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• 1 J ' • " s' *• . ' v. :i •’ _ . . - . :■ • ' * - • . • : - ‘ ‘ .•< ■ . ■*- • '' —• . Page 10 Monday, March 14, 2005 6KCHES™hor j ■ ’ PHOTO SPECIAL' TO THE GAMECOCK Shelly Burgon, left, and Trevor Dunn will perform their unique blend of experimental music Friday in Gambrell Auditorium. The classically trained duo uses odd instruments, such as a bass played with a mallet. USC Creative Music and Film Society showcases jazzy avant-garde performers for improvisational, scored sets By JENNIFER FREEMAN THE MIX EDITOR , Avant-garde, experimental music fans and starving students alike will have a unique opportunity Friday in the Gambrell Auditorium. Sponsored and organized by the Creative Music and Film Society, an on campus organization that usually presents one concert a year, the concert came about after musicians Trevor Dunn and Shelly Burgon saw the Web site of local musician Kevin Green. Dunn and Green met at a performance three years ago, and that meeting has evolved into this special collaboration of musicians. Dunn and Burgon will perform a duet of improvisational and scored music in the first set. In the second set, the duo will become a trio as Green joins them, playing a drum set, percussion samplers, keyboards and amplified objects. Dunn has gained notoriety from his work in the avant-rock bands Mr. Bungle and Fantomas. More recently, he played with John Zorn’s Electric Masada. Burgon, who moved from San Francisco to New York in 2002, has also played with Zorn and collaborated with many other jazz and improvisational musicians. Dunn and Burgon have gained notice in the New York City music scene as a completely acoustic duo, with Dunn playing contrabass and Burgon playing the pedal harp. Since 2001, the group has played at venues such as Tonic, Barbes, The Issue Project Room and The Brooklyn Conservatory. “It’s going to be hard to describe because these people are trained classically. Not classical music, but their training,” Green said about Friday’s show. For students who are not familiar with avant-garde, experimental music, Green said to expect an interesting experience. “It’s a mix of avant-garde, jazz, classical. It’s a crossover, but it’s hard to put your finger on it. I would say it’s very impressionistic.” Plavina a mixture of improvised and notated compositions, Burgon and Dunn explore the possibilities of sound by using instruments that are often hidden in the orchestra. They can be found trying innovative melodies by playing the bass with mallets and plucking the harp strings with a metal rod. Green said the concert will not be of your everyday variety. While the classically trained musicians will perform songs that “Just try to go with an open mind. Don’t be expecting rock ‘n’ roll, but be prepared for a once-in-a-lifetime kind of performance.” KEVIN GREEN LOCAL MUSICIAN have been pre-written, much of the concert’s allure comes from the improvisation. “When we go into improv, we’re not just jamming. We’re not just hitting random notes. We’re really communicating with each other and adapting the music.” After a performance in Portland, Ore., the Dunn and Burgon received high praise from Willamette Week. “Wavering between patient meditation and maniacal catharsis, Dunn and Burgon mine the narrow fissure between pure improvisation and through-composed chamber music, slashing at the extreme interplay between steel, string and wood. Strings are beaten or jimmied with clothespins, the harp alternately caressed and throttled. The sonic equivalent of a Joseph Cornell box, the duo has a haunting, cinematic quality that is both staggeringly complex and achingly beautiful.” Food will be offered from Stuffy’s, Cafe Strudel, Bits and Pizzas, and The Courtyard Coffee House. Admission includes the food and is $8 for the general public and $5 with a student ID. “That’s a steal! Five dollars for a concert and free food? It doesn’t get much better than that,” Green said. Green said he anticipates a large turnout for the concert and encourages students to check it out. “Just try to go with an open mind. Don’t be expecting rock ‘n’ roll, but be prepared for a once-in-a-lifetime kind of performance.” Food will be served at 7 p.m. and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Gambrell Auditorium, room 153. Comments on this story? E-mail ramecockfeatures@gum.sc.edu Amy Miles reveals she’s no country girl By WES WOLFE THE GAMECOCK Amy Miles is from Arkansas. She named her new album after a boy she had a crush on in eighth grade. These two items have some people trying to peg Miles as a “Southern” singer or working the angles to put her into that cubbyhole, but it’s not happening. Miles simply produces excellent indie rock, from the balls-out variety to low-key and relaxed. Indeed, even the title of her Web site tells everyone, “Amy Miles Makes Rock Music.” “Noble Hatch,” Miles’ latest release, has her teaming up with friend and “Saturday Night Live” cast member Amy Poehler. While Poehler’s name lends some celebrity to the record, the songs are all Miles’. The songs are tight and well-crafted, leaving no room for superfluous bits that a more amateur singer-songwriter might leave in. The album begins in a straight out rock style in “Let Me Be Your Friend (Let’s Dance!),” reminiscent of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. “Noble Hatch” moves on to downshift and upshift at the appropriate times. A reviewer of Miles’ last album likened her slower songs to Victoria Williams, but Miles’ lyrics give the impression of an artist much more jaded than Williams’ inherent innocence. A better description would be to say that Miles’ upbeat tracks feel like Kim Deal of The Breeders or Liz Phair, while the slow songs leave the distinct impression of a similarity to Mazzy Star. Indeed, though Miles said she gets songwriting inspiration from Prince and Dolly Parton, one of her major influences is Deal. “I’m so inspired by Kim Deal,” Miles said in Interview Magazine. “She’s a tortured, screwed-up genius. All the best ones are.” Other women of her style — Phair, for example — have used their excellent ability in the same way, riding it to critical and commercial success. One gets the feeling that the wave of publicity is close to cresting for Miles, close to the point where she will break through and reap the benefits of being “indie-rock famous.” The unfortunate part for Miles is that even though she has a IF YOU’RE GOING WHAT: The Bloom with Amy Miles WHERE: New Brookland Tavern WHEN: 9:30 p.m. Tuesday following in New York — where she makes her home these days — she’s yet to make a name for herself on the music circuit ‘round here, though this isn’t the first time she’s played Columbia. Regardless, she’s the undercard to local boys The Bloom at New Brookland Tavern on Tuesday. Doors open at 9:30 p.m., with the fun to start soon thereafter. It’s an all-ages show, and the cover is $6. If you want to make an entire night of it, the doors open at 5 p.m. for an early show featuring Lock and Key, J Page and Yellow Snow. The damage for that concert will be $5 for all over 21, and $7 for those under the legal drinking age. Comments on this story ? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu CD REVIEW 50 Cent ‘‘Massacres'1 second effort “The Massacre” 50 Cent ★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ By RYAN DALLAS THE GAMECOCK After the unbridled success of 50 Cent’s album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” the same question has been on everyone’s mind, “Can he do it again?” 50’s new album, “The Massacre,” answers that question with a resounding, “Maybe ... .” In many ways, “The Massacre” is a step sideways for 50 rather than a step forward. The new release is truly a disappointment to all the recent buzz surrounding 50. The first two singles seem a little too manufactured, with “Candy Shop” obviously playing to the masses with Ho intrinsic value, other than its comical lyrics. On the other hand, “Disco Inferno” does have quite a catchy beat, but beyond that, 50 sounds like he’s trying a litde too hard to recreate his first hit, “In Da Club.” Probably the most anticipated track on the album is, “Piggy Bank,” the so-called dis-track directed at Fat Joe, Jadakiss and Nas, among others. The song feels good until the chorus comes in with, Clickety dank, clickety-clank, the money goes into my piggy bank.” This phrase repeated ad nauseum takes enough away from the track to warrant just skipping it. The very next track, “Gatman and Robbin,” features Eminem, so it too comes with great hype. But just like “Piggy Bank,” the song doesn’t live up to the hype, and the fact that Eminem performs makes it even more of a letdown. The whole album continues very much in this fashion from track one to track 22. It hurts to say there are a mere three songs worthy enough to be mentioned. The first track, “In My Hood,” has a very catchy melody while 50 proclaims, “It ain’t no good to do good in my hood.” The strongest song of the album comes with 50 taking the voice of heroin speaking to an addict in, “A Baltimore Love Thing.” The song has a sof d bass line with good, flowing lyrics that make it almost impossible not to see the story in your mind. Finally the bonus track, which is from former G-Unit member The Game’s CD, is a remix of “Hate it or Love it.” The song is made even stronger than its original by adding Lloyd Banks, Young Buck and Tony Yayo. Overall, the album is consistent but really nothing more. If it were a debut album, it would probably be considered fairly strong, but after releasing an album as successful as “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” and after so much buzz it doesn’t deliver what was promised. It’s apparent that 50 needs to spend a little less time doing interviews and making appearances, and a lot less time worrying about all the beefs that he has throughout the hip-hop world, and pay a little more attention to the music he is putting out. In “Hate it or Love it” 50 raps, "Hate it or love it, the underdog’s on top, and I’m gon’ shine, homey until my heart stop.” If that’s true, then maybe we should be concerned about him, because “The Massacre” certainly doesn’t shine. - Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeafirres@gwm.se. edu S