M usic , M oviesand M ore

Oct. 6, 2005
Music, Movies and More
MUSIC
USIC:: Up-and-coming Brit-rock group, Ath
Athlete,
lete, plus new music
MOVIES: ‘The Greatest Game
Game’’ inspires and ‘Waiting
‘Waiting’’ tells itt like it is
MORE
ORE:: Alumna takes to the stage, plus the llatest
atest entertainment news
2 THE BUZZ
Contents
02 The Inside Buzz
03 Restaurant Review
Flashback Favorite
04 Brit-rockers Athlete
New Music Reviews
05 Jam with Stevie Wonder
06 The Theater
Titan Concert Preview
Concert Cal
Calendar
08 New Movie Reviews
ON THE COVER: Disney’s new
release ‘The Greatest Game Ever
Played,’ tells the rags-to-riches
story of world-famous golfer,
Francis Ouimet, played by Shia
LaBeouf. (Photo provided by Disney Enterprises)
THE BUZZ
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
AMANDA PENNINGTON
A
ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
MAHSA KHALILIFAR
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
NICOLE M. SMITH
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
CAN SENGEZER
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
EMILY ALFORD
PRODUCTION
AMANDA PENNINGTON, MAHSA KHALILIFAR
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES
LESLEY WU, DERRICK SALATNAY,
VANESSA RUMBLES, RICH BOYD,
KIMBERLY LEUNG, JACKIE KIMMEL
The Daily Titan 714.278.3373
T
The Buzz Editorial 714.278.5426 thebuzz@dailytitan.com
Editorial Fax 714.278.4473
The Buzz Advertising 714.278.3373 ads@dailytitan.com
Advertising Fax 714.278.2702
The Buzz , a student publication, is a supplemental insert for the Cal State Fullerton Daily Titan. It
The
is printed every Thursday. The Daily Titan operates independently of Associated Students, College
of Communications, CSUF administration and the CSU system. The Daily Titan has functioned
as a public forum since inception. Unless implied by the advertising party or otherwise stated,
advertising in the Daily Titan is inserted by commercial activities or ventures identified in the advertisements themselves and not by the university. Such printing is not to be construed as written
or implied sponsorship, endorsement or investigation of such commercial enterprises.
Copyright ©2004 Daily Titan
THE
INSIDE
BUZZ
By MAHSA KHALILIFAR
Daily Titan Asst. Entertainment Editor
The latest news coming out of
Hollyweird today? Tom Cruise and
fiance Katie Holmes are reportedly
expecting a baby ... There’s more
trouble in the world of Lindsay Lohan who was involved in a car accident on Tuesday. The 19-year-old
star reportedly careened her Mer-
Word
On The Web
cedes into a Chevrolet Astrovan in
West Hollywood. Lohan’s camp
alleges that a chase involving paparazzi began when the starlet left
the posh Ivy Restaurant. Witnesses
told People magazine that Lohan
took off from the restaurant rather
quickly ... More news on the young,
beautiful and rich ... Paris Hilton
broke off her engagement to Greek
shipping heir of the same name,
Paris Latsis ... “King Of Queens,”
actor, 40-year-old Kevin James
and 30-year-old wife Steffiana De
La Cruz had a baby daughter, born
last Friday.
The hip-hop world is shaking up
the entertainment news this week
… Rapper Beanie Sigel (Dwight
Grant) is finally a free man. The
31-year-old, charged with shooting
a man near a strip club in 2003, was
acquitted by a Philadelphia jury on
Monday according to MTV news
… Singer and American Idol winner, Fantasia Barrino, is going to
be featured on a “20/20” special
Want more Buzz? Check
us out on the Web for the
latest on hot new
music and movies.
www.dailytitan.com
Friday night. On the show she admits she doesn’t know how to read
and was raped while in high school
… The Fugees are back and will
kick off a European Tour on Nov.
30 according to BET news.
New notable CD releases that
came out Tuesday were Franz
Ferdinand’s You Could Have It So
Much Better … Simple Plan’s Live
From the Hard Rock … Jimmy Eat
World’s Stay on My Side … Fiona
Apple’s Extraordinary Machine …
Snoop Dogg’s new best-of album
hits the racks, Snoopified
ed. New
DVD releases this week include
… Nicole Kidman’s “The Intrepreter”… Ryan Reynold’s “The
Amityville Horror” ... Celebrity
gossip of the week: A certain Queen
Bee had her weave confiscated after entering the Big House? … Are
the official “Newlyweds” Jessica
Simpson and Nick Lachey headed
towards splitsville? … Stay tuned
for more news and gossip on the
next Inside Buzz …
Quote of the Week
“I think I should run on the ‘Yes,
I did it’ ticket. It starts with, ‘And
I drank the bong water.’”
– George Clooney answer to if he
would ever run for public office
THE
Secret S spot
By LISAJOYCE VERGARA
Daily Titan Staff
Those looking to try Asian fusion, should head to Westminster’s
fine-dining Vietnamese restaurant,
S. Don’t be fooled by the empty
parking lot; the restaurant is open
for lunch and dinner and should
not be passed up. Inside, the amazing architecture and Vietnamesethemed artwork leave patrons with
the sense that they’ve landed in
Vietnam. S also features an intimate
open air patio. The servers are attentive and, while the place may be
empty, servers and owner Stephanie
Dinh enjoy striking up conversation
with their customers.
Light eaters can enjoy the Pho
Bo ($7), a soup made with fresh rice
noodles in a beef broth with roasted
ginger, shallots, chopped onions and
cilantro served with beef brisket in
a large bowl. Diners shouldn’t miss
the signature martinis and cocktails
($5-$7), like the refreshing LycheeTini. Dinh also owns a Little
Saigon bakery, so the desserts, like
the Chuoi Chien, a fried banana
topped with rum caramel and ice
cream and served in a martini glass,
are tantalizing ($6-7) .
S offers lunch and dinner entrees
($7-20), along with an array of
soups and salads. One of the lunchtime favorites is Ca Ri Ga, tender
chicken and potatoes simmered in a
spicy curry sauce, served with slices
of baguette ($11). Seafood lovers
should try the Cua Lot Chien Don,
fried soft shell crab sautéed in gar-
BUZZ
3
Flashback Favorite
Everyone needs
‘Punky Power’
By ASHLEY MAJESKI
Daily Titan Staff
GABRIEL FENOY/Daily Titan
The serene atmosphere of S provides for a relaxing lunch of dinner.
lic and scallion chili sauce, served
with steamed rice and vegetables. S
offers a vegetarian menu and caters
to any dietary need. S is located at
545 Westminster Mall Drive and is
closed on Tuesdays. For more information call (714) 898-5092.
Everybody can learn from the
TV show “Punky Brewster:” A
little “Punky Power” goes a long
way, that everyone needs someone to love them and lastly, never hide in an abandoned freezer
while playing hide-and-go-seek
(thanks, Cherie).
“Punky Brewster,” which ran
from 1984 to 1988, told the story
of a girl who was abandoned in
a mall by her mother and moved
into an empty apartment with
her dog Brandon. The apartment
manager, grumpy old Henry
Warnimont, a photographer who
lives alone, is bitter at the world
after losing his wife years before.
Then, as the theme song says,
he meets “the girl that turns his
world around.” Both were alone
in the world until they found
each other, even though they
were an unlikely pair.
While the story lines were
clever, the show worked because
of the cast. There could not have
been a better Punky Brewster
than the charming Soleil Moon
Frye, who could arguably be one
of the best child actors to date.
Then there was Punky’s faithful
sidekick Cherie, who liked to eat
and always wore hip rainbow
colored headbands. Margeaux, a
rich girl who was obsessed with
her own beauty, also brought in
a lot of laughs with her catchphrase, “Peasants!”
The show was meant for
children, but adults could enjoy it too, particularly the jabs
exchanged between Henry and
Cherie’s grandmother Betty,
which went over the heads of
younger viewers.
Like other shows of the
1980s, many episodes contained
a moral message. In one episode,
Cherie and Punky are invited to
join cool girl-gang the Chicklets, only if they agree to do
drugs. Wise beyond their years,
Punky and Cherie “just say no,”
inspiring kids everywhere to do
the same.
And who could forget the
freezer episode? During a game
of hide-and-go-seek, Cherie
– not the smartest of the bunch
– gets trapped after hiding in the
old freezer. It begins to snow
and she passes out from the cold.
When she’s found, she’s not
breathing, but luckily Punky and
Margauex, who learned CPR in
school, save Cherie’s life. To
this day, that episode still makes
my heart race.
Punky showed kids that just
because they are young does
not mean they can’t make a difference. She believed in herself
regardless of what life threw at
her, and in the end she always
came out OK.
The show also didn’t have
the classic “Leave it to Beaver”
style family. Even without the
traditional family unit, Punky
didn’t let anything stop her, and
exuded high self-confidence and
a whole lot of Punky Power!
4 MUSIC
REVIEWS
Athlete runs
away with
rock ‘n’ roll
By BRYAN BARNETT
Daily Titan Staff
First it was The Beatles, the
English quartet that changed music forever and started a trend
Americans still can’t get rid of,
and why would we want to? This
phenomenon immortalized some
of the lasting names in the memoirs of rock ‘n’ roll history; now
it’s shaping the future sound of
rock too, namely in the form of
another English quartet, Athlete.
Despite some obvious resemblances to some big-name British
bands like Radiohead and Coldplay, Athlete keeps itself distinct
with a multitude of sounds on their
second album release, Tourist.
Athlete achieves melodious
fluidity while hitting a wide harmonic range via keyboard, putting
Tim Wanstall’s talented fingers to
good use.
“We each do our own thing and
it all comes together,” drummer
Stephen Roberts said. “It’s a very
democratic process.”
Last week at the El Rey while
Wanstall pounded at his keyboard
relentlessly; while Carey Willets slapped together a bass line;
and while Pott manned the lead
mic with guitar in hand, Roberts
remained the glue that kept it all
together.
They were each doing their own
thing, but it sounded like one big
instrument.
After playing songs new and
old, slow and fast, Athlete
left the stage only to be
called back vehemently by
a hungry crowd filling the
Victorian styled main hall
of the El Rey. Potts talked
at leisure with the audience
throughout the show, creating a rather down-to-earth
aura for the fans. It was a Above: Athlete vocalist Joel
very personal show with Potts (left) bares his soul in
not too much pop and not his song as Tim Wanstall
too much rock, but rather
balanced in a pleasing, (right) pounds on the keyrelaxed kind of way. Shy- boards at their show at the
ing away from the glassy El Rey in Los Angeles. The
pop scene, Athlete has band just returned from a
moved towards rougher whirlwind mini-tour from
waters with Tourist, tackling deeper human issues; Chicago to Germany and
namely being on the road finally landing in Los Angeand having to leave friends les last week.
and family behind.
Right: Potts rocks the
“Your life, your relation- crowd passionately to the
ships go on hold. The album deals with these kinds beat that Athlete drummer,
of issues we face, being on Stephen Roberts, creates.
the road all the time,” Roberts said. In the span of five
days, the band went from ChicaPott’s breathy, fascinating
go, to Germany and then to Los voice gives life to the story in the
Angeles to play at the El Rey.
music.
They’re first single off the alSo why the name Athlete? Does
bum, “Wires,” sums up Pott’s the music allude to athleticism in
experience with his baby’s birth any kind of power chord, Budcomplications.
weiser-commercial way? Are they
“You got wires going in. You obsessed with sports? Not at all
got wires coming out of your skin. said Roberts.
You got tears making tracks. I’ve
“We needed a name because we
got tears that are scared of the were about to do our first gig,” he
facts.”
said. “We need to work on that
Crow’s
latest
album
soars
JAMIE FLANAGAN
Daily Titan Staff
story a bit.”
But after selling 250,000 copies
of their last album, Vehicles and
Animals, the only thing Athlete
needs to work on is booking more
U.S. tour dates.
They’re not the kind of band
that gets over-hyped or that plays
super-bowl halftime shows. They
work slowly and methodically,
building support the old-fashioned
way: through good music.
Toni Braxton’s soul survives
By DIANIKA ABBOTT
Daily Titan Staff
After overcoming bankruptcy, a
heart disease scare and leaving the
label she had called home since the
early 1990s, Toni Braxton, a name
synonymous with survival, proves
she is able to bounce back with the
release of her fifth studio album,
Libra.
With six Grammys, two No. 1
songs on Billboards Hot 100 singles and over 39 million albums
sold worldwide, Braxton – mother,
Broadway star and actress – invites
fans to listen in on what she’s been
up to.
Braxton welcomes her new start
with record label Blackground/
Universal as she reinvents her music with a mixture of mid-tempo
grooves and standard slow sultry
ballads.
On the first track of the album,
“Please,” Braxton’s low deep contralto voice convinces listeners she
is not a mediocre lover when she
asks other women to back up and
give her and her significant other
space to breathe.
The next track, “Trippin (That’s
the way love works),” rumored to
be her second single to be released
from her album, is reminiscent of
the Braxton we all have grown to
know and love.
With lyrics that tell the truth
about love, Braxton encourages listeners to hold on to love even when
it doesn’t seem worth it.
Known for her sensuous ballads, Braxton tries her hand at the
Washington, D.C. metro area’s hot
go-go sound.
“Take This Ring,” written and
produced by go-go pioneer Rich
Harrison, tells the story of a woman who decides to take off her wedding ring and get down and dirty in
the club.
This track, similar to Amerie’s
“One Thing,” also produced by
Harrison, contains a banging offtempo drumbeat and youthful lyrics.
The ultimate jam session is “Stupid,” a jazz-like song in which she
croons about her mistake of falling
in love with someone who doesn’t
share the same feelings.
Complete with a jazzy breakdown, this song invokes the feeling
of sitting in a dark, smoke-filled
jazz club, gazing at a woman illuminated by a spotlight, passionately sing your story through song.
A soothing voice, slurred lyrics
and a simple acoustic guitar rift en-
tices listeners to pay more attention
to the lyrics.
“Shadowless,” the final song of
the album, produced by her husband and Mint Condition band
member Keri Lewis, nostalgically
sings of a love lost.
In this folk-like song, Braxton
fervently explains how she is unable to cope with the loss of the
man who completes her.
“Gotta make it right with you/
Tell me what I gotta do/ To make
you come back home.”
Libra gives a good mixture of
upbeat jams listeners can bump
while primping for the club and
the traditional sultry ballads only
Braxton can sing. Longtime fans
and newcomers alike will be very
satisfied with this widely anticipated album. Toni Braxton is back and
sexier than ever!
After some time off and obvious soul searching, Sheryl Crow
has released her new album,
Wildflower, seemingly composed
between meditation and yoga sessions.
Longtime Crow fans from both
the pop and country genres may
have to keep an open mind in order to appreciate the new song
set.
The 11 tracks are a deliberate
departure from the upbeat attitude that earned Crow her fame.
According to Crow’s official Web
site, she says she did not want to
be influenced by industry competition while working on her new
album. Her goal was to create a
more mature collection of songs
that “asked the questions a 40year-old would ask.”
The new songs are instrumentally far subtler than Crow’s previous work.
On many tracks she sings more
softly than usual and the title
track becomes almost a lullaby.
In composing this album Crow
abandoned overt rhythms and
heavy reliance on drums. Instead
she makes the most of delicate
background vocals and unobtrusive string arrangements.
Woven between her trademark
acoustic guitar, the supporting
instrumentals create a gentle
flow that is carried exquisitely
throughout the record.
The lyrics explore sober themes
like the fluidity of life, finding
one’s self and in “Where Has All
the Love Gone,” staying positive
in an increasingly disheartening
world.
One thing that is carried over to
this album from Crow’s previous
work is her belief that life is short
and must be lived to the fullest as
she sings in “Live it Up.”
“Live it up, like there’s no time
left/Just like there’s no tomorrow.”
It is the fastest paced song on
the record and is the only one that
echoes the fun of hits like “All
I Wanna Do” and “Soak Up the
Sun.”
Crow achieved her goal of producing a unique album infused
with her own personality. It is a
mellow and thoughtful collection
of songs that may not be what
fans expected, but it still retains
an essence of Crow’s style that
will please most listeners.
MUSIC
INTERVIEWS
5
Stevie Wonder shares his ‘Love’
By CHRISTINA SCHROETER
Daily Titan Staff
For almost two hours, the media waited in a
cool Warner Bros. studio for him to arrive.
Nibbling on catered cuisine, sipping on cold
sodas and mingling with each other, many wondered when the time to love would come.
But what is two hours when the world has been
waiting 10 years for Stevie Wonder to release his
long-awaited album, A Time to Love?
“I was never afraid to put this record out,”
Wonder said. “That was not the issue, ever. Because I do believe that God has given it to me,
and it’s just a matter of me getting it the way that
feels right.”
Wonder’s new album is his first of new material
since 1995’s Conversation Peace.
A Time to Love contains an eclectic mix of African drums, digital composition and legendary
UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP
Stevie Wonder holds his family near to his heart and guest musicians like Paul McCartney, Prince and
Bonnie Raitt.
credits that love as an inspiration for the new album.
While some songs
are classic Stevie Wonder, others embrace a
poppy, fun and more
modern sound.
“I wanted it to sound
contemporary
but
sound, still me,” Wonder said. “I wanted to
sing about things that
were relevant but still
had the essence of me
still in there.”
Although his music
has evolved, Wonder
physically remains unchanged.
CHRISTINA SCHROETER/Daily Titan
White beads are
During a studio visit in Los Angeles, Stevie Wonder laughs and jokes with mem- asymmetrically strewn
bers of the media while whole-heartedly explaining the inspiration for and cre- through the long black
ation of his first new album in 10 years, A Time to Love.
braids that dangle to
the small of his back.
He still smoothly weaves his head back and forth when he talks
and sings, sporting his signature black sunglasses.
But instead of Gucci or Louis Vuitton, he wears glasses with
the A Time to Love symbols etched along the side (which he
drew himself ).
“Its really something that has come from life experiences,”
Wonder said of his new album. “The joys and the pains. The
moments of sorrow and the moments of happiness.”
The first song on the record, “If Your Love Cannot Be Moved,”
features vocals by gospel singer Kim Burrell, as well as unusual
sounds like a voice beatbox and African drums. The song is
very elaborate, but knit together seamlessly.
“You Are The Sweetest Somebody I Know” highlights a sexy
funk sound meshed with R&B and authentic Stevie style.
UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP
“The title really says what the song is about, but it really speaks
of someone which we all know,” Wonder said. “Someone like
this or a couple someones like this, that have a very, very selfless
spirit. They’re more concerned with the love that they can give
and helping others than thinking about just themselves.”
Love is very important to Wonder, especially the love of his
family. His son, Kailand Morris, busts in at the end of “You
Are The Sweetest Somebody I Know” shouting “Daddy, Daddy!
OK, that’s enough!”
His daughter, Aisha Morris, is also featured, singing on two
tracks on the album.
On the smooth, timeless track “How Will I Know” both
Wonder and Morris classically sing together alongside an
acoustic piano.
“It was amazing because I always imagined we would do
something together but I just didn’t know it would be that kind
of song,” Wonder said.
“Positivity,” another song Wonder sings with his daughter,
is an upbeat hand-clapping feel-good song meant to brighten
gloomy days. In the song, Wonder quotes his father, “You can
always look at the negative but you should always live in the
positive.”
“I had fun doing this song and it’s sort of like reminiscing the
love,” Wonder said.
Wonder has sold over 72 million records, won 19 Grammy
Awards, received various lifetime achievement awards, and
written songs that have hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop and R&B
Singles Charts starting at the ripe age of 12.
He still remains grounded, appreciating all the small things in
life, hearing the small sounds in life – the sounds many people
today take for granted.
“Hearing my children being born; that’s a beautiful sound,”
Wonder said. “Creating those children; that’s a beautiful sound.
I just think that life itself is beautiful. I think hearing people,
you know, when you see people that are in distress and you see
people caring, and you hear them doing everything that they
can to save someone’s life, that’s a beautiful sound.”
To Wonder, a part of love is humor, and he hopes to someday
show the world the importance of humor by making a silly
album.
Although Wonder has released 35 U.S. albums, he still has
creative plans for his future. He hopes to work with rock musicians like John Mayer as well as rap and hip-hop artists like
Nas, Jay-Z and Eminem.
He also looks forward to creating a musical, an opera and a
country album.
“I’m a music lover so there is nothing that I can say I wouldn’t
want to do except for…I’m not really with negativity,” Wonder
said. “I’m not really feeling that.”
A Time to Love focuses on what is most important in his life.
Wonder is influenced by everything around him: his family,
the media, society, past experiences, others’ experiences and his
imagination.
“The balance really is finding what fits together best in that
puzzle you’re creating,” Wonder said. “It’s no different than
painting a picture. It’s the same. You use your imagination.”
A Time to Love is currently available for download on all major
music sites and can be purchased in stores Oct. 18.
6 MAINSTREAM
Cold War Kids
to rock CSUF
Concert
Calendar
Fri, 10/07/05 7 p.m.
The Killers
Long Beach
Fri, 10/07/05 8 p.m.
Bangles
House of Blues
Hollywood
Fri, 10/07/05 7:30 p.m.
Sat, 10/08/05 7:30 p.m.
Franz Ferdinand
Greek Theatre
Los Angeles
Sat, 10/08/05 12 p.m.
Moto Music Mayhem:
Yellowcard, the Vandals, a
Static Lullaby and more
Storm Stadium
Lake Elsinore
Sat, 10/08/05 8 p.m.
Exploited: Ch3: Orange
Galaxy Theatre
Santa Ana
Sat, 10/08/05 7 p.m.
Sun, 10/09/05 6 p.m.
Green Day
The Home Depot Center
Carson
Mon, 10/10/05 8 p.m.
Tracy Chapman
Roxy Theatre
Hollywood
Tues, 10/11/05 7 p.m.
Cake
Ventura Theatre
Ventura
Wed, 10/12/05 7 p.m.
Dropkick Murphys
House of Blues
Hollywood
Thur, 10/13/05 8 p.m.
Kottonmouth Kings
Galaxy Theatre
Santa Ana
By HENR
HENRY TRUC
Daily Titan Asst. News Editor
FELD ENTERTAINMENT
Tracie Franklin plays the storyteller in ‘Disney Live! Winnie the Pooh!’
CSUF alumna
sings about Pooh
By ASHLEY MAJESKI
Daily Titan Staff
Winnie the Pooh has a new
neighbor in the Hundred Acre
Woods. Cal State Fullerton alumna, Tracie Franklin has been touring the world with Pooh in the hit
stage show “Disney Live! Winnie
the Pooh!” as the storyteller who
leads the audience through an interactive stage production. The
show, which has traveled the world
since 2004, invites the audience to
join in planning a surprise party for
Pooh. With the help of colorful sets
and special effects, Franklin is the
link between the characters and the
audience, encouraging them participate. Franklin said for people in
different countries, it’s like going to
Disneyland.
“They come to see a piece of the
Disney magic,” she said.
Years ago, if someone had told
Franklin she would be acting alongside Winnie the Pooh, she wouldn’t
have believed it. Franklin dreamt
of becoming a ballerina, only to be
told by her teacher her hips were
too big. From there, she set her
sights on medical school. But she
never made it there. After auditioning for a musical at CSUF, she
discovered her true calling in life musical theater. Her former CSUF
theater professor Jim Taulli said he
remembers Franklin’s effervescent
personality and hard work ethic.
“Tracie lives life in a very positive way, and that positive attitude
is very infecting,” Taulli said.
After graduating in 2001 with
a degree in musical theater and a
minor in business administration, a
professor helped her land a job on a
cruise, where she worked for eight
months. She was about to move to
New York when a friend suggested
she audition for the show.
Mitch Hanland, who gave Franklin her first voice lesson, is not surprised she’s so successful.
“She knows how to be very ‘up,’
which is important for any performer,” Hanland said. “Plus, she
has a tremendous voice.”
The show will be at the Kodak
Theater in Hollywood until Oct. 9
and then will be traveling to New
York, Mexico and Japan. After her
contract ends in May, she is not
sure what she will do.
“From being on this tour, I feel I
can do anything,” she said, adding
that she would like to do a Broadway show or be a lounge singer in
Thailand for a while.
Though she loves it, Franklin admits that the touring can take a toll.
“I am a true gypsy,” she said. “I
have no home address right now.”
The Cold War is coming to
Cal State Fullerton. Actually the
Cold War Kids are coming to
to the Becker Amphitheater for
another free Wednesday concert
presented by ASI Productions.
A band of a different variety,
Fullerton’s very own Cold War
Kids use stomping, thumping
and chanting just as much, if not
more than, conventional instruments to play their music.
Influenced by bands like Velvet Underground, Karen Dalton,
Leadbelly, Captain Beefheart
and King Mob, the group’s music offers soul, blues and rock to
a Titan crowd that probably has
not heard anything like it in previous Wednesday nooners.
Drummer Matt Aveiro, Matt
Maust on bass, Jonnie Russell
on guitar and lead vocalist Nate
Willett on guitar, make up the
group that “make songs about
human experience in orchards
and hotel rooms, laundromats
and churches, seat ports and
school halls,” according to the
band’s Web site.
The songs available for listening on the band’s Myspace
offer two distinctive sounds.
“The Sermons vs. The Gospels” gives a taste of the bands
ability to sing the blues live.
“Quiet Please,” a more refined
track, sounds similar to a Radiohead song, but is still markedly
unique.
The band’s stomping and
thumping is quite refreshing, yet
it isn’t as dominant as one would
expect. What really makes the
band a draw is the vocals of
Willett, whose versatile voice is
easy on the ears as he just lets it
loose, though at times he sounds
like a notable vocalist.
“The Soloist in the Living
Room” is the strongest track,
with a variety of instruments,
a catchy beat and great vocals,
making it worth seeing the band
live. For more information about
the band, check out the Web site
at www.coldwarkids.com.
8 MOVIE
REVIEWS
‘Greatest Game Ever Played’ right on par
By JENNY STAR LOR
Daily Titan Staff
From the studio that brought
movie-watchers “Remember The
Titans” and “Miracle” comes
an inspirational story of a poor,
working-class nobody who defies
high-class society to become the
first American golf hero in “The
Greatest Game Ever Played.”
The movie, based on Mark
Frost’s best-seller, the movie is set
in rural New England, the movie
begins in 1879 on the Isle of Jersey. In early morning, a little boy
is awoken by noises of four gentlemen taking measurements to
begin the development of a golf
course on the site of their poor, illfated cottage.
When asked what golf was, a
gentleman dressed in all black
hastily says, “Golf is a game
played by gentlemen, not by the
likes of you.”
The year is now 1900 and this
little boy, Harry Vardon, is now a
man (Stephen Dillane from “King
Arthur”) and is the three-time British Open golf champion, the best
golfer the world has ever known.
In Brooklyn, Mass., Francis
Ouimet (Shia LaBeouf, of Disney
show “Even Stevens”) is a poor,
young caddy with a passion for the
game of golf. As Ouimet grows
up, so does his talent.
Impressed by Ouimet’s talent,
the man Ouimet caddy’s for presses the 20-year-old to participate in
the National Amateur Championship.
Faced with difficulties entering
the tournament by the committee
chiding Ouimet’s status and telling
him that golf is “not for his kind,”
Ouimet’s biggest challenge is convincing his disapproving father,
Arthur (Canadian Elias Koteas) of
New movie full
of ShenaniganZ
taurant – employee or customer.
And, of course, there is Monty’s exgirlfriend and enemy, Serena (Anna
The callous customer who sends Faris), the bitch who can put Monty
everything back, the people who ar- in his place. Dan ( David Koechrive five minutes until closing and ner) is the college dropout witherthe 5 percent tip a server smiled all ing away as a manager desperately
night for, sound familiar to anyone seeking acceptance from his young
who has worked in a restaurant. Di- employees. Lastly, every restaurector Rob McKittrick, who spent rant has a Naomi (Alanna Ubach),
years as a server, set out to show the the bitter, alcoholic career-waitress
world why servers deserve respect who hates her job and her life, but
in his new movie.“Waiting” follows can plaster on a smile for a tip.
Dean (Justin Long), who feels like
Many of the scenes were inspired
he’s wasting his life waiting tables by McKittrick’s real-life experiencat the local ShenaniganZrestaurant. es. After watching a rude woman
“There’s some really gross stuff and her children harass his friend
in there,” comedian Dane Cook and send their plates back, McKitsaid at a press junket last week.
trick decided to get even and do un“Waiting” is filled with genital godly things to the foods.
humor and the cast grew to love it.
The film received an R-rating
“I fought it for a while, but then I because of Andy Milonakis’ rap
realized that penis jokes, as puerile and crotch shots and McKittrick
and base, are funny,” Long said.
fought the NPAA to give them an
Anyone who has waited tables R. “Waiting” is not plot-driven,
knows that every restaurant has but rather is a hilarious account of
stereotypical servers, like Monty, the truisms and universal situations
(Ryan Reynolds) the egotistical, that all servers hate, McKittrick
funny, jerk whose goal is to sleep said. McKittrick’s inspiration came
with every attractive girl at the res- from “Clerks.” It too focuses on
character dialogue and
is mostly shot in one
location. He created
ShenaniganZ to resemble T.G.I. Fridays,
where he spent many
shifts. Audience members, especially frustrated servers, will find
“Waiting” grotesquely
amusing, but will be a
lesson to the stingy tippers watching. “WaitLIONS GATE FILMS
ing” opens in theaters
Alanna Ubach and David Koechner in ‘Waiting.’ Fri., Oct. 7.
By JENNIFER BELLENDIR
Daily Titan Staff
his talent.
Finding his way to the 1913
U.S. Open Championship, Ouimet enlists the help of 10-yearold Eddie Lowery (newcomer to
the big screen, Josh Flitter) as his
caddy. Lowery’s feisty tongue and
quirky golf rhymes gives Ouimet
the courage and strength to compete face-to-face against his idol,
Vardon.
In an era where it was thought
only gentlemen and high society
were capable of playing golf, the
movie shows how anyone with
enough desire, drive and audacity
is able to follow their dream and
be great in what they do.
LaBeouf truly shines and gives
audience members a convincing
adaptation of a man who refuses
to give up on a dream.
LaBeouf is the most recognizable face in the movie. The cast,
while giving a superb perfor-
DISNEY ENTERPRISES
Francis Ouimet (Shia LaBeouf) and caddie Eddie Lowery (Josh Flitter)
play a round of intense golf in a torrential downpour.
mance, seems to fall in the shadows of LaBeouf’s amazing portrayal of Ouimet.
With fantastic sound effects,
beautiful cinematography, and a
praiseworthy theme, “The Greatest
Game Ever Played” truly seems to
be the greatest game ever played.