‘6 x 12’ presents
array of artists
By Diane Broderick
Staff writer
While most people measure “6 x
12” in inches or feet, the Wagon Train
Project has its own take on the subject.
In a community performance
series that begins this weekend titled
“6 x 12,” the local venue will present
six local acts for 12 minutes each.
The presentation is an opportunity
to give up-and-coming Lincoln artists
a chance to reach a diverse audience,
said Serena Reeves, Wagon Train pub
licity manager.
The idea was spawned through
Wagon Train Director Amy Lamphere’s
travels. She found art groups that spon
sored eventsin which anyone could get
up on stage for 10 minutes to perform
anything they wanted.
This concept ties in with the diffi
culty artists encounter when they are
beginning their careers, Reeves said.
“If you’re new and starting out,
you don’t have a following.... It’s hard
to get publicity,” Reeves said.
Ed Rumbagh, a member of avant
garde performance quartet
Howlooseanation, which will be per
forming an original composition this
weekend, said the show will provide
several opportunities for artists.
One of the show’s strengths lies in
the fact that the artists, who usually
have to rent a space to perform, won’t
have to pay to be seen, Rumbagh said.
This makes it easier for them to try out
experimental works hat in many cases
they might not be able to afford.
And the diversity of performers is
something Wagon Train planners
strove for, Reeves said.
This weekend’s performers
include Howlooseanation; Sabor
Mexicano, a children’s ethnic dance
group; Baby Needs Shoes, an a capel
la trio; Heather Crichfield, a stand-up
comic; Joel Herrera, guitarist and
vocalist; and Amy Williams, vocalist
and instrumentalist.
“Amy (Lamphere) and I are trying
Theatre Preview
na Pact*
What: *6X12*
Where: The Wagon Train Project, 512 S.
Seventh St. Suite 200
When: Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm
Cost: $6 at the door
The Skinny: Local artists get 12 minutes
each in the spotlight
to make it a variety showcase so that
we don’t choose all of the dance for
one performance and all of the vocal
for one night,” Reeves said.
This technique could end up
broadening audiences’ perspectives,
she said. Some art-lovers tend to
ignore some aspects of the perfor
mance world and concentrate on their
favorite sections.
“In the process (of seeing ‘6 x
12’), they’ll discover maybe they do
like modem dance or maybe they do
like instrumental music,” Reeves said.
Laurie Lessman, a member of
Baby Needs Shoes, said “6 x 12” pro
vides her group a new type of expo
sure in Lincoln.
“Depending on the groups that are
performing, we’re all going to bring in
our following,” Lessman said.
The group will be performing one
original work, a Celtic song and sever
al songs from the 1930s and ’40s.
Lessman said the 12-minute time limit
! was an interesting challenge.
“It gives us a chance to show what
we can do in 12 minutes,” she said.
Sabor Mexicano coordinator Dana
Rodrigues said because of the time
constraints, the dance group will not
make its usual costume changes, but
will rotate dancers in and out instead.
“6 x 12” will proceed with shows
in April, May and June, and is tenta
tively slated to continue in the fall.
The series’ presence in Lincoln
provides a needed outlet for its artists,
Rumbagh said.
“It’s a real opportunity for enter
taining people in Lincoln to get in
front of a group and do something.”
ic ‘Analyze This’
■ Billy Crystal and
Robert De Niro make a
good team in Harold
Ramis’ gangster comedy.
By Sam McKewon
Senior editor
There’s two kinds of funny in the
movie business. Well, there’s plenty of
different types, but really, comedies fall
into two categories.
One is the purely original genius of
a film such as “Rushmore,” a fresh col
laboration of nuances and brilliant dia
logue that passes for everyday life. This
is a rare film.
Then there’s the comedic formula.
And make no mistake, “Analyze This”
is a formula film. It has a predictable
plot, a trading-places sort of scene, an
unbelievable ending and stereotypes
galore.
But here, it works. And “Analyze
This”- works primarily because of
Robert De Niro, with a little help from
Billy Crystal.
De Niro plays a gangster, Paul Vitti,
who’s about to have the most important
business meeting of his life with heads
of all the crime families right about the
time he’s having a mid-life crisis. He’s
got stress, he’s got it bad and he goes to
psychiatrist Ben Sobel (Crystal) to help
straighten him out before the big sit
down.
Now, the movie could have taken on
a ridiculous, cartoonish tone by making
De Niro’s character a lovable brute
who’s really not that bad. Instead, he’s
loud, crude, unfaithful, set in his ways
and, ultimately, an all-around irritating
guy
The key is that De Niro satirizes his
character by making him emotionally
unstable, a basic change from almost
every gangster role he’s ever inherited,
specifically the one in the “The
Godfather, Part II.” There’s even a refer
ence in the film to the first “Godfather”
...__ Courtesy Photo
PAUL Vim (Robert De Niro) and Dr. Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal) star in the
comedy “Analyze This” as a gangster working through issues with his
psychiatrist.
movie.
Throughout, De Niro and Crystal
are given enough banter to allow their
characters to grow as people. We see
Vitti as needy, as he follows Sobel to
Florida, where he’s to be married to a
TV anchorwoman (Lisa Kudrow). We
see Sobel as sympathetic and slightly
excited to have a patient who talks about
more than his sexual habits (though this
is touched on as well).
Surprisingly enough, director
Harold Ramis (“Groundhog Day”)
manages to bring these characters
enough humanity to make us not care
about the foolish plot behind the film.
There is a genuine problem Vitti has
about his father, and this serves as a cen
tral issue of the film.
As always, De Niro’s a pro, and he’s
good here in a role that demands him to
be comedic and believable at the same
time. The key here is his performance,
and De Niro can pull off comedy with
the best of them.
Keeping the leash on Crystal was a
good idea. He’s always better as the
straight man, and there’s little question
that Crystal is not the star of this film.
Give him credit for not trying to steal
scenes from De Niro while together,
waiting to get his big laughs in solo
scenes and the end of the movie.
The supporting cast is solid, espe
cially Joe Viterelli as Vitti’s right-hand
man, Jelly. He could have been a dimwit
friend; instead he’s part of the con
science of the film. Kudrow does what
she can in a small role. Kyle Sabihy is
funny as Crystal’s son.
The joke turns tired toward the end
of the film, with the finale being a little
over the top. But De Niro and Crystal
sustain their eneigy to the end.
“Analyze This” shows how a formu
la comedy can be done right. It helps to
have a Robert De Niro on board to do it.
though.
Roots new album a hip-hop hit
ROOTS from page 12
Ursula Rucker.
The band needs no DJ, because Rahzel, who
is also referred to as the “Godfather of Noyze,” is
able to make record-scratching and beat sounds
with his throat and mouth. The verbal percus
sionist Rahzel is currently being featured in
commercials for MTV’s Hip-Hop Week.
The Roots also include the underappreciated
rappers Black Thought and Malik B, bassist
Leonard Hubbard, keyboardist Kamal and
drummer ?uestlove.
The group doesn’t end with those six mem
bers, however. The Roots are an extended family.
“We’re like Wu-Tang (Clan),” Rahzel said.
“Our group is spread out all over the country.
When Malik B decided he didn’t want to tour,
someone else filled in. We’re a corporation.”
Such claims are apparent on “Things Fall
Apart,” where Dice Raw and Common return to
The Roots’ record. They, along with Mos Def, DJ
Jazzy Jeff, Scratch and the poet Rucker, are
unofficial members of The Roots community.
Nevertheless, the best guest appearance on
“Things Fall Apart” is courtesy of Erykah Badu,
who sings on the soulful “You Got Me.” The
song features a catchy chorus by Badu, some
slick rhyming by Black Thought and closes out
with some skillful drumming by the talented
?uestlove.
“Things Fall Apart,” though, is best when the
original group members are on board.
Rahzel’s greatest moment is for the song
“100% Dundee,” where he drops the beats cou
pled with the harmony of keyboardist Kamal.
With Black Thought and Malik B rhyming over
the Rahzel-fueled beats, “100% Dundee” is one
of the best songs here.
Other standouts are old-school MC-flavored
“Double Trouble,” the lively “The Next
Movement” and the bass-happy “Dynamite!”
All songs have street appeal with sing-along
rhymes.
Although “Things Fall Apart” has just been
released, Rahzel fans can look forward to his
first solo album, “Fifth Element: Make the
Music 2000,” which is due out in May.
Rahzel describes the solo album as a mix of
Inspector Gadget, James Bond and old Atari
games. Needless to say, it should be interesting.
With Rahzel finishing his solo album, the
Roots are venturing on the road in support of
“Things Fall Apart.” With this recording, they’ve
solidified themselves in rap history along with
the similar A Tribe Called Quest and Run-DMC.
Still, The Roots are carving their own niche.
“We vibe on the same music,” he said. “It’s a
good association, but we do what we do. We
bring a whole different element into hip-hop.”
Poet to read at Nebraska Union \
i
GOLDBARTH from page 12
and a sincere adoration for literary history.
Cute references to Byron, Marco Polo and
Dickens add cultural weight to the frame of
his irreverent near-epic poem “Travel Notes.”
Written in a length to rival Whitman’s
vivid tomes, Goldbarth’s latticework of trans
generational imagery summons a host of
characters and settings to play upon bizarre
circumstances.
In a very Bradbury scene, investigations
of the Martian language are conducted with
amusing sincerity.
- with a beast, a “pet,” with the “head of a
cabbage ” and one great eye in the middle,
like a peacock feather that moves on paws -
“These words when pronounced express
definite ideas.”
Today Goldbarth will be reading this
poem and others from “Troubled Lovers in
History,” published this year by Ohio State
University Press.
A Jewish American raised in Chicago,
Goldbarth extracts many of his personal'
experiences for use in his writing. His poetry
has been hailed by muses such as Joyce Carol
Oates, who described him as “a dazzling v ir
tuoso who can break your heart.”
i
I
I
What: Albert Goldbarth reading
Where: Georgian Room, Nebraska Union I
When: Tonight at 7:00 «
Cost: Free
The Sldnny: Post-Modern poet howls at
UNL
Today marks his first reading at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which
brought him here through sponsorships by the
Department of English and the Judaic Studies
Department.
Culling messages from Marvel comic
books, B-movies and obscure Greek
Classicism, Goldbarth s writing is a postmod
ern force in the current literary world and one
that, up until today, has only been expcri- :
enced at UNL in the classroom.
Bauer said her poetry students have
always responded enthusiastically to
Goldbarth’s poems.
“A lot of them believe he sounds different
from other poetry,” she said.
_j
200s m*m
Cycle Works
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Free
Pregnancy Test
Birthright is a confidential helping hand. Please call for
appointment or more information, 483-2609. Check
out our website www.birthright.org.
Academic Expressions
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newsletters. Academic editing, MLA/APA/AP/Chicago
Manual. 402-628-2221. ironcladgnavix.net.
Word Processing/Typewriter service. Applications, re
sumes, transcriptions, etc. Kathy's Keystrokes,
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400s Housing
1 roommate needed in a 5 bedroom house located in
the Capital Beach area. Five minutes away from campus
475-5305.
Male/female wanted by 4/99. 3 bedroom house.
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Professional couple relocating to Lincoln March 15.
seeks faculty home to nouse-sit or similar arrangement
Please call Dennis at (785) 537-0315.
3 Bedrooms to rent in a 4 bedroom house. Close to
campus. Reasonable. Washer/Dryer. (402)786-3636
4 and 5 bedroom houses. Available for August, ea
campus. Call and reserve yours now. 432-0644
