The Daily Collegian ‘Spamalot’ brings quest to Happy Valley By Hannah Rishel COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Taunting Frenchmen who cata pult cows and a killer rabbit made their appearance in Happy Valley Tuesday night. The national tour of Monty Python's “SPAMALOT” per formed the Tony award-winning musical last night to a packed Eisenhower Auditorium. A second performance will be held tonight at 7:30 in the same venue. The musical, based on the cult classic film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” stays true to the movie, including famous scenes like the Black Knight who gets his limbs cut off, with splashy musical numbers thrown in. Some of these musical numbers played off original jokes, like “I Am Not Dead Yet,” while others broke down the fourth wall, having the actors sing to the audience direct- Bar aims to revive original music By Josh Bollinger COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Shifting trends in State College have resulted in the death of the original music scene with little room for regrowth, local music enthusiasts say. One reason? There’s not a demand for it, said Maria Agresti, general manager of the 797 Lounge and host of a morning radio show on 105.9/106.9 Qwik Rock. Agresti said original bands don’t last long in State College because they simply aren’t mak ing any money. Much of the time, students want to go to clubs to hear club music, she said, but the 797 Lounge is trying to bring original music back to State College with its “Local Bands” series that runs at 10 p.m. on Wednesday nights. There’s a $3 cover and only peo ple ages 21 and older are admit ted. Agresti said the quality of origi nal music is better than some thing on the radio. “I don’t think someone can cover someone else’s song as good as they can,” Agresti said. “If I want to hear Slipknot, I want to go to a Slipknot show” Original reggae band RT and The Earthtones has been playing in State College since 1985 and is tonight’s featured local band at the 797 Lounge. Bandleader Rodney “RT” Thompson said the group plays some covers during its shows because reggae doesn’t get much radio play. “It’s a little more different for us than a rock band or alternative FREE PRACTICE TESTS ON CAMPUS Your Score Matters. Take a Practice Shot. Warm up for the MCAT, LSAT, GMAT or GRE with a FREE Practice Test! Learning your strengths and weaknesses early wiil give you time to improve your game before Test Day. This is the most realistic practice you can get without taking the actual exam! Seats are limited ! Reserve your spot online or give us a call Princetonßeview.coiii/GradTestFest jrfie { Princeton * BOO 273 8439 I Princetonßevjew.com 0t Test name* are the Uad emeu It* ot ner 'tistetlue j -v - l *>. t:< * ••::i rt ;ei3 -,v< The Pt»nce*oft Rev*«w The Revtw s A/f tta/fU' A/oCe-s’ Hit your Target! SEMESTER PACKS will get you there! ★ Organized, Detailed, Typed Notes ★ Notetakers: “A” Students in Class ★ Ready the Next Day ★ Free Practice Exams (★selected courses) ★ Best Value for Your Money 300+ COURSES AVAILABLE CALL FOR COURSE LIST \\\ NITTANY NOTES ■ / i 8 0623 NittanyNotes.com ly, like “The Song That Goes Like This,” which pokes fun at tradi tional musicals. Penn State alumna Caroline Bowman returned to Happy Valley as the Lady of the Lake, who gives King Arthur the sword Excalibur, making him king of Britain. She then helps him on his quest to find the Holy Grail, appearing to him in times of need and falling in love with him in the process. Bowman s fellow cast members paid tribute to her alma mater, and played to the State College crowd, by working in a “We Are... Penn State” cheer into one of the scenes, that was met with a round of applause from the audience. Tessa Croft, who had seen “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” a few times before attend ing the musical, said the Lady of the Lake was her favorite charac ter. “It's pretty cool whenever she “I understand that we’re a town that runs on football and beer, but we’re also a town that has a lot of talent around here.” band because their music is on the radio,’’ Thompson said. “We’re playing stuff that people would never hear unless they hear a live reggae band.” Thompson said it doesn’t mat ter if it’s a cover or an original tune that he’s playing just as much feeling and passion go into it. He said the band puts its own spin on covers it performs by changing endings or by segueing back and forth between different songs. But Thompson said the bottom line for him is that it's all about the music and showing the crowd a good time by coercing them to dance and enjoy his band's music. “They dance their way out of their constrictions; forget about their problems and stuff for the evening,” Thompson said. “They can always pick them up on the way out.” Songwriters Club President Brian Walker said it’s sad there's such a lack of original music in town. “I understand that we’re a town that runs on football and beer, but we’re also a town that has a lot of talent around here." Walker (sen ior-psychology) said. Walker said cover bands take away from the artistic aspect of what a band should be, but the exception is when bands like RT and The Earthtones toy with the SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2ND LSAT 10:00am-l:00pm MCAT 10:00am-3 :OOpm GRE l:3opm-4:3opm GMAT 3:3opm-6:3opm ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT appears,” Croft (sophomore-ele mentaiy education) said. Stephen Trippett, a Monty Python fan, also thought the Lady of the Lake was an interesting character. She is only mentioned in passing in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” but never makes an appearance. “I was worried they’d follow the movie too faithfully,” Trippet, a State College resident, said. Scott Singer, also a State College resident, said that he was a little leery going into the show as a Monty Python fan, but the show exceeded his expectations. “It was definitely far better than I thought it would be," he said. Croft said her favorite parts of the show were when the entire cast sang together, such as the Vegas-inspired “Knights of the Round Table” number when Arthur and his knights arrive in Camelot and the "Find song and make it their own. Walker said it’s harder for an original band to get a gig around town than a cover band, because bars are fearful of not getting enough business and losing money. But Walker said the blame shouldn’t be pointed at just the bars it’s the community’s fault as well. “The best way to make this local music scene work is to not look out for oneself, but to look out for others,” Walker said. He said the local music scene could thrive again if bars, stu dents, community members and student music organizations get together to discuss the problems and share possible solutions. “If everyone could get together and actually bother to listen to each other, it could work out,” Walker said. “But practically, that’s not going to happen.” To e-mail reporter: tjbs267@psu.edu If you go What: RT and The Earthtones Where: 797 Lounge When: 10 p.m. tonight Details: Must be 21 or older tiO.' Lfrtoveriits The Mayor gets slapped in the face by fish in the “Fisch Schlapping Song,” the opening song in Monty Python’s musical “SPAMALOT.” Your Grail Finale-Medley” closing classic “Always Look on the Bright song. After the actors took their Side of Life.” bows, they led the audience in a sing-along of the Monty Python To e-mail reporter: hmrso27@psu.edu Brian Walker senior-psychology Get In Trouble? UPUA Legal Affairs 31 4 HUB - (81 4) 867-21 97 WWW.PSULEGALAFFAIRS.ORG Free Confidential Advice WE CAN HELP! ♦Now Accepting Applications for Membership* SOMA to feature diverse performers By Sarah Becks FOR THE COLLEGIAN Students Organizing the Multiple Arts (SOMA) hopes stu dents are interested in an event where they can see guitarists, singers, poets, stand-up comedi ans and maybe even jugglers all in the same place SOMA is hosting an open mic night at 7 tonight at Waring Study Lounge in West Commons. “We allow anything and every thing. If you can perform it, you’re welcome to show up,” SOMA Vice President Bill Nechamkin said. Sign-up is at 7 p.m. and per formances begin at 8 p.m. The open mic night is open to anyone and is a way to have fun while showing off talents, Nechamkin said. This is the first open mic night of the semester, but it has been a long tradition of SOMA. The club has had an open mic night about once a month since it began, Nechamkin (senior-infor mation sciences and technology) said. The purpose of an open mic night is to give people an oppor tunity to express their creativity in front of an audience and have a good time doing it, chairwoman and host Amanda Earle (junior psychology) said. “I’m hoping the open mic night will showcase a lot of unknown talent that exists at Penn State,” Because of the variety of acts that Wednesday, Sept. 29,2010 I 7 show up at open mic nights including magicians, rappers and even ventriloquists it’s always a fun event to go to with friends, Nechamkin said. “Personally, I’m hoping we get some jugglers. We always had jugglers show up my freshman year,” Nechamkin said. SOMA also plans on putting spins on the open mic nights. “We will even be hosting themed open mic nights, includ ing a Halloween one and our infa mous ‘Find Your SOMA’te’ Open Mic/ Date Auction for Valentine’s Day,” Earle said. Nick Miller (sophomore-film) performed at an open mic night last year. “The most important element of the open mic nights is that when you perform you’re not really looking to gain anything,” he said. “You go there to learn and share your talents.” Performers can also perform original songs if they want to get their work out there. “It’s an absolutely great expe rience to perform and then listen to feedback from people in the audience who are usually fellow performers,” Miller said. SOMA gives students at Penn State opportunities, such as the open mic night, by involving arts of all kinds into their events, Earle said. “Our club held some really great events, such as the We Are Scientists concert, Arts Crawl and many more,” Earle said.
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