2008-10 Vital Source Mag – October 2008

• VITAL Source 2008 Halloween Guide!

  Oct 1st, 2008 by Amy Elliott

  A Theater of Lost Souls October 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24-26, 29-31; November 1 500 E County Y, Oshkosh A Theater of Lost Souls has been completely redesigned in 2008 to give you one of the most frightful Halloween experiences in the area, complete with monsters, a black light theater, and “Your Last Ride” – a too-freaky-to-be-believed funeral simulator. Only for the bravest and most sound of sanity. 920-731-8555 or atheateroflostsouls.com Bear Den Haunted Woods October 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, November 1 6831 Big Bend Rd., Waterford Arrive at the Bear Dean Haunted Woods via hearse, then see if you have the mettle to survive a hike through a “feasting graveyard of the walking dead.” The whole attraction takes place in the woods, and it’s been consistently rated one of the scariest in the region. Not to be missed! 262-895-6430 or beardenzoo.com Burial Chamber Haunted House October 3-4, 10-12, 16-19, 23-26, 29-31; November 1 500 N. Lake Street, Neenah The Burial Chamber Haunted House is actually four attractions in one, including two indoor haunted houses, one outdoor haunted house and FOUR burial simulators. Creepy. This Hollywood-style haunted complex was voted #1 by Haunted Wisconsin last year. burialchamber.com Deadly Intentions Haunted Yard October 30, 31; November 1 1621 N 26th St., Sheboygan Here’s something different: this home haunt in Sheboygan is legendary, and its intimacy is what gives it its frightful potency. Leave the kids at home for this free haunt – there’s lots of blood and gore. But how can you pass up a personal scare in someone’s yard? You shouldn’t. 920-254-4354 Dominion of Terror October 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24-26, 29-31; November 1 2024 North 15th Street, Sheboygan The Dominion of Terror is over 30 years in the making. No room is ever the same and the horrifying characters you’ll encounter are brandnew. Dominion of Terror lives up to its name as one of the most mind-bending and gruesome festivals of insanity in the area. 920-918-2270 or dominionofterror.com Fall River Chamber of Horrors October 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 31; November 1 W1404 Heppe Road, Fall River The Fall River Chamber of Commerce presents the Chamber of Horrors, a snaking series of long halls, dark corners and sentinel scarecrows. Afterward catch a scary movie on the lawn or take a hayride through the corn field – a great way to unwind after a great scare. 920-484-6099 Fright Hike October 31; November 1 Lapham Peak State Park, W329 N849 Highway C, Delafield How does that story go about dark woods in the middle of the night? There are probably dozens of urban legends that begin – and end – with a hike through the wilderness, and you can live out the terror with a one-mile Fright Hike through the terrifying trails of Lapham Peak State Park. Spooky! 262-364-7773 or frighthike.com Gilly’s Haunted House October 3, 4, 10, 11, 17-19, 23-26, 30, 31 1559 W. Forest Home Ave., Milwaukee A dilapidated big tent is the setting […]

• Jolie Holland

  Oct 1st, 2008 by Amber Herzog

  Things don’t always turn out as they should, but Texasborn singer/songwriter Jolie Holland has no desire to turn life’s lemons into anything but woeful songs. With addiction, depression, and both shattered hearts and dreams rampant, the fine line between dead and alive is often indistinguishable. It’s not ideal listening material for those with suicidal tendencies, but fans of the country-blues will find Holland’s fourth studio release relaxed and fluent. Holland’s warm fiddling on “Sweet Loving Man,” which could play on any smoky small-town bar’s jukebox, makes it a favorite. Though her warbling vocal style borders on annoying when it’s too ambitious (is there a tongue depressor in her mouth?), her whistling on the disc’s two most traditionalsounding folk songs, “You Painted Yourself In” and “Love Henry” is beyond impressive, and could easily be mistaken for singing saw. Portlanders M. Ward and Rachel Blumberg (formerly of the Decemberists) make notable contributions — Ward’s rock-influenced guitar on “Your Big Hands” adds pick-me-up spunk to sad-sack lyrics, and Blumberg’s drumming, particularly on “Corrido Por Buddy” and “Mexico City,” has just enough heft and meter to keep the arrangements from dragging. Dishes clang behind the giggly acoustic cover of “Enjoy Yourself” (“it’s later than you think”), and though it seems like an unnecessary, tack-on closing track, it seals in the admirably pragmatic outlook Holland has been singing about throughout: “I’ll dance at your funeral/if you dance at mine”(“Palmyra”).

• Visual Arts Picks

  Oct 1st, 2008 by Stella Cretek

  On Thursday, September 4, a video tribute dedicated to the victims of September 11, 2001 aired at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. It prompted a visibly upset MSNBC commentator, Keith Olbermann, to apologize for its insensitivity. A week later, he was yanked as anchor for the November 4 election coverage. “Razor blades. Pocketknives. Scissors. Corkscrews. Nail clippers. Lighters. Match boxes. Innocent, everyday items, once routinely carried onto planes, took on different meanings after the events of September 11, 2001.” So reads a press release for Michele Pred: (dis) possessions, now through October 12 at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan. Pred’s materials? Personal items (yours, mine) confiscated at airport security checkpoints. A California artist who exhibits globally, her “Fear Culture” features red, white and blue Petri dishes, each containing a seized object. Assembled to resemble an American flag, it challenges the core of American freedom – rather than preaching, it informs in a minimalist manner. It’s a good fit with the October 5 lecture in the Lubar Auditorium at MAM. Listen (for free) to “Monument Men” survivor Harry Ettlinger, who helped rescue artistic and cultural items plundered by the Nazis during World War II. Prints in MAM’s Gallery 13, titled The First World War: Its Horror and Its Aftermath, will prod you forward to November 4. On October 10, the 2007 Mary Nohl Fellowship Award event debuts at inova/Kenilworth. Photographer Kevin Miyazaki’s Camp Home series records the Tule Lake Japanese internment camp where his father and his family were placed during World War II. And on Gallery Night, October 17 the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design’s Media Projects 2008 (curated by artist/ MIAD professor Jason S. Yi) includes the work of Bethany Springer, who explores place and its relationship to biology, terrorism, communication and security; at Dean Jensen Gallery, The Newspaper House unfolds. Peruse the newsy walls, inside and out, while considering the fragility of nature, and further, the fragility of life as the elections loom. Stop.look.listen: an exhibition of video works (from 14 global artists) starts October 23 at the Haggerty Museum of Art. Janet Biggs’ two-channel video installation (Predator and Prey, 2006) will air on huge plasma screens, similar to those displaying the 9-11 video at the Republican Convention. Images: past, present, and future. What is their role in shaping our perceptions in the year 2008 and beyond? VS