iSPY Magazine // January 2013

Ypsilanti Heritage FestivalFrank OceanThe Hounds BelowWalk the Moon

Lightning Love

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Shelby LynneRestaurant WeekEinstein on the BeachAnn Arbor Folk Festival

January 2012 // ispymagazine.co

Folk the Police

Christopher NormanLawless CarverMatt Jones and the Reconstruction

February 2012 // ispymagazine.co

The Ragbirds

Black Milk

March 2012 // ispymagazine.coM A G A Z I N E

CursiveCymbals Eat GuitarsAnn Arbor Film Festival

Horsefeathers

April 2012 // ispymagazine.co

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YelawolfWolfgang GartnerFall Fashion PreviewGreensky Bluegrass

La Sera

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THE BUZZ

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Inside iSPY Magazine

Publisher Tim Adkins

EditorialAmanda SlaterEditor in Chief

Tim Adkins & Casey Maxwell

Pakmode Media + Marketing

Bruno Postigo & Kristin Slater

Sales [print + online]tim adkins / [email protected]

[business development]bilal saeed / [email protected]

WritersAmanda Slater, Tim Adkins, Stefanie Stauffer, Richard Retyi, P aul Kitti, M arissa M cnees, Aimee Mandle, Mary Simkins, David Nassar, Jeff Milo, Easure Groh, Jasmine Zweifler

ArtDesigners

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The Washtenaw County Events and Entertainment Guide

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Publisher Tim Adkins

Editorial Amanda TrentEditor in Chief

Tim Adkins

Bruno Postigo & Kristin Slater

Sales [print + online]tim adkins / [email protected]

[business development]bilal saeed / [email protected]

WritersAmanda Trent, Tim Adkins, Stefanie Stauffer, Richard Retyi, Paul Kitti, Aimee Mandle, Mary Simkins, David N assar, J eff Milo, Treasure Groh, Jasmine Zweifler, Amelia Franceschi

ArtDesigners

Photographers

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CONTENTS

JANUARY 2013

The BuzzJeff Mangum, Seth Glier, Let’s Get Weird, Mike Vial

Keane, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Gabriel Kahane and yMusic, fun.

67

Folk the Police

Science on Screen at the Michigan Theater89

Ann Arbor Restaurant Week10

The Dish: Sava’s on State St.

Adventures in Local Food #251213

Drink Up: The Mad Scientist of the Ravens Club14

Events Calendar January 201316

Ann Arbor Folk Festival

2012 Year in Review1920

iSPY’s Top 10 Movies of 201224

Past, Present and Future Releases to Watch11

iSPY’s Top 30 Albums of 201225

Sounds: Anna Ash, Child Bite, Frontier Ruckus28The Cut: The Hobbit, Django Unchained29Snap Shot: December Events30

Scene

Foodie

Around You

Features

Review

2013The Wasthtenaw County Events

and Entertainment Monthly

124 Pearl St. Suite 407Ypsilanti, MI 48197

Phone: 734.531.8939Email: [email protected]

Inside iSPY Magazine

for more info: michtheater.org/sffusa13

tickets at ticketmaster.com and all ticketmaster outlets. charge by phone: 800-745-3000.

festival premiere: the east

january 31

an elite private intelligence agent infiltrates a mysterious anarchist group. starring ellen page,

brit marling and alexander skarsgård. With special guest appearances!

presents

sundance shortsfebruary 1

the best shorts from the 2012 sundance film festival.sponsored by greenhills school.

fri. feb. 8 • 8pm

yo la tenGo“...their warm, open-armed sound

has helped them develop one of the biggest followings in indie rock.”

—Rolling Stone

PRESENTS

A muddy Waters & hoWlin’ Wolf tribute

performed by the fabulous thunderbirds

With Kim Wilson, with jj Grey,

james cotton, and bob marGolin.

sat. feb. 98pm

TickeTS aT TickeTmaSTeR.com and all TickeTmaSTeR ouTleTS. chaRge by phone 800-745-3000.

Wed. jan. 9 • 7pmFollowed by a lecture by dr. nilton renno, UM Professor of Atmospheric, Oceanic & Space Sciences, and a member of the NASA team that discovered water on Mars. AdvANcE TickETS AT TickETwEb.cOM.

family friendly film seriespresented by the benard l. maas Foundation

The NevereNdiNg sTory (1984)

See this charming family fantasy film turned cult classic!

sun. jan. 13 1:30 pm

AdvANcE TickETS AT TickETwEb.cOM.

ann aRboR’S downTown cenTeR FoR Fine Film and The peRFoRming aRTS603 e. liberty st. • (734) 668-tiMe • Michtheater.org

free!For kids12 & under


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THE BUZZ

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Mike Vial // Woodruff’s / Jan.12BY iSPY TEAM

Seth Glier compels attention with his powerful falsetto, melodic prowess and what Performer Magazine calls his “intoxicating groove.” This 22-year-old singer, pianist and guitarist, who abandoned studies at the Berklee College of Music after one year because he “decided I should be playing for people and not for grades,” aims straight for the gut and has quickly established himself on the national scene, performing more than 200 shows a year.

Applauded for “the greatest pop songwriting since Billy Joel” by Livingston Taylor, Glier has shared stages with such diverse artists as James Taylor, Mark Knopfler, The Verve Pipe and Ellis Paul, who raves, “Talent like Seth Glier’s brings out the psychic in all of us . . . He’s gonna be huge.” He was raised on the music of Joni Mitchell, Martin Sexton and Randy Newman, but considers his brother to be his greatest influence. “My brother is autistic and non-verbal. I learned to communicate with words better once I realized how to communicate to someone without them,” he says. Seth’s soaring opening set was one of the highlights of the 2012 Ann Arbor Folk Festival. But at 7:30 p.m. on January 11, he will headline his own show at the Ark. Tickets are $15.

Seth Glier // The Ark / Jan. 11 BY iSPY TEAM

Let’s Get Weird // LIVE / Jan. 12 BY iSPY TEAM

This variety series will feature local music, theater, poets, dance and comedians and creative chaos. And January 12 will be the debut of Let’s Get Weird, featuring the music of Abigail Stauffer, Wolfie Complex and Celsius Electronics along with the creative chaos of Luna Alexander and Matthew Altruda. Threefold Productions will give a peak into their Shakespearean production of Titus Andronicus. Also featured will be Sad Tire Productions writers (Craig Draheim, Kelsea Kerkes, James Walrod & Todd Sheets) and The Sketch Troupe (Craig Draheim, Kelsea Kerkes, James Walrod, Todd Sheets, Kerry Conniff). Shows are all ages, but cater to an adult audience. However, no acts will be vulgar or done in poor taste. Let’s Get Weird premiers January 12 at LIVE in Ann Arbor. Doors are at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. and goes until 9:30 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door. The series will span six months. Future dates are February 9, March 9, April 13, May 11 and June 8.

Mike Vial is an Ann Arbor based singer-songwriter who has been compared to artists such as James Taylor, Ari Hest and Damien Rice. In the spring of 2011, he left his teaching position of eight years to pursue music full-time and hasn’t looked back since. The Lansing State Journal named his EP a “must-have” in Dec. 2011 in their top ten releases, and his new EP made the top download list in December at Noisetrade.com. He has been a guest blogger for CD Baby and Sounds That Matter.

Vial will be performing at 9 p.m. at Woodruff’s with the rest of his band, known as “the Great Lake Effect” (made up of Stuart Tucker on drums, Kevin Vines on bass/vocals, Andrew Vial on bass, David Mosher on mandolin/fiddle/guitar/vocals, Leah Taylor on keys/vocals and Hannah Fralick on guitar/keys/vocals) along with Kelsey Rottiers, Laura K Balke and Carrie McFerrin. Cover is $5.

In October of 2011, as hundreds of protestors were gathering in lower Manhattan for Occupy Wall Street, Jeff Mangum strapped on his guitar and began playing songs from his former band’s 1998 album, “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.” With some help from Livestream, Twitter and rabid word-of-mouth, the impromptu performance received almost immediate nationwide attention.

He’s had several of these spur-of-the-moment performances over the years, peeking his head out from reclusion to the delight of Neutral Milk Hotel fans. The band announced its hiatus 13 years

ago, but their fanbase continues to snowball. Countless bands have tried to imitate their legendary last album’s dreamlike poetry and scratchy acoustic instrumentation, but no one has been able to put that kind of magic on a disc.

Mangum announced in November that’d he’d be returning to the touring circuit in 2013, and I expect he’ll receive a warm welcome everywhere he goes. While there can never be another “Aeroplane Over the Sea,” you can expect something special at the Redford Theatre in Detroit on January 12.

Jeff Mangum // Redford Theatre / Jan. 12BY PAUL KITTI

THE BUZZ

7 www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

i SPY

Magazine // J

ANUARY 2013

BY AMANDA TRENTWriting and performing music that moves

effortlessly from dense modernism to spare vernacular song, pianist, composer and singer Gabriel Kahane has established himself as a leading voice among a generation of young indie composers redefining music for the 21st century. Kahane performs with a variety of influential artists, including Chris Thile, Brad Mehldau, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and his father, the noted pianist and conductor Jeffrey Kahane. He has also written the music and lyrics for “February House,” which ran at New York City’s Public Theater in 2012.

New to UMS, but not to Ann Arbor (he has performed at the Kerrytown Concert House), Kahane will be performing songs from his latest album, “Where Are The Arms,” along with material drawn from his diverse songbook and musical theater compositions at 7:30 p.m. on January 17 and at 8 p.m. on January 18 at the Arthur Miller Theatre, where he will perform with friends and collaborators yMusic, featuring guitarist/violinist Rob Moose (Bon Iver, Antony and the Johnsons) and trumpet player CJ Camerieri (Sufjan Stevens, American Composers Orchestra).

Gabriel Kahane & yMusic // Arthur Miller Theater / Jan. 17-18 BY ISPY TEAM

fun. // The Fillmore / Jan. 26

BY PAUL KITTI

If 2012 had an official anthem, it would likely be credited to NYC’s fun. for their inescapable single “We Are Young.” But they have no intentions of resting on that one hit – or resting at all, for that matter. The hard-working and hard-partying threesome were recently nominated for six Grammys, including Album of the Year for sophomore effort “Some Nights.” What began as a comeback project for singer Nate Reuss (formerly of The Format) has already lapped his previous success with an irresistible formula that combines heart-on-your-sleeve with bombastic musical drives. But what’s really great about fun. – and why we want them making anthems for years to come – is their ability to take the small, quiet feelings and problems we all experience and turn them into charging cries that ring throughout the universe. Their January 26 show at the Fillmore in Detroit is already sold out, so you may have to get creative if you want to party with these guys.

In 1997, Chris Martin invited keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley to join his cool new band, Coldplay. In a seemingly simple but ultimately life-bending moment, Rice-Oxley declined the offer and continued playing with The Lotus Eaters, who we know today as Keane. It’s interesting to think how his decision may have altered our current musical landscape: Coldplay’s mostly guitar-driven ballads (think “Parachutes” before Martin developed as a pianist) went on to define twenty-first century stadium rock, while Keane popularized an unfamiliar brand of pop-rock by composing songs around electronically manipulated

piano arrangements, leaving guitars completely out of the picture. They’ve since faded a bit in the U.S. – due in part to a mid-00s saturation of similar, stadium-reaching pop – but they’ve continued to sharpen their sound and distinguish themselves, most notably with 2008’s boldly experimental “Perfect Symmetry.” The year of that album’s release, two of Keane’s albums were voted by Q Magazine readers into the top 20 British albums ever made. You’ll get a chance to see why the Brits still rave about this band when they visit the Royal Oak Music Theatre on January 27.

Keane // Royal Oak Music Theatre / Jan. 27BY PAUL KITTI THE BUZZ

THE BUZZ

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals // Royal Oak Music Theatre / Jan. 17

From a show-stopping Lollapalooza performance to a critically acclaimed album, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals make the list as far as “it” bands go – and they’re certainly one of the hardest working bands out there, having played almost 200 gigs within a year. The band is made up of Grace Potter (its dynamic frontrunner, who is not only a talented lead vocalist but also plays multiple instruments), Scott Tournet (who plays guitar and harmonica), Matthew Burr (drummer), Michael Libramento (bass) and Benny Yurco (electric guitar and vocals).

In 2005, they were nominated in two categories at the Boston Music Awards, and in 2006 they won the Jammy Award for “Best New Groove” and were nominated for two Boston Music Awards. When the band released their third studio recording (self-titled) in June 2010, it peaked at No. 5 on iTunes Top 100 Albums, and #2 on iTunes Rock Albums chart, with two tracks ranking in iTunes Top 100 Rock Songs chart. Their newest album “The Lion The Beast The Beat” was released in June of 2012, debuting at 17 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album chart.

At 7 p.m. on January 17, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals will bring their fierce energy to the Royal Oak Music Theatre. Advance general admission tickets are $25 and reserved are $45.


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Robinson Crusoe on Mars Kicks off Four Month Series

There are a few events that define the spirit of our little Ypsi-Arbor community and distinguish just what makes us so damn special. Things like The Shadow Art Fair and Mittenfest are among them, but a relative newcomer that I would argue has earned a place in the pantheon is Ann Arbor’s Folk the Police. It stands alone as the only evening of its ilk in the area: a transmutation of rap into folk. Each year it stands against the second night of the imposing institution of the Ann Arbor Folk Festival – like David and Goliath. But we all know how that story ended. Folk the Police is the brainchild of local music kingmaker/host of Treetown Sounds on 107.1/friend of iSPY Matthew Altruda, and no one knows from what strange corner of his brain it materialized. The premise of the night is a relatively simple one: you take your favorite local folk artists (Laith Al Saadi and Lake Folk were some guests last year) then you take your favorite hip-hop and rap songs, and you push play. With the preponderance of crazy-talented folk performers around and the fact that the A2 folk fest tends to shy away from local artists, Folk the Police has their pick of the litter. This year they’ve caged the Ragbirds and invited surefire insanity-peddlers Black Jake and the Carnies to play. They won’t be alone of course; Dan Henig will be performing, a bit of a local celebrity after

his (amazing) rendition of “Get Low” to a coffee shop full of unsuspecting folks went viral and garnered over two million hits on youtube. If you haven’t seen the video, I can almost guarantee your attendance at Folk the Police after you finish watching. Roots/Blugrass bands like Back Forty and Dragon Wagon will also bring the ruckus with some fiddles and banjos to be sure while sweet-voiced folk crooners like Abigail Stauffer keep it simple with just a guitar and some slick rhymes. Part of what makes this night such a singular experience is that you really have no idea what to expect from these artists. The versions of the songs that will be performed have very seldom been heard before and probably will never be heard again. So if you want to be a part of this shooting-star of music mashing, the Blind Pig will be the place to be on January 27. With the going rate for Folk Fest tickets topping out at almost 90 dollars for both nights, Folk the Police most certainly has them beat on that front. Tickets will set you back 12 dollars, and they can be purchased in advance online as well as at The 8 Ball Saloon. This night is a sellout every year, so don’t be shy.

Folk the PoliceBY JEFF MILO

BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

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Events Calendar January 2013


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ANUARY 2013

I think most of us owe a lot of what we know to the movies – a lot more than we realize, at least. We begin watching them before we even know how to talk. We grow up with them, try to see ourselves through them and attempt to make sense of our own realities through the ones they manufacture. We have similar ideas of what it must be like to be a fugitive, superhero or undercover agent through what we’ve seen on the screen. I think of what I know about history, culture, geography and politics, my education in the movie theater surely rivaled the one I received in the classroom. The folks at the Michigan Theater understand what a powerful education tool film can be, and they’re launching a series called “Science on Screen” which promises to combine entertainment and learning in an exciting way. From January through April, they’ll screen one feature film each month immediately followed by a discussion with a renowned expert in the related field of scientific research. These won’t be sleep-inducing educational documentaries – the first film is the campy sci-fi classic “Robinson Crusoe On Mars,” which used

humor, suspense and impressive (at the time) special effects to bring to life a new frontier which, at the film’s release in the 1960s, was entirely mysterious and unexplored. Attendees will get the opportunity to hear from Dr. Nilton Renno, professor of space sciences at the University of Michigan. Dr. Renno led the NASA team that discovered water on Mars in 2008 and will speak about his current research involvement with the Curiosity Rover on the red planet. The following months will offer a similar experience in a different science-related area (February focuses on music) with more exciting speakers to be announced. Expect new research findings and technological advances to be revealed, and try to encourage any students you know to skip class and go to the movies. Science on Screen begins January 9 at 7 p.m. with Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Visit michtheater.org for updates regarding the schedule, and check ticketweb.com to purchase advance tickets. Ann Arbor-area science teachers and their classes are welcome to attend for free!

Science on Screen

SCENE

BY PAUL KITTI

WHATScience on Screen Robinson Crusoe

on Mars

WHEREMichigan Theater

Ann Arbor

WHENJanuary 9

7 p.m.

MUST SEE

Robinson Crusoe on Mars Kicks off Four Month Series

Folk the PoliceBY JASMINE ZWEIFLER


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Twice a year the Main Street Area Association organizes Restaurant Week, a showcase of some of the best restaurants Ann Arbor has to offer. On January 20 – 25, Restaurant Week will return to Ann Arbor with 51 restaurants on the roster offering up everything from the locally grown to the down-home – whether it’s for a special night or to just grab a bite. Whatever your taste (or budget), there are a plethora of choices to debate this year. From Ann Arbor institutions like The Earle, Gandy Dancer and Seva to newer favorites like Mani Osteria, The Raven’s Club and Frita Batidos to brewpubs like Jolly Pumpkin, Blue Tractor and ABC, a diverse array of dining experiences await you. And if you’re like me, restaurant week often provides the extra motivation to finally try out that new spot I keep hearing about or to have that fancy dinner at an upscale spot for cheap. With that said, on my list this year are Sava’s on State, farm to table paradise Grange Kitchen & Bar and the brand-new (and highly-anticipated) Mexican venture, Isalita. As in past years, there is a set price for lunch and a set price for dinner, with menu options and portion sizes varying by restaurant. In particular, lunch features a $15 menu of special items with one, two or three courses available depending on the restaurant. For dinner, $28 gets you a three-course meal, with most restaurants providing a choice of items for each course. A limited number of restaurants will be offering two for one pricing deals for lunch and dinner as well. For menu specifics and for more info,

visit annarborrestaurantweek.com. Plus, you’ll probably want to make reservations directly with your restaurant of choice to ensure you’ll get seated. This time around, Restaurant Week is sponsored by R.Hirt Detroit, Ann Arbor Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, The Guild of Artists & Artisans, Yelp and, of course, iSPY Magazine. Not sure if your favorite restaurant is participating? Here’s the full listing:

It’s Time to Eat

BY STEFANIE STAUFFER

Amadeus Restaurant Arbor Brewing CompanyThe Arena Argiero’sBandito’s California Style bd’s Mongolian GrillThe Black Pearl The Blue NileThe Blue Tractor Café FelixCarlyle Grill Carson’s American BistroThe Chop House Conor O’Neill’sThe Original Cottage Inn The Earle

Frita Batidos Gandy DancerGrand Traverse Pie Company Grange Kitchen & BarGratzi Grizzly PeakIsalita Jamaican Jerk PitJazzy Veggie Jolly Pumpkin Cafe & BreweryLena LoganMahek Mani Osteria & BarMarnee Thai Restaurant Mediterrano

Mélange The Melting PotMetzger’s Mercy’sMiki Japanese Restaurant Pacific RimPalio Prickly Pear CaféThe Quarter Bistro The Ravens ClubReal Seafood Company Satchel’s BBQSabor Latino

*VIEW MENUS AND MORE AT ANNARBORRESTAURANTWEEK.COM

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BY JEFF MILO


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It’s Time to Eat

Mélange The Melting PotMetzger’s Mercy’sMiki Japanese Restaurant Pacific RimPalio Prickly Pear CaféThe Quarter Bistro The Ravens ClubReal Seafood Company Satchel’s BBQSabor Latino

The Bad Indians have consistently churned out intriguing hazy haunts that struck a fine balance between raw garage thump and pretty psychedelic shimmer. Promising as their first handful of 7” singles, EPs and live/demo-culling full lengths proved, “Are On The Other Side” is their true arrival, their clearest statement. Their songwriting, their chemistry and the production are respectively confident, bonded and crisp. Choppily riffed guitars with a tinny timbre fierily snake their way over a primal boogie bass line and minimalist percussive shuffle and stomp while the stellar wheeze of an organ whips at the edges. Dash in the jangly spices of tambourines and harmonicas and proclivities for off-the-rails solos and trippy atmospherics, but assure the predominance of the pop-minded hook, the steady swaying groove, the alluring melody, the eerily-beautifully matched boy-girl harmonies. Snug the headphones closely and keen in on that weird sense for wobbly, reverb-slathered pop, and that’s where you’ll find Bad Indians signature, curtained in the dazzling murk and buzzing jumble of those familiar psyche-rock sensibilities (whatever psyche-rock is today, anyway). Step over to the other side already and find out just what a potential reinvention of said-psyhce could

sound-like. Last month: While we’re in the auditorium of dreamily-distorted raucous rock, iSPY readers should consider Detroit-based quartet Protomartyr – and not merely because one of their seminal psyche-rock jams is called “Ypsilanti.” A gruffer, sludgy splatter of sinisterly-toned surf guitars quavering rigidly over rollicking beats, Protomartyr are a darker brew, no-less driving, in fact, ever-exertive and shunting forth with stormy riffs and tight, punching percussion. They recently released a cassette tape of songs recorded live in WCBN studios (via Detroit-based Gold Tapes) titled “Vari-Speed Mithridates.” They perform with Ann Arbor pop-vets Saturday Looks Good To Me on Friday, January 18 at the Magic Stick in Detroit. Next month: Meanwhile, keep your ears peeled next month for new sounds from various pockets of the Detroit scene. Neo-shoegaze sublimities recast the noise-noodled indie-pop nocturne via Pewter Cub (“If You Can Hold Your Breath” out mid-February). Dark-ish, drone-ish, hip-hop muddied dance experimentations permeate the proper debut of Jamaican Queens (“Worm Food” is out in late February). Deliciously dream-pop-mining, 80s-tinged ecstasies of heavy-hearted,

slow-danced, booming-beats and impressive baritone croons charm the second EP by Detroit duo Revoir (“Wondertheist” dropped on January 20 and streams online via their Bandcamp).

Past, Present and Future Releases to Watch

BY JEFF MILO

WHATThe Mind

of Jeff Milo

WHEREispymagazine.co

THE BLOG

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Since Ann Arbor Restaurant Week is upon us again in just a few weeks, I’ve turned my attention to some of the best restaurants that Ann Arbor has to offer. There are so many great ones – and that number is steadily growing – so it’s getting tougher to stand out from the crowd. But, time and time again, one that stands out on many people’s list is Sava’s on State Street. It’s eclectic, it’s in walking distance from Central Campus and the combination of reasonably priced small plates and pricier entrees on the menu draws in a diverse crowd. Open 8 a.m. – midnight seven days a week, Sava’s runs the culinary gamut from breakfast to late night snacks and everything in between. Whether you’re a fan of their extensive array of wine, beer and creative cocktails, their Sunday brunch buffet, their scrumptious small plates and panini or their steak, seafood and pasta dishes, chances are that you have been to Sava’s on more than one occasion. Each time I’ve been there, whether for a late night prosciutto panino, for a tasty beverage or for burgers and seafood, I have not been disappointed (and, as a farmer, avid cook and food writer, that has definitely been getting harder for me to say about most places). Overall, on all my visits, the food and drink has been consistently good, the service has been attentive and the atmosphere has been vibrant, so it’s no wonder that Sava’s has been steadily growing in popularity since 2007. In fact, that popularity enabled them to launch a sister venture

in December 2011 – Babo Market. Open 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. seven days a week at 403 Washington Street, Babo is a “neighborhood market” featuring everything from fresh produce and cured meats to specialty cheeses, prepared foods, pasta, honey, jam and other locally-made food items. They have also been doing a good job of blending the businesses, evidenced by the charcuterie and cheese plate on the Sava’s menu that is sourced directly from Babo. As for restaurant week, Sava’s is offering two for one deals for both lunch and dinner. In other words, lunch for two is only $15 while dinner for two is only $28! The lunch options include sandwiches and tacos, while dinner includes a shared appetizer and gelato with steak, seafood or pasta as an entree. And vegetarians can rejoice as both lunch and dinner include a meatless option. Plus, with prices so cheap, you can totally splurge on that interesting cocktail you’ve always wanted to try. Sava’s on State is just another reason to love Ann Arbor Restaurant Week!

FOODIE

Sava’s On StateBY STEFANIE T. STAUFFER

Sava’s is located at 216 South State Street. For more information and to reserve your table for restaurant week, visit savasrestaurant.com.

WHATSava’s on State

WHERE216 S. State St.

Ann Arbor

INFOsavasrestaurant.com

THE DISH


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Adventures in Local Food

#25A New Year’s Food Revolution

PHOTOS AND STORY BY STEFANIE T. STAUFFER

As a farmer, one of the biggest points of pride is to be able to feed your family and friends with the food that you grow, and for me the holidays is the most important time to do so. Too often the holidays mean a return to eating the same over-processed food that is driving the health crisis in America as well as the crisis of food access across the world. Too often holidays spent with more conservative family members include a debate over the merits of organic, locally-grown food or a long, confusing discussion about the dangers of GMOs. Too often holidays convince people that dishes made with jello and marshmallows are somehow “traditional” and have to be eaten as such. On that last point, I am so glad I grew up in an Italian-American bubble where lab-derived items don’t end up in food! But even my family is no longer immune from the pull of industrial food around the holidays since they have recently taken the Caribbean resort vacation option over the snowy, Northern one. To me, that has made the nightmare of a SYSCO-catered Christmas dinner all too real – so much so, that I opted out of going to the Bahamas this year partly so that I could eat a salad on Christmas made with ingredients that I grew myself. Clearly, it’s the seemingly little things like this

that make all the difference to me now as a local grower and producer. That’s why this year I urge all of you to include in your New Year’s resolution a stronger commitment to supporting the locally-grown, locally-made and locally-owned revolution! That stronger commitment could involve steps as simple as shopping more at the Ypsilanti Food Coop or the Michigan General Store, getting a CSA share of produce, meat or other items from a local farm or doing more grocery shopping at the farmer’s market. It could involve putting a raised bed garden in your backyard to grow your own tomatoes or erecting a cold-frame or greenhouse so you can have lettuce and arugula for your own holiday salad next year. It could involve volunteering at a school garden or planting some extra squash next summer to donate to Food Gatherers or SOS Community Services. It could even involve advocating for food policy changes like supporting the growing national (& international) movement to label foods made with genetically-modified ingredients. Or, if you’re an Ypsi resident, it should involve showing up at the Ypsilanti City Council meeting on January 22 to help pass the new food ordinance to allow residential gardening, hoophouses and small scale food production in the Ypsi City limits.

The only real limit here is your own imagination. Unfortunately, too often we become convinced that lasting change is too difficult or that our actions have no impact on the state of the world, but as we have discussed here at length in the last two years, food production is one of those unique areas where our actions do have an impact. And not only is that impact real and tangible, it is also one that goes well beyond health, nutrition or how food is grown. Supporting local food can help rebuild economies, strengthen community ties, share cultural traditions, challenge unbridled development and teach children to value nature. In this sense, taking any steps to further support the locally-grown, locally-made and locally-owned are actually revolutionary acts that are as simple as picking up a fork. So, in 2013, dig in and join us!

Sava’s On State

FOODIE


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There’s a lab in the basement of The Ravens Club. It has beakers and vials and jars filled with mysterious ingredients. There are dropper bottles and measuring scoops. Jeff Paquin is the creative force behind The Ravens Club’s many unique house-made ingredients. When The Ravens Club opened in May of 2011, it was the culmination of several years of planning and dreaming for Paquin and fellow managing partner Chris Pawlicki. Cocktail culture was taking the coasts by storm and sweeping slowly inland to the Midwest, and Paquin was determined to be on top of it. A lifelong food lover and cocktail connoisseur, he’d grown up watching his parents host cocktail parties and putting up brandied cherries in the kitchen with his mom. He wanted to open a great cocktail bar but wasn’t sure Ann Arbor was ready for it. With cocktails initially priced at $8, they faced criticism about prices in a town more accustomed to the cost of a beer. But they persisted in creating quality cocktails, and now customers are happy to pay more for drinks crafted with care and made from the best ingredients. And many of those ingredients come straight from that little basement lab. “Ann Arbor will not tolerate anything half-assed,” Paquin told me as we chatted one afternoon after he’d put the finishing touches on the latest batch of Ravens Club Aromatic Bitters. A scratch bar was as much a part of the

vision as the locavore and farm-to-table focus of the kitchen. The opening menu featured a spicy house-made ginger beer that was an immediate hit. They burned out the cheap grocery story juicer they were using to make it within three months, and were spending a fortune on CO2 chargers for the seltzer bottles they were dispensing it from. Now they have the ginger beer on tap and go through about 15 gallons every week. From there, Paquin kept raising the bar, adding a variety of flavored syrups to the mix, along with barrel-aged cocktails. Then came the ambitious house-made bitters program. Bitters are one of the secret ingredients that make classic cocktails taste so good. Like salt in a soup, they act to harmonize and unite other flavors. Each one can include a dozen or more hard-to-source ingredients like gentian root, cinchona bark and horehound, which get combined in high-proof alcohol to extract the flavors. Knowing how much to add of each ingredient, and when to add it, is both an art and a science. While, in the beginning, Paquin was active behind the bar, now he’s content to be the man behind the men behind the bar. “When I come up with a new ingredient, I don’t have a cocktail in mind for it,” he told me. “The guys up there are so good – I just want to give them new and interesting ingredients so they can do what they do so well.” In fact, these days he’s feeling so on top of all

the cocktail ingredients that he’s taken on a new project. He and new executive chef Seth Bateman are launching an ambitious charcuterie program. True to his mad scientist ways, Paquin’s already turned one of the basement coolers into a meat locker and begun tinkering. We can’t wait to see the result.

The Mad Scientistof the Ravens Club

FOODIE

PHOTOS AND STORY BY TAMMY COXEN AND PATTI SMITH

WHATCraft

Cocktails

WHERERavens Club

207 S. Main St.Ann Arbor

INFOtheravensclub.

com

DRINK UP


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1/4:

• The RFD Boys & Friends, 8 p.m.,

The Ark, Ann Arbor

• Light Out for the Territory, 9

p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti

• Ann Arbor Soul Club, 9:30 p.m.,

Blind Pig, Ann Arbor

• Blackberry Smoke, 7 p.m., Saint

Andrew’s Hall, Detroit

• Savoy Brown, 7 p.m., Magic Bag,

Ferndale

• The Intended, 8 p.m., Magic

Stick Lounge, Detroit

1/5:

• The Yellow Room Gang, 8 p.m.,

The Ark, Ann Arbor

• Hush Love, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

• Ghosts of August, 9:30 p.m.,


• Endeavors, 6:30 p.m., Pike

Room, Pontiac

• Larry McCray Antifreeze Blues

Festival 2013, 7 p.m., Magic Bag,

Ferndale

• Clucked Up Comedy with Red

Grant, 8 p.m., The City Theatre,

Detroit

• St. Cecilia, 8 p.m., Magic Stick

Lounge, Detroit

1/6:

• Rev. Robert Jones, 7:30 p.m.,

The Ark, Ann Arbor

• Boylesque, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

• Chasing the Riots, 5 p.m., Pike

Room, Pontiac

• Vanna Inget, 9 p.m., Magic Stick

Lounge, Detroit

1/7:

• Duotron, 8 p.m., Magic Stick

Lounge, Detroit

• Cheap A$$ Punk, 9 p.m.,

Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti

• Machine Language, 8 p.m.,

Magic Stick Lounge, Detroit

1/8:

• The Wailers, 8 p.m., The Ark,

Ann Arbor

• Scind, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann

Arbor

• Dave Boutette and Erik

Santos Acoustic Open Mic, 7 p.m.,


1/9:

• The Ark’s Open Stage, 8 p.m., The

Ark, Ann Arbor

• Rospoem, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig,

Ann Arbor

• Hazard Head, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s.

Ypsilanti

• Science on Screen: Robinson

Crusoe on Mars and Dr. Nilton

Renno, 7 p.m., Michigan Theater

1/10:

• Freakwater, 8 p.m., The Ark,

Ann Arbor

• Hairy Karaoke, 9 p.m.,


• The Main Squeeze, 9:30 p.m.,


• Impulse!, Necto’s Red Room, Ann

Arbor

1/11:

• Seth Glier, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor

• Ben Daniels Band, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

• Quicksand, 7 p.m., Saint Andrew’s

Hall, Detroit

• Randy Houser, 7 p.m., Royal Oak

Music Theatre, Royal Oak

1/12:

• Jill Jack Birthday Bash, 8 p.m., The

Ark, Ann Arbor

• Electric Corpse, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig,

Ann Arbor

• Laura K Blake, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

• La Dispute, 6 p.m., The Crofoot

Ballroom, Pontiac

• Pauly Shore, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.,

Magic Bag, Ferndale

• 17th Annual Urban Wheel Awards

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Bag, Ferndale

• Gemini’s “When I’m 64” Concert, 8

p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor

1/17:

• Revel, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor

• Hairy Karaoke, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

• Walk Off the Earth, 7 p.m., Saint


• Midge Ure, 8 p.m., Magic Bag,

Ferndale

• Tristen, 8 p.m., Pike Room, Pontiac

• Dala, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor

• Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, 7

p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre,

Royal Oak

• Stolen Girls, 10 p.m., Garden Bowl,

Detroit

1/18:

• Match by Match, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig,

Ann Arbor

• Ghost City Searchlight, 9 p.m.,

Woodruff’s. Ypsilanti

• Chris Webby, 6 p.m., Shelter, Detroit

• Freelance Whales, 7 p.m., Pike Room,

Pontiac

• Who’s Bad Michael Jackson Tribute, 8

p.m., Magic Bag, Ferndale

• Saturday Looks Good to Me, 9 p.m.,


• Kelly Joe Phelps, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann

Arbor

• Bob Saget, 8 p.m., Royal Oak Music

Theatre, Royal Oak

1/19:

• The Terrible Twos, 9:30 p.m., Blind

Pig, Ann Arbor

• Elbow Deep, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s.

Ypsilanti

• Underoath, 6 p.m., The Fillmore,

Detroit

• No Resolve, 7 p.m., Pike Room,

Pontiac

• Brian Regan, 8 p.m., Fox Theatre,

Detroit

• Simon & Garfunkel Retrospective, 8


1/20:

Pre-Party, 8 p.m., Sound Board at

MotorCity Casino Hotel, Detroit

• Jeff Mangum, 8 p.m., Redford

Theatre, Detroit

• The Thornbills, 9 p.m., Magic Stick

Lounge, Detroit

• Let’s Get Weird, 7:30 p.m., LIVE, Ann

Arbor

• Mike Vial, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti

• The Best of Your Fave / New Wave/

Retro-Alt Dance Party, Necto Red

Room, Ann Arbor

1/13:

• Shape Note Singing, 2 p.m., The Ark.

Ann Arbor

• Robin & Linda Williams, 7:30 p.m.,

The Ark, Ann Arbor

• Bitchy Bingo Brunch, 3 p.m.,


• Mystery, 5 p.m., Pike Room, Pontiac

• Denney and the Jets, 8 p.m., Magic

Stick Lounge, Detroit

1/14:

• Marc Cohn, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann

Arbor

• Cheap A$$ Punk, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

1/15:

• Alive In Standby, 6 p.m., Pike Room,

Pontiac

• Dave Boutette and Erik Santos

Acoustic Open Mic, 7 p.m.,


• Dessa, 8 p.m., Magic Stick Lounge,

Detroit

• Ryan Dillaha, 7 p.m., Majestic Café,

Detroit

• Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire

Universe, 10 p.m., Garden Bowl,

Detroit

• The Moth, 7:30 p.m., Circus, Ann

Arbor

1/16:

• Lucy’s Brown Seville, 9:30 p.m., Blind

Pig, Ann Arbor

• 5th Wall Concept, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

• Hollywood Undead, 7 p.m., Saint


• Christopher Owens, 8 p.m., Magic

AROUND YOU

January+Calendar ENTERTAINMENT

2013


i SPY

Magazine // J

ANUARY 2013

• A Night of Neo-Soul, 7 p.m., Detroit

Opera House, Detroit

• Chelsea Wolfe, 8 p.m., Pike Room,

Pontiac

• Maura O’Connell, 7:30 p.m., The Ark,

Ann Arbor

1/21:


Ypsilanti

• Emeli Sande, 7:30 p.m., Pike Room,

Pontiac

• Free Energy, 8 p.m., Magic Stick

Lounge, Detroit

1/22:

• Take a Chance Tuesday with the

Suitcase Junket, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann

Arbor

• Dave Boutette and Erik Santos



• Marilyn Manson, 6:30 p.m., The

Fillmore, Detroit

• Reel Big Fish, 6:30 p.m., Saint


• Jenny Owen Youngs, 7 p.m., Pike

Room, Pontiac

1/23:

• The Noise Birds, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

• Night Moves, 8 p.m., Magic Stick

Lounge, Detroit

1/24:

• DJ Pigpen, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann

Arbor


Ypsilanti

• Ed Sheeran, 7 p.m., The Fillmore,

Detroit

• Eddie Griffin, 8 p.m., Sound Board at

MotorCity Casino Hotel, Detroit

• Emancipator, 8 p.m., Magic Stick,

Detroit

• Morrissey, 9 p.m., James H Whiting

Auditorium, Flint

• Global Dance Festival: FROST, 8

p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre

• Paparazzi Party, Necto, Ann Arbor

1/25:

• Family of the Year, 9 p.m., Blind

Pig, Ann Arbor

• Ann Arbor Folk Festival Night 1,

6:30 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor

• Lawless Carver, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

• Ryan Beatty, 6 p.m., Pike Room,

Pontiac

• Silverstein, 6 p.m., The Crofoot,

Pontiac

• BUZZin Showed In Edition, 7 p.m.,

Shelter, Detroit

• Flogging Molly, 7 p.m., The

Fillmore, Detroit

• Stewart Francke CD Release Party,

8 p.m., Magic Bag

• Stylistics, 8 p.m., Andiamo

Celebrity Showroom, Warren

• The Darkness, 8 p.m., Majestic

Theatre, Detroit

• Slum Village, 9 p.m., Magic Stick

Lounge, Detroit

• Adam Carolla, 8 p.m., Royal Oak



1/26:

• Nickie P with Mike Burner Album

Release Party, 9:30 p.m.,


• Ann Arbor Folk Festival Night 2,

6:30 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor

• Las Drogas, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

• Metalfest 2013, 5 p.m., Harpo’s,

Detroit

• Fun., 7 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit

• Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers,

7 p.m., Pike Room, Pontiac

• Ava Luna Plus D’orchestra, 8 p.m.,


• Latin Jazz All Stars, 8 p.m. and 10

p.m., Jazz Café at Music Hall,

Detroit

• James Murphy, 9 p.m., The Crofoot

Ballroom, Pontiac


1/27:

• Folk the Police, 8 p.m., Bind Pig,

Ann Arbor

• Bitchy Bingo Brunch, 3 p.m.,


• Embers & Apathy, 5 p.m., Pike

Room, Pontiac

• Mung Xuan Quy Ty 2013

Vietnamese Concert, 6 p.m.,

Sound Board at MotorCity

Casino Hotel, Detroit

• Soundgarden, 7 p.m., The Fillmore,

Detroit

• Keane, 8 p.m., Royal Oak Music

Theatre, Royal Oak

1/28:


Ypsilanti

• Ellie Goulding, 7:30 p.m., Royal Oak


• Winter Formal, Necto, Ann Arbor

1/29:

• The Revelation of June Paul, 6:30



• David Boutette and Erik Santos



• Daft Punk’d: the Tribute, 8 p.m.,

Magic Stick, Detroit

1/30:

• Adam Plomaritas, 8 p.m., The Ark,

Ann Arbor

• The Deep End, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

• Savoy, 8 p.m., Pike Room, Pontiac

• The Growlers, 8 p.m., Magic Stick

Lounge, Detroit

• Big Freedia, 8 p.m., The Crofoot,

Pontiac

1/31:

• Vagabond Opera, 8 p.m., The Ark,

Ann Arbor


Ypsilanti

• Bobby Brown, 8 p.m., Sound Board

at MotorCity Casino Hotel, Detroit

• Hannah Georgas, 8 p.m., Pike

Room, Pontiac

1/17 – 1/19:

• Brew Ha Ha, 5 p.m., Dow Event

Center, Saginaw

1/20 – 1/25:

• Ann Arbor Restaurant Week

1/26:

• Winter Beer Fest III, 1 p.m., Royal

Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak

1/29:

• Thrift Shop: University Benefit for

Sandy Relief, Necto, Ann Arbor

AROUND YOU

COMMUNITY

d o w n l o a d " r e a c h i n g b a c k " f o r f r e e at m i k e v i a l . c o m / f r e ed o w n l o a d " r e a c h i n g b a c k " f o r f r e e at m i k e v i a l . c o m / f r e e



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KREWELLA

www.frozenleap.com

Save The DateSaturday, Feb. 16

Help us reach our $20,000 goal!

1. Register your team2. Start fundraising3. Hit your goal4. Pick out team costumes5. Leap!

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i SPY

Magazine // J

ANUARY 2013

The Ark in Ann Arbor stands as one of the foremost listening rooms in the nation and prides itself on its audio-curatorial prowess. Throughout the year, they book the most powerful local and international voices in the folk, roots and world music genres. But it’s during the Ann Arbor Folk Festival that they really get to spread their wings and bring some very big names to Treetown. Because The Ark is a not for profit venture, they rely on memberships, donations and big events like this one to maintain their stellar roster year after year. For the Folk Fest, The Ark (a tiny place if you’ve ever been there) takes over U of M’s Hill Auditorium and packs the house for two evenings of folk revelry. The 2013 fest will take place on January 25 and 26, and you’d be hard pressed to decide which night wins out with outrageous talent that will be present both Friday and Saturday. The event kicks off with City and Colour headlining Friday night, supported by the likes of critical darlings Trampled by Turtles.

Sixto Rodriguez is one of the more interesting inclusions on this year’s bill. The Detroit native labored in relative obscurity in his own country while experiencing a rather bizarre popularity in parts of Africa. Since the release of the film “Searching for Sugar Man,” detailing his extraordinary trajectory, he is enjoying a much belated respect and appreciation. Local yokels Frontier Ruckus will also take the stage and bring the level of energy that is only hinted at by their title. Family band Delta Rae will make the trek from North Carolina for the evening. Brown Bird will share their eclectic brand of “Pakistani surf-rock, Romani folk and rock ‘n’ roll.” Night two features one of the most hotly anticipated bands of the festival: The Head and the Heart, which have been described as “Americana meets the Beatles.” Translated that means bright instrumentations and killer harmonies with some down home heart. Saturday night also boasts not just one but two Williamses (as in Lucinda and Dar). Besides sharing a

surname, these ladies have blistering songwriting chops and distinctive voices. Lucinda has been named “America’s best songwriter” by Time Magazine in addition to her enviable catalog that stretches back over 30 years. Frank Fairfield will also be in attendance and the Steel Wheels will bring the roots flavor from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra were a late addition to the bill and promise to be a crowd pleaser with their “12 piece feel-good explosion of love, righteousness and New Orleans soul.” And Drew Nelson is sure to keep the audience entertained. Colin Hay will be the MC for both nights, and his reputation as a one man band with a gut busting sense of humor and his serious folk-cred make him a pretty perfect choice for the job. If you’re lucky enough to score tickets to this year’s Ann Arbor Folk Festival, you’re sure to leave with your toes thoroughly tapped and a taste for some moonshine. Enjoy!

The 36th Ann Arbor Folk FestivalFind Your FolkBY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

CITY AND COLOUR THE HEAD AND THE HEART RODRIGUEZ

FEATURE


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2012 Year in Review

BY AMANDA TRENTPHOTO BY BRUNO POSTIGO

• Josh Tillman (Father John Misty)

“I think it took me a long time to work up the courage to admit to myself that I’m just a little narcissist who only wants to do his own thing, and that’s ultimately okay.” – Josh Tillman

“Sometimes it’s worth leaving one of the most successful folk bands in history in order to be true to yourself. This is just one of the lessons learned from the church of Father John Misty. He’s both loveable and erratic and, like all good spiritual leaders, his ministry started when he wrote a book. Father John Misty, of course, is Joshua Tillman (also known as J. Tillman). And the band that he recently left was Fleet Foxes.” – from “The Gospel According to Father John Misty” by Amanda Trent

• Katy Goodman ( La Sera)

“You’re only getting older all the time. You never know what’s going to happen, so you shouldn’t be unhappy. Sometimes you need to make drastic changes – or even not drastic ones. Sometimes things that seem small on the grand scale of things can have a huge impact in your life and make you a lot happier.” – Katy Goodman

“In her career as a musician, Katy Goodman is

both an active band member (Vivian Girls) and solo artist (La Sera) at once. She’s refreshingly approachable, genuine, thoughtful and introspective – but for the most part just wants to have a good time, enjoy life and not take everything so seriously (since, after all, we only live once).” – from “La Sera’s Katy Goodman Explains It All” by Amanda Trent

• Joshua Epstein (Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.)

“…We wanted this video to be about people doing things in and around the city of Detroit. People who are on the job. People who have moved past ‘What happened?’ and are spending more time saying, ‘Let’s make things happen.’ These are the people who we feel represent the city of Detroit.” – Joshua Epstein

“Two musicians who have been creating some of Detroit’s best recent melodies are Josh Epstein and Daniel Zott, known by their national following as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. They specialize in a nameless genre they created while experimenting with electronic sounds and folksy pop, anchored by slick production and a sweet-natured sensibility. Everything about the duo meshes: their joint vocal harmonies, Epstein’s production savvy and Zott’s singer-songwriter instincts, their mutual

interest in stage theatrics – even in interviews they seem to finish each other’s thoughts. That’s a lot of chemistry for two dudes who were total strangers three years ago.” – from “Gaining Speed with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.” by Paul Kitti

• Matt Jones

“I actually let a lot of other people put their hand in it. It came out really good, but it came out as something I’m completely not used to. I thought you had to love your own album before you put it out, and I don’t think that’s true anymore. I’m gonna put it out and I know I’m gonna continue to like it even more.” - Matt Jones

“With a speaking voice appropriate for his six-foot six-inches frame and flannel-chested, bespectacled appearance, the voice that shows up in his songs can be unexpected. It’s a soft, almost crooning tenor, like how that little voice in your head would sound if it were to sing, but not without the ability to belt it out at times.” - Paul Kitti

FEATURE

iSPY Magazine’s Top Interviews of 2012


i SPY

Magazine // J

ANUARY 2013

Confessions of a music nerd and food addict.

• Andrew Bird

“[My live show] is a high wire act of sorts. I like to compare it to a very insane cooking show where I’m stumbling around, spilling things and forgetting to add some of the ingredients and throwing it in at the last minute.” – Andrew Bird

“In many ways, Andrew Bird is an enigma. In some circles, his name is synonymous with ‘musical genius,’ yet both his music and personality could be described as understated. His nine to five takes place in a barn (he’s not a farmer). He enjoys isolation when writing music – which (somewhat ironically) helps him create beautiful, flowing melodies that often end up bringing people together. And he is an excellent whistler.” – from “Barn Music at its Best With Andrew Bird” by Amanda Trent

• Orpheo McCord (of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros)

“You put 12 people together, and the alchemy of that combination is always going to be very unique each evening and very unpredictable.” – Orpheo McCord

“If you think Edward Sharpe is one of the members of the 10-plus member band called Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, you’d be wrong. Edward Sharpe is actually a fictional character created in the mind of group frontman Alex Ebert. And Magnetic Zeros? That’s a form of mathematics that Ebert came up with that has ‘no known application.’ We got the chance to catch up with drummer Orpheo McCord to hear about life on the road and what it’s like being a Magnetic Zero.” – from “The Magical World of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros” by Amanda Trent

• Michael Atha (Yelawolf)

“It’s in my head and it’s in my heart, so in a way it’s already finished. I know what I want it to sound like. Now it’s just a matter of getting me in the studio with my people.” – Yelawolf

“Drive about two hours northeast of the beautiful University of Alabama campus and you’ll reach Gadsden. It’s the kind of place where shotguns are toted as loosely as iPods, where you’re more likely to see a cockfight than a football game, a meth lab than a pharmacy, a junk yard than a recycling bin. Understanding this environment is key to understanding Michael Atha, the lanky, tattoo-covered MC known as Yelawolf.” – from “Yelawolf, the Redneck Poet from Gadsden, Alabama” by Paul Kitti

• Leah Diehl (Lightning Love)

“Ypsi’s pretty unpretentious. You can do anything and everyone is really supportive out there. Everyone, though – people working in very different genres – just hangs out and talk about music.” – Leah Diehl

“Sweet and exuberant, yet restless. Fun music with fretful lyrics. To-the-point-pop music. And, particularly, the sound propulsive and capricious but humble and self-deprecating songs on ‘Blonde’ bring a feeling of pensive escapism as though it were soundtracking my own Wes Anderson-esque slow-motion ride, pedaling barefoot on a rusty Schwin beach cruiser toward the incoming tide at sunset with an overcast sky behind me.” – from “Awkward. Catchy. Magical. Blondes on the ‘Blonde Album” by Jeff Milo

• Dan Haggis (The Wombats)

“There was never a mastermind plan. It just seemed like the best way to get through hangovers. Some people sink into the couch and slurp applesauce, others build an arena-worthy rock group.” – Dan Haggis

“The instant appeal of The Wombats is perhaps what made that first album so successful, but it’s their transparency that has kept them from burning out. Murphy, the lead singer and lyricist, battled depression and anxiety throughout adolescence and into adulthood. His struggles inform his writing, which is often easy to miss beneath the dance beats and hyped-up rhythm.” – from “The Wombats: Life on the Road with England’s Hardest-Rocking Marsupials”

• Saul Williams“I felt like I was hearing from a lot of people who were kind of fed up that they were born inside of some box and had to take it upon themselves to either break out of or define it for themselves.” – Saul Williams

“Saul Williams is restless. As a slam poet, he can be kind, ferocious, funny, existential, dramatic and sensitive, all within the same minute. He had the sound of a man continuously searching and discovering, sharing and revisiting.” – from “Get Inside the Mind of the World’s Greatest Slam Poet, Actor, Author and Musician, Saul Williams” by Paul Kitti

FEATURE


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• Zachary Saginaw (Shigeto)

“I like the listener to kind of decide what it means to them. I want people to hear it and create the story and have that music for whenever they want to be there.” – Shigeto

“Shigeto’s music is a product of heritage – of growing up on jazz in Ann Arbor and visiting Japan to connect with his roots, of making peace with the feeling of displacement. It’s a little closer to the sunlight than most of what you’ll hear in the electronic music landscape – like scrapbook music, with sounds bearing distinct memories assembled into a sort of musical narrative.” – from “Fusing the Past and Present: Shigeto’s Journey Into Electronic Music” by Paul Kitti

• Victor Wooten

“One of the biggest things I like about performing is the feedback from the audience. If you think about it, it’s the only thing in the world that I can think of where everyone there is on your side. They paid money to come support you and what you love to do.” – Victor Wooten

“To say that Victor Wooten is a phenomenal musician would be a gross understatement. Not only is Wooten the bassist for the critically acclaimed (and five-time Grammy winning)

jazz fusion / post-bop / progressive / bluegrass group of musicians known as Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, but he also creates his own music – sometimes alone or sometimes with other musicians. Wooten was named “Bass Player of the Year” by Bass Player magazine three times in a row and was the first person to win the award more than once. Don’t believe the hype? A quick YouTube search will quickly put any doubts to rest.” –from “Talking Shop with Victor Wooten” by Amanda Trent

• Misty Lyn (Misty Lyn & the Big Beautiful)

“When it comes to this record and the hours put into it, I did it. I did it. That’s what this record was for me – now I know I can do what I have to do to be who I am.” – Misty Lyn

“Misty Lyn walked into the studio knowing this was who she was, feeling that this was where she was supposed to be. She’s spent the last two years working on her second album of songs, ‘False Honey,’ writing, recording, mixing and producing, putting herself into all of it and learning.” – from “Misty Lyn & the Big Beautiful” by Jeff Milo

• Jonathan Visger (Absofacto)

“We are purposefully sort of unpredictable. We’re a little outside of the mainstream. The independence of it is inherent to what is good about it.” – Jonathan Visger

“When you first meet Jonathan Visger, he seems like just the kind of guy you would expect to meet

in the Ypsilanti / Ann Arbor area for many reasons – he’s smart and cultured with an understated way about him, a dry sense of humor and an appreciation for local microbrews. He’s the kind of guy you could mistake for either a computer geek in the best sense of the term or a doctoral candidate working on his dissertation in literature or creative writing. However, Visger is actually the mastermind behind Absofacto, which is simply his experimental-pop creating alias.” – from “The Secret Music of Absofacto” by Amanda Trent

• Stephin Merritt (The Magnetic Fields)

“I sit in a gay bar for a few hours each day with a cocktail, a pen and my little notebook I carry everywhere. I listen to the music playing in the bar – usually thumping disco – and eavesdrop a bit, socialize a tad and try to work on a song. Often nothing much happens, but sometimes I write three songs in a day.” – Stephin Merritt

“As Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields was sitting in an empty room in upstate New York waiting for a ‘75-foot moving truck,’ he pulled up his email and began responding to some questions I had sent him a week earlier. Receiving his responses was a pleasant surprise. Although they’re expectedly brief, they’re potent with the kind of dry humor and quirky details that have made his songs seem like the product of a legend in the making. Had the truck come any earlier, I probably wouldn’t be writing this. He’s notoriously …bothered …by journalists. As an MTV writer put it earlier this year, ‘interviewing Merritt is like trying to get car keys from a guy who has been drinking since noon.’” – from “Chasing the Voice of the Magnetic Fields” by Paul Kitti

FEATURE

READFull Interviews

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What keeps you in the area? I was born and raised in Ann Arbor. Though, like any teenager, after graduation, I couldn’t wait to move away from home and I eventually did.. Now, I truly love and appreciate the rich culture, community, diversity, and opportunities here in Washtenaw county. It is a wonderful place to grow a business, raise a family, and experience all that life has to offer. I personally, enjoy attending and take advantage of the endless events in town with my 10 year old daughter, Elena, along with friends and family here. Throughout the year, we attend many UM Athletic events (Go Blue!), Ann Arbor Summer Festival, Ann Arbor & Ypsi Farmers Markets, Ypsi Heritage Festival, Canoeing down the Huron, Hands on Museum and the UMMA,

Biking in the Diag and the many beautiful parks, Taste of Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor Art Fair.. the list goes on and on. I just feel so fortunate to be able to experience so much and provide these opportunities to my daughter too. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Why are you involved with A2Y Converge?I have seen over the years, how vital the Chamber is to the success of businesses in the community, and I wanted to be a part of a new group planning events and opportunities to support the success of young professionals and entrepreneurs, such as myself. For young professionals, starting businesses of their own, in addition to those who are instrumental to the growth within the companies they work for, it is imperative that we not only have opportunities to network to grow our businesses and client base, but a place to go for information, resources and collaboration from colleagues and peers. With a focus on new ways to market our business through technology & social media, fresh ideas on how to network effectively, and a fun approach to creating business contacts, I believe that A2Y Converge is the new generation for business success in the A2Y community.

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THE BUZZ

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+Best Albums of 2012+Best Movies of 2012iSPY’s Top

1010. Moonrise Kingdom“Anderson’s aesthetic is unmistakable – every shot is exact and manicured. His attention to detail is engrossing and truly one of the greatest pleasures of ‘Moonrise Kingdom.’ This film captures the particular pain of childhood – of having feelings that seem so big while being continually assured of their insignificance. But in Anderson’s film, Sam and Suzy’s relationship plays out on a stage that is as large as they imagine it to be.” – Jasmine Zweifler

4. Prometheus“No matter how bad you may want to close your eyes during the slimy, slithering, disgusting moments in Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus,’ the stunning beauty embedded in each frame will have you fixated. The planetary moon LV-223 makes Avatar’s Pandora look like a neon ball of CGI. The atmosphere is tense and murky. The creatures are frightening and organic, and the detail is overwhelming.” – Paul Kitti

7. Perks of Being a Wallflower“Stephen Chbosky gives all the weighty themes from the book a clear transfer, and he films it in a way that suggests the flipping of diary pages – each one richer than the last in self-realization and understanding. It’s a narration dripping with nostalgia and youthful sentiment, but you get the feeling that everyone involved in getting it all on film truly loves the characters and their stories.” – Paul Kitti

3. Lincoln“Steven Spielberg’s brilliant vision of the final four months of our country’s most iconic President is dark, urgent and remarkably alive. Props to screenwriter Tony Kushner for delivering a story about calculated political prowess with wit, fierceness and a stirring sense of gravity. ‘Lincoln’ is a gripping and complex work of a master – another remarkable piece of illuminated history from Spielberg.” – Paul Kitti

1. Argo“Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo’ begins with a brief history lesson, providing background information leading up to the boiling point of political tensions in Iran which resulted in the 444 day long Iran Hostage Crisis. In 1992, President Clinton declassified the circumstances surrounding the 1980 plan to smuggle six American Embassy workers out of Iran. The plan involved posing as a Canadian film crew from Hollywood and scouting Tehran as a possible shooting location. ‘Argo’ does an admirable job of portraying the tension and suspense experienced during this outlandish cover story conceived by the CIA.” – Mary Simkins

“Dark Knight Rises”

“Moonrise Kingdom”

10.

9. 8.

“Ruby Sparks”

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

7. 6. 5.

4. 3. 2. 1.

“Skyfall” “Argo”

“The Five Year Engagement” “Seven Psychopaths”

“Prometheus” “Lincoln”

FEATURE

+The Cut

Read More Reviews at ispymagazine.co



i SPY

Magazine // J

ANUARY 2013

FEATURE

+Best Albums of 2012iSPY’s Top

3030. “Rhine Gold” – Choir of Young Believers“It’s a little dark, beautiful and unsettling, pairing isolation with that eerie feeling that you’re not alone. Their style is a sleek black, blending genres into a sound that repels complicated or overstated. It’s grandiose somehow without intention, brooding without losing its glimmer and unpredictable without taking any sudden turns. The 54 minutes you’ll spend with ‘Rhine Gold’ will take you through weighty ballads, slowly progressing melodies and atmospheric moodiness – often all in the same song. This is music that will drift in and out of sleep with you.” – Paul Kitti

26. “Blunderbuss” – Jack White“When Jack White finally decided to create a solo album, he succeeded in creating an album that was everything that any true White-head would expect it to be – full of White’s signature biting guitar riffs along with melancholy moments that result in nothing but a complete Jack White masterpiece. He knows what he’s best at and capitalizes on it – that means more catchy guitar licks and less experimental late White Stripes types of tracks. If you’re a lover of the White Stripes or just Jack White’s work in general, you won’t be disappointed.” – Amanda Trent

25. “The Idler Wheel…” – Fiona Apple “While Apple’s vocals and lyrics still work together beautifully to form raw slices of her soul, ‘The Idler Wheel…’ is a departure, musically, from what she had begun to build with her debut ‘Tidal.’ Percussion comes and goes like background chatter throughout these ten songs, which are at first little experimental pop curiosities, strategically minimal with unidentifiable sounds slipped into their thin layers. It feels obligatory to commend an artist for being real and honest with their work, but Apple goes beyond intention: she’s so transparent and self-aware, it’s as if she’s forgetting she even has an audience.” – Mary Simkins

24. “Coexist” – The XX“If The XX are known for any one thing, it would be their minimalism. With ‘Coexist,’ they inch deeper towards their minimal roots, trying to make an even bigger puzzle with fewer pieces. And it mostly works. Slowly dripping bass lines and drum machines used to a soft, echoing effect. Keyboards and pensive electric guitar melodies, often used in isolation. Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim again share vocals in what plays like an exchange of cautious bedroom whispers amidst a full moon backdrop.” – Paul Kitti

21. “Mature Themes” – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti “This album tends toward a sound that definitely captures the “freak pop” genre that the band likens itself to. Take one part oogy-boogy, two parts crude uncle and a dash of noise rock and you’ll get Ariel Pink in a nutshell. From the opening track, Ariel Pink’s low, avant garde voice looms below the higher pitch of the very video game like plinks and spires of the music.” – Treasure Groh

“To the Treetops” – Team Me

“Rhine Gold” –Choir of Young Believers

30.

29. 28.

“The Lumineers” – The Lumineers

“Lonerism” – Tame Impala

27. 26. 25.

24. 23. 22. 21.

“Celebration Rock” – Japandroids “Mature Themes” –Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

“The Idler Wheel” – Fiona Apple“Blunderbuss” – Jack White

“Coexist” – The XX “My Head is an Animal” –Of Monsters and Men

Sounds+



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+Best Albums of 2012 FEATURE

22. “Celebration Rock” – Japandroids


3020. “Gossamer” – Passion Pit “During the first spin you’ll likely become lost in a carnival of bouncy, anthemic synth, high-pitched, sliced-up vocal samples and joyful sonic headrushes. It’s even brighter than their 2009 debut ‘Manners,’ which was pretty blinding itself. But it isn’t all rapid-fire pop spectacle – the sun-soaked soul ballad ‘Constant Conversations’ enlists the Swedish a cappella trio Erato, and violins are lifted alongside fluid keys and buzzing snaps on closer ‘Where We Belong.’ It’s all pretty heavy stuff, carried skyward by an army of celebratory sounds you can dance to.” – Paul Kitti

19. “Fragrant World” – Yeasayer “Yeasayer has gone above and beyond the call of duty with ‘Fragrant World,’ employing new technologies to get sounds that you can never quite place. The album makes much of airy, layered vocals and beats that start serene and then just seem to stumble into danceable. Classical and exotic sounds collide as cellos and violins flex and bend together with marimbas and thumb keys.” – Jasmine Zweifler

16. “Babel” – Mumford & Sons “These guys don’t mess around – from their first (and title) track onward, it’s all meaning-rife lyrics paired with some serious strumming. Some songs showcase the band’s impressive command of their various vocal talents, with harmonization as much a part of the track’s success as the fast-paced strings and meandering poetics. Fans of ‘Sigh No More’ needn’t worry that the new album won’t measure up – in fact, I’m going to go ahead and say it exceeds expectations on every count.” – Mary Simkins

15. “Sun” – Cat Power“Singer/multi-instrumentalist Chan Marshall’s wispy wintry vocals, an eerie blend of sultry and stark, seemed to get a bit more sanguine this time around. It’s a refresh, a wake-up call, a get-back out there and, hey, pick-up-some-synthesizers-while-you’re-out – we’ve got a new, weird, sublime, beat-percolating little album to make here. This is the new Cat Power everyone’s talking about – a new turn for the edgy, erratic introvert.” – Jeff Milo

11. “III” – Crystal Castles“Punk EDM rebels Crystal Castles have emerged from recording reclusion with their most focused and important album. It’s also their darkest where obscured notions of cruelty and victimization are weaved into delicate layers of noise. The quick-hitting bursts of bratty aggression are gone – this album is more consistent and controlled than anything we’ve heard from Crystal Castles up to this point.” – Paul Kitti

20.

18.19.

15.16.17.

14. 13. 12. 11.

“Gossamer” – Passion Pit

“Fragrant World” – Yeasayer “Kill for Love” – Chromatics

“Nocture” – Wild Nothing “Babel” – Mumford and Sons 17. “Nocture” – Wild Nothing “Sun” – Cat Power

“good kid m.A.A.d. city” – Kendrick Lamar “Visions” – Grimes

“Fear Fun” –Father John Misty “III” – Crystal Castles

+Sounds


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ANUARY 2013


30

22. “Celebration Rock” – Japandroids

9. “Boys & Girls” – Alabama Shakes“It’s a dynamic compilation that focuses on honest storytelling that hums and explodes at all the right moments, while maintaining its garage band personality. What makes this album so accessible is its ability to transcend more than just one niche. It can be devoured by southern rock lovers who bemoan the times bygone and hipsters alike. It is also something that can easily be shared amongst diverse audiences and revered for its spirited sound.” – Aimee Mandle

7. “Bloom” – Beach House“This album will trap you in lush melody and vibrant dreaminess. Percussion and synth take a supportive, backseat role to full-sounding electric guitar strums, occasional bass and organ buzzing, vintage keyboards and clearly-spelled melodies. Like a meticulously-manicured garden, the arrangements in ‘Bloom’ are carefully designed and executed with a beauty and harmony that is characteristically a product of nature.” – Paul Kitti

4. “Shrines” – Purity Ring“High-pitched vocal samples, layers of synth, pulsing drum beats – but the manipulation of the standard inputs unites familiarity with the sense that something entirely new is evolving. The sweet, childlike voice of Megan James floats through the songs like a ghost, subject to electronic contortion, keeping you entranced as she fills your brain with violent imagery. The lyrics range from eerie to unsettlingly masochistic. The overall effect is something like eavesdropping on a dark celebration of love and contented loneliness, physical connection and mortal despair, with the untraceable knowledge that some danger is looming just ahead. Subtle but significant differences appear with each listen. So, as far as repeat value goes, this album can take a beating.” – Paul Kitti

5. “Channel Orange” – Frank Ocean“Pools and palm trees, after-sundown love affairs and cool Beverly Hills breezes inhabit this major-label debut from Odd Future’s most sentimental member. But you get more than wistful tales from high evenings when you tune into ‘Channel Orange’ – Ocean, unsparingly divulging decadent and occasionally soul-purging secrets through whatever musical impulses lead him, R&B tags be damned.” – Paul Kitti

1.“Shields” – Grizzly Bear“The vocal harmonies, bedroom piano keys, web-work strings and light electronic touches make a return here, all unfolding within complex and unpredictable song structures. At times, the instrumentation meshes together to remember some kind of beautiful breaking. It’s all a careful balancing act – steady footing on the brink of calamity.” – Paul Kitti

29. “To the Treetops” – Team Me

10.

9. 8.

7. 6. 5.

4. 3. 2. 1.

“Boys & Girls” – Alabama Shakes

“Bloom” – Beach House

“Shrines” – Purity Ring “Cancer for a Cure” – El-P

6. “Oshin” – DIIV

“The Morning After” – HandGrenades

“Channel Orange” – Frank Ocean

“Beams” – Matthew Dear “Shileds” – Grizzly Bear

“Until the Quiet Comes” – Flying Lotus

“Oshin” – DIIV

FEATURE

“Kill for Love” – Chromatics

“Sun” – Cat Power

“III” – Crystal Castles

Sounds+


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THE BUZZ

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ARTIST: Anna AshALBUM: These Holy Days3/5 TOWERS BY PAUL KITTI

When waiting tables and working through an exhausting performance schedule wasn’t quite cutting it, Ann Arbor’s Anna Ash launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to produce her first full length. The result, “These Holy Days,” is polished to a perfect shine with strings, keys, horns and gospel choirs showing up on queue throughout the eleven tracks. It’s all just a little too neat – as beautiful as it is unsurprising. But the predictable production is really just a stage for Ash’s voice. She has a startling soprano which she controls with ease, often letting it flutter freely or resound with room-filling soul. Occasionally bold, often playful and always charming, her voice is undoubtedly a ticket to bigger stages. The songs ring with a self-aware naïveté and youthful sentiment, with opening track “Just Like the Movies” setting the tone for the entire album. Making out in the rain, talking through relationships and managing butterflies are among topics of interest, but Ash has a nonchalant way of acknowledging the darker parts of life that brings to mind the style of Ingrid Michaelson. For the most part, this is a light and easy kind of album, as relatable and accessible as they come. But it’s only the sound of a talented artist making her first steps. Her concept is simple, but her voice is extraordinary.

ARTIST: Child BiteALBUM: Monomania EP4/5 TOWERS BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

You may not expect much from a band that bills itself as making “music for losers.” But if the band is Child Bite, there are a few things you can bank on – and foremost among them is mania (a truth from which I assume their new EP “Monomania” plucked its name). You have only to watch the music video for “The Nab Munch is on” off of “Monomania” to understand visually what Child Bite does in the sonic sense. In it, a man writhes in agony, neon paint splatters, blood drips and the man is strangled as the music crashes and careens. As a psychological disorder, monomania is characterized by an unnatural fixation on or zeal for a single idea. And on this EP, that idea is a dark one indeed. Front man Shawn Knight’s vocal style, and the band’s style as a unit, seems to take cues from the Captain Beefheart school of oddity above all else. A healthy dose of Iggy and the Stooges brand raw power pulsing through in the driving guitars makes itself felt as well. Their fixation on notions of fear and violence is evident in visceral song titles like “Smear Where the Face Was” and “Scum Gene.” Electronic squeaks and squeals also make their mark throughout “Monomania.” The drums come as huge explosions which, coupled with the electronic elements, give the effect of the whole song seeming to spark and ignite. “Monomania” is a mere six songs long and lacks the moments of melodicism present on 2010’s “Gold Thriller.” This need not be seen as a negative, as it lends the album a slightly unhinged feeling that captures thrillingly the madness of their live shows.

ARTIST: Frontier RuckusALBUM: Eternity of Dimming4.5/5 TOWERS BY JEFF MILO

Cruising northern/rural Oakland county as flakey snow blankets billow down their tender chilling smother of these scattered porch-lit mouths gaped from boxy hibernating mini-mansions, the rust-rimmed two-door coupe rolls towards the freeway. And the voice sings over the humble stereo, with the taut twang of banjo, the tinny saw’s slithered oscillation, the muted fuzzed plod of drums while the voice shatters and stings like ice. This wintry night drive through mid-Michigan felt like the ideal time and scenario to be listening to a Frontier Ruckus album. Quaking evocations of seasonal mystique and sense of self, crepuscular curiosities, a blocky wanderlust, a sound that splays and seeks (not a hook – like pop, not a burst – like rock, not a honk, whine or croon like country or emo or blues but too electric for folk and too baroque for bluegrass). “Cinematic” or “expansive” are fitting for this 20-track-double-LP, charting the runtime of most feature films, but it holds the listener as successive songs let more light in: the bubbly bite of banjo and rustling drums build something conducive with that voice (a creaking trill breathed and carried in such a theatric way where every word carries implied vitality). A songbook, it’s their ultimate trip into poetic-nostalgia, opening up to you like a wilderness, to be climbed, chopped-through, camped-in, navigated, surveyed, song to song to song. The textures of “Dimming” are tidal and twisting, a willowy-wisped organ palpable in the corners of every song, subdued but then high-kicking way up front in buzzy undulations.

REVIEW

+Sounds


i SPY

Magazine // J

ANUARY 2013

Tarantino films come with a list of expectations: Dialogue so riveting it packs the punch of an explosive action scene. Impeccable style and ruthless bravado. Characters that transcend the screen and live in your head for days. An incontestably cool soundtrack. Themes regurgitated from pop culture, re-processed and presented with biting clarity. And perhaps the most important expectation is the element of surprise. “Django Unchained” is the latest product from the Tarantino universe, and it meets all of those expectations in extreme measure. The film follows on the heels of 2009’s “Inglorious Basterds,” reworking history into a fantastical bloodbath where the bad guys finally get what’s coming to them and then some. Last time it was Hitler and his Nazi pals. This time it’s snobby, ruthless slave-owners. We follow a dentist-turned-bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) as he tracks a pack of murdering low-lives with a heavy price on their heads. Only Django (Jamie Foxx) can identify the catch, so Schultz recruits his help and offers freedom in return. A natural gunslinger, Django uses his newfound freedom and killing skills to hunt down his wife and exact revenge on her oppressor, the evil plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Once Schultz and Django arrive at the

Candyland plantation, Tarantino ups the suspense as they try to scheme a way to pry Django’s wife from Candie’s clutches. Don’t expect any restraint. Everything here is absolutely over the top, especially the violence. Heads nearly explode when shot, people get ripped apart by dogs and the camera gives audiences a close-up of the brutal treatment of slaves (the story takes place two years before the Civil War). Plenty of clever humor, a spaghetti western feel and gorgeous cinematography make it a fun ride if you can stomach all the blood. And the performances are knock-outs. DiCaprio is a gleefully evil sociopath in a role that reportedly made him feel physically sick, and Waltz follows up his Oscar-winning performance in “Inglorious Basterds” with one equally as fascinating. Also, one of the best and longest-running actor-director relationships gets another brilliant turn with the warped Uncle Tom role Tarantino created for Samuel L. Jackson. His eyes haven’t pierced through the screen like this since “Pulp Fiction.” Django Unchained is an unapologetically brutal revenge fantasy through the eyes of a restlessly innovative storyteller. No doubt it’ll make a lot of people angry, queasy, shocked and repelled. But, if you’ve visited Mr. Tarantino’s world before and found yourself eager for a return visit, this one is certainly worth the trip.

FILM: The Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneyDIRECTOR: Peter Jackson3.5/5 TOWERS BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

Hype for a film is often a double edged sword, and I fear that Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” may have been a casualty. It was one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year, and it wound up the nerd contingent as well as the uninitiated with comparable curiosity. “An Unexpected Journey” is the opening of a much larger story that takes Bilbo Baggins from his cozy little Hobbit hole into the distant Lonely Mountain to recapture an astounding trove of dwarvish treasure from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Along the way he foils trolls, rides giant eagles and finds some jewelry. It is a pure adventure tale. Ian McKellan as Gandalf and Martin Freeman as Bilbo turn in some powerful performances as the leads, but the cavalcade of dwarves are a sadly undistinguishable and unremarkable bunch. Jackson plumbed the appendices of the book to flesh out the film and this lead to some delightful inclusions: the presence of Radagast the Brown is one such. But other add-ons, like the inclusion of “The White Council” (Gandalf’s meeting with

Saruman, Galadriel and Elrond) feel a bit like padding, and, with a run time of three hours, could have been easily dispensed with. It must be said that the book “The Hobbit” is being broken up into three cinematic installments, so a slight feeling of dissatisfaction is to be expected when a film ends with a big fat “TO BE CONTINUED.” The production’s beginnings were characterized by setbacks and uncertainty (a bit like Bilbo’s journey itself, one might astutely observe), and perhaps this can be blamed for the film’s slightly unfocused feel. The film is beautiful and transporting with a lot to love, but for those who were expecting the impeccable instincts of the LOTR trilogy, this film may leave a bit to be desired.

FILM: Django UnchainedDIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino4.5/5 TOWERS BY PAUL KITTI

REVIEW

The Cut+


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