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=—— Reviewer left dry by Rivers The Restaurant Review by ADAM DAWKINS * After a semester of 21 hours in class credits, 1 am back to guiding you through the exciting world of restaurants here in swingin’ Columbia. If you have any comments or want to tell me about a restaurant, e-mail me at DineWine@aol.com. Rivers 600 Gervais St. The Vista $$ Formerly South by Southwest, Rivers serves basic American cuisine with a somewhat southwestern approach. The menu offers a wide selection of choices, including a number of house specialties. When 1 dined at Rivers with some friends recently, we were a little tak en aback by the prices and the value of the meal in general. We didn’t or der an appetizer, but went directly for the entree. One friend ordered the grilled salmon, which appeared (and tasted, might 1 add) to be the best meal at our table that evening. Another friend or dered the grilled tuna, which appeared to be very skimpy and not at all thick. I was disappointed, as it s listed on the menu for $16.95. 1 ordered the pork loin, which was served with a citrus sauce. While the pork was prepared well and tasty, it arrived luke-warm. All of the entrees were served with the same starch and vegetable: “smashed” potatoes and green beans with almonds. I am a big fan of mashed potatoes, and i thought these were excellent. 1 would have been tempted to just leave the pork loin, etc., and order a plate of the pota toes. I think I would have enjoyed them more. The three of us drank a bottle of Gewiirztraminer along with our meal, which accompanied both the salmon and the tuna well. We shared a piece of mud pie for dessert, which was very good, but I think was worth about 2 inches on the waistline. Our check, with tip, came to about $80, which all three of us felt was a pret ty terrible deal for what we had. All in all, I was not especially impressed with this restaurantskew concept, and for that money, there are far better restaurants in the area. Courtyard Coffee House 116 State Street West Columbia $ The Courtyard Coffee House in West Columbia serves a plethora of cof fees and other beverages in addition to a number of sandwiches and light fare. Courtyard has become a popular lunch spot, and for good reason. They offer some very tasty sandwiches (along with side items) for an excellent price. My favorite sandwich there is the curried chicken salad sandwich (I prefer it on their dark bread), which is served with fresh fruit and pasta salad. I consider myself to be quite the connoisseur of fine chicken salad Court yard Coffee House definitely gets my seal of approval. If you’re in the mood for a good sandwich, a cup of java, or some of the best hot chocolate in town, I sug gest making the short trek over to State Street in West Columbia. You’ll be glad you did. Key to pricing guides: $=$1-S10per person S$= S11-S20 $$$= $21-$30 S$$$=over $31 Adam Dawkins is'a senior Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Administra tion major. A native of Greenville, SC, he's a member of the National Restau rant Association and the American Culi nary Federation. His reviews have been printed in Journals throughout the south east. Guitar legend comes to Gallery 701 by Jonathan Dunagin Gamecock Critic Guitarist Davey Williams and USC employee and per cussionist Kevin Green bring a highly unorthodox style of humorous improv Thursday to Gallery 701 in Columbia. Regarded as one of the three founding fathers of American free improvisational guitar according to Dan Forte of Guitar Player maga zine, Williams has been improvising for more than 25 years with the likes of avant-garde artists John Zora, Fred Frith and Eugene Chadbourne, to name a few. He’s also a member of an avant/jazz/rock group called Curlew. “I’ve been dying to play with Davey, and I feel pretty confident about being able to play with him,” Green said. “(In improv], you don’t play for yourself, you play for the means. You have to be able to listen very well and play off of each oth er, something he does very well.” Williams’ unique style, which he calls his “object guitar” technique, involves the muting of his guitar strings with various objects. These objects range from paint brushes to polished stones to shrapnel and alu minum tape measures. He even am plifies the sound of low-voltage mo tors, like that found on a toy, to produce sounds akin to engine blasts. All of these experiments result in the production of a new sound and style of music, one that is beyond the guitar itself. Green also brings a unique style to the stage — one for improvis ing drums, noise and percussion. He developed this style over a 20 year period by attending various workshops for experimental improvised music in Europe with the likes of Frith, Tom Cora and Zeena Parkins. What’s more, Green has been recognized for his work in writing experimental music for studio and soundtracks, and has promoted and singlehandedly brought, numerous concerts to the Columbia area. Recently, in addition to working for Dis tance Education, Green took over the Creative Music and Film Society at USC, a group that preserves and promotes independent films and music. He’s work ing on finishing his first studio solo CD. Even though the duo met 11 years ago, they have only been able to play together once before, a memorable show that included La Donna Smith on viola and Green on keyboards. “We were all improvising and she [Smith] had a remote pickup and Davey and I were looking for her,” Green said. “She was making some terrific sounds, and it ended up she had walked outside the club and was out in the mid dle of an intersection.” Even though their previous show together will be hard to top, Green is confident that Thursday’s show will be even better. “I’m a much better percus sionist than keyboard player, so this show should be more to my forte,” Green said. “He’s a master of guitar and I’m a mas ter of the drums and he’s been impro vising for years, so this is going to be a to tally different concert.” In addition, Green said they were going to be amplifying lots of odd objects. Doors open at 7 p.m. and guest opener Mandible will play a 30-minute set beginning at 8 p.m. The price is $6 for the general public and $5 for members and students. Photos COURTESY OF KEVIN GREEN Above: Guitarist Davey Williams Below: Percussionist Kevin Green 'Freaks' invades Russell House by Jonathan Dunagin Gamecock Critic The second half of the “Clerks” and “Freaks” double feature asks the uni versal question: “Can a full-grown woman truly love a MIDGET?” Released in 1932 and banned in Britain for 30 years, “Freaks” has re ceived a cult following and today is rec ognized as being the masterpiece of the grotesque. From Todd Browning, the director of the original “Dracula” starring Bela Lagosi, “Freaks” is one of the most con troversial films ever made because it fea tures a cast of actual side-show freaks. These freaks include midgels, quadri plegics and Siamese twins to name a few, many of whom were discovered by the legendary P.T. Bamum. This story involves Hans, a wealthy circus midget who has fallen in love with Cleopatra, a full-grown trapeze artist. At first, Cleopatra strings him along out of amusement, but upon discovering his wealth, she plots to marry and then kill him with the help of her strongman lover. However, both misju<fge the freaks, who decide that the trapeze artist is bet ter suited for a different career. Among the scenes that stand out in this is the freaks hunting down the strongman and literally crawling through the mud to surround him, as well as the grand “goobble-gobble” wedding ban quet. Another scene, whose mes sage deserved more attention in the film, was Madame Tetrailini’s protection of the freaks, who to her were just chil dren. Although this film suffers from ac tors who read their lines instead of act ing them, and from a poor job of edit ing, the underlying moral and examination of prejudice and injustice are strong. The film shows that although the freaks appear abnormal, it’s the nor mal members of the carnival who are the true monsters.