I The Behrend Beacon
STUDENT LIFE - JEeE 11 [ EE
Students begin ‘Working’
Twenty-five people found their way to the Studio
Theatre last night to preview "Working," Behrend's spring
production. They were greeted by die acoustic stylings of
Jeff Stempka and Patrick Doyle whose versions of clas
sics, such as Jind Hendrix' "All along the watchtower,"
enthralled their listeners.
Stempka upped his performance by adding vocals and
harmonica strains. He seemed to swallow his lyrics at
times, but more than made up for that during the actual
production. "He’s quite good," said Randy Martell, PSY
06. ■
The company opened die show with a jazzy rendition of
"All the livelong day," which has nothing to do with rail
roads. From then on the stage was seamlessly trans
formed from a steel shell of a building to a newsroom and
everything in between.
Camille Jones, the show's only non-Behrend performer,
lit up the room with her strong stage presence and even
stronger vocals. Her vivacious actions brought the audi
ence to attention and never let them go.
‘Ladder 49’ ablaze
with heroism
Review by Annie Sevin
from the Oct. 8 issue
Director Jay Russell (“Tuck
Everlasting,” “My Dog Skip”)
delivers a fiery masterpiece with
“Ladder 49.” This day-in-the-life
film debuted last Friday and quick
ly became a must-see movie. It fol
lows the life of Baltimore firefight
er Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix)
and his experiences as a firefighter
and a family man.
The movie begins at the end with
an extremely large warehouse fire.
Morrison becomes trapped in the
building when the twelfth story
floor gives way. Throughout the
film, the audience is thrown
between the warehouse fire and
Morrison’s life as he passes in and
out of consciousness.
The story itself is very endearing.
The audience is meant to fall in
love with Morrison and Captain
Mike Kennedy (John Travolta).
That task is well accomplished
thanks to an awesome cast and
amusing male-bonding rituals. The
chemistry between all the charac
ters was perfect, and that’s what
really sells this movie. Without the
chemistry, the life threatening
drama and provocative ending, this
movie would’ve flopped.
The cinematography in “Ladder
49” is absolutely astounding. The
overhead aerial shots were beauti
fully done. The astronomical
explosions during the fire scenes
were incredible (and loud). Some
of the firefighting scenes were so
intense and thunderous that the the
ater floor actually shook. On top of
that the heart-pounding rescue
By Lacy Bustard
from die April 8 issue
scenes made the audience jump out
of their seats.
The film balanced out with some
less intense moments as well. The
firefighters played pranks on each
other throughout the film. There
were also some romantic moments
between Morrison and his wife
Linda (Jacinda Barrett) that were
scripted well.
The musical element of “Ladder
49” was excellent compared to
most films. The soundtrack
matched beautifully with the emo
tional impact of the scenes. The
music really drew the audience into
the movie; it definitely enhanced
the quality of this film.
It’s hard to find anything nega
tive about Russell’s film. Perhaps
it's not the most original storyline
ever created - it is slightly reminis
cent of "Armageddon” (Michael
Bay 1998). However, it’s an excep
tionally good portrayal of the strug
gles of being a firefighter. Not to
mention the fact that it is a painful
reminder of all the lives lost on
September 11th. It does provide
some insight to what the FDNY
went through that day, and every
day. It also reminds us of the rea
sons that we salute and respect fire-
fighters.
This film also slightly portrays
Hollywood-heroics, inasmuch as
the audience thinks they know how
the characters will respond in cer
tain situations. However, the unex
pected twists turn it into a believ
able story about everyday heroes.
“Ladder 49” is a film that you
can really lose yourself in. It’s one
of the few that makes the audience
forget they’re actually watching a
An authentic looking steam rose from the stage as mill
workers mock-produced their suitcases. Watch out if you
have asthma, though; it could be an issue. Overall, how
ever, it worked its magic by placing the audience within
the scene.
The highlight of the show came with the song, "If I
could’ve been." This heart-wrenching song about how
laborers have feelings and intelligence that often goes
overlooked brought the plight of the working class to life
for the audience.
A great surprise came when Tanaz Balapofia opened her
mouth solo for the first time in "Millworkers." Nothing
short of amazing can describe the way her voice streamed
from her diaphragm. She began with a vigor that captivat
ed listeners and kept it up for the remainder of the show.
"I didn't think a college production would be as good as
it was," said Andrew Chemauskas, Soft Eng 04. "It was
incredible."
And so it was. From the supermarket checkout with
Amanda Golia to on the road with Aaron Amendola,
"Working” is sure to please. The show will run April 8,9,
10,13,14,15,16 and 17 in the Studio Theatre.
film; it seems more like watching
TOUCHSTONE PICTURES
John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix star
in ‘Ladder 49.’ a story about firefight
er’s lives and jobs.
everything happen from a street
corner.
so convincing is that it was shot on
location. A Maryland native has
informed me that the scenes in
which the city of Baltimore was
visible were authentic. The fires
too were genuine, even local resi
dents thought they were real. So
kudos to Russell and crew for not
trying to fool anyone with fake
Hollywood sets.
“Ladder 49” is an awesome film
exploding with things we love most
about life. It’s intense, it’s funny,
it’s a pyromaniacs dream and the
acting is brilliant.
Another reason this film seems
Lay the Smack Down with
‘WWE Smack Down vs. Raw’
Review by Nick Hammond
from the Nov. 9 issue
THQ’s wrestling games are always
evolving and changing as it straddles
the line between trying to satisfy die
hard wrestling fans and just trying to be
a good fighting game. This year’s PS2
game is a pretty big step in the right
direction as a lot of the big features fans
have been clamoring for are finally in
the game.
The Smack Down series has always
been known for its surprisingly fun,
deep story mode - a pseudo-RPG with
a WWE theme. This year’s big changes
is honest-to-goodness voice work from
pretty much every wrestler in the game,
even Vince McMahon, too, which adds
a ton to the authenticity. You’re also
able to more clearly define your role as
a face, a good guy, or heel, a bad guy,
and actively use your managers to your
advantage during a match; for instance,
having her grab a chair for you and dis
tract the ref so you can properly use it.
The game also lets you create custom
championship belts, which can be
transferred from memory card to mem
ory card if you manage to beat the cur
rent holder in a match.
Nearly all of the gameplay changes
made to this year's game are assorted
ways to try to capture the proper flow
of a real match. Nowhere is this more
exemplified than in the little in-match
minigames. At the beginning of a
match, you'll frequently find yourself
faced with a stare-down contest, a test
of strength, or a shoving match. These
are all controlled by specifically timed
button presses that appear onscreen. In
the stare down, you simply have to
press X at the right time and you'll get
the always important first strike. The
meter swings upward to signify power
[ Week recap in music j
| Review by Sean Mihlo
from the April 1 issue
■ Stephen Malkmus to Release Third
■ Album, Tour Select Cities, Have a
I Baby
It's been six long years since Lo-Fi
I pioneers “Pavement” broke up and two
_ years since ex-vocalist Stephen
I Malkmus released his second solo
■ effort, “Pig Lib.”
* Just last year, Matador Records re-
I released a digitally re-mastered ver
sion of “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain”
| with nearly 40 extra tracks and vividly
. stunning linear notes. This year, how
■ ever, Matador will concentrate on pro
| moting the new Malkmus album,
“Face the Truth,” which is set to drop
| in the U.S. on May 24. For those who
live outside the States, the album will
I be released in Europe via Domino on
■ May 23. The first single from “Face
■ the Truth” called “Post-Paint Boy,” is
I currently available for download on
iTunes.
I After the release of “Face the
m Truth,” Malkmus will begin a short
■ tour in which he will bless audiences
■ across America with his witty lyrics
and possibly some older material.
| As of today, only a handful of dates
have been scheduled, most likely due
I to Malkmus' pending fatherhood.
■ There are some empty spaces in
* between the tour dates, but hopefully a
■ few more shows will appear within the
upcoming weeks. Mark your calen-
I dars, for Malkmus will make only one
appearance near us on June 9 at the
I Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland.
■ The Raveonettes Are Back, or Pretty
| in Black
Swedish duo The Raveonettes are
| set to release their second full-length,
I “Pretty in Black,” on April 26, via
■ Columbia. Their major-label debut,
| “Chain Gang of Love,” garnered criti
" cal acclaim for its distortion-heavy
| rock and roll sound; it even produced
the hit single and K-mart commercial
I backtrack "That Great Love Sound."
■ On “Pretty in Black,” though, the
* duo strays from the feedback that over-
I whelmed its predecessor and focus
more on molding songs that drip pure
I pop. Besides finding a new sound, The
_ Raves decided to pick up a new mem-
I ber, Anders Christensen, who will
■ replace Sharin Foo on bass, allowing
1 her to shift focus from instrument to
Friday, April 29, 2005
IE W
New Features of
“Smack Down vs. Raw:”
- Authentic voices
- Stare down contest
- Test of strength
- Custom
championship belts
- Define your role
for your shove, and then it swings back
downward, challenging you to hit the X
button at just the right time for maxi
mum effectiveness. There's also an
exact copy of this meter for the ever
popular chop battles you tend to see
during real matches, which have been
translated here very nicely. As well,
you'll encounter a new spanking con
test (strictly for the divas, of course).
These little games can be turned on or
off in the game's options menu, but we
didn't find them to be intrusive, and
instead thought they added a little more
flair to the matches. That's flair mean
ing "style," not flair meaning Ric Flair.
If you want to add a little more Ric
Flair to your matches, yes, he is a selec
table character.
The next big thing is, of course,
head-to-head online play, though you
can’t bring the belts online (yet). The
fighting engine handles a lot like that of
the last game with some tweaks to the
grappling system, but the presentation
and feature set is the best THQ has yet
to offer.
Co-produced by Richard Gottehrer,
who's produced albums by the Go- |
Go's and Blondie, lends his legendary m
talents to Pretty in Black, while singer, ®
lyricist and guitarist Sune Wagner fin- |
ishes off the production duties. The *
Raves even pay tribute to Gottehrer by |
recording a version of “My
Boyfriend's Back,” originally recorded I
by The Angels in 1963 and co-written ■
by Gottehrer. Maureen Tucker from "
The Velvet Underground, Suicide's |
Alan Vega and '6os girl-group pioneer
Ronnie Spector also contribute to |
“Pretty in Black.” “Love in a -
Trashcan,” the album's first single, was I
released to radio stations in March. |
Meanwhile, the band is currently in "
the midst of touring England, Greece, |
Canada and the United States. The
Raveonettes will also delight fans at I
this year’s Coachella festival in ■
California. Autolux will support The ■
Raveonettes in the US. |
The Dandy Warhols Finish and |
Name Album, Announce Single, Get
High, ChiU I
Portland’s favorite shoegazer/psy- ■
chedelic/new wave band, The Dandy *
Warhols, have announced the title of |
their fifth effort for Capitol Records
via their website. Named after their |
home studio in Portland, “Odditorium .
or Warlords of Mars” is currently ■
being mastered and is expected to be |
released by summer. The Dandies also "
confirmed that “Smoke It” will be the |
first single taken from “Odditorium;” a
video for the track was shot in I
February. The Dandies' last album, ■
2003's “Welcome to the Monkey *
House,” debuted in the number 2 slot I
on Billboard's Heatseekers chart.
Whether or not the band will tour |
this summer in support of Odditorium
is still up in the air. Besides an appear- I
ance this past January at a benefit con- |
cert in Portland, the Dandies haven't
played a show in the US since I
September of 2003.
In addition to a possible tour, |
MTV.com is reporting that a DVD of a ■
live performance from 2004 in "
Australia is also under construction. I
The DVD is set to be released some
time this month. MTV.com also says |
that lead singer Courtney Taylor- _
Taylor is preparing to shoot a film I
based on a script he's written, “One ■
Model Nation,” in the fall. ®