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Upstate CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 range of pop, blues, acoustic and reggae performances held each week at Piazza Bergamo. Greenville’s most popular music venUe, however, remains the Bi Lo Center. It brings in famous talent every month. Acts scheduled to appear soon include Kenny Chesney, Eric Clapton, Kid Rock and Hootie and the Blowfish with Edwin McCain. Greenville offers ample oppor tunities for adventurers. Paris Mountain State Park has camp ing grounds and cabins to use while you explore the 1500 square feet of mountainous forests and trails. Greenville also has a fantastic zoo that is con nected to some of the city’s most well liked scenic areas. As the semester comes to a close, road trips provide an easy es cape from the pressures of the end of the semester: If you are looking for a relaxation destina tion, Greenville has plenty to of fer, regardless of your tastes. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu Sensation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 for copies,” a Gaza City video shop owner who sells bootlegs of new releases told Reuters recently. The owner, who declined to be identified, said he received a flood of calls after placing an advertise ment for the film in a Palestinian newspaper. Debate over “The Passion,” which some Jewish organizations have called anti-Semitic, is high ly sensitive in Israel. In February, Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger urged Pope John Paul II to speak out against the film for fear it could set back decades of Jewish Christian reconciliation since the Vatican in 1965 rejected the con cept that Jews were collectively responsible for Jesus’ death. “It is regrettable that a tenden tious, malicious film should un dermine the progress that we have worked for with such great care,” Metzger wrote. It is unknown how or whether the Pope replied. Gibson is a traditionalist Roman Catholic who reportedly rejects the 1965 Vatican changes. Some members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, have been vo cal in their opposition to the film. Alan Gorbuz, director of the Cinematheque in Tel Aviv, a pop ular art-film venue, said Gibson’s film “is an aesthetic work and ev eryone has the right to see it.” He objected to the idea of peo ple protesting against a film they had not seen. He is looking into the possibility of obtaining limited rights to show it for a night or two within the framework of a moder ated discussion. One factor hampering a com mercial release is the film’s rela tively high cost because of its ex pected success — more than $150,000, about twice what it typi cally costs to release a film in Israel, Gorbuz said. Given the high likelihood of protests and boycotts, that’s a pricey risk on an already notorious film, he said. Despite the fervor for and against “The Passion,” some crit ics have managed to keep their sense of humor. Wrote Yossi Klein Halevi in the Jerusalem Post: “Given the dam age he’s done to Christian-Jewish relations, I wouldn’t want to be Try All The Winning Varieties! HOT POCKETS’ Brand Stuffed Sandwiches \ LEAN POCKETS’ Brand Stuffed Sandwiches v CROISSANT POCKETS* Brand Stuffed Sandwiches . Try our new HOT POCKETS ’ brand N POT PE EXPRESS™ and Fnrit Pastries — — — — — — — — — — — — — — “ — — — — ■-» — - J I MFC. COUPON! EXPIRES JUNE 9,2004 [ I I I ! HOT POCKETS*, LEAN POCKETS*, CROISSANT POCKETS’**.! sum %»***» Ccuctr- 06 i 05*3 sal sarstes* 3 **w? » I «h*CSyia» COlSaBt per jpec^ tore# jwhiei TNicojwi - grto*»p!btfteafiit*^rdaWKTUf!t | KW«‘cofl^rfrert>i*,*ta^(Mkfs£«nan34rof*fr ■ fes* *«pwJ Foodi Car*** ***** ho* Znt Hmtxxmi Cbm* Srtwjfcr I PtfQMimKfcttxHiwwS GowmiwstwMfesSt I Wco00»toNeAF>«9(M^x)tCanp»LH»i^eiiFooi&a!Q^CW5 DecF »3» 1 ttaaiihtf.Wfeft’Me 5 I__ I “ 67226 CD. Review Pat McGee Band plays same old thing “SAVE ME” Pat McGee Band ★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY MEG MOORE THE (iAMEC.OCK It’s not necessarily a bad thing that the Pat McGee Band sounds unoriginal. They are very good at what they do, even if what they do has been done many times be fore. The group’s new release, “Save Me,” is a collection of straight-up, no apologies, pop-rock songs. The slightly distorted guitars, the steady drum beat, the repeated mentions of “love” — it’s all there. Some impressive harmonies and orchestral arrangements are thrown in for good measure. I Begging to be filed between Tonic and Train, “Save Me” fear lessly treads the middle-of-the road. While a couple of years ago mainstream pop-rock records were seemingly all one could buy, such a straightforward album sounds ironically refreshing in the midst of the alternative craze. These days whatever is said to be a little off-kilter, goes. The pop ular, straight-outta-the-garage style of deconstructed rock has be come a cliche in itself; the effects heavy tracks also hitting the air waves have gotten dangerously close to sounding more like com puter programs than songs. The comparatively simple-sounding line between the two no longer sounds so tired. The Pat McGee Band tunefully walks that line on their latest re lease, combining the best aspects of singer/songwriter style main stream rock with slightly south ern-tinged mainstream rock. The album opens with “Beautiful Ways,” a typical love centered tune that begins with an easy, acoustic line, growing into an upbeat, full-band effort. Right away things start to get pre dictable. If the tracks were done with any less panache, it’d be easy to call them stale and move on. But songs such as “Must Have Been Love” clamor for radio-play and just may be catchy enough to get it. Despite the fact that the tunes mine the same structure and the same theme, “Save Me” contains a slew of pop-rock gems, tailor-made to fit in amongst the mainstream’s current stars. The beginning of “Wonderful” wouldn’t sound out of place on a Goo Goo Dolls record, while the last — and darkest sounding — song recalls some of Train’s more somber tunes. The Pat McGee Band may not have the edge to generate indus try buzz or set indie rockers talk ing, but they can churn out radio tunes and have delivered a wor thy collection of them with “Save Me.” For all those pop-rock fans who haven’t moved on to bigger and stranger things, for all those softies at heart who take a dip in the mainstream every once in a while, this one’s for you. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu r HU I U SPfcUIAL I U I nt VaAMtUUUK The Pat McGee Band reverts to mainstream pop-rock. -- --; As an engineer in the U.S. Air Force, there’s no telling what you’ll work on. 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