The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 10, 1980, Page Page 11, Image 14
Entert
*
tasy :
By Jill Jones
Staff Writer
Ever walked into an unfamiliar
bar to discover
you're the only one in the
Dlace without a cowhov hat?
Or perhaps you decided
impulsively to drop in that
new bar everyone's been
talking about and you found
that everyone forgot to
'Although Easy's c
an adaptable bar
student, it does see,
fraternity orientatioi
4: ..u i:i,? ?
iiieuituu yuu u icci uivc <x
thug in your blue jeans and
risk social disgrace by ordering
a Bud ? even if you
did pay $1.50 for it?
It doesn't take too long to
discover that bars ? like
people ? have personalities
and there are some you'd
just as soon avoid. The
purpose of this series on
Columbia bars is to help
eliminate some of the
guesswork and "wasted"
evenings we've all experienced.
Easy's, located on Bluff
Road behind Williams-Brice
Stadium is probably still
better known as Mulligan's.
The bar itself hasn't changed
very much under its new
management and name.
I oral h;
entertai
By Glorta
Staff V
Greene Streets, formerly t
corner of Greene and Harden
RnHiimi
adverti?
By David Baker
FBm Critic
Tony Bill's directorial
debut, My Bodyguard, is one
of those "little" movies that
I'd just as soon put off
reviewing for another month
or two. But by that time, I'm
sure the picture will have
moved on to that great vault
in the sky where Hollywood's
unassuming failures go to
die in peace, away from the
ear-splitting kabooms 'of
such mega-bombs as 1941,
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w* -*40*
St*rs of Fox 9 'A
;ainmer
s: the
Easy's (or Mulligan's) is a
still a private club with s
memberships available for '
$5.00. A membership purchased
now is good until t
s\ugusi, itoi ana guesis are J
welcome. Memberships are 1
non-transferable. s
The atmosphere at Easy's *
is still very similar to that of
the "old Mulligan's." A i
ran be considered i
for almost any j
m to have a strona >
rc.'
sprawling, four-sided bar
manages to dominate the
warehouse-style building.
Seating is none-too-plentiful,
but no one seems to mind.
The crowd tends to
congregate around the small
dance floor, where disc
jockeys keep a steady flow of
rock, disco and shag music
flowing.
a smaner room adjacent
to the dance floor contains a '
few pool tables, and more 1
importantly, a little space to
breathe. '
Disc jockey shows are a I
nightly attraction at Easy's, <
with a fairly diverse list of l
"special events" planned.
Included are bands (The i
Zazzoff Boys, the Hot Nuts,
etc.), Ladies Nights, wine i
ar hosts
iners
i Wilson
VHt*r
he Coal Company, near the
streets has built a reputation
iard fall
?er's 'sic
Can't Stop the Music and The
Blues Brothers.
Amazingly enough (I
didn't think anyone was that
gullible anymore), several
major critics have been
quick to heap praise on My
Bodyguard and several of
their more glowing comments
are featured
prominently in the movie's
advertising campaign,
which is highly reminiscent
? almost plagiaristic ? of
the one used to sell last
PUM . J
mm* -J
Ay Bodyguard.'
tocus
ind cheese parties, wet Thirt
contests and other
'interesting" pvpnts
The addition of a
estaurant is a new feature.
Phe one at Easy's serves
unch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
md dinner from 6 p.m. to 1
i.m.
nrinlr nri^PQ at Rnov'c aro
ibout average, with most
iomestic bottled beer going
:or 90 cents and bar drinks
for $2.25. A daily happy hour
from 3:30 to 8 p.m. is an
aaaea atiraction ana a real
break on prices.
Although Easy's is
definitely a bar catering to
LJSC students, its clientele
seems to change as the
evening progresses. Rock
J : *? i.t-_ *?
uiuaii; uuiuiuaira uie eariy
hours, bringing with it the
usual rock-bar patrons. As
time progresses, the rock
melds into disco and one
4.! 1_ . t *
uuuces an enurely amerent
mass of faces. By 11 p.m.,
shag and beach music
abound, and with it, (you
guessed it) the Greeks.
Although Easy's can be
considered an adaptable bar
for almost any student, it
does seem to have a strong
fraternity orientation. So if
you're not into the "Greek
scene," plan to go early in
the evening or take along a
fellow "independent."
for bringing quality entertain
In the past year, Greene St
Delbert McClinton, Savoy Bi
Columbians who attended th
hearing some very fine music
During periods when c
unavailable, Greene Streets
tertainment from the pool of!
one can go there on almost a
good band.
The bread and butter of tav
s short
;eper' g
year's sleeper hit, Breuning
Away.
Indeed, My Boayguurd
seems to have been cut from
the same cloth as Peter
Yates' Oscar-winner. Both
films are set in the Midwest
(Breaking Away in
Bloomington, Indiana, My
Bodyguard in Chicago), both
deal with teenage boys
coming of age and both were
financed by 20th CenturyFox.
Within these
similarities lies the reason
why My Bodyguard leaves
me cold: the movie was
calculated to be a sleeper.
When a movie dares to
/tnma of rairfhf of IIC
vviiiv ouui^iii at uo,
proclaiming itself to be an
unheralded diamond-in-therough,
it deprives us of the
right to discover it for
ourselves. This takes the fun
out of the whole process.
Perhaps I could forgive
My Bodyguard its smugness
had it been as perceptive,
well-acted and fast-paced as
Breaking Away, but every
single one of the movie's
theses rine false and the film
as a whole is stupefyingly
pompous and utterly dull.
A 15-year-old boy, Clifford
Peache (Chris Makepeace),
moves to Chicago and, upon
enrolling in a public school
there, discovers that the
halls and restrooms tire
teeming with bullies, led by
a brat named Moody (Matt
Dillon). To alleviate this
problem, Cliff convinces an
; is on I
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:^sSgj^?L *'.
Persons enjoy the ba
ment to Columbia. s
reets has attracted the likes of tl
rown and other touring bands, c
eir shows got the priviledge of p
in a club-type atmosphere.
>ut-of-town entertainment is ]\
has been able to book good en- r
local talent. It's safe to say that b
ny night and hear a reasonably n
ii
ern business, of course, is drink 0
of
oal
jlleeedlv n^vcnnathir
classmate (Adam Baldwin),
who is rumored to be a
murderer, to act as his
bodyguard.
The ploy works well at I
first, but Moody is no jerk, so
he soon goes out and hires an
even bigger bodyguard to j
take care of Cliff's protector.
Things get even more
preposterous from there, but I
I shall spare you the details.
Rest assured, however,
that every conflict is ironed
out, every bully gets his
comeuppance and, in the
end, every character is iust
a little bit wiser from the
experience. No matter how
illogically this is ac- |
complished, it nonethel^s is
done.
At fade out, the viewer
feels as if he has been
watching someone buy a
fragile little Christmas gift,
take it home, tie it up in a
nrettv rod rihhwi and nlarf*
it ever so carefully under the
tree. The problem with My
Bodyguard is that its
dramatic conceits are too
brittle to be handled even
thaj much without shattering
into a million pieces.
Steel, on the other hand, is
a big, lumbering, seemingly
U I..UI_ 1- - J A.
unuicsAduic iiiot;K.-auveruure
film in which every
character's stance is
delineated so completely at
the outset that none of them
have any room to grow or
CltttllgC.
'Bodyguard' pag* 13 \
I
I i
fraternities i
hp siH -41
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!
r at Easy's. (Photo by Glenn Johanson)
ales. Greene Streets is open 4 p.m. until 2 a.m. Monday
irough Friday and 4 p.m. until 12 a.m. on Saturdays to
omply with Blue Laws. Happy hour is from 4 p.m. until 7
.m.
According to Greene Streets emDlovee Georee Belton
londay and Tuesday nights are devoted to jazz music while j
ock bands usually perform Wednesday through Saturday,
ut occasionally Bluegrass bands are brought in on these
ights. The music usually begins around 9:30 p.m. For those
iterested in table games, Bel ton said Greene Streets also
ffers backgammon, pinball machines, and bumper pool.
cyEgtlietica. ...
oy ma rx^ cnevaiier
Summer murals
Murals used to spring up in post offices and government
buildings like clock-work. Generally they would
span the ceilings, or encircle you in wide narrative
bands about halfway down the wall. Most possessed a
kind of fluid stylized realism, a la Thomas Hart Benton, !
and most depicted the geographical and industrial j
character of the region. They functioned, in many
respects, like the great stained glass windows of the
Gothic era, for both strove not only to decorate, but to
educate through image.
The heyday of post office murals has long past, yet
within the last few years, there has clearly been a
Renaissance of sorts in mural painting. The ever
evolving skylines of our industrial centers have created
large windowless walls, which were once covered by
other, since departed buildings. These "voids" in the 1
cityscape have captured the imagination of many an
artist, and some of the results have been quite surprising.
There is, for instance, the gentleman that paints
illusionistic buildings on buildings, complete with trim,
doors and windows. Sometimes they match the real
architecture, and other times they recreate a past style j
or design.
Social themes still emerge in the mural, often focusing
on cultural ancestry or ethnic identity. Bold, abstract j
ffranhic dpsinns ran hp found mnst anvwhpro anH i
illusionist, near photorealist scenes have begun to appear.
Although evaluation of murals is based on the same
aesthetic criteria as the other visual arts, the real trick
of the successful mural is its integration with the architectural
surroundings it is forced to exist with. A
muralist cannot simply paint what he wants in a given
space, he must coordinate what he wants, with what the
soace will allow.
Over the summer months, two new murals have appeared
in Columbia, neither of which display any un
aersiancung 01 ine aoove notion. Both were executed by I
Ralph Waldrop, a Columbia artist who calls himse.'f
"The Muralist." Waldrop has completed more than 100
murals throughout 8eeW.ldrcpp,gtl2 .
!