The Week
in Preview
MUSIC
Duffy's Tavern. 1412 () St.
Wednesday: Rank Strangers
with the Me/cal
Thursday: li\e karaoke with
Shithook
[
Duggan's Pub. 440 S. 11th St.
Monday: open stage with
Dangerous Dan
Tuesday: Unplugged w ith
Mike Douthit
Wednesday : Rhythm Method
Thursday: Joker
! Friday: Brown Paper Bags
Kimball Recital Hall. 12,h
and R streets
j Monday: Jazz Lab Band and
Vocal Ensemble
Tuesday: faculty recital by
David Neely (violin) and Mark
Clinton (niano)
Thursday: undergraduate stu
i dent-composers concert
Fridav: Varsitv Glee and
!
University Chorale
Saturday: University Singers
and Concert (_ hoir
Knickerbockers, 901 O St.
Tuesday: Chrome featuring
1 lelios Creed with Wide and
: Armatron
Wednesday: The Mediums
Friday: Vigilantes of Love
with Compost
Saturday: The Lynnfield
Pioneers
The Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St.
Monday: The Magic Bus
Tuesday: Sleepy LaBeef
Wednesday and Thursday:
Billy Bacon and the
Forbidden Pigs
Friday: FAC with the
Heartmurmurs. Billy Bacon
and the Forbidden Pigs
THEATER
Howell Theatre, Temple
Building, 12th and R streets
The Tom Stoppard-written play
“Arcadia” shows Fnday and
Saturday. There will be a student
preview Thursday night.
Lied Center for Performing
Arts, 12th and R streets
As part of the Lied Centers
family series. Cirque Eloize,
will perform its stylized circus
show Friday and Saturday.
The Wagon Train Project,
512 S. Seventh St.
The Mudhead Players will
hold readings of three original
scripts Thursday through
Saturday.
The Week in Preview n ins
Mondays in the Daily Nebraskan
anil is compiled by members of
the arts and entertainment staff
! Send all listings to The Week in
Pnwiewc o Daily Nebraskan,
j Nebraska i hion 34, 1400 R St.
j Lincoln. NE6R5HR-044S
1
Courtesy Photo
LET’S GO BOWLING, an eight-piece band from Fresno, Calif., will bring its own brand of third
wave ska to Omaha’s Ranch Bowl Tuesday night.
‘City of Angels’ needs
to have wings clipped
Courtesy Photo
NICOLAS CAGE plays an angel and Meg Ryan is
the woman who falls in love with him in “City of
Angels,” a remake of Wim Wenders’ 1987 film
“Wings of Desire.”
By Jason Hardy
Film Critic
Hollywood is notorious for messing
things up. and in the Warner Bros, film, “City
of Angels." not even the angels are sacred.
The movie suffers from n
ridiculous story, a superficial
plot and lackluster acting. It
slowly stumbles through an
inconsistent story line and has
few redeeming qualities.
The plot is basically about a
surgeon named Maggie (Meg
Ryan) and an angel named Seth
(Nicolas C'age) who fall in love.
Maggie, who is reluctant to
believe in a higher power, con
siders herself as the last line of
defense people hav e from dvinu.
Seth spends most of his time doing angel
stuff: helping people out in stressful times,
reading books at a library where he and all
the other angels live, sitting on buildings and
escorting people into the next life.
Seth first notices Maggie at the hospital
where she works, and he immediately falls in
love with her. He becomes so enam
ored by Maggie's sexuality and
charm that he makes himself visible
and talks to her.
Strangely. Maggie isn't scared in
the least by Seth, even though he's a
scummy looking weirdo dressed in
black who always shows up when
she’s alone.
Maggie is so receptive toward
Seth that he ends up wishing he were
human and, lucky for him, he meets
an ex-angel (Dennis Franz) who fills
him in on a special angel secret.
Apparently angels can give up angel
hood and be humans if they so desire.
So after a little thinking, Seth decides
to take the plunge into humanity.
There are a number nf thinc*^
wrong with this film. First of all, if somebody
were dying and depressed, and mopey-look
ing Cage showed up wearing all black, they'd
think they were on their way to Hades. The
angels all dress like Johnny Cash and walk
around like zombies, not looking the least bit
comforting.
A II U l II C I
major problem is
that the theologi
cal element of
this film doesn't
exist. Seth does
n’t interact with
God at all. He
just sort of
makes up his
mind and
becomes human.
It just doesn't
Maggie never confronts her disbelief in
God. and when she realizes Seth is an angel,
it's just like. “Oh well. Seth is an angel." We
lever see any internal conflict at all.
Please see ANGELS on 13
i
The Facts
Title: "City of Angels"
Stars: Meg Ryan, Nicolas Cage,
Andre Braugher and Dennis Franz
Director: Brad Silberling
Rating: PG-13 for sexuality, language
and some nudity
Grade: C
Five Words: To hell with this movie
By Jem Zavodny
Staff Reporter
Since ska outfit Let's Go Bowling began as a
party band back in 1986, about 30 members hav e
passed through the group.
But that isn't necessarily a bad thing, said Paul
Miskulin, the band's lead singer and guitarist.
“I defy you to find a ska band that's been
around for even five years that hasn’t gone
through a million member changes.” Miskulin
said. “But right now we have a really good combi
nation, I think.
“Right now we have the members that are
going to be around for awhile, and it's probably
one of the strongest lineups we’ve ever had ”
There are now eight members in the band
from Fresno, Calif., and its current lineup has
been together for about two years.
Miskulin joined the mix five years ago, and
along with the help of his band mates, LGB has
gained a solid fan base and national attention as
one of America's prospering ska acts.
LGB s current lineup features founding mem
bers Mark Michel (bass, backing vocals) and
Darren Fletcher (keyboards, vocals), along with
Adam Lee (drums). Miskulin (vocals, harmonica,
rhythm guitar), Patrick Bush (trumpet), Gilbert
Lopez (tenor saxophone), Mike Deleon (trom
bone) and Lincoln Barr (lead guitar, backing
vocals).
The group’s latest release on Asian Man
Records, titled “Freeway Lanes,” is a collection of
live tunes recorded from several tour dates in
1997. Miskulin said the band decided to put out a
live album because it usually tapes every show it
plays.
And because LGB hasn’t released a new'
record in awhile and is currently looking for a dif
ferent label to produce its next full-length album,
it wanted to give fans something to enjoy while it’s
taking care of business, he said.
Let’s Go Bowling recently completed tours
w ith rockabilly rebels the Reverend Horton Heat
and the band that founded ska music, the
Skatalites.
n . :__ 1 _ _ _ j xr 1 _ _ _ i i
num luiiij mciuutu uuica in ncunwNa, anu
now the high-energy ska band has planned a
return to Omaha for a headlining gig of their own
at the Ranch Bowl this Tuesday.
“This will probably be like maybe the fifth or
sixth time we've ever played in Nebraska in the
last five years, and I don't know why that is."
Miskulin said. “But we really enjoy it when we do,
so we just decided, you know, let's play Nebraska
again.
“’Cause the crowds are great, and we really
Please see BOWLING on 13