Editor’s note: Daily Nebraskan Senior Re
porter Ann Stack is spending this week at
the SXSW Music and Media Conference in
Austin, Texas. This is her first story in a
week-long series from the conference.
By Ann Stack
Senior Reporter
The SXSW (pronounced “South By South
west”) Music and Media Conference and Fes
tival is one of the music industry’s largest trade
shows in the country.
The Music and Media Conference was the
original event at SXSW. The conference, held
today through Sunday, includes three days of
panel discussions, workshops, mentor sessions
and demo critiques, as well as five nights of
live music. Added to the music conference is a
film and multimedia/interactive conference.
There is also a NXNW conference held in
Portland, Ore., and a NXNE conference held
in Toronto. These are both on a smaller scale
than SXSW, but are organized by the produc
ers of SXSW.
In its 11th year, the festival draws more than
5,000 professionals from the music business—
publishers, journalists, radio programmers, la
bel representatives, producers, club owners,
booking agents and managers, to name a few.
But let’s not forget the bands. More than
600 independent and unsigned artists are cho
sen to play at SXSW, out of the 4,500-plus that
audition, SXSW creative director and Omaha
native Brent Grulke said.
Two Nebraska bands are performing at the
conference. Lincoln’s Lullaby For The Work
ing Gass and Omaha’s Blue Moon Ghetto were
both accepted to perform at SXSW. Lullaby
played Wednesday. Blue Moon Ghetto will play
Saturday.
As long as Grulke’s in charge, he said, Ne
braska will be represented at SXSW.
“I say every year there has to be Nebraska
bands,” he said.
Blue Moon Ghetto applied last year, but
Lullaby For The Working Class is also mak
ing its SXSW festival debut. They’re a bit ner
vous because this will be their first show with
two new members. Drummer Clint Schnase will
play at SXSW, and Ben McMahan, a UNL jun
ior film studies major, will join the band on
cello, mandolin and slide guitar.
Some of the other bands featured at this
year’s SXSW festival include Matthew Sweet,
Soul Coughing, DC Talk, Cake, Brave Combo,
Aaron Steckelberg/DN
Lisa Loeb, Seven Mary TTiree, Royal Crown
Revue, Mojo Nixon and ihe Toadliquors and
the Jayhawks.
“I’m happy to be a part of something this
big,” said Mike Mogis, a senior,UNL business
major and Lullaby For The Working Class’
multi-instrumentalist. “Although at this point,
it still seems like just another show. It hasn’t
really hit me yet.”
wasn’t accepted. This year, they didn’t foresee
rejection as a problem, drummer Joel Kassera
said.
“We weren’t really ready last year,” he said.
“This year, we knew we deserved to go; we’ve
worked really hard the past year.”
Part of that hard work included a new al
bum set to be released next month and a re
gional tour under their collective belt.
Photo couhesy of Ross Film Theater
MAI NOTH(rl|M)art Baatatean Overstreet star ta “A felt ef leva,"
a flfea aiaptatln ef fee classic Vietnamese narrative pees, "The
fete tff Ktoa.” Tktfltai b ttoctet br Urtafe T. Mhfe-ha.
‘A Tale of Love’
lacks title meaning
By Bret Schulte
Film Critic
Feminist Vietnamese film
maker Trinh T. Minh-ha has de
veloped a reputation for her formal
ized, avant-garde productions us
ing a distinct non-Westem film
style and subject matter.
Her latest work, “A Tale of
Love,” loosely retells the Vietnam
ese national poem of love, “The
Tale of Kieu,” which describes the
life of a young woman who is
forced to prostitute herself to sup
port her family. Written in the early
19th century, the poem is seen as
an extended metaphor for the tu
multuous history of the Vietnam
ese people.
Minh-ha brings the traditional
tale to America, updating the poem
for the ’90s by adjusting the lead
character Kieu (Mai Huynh), who
works as a semi-nude model and
free-lance writer to send money
back to her family in Vietnam.
i
While Minh-ha’s distinct style
has won her accolades in the past,
“A Thle of Love” is a heavy and
difficult film, more laborious then
enjoyable.
The cinematography and set
work are visually stunning. Very
basic, strong colors are used
throughout, frequently pairing the
Film: “A Tale of Love”
Stars: Mai Huynh, Juliette Chen,
Dominican Overstreet
Mai Le Ho
Director: Trinh T. Minh-ha
Rating: Unrated (adult situations,
nudity)
Grade: C
Five Words: Love hurts, so does
film
character with his or her surround
ings. The camera rarely moves, but
when it does it is important and
noticeable. This lends the film an
aura of patience and voyeurism
which probes to be a recurring
theme throughout.
Oddly enough, what is not a
theme, is love. Kieu dabbles in
eroticism with her photographer,
and there are brief interludes of a
friendship with another male
friend, but never is there a hint of
iove in these relationships. 5
Instead Kieu occupies herself
with the abstraction of love, fre
quently engaging in esoteric and
essentially cliched discussions of
love with her mentor and friend,
Juliet, woodenly played by Juliette
Chen. From her performance one
would guess she’s never answered
to the name “Juliet” in her life.
Please see LOVE on 13
High-tech tag
hits Lincoln at
Laser Quest
By Gerry Beltz
Senior Reporter
The air-lock door opens, you step
into a black-light arena covered with
fluorescent paints and the countdown
begins.
BEEP. ... BEEP. ... BEEP. ...
The music starts pumping, and you
must decide: up the ramp and go for
the high shot, or roam through the
maze-like ground level, worrying
about what awaits around the next
comer?
Suddenly, the 30 seconds are up.
Your laser is on, your vest and laser
sensors are active, and you have be
come a moving target.
You’re at Laser Quest, 6802A P
St., (next to Northwest Fabrics),
Lincoln’s latest amusement arena.
Gary “Gare Bear” Lamb, general
manager of Laser Quest, said this is
not a recreation involving death and
violence.
“We’re not playing violent games
here,” Lamb said. “It’s a high-tech
combination of hide ‘n’ seek and tag.”
Each Laser Quest mission ($6; $5
if you’re a member) consists of four
phases: payment, check-in, briefing
and score.
“Check-in is where you give us
your code name for the mission,” said
Laser Quest manager Eton “Java Mon”
Chriszt, “and it does need to be some
thing your grandma would approve of.
Please see LASER on 13
