2008-05 Vital Source Mag – May 2008
Story of the Year
By Kyle Shaffer Defining one’s sound on a passing trend can prove a death blow for most acts. But, perhaps even more daunting a thought is that of trying to reformat a band’s sound to remain relevant. Story of the Year’s heyday was the release of Page Avenue amidst an explosion of screamo bands. Two albums and a few Warped Tours later, the St. Louis crew emerges with The Black Swan, a supposedly seamless integration of the catchiness of their debut with the heavy riffing of 2005’s In the Wake of Determination. While this album may mark the group’s ability to survive without major-label support, it’s full of enough generic guitar riffs and less-than-inspiring lyrics to make the dudes in Avenged Sevenfold hold back chuckles. Throughout, this record is shaking with the fear of committing to a sound. Opener “Choose Your Fate” attempts Thrice-like energy and lands somewhere between 30 Seconds to Mars and whatever “band of the week” Vagrant Records is promoting. This is not a giant step forward in Story’s growth. Lyrically trying to tackle more serious subject matter, songs like “Message to the World” struggle to articulate communication problems between the U.S. and the rest of the planet. Even more painful is listening to lead singer Dan Marsala feign his concern for racial equality in “We’re Not Gonna Make It.” These are serious issues in the modern world, but Story of the Year’s contrived sound minimizes their importance. For a band that left a major label for ethical reasons, The Black Swan sure sounds like a record written for a paycheck.
May 1st, 2008 by Vital Archives
Beloit
The winter had been cruel and callous, leaving the author teetering on the brink of insanity. Could a simple trip to Beloit – complete with 60-degree weather and a ridiculous house party – finally turn things around, as well as begin to rectify a decades-old sin? Of course it could. When I was 16 years old, I took a trip with my then-girlfriend to her hometown of Shawano, Wisconsin. We stayed with the family of one of her childhood friends, a family that seemed to be a Midwest version of Salinger’s Glasses – all artistic brilliance and deep-seated neuroses set loose in a picturesque northern Wisconsin town. Appropriately, our weekend was filled with an endless array of off-center adventures: smoking pilfered cigars in a nearby park, cutting each other’s hair in the driveway while blasting the Violent Femmes, trying our hands at hot-wiring a car, getting drunk at a play that one of the family’s older siblings had written. It was one of those improbable, perfectly summer-tinted weekends that stay with you for the rest of your life, and one that I managed to totally cock up at the last minute. Saying our goodbyes on a bleary Sunday morning, my girlfriend’s friend politely asked how I had slept the night before. For whatever reason, I decided to give her a nasty, semi-sarcastic response, something along the lines of, “Pretty lousy. Thanks for sticking me on the smallest couch you could find!” My incredibly lame sense of humor lost on her, she shot me an icy glare and hissed, “I think it’s time for you to go home.” Fourteen years later, this inexplicable faux pas rattles through my head as I arrive in lovely Beloit, Wisconsin. Vital’s own Amy Elliott has graciously agreed to spirit me across county lines – and to the home of her alma mater – in hopes of saving me from certain doom at the hands of an unrelenting winter and increasingly suffocating city. Scenic strolls, cocktail parties, and absolutely no benefits for injured roller-girls have been promised (joking!). The weather calls for 60 degrees and uninterrupted, unprecedented sunshine. We’ll be staying with Amy’s friend Lynn, operating under the assumption that my houseguest manners have improved slightly in the past decade-and-a-half. Having never visited before, I’m pleasantly surprised to find Beloit a charming little getaway of a town, and absolutely nothing like the awful Kenosha/Racine hellhole I had envisioned (not joking!). Checking in at Lynn’s, we decide to take a walk through the nearby campus. Beloit College is everything my 16-year-old self imagined a college would be: sprawling, idyllic, and home to at least one guy named “Davis.” Far from the concrete nightmare of UW-Milwaukee, it’s the kind of place that reminds you that college, in fact, is a good thing. Well-worn student houses dot the grounds, and an on-campus bar/venue – the C-Haus – is busy with out-of-town bands loading in their gear. Amy even points out a dorm tower where all the, um, “indoor” kids […]
May 1st, 2008 by Matt Wild
Sentimental outing
The Cuckoo Then, on Every Tree: Three Artists Celebrate Spring May 16 – June 28 Portrait Society Gallery 207 E. Buffalo St., Suite 526 The word cuckold is derived from cuckoo. A song in Shakespeare describes spring as the time when, “the cuckoo then on every tree, mocks married men, for thus he sings: Cuckoo!” It’s said that three birds in hand are worth three in a bush – or something like that. The Cuckoo Then, on Every Tree, is what you’ll see at the Portrait Society Gallery, 207 E. Buffalo St., May 16 – June 28, with an opening reception on Friday, May 16, in Suite 526 (5-9pm). Three artists define the season via trees, wee animals and birds. It’s been a grim winter, but the willows are greening along the Milwaukee River, the squirrels are scampering, and near my home a cardinal hopefully whistles for a mate. Get out your Crocs and toe-revealing sandals. Fire up the grill. We’ve survived yet another winter. Trees are a turn-on for Slobodan Markovic (or “Bob” if you prefer), though why that is remains a mystery for this artist. It could be that with fewer and fewer trees populating the globe, memorializing the remaining ones defines his art. The same could be said of artist Michael Kasun – the bird guy – who, with Markovic, attended MIAD’s predecessor, The Milwaukee School of the Arts, in the late ‘70s. Keiler Sensenbrenner paints small-scale images of animals, for example a majestic goat. Gallery owner Debra Brehmer describes Sensenbrenner’s style as fluid and painterly, “reminiscent of Courbet or Manet,” which is a fine thing for a goat to be. Or a squirrel. A teacher at DePaul University, she makes clothes to replace her commercially manufactured wardrobe when she’s not enlightening students or making art. The third artist in the “Green” trio, Michael Kasun, began painting images of birds for the “mini” exhibit at the popular Art Bar in Riverwest. Half of his 4” x 5” (or 4”x 6”) gouache paintings in the Portrait Gallery show are of birds he has actually sighted. Kasun’s favorite spring spot for observing his feathered friends is at Perot State Park above Trempeleau, Wisconsin, and wisely, his winter spot is Florida’s Everglades. On his 2008 spring list of sightings are brown creepers, vireos, nuthatches and even tundra swans in Lake Michigan off of North Point. “The most unusual bird I’ve seen is the least bittern, an amazing small heron that looks like a feathered dinosaur or a collared lizard when it displays,” he says. Don’t ask if he has caged birds in his home, or he’ll tell you they should be “free agents on this earth,” though $50 – $80 will buy you a Kasun bird, forever captured in paint. For strictly sentimental reasons, I popped for a spunky bluejay – they were everywhere in the cornfields in the state of Iowa where I grew up. So go ahead and admit you are sentimental. Should you have a particular tree, […]
May 1st, 2008 by Vital Archives
Be careful what you wish for
Essure claims to provide non-surgical sterilization with no cutting. But there are risks with Essure's rewards, so be sure you do your homework first.
May 1st, 2008 by Lucky Tomaszek
Mom’s sweet comforts
Food has always been a human fascination that far surpasses its integral role in survival. We love things that taste good; we crave the flavors that remind us of our childhood, that excite us and that make taking nourishment an experience beyond simple sustenance. Some of us enjoy expanding our palates at a trusted bistro. For others, the sampling of new flavors invites us to recreate the experience in our own kitchens. In this new VITAL column, we’re pairing recipes from area gastronomic gurus with those of community contributors who just love to cook. All are here for your enjoyment, and for you to try at home. We hope these recipes will open up fresh and fabulous culinary territory for you, while introducing local resources for high quality and inventive foods and beverages. This month we celebrate Mother’s Day with two recipes that embody the spirit of Mom’s kitchen magic. The first is an elegant spin on an old chestnut by Chef Cristopher Taube of the Milwaukee Chop House; the second is one of my own mother’s favorite cakes that’s easy and delicious. Photo by Kevin Groen Chef Christopher Taube’s Grilled Peach Melba Milwaukee Chop House 633 N. 5th Street Milwaukee 414-226-CHOP milwaukeechophouse.com This dessert, first created in the late 19th century, was seminal French chef Auguste Escoffier’s panegyric to his favorite opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba. The original was made with vanilla ice cream and fresh peaches with a raspberry sauce. La Melba, who worried about the effect of cold ice cream on her valued vocal chords, would appreciate the unfrozen mascarpone substitution in Chef Taube’s luscious version. For the whipped mascarpone: ½ c mascarpone cheese ¼ c crème fraiche (or sour cream) 1 T honey 2 T granulated sugar In a mixing bowl with a wire whip, combine the crème fraiche, sugar and honey. A little at a time, add the mascarpone cheese, incorporating well after each addition. Cover and refrigerate until needed. For the Apple brandy gastrique: ¼ c cider vinegar ¼ c apple brandy ¼ c granulated sugar 1 T unsalted butter Combine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepot and bring to a boil, reducing until just before the caramel stage. Add the apple brandy. Continue cooking until reduced by half and remove from fire. Whisk in butter and hold warm. For Grilled Peaches and to Assemble: 1 fresh peach, halved ¼ c apple brandy gastrique ¾ c whipped mascarpone Place peaches on the grill over moderate heat and cook until tender, turning often. (You may sauté the peach halves in a small amount of butter in a saucepan instead.) Remove from the grill and cut halves into quarters. Lay two quarters on a plate in an X. Top with mascarpone mixture and drizzle generously with apple brandy gastrique. Mary Miller’s Apple Walnut Cake (Adapted from Cate Miller’s book, The Gutless Gourmet) My mother took great pride in her cooking and this cake was one of her triumphs because it’s simple, sensational and so moist […]
May 1st, 2008 by Cate Miller
