Skittishly flawed
Planet Ant’s The Ball and Chain Gang struggles to fly….
March 19-26, 2003
20-25 THU-TUE • MUSIC Jazz Jazz Jazz — Jazz heads should declare the next several days a de facto festival. Acclaimed alto saxophonist Greg Osby, just back from a European tour, plays with his quartet Thursday at the Firefly (207 S. Ashley, Ann Arbor, call 734-665-9090) and Friday at the Detroit Institute of Arts (free…
If walls could walk
Detroit’s Tangent Gallery is home to a Birmingham home….
Truth in jesting
Things are grim right now. As our daft bull of a president barrels head-first into war, it’s tough to find anything to laugh about. At this exact moment of frisson, when we find ourselves looking behind us to see who’s there, our human defenses search for something funny amid the madness. Thoughtful and well-executed, Second…
Straight to the source
Proof the game you just played in no laughing matter….
Abandoned Shelter of the Week
Each time we drive down Michigan Avenue through Corktown, we on the Abandoned Structure Squad are intrigued by a particularly quaint building that appears to qualify as a candidate for this space. What could it have been? we wondered. Some sort of office building, maybe. It’s certainly big enough. It has the aura of something…
SXSWasted!
I’ve been deflowered by the rock ’n’ roll succubus of SXSW. Last week I was a happy virgin, living in ignorance of just how complete is the insanity that is Austin, Texas, every March. I left as a simple Detroit writer tracking a simple “fish out of water” story about the 24 or so Detroit…
Mustard Plug
Mustard Plug is a pop/punk/ska band from Michigan that has gone beyond being a big local draw.
Letters to the Editor
PNAC attacked Hey, Jeremy Voas, you are right on the money with this one (Screed, Metro Times, March 5-11). The members you mention from PNAC are clearly involved through years of planning with the entire arrangement and manipulation of current events. Their ambitious goal is indeed a global one, and it is less than pretty…
Give me a “Q”
Anchored in Ferndale on Nine Mile just west of Woodward Avenue, Q is an eclectic hangout for dancing, drinking and mingling. Upon entrance, patrons are greeted by the animatronic Sally, a John Waters-esque statue who laughs hysterically for the paltry toll of four bits. Although the interior sports the traditional bar set up, said bar…
Mum’s the word
Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan has dropped the lawsuit he filed against Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, according to attorney Sam Nouham, who represents Ficano. Duggan had sued in February because Ficano refused to approve the prosecutor’s appointment of Jeriel Heard as his educational outreach director. Heard, who was director of community justice under the…
Nibble, nibble
Geezer: H / Weezer: HH
Underneath it all, Glen Morgan’s directorial debut is really a remake of Psycho. Even though Crispin Glover manages to pull off the creepiness of Willard, the ending is hollow, totally lackluster and unsatisfactory.
Fashion faux pas
If your cable is out and you’re dying for glamour shots of Kay Everett, the City Councilwoman has got something just for you. Just name the date. Any date. Everett has published a flashy new calendar, “Hats on me in 2003,” featuring a picture of her for every month of the year, sporting her infamous…
Tosca
Benoît Jacquot’s cinematic version of Puccini’s opera is by turns subtle and ostentatious. Rather than disguising its stage origins, he emphasizes its artificiality, thus putting the focus on the music, both vocal and instrumental — with Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna.
Long overdue
News Hits got word this week that those long-awaited illegal dumping tickets are finally available to the Detroit Police Department. The City Council voted to decriminalize illegal dumping in September, making it a civil infraction instead. When the law changed, the tickets previously issued to illegal dumpers became obsolete. Environmental officers, however, were not told…
The Hunted
William Friedkin’s film, riddled with the crumbs of false hope that belie the promise of a whole cake, is really just one long chase sequence with a few brief bathroom breaks of deep-thinking ethical quandaries — with Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro.
Peace pipes
At press time, it seemed our born-again chief was dead set on attacking Iraq. Bullets and bombs may drop before you can say the word, “Peace.” But there is respite in these dark times. “Folk the War” music series begins at the Red Door Café at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4605 Cass Ave., Detroit…
Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony
Director Lee Hirsch’s auspicious debut feature documentary structures the history of the South African people’s oppression, struggle and liberation as an epic reflection of one man’s suffering, death and ironic resurrection. In doing so, he creates a moving new genre: the musical documentary.
Train of thought
Each time we drive down Michigan Avenue through Corktown, we on the Abandoned Structure Squad are intrigued by a particularly quaint building that appears to qualify as a candidate for this space. What could it have been? we wondered. Some sort of office building, maybe. It’s certainly big enough. It has the aura of something…
Chihwaseon
South Korean director Im Kwon-Taek’s biography of a 19th century Korean painter is saved from respectful staidness by the fact that its central character is such an anarchistic mess. It’s a beautiful looking film that allows us to see the painter’s awesome vision, whose source remains a mystery to the end.
Lone stars
Dappled by the last warm light of early spring dusk, Austin, Texas, could not be lovelier. Waning sunlight splays across the emerald-hued Austin River. The air is soft and moist. We’re standing below and off to one side of the Congress Avenue Bridge. Suddenly thousands of Mexican free-tail bats take flight, fanning out from beneath…
Agent Cody Banks
From its trailer, this flick looks an awful lot like Spy Kids, with a cute kid — in this case Frankie Muniz of "Malcolm in the Middle" — given a bunch of neat gizmos and trained in kicking ass who’s then called upon to save the world. Like most copycats, it doesn’t live up to…
Hitsville, Omaha
Cursive leader Tim Kashner on celebrity and parental approval….
You call this a sex life?
Q: I am a straight male in an exclusive relationship. My girlfriend and I have been together for two years, and her need for sex has dwindled. Any attempt to discuss this leads to tears and blame, like, “I am not into sex because you …” or “Everything would be fine if only you would…
How to save the burbs
Now for a time-out from our glorious war for a profound message about our future. Granted, it is easier and more fun to blow up Iraqi cities than it is to rebuild or even maintain our own towns, but most of us do have to live here. And we’re running out of room, mostly because…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): When you’re at your best, you see the cracks in the facades as opportunities; you get giddy as you careen over bumps in the road; you love the enticing magic that flows from situations that other people regard as rough or crooked. Since you will soon be at your best again,…
Irish? Doesn’t matter.
Sunday, March 16, is the most beautiful day of the year thus far. Sixty-five degrees, blindingly sunny, a whisper of spring in the breeze. It’s the 45th annual St. Patrick’s Parade in Corktown, and legions of green-clad metro Detroiters swarm Michigan Avenue. Parade day is a time-honored tradition in Corktown, Detroit’s oldest standing neighborhood, founded…
Go, Boyracer, go
In a recent write-up, indie-rock front man, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Stewart Anderson was described as an “institution” — an institution of the music that he’s been synonymous with since the inception of his hard-rocking band Boyracer in 1990. And although he’s been the only consistent member of this band (the lineup has included more than…
Arab advocate
Dearborn editor frustrated with U.S. policy, press….
Homeland Insecurity — The Board Game
Rules of Play: The player with the highest income (or allowance) goes first, followed by the second, third, etc. Begin on the “Start” square. Roll die to determine number of squares to move. Play moves in a clockwise direction toward the “Win” space — unless you are instructed to move back, in which case you…
