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Top Box Office Hits FOR THE WEEKEND OF JULY 6-8_ L1. ‘A.I. Artlfical Intelligence' $29.4 million 6.‘Atlantis' $8.3 million 2. ‘Fast and the Furious’ $20.1 million 7. ‘Shrek’ $7.7 million 3. 'Dr. Dolittle 2' $15.8 million 8. ‘Pearl Harbor‘d $4.7 million 4. ‘Tomb Raider' $10.2 million 9. crazy/beautiful' S4.7 million 5.‘Baby Boy' $8.6 million 10.‘Swordfish’ $4.3 million PLACES_ "Che (gamecock Wednesday, July 11,2001 On a new 'Excursion' Weekend Excursion loses its violinist by Brock Vergakis The Carolina Spectator CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s a Saturday night, and Sam Fisher is tired. The night before, he played an extra-long set at one of North Carolina’s largest clubs. It was the last show his wildly popular violinist Mike Ferry played before retiring to pursue marriage and a Ph.D. And now, Fisher is losing his voice. Show time is less than an hour away, but he’s not discouraged. In less than one hour, Weekend Excursion will play its first show in North Carolina without Ferry, in front of hundreds of old fans and just as many who have never seen them. The challenge for one of the Carolinas’ most popular rock bands is to keep the old fans happy while hooking the new ones. It’s a challenge Fisher is more than ready for, despite his raspy voice and Ferry’s departure. “We’re excited to get another opportunity to prove it,” Fisher said. “It’s a challenge to win people over as a band. We feel Weekend Excursion belongs to everybody. The songs still have the same lyrics. All we have to do is present the lyrics, and people will enjoy themselves.” There’s no question the band has talented musicians. Skillful instrumentation, singing and powerful lyrics are what fans have come to expect. But what they’ve also come to expect is Ferry’s distinctive skills as a violinist in a rock band. The violin helped distinguish Weekend Excursion from other bands, and several of the group’s songs were so dependent on that sound that they won’t be played at live shows anymore. Most of the songs on the band’s first album will become just memories now that Ferry is gone, according to Fisher. “We’re losing ‘Reunion’ and most of the Special to The Gamecock Since violinist Mike Ferry retired to pursue marriage and a Ph.D., Weekend Excursion has had to work on keeping old fans happy while hooking new fans. Ferry’s violin added a distinctive sound to the group’s music, but was replaced with drums and electrivc guitars at the Charlotte, N.C., show. blue CD,” Fisher said. “But we will be playing ‘Angel Window,’ ‘Getting By’ and ‘What We Deserve.’” What fans will be getting instead are new versions of the old songs and a host of new material that hasn’t been released yet. “We’re getting a little more harder and taking one more step,” Fisher said. “This will definitely be rock. There’s no mistaking it for pop. It’s really cool, it’s starting to gel.” The new songs will also be more lyrically mature than in the past. Some of the bands first songs were written while its members were in their teens. “The energy of the show will still be there, but there will be a big difference lyrically. We see the world in a different way now,” said Fisher, who’s 27. Ana the tans seem to be enjoying Weekend’s new sound. They travel from as far away as Florida to see them play in the Carolinas, where crowds are the largest. “We play the entire East Coast and are making fans everywhere we play. Whenever we went to a new city, we only played as a five-piece set. We go to Florida, they’ve been begging to see us again, and they’ve never seen Mike play,” Fisher said. “We have to prove we’re just as good without a violinist. Oddly enough we’ve actually picked up steam. We’re going harder, faster than before. The industry hasn’t blinked that we’ve lost Mike. We’re booked through October.” The band plays in South Carolina about every eight weeks and will be in Columbia on July 28 and at USC during Welcome Week in August. “We do really well in Columbia. The crowds are getting better and they’re taking the transition really well.” And inside Amos’ Southend Brewery, Fisher is about to find out if the hundreds of fans squeezed in to hear Weekend Excursion perform are ready to take the transition well, too. Replacing Ferry’s violin with drums and electric guitars, the crowd jumped and sang to the old and new songs as Fisher sang without so much as a hint of a sore throat. Providing an energetic performance, he and the others did everything they could to ensure everyone in attendance had a good time. Despite having songs appear in “Dawson’s Creek,” “The Real World” and a Budweiser commercial, the band still goes out of its way to accommodate fans. They regularly hang out with fans after shows and will sing happy birthday for just about anybody who asks. It’s not a marketing ploy, either — the guys are genuinely friendly. Their music might have changed, but that hasn’t. The new Weekend Excursion has finally arrived in the Carolinas — ironically enough, the same place it calls home. Brock Vergakis can be reached at carolinaspectator@hotmail.com Through the Looking Glass ■ The Budweiser defense A homeless man, arrested for breaking into a convenience store in Lynnwood, Wash., employed a “defense of necessity,” which is sometimes used to justify the commission of a crime. He told the judge that he broke in because he really needed a beer. It didn’t work. He got a year in jail. ■ Into the wagon, Your Majesty As part of a religious ceremony in the back yard of his Ohio home, a man allowed'himself to be tied naked to a pole while his fellow celebrants danced around him twirling colorful ribbons. He thus became “May King” of the “spirit weavers.” A neighbor* who apparently doesn’t share his creed, caught a glimpse of the ritual and had the man arrested for indecent exposure. ■ What are you doing here? A man went to the red-light district of Aachen, Germany, seeking the intimate comforts of a scarlet woman. He was very surprised to encounter there his own wife, who was working .as a prostitute without his knowledge. A heated exchange followed. Police were called to restore calm. ■ But this was our line secret As part of their bedroom antics, a man playfully donned his girlfriend’s red bra and panties and let her photograph him, asking only that she keep the snapshots strictly private. However, he made the mistake of cheating on her with her best friend. She posted the pictures on the Internet. You can see them at www.uboot.com/u/pimptress. ■ Well, back to work... During a work break, a UPS cargo loader at the airport in Anchorage, Alaska, climbed into the belly of a Boeing 747 to nap. Alas, the plane took off while he slumbered. When he awoke, he found that he was halfway across the Pacific Ocean on his way to Hong Kong. He was sent home on a return flight. A spokesman for UPS said the company’s security people want to “sit down and talk with him.” Mike Pingree/College Press Exchange