordan Scrivner
Autumn Thatcher
Matt Thurber
Karen Anne Webb
Diana Whiteside
Cover art by Leia Bell
www.leiabell.com
The Salt Shaker is published every other
Friday and distributed for free in the Salt
Lake Valley by Salt Shaker Productions,
LLP, 752 E. 6th Ave. Salt Lake City, UT
84103. © 2005, all rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. Printed in the USA. For advertising, email [email protected]
The Salt Shaker
DANCE/LITERATURE
DANCE
It’s Dance-O-Rama!
As the dance season gets underway, Salt Lake City will encounter an explosion of
dance shows in the coming weeks. Karen Anne Webb helps you sort it all out.
From the ’60s to Now
Performing Dance Company shows
“Poof,” for the dance majors, and
strength in versatility as it pres“Exit,” for a fluctuating cast of 15
ents its fall concert, “Physically
to 25 dancers. Her process for both
Speaking,” in a series of six perforpieces involved asking her dancers,
mances at the University of Utah’s
“Can you picture past, present and
Marriott Center for Dance, starting
future simultaneously in one moon Thursday, Oct. 27.
ment?” “She wanted her dancers to
The show features several guest
be thinking movers,” says Geber.
artists, says artistic director Pam
Contrasting with the older genGeber. “And it’s
eration, the work of
a great range of
choreogra‘Physically Speaking’ emerging
artists: different
phers is featured with
Performing Dance Company
generations are
“The Lady of the Lake.”
Thursdays through Saturdays,
represented as
Mary Frances Lloyd’s
Oct. 27 to Nov. 5
well as different
piece creates power7:30 p.m.
parts of the world
fully sensual images
Marriott Center for Dance
and different
by immersing a dancer
(University of Utah)
aesthetics.”
in a tank of water.
Tickets cost $10, $7 for U
Zeng
Ririe-Woodbury
students and staff, and are
Huanxing, a
alum Andy Vaca’s
available at the door or the
graduate of and
“Swoon, Croon, and
Kingsbury Hall box office.
professor at the
Swing” is based on
www.dance.utah.edu
Beijing Academy,
the Big Band era. It
set a duet for PDC
is an energetic, fun
members last spring. He returns
piece that Geber says is “beautifully
with “Qin Se,” a larger work based
structured.”
on the music of two traditional
Faculty member Satu
zither-like Chinese instruments that
Hummasti’s “Six Conversations”
create harmony together, inspiring
blends music with spoken text.
bodies intertwining in space.
Geber says, “Satu created it very
Deborah Hay, a motive force of
specifically on these 11 dancers. It
the early post-modernist moveblends full physical movement with
ment of the ’60s, has set two works:
subtly beautiful partnering.”
Ballet West Meets Aspen Ballet
For those longing for the clatter of pointe shoes from
professionals, Ballet West hosts Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
on Friday, Nov. 11 at the Capitol Theatre. The presentation is part of an exchange that will bring Ballet
West to the Aspen
Dance Festival in
Aspen Ballet
the summer of
at Ballet West
2006.
Friday and Saturday,
The small but
Nov. 11 and 12
popular company
7:30 p.m. plus
makes numerous
2 p.m. on Saturday
visits to this area.
Capitol Theatre
On this turn, they
(50 W. 200 South)
will be performing
Tickets cost $20 and $40
the oft-reprised
and are available through ArtTix
“Like a Samba” by
(www.arttix.com)
Trey McIntyre, a
reprise of Moses
Pendleton’s “Noir Blanc”—which definitely shows
Pendleton’s Pilobolus Dance Theatre roots—and
Nicolo Fonte’s “Left Unsaid.”
Something for Everyone
Utah Ballet rolls out its fall proKing. “Both Bruce and Jennie…have
gram on Thursday, Nov. 10. Artistic
proven themselves in the past—ofDirector Attila Ficzere characterfering them this forum to develop
izes the program
themselves further is
as one with
a great opportunity
Utah Ballet in Fall
“something for
for both them and us,”
Thursdays through
everyone…classays Ficzere.
Saturdays, Nov. 10 to 19
sical or contemFiczere himself will
7:30 p.m. plus
2 p.m. on Saturday
porary ballet,
be reprising a piece
or anything in
based on Vivaldi and
Marriott Center for Dance
between.”
further developing
(University of Utah)
Tickets cost $10 and are
Guest cho“Lone Again,” a work to
available at the Kingsbury Hall
reographers
Navajo flute music. He
box office (581-7100).
include Ballet
had previously set a feWest’s Bruce
male solo to this music,
Caldwell and
but now that the comBallet West alum and newly orpany has four danseurs, he can fulfill
dained “Mrs. Utah” Jennie Creerhis original design.
Oct. 28 - Nov. 10
“Noir Blanc,” choreographed by Moses Pendleton, is one of the pieces that
Aspen Ballet will present through Ballet West.
The Innocence of ‘The
Secret Garden’
In the 13 years since dancer
and choreographer Raymond
Van Mason and composer Kurt
Bestor first conceived of a ballet based on Frances Hodgson
Burnett’s “The Secret Garden,”
the ballet has changed venues,
companies and dancers.
Originally conceived for
Ballet West under Sir John
Hart, it was shelved when the
artistic staff changed. It wasn’t
until the last 12 months that
Mason and Bestor dusted it
off for Mason’s Imagine Ballet
Theatre. Imagine is a youth
ballet with a bevy of young ballerinas and danseurs. The bal-
‘The Secret Garden’
Thursday through
Saturday, Nov. 10 to 12
7:30 p.m. plus
2 p.m. on Saturday
Peery’s Egyptian Theater
(2415 Washington, Ogden)
For tickets, call
1-800-337-2690
let—the first production of the
book as a ballet with an original score—premiere Nov. 10 at
Ogden’s Egyptian Theater.
“I’m really glad it happened
this way,” says Mason, “and
that the initial staging will be
with a group of younger dancers. There’s something to be said
for unfeigned innocence when
you’re staging a children’s book.
The dancers of IBT are bringing
the story to life in a nice way.”
Although the dancers are
not as adept as the professionals at Ballet West would have
been, Mason has not dumbed
down the choreography from
his original conception.
Mason says that this version
offers something that can’t
be found in the other versions
in every medium known to
man. “I feel the Broadway version made the story too adult
and not enough about seeing
into a child’s mind. We have
a good balance of dance and
storytelling.”
[email protected]
Something’s Rotten in the State of
Book Review:
Suburbia
by Andrew Haley
I
n Bret Easton Ellis’s
new novel Lunar Park,
a world-famous
author, as infamous for
his drug-fueled public
decomposition as for
the decapitations and
orgies depicted in his
books, tries to settle
down in suburbia with
his beautiful wife and
her adolescent kids. The
fictional author is named
Bret Easton Ellis, and like
the Bret Easton Ellis of
this world, his celebrity
and liberty are the
byproducts of a literary
career that gave the world
Less Than Zero, The Rules of
Attraction, American Psycho
and Glamorama.
As in this world, these
novels are raging, parodic diatribes against the materialism
and superficiality of contemporary America, particularly
the contemporary America of
A-list celebrities and power
mongers.
Ellis’s novels pulse with a
demonic energy as their narratives string together cokefueled homoerotic orgies,
cannibalism, pornographic
underage sex, rape, drug addiction and wanton dismemberment into a body of work as
indignant and self-righteous
as it is glaringly, shiningly
Pop. While these novels, especially the 1991 Psycho, incited
an uproar from horrified reviewers in both this world and
the world of Lunar Park, they
are vindicated because they
stem from the same spring as
Flowers of Evil and the work of
Goya. They are furious indictments of the Reagan ’80s and
the Prozac-addled, Sex in the
City ’90s. Patrick Bateman,
the title character of American
Psycho, is not Bret Easton Ellis.
Lunar Park
Bret Easton Ellis
Knopf
320 pages
$25.00 hardcover
He is, we learn in Lunar Park,
his father.
Lunar Park takes Ellis’s metropolis out of his writing.
Gone are the trendy clubs,
the soundproofed penthouse
apartments, the steaming
nocturnal streets swarming
with prostitutes and other
invisibles peddling their victimhood at cut rates. Instead,
we have Ellsinore Lane,
a quiet street of identical
McMansions in an unnamed
state near Manhattan. The
name is not coincidence. As
in Hamlet, this Ellsinore is a
dead zone trapped between
the worlds of the living
and the dead, the fictional
and the real, the mad and
the sane. As in Hamlet, and
made famous by Joyce, this
Ellsinore becomes the setting for the maddening,
soul-wringing transformation of son to father, father to
son and author to character.
What happens, Lunar Park
asks, when you wake up one
morning in suburbia and
realize you are turning into
your father, and your father is
Patrick Bateman?
Ellis fans will find the
same graphic, mind-bending meta-fiction in Lunar Park
that they found in American
Psycho and Glamorama. As in
those books, the narrator
of Lunar Park is on the brink,
constantly ingesting cocaine
and Klonopin to get back to
normal. Madness and fury
express themselves through
Ellis’s trademark horror: a
raven-shaped doll that eviscerates the neighborhood animals, a giraffe that gets hit by
lightening, a house that be-
gins organically sloughing off
its surfaces to reveal another
house beneath it, complete
with green shag carpet growing out of the floor.
The venomous parody of the
American rich comes through
with its portraits of druggedout school kids raised in an
over-protective dystopia of
neurosis and self-loathing.
But there is something
about the suburban setting
that keeps knocking Lunar Park
back into camp. When Ellis put
a butcher knife in the hands of
a Wall Street success story, and
turned the glamorous world
of the rich and famous into a
slaughterhouse, he was carving new ground. But in putting
the monstrous and demonic in
suburbia, Ellis is re-treading
The Amityville Horror, Poltergeist and
half a dozen other films made
two decades ago. Where horror
was an artistic vehicle in Ellis’s
last two novels, here it feels
like Hollywood trope.
Lunar Park is a good book. But
reading it, I got the sense that
Ellis was resting on his laurels.
It lacks the maniacal, sardonic
energy of his previous two
novels, but its ending blows
Glamorama’s out of the water.
Its last two pages, about a son
burying his father and an author moving on, may be Ellis’s
finest writing yet.
[email protected]
The Salt Shaker
DVD
Getting Personal
with the Presidents
TELEVISION
peaking of…
A Month in, Some New Sitcoms Show Promise, Others Contempt
by Rory L. Aronsky
G
eology, algebra,
chemistry,
geography and
other fact-based subjects
require memorization.
Know this formula. They
all lead from A to B to C
or various combinations.
History involves people,
has drama, and is open
to interpretation. In
other words, it’s English
class with a more
truthful beat—the stuff
that inspires fiction.
Romances? Wars? It all ties
together.
House for William Howard
Taft and continued all the way
That’s why history should
through the Eisenhower adbe taught like
ministration.
an English
“Backstairs at the As mother and
class. Get
daughter, they
White House”
to know our
were the maids
Acorn Media
founding faof the presiNot Rated
thers. See the
dents and first
$59.92
Boston Tea
ladies. Based on
Four discs
Party as a risky
My Thirty Years
Movies: HHHH
action sequence
Backstairs at the
(out of four)
if you’re so inWhite House by
clined. The stoLillian Rogers,
DVD: HHH
ries may differ
“Backstairs
from author to
at the White
author and educator to educaHouse” transforms these men
tor, but a ravaged battlefield
into human beings.
can be just as affecting as the
No longer are they simply
journey in Beowulf.
crusty relics of a time long ago.
That’s the nature of
They have feelings, worries,
“Backstairs at the White
anger, joy and deep sorrows
House,” an important minijust as much as we do from
series from 1979 that aired
day to day. Woodrow Wilson
on NBC and is finally getting
(Robert Vaughn) suffers a
new life on DVD, with a restroke, leading his second
spectable four-disc set and a
wife Edith (Claire Bloom) to
beneficial 17-page booklet. The
take charge of her husband’s
series changes the way we norduties. Wilson’s successor,
mally see the U.S. presidents—
Warren Harding (George
through their portraits, their
Kennedy), slowly realizes that
speeches and—if available—the his presidency has slipped
words of others.
from him and landed in the
To us, they may seem like
hands of his cronies, who have
enigmas of authority. Maggie
only used him to get what they
Parks and Lillian Rogers Parks
wanted.
never saw several of them that
Each actor in this producway. They worked at the White
tion, from Olivia Cole as
Oct. 28 - Nov. 10
The Funny and the Foul
by Jessica Mathews
“The Apartment” (MGM/UA, $14.95)
Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” (1960) doesn’t only use the
“executive bowler” as a status symbol and its condition as
a sign of its hero’s emotional health. Shirley MacLaine’s
elevator operator Fran also notes that Jack Lemmon’s C.C.
Baxter is the only man who has the courtesy to take his hat
off while riding. Wilder proves that he understands the importance of hats as much as he understands how to make a
great film.
“Drugstore Cowboy” (Artisan Entertainment, $14.98)
“Hats. OK? Hats. If I ever see a hat on a bed in this house,
man, like, you’ll never see me again. I’m gone.”
“The Adventures of Indiana Jones” (Paramount Home Video,
four discs, $69.99)
Harrison Ford’s adventurous anthropologist Indiana Jones’s
fedora is so iconic that a Google search returns many websites selling replicas. Watch recurring gags throughout the
trilogy and decide whether crushing your arm is worth a hat
that cool—and see some sinister characters who are identified in the credits only by their hats.
“Miller’s Crossing” (Twentieth Century Fox, $14.98)
It’s been said that one of the key elements of Joel and Ethan
Coen’s films is the interesting use of (equally interesting)
hats. “Miller’s Crossing” (1991), the brothers’ homage to
gangster noir starring Gabriel Byrne, is the pinnacle of this
hat-loving. Does each character’s hat tell you something
about their personality, or does the meaning just blow away,
like a hat in the windy woods?
“Steamboat Bill, Jr.” (Kino, $24.95)
In the first act of “Steamboat Bill, Jr.” (1928), one of Buster
Keaton’s five best films (an elite selection) featuring the
masterful cyclone sequence, the actor/director pulled out
some surprise head gear. Instead of the trademark flat
porkpie hat, Keaton’s character arrives in his father’s river
town donning a beret, much to his old man’s chagrin. In his
father’s effort to put his son into an acceptable hat, Keaton
delivers a fast-paced, virtuoso hat-sampling session that
even includes the hats of the silent comedian’s (inferior)
contemporary rivals, Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin.­ Also
check out Keaton’s “Our Hospitality” for 1830s period-related
tall-hat jokes.
—Jeremy Mathews
Maggie and Leslie Uggams as
Lillian (with Tania Johnson as
a young Lillian, who’s great
in a conversation with Victor
Buono as Taft) to the presidential actors, tapped into new
realms to portray creators and
witnesses to history. In supporting roles, Leslie Nielsen
plays the stately chief usher Ike
Hoover, and Cloris Leachman
See ‘Backstairs,’ page 10
T
he sitcom hasn’t
fared well in recent
years. The longrunning favorites have
slowly had their last
hurrahs, leaving “Two
and a Half Men” as the
highest-rated comedy. It
would be easy to suggest
that people have tired of
the old three-camera,
studio-audience model,
but many of the shows
that have dared to
break out of this mold
in previous years, like
“Arrested Development”
and “Scrubs,” haven’t
connected with audiences
the way they have with
critics.
A month into the fall season, the half-hour comedy still
has hope, even if the networks
have lost interest in the genre.
They have only introduced 10
new sitcoms this season, a
mere third of new shows—even
less if running time is considered. The hour-long “Desperate
Housewives” is the only hit
from last season that they
aren’t replicating with at least
four other shows. Seven shows
follow the classic laugh-track
model, while the other three
take a more progressive route.
Perhaps coincidentally, two
of those outliers, “Everybody
Hates Chris” and “My Name is
Earl,” are by far the best new
comedies of the season.
“Everybody Hates Chris”
(UPN, Thursdays at 7 p.m.) is
this season’s reason not to give
up on television. The semi-autobiographical series chronicles the life of 13-year-old Chris
Rock (Tyler James Williams)
in 1982 Brooklyn. The series
opens with the adult Chris
Rock describing the swinging
We love “Everybody Hates Chris.”
life he thought he would have
by the time he was a teenager.
Instead, he has ended up being
the only black kid at Corleone
Jr. High because his “ghetto
snob” mother (Tichina Arnold)
wants him to better himself.
He suffers the ultimate indignity of having a 10-year-old
brother who is not only taller
than him but better with girls.
Not since the early episodes of
“Malcolm in the Middle” has a
kid had it so tough.
Chris Rock’s narration
provides the kind of personal
retrospective insight that
gives the show an emotional
resonance, and it also happens to be hilarious. When
Chris’s friend tells him that
he is going to need a condom,
the young Chris agrees, but
the adult Chris concedes that
he won’t even know what
one is for another two years.
After five episodes, the show
appears to have what it takes
to attract audiences, beyond
UPN’s standards anyway. With
any luck, we’ll still be able to
watch when Chris finds out
what a condom is.
“My Name is Earl” (NBC,
Tuesday at 8 p.m.) also shows
promise and is currently the
highest rated new comedy of
the season. Jason Lee (“Almost
Famous”) is Earl, a petty crimi-
nal who, after hearing Karma
discussed by Carson Daly, decides to try to right the wrongs
of his life. The pilot meanders
in a lot of exposition explaining Earl’s discovery of Karma
as well as marriage and divorce
with his unfaithful wife, Joy
(Jaime Pressly), but the following episodes have allowed it to
pay off. Lee pulls off a difficult
role and is able to avoid the
pitfalls of playing a less than
brilliant character by making
Earl relatable. Earl’s abetters
include his brother Randy
(Ethan Suplee) and motel maid
Catalina (Nadine Velazquez),
who have a certain apathy to
Earl’s plan and life in general,
but nevertheless offer their
expertise. The longevity of this
concept has been called into
question, but why worry about
the future when the present is
this good?
“Kitchen Confidential”
(Fox, Mondays at 7:30 p.m.) is
the third non-traditional sitcom, and the least impressive.
It’s the story of Jack Bourdain,
a recovering alcoholic chef
with dreamy eyes, who is trying to do the best with his
second chance as head chef.
His restaurant is staffed with
a rogue from the wild days, a
cranky pastry chef, a kid from
Utah, a ditzy hostess and an
adversarial waitress. It is a fast
paced show, so when there’s a
picking-food-up-off-the-floor
joke, at least they don’t linger
on it for very long. There have
been many pleasant moments
on the show but nothing that
is truly hilarious. And if rumors of cancellation are correct,
it will soon be the first sitcom
casualty of the 2005 season.
‘That’s why this machine is
Dynamite!’
“How I Met Your Mother”
(CBS, Mondays at 7:30 p.m.) is
the best of the new laugh-track
shows. It may even be the best
laugh-track show on TV today,
but ironically it is trying to do
so many things that just don’t
fit in the universe of a studio
audience. The show is told as
a flashback by Ted (Bob Saget)
to his kids in the year 2030.
Because of this premise, the
show is able to play with cross
cutting, a quicker pace, freezing time, flashbacks and even
cutaway close ups, none of
which are suited to the theatrically staged three-camera style
the show is stuck with. For the
record, when you are doing a
The funny “How I Met Your Mother” actors do the best they can with a laugh track.
The Salt Shaker
TELEVISION
joke in which a club is so loud
that you have to use subtitles,
it is ridiculous to be able to
hear laughter.
That said, the cast members
are quite likable and have good
chemistry as a group of twentysomething friends. There is
something refreshing about
having a neurotic male main
character (Josh Radnor as Ted at
27) who is worried about finding
Miss Right. Alyson Hannigan
(“Buffy”) and Jason Segel
(“Freaks and Geeks”) are his
newly engaged friends, while
Neil Patrick Harris is Barney—
that wacky obnoxious sidekick
that every sitcom needs. The
show has been getting funnier
since the pilot and there is potential here. I would like to see
what it could do if freed from
the conceit of a studio audience.
“Out of Practice” (CBS,
Mondays at 8:30 p.m.) has
been given the cushy time slot
between “Two and a Half Men”
and “CSI: Miami.” The most
notable thing about Practice is
the cast: Stockard Channing,
Jennifer Tilly and Henry
Winkler all star. However, its
biggest contribution to pop culture may be the replacement
of Winkler’s family lawyer
on “Arrested Development”
with fellow “Happy Days”
alum Scott Baio (sorry,
but I must plug “Arrested
Development” as much as possible, Fox, Mondays at 7 p.m.).
Unfortunately, the talented
cast is placed in a show that
feels like it was written for
Sitcoms 101. The dysfunctional
family of doctors feels gimmicky, and the show’s high
production values only make it
feel empty.
Another show running with
what might have seemed like
an original concept is “Twins”
(WB, Fridays at 8:30 p.m.). So
Sara Gilbert is twins with a sexy
lingerie model (Molly Stanton).
The creators of “Will and Grace”
decided to stick with convention and make the model so
stupid that she is barely aware
that Gilbert makes smart-ass
Oct. 28 - Nov. 10
MUSIC
remarks at her expense. It’s not
a crime to have a stupid character, but at least have the decency to not end every episode with
the condescending realization
that despite their differences,
they are sisters and they love
each other.
“Hot Properties” (ABC,
Fridays at 8:30 p.m.) is the perfect show for people who have
just watched “Hope and Faith.”
It’s like “Designing Women,”
only with real-estate agents.
And it is set in the least convincing New York City on TV.
It does have some laughs and a
nice assortment of characters
(not counting the zany neighbors). If they move the show
to Miami they could avoid unfavorable comparisons to “Sex
and the City” and add a third
meaning to the title.
“Love Inc.” (UPN,
Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.) makes
you long for the originality of
“Hot Properties.” It’s another
New York City-based female
office comedy, only this time
the ladies are matchmakers
who—believe it or not—still
have problems with their own
love lives. There is actually a
character whose sole purpose
is to make jokes about wanting
to marry an American to get a
green card. Yes, it is that bad.
“Freddie” (ABC,
Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.) finally allows Freddie Prinze Jr.
to bring to the small screen the
bland sitcom-style comedy he’s
perfected on the big screen.
The premise of four female relatives moving into successful
chef Freddie’s swank bachelor
pad is better than at least half
of his movies. So far the show
is doing well, so hopefully if
it stays on the air he won’t get
the chance to make “Head over
Heels 2.”
“The War at Home” (Fox,
Sundays at 7:30 p.m.) is the
worst new show of the season.
It wants to be “Married with
Children…”—only without the
surreal exaggeration. This show
fancies itself as edgy and postmodern because it references
Salt of the City
Quel Report!
With two solid weeks of “The
Colbert Report” under his belt,
Stephen Colbert proves he deserves
his own desk and dispels any doubts
about a show based on a fake commercial. Taking the 11:30 p.m. slot
on Comedy Central after his old
show, the “Daily Show” veteran
plays his O’Reilly-esque persona
with an inspired bravado. He’s not
afraid to recreate interviews from existing materials or
tell Bush that he must stay the course with the Harriet
Miers nomination. And he knows that if you’re not
watching, it’s because you don’t have the balls.
“The Mary Tyler Moore Show”
and “Eight Simple Rules.”
Michael Rapaport’s best roles
have been as troubled or goofy
outsiders, so why he is playing a
sitcom dad, I don’t know. Why
Fox picked this up for the rest of
the season, I can’t imagine.
So what have we learned after more than a month of new
comedies? If you are looking for
hilarious and creative shows
and are already watching
“Arrested Development,” you
should be watching “Everybody
Hates Chris” and “My Name
is Earl.” If you still can’t kick
the laugh-track habit, get a
healthy dose of “How I Met
Your Mother.” If you went to
see “Summer Catch,” check out
“Freddie.” And to piss me off,
watch “The War at Home.”
[email protected]
One Man’s Local Music Lesson
by Trever Hadley
I
magine if Björk had a
little brother who was
heavily influenced by
the minimal ambience
of Low. That’s the best
way to describe Salt Lake
City local act TaughtMe’s
music. Blake Henderson,
the hands, mind and
voice behind this sound,
describes Arms as Traps,
his second collection of
songs under the moniker,
as “more human and
fleshy, less shy and cloudy”
than the last record, Ready
to Go Under, which had a
slightly more ambient and
electronic flavor.
With lyrical inspiration from Phil Elvrum of
The Microphones and Will
Oldham, Henderson’s CD dis-
TaughtMe
New CD
Arms as Traps
Exumbrella Records
Return to Salt Lake City
Friday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Kilby Court
(741 S. 330 West)
Home of tHe
Wo rld Fa m o us
‘Ski Bum Club’
Uta H’s
Biggest
1751 south 1100 east
s andwicH
483-2971
www.myspace.com/taughtme
www.exumbrella.com
plays an immense amount of
human emotion and a unique
collection of heartfelt themes.
This is evident in lyrics like,
”You could be combing my
hair/ While I’m clipping my
fingernails...but you’re not
gonna know where I’m at,”
from ”Where I’m At.”
Every syllable sounds carefully placed on this album.
Regarding lyrics, Henderson
explains, “I don’t like to place
words into songs haphazardly.
I only write them down if they
are very interesting to me or
resonate in some significant
way.”
Almost every track on the CD
has soothing background vocals
that sound like a child humming the chorus. These vocals
create a childlike innocence
that is reminiscent of nursery
rhymes, especially when mumbling dum-du-dum-dums or
na-na-nas can be heard faintly
accompanying the song.
Although Henderson is the
only musician on the record,
TaughtMe’s live show employs
the aid of two other equally
minimalist musicians—Andy
Poulson on drums and Adam
Peterson on bass. As a threepiece act, the band provides
the same intensity and exuberance in front of an audience
that you get listening to the CD
in your car. When the crowd
holds its breath with each
Blake Henderson talks to himself, perhaps in a metaphorical representation of his project
TaughtMe’s CDs, on which he plays all of the instruments.
hit of the kick drum and bass
while Henderson emotionally
cries out “Where we found
you,” it proves that TaughtMe
is not just incredible behind a
mixer, but also as a band that
can make an entire crowd drop
its collective jaw.
Currently, TaughtMe is mak-
ing jaws drop across the United
States, on a five-week tour.
Henderson quit his job at eBay
to push Arms as Traps. But luckily
the band hasn’t left its hometown for good. TaughtMe will
be back in Salt Lake City at Kilby
Court on Friday, Nov. 18.
[email protected]
The Salt Shaker Wants You!
…unless you aren’t an
Ad Rep,
Writer
or Designer
Email your résumé to
[email protected]
Internships are available for college credit.
The Salt Shaker
‘Backstairs’
CD
Reviews
continued from page icily performs as housekeeper Mrs. Jaffray.
The creative and economical filmmaking of producers Ed
Friendly and Michael O’Herlihy, who also directed, complements
these actors’ talents. It also gives weight to weak moments by
actors such as Lee Grant as First Lady Grace Coolidge, who is
distraught after the death of her youngest son. Grant slides dangerously close to melodrama, something the production shuns
outright in the hours preceding that administration. Whether
the real Mrs. Coolidge acted like this or not, it doesn’t fit well in
the piece.
Harry Morgan plays Harry S. Truman with a touch of
Colonel Sherman Potter—perhaps Morgan was on hiatus from
“M*A*S*H.” It’s a distraction, but one which smooths itself out
when Truman directs Maggie to lay some suits out for him on the
bed because he has to speak to “Joe Stalin and Churchill” about
ending World War II. As Truman’s reflection walks away from the
mirror, the glass is replaced by footage of an atomic bomb explosion, a powerful revelation of the result.
Maggie and Lillian also live their own lives, encountering
financial hardships, promises gained and lost and the turmoil
of Emmett, Jr. (Kevin Hooks), the brother and son who’s in flux
after being gassed during World War I. They go through almost
as much as the various first families, but as they stay, the power
changes and there are always new people to meet and new eccentricities emerging—most amusingly when tobacco spittoons are
placed a few feet apart on the floors of the East Wing as we hear
Harding taking the oath of office.
Most of all, “Backstairs at the White House” inspires us to look
into history, to read more, understand more and be more interested. The presidents have now become human by way of gripping storytelling and strong actors. In turn, curiosity takes hold.
That is the greatest honor this miniseries has done for those men
and us.
Invites you and a guest to a
special advance screening of
out of 10
juicy
Kilby Court and The Salt Shaker present
Starting TODAY, stop by
Friday, Nov. 11
featuring music by
THE TREMULA
VILE BLUE SHADES
MUSHMAN
268 SOUTH 200 EAST
plus
and pick up a complimentary
“admit 2” pass to the special
advance screening!
GIVEAWAYS AND MORE!
SUPPLIES ARE LIMITED. EACH PASS ADMITS TWO. LIMIT ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. THE SCREENING
WILL BE HELD THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 7TH AT 7:00PM AT A LOCAL THEATRE. SPONSORS AND
THEIR DEPENDENTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A PASS.
$6 • 7:30 p.m. • Kilby Court • 738 S. 330 West
www.saltshakermagazine.com
www.kilbycourt.com
The Campfire Headphase
Boards of Canada
Warp
by Brent Sallay
[email protected]
The Salt Shaker
Inaugural Concert
8½
OPENS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH
10 Oct. 28 - Nov. 10
An excerpt from the Book of Brent, 17:31:
…And on the third day, the Brothers Sandison, Boards of Canada to believers,
created The Campfire Headphase. And behold, they saw it was good.
But lo, there were those in the land who were envious of the brothers’
mad skillz. And they did seek to divide the brothers’ fans asunder, even into
the wiley priestcrafts of men, preaching “I have the new Boards of Canada,
and behold, it is good.”
And lo, there were many fans
who were fooled by the wiles of
these evil men. But lo, there were
also many who could see through
their deceivings, and did recognize
the works of Freescha, Arovane and
others.
And still, there were many others who knew not what to believe,
and did dwindle in belief even to the
point of questioning the existence of
Boards of Canada. But behold, when that great day did come, and the brothers’ true work was made manifest to the world, all were made known of its
glory, and those who had been in error were at once in complete knowledge of
their shame. And there was much listening and rejoicing in the land for months
and years to come…
So will be remembered the third coming of Boards of
Canada.
While some may see this album as a return to the group’s
“pastoral” electronica roots, this is no rehash. Most notably,
guitars have been subtly added to the mix. This serves well for
the trio of songs that open the album. These songs are as good
as anything else the group has done.
More traditionally electronic Boards instrumentation is
present throughout the rest of the album, best evidenced by the
excellent “84 Pontiac Dream,” “Oscar See Through Red Eye” and
“Slow This Bird Down.”
“Dayvan Cowboy” doesn’t quite succeed at being as epic and
sweeping as it wants to be. “Hey Saturday Sun” fares a little
better with a more complex beat arrangement. But as a whole,
this album is immensely satisfying, and easily the group’s
most accessible work yet. Steering away from some of the more
experimental elements of Geogaddi that might have alienated
some people, The Campfire Headphase is both a revelation for established fans and an excellent proselyting tool for new converts to
the fold.
[email protected]
MUSIC
9
out of 10
wow
Tanglewood Numbers
The Silver Jews
Drag City / Caroline
by Jordan Scrivner
In the interest of full disclosure, The Silver Jews’ frontman
David Berman is pretty much the greatest lyricist of all time.
You will never find lyrics, past or present, that come close to
Berman’s haunting imagery of fake IDs and honey bees. Of
course, Jewel is a published poet too, but she can’t rock as hard
as The Silver Jews—and the
band rocks with great aplomb
on its new CD, Tanglewood
Numbers.
Besides Berman, The
Silver Jews lineup consists of
a rotating cast of characters,
including but not limited to
Berman’s various musician
friends, members of the late,
great, rock band Pavement
and his wife Cassie, who first
started singing backup vocals on the band’s last album, 2001’s
Bright Flight.
This is the Jews’ post-rehab album. As Berman put it in a
recent interview with Pitchfork Media, “My Y2K party lasted
four years longer than I expected it to. It was fun. Not the last
year. The last year was bad. I went to rehab. Relapsed a couple
of times. Doing good now.” He also got married and survived at
least one suicide attempt. It’s long past being a cliché that every
rock band has a post-rehab album. This is Berman’s.
However, unlike many a post-rehab album, Tanglewood
Numbers feels fresh and alive. While Bright Flight and 1998’s
American Water (arguably the band’s best album) were alt-country classics, with more focus on the lyrical content than the
music, Tanglewood Numbers rocks. Berman has even implied that
he would be willing to tour and play live for this album, something pretty much unheard of from the private and quiet songwriter. (Did I mention he was mostly a poet?)
Oddly enough, the only weak element of the album is
that the band members don’t go far enough on certain songs.
“Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed,” “I’m Getting Back into
Getting Back into You” and “How Can I Love You (If You Won’t
Lie Down?)” feel like they end a good minute and a half before
they should. These songs never extend beyond three minutes,
so they feel like they’re ending just before they get going.
“Sometimes a Pony…” in particular seems to stop right before a
good instrumental break.
Still, this is a Silver Jews record. And whether Berman and
Co. are singing about where an animal sleeps when the ground
is wet or writing a seven-minute narrative spook-ballad called
“The Farmer’s Hotel,” they maintain a literary brilliancy. And
thank the lord above that Berman didn’t die. He obviously has
quite a lot of rocking to do.
[email protected]
The Salt Shaker
Pride & Prejudice
1/2 V
11
Horrorlicious Spookabilly
The Horrorpops
Serve Up an Early
Halloween Treat
Guitarist Geoff Kresge shreds.
J
udging by the shows coming
through town in October,
Halloween came more than a
week early this month. On Oct.
19, the same night that legendary
punk outfit The Misfits played the
Rocky Point Haunted House for its
25th anniversary celebration, The
Horrorpops stopped by Salt Lake City
at the Lo-Fi Cafe.
by Matt Thurber
photos by Dave Tada
12 Oct. 28 - Nov. 10
It was one of those weeknights
where fanatics found themselves torn between choosing
the iconic veterans (sans Glenn
Danzig) or the relatively unknown up-and-comers whose
songs encompass an eerily similar combination of upbeat and
zombie-themed music. While
each show most likely featured
equal amounts of B-movie imagery fused with punk fury,
The Horrorpops performance
surely differed as the rockers
mixed up traditionally anthemic punk with a refreshing
sound best-described as Danish
spookabilly.
As part of a Hellcat Records
showcase tour, the night
kicked off with SoCal punkers
Left Alone. With a mohawksporting singer named Elvis
Cortez, the band cranked out
about a half-hour or so of standard four-chord punk rock.
Throughout the band’s short
set, the vocalist gave repeated
shout-outs to his friends in
Ogden, Utah as well as the typical rants many out-of-staters
have about 3.2 beer.
Next, the bill featured a
hardcore icon, Roger Miret and
The Disasters. With the majority of its members from the
Bronx, the home of New York
hardcore, the band has picked
up where Miret’s former band
Agnostic Front left off. The noticeable difference nowadays
is that Miret and his new buddies have all but given up the
breakdowns and sing-alongs
from the old days. They now
inject rhythm and melody to
the songs off their new album,
1984. In addition to directing
circle pits with interspersed
Oi Oi Oi chants, The Disasters
finished off the set with
straightforward hardcore classics including “Crucify” and
“What Has Become of Me?”
By the time the Lo-Fi filled
with Bettie Page look-alikes—
some girls even dressed in
poodle skirts—it was obvious
the band was close to taking
the stage. The Scandinavian
crew came out flashing devil
horns before jumping into
some serious bass-slapping
rockabilly. Much like The
Cramps with a little Southern
Culture on the Skids influence,
The Horrorpops played song
after song as vocalist Patricia
Day kept her head down on the
upright bass, sporting a grin
hiding hints of excitement,
inebriation or maybe a bit of
both.
While The Horrorpops are
on the road in support of Bring
It On, the band continued with
the same good old-fashioned
rock and roll of its debut, Hell
Yeah!. Maybe it stems from
what the band members grew
up listening to in Copenhagen,
Denmark—including everything from Chuck Berry to AC/
DC—but as they entertained
every “freak” and “ghoulie” in
the house, they proved that
they like their rock and roll
raw.
Unlike other modern rockabilly outfits, Day never aimed
to outshine her bandmates on
stage. On “Freaks in Uniform,”
guitarist Geoff Kresge had
plenty of solo time on his hollow-body Gretsch while “cheerleaders” No-No and Kamilla
gave the audience a hilarious
psychobilly go-go revue. Even
drummer Henrik Niedermeier
got into the act, often stopping
mid-song if he spotted someone in the crowd who wasn’t at
least bobbing his or her head to
the music.
In the middle of the set,
Day’s vocals often shifted from
singing to growling when she
would ask for “Hell Yeah!”
Vocalist and bassist Patricia Day is a gracious frontwoman.
chants between songs. The
group threw in a few ballads
here and there, including
“Dotted with Hearts,”
but
generally kept the show highenergy with fan favorites like
“Julia” or “Trapped.” If the
audience wanted it fast, The
Horrorpops were not going to
take it down a notch—especially with the amount of crowd
participation that night.
After ending with “Kool
Flattop,” The Horrorpops en-
cored with Day on guitar duty
and Kresge taking over on the
bass. While Kresge introduced
every band member, Day stood
back for a minute to catch her
breath, only to unleash the
song that most people associate
with the band, “Psycho Bitches
From Hell.” After that, the
Horropops jammed until the
lights came on—and continued
for five minutes longer—before
saying good night.
[email protected]
The Horrorpops bring “cheerleaders” on stage to liven up the band’s (already lively) act.
The Salt Shaker
13
MUSIC
FILM
More Than a Pretty Pair of Bright Eyes
venues such as Kingsbury Hall,
where the band will play its
abeled “rock’s boy
Salt Lake City show on Sunday,
genius” by the press,
Nov. 6.
Conor Oberst has
Established on the indie
traveled throughout the
music scene since 1998, Oberst
nation and then some,
earned a significant reputaproving that he is more
tion during the 2004 electhan just a pretty face
tions when he joined Bruce
behind an
Springsteen
acoustic guitar.
and REM
Concert Preview:
Backed by
on an
Bright Eyes
a variety of
arena tour
ever-changing
of swing
Kingsbury Hall
musicians,
states.
(University of Utah)
Oberst takes
Hoping to
Sunday, Nov. 6
the stage as
push voters
Buy tickets for $25 at the
the front man
to check the
Kingsbury Hall box office at
of Bright Eyes
box next to
(801) 581-7100 or through
and hypnotizes
John Kerry,
Smith’sTix at
crammed
Oberst
www.smithstix.com.
audiences
instead
in sold-out
captured
arenas. Oberst has had a
the attention of the indie igbusy year since the dual
norant. Shortly after the elecrelease of I’m Wide Awake, It’s tion, “Lua” and “Take it Easy,”
Morning and Digital Ash in a
two simultaneously released
Digital Urn in late January of singles from this year’s two
this year.
full-lengths, surprised indieRemaining loyal to his
rock followers by becoming the
hometown label, Saddle Creek
No. 1 and 2 singles on Billboard’s
Records—which let him start
Hot 100 Singles Sales chart.
his own sub-label, Team
After a short break in tourLove—Oberst has faced the
ing, Oberst is back to provide
demands of growing popularfans with a fall tour. With his
ity and the slimy seductions of
decadent yet brilliant lyrics
major record labels itching to
and passionate music, Oberst
sign the rapidly rising musiis sure to give an amazing percian. This fast-coming success
formance. Not to disappoint,
can be seen through the venues Oberst and his comrades will
on the band’s recent tours as
most likely indulge fans with
Bright Eyes graduates to larger
the occasional expression of
New This Week
by Autumn Thatcher
by Jeremy Mathews
L
14 Oct. 28 - Nov. 10
“Intimate Stories” (“Historias Minimas”)
Newyorker Films
Not rated
Opens at the Tower
(Not reviewed)
‘Capote’ Captures
Layers of Motivation
by Jeremy Mathews
C
apote” is one of the
rare biopics that
tries to navigate
the complicated maze
that is its subject’s mind,
rather than simply racing
through his life. Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman
and director Bennett
Miller have created a
complex character study
of a man who masked
fragility under arrogance
and hid his emotions
in his work. “Capote”
doesn’t paint an easy-todiscern portrait, because
it captures mysterious
hints of motivation, a selfcentered persona and its
contradictions.
“
Conor Oberst: dirty hair, bright eyes and a sensitive glare.
loathing for the conservatives who get a little nervous
over the 25-year-old’s blatant opposition to the Bush
Administration and the war
in Iraq.
Those planning on attending the concert can expect to
hear songs from a variety of
Oberst’s records, rather than
merely those from the latest
albums. Rebels and indie fans
alike should plan to spend their
Sunday evening enjoying a spiritual experience from a talented
young musician who always
has something to say.
[email protected]
The film studies Truman
Capote’s life between 1959 and
1965, during which he wrote
In Cold Blood, which reinforced
his literary fame and which
the author, true to his arrogant reputation, heralded as
the creation of the non-fiction
novel. But the process took
a toll on his psyche. Capote
never finished another novel
in the remaining 20 years of
his life, as he descended deeper
into depression and alcoholism. The film’s narrow time
period reveals some of the scars
that may have pushed Capote
over the edge, and hints at the
past that brought him there to
“Capote”
HHHH (out of four)
Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Bennett Miller
Screenplay by Dan Futterman,
based on the novel by
Gerald Clarke
Starring Philip Seymour
Hoffman, Catherine Keener,
Clifton Collins Jr., Chris Cooper,
Bruce Greenwood, Bob Balaban,
Amy Ryan, Mark Pellegrino, Allie
Mickelson, Marshall Bell and
Araby Lockhart
Rated R
begin with.
He originally goes to a small
Kansas town that has become
the site of a brutal murder
to write a piece for The New
Yorker, and eventually finds
himself in a relationship with
the killers that can’t help but
be more than a working relationship. In an astounding
performance, Hoffman plays
Capote as a man who wishes
he could go through life with
the glory that comes with his
writing, but not the emotional
responsibility.
“I don’t care whether or not
you catch whoever did this,”
Capote tells Alvin Dewey (Chris
Cooper), the sheriff in charge
of the investigation, as if he
expects this information to
impress the quiet and stern
See ‘Capote,’ page 20
Argentinean director Carlos Sorin creates a quirky road movie
about three separate travelers whose journeys intertwine on
the road to their provincial capital.
“The Land Has Eyes”
Te Maka Productions
Not rated
Opens at the Tower
(Not reviewed)
This coming-of-age story from the South Pacific Islands depicts
a woman’s struggle for freedom and justice. A mythical warrior
woman serves as inspiration against the oppression of females.
“The Legend of Zoro”
Columbia Pictures
Rated PG
(Not reviewed)
PG? Doesn’t it have the balls to go PG-13?
“Prime” HHH (out of four)
Universal Pictures
Rated PG-13
Note to Bryan Greenberg: Try not to be a lead actor in a film
in which your story is cross-cut between scenes with Meryl
Streep. “Prime” is about a 37-year-old photographer (Uma
Thurman) and a 23-year-old painter (Greenberg) whose mom
(Streep) turns out to be the photographer’s therapist. The
therapist finds out before the other two, and continues to have
sessions with Thurman’s character. Streep’s delivery and mannerisms are laugh-out-loud funny. She makes the film worthwhile, yet her absence makes other scenes drag.
The rest of the movie concentrates on the relationship’s age
gap. The plot is a bit overloaded and the film sometimes feels
like an “Annie Hall” wannabe, but it does deal with the serious
issues encountered in relationships, rather than simply creating conflict with plot contrivances.
“Separate Lies”
Fox Searchlight
Rated R
Opens at the Broadway
(Not reviewed)
Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson and Rupert Everett star in a
darkly humorous mystery about a sinister element of a seemingly ideal marriage. Who’d have thought. “Separate Lies” is
“Gosford Park” screenwriter Julian Fellowes’s directorial debut.
See Opening, page 19
The Salt Shaker
15
What to Do
October
Friday
28
‘The Rocky Horror
Picture Show’
See the spectacle that is “The
Rocky Horror Picture Show” at
the Tower Theatre (876 E. 900
South). Friday, Saturday and
Monday (Halloween) at 9 p.m.
and midnight. Tickets cost $8
in advance, $9 at the door.
Dan Austin at
King’s English
Documentary filmmaker and
author Dan Austin will read
a passage from his new book
True Fans, about Austin and
his friends’ trip from Venice
Beach, Calif. to the NBA Hall
of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
with a basketball signed by
“good Samaritans and everyday
Americans.” The event also
includes a signing, and takes
place at 7 p.m. at The King’s
English Bookshop (1511 S. 1500
East). The event is free and
open to the public. For more
information, visit www.kingsenglish.com.
‘Little Women’—
The Musical
Yes, they really did make
a musical of Louisa May
Alcott’s novel Little Women.
And Maureen McGovern stars.
Tickets range from $30 to
$57.50. The production runs
at Capitol Theatre (50 W. 200
South) through Oct. 30. The
times are Friday at 8 p.m.
Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
and Sunday at 1 p.m. and
6 p.m. Buy tickets through
ArtTix venues or www.arttix.org.
‘Sherlock Holmes
and the West End
Horror’
Pioneer Theatre is presenting
the comedic distortion of 19th
century London, “Sherlock
Holmes and the West End
Horror,” through Nov. 5.
Tickets range from $20 to $39,
with other discounts available
for University of Utah stu-
16 Oct. 28 - Nov. 10
dents. Performances take place
at 7:30 p.m. Monday through
Thursday, Friday and Saturday
at 8 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturdays. For more
information, visit www.pioneertheatre.org.
‘Wonder of the
World’
The Pygmalion Theatre
Company presents David
Lindsay-Abaire’s story of a
woman who leaves her husband for a wacky assortment of
people in Niagra Falls. General
admission tickets cost $12 and
$18. The play runs through
Saturday, Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. For
more information, see www.
pygmalionproductions.org.
A ‘Thriller’ at
Odyssey
Odyssey Dance Theatre’s
Halloween extravaganza
“Thriller” continues at
Kingsbury Hall on the
University of Utah campus.
Curtain rises at 7:30 p.m.
tonight and tomorrow with
a 2:00 p.m. matinee tomorrow, Oct. 29. Tickets through
Kingsbury Hall at 581-7100 or
www.kingsburyevents.com.
PDT’s ‘Physically
Speaking
The Performing Dance
Company presents six varied
performances. See page 4.
Spooky Art
Well, maybe not
spooky, but this one-day,
free Halloween party and art
show at Guthrie Artists (158
E. 200 South—above the bike
shop) includes Mike Bernard,
Heidi Darley, Jamie Delfin,
David Estes, Spencer Fenwick,
Veera Kasicharernvat, Cheryl
Merkley, Karl Pace, Susan
Price, Jason Wheatley and Sri
Whipple. It goes from 6:30
p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Selgado Exhibit
Humanitarian photogra-
WHAT TO DO
Saturday
pher Sabastiào Salgado’s 300
piece “Exodus” is The Leonardo
Center’s first exhibit. Tickets
are $10, $7 for students, children and seniors. The show
runs until Dec. 17 and may
never grace U.S. soil again.
The photos document the mass
migration of people in 40 countries from 1994-2000.
The Classical
Mystery Tour
The members of Broadway’s
Beatlemania and the Utah
Symphony join forces at
Abravanel Hall (123 W. South
Temple) for an evening of “over
30 Beatles tunes exactly as they
were written.” Tickets range
from $20 to $48. The event
takes place today and Saturday,
Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. Buy tickets
through ArtTix venues or www.
arttix.org.
AutumnCon
Sci-fi convention AutumnCon’s
attractions include authors,
artists, a masquerade ball (as if
an excuse was needed to dress
up) and a murder mystery set
in the space cantina from “Star
Wars.” The event starts today
and continues through Oct.
30. Visit www.autumncon.com for
more information.
Low Skies
The quintet Low Skies will
bring its skillfully produced
gloom and songs about Texas
to the Urban Lounge (241 S. 500
East). Glade and On Vibrato
will open. Tickets cost $5 at
the door. Visit www.loficafe.
com for more information. For
an archival interview from
the band’s 2003 appearance at
Kilby Court, visit www.saltshakermagazine.com.
Saxon Shore
After two-thirds of his
band left a year ago, guitarist
Matt Doty has reformed his
indie wall-of-sound rock band
Saxon Shore and recorded The
Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore. Fans
of Mogwai will probably enjoy
this band’s show at Kilby Court
(741 S. Kilby Court (325 West)).
Tickets cost $6 in advance, $7
day of show, and are available
at the door or via www.24tix.com.
Show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Kottonmouth
Kings
The members of Kottonmouth
Kings deliver their “psychedelic hip-hop punk rock” to In
the Venue (579 W. 200 South).
The show starts at 7 p.m.
TIckets cost $17.00 in advance,
$20 day of show, and are available through Smith’sTix locations (www.smithstix.com), at
the door or online at www.24tix.
com. Call (801) 359-3219 or visit
www.inthevenue.com for more
information.
Sindolor and More
Local Metal
Get a taste of Salt Lake City’s
metal bands with Sindolor,
The Red Line and more at
The Lo-Fi Cafe (165 S. West
Temple). Doors open at 7 p.m.
and the show starts at 7:30.
Tickets cost $5 and are available at the door or through
Smith’sTix (www.smithstix.com).
Visit www.loficafe.com for more
information.
The Iron Maidens
with The Ozzmenz
The Iron Maidens is an allfemale tribute band to Iron
Maiden. The Ozzmenz is a local
tribute band to Ozzy Osbourne.
They will play at The Whiskey
(4800 South # 7E). Tickets cost
$10 in advance, $12 the day of
the show, or you can get tickets
to both Friday and Saturday
shows for the bargain price of
$17 (Shredbettie replaces The
Ozzmenz on the second night).
Tickets are available through
www.24tix.com and Smith’sTix
(www.smithstix.com).
‘Ghostly
Guardians’
29
Hear about the ghosts that
have allegedly haunted Fort
Douglas in the movie “Ghostly
Guardians,” a documentary by
Brian Jackson Fetzer. The event
is tonight in the Fort Douglas
Post Theatre (245 Fort Douglas
Blvd.) at 8:00 p.m. and on
Halloween, Oct. 31 at 11:30
a.m. Tickets cost $3.50, $2.50
in advance. For more information, go to www.fortdouglas.com.
A Very Kilby
Halloween
The folks at Kilby Court (741 S.
Kilby Court (325 West)) have
assembled a Halloween bash
featuring emo from InCamera,
Larusso, 3% Hero, Take the
Fall and Abby Normal. Tickets
cost $7 and are available at the
door or via www.24tix.com. Show
starts at 7:30 p.m.
Exodus
Feel the scorchin’ metal
from Exodus at Club Vegas (445
W. 440 South). Doors open at
8:00 p.m. Buy tickets for $13
in advance at Graywhale CD
Exchange locations, The Heavy
Metal Shop (63 Exchange Place)
or Smith’sTix (www.smithstix.
com). Visit www.loficafe.com for
more information.
See also: Music: The Classical
Mystery Tour (Oct. 28), The
Iron Maidens with Shredbettie
(Oct. 28)
Theater: “Little Women”—The
Musical (Oct. 28), “Wonder of
the World” (Oct. 28), “Sherlock
Holmes and the West End
Horror” (Oct. 28)
Theater: “Sherlock Holmes and
the West End Horror” (Oct. 28)
Dance: PDT’s “Physically
Speaking” (Oct. 28), A ‘Thriller’
at Odyssey (Oct. 28)
Sci-fi: AutumnCon (Oct. 28)
Sunday
30
David Gray (and
Jolie Holland!)
While many people will go to
this show for the songs and
piano of David Gray, neo-traditionalist songwriter Jolie
Holland will surprise them
with her great set. The tickets
to that show, however, didn’t
cost $30. The show starts at
7:30 p.m. in the University
of Utah’s Kingsbury Hall on
President Circle. Buy tickets at
the Kingsbury Hall box office
or through Smith’sTix (www.
smithstix.com).
The Addicts
Enjoy punk rock with
The Addicts at The Lo-Fi Cafe
(165 S. West Temple). Doors
open at 7 p.m. and the show
starts at 7:30. Tickets cost $12
and are available at the door.
Visit www.loficafe.com for more
information.
See also: Theater: “Little
Women”—The Musical (Oct.
28)
Sci-fi: AutumnCon (Oct. 28)
Monday
31
Troma Halloween
The folks at Brewvies (677
S. 200 West) have put together
a program of low-brow horror films from the infamous
Troma catalogue. For more
information, visit www.brewvies.
com.
Hawthorne
Heights
Hear the post-hardcore and
emo-pop of Hawthorne
Heights with opening act
Silverstein at the newly reopened Salt Air Pavilion (12408
W. Salt Air Drive, west of the
airport on I-80). Doors open
at 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15
in advance and $18 the day of
the show and are available
through Smith’sTix (www.smithstix.com).
See also: Film and Halloween:
‘Ghostly Guardians’ at the
Salt Lake Freedom Film and
Storytelling Festival (Oct. 29)
Theater: “Sherlock Holmes and
the West End Horror” (Oct. 28)
Dance: PDT’s “Physically
Speaking” (Oct. 28)
november
1
Tuesday
My Morning Jacket
Put on your evening
gown and see My Morning
Jacket (get it?) for haunting
alt-country indie rock at In the
Venue (579 W. 200 South). Saul
Williams will open. The show
starts at 8:00 p.m. TIckets
cost $15.00 and are available
through Smith’sTix locations
(www.smithstix.com), at the door
or online at www.24tix.com. Call
(801) 359-3219 or visit www.inthevenue.com for more information. You must be 21 or older to
attend.
Numbers
Numbers calculates experimental punk at Kilby Court
(741 S. Kilby Court (325 West)).
Agape and Paper Cranes open.
Tickets cost $6 in advance, $7
day of show, and are available
at the door or via www.24tix.com.
Show starts at 7:30 p.m.
See also: Theater: “Sherlock
Holmes and the West End
Horror” (Oct. 28)
Dance: PDT’s “Physically
Speaking” (Oct. 28)
Wednesday
2
Rob Thomas
The former Matchbox
Twenty singer/songwriter
Rob Thomas is out on his
own, and playing the E Center
(3200 Decker Lake Dr. in West
Valley). Tickets to the 7:30
p.m. show cost $35 and are
available through Smith’sTix
(www.smithstix.com).
Why?
Why not come see Why?
at Kilby Court (741 S. Kilby
Court (325 West)) and ask
the band members why they
make folk-pop indie-hop.
Aquaduct and Tolchock Trio
will open. Tickets cost $8 and
are available at the door or via
www.24tix.com. Show starts at
7:30 p.m.
See also: Theater: “Sherlock
Holmes and the West End
Horror” (Oct. 28)
Dance: PDT’s “Physically
Speaking” (Oct. 28)
3
Thursday
‘The Passion of
Joan of Arc’
Utah Symphony:
Beethoven Piano
Concerto
The Blitz
Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “La
Passion de Jeanne d’Arc” is a
masterpiece of silent film drama, starring Maria Falconetti.
Today and Friday, Nov. 4, see a
projected DVD of the film with
live organ accompaniment by
Blane Gale at The Organ Loft
(3331 S. Edison Street—east of
State Street off of 3300 South).
Show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets
cost $5. Call 485-9265.
Hear the Utah Symphony’s
10 a.m. rehearsal for $18 at
Abravanel Hall (123 W. South
Temple). Buy tickets through
ArtTix venues or www.arttix.org.
See tomorrow’s description of
the real thing.
The punk rockers of The
Blitz play The Lo-Fi Cafe (165 S.
West Temple) with Total Chaos
and Endless Struggle. Doors
open at 7:00 p.m. Tickets cost
$10 and are available at the
door. Visit www.loficafe.com for
more information.
See also: Theater: “Sherlock
Holmes and the West End
Horror” (entry on Oct. 28)
Dance: PDT’s “Physically
Speaking” (entry on Oct. 28)
Friday
4
‘Plan 10’ Turns 10
The Tower Theatre (876 E.
900 South) and local filmmaker Trent Harris celebrate the
birthday of “Plan 10 from Outer
Space,” Harris’s camp sci-fi
parody of Mormon culture. It
starts at 9:30 p.m. Tickets cost
$7.50. Visit www.towertheatre.com
for more information.
The Salt Shaker
17
WHAT TO DO
Midnight Movie:
‘Raging Bull’
Martin Scorsese’s “Raging
Bull” is the best film of the
’80s. That’s why it won the
1980 Academy Award for Best
Pictu—oh, um, nevermind—
Best Actor, for Robert De Niro’s
transformational (and weightgaining) portrayal of middleweight boxer Jake La Motta.
It’s part of the Midnight Movie
series at the Tower Theatre (876
E. 900 South), every Friday and
Saturday at about 11:59 p.m.
Tickets cost $5.
Sylvia Torti
Author Sylvia Torti took
a trip to Chiapas on the eve of
the Zapatista rebellion, and
from the experience created a
novel. She will read from and
sign this new suspense novel,
The Scorpion’s Tail, at The King’s
English Bookshop (1511 S. 1500
East). The event starts at 7
p.m. and is free and open to
the public. For more information, visit www.kingsenglish.com.
The Utah Symphony and
Vladimir Feltsman
Hear Beethoven’s Piano
Concerto performed by pianist Vladimir Feltsman and
backed by the Utah Symphony
today and Saturday, Nov. 5.
The show begins at 8 p.m. at
Abravanel Hall (123 W. South
Temple) with an O.C. Tanner
pre-concert lecture at 7:15 p.m.
Tickets range from $12 to $42.
Buy tickets through ArtTix
venues or www.arttix.org.
Darci Cash, Bye
Paris Green
Hear the indie emo band that
calls itself Darci Cash at Kilby
Court (741 S. Kilby Court (325
West)). It will also be the tour
sendoff for Paris Green. Tickets
cost $6 in advance, $7 the day
of the show, and are available
at the door or via www.24tix.com.
Show starts at 7:30 p.m.
18 Oct. 28 - Nov. 10
WHAT TO DO
The Briefs and Clit
45
Someone named “Uncle
Wreako” brings more punk
to The Lo-Fi Cafe (165 S. West
Temple) with The Briefs, Clit
45 (we think this name might
be a sex and/or gun reference)
and openers Boot Down Bois.
Buy tickets for $8 at Graywhale
CD Exchange locations, www.
ktix.net or Smith’sTix (www.
smithstix.com). Visit www.loficafe.
com for more information.
Dead Science
Hear dark, intense and
moody jazz-pop from Dead
Science and local openers at
Monk’s House of Jazz (19 E.
200 South). Show starts at 9
p.m. Buy tickets for $5 at the
door or through www.ktix.net.
Visit www.loficafe.com for more
information.
See also: Film: “The Passion of
Joan of Arc” (Nov. 3)
Theater: “Sherlock Holmes and
the West End Horror” (Oct. 28)
Dance: PDT’s “Physically
Speaking” (Oct. 28)
Saturday
Amos Lee
5
After paying his dues as
an opening act with the likes
of Norah Jones, singer/songwriter Amos Lee released his
self-titled debut and now headlines a tour with a stop at In
the Venue (579 W. 200 South).
The show starts at 8 p.m.
TIckets cost $15.00 and are
available through Smith’sTix
locations (www.smithstix.com), at
the door or online at www.24tix.
com. Call (801) 359-3219 or visit
www.inthevenue.com for more
information. You must be 21 or
older to attend.
The Rocket
Summer
The soulful indie rockers of
The Rocket Summer play with
Adam Richmond, This Day and
Age and Sherwood at The Lo-Fi
Cafe (165 S. West Temple). Buy
tickets for $10 at Graywhale
CD Exchange locations or
Smith’sTix (www.smithstix.com).
Visit www.loficafe.com for more
information. This Matinee performance starts at 5:30 p.m.
as to allow for the nighttime
show…
Limbeck
Alt-country indie rockers Limbeck play The Lo-Fi
Cafe (165 S. West Temple) with
locals The Annuals and The
Yearbook. Buy tickets for $8
at Graywhale CD Exchange
locations, www.ktix.net or
Smith’sTix (www.smithstix.com).
Visit www.loficafe.com for more
information.
31 Knots
The indie-prog-rockers
of 31 Knots will tie their tunes
around Kilby Court (741 S. Kilby
Court (325 West)). Powercords
and Declaration will open.
Tickets cost $6 in advance, $7
at the door, and are available
at the door or via www.24tix.com.
Show starts at 7:30 p.m.
The Last Vegas
Metal/rock band The Last
Vegas play Burt’s Tiki Lounge
(726 S. State Street) with The
Chromatics. Doors open at 9
p.m. and the show starts at
10. Tickets are $5 at the door.
Visit www.loficafe.com for more
information.
See Also: Film: Midnight
Movie: “Raging Bull” (Nov. 4)
Music: The Utah Symphony
and Vladimir Feltsman (Nov. 4)
Theater: “Sherlock Holmes and
the West End Horror” (Oct. 28)
Dance: PDT’s “Physically
Speaking” (Oct. 28)
Sunday
Bright Eyes
6
Can you imagine seeing the next Bob Dylan while
tickets to his shows only cost
$25 and he hasn’t been a bornagain Christian yet? Well this
could be your chance if Rolling
Stone is right, and has it ever
been wrong? The show starts
at 7:30 p.m. in the University
of Utah’s Kingsbury Hall on
President Circle. Buy tickets at
the Kingsbury Hall box office
or through Smith’sTix (www.
smithstix.com). See preview on
page 14.
Monday
‘Arrested
Development’
7
It’s not The Salt Shaker’s policy
to put TV listings in the calendar, as that would quadruple
its size, what with all the
channels around nowadays.
But it is all-important that you
watch the return of “Arrested
Development,” the best show
on TV. Oscar winner and hot
woman Charlize Theron is
even in it! Honor our founding
fathers and tune in to Fox 13 at
7 p.m. or all you’ll have left to
watch is “The War at Home.”
Tristeza and Bella
Lea
Tristeza and Bella Lea (featuring former members of Denali)
bring indie rock to Kilby Court
(741 S. Kilby Court (325 West)).
Theta Naught and Airliner will
open. Tickets cost $7 in advance, $8 the day of the show,
and are available at the door or
via www.24tix.com. Show starts
at 7:30 p.m.
MEST
The pop punks of MEST
will mess up In the Venue
(579 W. 200 South) at 7 p.m.
TIckets cost $12.00 and are
available through Smith’sTix
locations (www.smithstix.com), at
the door or online at www.24tix.
com. Call (801) 359-3219 or visit
www.inthevenue.com for more
information.
Tuesday
The Samples
8
The bittersweet pop of
The Samples has been bringing fans out for this truly
independent act for over two
decades. It starts at 8 p.m. at
Park City’s Club Suede (1612
High Ute Blvd.). Buy tickets
for $12 at the door or through
Smith’sTix (www.smithstix.com),
Graywhale CD Exchange locations or Orion’s Music locations. Must be over 21. Please
visit www.suedepc.com for more
information.
Caitlin Cary and
Thad Cockrell
Former Whiskeytown member
Caitlin Cary plays her own altcountry at Ego’s (668 S. State
Street). Thad Cockrell continues his quest to put “the hurt
back in country” music. Show
starts at 9:00 p.m. Must be 21
or older. Tickets cost $7 and are
available from www.24tix.com.
Visit www.clubegos.com for more
information.
Nintendo Fusion
Tour with Fall Out
Boy
Fall Out Boy, The Starting
Line, Motion City Soundtrack,
Boys Night Out and Panic! at
the Disco fuse pop punk and
videogames in this revolutionary corporate tour. Tickets cost
$20, parking $3. It starts at
6:00 p.m. at Promontory Hall
at the Utah State Fairpark.
Tickets available at Smith’sTix
locations (www.smithstix.com) or
(www.24tix.com) and at the door.
Shows have sold out in most
cities, so beware.
Wednesday
9
Rodney Crowell
and the Outsiders
Rodney Crowell’s three-decade
career of writing and recording
country songs earned him a
Grammy and a series of hits—
mainly in the form of covers.
He will play at Park City’s Club
Suede (1612 High Ute Blvd.).
Buy tickets for $13 at the door
or through Smith’sTix (www.
smithstix.com), Graywhale CD
Exchange locations or Orion’s
Music locations. Doors open at
8:30 p.m. Visit www.suedepc.com
for more information.
Atmosphere
Atmosphere, the beloved
hip-hop trio of rhymemaster
Slug, beatmaster Ant and
DJ—um, master—Mr. Dibbs
will improve the atmosphere
of In the Venue (579 W. 200
South). Blueprint and P.O.S.
will open. The show starts at
6:30 p.m. TIckets cost $17, $20
the day of the show, and are
available through Smith’sTix
locations (www.smithstix.com), at
the door or online at www.24tix.
com. Call (801) 359-3219 or visit
www.inthevenue.com for more
information.
The Wanteds
Tommy Harrington calls
himself The Wanteds while
performing one-man indie
pop, as he will at Kilby Court
(741 S. Kilby Court (325 West)).
The Plus Ones, The Annuals
and Drew Danbury will open.
Tickets cost $6 in advance, $7
the day of the show, and are
available at the door or via
www.24tix.com. Show starts at
7:30 p.m.
Thursday
10
Suzy Becker Book
Reading
Suzy Becker, author of the
bestseller All I Need to Know I
Learned from My Cat (there’s
something to brag about), will
read from her philosophical
and personal memoir I Had
Brain Surgery, What’s Your Excuse? at
The King’s English Bookshop
(1511 S. 1500 East). The event
starts at 7 p.m. and is free. For
more information, visit www.
kingsenglish.com.
Utah Ballet
Utah Ballet’s varied program includes work by guest
choreographers Bruce Caldwell
from Ballet West and the recently ordained “Mrs. Utah,”
Jannie Creer-King. For more
information, see page 4.
‘The Secret Garden’
Imagine Theatre presents
kids dancing a ballet of “The
Secret Garden” Nov. 10 to 12
at Ogden’s Peery’s Egyptian
Theater (2415 Washington in
Ogden). For more information,
see page 4.
Detroit Cobras
with Reigning
Sound
Most cover bands aren’t cool
enough to tour the country.
That should tell you a little
something about these Detroit
natives. Their unique repertoire comes from primitive
garage rock and obscure early
R&B. This 21-and-up show will
start at 9 p.m.at the Velvet
Room (149 West 200 South) and
costs $12 for advanced tickets,
$14 at the door.
Steel Train
Dropsonic
Holden
Steel Train plays rock
that is both experimental and
rootsy at the same time, and
will play it at Kilby Court (741
S. Kilby Court (325 West)).
Larusso and Sikemma will
open. Tickets cost $6 and are
available at the door or via
www.24tix.com. Show starts at
7:30 p.m.
Hear the straightforward
rock of Dropsonic at Monk’s
House of Jazz (19 E. 200 South).
Buy tickets for $5 at the door.
Show starts at 10:00 p.m.
Visit www.loficafe.com for more
information.
Alternative R&B rockers
Holden hit The Lo-Fi Cafe (165
S. West Temple) with Kylessa,
Coliseum, Torche, Remember
the Tragedy, Chaldeon and
Basic Accomplishment. Hey,
that’s seven bands for $7!
Tickets at the door. Show starts
at 7 p.m. too. If only it were on
July 7, 2007 instead of Nov. 10.
Get Listed!
If you have an event that
would make an ideal listing in
our illustrious calendar, please
email [email protected] with the name, date,
time, location (name and address), price, ticket information and anything else that
might be important.
Opening
continued from page 15
“The Weather Man”
HHH ½ (out of four)
Paramount Pictures
Rated R
The weather man knows why
everybody hates him. He
hardly does anything, makes
a good living and gets to be
on TV. People at home watch
him and talk about whether
he’s handsome or has a stupid asshole face. People who
see him on the street throw
fast food at him from their
cars.
The title character of “The
Weather Man” (Nicolas Cage)
is in bad shape. His ex-wife
(Hope Davis) is going to marry
another man. His 15-year-old
son (Nicholas Hoult of “About
a Boy”) just got out of rehab
and his counselor is showing an alarming amount of
interest in him. His younger
daughter (Gemmenne de la
Peña) is overweight and the
boys at junior high call her
“camel toe.” And his critical
dad (Michael Caine), a successful author who made
a real difference instead of
standing in front of a green
screen, is having health problems. So he deals with it by
being generally unpleasant
when he’s not smiling on the
air.
In his best work, director
Gore Verbinksi’s (“Pirates
of the Caribbean”) stylish
direction perfectly matches
Nicolas Cage’s hilariously
deadpan performance. The
film captures the awkwardly
droll moments in life, when
eloquence disappears and all
you can do is call a man you
don’t like a dildo.
“Saw II” H ½ (out of four)
Lions Gate Films
Rated R
Reviewed by Chris Bellamy
It’s as bad as the first one.
The Salt Shaker
19
‘Capote’
continued from page 15
law man and earn him priority
over the other journalists. As if
being from a publication with
the words New and York in its
title wasn’t enough to turn the
entire police department off,
Dewey takes his job seriously
and sees no opportunity for elegant prose in law enforcement.
Capote conceives his piece
as a study on the murder’s effect on the town, so he and
his research assistant, Harper
Lee (Catherine Keener), start
to endear themselves to the
townspeople, even succeeding
in charming Dewey’s societystarved wife, although the
sheriff remains unimpressed.
Capote can’t bring himself
to leave the town—or even start
writing what he knows will
be brilliant—and soon enough
the two killers, Perry Smith
(Clifton Collins Jr.) and Richard
Hickock (Mark Pellegrino), are
apprehended and brought to
the town. Capote builds a relationship with Perry, but isn’t
honest with himself about his
feelings or with Perry about
the book. He sees himself
as simply doing his job, but
learning of Perry’s upbringing
reminds him of his own childhood with a suicidal mother.
At one point, Capote says he
feels like he and Perry grew
up in the same house, but he
went out the front door while
Perry went out the back.
At first Hoffman’s highpitched voice may seem like
simply an imitation of Capote’s
voice, but then the voice becomes natural and Hoffman
completely disappears into
the character. When he talks
about his disturbed mother’s
suicide or how people judge
him as weird based on the way
he talks, there are multiple
layers of motivation. There’s a
sense that Capote is simply delivering this information as a
way of gaining sympathy from
his interviewees so they will
share their information. But
Hoffman’s performance suggests that while Capote may
20 Oct. 28 - Nov. 10
be convincing himself of these
manipulative motivations, he
hides his sincerity within the
guise of sincerity.
At other times he blatantly
lies, letting Perry believe that
the book might help him get
out of jail, telling him that he
hasn’t thought of a title. He
can’t confront the truth. He
forms an emotional bond, but
knows that he needs them to
die in order for his book to end.
(“Why are they doing this to
me?” he wonders when the men
receive a stay of execution.)
Throughout his creative and
mental struggle, Capote still
loves to be the center of attention when he returns to New
York City. The film introduces
him at a cocktail party, surrounded by a crowd of admirers eager to laugh at comments
tailored to keep the attention
on him. After having haunting
conversations with Perry, he’s
doing the same thing, absorbing love through the ass-kissing of the literature elite.
The rest of the cast complements Hoffman’s work well.
As Lee, whose To Kill a Mocking
Bird finds a publisher and becomes a hit over the course
of the film, the always-good
Keener brings compassion and
serves as a check-and-balance
to Capote’s runaway egoism.
Collins suggests the fragility of
the killer while hinting at the
dark brutality of the man who
committed the crime.
In his narrative feature
debut, Miller displays skills
in both character study and
visuals. The film is very fluid,
with even the long, mostly
static shots having some tilts
and wobbles. Miller contrasts
this with completely still shots
near the scene of the crime to
capture the eerie feeling that
the crimes left behind.
This event did not only
haunt the town, as Capote so
eloquently captured, but took
hold of the author himself.
Miller and Hoffman find in the
man who was drawn to depict
the crime a series of ambiguities rather than a simple, easyto-grasp caricature.
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SACCHARIN
Before the Galactic Empire
Outlawed Bad Acting
The Salt Shaker’s Original 1977 Review of ‘Star Wars’
by Craig Froehlich
W
ith “Star Wars:
Episode III - Revenge
of the Sith,” which
comes out on DVD on Tuesday,
Nov. 1, the galactic saga has
come full circle. What a wild
ride it was! I think I’m going to
be sick.
It was 1977 and things looked
grim. Salt Shaker Sr. had just been
laid off from the ash tray plant and
rumors warned of an imminent Bay
City Rollers breakup. A refreshing scifi space fairy tale was just what the
doctor ordered. (It should have been
antibiotics. He wasn’t a very good
doctor.) “Star Wars” helped audiences
forget their worries and took them to a
galaxy far, far away.
Twenty-five years ago, Darth
Vader let out his first evil wheeze
and The Salt Shaker was there. We
thought it would be a fun treat to print
our original review of the film that
started it all.
Let’s take a journey back in time.
(Not literally, don’t bother with the
angry letters.)
A So-So Space Opera
by Anakin Mathews
Think of it as the little
Science Fiction film that could.
A charming little space opera is
threatening to take some of the
spotlight away from this weekend’s premiere of “Smokey and
the Bandit.”
Equal parts King Arthur and
Buck Rogers, “Star Wars” definitely keeps your attention for
a couple hours but its lasting
impact is negligible. Really,
who needs laser guns and
space robots when you have a
black Trans Am with an eagle
decal on the hood?
The star of “Star Wars” is a
promising young actor named
Mark Hamill. He is wonderfully understated in his role as the
farm boy turned space hero,
Luke Skywalker. He couples
his Midwestern good looks and
definite acting chops to deliver
some memorable lines, “But I
was going to the Toshi station
to pick up some power converters. WAAAAHH!” This is definitely a breakout role for the
young artiste. With or without
the wars, Hamill’s star is definitely on the rise.
Skywalker leaves his
humble beginnings, and the
charred corpses of family
members, on his home planet
to pursue his dreams into the
heavens. Thus begins a quest
to rescue a damsel in distress,
Princess Leia (played by Carrie
Fisher, daughter of Eddie).
The sexual chemistry between
bun-coifed Leia and Skywalker
is red hot. The couple fails to
reach the carnal heights that
the roles beg for, but let your
imagination run wild! Luke +
Leia = Sex, Sex. Sex. Best of all,
Carrie Fisher will never get fat
and crazy.
Accompanying the majestic
Skywalker is an entourage of
colorful characters. British acting heavyweight Alec Guinness
plays Buford T. Justice, a sage
warlock of the Merlin tradition. Two “droyds,” another
name for robots, supply the
comic relief. Their names
are a bizarre combination of
numbers and letters that no
one will be able to remember.
I can hardly ask for WD-40 at
the local hardware, thank you
very much. Tony Randall is
the obvious inspiration for the
mincing, anthropomorphic,
golden “Tin Man.” Meanwhile,
the chirping garbage can robot
George Lucas improved these special effects for later releases of “Star Wars,” but the
original release looked like this.
conjures images of some of
Dustin Hoffman’s more memorable roles.
The gang hitches a ride
with a devil-may-care space
pirate named Han Solo; played
by former carpenter (I love
their remake of “Please, Mr.
Postman.”) Ford Harrison. His
co-pilot is a howling wolf man
named Chewbacca, a whimsical blend of Lassie and Smiley
Burnette. Director George
Lucas illustrates Han Solo’s
transformation from ruthless
bandit to gallant hero with
a telling introduction. Solo,
confronted by a space bounty
hunter, shoots the green monster while casually sitting at a
table, exchanging thinly veiled
threats. That’s right, wouldbe hero Han Solo shoots first!
This scene makes Solo’s valiant
transformation that much
more extraordinary. Lucas hit
pay-dirt with that scene. He
must be very proud.
In Lucas we see an auteur in
the making. Plenty of excitement surrounds the groundbreaking special effects of
“Star Wars.” However, Lucas
manages to keep the spectacle
in check and concentrate on
story and character development. Expect Lucas to leave
this space odyssey behind and
focus on more thought-provoking, dialogue-driven material.
Perhaps most lacking in
“Star Wars” is a memorable
villain to contend with the
swashbuckling farm hands
and laser-shooting dog boys.
The galaxy is enslaved by
an evil empire called the
“Empire.” This army of intergalactic Neo-Nazis is led by
Grand Moff Tarkin, capably
played by British horror film
star Peter Cushing. His evil
henchman is a robotic black
knight called Darth Vader.
Vader, Buford and Luke are all
tuned into the same unseen
power called the “force.” It assists them in choking people,
The Salt Shaker
21
SACCHARIN
controlling the minds of unwitting simpletons and performing a variety of telekinetic tricks. No spoon bending,
though. One faction magically
chokes people and controls
their minds for purposes of
good, while another uses
the “force” for evil. Vader, of
course, utilizes the bad side of
the force. It all becomes a bit
tedious. This “force” business
is going nowhere fast.
With his dorky helmet, ill
manners and an obvious case
of emphysema, Darth Vader
is hardly what you would call
a daunting presence. One
wishes more screen time was
awarded to Cushing, who has
experience depicting every horror film heavy from Dracula
to Frankenstein. To top it off,
Vader’s voiceover work is done
by R&B singer Lou Rawls. How
about favoring us with a song
after you get done choking
people, Vader?
Lucas tosses in a planet-demolishing machine and ragtag band of freedom fighters to
move the plot along. Now and
then, he awakens the audience
with an astounding interstellar dog fight. However, the
five-year-old sitting next to
me at the screening I attended
made an awfully good point,
“Space is a vacuum. If that’s
the case, none of these explosions and laser cannons would
make any noise. Do they take
us for idiots?” Kids say the
darnedest things.
In summation, “Star Wars”
is the usual good versus evil,
boy meets girl, standard
Hollywood fare. Albeit enjoyable, the Science Fiction route
“Star Wars” takes is a little to
fanciful for discriminating filmgoers of the 1970s. Nowadays,
people like their entertainment
a little more grounded in reality. How about a bored farm boy
who dreams of owning a custom van with shag rug on the
dashboard? Turn the princess
into a cheerleader. That would
really fill up the theaters.
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