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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 2001)
Destiny's Child fans jumpin'with energy DEST1NYfrompage5 die day progressed, everyone voicing their griev ances to their co-workers and bosses. The audience was full of fresh energy, having escaped from school a few short hours earlier. The star-struck syndrome was washing across their faces and displayed in their tight shirts, leather pants and immense over-application of perfume. When the house lights went down, Pershing exploded with screams and claps. Ttue Vibe, a four-piece boy band, took the stage and per formed their first tune. As I walked through the audience, I was impressed by their reaction. True Vibe was no good and the audience knew it A few cliques were standing and screaming, but the majority of the audience looked pleased when their 10-minute set was over. PYT was next, four 15-year-old females. Their 15 minute set was better, and Stacie Orrico's 25 minutes, where she was accompanied by four back-up dancers, was the best-performed act of the openers. Still, all of the opening music was closer to really good karaoke instead of a profes sional live performance. All of the music was recorded, and it was obvious that vocal tracks were multi-tracked in choice places to supplement the youthful voices and fill out the harmonies that Orrico's dancers lip synched to. Sitting backstage before Destiny Child’s per formance, I chatted with Lauren, Lydia, ’Racy and Ashley, the young ladies of PYT. They enthusiasti cally lectured mean what was appropriate to be printed about them and what wasn’t. Their name, Prove Yourself True, shares the commanding attitude that they have been told to portray at their performances and interviews, although my experience showed them as ener getic and flirtatious teenagers. They pointed out that they don’t smile in their publicity photos and told me they would get in trouble if I characterized them as “giggly, boy-crazed girls." When asked if they were ever uneasy about the facade they had to create for public use, Tracy replied with an important name: Epic Records. The pint-sized performers had a powerful grasp of what got them on tour with Destiny's Child, howto stay in the limelight and what steps need to be taken to merit commercial success, and the image was the central focus. At 8:45 p.m., right on schedule, like a well-oiled machine, Destiny’s Child took the stage. At that point, the faces that recognized the forced glam our of the opening acts were covered in bright eyes and open smiles. Even my face, tired from spend-' ing nine hours in the auditorium and greasy from a day on my feet, was glowing with excitement. The lights were strobing, the bass was thumping, the smoke was moving across the floor, and I got into it with 7,000 nameless fans. Reality became completely suspended for the hour that Kelly, Michelle and Beyonce were on stage, and I could see the appreciation in the eyes ofPYT as we sat in the wings watching. The audience swayed their glow sticks along with the tunes. I could see the true fans in the front row singing along with every song and it reminded me of seeing my favorite band live. For the hour or so that these mortals were on stage, nothing could touch them. Fights that you had with your friends or par ents become trivial The flu that kept you out of school that day dis appears. The world stops turning and the sun shines directly through the spotlights, right at the objects of your attention, and nothing bad can happen as long as they sue performing. But at 10 p.m., die final notes of “Independent Women* hung in the air as everyone made their way toward the doors. The house lights were up, the stage was already coming down and, without an encore, Destiny's Child had left the building, into their limousine on their way to their bus for an overnight trip to Waterloo, Iowa. The excitement of pop stardom was gone and reality was back; but after the exhaustion I experi enced from one day observing the process of major production, reality was a welcome break. Pop music has always supplied very few things to its audience: a take on fashion, a sense of com fort for some and a body of energy for others. But the most important contribution it makes is the suspension of reality. Even sitting across the audi torium, audience members felt a connection with the performers that evening; a connection that is obviously one-sided. , After spending fewer than eight hours in Lincoln, the experience was just another notch on the headboard for Destiny's Child, just another dollar in the bank. They were halfway to the next venue before their production team even started their buses. And although Destiny’s Child helped wash away reality for an hour of the lives of thousands of people Friday night, one question remains: What suspends reality for them? Scott McOurg/DN Destiny* Child singer Kelly Rowland performs Friday evening at Pershing Auditorium. The groups from Houston, performed tracks from old albums as wel as a track from their new one. 'Gladiator'wins five Oscar awards David McNew/Getty Images Actress Job Roberts arrives far the 73»d Annual Academy Awards Sunday at the Shrine Andtorium in Los Angeles. Roberts won the Best Actress -Ilnrap-t- Eumrfr—drBi " iWRfflow ivi mn DfUQUmul* David MOew/fetty Images tassel Crowe, who won the Best Actor award for'Glarfiator* arrives for the 73rd Annual Academy Awards Sunday. ^“ OSCARS from 5 Marcia Gay Harden, who played die long-suffering wife of artist Jackson Pollock in “Pollock,” won best supporting actress Del Toro, the honest Tijuana detective, thanked his director, Soderbergh, and others con nected with his movie while Harden noted that few people had seen “Pollock,” since it opened in theaters the same week as the Oscar nominations, and thanked die voters for tak ing the time to review the video tapes made available to them. Because “Pollock” had litde theater exposure, Harden was considered a longshot. Judi Dench of “Chocolat” and Kate Hudson of “Almost Famous” were thought to be more likely. The show began from orbit as astronaut Susan Helms, with fellow crew members of the International Space Station floating by her side, introduced first-time host Steve Martin. Among other winners, “U 571” won for sound editing and “Dr. Seuss’ How die Grinch Stole Christmas” for makeup. In the documentary cate gories, “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport” won the fea ture Oscar and “Big Mama” received the short subject honor. The animated short Him Oscar went to “Father and Daughter,” and the live-action short film honor was picked up by “Quiero Ser (I Want to Be).” Bob Dylan won the best song Oscar for the rollicking “Things Have Changed,” the tune he wrote for the quirky campus drama “Wonder Boys.” The show started with more than the usual aura of excite ment The reason: Few of the major-category nominees appeared to be a slam-dunk. For two of the past three years, winners for best picture - “Titanic” and “American Beauty’ - emerged as strong favorites before the ceremony. In 1999, “Shakespeare in Love” edged out early favorite “Saving Private Ryan.” This year, “Gladiator,” with its 12 nominations and huge theater grosses, might have been considered a cinch for multiple Oscars. But there was considerable support among Academy voters for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “liaffic,” two films that seemed more innovative than the tradi tional sword-and-toga “Gladiator.” “Erin Brockovich” and “Chocolat” were well-liked but were not considered likely win ners. Oscar ballots were mailed to the roughly 5,700 Academy members, who nominate in their own categories - such as actors voting for actors. All can nominate for best picture. Most of the final awards are voted on by all members. The exceptions: members can vote for the short, documentary and foreign language films only if they can certify that they have seen all die nominees. Sunday night marked a farewell to the venerable Shrine Auditorium. Next year, the Academy Awards will move to the 3,300-seat Kodak Theater in the heart of Hollywood. Love story satisfies BY SARA SUMNER If only all Midwestern fam ilies could work together in the direction of what is best for their families, Indiana would be the best place to live in the world. Guess that idea was never spoken of in Jo's (Heather Graham) family. Gilly (Chris Klein) wants to belong. Not to a club, not a group of friends, but to a fami ly. He was raised in an orphan age and is searching for his birth mother. He works for low pay at the local animal shelter while he is slowly working his way to being a veterinarian at the community college. His plans are sidelined when he comes across the new hair stylist in his small town. Jo is the girl all the guys are going ga-ga for. She has just recently moved back to her family from Beaver, Ore. While giving Gilly a haircut, she accidentally cuts off half his ear and the love blossoms instantly. Gilly meets her overbear ing, selfish mother who thinks that Jo should go back to her multi-millionaire ex-boyfriend in Oregon and her stroke-rid den father who is practically an invalid, if you discount all the cussing and back stabbing. Gilly soon finds out that his birth mother is also his girl friend's mother. He is marked as the town pervert and loses the love of his life. She goes back to Oregon and he moves in with the parents. Surprise! Gilly really isn't related to Jo and spends the rest of the movie trying to make her see 1 the mistake that has taken place. Klein, the lovable character from “Election" and “American Pie”, continues his good guy persona in “Say It Isn't So.” Sweet and sincere is the base of his character and his aw* shucks attitude makes him adorable to watch. He has good timing, but also tends to get the look that he is trying too hard to think and not just act. He brings a lot of heart to the movie and could remind many people of someone they know who is just like him. Graham, who has been in “Boogie Nights” and “Bowfinger” takes on a more rounded character. Though she is the sexual obsession for more than a few fellas in the movie, she is thoughtful and wants true love. She is mindful in the movie, unlike most of her other characters in prior films. “Say It Isn’t So" is more about Gilly’s journey from lonely life to hellish frontier and trying to get himself safe and loved again. Klein carries the movie well. Unexpected humor is flourishing with every scene. With twist after twist plot and an ending that is sure to satisfy, all will be won dering why the movie with an oddly sick premise is so darn funny. “Say It Isn’t So” Starring Chris Klein, Heather Graham and Sally Field. Directed by J.B. Rogers. Rated R. Showing at Edgewood and Douglas 3. Vinyl has music for everyone VINYL from 5__ to rock to funk with both Latin and New Orleans’ influences. “We’re going for anything to base jams and improvs (improvisations) off of,” Reimnitz said. Reimnitz said the band had played eight to 10 shows in Lincoln at Knickerbockers, where Vinyl performed last Friday, and the Zoo Bar, and they could be expected to play at Knickerbockers again in the near future. There are two things that make Vinyl a must see: the exemplary musicality of its musicians and the amiable qualities of its lead man Arthur White. White, a graduate music performance major and con ductor of Jazz Ensemble U, has every possible attribute of a spectacular lead man. He chats with the crowd, getting every body involved and attracted to the performance. He's animat ed, walking around the stage and chatting with his fellow musicians as they play incredi ble solos, making everything look easy. He head bangs (for lack of a better term) when a song readi es a climax. He sings. He plays two instruments: saxophone and flute. He’s destined for suc cess. “We’re all about brealaflg^ * traditions and playing our asses off,” said White after the per formance at Knickerbockers, which had about 200 people in attendance. The performance included covers of the Allman Brothers “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and Galactic’s “Crazy House Mongoose.” The band also played origi nals, including “Five O’clock Shadow,” “Simplified,” a song written by Dietz that has a real Jekyll and Hyde feel to it (White goes nuts), and “Billy Bigalow,” a porno theme song written by the band's trumpet player Josh Martin. neimmiz saia me Dana was different because it featured horns and keyboard playing as well as vocals, guitar, bass and drums. Dietz, who graduated from the University of Nebraska Kearney with degrees in physics and math, saidVinyl was prima rily a group to feature soloing. Jt works. Each member of this band could almost head his own band by himself, but that’s what makes them special. They’re an all-star cast Vinyl brings it together into a big sound that can't be found anywhere else in Lincoln. They’re an original. In being asked why he was so crazy on stage, White responded with ease: “I like adjusting my style of music to the people around me. If people are drinking beers and having a good time, I adjust to that envi ronment” Jeff Poindexter, who plays keyboards for Vinyl, summa rized the band’s chemistry and high level of energy best “Some groups get a bunch of talented people together and have trou ble bringing it together. “We bring it together.” have explored and invested and now it’s time... to be recognized All students who have successfully completed die Essential Experiences program will be recognized at the Chancellor’s Leadership Recognition Ceremony on April 10, 2001, 5:30 pm 8pm Nebraska Union. Check-in and hors d’oeuvres will take place from 5:30-6:30 with the recognition ceremony following at 6:45. Deadline: Essential Experiences recognition requirements due March 30, 2001 by 4:00 pm. Submit completed Essential Experiences Reflection Sheets to Student Involvement, 200 Nebraska Union. Further information & reflection sheets are on our website: http://www.unl.edu/involved. Questions: call Reshell Ray at 472-2454. RELAY* 1st Annual University of Nebraska-Lincoln Relay for Life Saturday and Sunday, April 21-22,2001 6pm to 6am UNL City Campus, Memorial Drive Registration due March 30 unlrelay@hotmail.com JastaiNaeeal away. New office to —a_a • caWumnCh hardt Had just msKtemenper Don't walk back from - entrance! that late night test alone! We'll make sure you get BBBIBHHBBDBHHBDHd harlc Mon-Thurs 6:30- | CSTOpUS 1 Sponsored by~ am I Esco^i I