VITAL
Genesis
“Art is at its best when it’s challenging,” claimed the ballet’s Artistic Director Michael Pink after Saturday night’s performance of Genesis at the Pabst Theater. The Milwaukee Ballet’s weekend production featured the three finalists from the International Choreographer’s Competition, which were chosen from over 30 entries worldwide. The results proved to be challenging for the audience and dancers, inasmuch as there was more dance than ballet, more bare bodies than costumes, and more stage smoke than scenery. New Zealand’s Cameron McMillan presented “ESO,” which combined elements of robotics and dance that incorporated angular positions, lifts and arm movements against staccato measures of violin music. While immensely interesting and unconventional, the lyric qualities of ballet were missing as the dancers donned grey boy shorts, T-shirts, and camisoles for this contemporary composition often surrounded by smoke. “City of the Shining Jewel,” apparently a metaphor for the third chakra in Sanskrit, characterized the second selection by American-born Maurice Causey, but required little imagination when the dancers used dialogue and were left standing during the piece in what can best be described as nude undergarments. While the human body is indeed a form of beauty to be admired through the art of dance, this composition pushed the limits of this premise, crossing over into performance art with provocative couplings and movements that were indeed challenging to see on stage. The last performance, “The Games We Play” by Australia’s Timothy O’Donnell, won first place in the competition, which Pink announced at the evening’s end. The female dancers en pointe, dressed with delicately covered arms and torsos but paired again with men in boy shorts, applied the movements of “ballet” to this often-frenetic choreography that may speak to a society with too little time for real relationships. O’Donnell revealed his piece represented people he knew within his life conceived into a story framework that helped create his original composition. Awarding this last piece first place perhaps speaks to the fact that audiences appreciate seeing the stories in life expressed through the art of dance while enjoying the beauty of costumes and musical accompaniment that encompasses classical ballet elements. And while classical and contemporary dance must coexist to invest in the future of ballet, a clear understanding of those defining elements that make ballet unique from other dance forms helps distinguish ballet as a timeless art. A desire to accomplish this together with the quality of the entire company, which the Milwaukee Ballet proficiently showcased when they rose to the challenge of superbly performing these three selections, creates memorable evenings. This will again be demonstrated for the recently announced 2009-2010 season when The Milwaukee Ballet returns to stories and favorite fairy tales that never grow old, including the world premiere of Peter Pan. Holding the promise of regal costumes and ballet choreography that provides family entertainment, these offerings may capture the magic for the future art enthusiast’s attention and interest, another challenge for all the arts in today’s culture. Complete schedule and ticket information for the Milwaukee Ballet can […]
Mar 30th, 2009 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
Peepers
So get busy already. You have until Sunday, April 5th to do your Marshmallow Peep Show project and take it to the Sugar Maple smoke-free bar at 441 E. Lincoln Avenue in trendy Bay View. No entry fee; no jury, so hurry. Be there from 2-6pm. No self-respecting serious artists need show their faces, but all others seeking fun can price their peep art, and if it sells, believe it or not Ripley, they won’t have to pay a commission. A suggested donation of $2 at the door will go to the Bay View Community Center and special peep-inspired cocktails will be served by Sugar Maple .Organized by artist Nicole Hauser, a sweet treat herself, she’s back after a two year hiatus with hopes you’ll be inspired by this year’s hatching of those little fowls with beady eyes. And from the artist herself: Hi Friends, As many of you know, I am bringing back the “Peep Show” on Sunday, April 5th from 2-6 pm at the SUGAR MAPLE. However, Cafe Lulu is advertising that they are bringing back the Peep Show – and on the very same day!! They didn’t change the name or make any attempts to contact me first. Please, don’t be fooled by imposters!! Thanks and hope to see you at the ORIGINAL PEEP SHOW – #4. Sincerely, Nicole Reid and Cathrine Friedmann
Mar 28th, 2009 by Stella Cretek
A Not-At-All Academic Comparision of Let the Right One In and Twilight
Fig.1: Frodo of the Shire checks out Arwen Evenstar’s Elven tush (I think he’s on a footstool) When it comes to horror, I’ve always been all about the zombies. Until recently, my list of favorite horror movies was probably interchangeable with my list of favorite zombie movies: Dead Alive, Dawn of the Dead (the original, although it pained me to admit that the remake was actually pretty serviceable, despite the aerial shot of “Milwaukee” with all the in-ground pools), and 28 Days Later all take some piece of the zombie mythos and make it special for me, especially Dawn and 28 Days, both of which use zombies as a mirror of humanity in some respect (which is what the best horror and sci-fi movies do). And then of course there’s Shaun of the Dead, which somehow manages to do the same while being hilarious. But in 2008, it was all about vampires. It started with the HBO series True Blood, which I will now summarize for you (because I watched every ridiculously-entertaining-despite-itself episode) in twelve words: Sookie Sookie fuck Sookie, fuck fuck, Jason’s dick, blood tits fuck Sookie. Fig.2: Compare with the Shire photo and tell me which movie you’d rather watch? But the hell with the adult vamps; 2008 was all about immortal bloodsuckers trapped in the bodies of teens and pre-teens. In Sweden, this meant the release of Let the Right One In, a beautifully understated horror drama about the relationship between two painfully lonely 12-year-olds, Oskar and Eli, one of which has been twelve for a long, long time. In America (because 200+ years later, America is still the equivalent of Europe if its mother fed it crack in the womb), this meant the premiere of Twilight, a romantic comedy about a constipated teen vampire named Edward Cullen who falls in love with Bella, the new girl in his chemistry class, simply because she makes him jizz in his pants upon first sight (according to animated gifs on the internet, anyway). Also, vampires take chemistry class, because that’ll come in handy on that college application so you can go to school and WAIT YOU DON’T NEED TO OPERATE IN EVERYDAY SOCIETY BECAUSE YOU’RE A GODDAMN VAMPIRE. It’s probably unfair to compare the two—heck, Twilight author Stephenie Meyer admits she didn’t even know that much about vampire mythology when she wrote the damn thing (then again, all the more reason to take her to task, eh?)—but plenty of reviewers took that path already, lazily mentioning both movies in the same breath even though the age of the principal characters is about all the movies have in common with each other. And heck, since when has Cultural Zero been about fairness? Having already seen Right One multiple times (and yes, I’m aware of the controversy involving the DVD’s subtitles, so everyone can stop sending me links already, Jeebus), some friends and I popped in Twilight last weekend and watched both films back-to-back. As expected, comparing the two was like […]
Mar 26th, 2009 by DJ Hostettler
The School for Wives
On a sparse but well used stage, laughter filled the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center when teenage thespians, known as “The Young Company,” presented Moliere’s classic The School for Wives. Under the leadership of accomplished actor and Associate Artistic Director John Maclay, First Stage Theater Academy’s advanced pre-professional training program for high school students inventively added an interesting diversion to the casting. All the roles (except one) were inverted by gender so a six-foot tall African American male actor enhanced the shape of sweet, naive Agnes. If reversing roles seems absurd, this casting twist imparts Moliere’s words with even more wit. To hear Arnolphe, as a tiny young woman bound in suit and tie, apply the script’s criticism to her own sex, “with regards to their frailty, silliness, and that their souls are bad,” immediately impacts the meaning and upends the play. A light dose of contemporary music, including the song “Staying Alive,” also add to the tongue-in-cheek tone of this French farce that observes the dynamics of femininity, masculinity and marriage playing against age and destiny. The story relates the tale of Arnolphe, a 42-year old man who has groomed his ward Agnes to be his bride since she was age four, but denies her individuality and intellect in hopes she will never stray after matrimony. But all it takes is one look from the right young man, Horace, to win her heart by affirming her intelligence and insight. With the combination of mistaken identities and motives characteristic of Moliere’s plots, fate eventually intervenes in Arnolphe’s calculated plans. Fine acting by Jeremy Tardy, costumed with white heels and a bow tied bonnet, creates a young Agnes who is charming, capable and clearheaded to great effect, a difficult role when played by the appropriate sex. As the maid Georgette, Joe Mazza captures this personality with affable eccentricity. The young women, especially Kelley Annesley, Madeline Bunke, and Rachel Schmeling, handle the male counterparts with complete ease, while the entire cast gives Moliere’s coupled dialogue an approachable and familiar rhythm. Many of the 40 Young Company members also work behind the scenes on technical skills because the purpose of this First Stage program is training youth in every phase of theater by working with the top professionals of the regional area, which extends beyond Milwaukee to as far away as Minneapolis and Chicago. Annual auditions determine this select group that additionally prepares for National Shakespeare Competitions across the country where they often garner top honors. The Young Company’s next performance happens May 8-9 with the world premiere of The Body of Christopher Reed, a weekend opportunity to view the impressive achievements of one of the largest Theater Academies for youth in America. Complete event listings for this and all things happening on Milwaukee stages can be found at Footlights online.
Mar 26th, 2009 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
let’s get small
It’s been another terrible week for newspapers. Four Michigan cities will soon be without dailies; Reuters reported yesterday that Conley Media is cutting the Monday editions of the Waukesha Freeman and the West Bend Daily News (what will they call it now?); Cox Publications is cutting about 245 jobs at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Hearst Corp. is relieving about 200 employees of their positions at the Houston Chronicle; the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is likely to see another round of layoffs very soon as well. These cuts represent staff reductions of 10 to 30-percent at their respective institutions, outpacing even the grim overall decline in American jobs exponentially. This is just one week, not even worse than last week, or the week before. We all get it. The newspaper iceberg is melting faster than polar bear habitat. Many journalists I talk to now have shifted their thinking from wondering when flood will subside to setting up their music stands on deck. This latter carries a certain air of tragic nobility, but it’s really a crying shame. Even iconic Madison newsman and WPRI think-tanker Marc Eisen seems unable to move beyond the mathematics of hopelessness. And that, if you have followed his illustrious and dedicated career, is not a good sign. Think about it: if the very people who hold our best hope for preserving journalism have given up, then what chance do we have? It’s time to think small In the now-notorious TIME Magazine article from February 5, 2009, former managing editor Walter Isaacson proposes that a micro-pay system for accessing online news content could help to rebuild plummeting newspaper revenue and decrease journalism’s reliance on the will and whims of advertisers. Regrettably, the article has been widely dismissed by many in the industry who are dead certain that readers will not pay for content. I beg to differ. We willingly pay for premium television, for cell phone service, for high-speed Internet, for satellite radio, for GPS service. We buy music on the web. We pay monthly subscription fees for web-based services and to download books to our Kindles. There was great resistance to all of these things at first, but in the end, appetite overtook the reluctance to pony up. I don’t understand why it would be different for news, which has never been consumed in such quantities as it is today. But despite how obvious it seems to me (and other, far more qualified minds), this thinking is widely dismissed by the dwindling journalism community itself as over-simplistic. “People will still find a way to steal it” is one argument, as is “Someone will always be willing to provide it for free.” So what? What about the thousands of pirate music sites you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting? As far as I can tell, the fact that people will continue to steal music didn’t keep iTunes from selling $3.4 billion worth of songs, 99-cents at a time, in 2008. That’s an $840 million increase over 2007, despite the […]
Mar 26th, 2009 by Jon Anne Willow
A handful of observations
AUGUST RUSH I’ll put August Rush on the ring finger because it is a fantasy romance and I think of marriage that way lately. I don’t really like the picture, except that the romance is mostly told with music, and Freddie Highmore, the child actor from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Finding Neverland, is the star. A friend of mine started a play of hers with a quote from Kurt Vonnegut: “If I should die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC.” I think this film’s embrace of music – and of the possibility that a human can be gifted beyond understanding – suggests the existence of God as well. It’s the shots of people listening that give me that rush of emotion, that make me tear up and gasp. It’s true especially in films about music, but I think in any film about art and artistic expression, the key moment is the appreciation of the action, the moment when everything is redeemed because the audience actually hears what is being played, sung, spoken, acted, or expressed and recognizes that something extraordinary is happening, that a window is being opened into a soul and a life is being exposed with grace and dignity. My heart goes to the audience because, if Kurt Vonnegut is right, the artist walks with God, and in a way brings that as a gift to the listener. The moments of recognition in August Rush gave me that. GOLDFINGER and QUANTUM OF SOLACE The middle finger and the thumb … I spent the weekend at an autograph show with Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson and Shirley Eaton. Shirley Eaton was the beautiful blond who betrayed Gert Frobe in Goldfinger, my favorite of the early James Bond movies. I hope that one of my last memories will be of Shirley Eaton, dead and naked, lying across Sean Connery’s bed, painted gold. If I’m still having erotic thoughts – and that is the hope – one of them will be of her. Goldfinger was 1964 and she still holds up. Fine featured and elegant, wearing gold tones, a very gracious lady and charming with the many fans that came to see her. The early Bond films celebrated a particularly decorative notion of maleness. They also celebrated the notion of the female as decoration. The new Bond, starting with Casino Royale and Daniel Craig, redefines maleness and the position of the female in his life. Craig’s Bond is a thug, a brutal man with the focus and concentration of a soldier machine who learns charm, social grace and maybe humanity itself when he falls in love with a woman. In the sequel, Quantum of Solace, which came out on DVD and Blu-Ray on Tuesday, he is set on revenge for her death at the end of Casino Royale. It’s a James Bond with human feelings and fast cars and million dollar stakes at the gaming table. But […]
Mar 26th, 2009 by Mark Metcalf
Art and money
It’s hard to keep your eyes off the blood on the walls. I’m talking about the work of Steve Somers, a graduate of both Milwaukee’s High School of the Arts and MIAD. He’s worked as a curator, exhibited at the now-defunct Luckystar Gallery, the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of several Cedar Block events, and most recently at the Acrylic Age Gallery in Berlin (Germany – not Wisconsin). We’re in his home discussing a few things – chiefly how he walks the line between making a living and making art. Steve spends his days working commercially for clients like McDonald’s and Disney and spends his free time painting (as well as putting together a self-published book of his own work – Individuals in a Group – available later this year). I’d look out of touch if I didn’t ask the most obvious question – the one you can’t escape from these days: “Has the economy effected your work?” Steve initially answers “No,” and then, quickly, “But I haven’t scheduled any shows this year.” Steve explains that he’s going to spend the time “working on bigger pieces; more epic works” and that he’s challenging himself and “concentrating on painting.” No one could ever look at Steve’s work – chuck-full of festering wounds, contorted figures writhing in agony and bizarre plant life – and accuse him of playing to the consumer, but he echoes what I’ve heard from several area artists. Instead of following the retail trend to lower prices and produce smaller less expensive work artists have begun just get back to basics – making art. An upside to the current economic slump? Well, there’s got to be a silver lining – right? Art made with the purest of intentions, bucking the decade long trend of art for commerce and returning to art for art’s sake, sounds 99.9% pure. See Steve’s art: http://stevesomersart.com/
Mar 26th, 2009 by Gene Evans
What Should Matt Write? Wednesdays
Welcome to the 47th installment of “What Would Jesus…No, Wait…What Should Matt Write? Wednesdays,” the criminally underrated blog that gives you, the reader (Hi Steve!), the chance to determine what my next criminally underrated blog should be about. If you’re a little foggy on how the whole thing works (and who isn’t these days?), it breaks down like this: I present the opening lines from some unfinished junk I’ve been working on, and you vote for the one you’d like to see me finish. You can do this by simply leaving a comment on the bottom of this page, or, preferably, by stopping by my apartment and delivering your vote in person. Please? I’m so lonely, so scared, so… Ahem. Without further ado – save for a completely necessary picture of Aunt Jackie from Roseanne – here are this week’s candidates. Have fun! Laurie Metcalf: 1955-2006. Also good in Uncle Buck. 1. “If there’s a single subject guaranteed to annoy/bore the pants off of everyone, it has to be the endless ‘death of journalism’ debate. Here’s a helpful hint: if you ever find yourself reading a blog – yes, a blog bemoaning the state of journalism! – and it includes the terms ‘new model,’ ‘blogosphere,’ or ‘Are you as disgusted by the state of American journalism as we are? Don’t forget to become a fan of us on Facebook!’ turn off your computer, step away from your desk, and call 911: you’re about to kill yourself.” 2. “So as to not offend ThirdCoast’s many senior citizen readers/writers, the following blog will be free of any vulgarities, obscenities, or otherwise crass language. But seeing that it won’t go live until long after 7PM, maybe I’m in the clear; aren’t you fucking people in bed already? Whoops! 3. “DJ, you ignorant slut.” 4. “If you’re a regular follower of my ThirdCoast blog, you know what a pleasure it is for me to share my innermost thoughts, my deepest fears, and my quick and easy scrapbooking tips. Also, if you’re a regular follower of my ThirdCoast blog, you must have the patience of a saint: seriously, what’s up with the ‘navigation’ on this site? Sometimes my stuff pops up, sometimes it doesn’t. Did someone say ‘Sounds like my honeymoon?’ Thank you.” 5. “Twitter: boy oh boy, old people can’t get enough of this shit.” That’s it for this week! Feel free to pay tribute to the state of Illinois by voting as many times as you like. I’ll have the completed piece posted sometime next week, after which I’ll take everyone who voted out to dinner. Please? It’ll be fun, really! You just don’t understand how alone and cold and empty and scared a man can be. Oh, God…I can…I can feel Death’s grip tightening, ever tightening… See you next time!
Mar 24th, 2009 by Matt Wild
the Comet (or Fuel, or Palomino, or wherever) “Rockstar Menu”
Fig.1: Taking Back Sunday. Would you trust these douches to hire a marketing firm to design your lunch? Hola, amigos. How’s it going with you? I know it’s been a long time since I rapped at ya. I’d like to say that I’ve been putting off my first Third Coast Digest blog post because of something important, but I won’t hose you—I’ve been playing way too damn much Lexulous over on Facebook. If the internet is an opiate of masses, Lexulous is heroin—you sit down at your desk, think “all right goddamn it, this time I’m gonna finish that rant about the majesty of broasted chicken that’s sitting on my mac’s desktop,” and suddenly you’re all, “but first, I’m gonna see if I have any Lexulous moves to make” and before you know it you’re unconscious in front of your computer at 7 AM with three games up, a bottle of Jack and a Google search that reads “Meg White COME ON SHOW ME HER NAKED” that yields no results. Anyway. So Saturday night I was at the Denny’s in Waukesha—excuse me, Rockesha–after going to see some Great Lakes Championship Wrestling with some pals (the main event of which featured Scott “50-Year-Old Beer Gut Wrapped in an ICP T-Shirt” Hall and Kevin “Debateably Sexy” Nash of the long-irrelevant nWo vs. The Old Dog Jesse James and the “Dear God you’re in your 40s and you’re wearing pink wrestling trunks with lips on them and an obvious thong, holy shit you’re embarrassing to look at” Billy Gunn, aka 90s WWE tag team The New Age Outlaws. Man, there’s no better Saturday night than one spent watching creepy old drunk dudes pretend to hit each other—am I right, North Side? They called it “the match they didn’t want you to see,” referring to some apparent cease-and-desist order sent by the WWE, but I’m guessing they didn’t want us to see it because they knew it’d be a stinker and they were concerned about our wallets in these troubled economic times). Have you been to a Denny’s lately? I mean, even if it’s just to dine ironically, it’s not a bad thing to slum once in a while, and really, it’s no worse for you than anything at Palomino (although, ok, sure, fewer vegan options for those of you who have forgotten bacon is awesome. Fine). Fig.2: Hall and Nash in happier, thinner, less Juggalo-infused times So I’m paging through the menu and I stop across the “Allnighter Rockstar menu” and I immediately begin laughing. There in front of me for my ordering pleasure are the “Taking Back Burger Fries” “by” Taking Back Sunday, and the “Plain White Shake” “by” Plain White T’s (which at least is appropriate—something vanilla and bland). Apparently I’m not the first one in Blogsylvania who’s WTF’d at this, either: I’m just not sure how to feel about this, and that’s what scares me. Should I feel guilty because it makes me hungry? Is it just biz as usual? […]
Mar 23rd, 2009 by DJ Hostettler
Episode #2 – Shakespeare & Copyrights
Shakespeare and Copyrights – This week on the ThirdCoast Podcast, Mark Metcalf sits down with former Milwaukee Shakespeare artistic director Paula Suozzi to discuss the closing of Milwaukee Shakespeare last October. The voice of the Brew City Bruisers, Tea Krulos shares his displeasure with copyrighting names and phrases, and Nick Schurk interviews Lee Darrins, a young philanthropist who helps disadvantaged youth with indie rock compilation CD’s. Play Here Subscribe with iTunes Featured Music: The Loose Crew – “Background Check” and “Introspective” www.myspace.com/loosecrew612 First Aid Kit – “Our Own Pretty Ways” www.myspace.com/thisisfirstaidkit Amen and the Hell Yeahs – “1820 Columbus Avenue” www.myspace.com/amenandthehellyeahs Uncle Jerry – “See Rock City Rock” www.myspace.com/unclelarry ——————————————————————————————————————————————— Next Week: Words from Adam Carr on canvassing for Obama and the issue of race, Noah Therrien reports on Captel, a captioned phone service, and the concentration of Riverwest residents employed there, and Fan-Belt gives us their bi-weekly musical report. Hosted by Amy Elliott
Mar 20th, 2009 by ThirdCoast Podcast
It’s time to change the conversation
Newspapers are too often confused with news. But if the container no longer works, it's time to find one that does. This is a re-post (with additions) of an earlier story.
Mar 19th, 2009 by Jon Anne Willow
Could MORE Ordinance mean fewer jobs?
As of this writing, the City of Milwaukee Common Council has yet to hold its full Council meeting on March 25. This will be a hugely important session to many for two reasons – one legislative and one symbolic. Actually, both are symbolic in some ways. First, assuming it passes the Finance & Personnel Committee (which is likely), the Council will take up the emotionally contentious MORE ordinance. Actually, It was originally dubbed MORE – “Milwaukee Opportunities for Restoring Employment” – but now it has a different name: CPO, “Community Participation Ordinance.” Whatever the latest name happens to be, this legislation is the latest incarnation of “Community Benefits,” which was passed for Milwaukee County’s portion of the Park East (still a desert) but was denied for the City’s portion. (Joe Zilber’s “The Brewery,” Gorman affordable housing, etc.) In terms of grassroots activism, there aren’t many who can compete with the MORE/CPO backers. Good Jobs Livable Neighborhoods and MICAH are two big proponents. And alders Hamilton, Wade, Coggs and Kovac are spearheading the Council effort. The Mayor, perhaps trying to atone for his take on paid sick leave, has even vowed to sign it. But, as always, there is one sticking point: prevailing wage. Most of the central city and left-leaning aldermen (and alderwomen) are in support of large development projects receiving City financial assistance (at least $1 million) being required to pay a prevailing wage to all workers. Sounds good, right? But as with most of life, it’s a little more complicated than that. Alone on an island, Pres. Willie Hines – a former roofer and economic specialist for the Milwaukee Urban League – is opposing his central city colleagues, because he’s afraid a “100-percent prevailing wage mandate,” as he calls it, will actually hurt minority developers and push jobs out into the suburbs. He may have a point. Melissa Goins, Kalan Haywood, Carla Cross and other smaller, minority developers – as well as the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Milwaukee Urban League – have also been vocal in their opposition to the prevailing wage mandate. They say that they already pay a “family-sustaining wage,” and that the prevailing wage would give all business to the (mostly white) unions. Smaller and minority companies usually compete on price. They may pay slightly lower wages, but they have skilled workers just like the unions. Naturally, the business community – and large developers – are also against the 100-percent prevailing wage mandate. (Currently these projects pay mostly a prevailing wage anyway. And public works projects are 100 percent prevailing wage.) They say that it’s tough enough to for them to create jobs in this economy, and if the measure passes it will give them even more reason to build out in the suburbs. Idle threat or profound wisdom? No matter whose side you’re on, there will surely be plenty of fireworks at the Council meeting on March 25. It will be the place to be for activists, construction firms, unions, minority-owned developers and […]
Mar 19th, 2009 by Dan Corcoran
