March 28, 2012

Reviews
the talentless rapper T-Pain. It may not be heavy usage of the auto-tune but anything really is too much. Although the auto-tune disaster did put a damper on the album, Fun.s second album, Some Nights is worth the listen. Following its debut album, Aim and Ignite, Some Nights has the different elements avid listeners have come to expect from the band. The album kicks off with an introduction to the title song Some Nights which is a fun, playful song centered around the voice of Nate Ruess, former lead singer of The Format. For those who havent heard Fun., Ruess voice closely resembles the voice of Canned Heats Bob Hite only with more soul and attitude. The music is playful, upbeat, and well, fun, but it is also mixed with the darkness of infidelity and lifes struggles. In what appeared to be an attempt to make up for the auto-tune debacle, Fun. went above and beyond with the monumental classic We are Young. With its slow drum beat and clean piano, the song builds and builds as the band layers in more instruments and voices. The song features Janelle Mone as the back-up voice and if I may offer a word of advise, listeners would do themselves a favor to crank up the

A&E
volume and let the music consume them. It Gets Better, the fifth song on the album, features a sound that resembles Blink-182s early style. Driving drums, simple guitar riffs and the voice to match it, it felt like I was listening to Blink-182s Take off your pants and jacket more than Fun.s new album. In Why Am I the One, the band throws string instruments into the mix to add another dimension to the album. As is the case with most albums, this has a dark horse song, one that seems mediocre at best at first listen but transforms the more it is listened to. For this album, that has to be All All Right. The song isnt overly complicated but its shocking to think that a three person band can create the sound this song has. The last two songs on the album, One Foot and Stars round out the album with two good songs that continue to showcase the variety of songs available on this Fun. album. With Nate Ruess on lead vocals, Andrew Dost playing almost every instrument imaginable, and Jack Antonoff on guitar, this ten song album has the elements needed to be a fan favorite for years to come.

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3-29

GRCC Performance Arts

GRCC International Guitar Series The California Guitar Trio

@GRCC Music Center Recital Hall (Room 200) $10 General Admission $7 Students & Seniors -7:30 p.m.

Fun.

Courtesy of Atlantic Records

Some Nights
FFFGG

By Austin Metz

Editor in Chief
It started with such potential, such promise. A beautiful opening introduction that transitioned into the song Some Nights. It had everything you would expect from a Fun. album. That voice. That guitar. That auto-tune. Wait, what? Everybody stop what they are doing.... Fun. did what? Its true, mixed throughout the album, Fun. made the mistake to throw in the always terrible auto-tune which was made famous by

A piano scholarship fundraiser Featuring GRCC piano faculty & their students @GRCC Music Center Recital Hall (Room 200) Suggested Donation $5 -7:30 p.m.

Pianorama VII

3-30

Actors Theatre presents Ampersand

by Vincent Delaney @Spectrum Theater -8:00 p.m.

3-29 to 3-31

Hunger Games wins hearts

By Lizz Vensas
Staff Writer
This is going to be a hit movie. Regardless of my review, this will be a box office success and you can thank one major age group tweens. That golden age before puberty, but after you start to discovered that you like nail polish and he likes video games. The down and dirty truth is that the tweens are not far off on this one. Hunger Games is an adaptation of the hit book series by Suzzanne Collins. The series includes three books, this being the first installment. At its core, this is not a love story. Twentyfour kids are fighting to the death in an arena, being nationally broadcast for the entertainment of members of the capital city in a futuristic dystopian world. The Games are a way to remind the less fortunate of their place in society. The series follows the adventure of Katniss Everdeen and her struggle to save her sister and get out of the arena alive. For those of us that read the books, we could not wait for this movie to come any sooner. The bummer is, within the first five minutes into the movie a major side plot was taken out. It is never properly explained why the Mockingjay bird or pin was so important. In my opinion, the major symbol for the book series and movie was not given justice. Other small plot changes did occur, but nothing major that wouldnt have been expected in a book to movie adaptation. My only other beef with the movie is that the character of Katniss was not given any ability to voice an internal monologue. In the book, she struggles with even having emotions, and not just focusing on survival. That said, any scene where Katniss touched Peeta, her potential love interest, was turned into a 13-year-old girls dream come true. To me it turned a movie

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3-29

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Doctors Wives/Corrosive Kids/Everyone and their empty cups -FREE 9:30 p.m. 3-29Revival with Elephant special guests The Wallace Collective @Founders -FREE

3-31
The character Katniss, played by Jennifer Lawrence, fights for her life in the arena in the film, Hunger Games. that would appeal to all ages and both sexes a little bit sappy. On to the good now: visually this is going to be one of the most exciting movies of 2012. The capital and the outrageous fashion of its citizens were brought to life with excellent set work and CGI. The capital, known for its advanced technology and complex architecture was given the proper attention it deserved. Expect to be assaulted, in a pleasurable manor, by the bright hair colors, awe-inspiring outfits, and unbelievable landscapes. The gaming arena was also laid out in a spectacular way. Creating a world inside of a world is no easy task. Director Garry Ross brilliantly brings the game arena control room to life, something never fully described in the book. Overall, the acting was great. Each actor melded seamlessly into their character. Wardrobe and make-up did an excellent job making several well-known actors unrecognizable. Special shout-outs have to go to Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, and
Courtesy of bestmoviesevernews.com

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Rebelution: Peace of Mind Tour @Orbit Room $20 9:00 p.m.

Woody Harrelson. The less known actors performed as well as their counterparts. Jennifer Lawrence made an unbelievably convincing Katniss. And ladies, the two male leads, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson, were also cast to satisfaction. The verdict? If you read the book, go see the movie. Even if it is just to watch your favorite characters visually come alive. It is worth going to see for the amazing job that was done in character and landscape interpretation. If you havent read the book, see the movie. I do believe this series is more versatile than it is given credit for. It has mass appeal, and will be around for quite a while. My advice however is, wait until the hype dies down. Go in a week or so. Nothing ruins a movie experience more than sharing the space with a hundred tweens. I do imagine though that any movie can be negatively impacted by hearing the 11 year old boy behind you bragging to his friends that he is drinking popcorn butter, straight up, out of the cup.

3-31

Total Blam Blams CD Release/HTAFM/Faux Fur & The Extra Texture @Pyramid Scheme $5

4-3

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Margot & the Nuclear So and Sos/Writer/Sveta Bout/A Childrens Crusade @Pyramid Scheme $12 7:00 p.m.

Foxy Shazam @The Intersection $10

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9:30 p.m.

Afro-Zuma @Founders $5