Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE MIX Friday, March 3,2006 —B_ B —B B M -A- V J B—<dL. m v Page 5 Special to THE OAMECOCK Members of the USC theater group the Puppet Regime are sponsoring a benefit concert at Benson Theater on March 1?. The event features Columbia bands JuiceBox and Yukos the Crude, and proceeds will benefit Harvest Hope Food Bank. ‘A good cause’ i USC group, local bands come together to help out the hungry Aaron Dallin THE GAMECOCK A charity benefit concert Maturing Columbia bands [uiceBox and Yukos the Crude s being held at USC’s Benson rheater on March 12. The show is being sponsored oy the Puppet Regime, a USC theater group in cnarge or me ( theatre, located on Blossom and Pickens streets. JuiceBox is organizing the event, and all proceeds will t be donated to Harvest Hope Fooc Bank, a nonprofit organizatior that provides food and related products to over 59,000 of the less fortunate in 18 counties every week. The original motivation foi the show was JuiceBox’s wanting a chance to play with Yukos the Crude, a band similar to theii own, which features eclectic musical offerings and comedy JuiceBox then realized they could use the concert as an opportunity to do something charitable. “We wanted to play with _—.. Yukos for a while,” JuiceBox member Tim McManus said. “We figured if we’re going to be doing a show which we probably won’t get paid for we should do it for a good cause.” On top of this event being an opportunity to help the needy, the concert should be well worth the trip to Benson Theater. Those who have never seen JuiceBox or Yukos the Crude can prepare themselves for two of the most musically eclectic and original acts in Columbia. Humor is a large driving force in both bands. JuiceBox has plans to utilize the theater environment to dramatize the show, and being a band that was formed out of participation in some of the productions of the Puppet Regime, expect them to pull off some sort of theater feel. Yukos the Crude is expected to put on a great show, as well. “In my opinion (they’re) the best band in Columbia right now,” McManus said of Yukos the Crude. “They do really good music and they’re hilarious, too.” This humor is evident in the band’s song titles. Some of Yukos the Crude’s humorous song titles include “Cannibal Waltz,” “I’m a Closet Nymphomaniac” and “Your Sweat Pants Shall Be My Beacon.” “They have songs that go from lounge to punk just like that,” McManus said, snapping his fingers. JuiceBox is a band you shan t let slip under your radar, either. Diverse vocals and musical arrangements, sci-fi-inspired musical humor, a melodica that feels carny-esque, and the debut of new songs and an accordion, which McManus has learned to play in a mere two weeks, are all reasons to get excited over witnessing this unusual band. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the music will begin around 8:30 p.m. Snacks and refreshments will be provided. Door admission is either $1 or one can of non perishable food. The show is estimated to end around 10 p.m., so you won’t be out too late. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu Aaron Dallin / THE GAMECOCf j^C’s Benson Theater, located on Blossom and Pickens streets, will B:he site of a benefit concert this month featuring two local bands. CD REVIEW The Taj motel Trio |. me of llw Party “Life of the Party” Taj Motel ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ Chad Henderson THE GAMECOCK Have you ever been in an abandoned building and the music was rocking so hard that you just started to dance like a professional? Well, it happened to Kevin Bacon in “Footloose.” So don’t tell me it can’t happen. Opening for Capital R tonight at New Brookland Tavern will be The Taj Motel Trio. It’s been Over a year since the band has played in Columbia, and lately they’ve been in the studio recording their next album. Currently, they’re still supporting their album “Life of The Party,” released in 2003. I his album is a lot or run and never takes a breath from the fast-paced ska-punk that’s become the Taj Motel Trio trademark. These songs are high energy and humorous, so you can’t go wrong. In a world full of music that talks about sad subject matters, The Taj Motel Trio takes nothing seriously and sings about playing video games and not being cool, and makes fun of the rock star behavior of some front men. This album is like Stephen Hawking flying with a jet pack and then landing on Pamela Anderson’s chest: funny, fast and well made. Taj Motel has a recording of the Temptations hit “My Girl” on this album. This song got a lot of attention in the Atlanta market when it was entered into a contest on a radio station. The grand prize? Opening for Bon Jovi. Long story short, TTMT won the contest, took their brass driven sound into an arena and played in front of thousands of people. Not to mention they got to meet Bon Jovi and ask them questions like, “So why does your new sthff stink like wet garbage and dead rats?” Of course TTMT is too polite to ask such questions, but we need answers, people! The opening track on the album, “TTMT,” tells of the band’s determination to have a good time and to give the crowd a good time. The song starts off with a slow funk riff that blows up and turns into a fast double timed punk riff. Then the horns blast over the guitars and bring TRIO • 1 MOVIE REVIEW Even marquee actors cant save audiences from Ereedomland’ ‘Freedomiand” Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore * out of ☆☆☆☆☆ ^jlarjorie Riddle ^,'AFF WRITER “Freedomiand” deserves its own liberation from the big screen for being one of the worst movies of Samuel L. Jackson and Julianne Moore’s careers. Both Jackson and Moore give surprisingly mediocre performances n a dramatic film that will make audiences laugh at inappropriate dmes because their acting and the script are just that bad. Moore is Brenda Martin, a former drug addict who claims her son was kidnapped during a carjacking by a black male from the Dempsy, N.J., projects. Jackson is Lorenzo Council, the police officer whose jurisdiction encompasses the Armstrong housing project. After Brenda stumbles into a nearby hospital, bloodied and supposedly in shock, Lorenzo interrogates her on the carjacking, and in this conversation, Brenda tells him it wasn’t just a carjacking — her 4-year-old son was asleep in the backseat. Brenda lives in neighboring suburb Gannon, where her brother Danny is a police officer. Danny, other Gannon police and Dempsy police bombard Armstrong, igniting racial tensions between the predominantly white police forces and the predominantly black community over the alleged kidnapping of Brenda’s son, Cody. Lorenzo suspects Brenda isn’t being entirely honest with him and pushes her to surrender information about the carjacking. She acts disconnected and mentally unstable throughout the search for her son. Karen Collucci, played by Edie Falco, is a missing children’s activist and unites with the police to look for Cody. Karen’s own son was kidnapped 10 years earlier, and she ardently leads the searchers to Freedomland, an abandoned home for mentally afflicted children. The searchers think Cody may be near Freedomland. Freedomland’s remnants and mouic • 6 Special to THE GAMECOCK Edie Falco’s character, Karen, unites with local police to help find the abducted son of Julianne Moore’s Brenda in “Freedomland.”