Page 8
The Behrend Beacon
asters of The Far Side'
Russell Crowe keeps a firm grasp on his spyglass as
he barks orders at his "Master and Commander" crew.
review by Daniel J• Stasiewski
"Master and Commander" isn't an action epic. If it were
the explosive naval combat film the trailers promised, it would
have starred Mel Gibson instead of Russell Crowe. No, "Mas
ter and Commander" is an intricate period drama, a history
lesson. And with Crowe as the star, it's a detailed character
study, the kind that only director Peter Weir can deliver.
Take the opening scenes for example. The camera makes
the pans over historical details of Capt. Jack Aubrey's (Crowe)
ship in the general period piece fashion (this film being of the
Napoleonic era). There are close-ups on the names of the can
nons and as the film progress we get an idea of the ranking of
seamen on the HMS Surprise.
On deck, an indecisive older midshipman and adolescent
midshipman, peer into deep fog, on the hunt for the French
privateer Archeron. The older one sees something for a mo
ment, and unsure of how to react, he turns to the other mid
shipman, who makes the call. Moments later Capt. Aubrey
marches to the deck and peers through the spyglass, a statu
esque vision of power and nobility. Then the cannons begin
to fire.
A surprise attack from the Archeron wounds the ship and
Pearl Jam rediscovers gems on 'Lost Dogs'
review by Greg Smith
contributing writer
finest track, "Fatal." A B-side from "Bin
aural" and written by Gossard, "Fatal"
shows Pearl Jam's diversity with its care-
It's hard to think of a band that gives ful intro and flowing chorus. "Other
back to its fans as much as Pearl Jam. The Side" is another fantastic tune, written by
veterans of grungy, politically charged, bassist Jeff Ament. The odd sound, har
full-on rock care about their listeners, and monized chorus and beautiful lyrics (Your
it shows. The band's Ten Club offers absence is what breeds this fear/Warm
newsletters, an annual Christmas-time 45 breath and all it steals) make you long
(that's a record, kids, you play it with a for loved ones as you listen. "Footsteps,"
needle!), and priority ticketing. Pearl Jam a B-side from the "Jeremy" single from
has also released every show from their the "Ten" days, is a dark and haunting
last two tours on CD, so any fan can have song about depression and suffering. Fea
a keepsake of his or her concert, and the curing only Gossard on acoustic guitar and
diehards can have the whole tour! Vedder on vocals, it will give you chills.
Well, the band has once again outdone ''Wash" and "Brother" are both from the
itself, with the release of its widely an- "Ten" era, and stray from the second
ticipated two-disc set, "Lost Dogs," which disc's easy feeling. "Wash" closes to a
contains 30 rarities and B-sides, 14 of raucous ending, while "Brother" is an in
which have never been released in any strumental track heavy on guitar, featur
form. "Lost Dogs" is a diehard's dream ing the superhuman solo work of guitar
come true, packed with tunes from the ist Mike McCready.
"How did this not make the album?" to "Lost Dogs" features something for ev
the "this is iust nlain weird." eryone, with tracks like 1998's radio hit
Though "Dogs" is a very diverse col- "Last Kiss," which helped to raise $lO
lection, not to mention career spanning, million for Kosovo relief through sales
both the discs flow pretty nicely for a of singles. "Dogs" also contains the epic
compilation-style record. Disc One "Yellow Ledbetter," another B-side from
launches off with the rocker "All Night" the now-legendary "Jeremy" single. "I
and outspoken vocalist Eddie Vedder's still don't know what it's about and ! don't
layered vocal tracks. The B-s i de, want to!" explains McCready, of the song.
"Down," is an excellent yet simple track "I love it! And fans like it too!"
that was only left off of the "Riot Act" The popular songs are nice for casual
album because it didn't fit the flow, but fans, but it's the obscurities like "Sweet
its happy, melodic guitars fit just fine on Lew" and "Whale Song" that make "Lost
"Dogs." The hard-hitting tune "Don't Dogs" a rediscovered masterpiece.
Gimme No Lip" is a bit of the obscure, "Dogs" is full of musical gems, and the
but its raunchy guitar and short, simple packaging is great as well. It contains a
lyrics from guitarist Stone Gossard will nice insert listing songwriting credits, re
get you fired up for sure (Gossard sings lease info, and one or two band members'
only a couple PJ tunes, but is a fan-fa- comments for every track.
vorite at concerts, inspiring chants of "Let As if "Dogs" wasn't enough, the band
Stone Sing!"). "Leavin' Here" is an awe- has released another trinket for all the
some rocker about women's rights that Jammers out there, a double DVD called
combines 50s song structure with Pearl "Live At The Garden". Recorded on July
Jam's punk flavor. 8 at New York's Madison Square Garden,
In a sharp contrast to the first disc's "LATG" features the band nearing the end
soaring, fast-paced style, Disc Two is a of the Riot Act Tour. The DVD is also a
much mellower and flowing collection as great package for PJ fans as it features a
a whole, opening with the entire album's set list that spans the Pearl Jam catalo;
a&e editor
• mor .
. .
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Aubrey's pride. The crew, however, steadfastly remains at its
captain's side. Here Aubrey doesn't ever come off as directly
arrogant, nor is he near humble. After all he chases down a
ship that is the most modern of its kind, packing two times
the firepower and boasting a sleeker design than that of the
Surprise. Still, Aubrey is as torn apart internally about his
decisions that end in tragedy, as well as externally by clash
ing with his friend and the ship's surgeon, Dr. Stephen Maturin
(Paul Bettany).
Maturin is a naturalist, an intellectual, and most of all a
person who doesn't fit well with the roughneck sailors. He's
not an odd man out, except by his own will, but he is the only
person on the ship who sees his friend's pride jumbling his
judgment. Maturin is just as torn as Aubrey, but between
friendship and subordination.
My first reaction was to compare this film to "Titanic" be
cause of its sweeping technical precision. Then I remembered
I didn't much like "Titanic," a terrible story with mediocre
characters. As I thought about the film, its subtle character
maneuvers and meticulous design reminded me more of
"Barry Lyndon." "Master and Commander" is a period drama,
the kind that Stanley Kubrick would have created.
There's a scene where Jack Aubrey takes night watch after
duping the Archeron into following a decoy. I don't remem
ber if he had a smile on his face or not, but I don't want his to
have one, not even the slightest twinge. Aubrey isn't a char
acter who flaunts his victories; he lets his crew do it for him.
And Crowe is the perfect actor for such a character. Like in
"Gladiator," Crowe plays a man who would be just another
action hero if played by most actors. Crowe can pull off a
scene as a drunken naval officer and hide in the comedy a
lack of humility. Maybe Aubrey was more arrogant than I
saw in one sitting, but Crowe doesn't let the egotism com
pletely take over the character so as to set him up for some
miraculous change of heart. Instead, Crowe makes me ad
mire the man and accept his flaws because people generally
hide their arrogance as he does Aubrey's.
Opposite Crowe is Bettany, who manages to keep up with
Crowe's performance stroke for stroke. As Maturin, Bettany
provides the necessary counter to Crowe's Aubrey. He's a
humble man of science, who was it not for actually picking
up a sword during the finale, I would have branded a pacifist.
I liked Bettany's character the immediacy of his passion, but
loved him for his intimacy.
`Master and Commander" isn't a film that can be appreci
ated fully in a single viewing. As I write this, I feel I've missed
details that will come with inevitable sittings in the future.
But that is what's so beautiful about this film. It left me hun
gry, not for a sequel necessarily, but for more of the period,
more of the style, and above all else, more of the characters I
can't get out of my head.
'2,n'tn,riAr
out of
4 stars
guests.
The DVD starts off with the band rip
ping into the "Riot Act" tune "Love Boat
Captain", which starts slow but leaves you
breathless by the end. Pearl Jam shows
it can still rock with numbers like "Save
You" and the early smash "Even Flow,"
which spotlights McCready laying some
amazing solos on the NYC fans. The
band cools it down from time to time,
breaking out tunes like the lovely "Low
Light" and the heartfelt desperation of
"Thumbing My Way." Special guest Ben
Harper is featured on a jammed-out ver
sion of "Daughter" as well as the low
key "Indifference." PJ also pulls off some
nice covers of John Lennon's political
tune "Give Me Some Truth" and the
Who's "Baba O'Riley." The band closes
the show in interesting fashion: with the
house lights on, revealing the thousands
of fans screaming as the bands rolls
through a somber "Ledbetter." Although
the "LATG" performance wasn't the
band's best, PJ still has great energy and
show that it goes all out every night on
stage.
At first, I wasn't thrilled with the way
the DVD was shot, but it grew on me as
the concert progressed. The camera
work is very clear, and offers a number
of angles, including the popular "Matt-
Cam" that showcases drummer Matt
Cameron on tunes like "Green Disease."
The cameras get good shots of every
band member, including McCready
working his Strats and Les Pauls like a
madman during his solos, but they
could've caught a couple more shots of
the massive wave of fans at the show that
reportedly, at one time, caused the stage
to shake.
In addition to all this fine music, both
"Lost Dogs" and "Live At The Garden"
were only $11.89 a piece, which is a fan
tastic price for either package. If you're
a PJ fan, I'd urge you to go pick up both
of these gems. The band that never
ue ceases to amaze me has done it a,
n rte,
>s
Friday, November 21, 2003
"Master and Commander:
The Far Side of the World,"
directed by Peter Weir and
starring Russell Crowe and
Paul Bettany, is currently
showing at Tinseltown and
the West Erie Plaza Cinemas.
as well as some great covers and special
0000i.' - ''''!.,:;:' 1 ":1: - •::::'00.••i.•'With
Mo.'--,.::.,.40.00.-tilf_real
Triumph the Insult comic Dog does Sinatra justice
Triumph keeps it real on "Late Night."
review by Chris Hvizdak
contributing writer
Not everyone likes humor composed
of occasionally brilliant jabs at popular
culture piqued with exhilaral49g plays on
societal taboo ordered in a greater frame
work of poop jokes. If you are such a
person, purchasing Triumph's debut PD
/ DVD combo (all for a reasonable $l2)
would likely make you more angry than
Bill O'Reilly at an "Al Franken Appre
ciation Festival." Personally, I both en
joy and find a certain art in the comedy
stylings of Triumph and his associate
Robert Smigel, whom as indicated by the
liner notes functions as "Comedy Pro
ducer" and provides "Vocalism."
So can Triumph transcend the 3
skit format and carry a full length
3. 1? Well, he's done that and the re
are a fair bit more than decent.
Among the 21 tracks on the CD, one will
likely find that each contains at least one
worthwhile gag, and while more than
half bear repeat listening. The music it
self pulls from a number of genres, as .
Kurt Loder states on'the packaging, in
cluding Rap, Caribbean calypso, Irish
drinking songs, and metal.
Although Triumph himself performs
a few solo tracks including the rap tune
turned-music video "I Keed:' a lyrically
creative piece titled "Benji's Queer," and
the TV Funhouse staple "Underage El
chop' (the related episode airing this past
Sunday), the disc is composed primarily
of duets performed by Triumph and such
contemporary comedy all-stars as Conan
O'Brien, lick Black, Horatio Sans,
Maya Rudolph and Adam Sandler.
O'Brien's contribution includes his ut
terance a non-socially acceptable profan
ity, the impact of which upon his broad
cast viewer-ship couldbelilned that
of running into an old high school
teacher at a swinger's club, shockingly
humanizing yet tempting in terms of
what could be. Sandler's piece isoin
taesting. Black collaboVekoh'i l luick
attesting the evils of Boblarker and his
"Spayed or Neutered" campaign while
Sans portrays the aged lounge comedian
"Stinky Faye," who has a number of de
lightfully unthinkable punch dines. Also
of note is a track to the tune of Monster
Mash featuring Blackwolf the "Netd Of
The Rings," a Fillet-O-Pish-eating
Gandalf look-a-like whom you may re
member from Triumph's visit to the "Star
Wars: Episode 2" line last summer. The
AaE Event Spotlight
The Lion Entertainment Beard Presents
Comedian
Robbie Printz
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Daniel J. Stasiewski, A&E Editor
CD is tounded out with five prank calls
of ;mh;tent creativity yet varying qual
ity.
On the DVD, there's more than an
hour of footage culled from Triumph's
live ippeatturces over the last year fea
turing the accostnint of such special
guests as Jared "Subway" Fogle (who,
among other things, throws subs to the
crowd from his giant, pre-diet pants), the
"Dude, You're Getting "A Dell!" Kid (a
ripe target as he comes off as a real jerk
outside the commercials), Kurt Loder
and that Fat VI (the back of the CD tells
me his name is hum Robinson), as well
as laneane Garofalo and some Italian
guy from The Sopranos (Vinne Pastore).
Several songs not found on the CD ap
pear in this live video format, as well as
a number of songs that are on the CD.
.11orind• the'Sans number, in particu
lar, to be worth the entire price of ad
mission as after the song . Triumph re
quests that his chewer "Stinky Faye"
do a few impressions, which manage to
hit that wonderful zenith of "taboo com
edy for the sake of being taboo" that is
far too underrepresented in mainstream
media. I speak of an intelligent form of
comedy far beyond that of morning
shock jocks, scatological humor or jokes
designed to be patently offensive. This
is a comedy that is presented in such a
context and composed of such horren
dously offensive elements that it would
cause anyone to be labeled a number of
unpleasant things if intended literally. In
function this comedy is designed not to
endorse said horrible things, rather to
provide that rush of cultural liberation
that only the public speaking of some
thing truly honendous can deliver. This
type of humor is rare in mainstream
media, veiled flashes of which appear in
the dearly departed broadcast series
"Family Guy" and vividly in the also de
parted cablesketch program "Mt Show,"
both immensely popular on DVD yet
sadly victims of_poor network support
The CD both carries on 490 sati.
rizes the tradition otthe 50s-ffi party
album, evident in not only its parody :
title and cover art but also in its clew
alcade of ensemble performers who
have truly ushered in a new comedy
renaissance. If you're a fan of Tri
umph, if you're a fan of Comm or
simply enjoy huntor that reaches be
yond the formulaic bounds of con
temporary stand-up and sit-corns, do
pick it up. ,
Dec. 5 at 9 p.m.
In Bruno's Cafe
behrcolls @aol.com