Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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CD REVIEW Band mixes punk and garage-band styles “LOVE AND DEATH” The Sun ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY CHARLES TOMLINSON THE GAMECOCK . ; Rock’s recent retrograde mo tion has brought back fuzzy gui tars, washy drums and primal scream vocals — all the things that made rock great. Bands such as the Doors, the Beatles, the Kinks and the Who can now live vicariously through bands such as the Sun, who ex pertly combine classic rock in fluences with the head-busting energy of modem punk. The Sun’s first EP, “Love and Death, matches sloppy, lo-fi produc tion with short, eco nomic compositions. The first track, “Fell So Hard,” lasts a deafening, exhaust ing two minutes. The song most immedi ately resembles the Hives or New Bomb Turks — drummer bam brown s otner Dana. In the song, singer Chris Burney’s wild, trebly vocals re semble the style of the Hives’ Pelle Almqvist, but he throws several Paul McCartney-like “oohs” in there, as well. It’s a derivative, but fun little tune. For anyone who still has the energy to make it through the re maining five tracks, a variety of songs await. Songs such as “Carry It All” and the title track are some of the EP’s most en ergetic songs. But unlike a mot ley crew of punk hacks, the Sun ebbs and rages through different textures and dy namics. A Moog whis ties ana arones tnrougn tne weary “Rockstop.” “Eyelids Apart” is an acoustic number that sounds like an extended ver sion of the Beatles’ “Her Majesty,” the last song on “Abbey Road.” Like “Her Majesty,” “Eyelids Apart” is unlike any other track on the album and is tacked beau-' tifully on the end. Like the Who, the Sun’s not afraid to work in electronics. Electric piano, Moog and other synthesizers appear on at least half the songs on “Love and Death.” And the organ on “Back in the Summer of ‘72” could have been lifted directly from a recording by the Doors or the Animals. The Sun’s debut EP has an even feel throughout it, pushing volume boundaries up and eas ing them back down. The band has the energy of a punk group, but the dynamics of a masterful ’70s garage-rock band. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com The Sun’s debut EP has an even feel throughout it, pushing volume boundaries up and easing them back down. SHOW/GD REVIEW Courage Riley combines faith and rock BY MEG MOORE THE GAMECOCK It’s an uncommon rock band that starts its show with an a capel la Christian praise song. Playing its own powerful brand of emo tional rock, local band Courage Riley started its set Wednesday night at New Brookland Tavern by affirming its religious roots.. Regularly playing to packed venues, the band has an evolving repertoire of faith-fueled songs that seems to have touched a di verse audience, judging from the variety of clubs it plays at and the mixture of music fans who go to see the band. Its sound is main stream enough to attract pop-rock listeners and heavy enough to en snare the edgier crowd. In January, Courage Riley re leased a new EP, “The (Re) Defining EP,” that effectively de lineates its status as a local Christian-rock powerhouse. Embodying the same, solid sound of its previous releases, each of the eight songs on “The (Re) Defining EP” evolves from the bind’s deli cately soft beginnings into an in tensely instrumented anthem. All of the songs evoke a similar yet well-executed ambiance that musically unifies the songs. The driving guitars that end up pro pelling nearly every track on the al bum are edgy without being abra sive; the music appropriately erupts and simmers according to the lyri cal mood that is being established. The last track on the album, the lone acoustic number, further ex emplifies the band’s use of music to forward emotion; in contrast with the album’s heavier sections, it uses sparse instrumentation to augment its fragile purity of emo tion. ’ Lyrically, the songs on Courage Riley’s new EP are superb. Although they are often obscured beneath the music, the words are indeed poetry, delineating loves lost and moments past. The EP’s opening track, “You Will Remember,” plays a lonely ode for listeners’ heartstrings. Written by lead singer and bassist David Adedokun, the tune wistful ly considers that “It’s strange what we can make ourselves believe.” “Things You Say in Passing,” also written by Adedokun, further contemplates the complexity of one’s thoughts and actions, claim ing; “I’d walk a thousand miles for you/ or a thousand miles away/ you tear m§ up between the two...” The band’s set at New Brookland Tavern on Wednesday included a variety of material. Courage Riley played tunes from “(Re) Defining” as well as older songs such as “Close Enough,” which was included on its previ ous EP. Live, the band evidences its pro gressive-rock side, delving into drawn-out, sonically thick instru mentals that manifest its musical skill. The entire band clearly puts im mense effort into performing, of ten becoming so visibly engrossed in its music that it seems oblivi ous to the audience. It was evident Wednesday night that the band genuinely enjoys — and believes in — what it does. Fusing religion and rock, David Adedokun of Courage Riley lent his songwriting skills to the band’s latest EP. PHOTO BY TRISHA SHADWELL/THE GAMECOCK Courage Riley proves itself a wor thy contender in the local music scene on its new EP. The band’s set Wednesday evening further evidenced that it is a musical force to be reckoned with. Courage Riley is a force found ed on faith and a solid sense of what it means to rock hard. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Film Festival CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 throughout the film. This beauti ful, young Senegalese woman has a magnetic charisma, much like the Carmen from the opera by Georges Bizet. She attracted many men that were soon mad dened by their love for her — one to the point of suicide and anoth er to murder. After the movie Robert Grenier, a voice instructor at South Carolina State University who has performed in Carmen before, led a discussion about “Karmen Gei.” Grenier noted differences be tween the opera and the movie, while recognizing characters in the movie that were represen tations of characters in the opera. Everyone agreed that the movie was overflowing with lo cal color and garnish. “There are so many wonderful things to look and listen to,” Grenier said. “Amazing costum ing and chorale singing.” An interesting topic was Karmen’s bisexuality and a risque sex scene between her and another prison warden, a wom an, toward the beginning of the film. Jeanne Garane, an assistant professor at USC, pointed out that African films typically shy away from any portrayal of sexuality. Grenier added that Carmen is a “very heterosexual opera,” which left everyone scratching their heads as to what Karmen’s bi sexualiy signified. Garane said the film is “very innovative.” Virtually everyone left the the ater feeling fulfilled. Stanley F. Levine, a professor at USC-Aiken, drove for one hour to the Nickelodeon with some of his stu dents in tow. Levine admired the festival for offering a variety of films presenting African American cinematic themes and elements. The African-American International Film Festival, which began Feb.7 and ended yes terday, also included “Standing in the Shadows of Motown,” a doc umentary on the Funk Brothers, the legendary label’s backing band; “Kirikou and the Sorceress,” an animated Senegalese film; and “Life and Debt,” a Jamaican drama. Levine did think the festival’s combination of films was a little too eclectic, however. “You have one African movie, one about Motown, one that’s a cartoon and one that’s a short,” Levine said. The Nickelodeon has previous ly held a few international film festivals — Latin American and Jewish to name two —■ and it re cently added another to its line up. As the Native-American film festival culminated its fourth year, “It’s a great opportunity to celebrate Black History Month by seeing our culture on screen.” TIFFANY STEWART THIRD-YEAR SPANISH STUDENT the Cultural Arts Committee felt the need for a film festival that was reflective of the African-American culture. In the end, the festival proved to be a success. Will there be an African-American film festival next year? In the words of Raman: “Yes, absolutely.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@notmail.com Q0A4+Mf\w*t AN HISTORIC RESIDENCE Efficiency $505 One Bedroom $565 Two Bedroom $600 Rent includes all utilities and cable TV. All rates quoted are month to month. (Leases available, prices subject to change) Located across from the University Of South Carolina Horseshoe and the State Capital, Cornell Arms offers the premier location for downtown living. (803) 799-1442 1230 PENDLETON STREET COLUMBIA, SC 29201 Coffee CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Cool Beans, at 1217 College St., onerea live va rieties for the cup of the day, including the House Blend that includes Colombian beans, Brazil Santos, French Roast, Fair Trade Sumatra and Southern Pecan. Coffee is $1.05 when you dine in, and comes in a 12-oz cup, refillable for $0.50. There are two sizes to go, a 12-ounce for $1.32 and 16 ounce for $1.63. me House blend didn t seem very fresh — it was actually rather bitter and old. The cappuccino, on the other hand, was frothy and fla vorful, costing $2.63 for 12 ounces. Immaculate Consumption, at 933 South Main St., offers a cup of the day for $1.05, $1.29 for a large. On Wednesday, it offered a house Diena, wnicn in cluded Sumatra, Kenyan and Costa Rican beans all togeth er, and a Colombian ground. The Colombian was strong and again bitter, but might have been a lit tle old. The cap puccino, at $2.35 for a small and $2.80 for a large, was fresher. Tomorrow morning, try something other than your daily grind. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOO Columbia offers a variety of options for coffee lovers. 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