FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2001 New tour makes for long days by Deanna Symoski a&e editor “You realize this isn’t brain surgery we’re doing up here,” Rob Thomas, lead singer of Matchbox Twenty, told the sold-out Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh last Friday night. “We’re not curing cancer, either. We’re just some dickheads in a band.” It is that humility that has allowed the music of Matchbox Twenty to speak for itself. The band, currently on tour with Lifehouse and Everclear, is free of flashy special effects and gimmicks, except for Thomas’s classic lead-singer good looks, and gives off the impression that they are completely at home just playin’ some songs. “If you wanna get up and dance or just sit back and listen, it’s cool. We're gonna play some music, so just have fun,” Thomas instructed. With a disco ball spinning and a translucent sheet billowing in that strange breeze arenas always seem to have inside them, silhouettes of the band took the stage. The curtain lifted and Matchbox Twenty officially opened with "Crutch” off their sophomore album Mad Season. Thomas took front and center, and for a moment, the collective shrill of teenage girls made it feel like the O- EVER POPULAR For Alexakis, it’s always a good time for a bad attitude Art Alexakis used to be a rock star. Now' the lead singer of Everclear just sings about being one. There is no life more fitting for a stint on Behind the Music than that of Alexakis’, and those tumultuous times are well documented in the band’s music. It is this bleak, if not honest, songwriting that has kept Everclear on the map. Their latest release, Songs from an American Movie Vol. II: Good Time for a Bad Attitude , hit stores in November ot'2ooo, and brought witli it a punk plethora of autobiographical recollection. Songs like “AM Radio,” which recalls the simplicity of growing up in a less technical decade, are a little more upbeat than “Father of Mine” and pretty much anything from So Much for the Afterglow , which is w'hy Everclear opened with the anti-disco theme on Friday. With no more than a frowning smiley face on a black curtain as a back drop, Everclear rolled through a variety of songs and time periods. Touching upon a sampling of everything from Sparkle and Fade to American Movie Vol. 11, the band delivered a perky set to fuel the crowd. By the end, just as we were watching the world die in “Santa Monica,” even those who only came for Matchbox Twenty were bouncing up and down. Movies Exit Wounds Enemy at the Gates *Release Date: 3/20 Art- /A prifh JL aJL 'LA/ ii.~ ,i-i. 11. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad season for yourself or someone like you town show simultaneously playing at Club M. But these Rock-and-Rollers are no boy band, as they proved with their second number “Long Day,” their first release off the critically-acclaimed Yourself or Someone Like You released in 1996. Thomas’ voice, the sound of a soul purging itself, passionately flowed against the riffs of guitars that sound like they know something you and Thomas don’t. It is that thirst in their music that reveals the true purity of their art form. And the crowd understood. by Deanna Symoski I'-HV v. Video* Jesus Christ Superstar Remember the Titans But one gets the impression that regardless of the volume of the cheers, Matchbox Twenty w'ould be happy playing their music just about anywhere. As the piano rolled onto the stage, the mood became immediately more intimate. “You Mine” sprinkled over th< at first, then rolled into grand epic summarizes Mad Seaso, The piano, howeve was not to remain more than two so unfortunately. It disappointing, in fact, the band overlooke* opportunity to perform of their unreleased piecf as the piano version of Instead, they opted to ki show in a faster ge impressive pace in its ow but more acoustic versiot have been a special treat An Everyday occurrence: « Dave Matthews sells his soul and his sound *, w "for mainstream album After a long weekend with no sleep, I snuggled into my toasty little bed, turned the lights out, and played my new Dave Matthews Band CD, Every day. 1 was ready for the sexy voice of Dave Matthews to soothe me into a deep sleep, but the first song on the album, "1 Did It" forced me to stay awake and sing along. This proved to be the only song 1 knew the words to. Thanks MTV (by the way, 1 still don’t understand that video). I listened carefully to the lyrics of each song, trying to make sense of what I was hearing. Okay, I will admit it. I am one of those emotionally chal lenged individuals who listen to the words of songs and believe that some of them were written to describe the life of Ainslie J. Ulmer. Take some of Dave’s oldies, but goodies for ex ample: "Crash," "Say Goodbye" or "Crush." I mean the lyrics in these songs are deep, emotional, and are possibly Dave at his best. But during some of the songs on Everyday , I thought to myself, "am I missing something?" “Angel," "The Space Between," "So Right,” and "Dreams of Our Fathers" Music* Maxwell 50 Cent Korn Mandy Moore m J _ ...... \ i j v *ir *,\ ML HI If i| |a ill ll m M II ii ffl M ff-ar riffi** m pi *M &|. |:?f m fl M £s« k.I i! H of us who could already sing every song the way it sounds on the album. Seeing the band live does lend a whole new appreciation for the good songs that airplay bludgeons to death. Far removed from the monotony of the heavy rotation of their first album (so that now you actually want to hear those early songs on the radio/ Mad Season s releases are beginning to find the same fate. “If You’re Gone,” a favorite on local radio, gets taken for granted until witnessing the heart with which the song was originally written. Live versions capture the journey that radio warps into destination. The play list consisted of the first nine songs off Mad Season, everything up to and including “Bent,” and “You Won’t Be Mine,” interspersed with “Real World,” “3 am,” “Girl Like That” and “Back 2 Good” from Yourself or Someone Like You. “Push,” also off the debut album, 'he first song in an isive encore that ipped with a yet-to-be eleased cover of ‘Lonely Weekend” by ieil Young for the Sun cords collaboration by Ainslie Ulmer public relations manager will probably grow on me. They have potential, but 1 had to listen to the CD several times before making that de cision. This has formed the basis for much of my criticism. There has not been a Dave Mathews CD yet that I have not loved right from the begin ning. I guess there is a first for every thing. So I have come to a conclusion (here comes Ainslie Ulmer, World Problem Solver). I have determined that Dave has sold out. For some reason, Dave has decided to become more public and play MTV specials. He is becom ing one of those commercial artists we, the fans, have always praised him for not being. As I listen to some of the songs, I recognize that funky DMB beat trying to peek through, but for the most part Everyday is unlike any other Dave Matthews Band CD. A new im age, new style, new look... Hey Dave! WASSUP with that? To all you die-hard Dave fans out there, I apologize for what I am about to say, but possibly the best part of this CD was the insert for Dave Mathews Band merchandise. My white DMB logo hoodie should arrive any day now. hbox Twenty turned performance that sed on music over :antry, talent over ;e. The band is just that band, and their ,tence upon .mbering that not only :s them one of the most ;d acts around, it makes perhaps the most DVD* Bedknobs and Broomsticks Dune Jesus Christ Superstar Remember the Titans R 9 Erl To Go by Erin McCarty Pot 0 ’ Gold! Irish films are a great way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Well, it’s that time again. St. Patrick’s Day: the holiday on which every body becomes Irish for a day. Tomorrow Erie will be a sea of green, and if snow doesn’t stop it, the St. Paddy’s Day Parade will spread the sounds of Irish music throughout the city. There’ll be wild parties at every pub, and the aroma of corned beef will waft through the streets. But if you don’t have any big plans, this is an ideal time to go out and rent a good Irish flick. So get yourself a Shamrock shake and settle down in front of the television to enjoy one of these Irish movies. Christmas in Kilarney. This is just a quickie, thirty minutes long, for all you nostalgic folks out there. It’s one in a long line of Rankin and Bass stop-animation specials. True, it’s really a Christmas movie, but it’s got leprechauns, banshees, rainbows, and gold. And in my grade school, we watched it every St. Patrick’s Day. Darby O'Gill ami the Little People. An oldie but goodie, this Disney flick follows the adventures of an eccentric old man who has numerous run-ins with the king of the leprechauns. It also concerns the courtship of his daughter and the young man who has come to take over Darby’s house. A nice old-fashioned romance story with plenty of Irish magic and humor, this movie also features a very young Sean Connery. The Secret of Roan Inish. An often overlooked film deeply rooted in Irish folklore. The lush scenery and stirring soundtrack contribute to this tale of a girl searching for her long-lost brother on the island where her family used to live. No leprechauns here, but it gives a great introduction to selkies, mermaid-like creatures who, instead of being part fish, are part seal. Waking Ned Devine. A hilarious movie about two old men and a lottery ticket. When their friend Ned dies with the winning lottery ticket in hand, they concoct a plan to fool the Irish Lottery officials into thinking one of them is Ned so they can split the winnings evenly among all the members of the small town. Out to thwart them is an old woman who would make Oscar the Grouch seem cheery. There are no magical creatures here, but the charm of the characters is magic enough. And it’s the only movie I’ve ever seen with an old man riding a motorcycle naked (don’t worry, his back’s to the viewers)! Leprechauns. This is the longest movie of the bunch. It debuted on NBC as a miniseries last year, and it is both action-packed and romantic. A variation on Romeo and Juliet, it tells the tale of a leprechaun and a fairy who fall in love, much to the dismay of their families. When the two bands of little people wage war against one another, the survival of both civiliza tions is at stake. It takes two pairs of star-crossed lovers, the fairy and leprechaun and the full-size American and Irish lass, to bring the others to their senses. Far and Away. My personal favorite, this delightful movie stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as a pair of nineteenth-century immigrants in Boston. They meet in Ireland when Joseph (Cruise) tries to kill Shannon’s (Kidman) father, whose employees were responsible for the death of Joseph’s father. Shannon, rich, spoiled, and headstrong, and Joseph, poor, clumsy, and fiery, flee together to America under less than ideal circum stances. Once there, Shannon is robbed and the two set up residence in a brothel and find jobs in a chicken factory, trying to save up enough to head west, where the land is. Meanwhile, Joseph gains fame and fortune by night as a prize-fighter, but he fails to realize until too late that his employer has complete control over his life. Filled with action, adventure, humor, and romance, this is probably the most realistic of the six and is a terrific movie all year round. Other films worth checking out include The Quiet Man , starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara and backed by a beautiful soundtrack; Riverdance and Lord of the Dance , both featuring talented troops of Irish dancers, and The Brothers McMullen, a comedy about three Irish-American brothers. There are plenty of others to choose from, but these are ten of the best. Check one of them out and bring a little bit of Ireland into your room this weekend. Slafnte (that’s Gaelic for "to your health").
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