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(11/10/05 5:00am)
Alright. Time to familiarize people with Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon leader Mark Kozelek.\nKozelek began making music with his group the Red House Painters in the early 90s. After RHP's split in 2001, the singer-songwriter-producer-guitarist went solo on an album of AC/DC covers which were so unlike the originals a radio station in Santa Barbara misinterpreted one track as a Leonard Cohen number. Then, in 2003, Kozelek released Ghosts of the Great Highway with his unplugged Sun Kil Moon project, sounding like the House Painters' folksier, sunnier alter ego.\nFast forward two years to the present, Kozelek's at it again with a sophomore album under the Sun Kil Moon moniker. That's not all. On Tiny Cities, released on his own Caldo Verde label, he covers his back-catalogue favorites of -- none of us saw this coming! -- Modest Mouse, the long-established Seattle indie-rock.\nThe music of Modest Mouse is raw, assertive and intoxicatingly tense -- a swinging sound almost entirely the polar opposite of Sun Kil Moon's style. Instead of merely taking a fundamentalist, sound-alike approach to the covers, Kozelek casts his inimitable spell on a retrospective of 11 pre-"Float On" tracks, scrapping everything but Brock's lyrics and phrasing.\nIn Modest Mouse's lyrical template he finds original inspiration. Whereas Ghosts was more a compilation of talents led by Kozelek, Tiny Cities' instrumentation is sparse, most fitting to another solo album.\nUnfortunately, Kozelek's disappointingly short half-hour of covers is hit and miss. "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" doesn't lend itself well to Sun Kil Moon's mood; it's a sinister, head-bobbing song and the Modest Mouse grooves are sorely missed. Other times, Kozelek shows himself to be adept at expressing a different side of the same emotions. With his gently picked acoustics and ambient atmospherics, he recreates the off-kilter "Neverending Math Equation" as intimate bluesy folk. Modest Mouse delivered it as an angsty declaration; for Kozelek, it's meditative -- Modest Mouse's Buddhist cousin.\nThe rest of Tiny Cities saunters along at an even pace, unremarkable until its conclusion. Never is Sun Kil Moon's signature romantic sensibility rendered more clearly than in the group's (Kozelek's) interpretation of "Ocean Breathes Salty."\nKozelek came across Modest Mouse by accident, hearing them at a Shins show a few years back. Kozelek's decision to tackle Modest Mouse recordings is quite the magnanimous gesture, but it would have been more profound had he taken on this project before the popularity of "Float On" pounded the name Modest Mouse into us. Discovering the band's goodness through another artist's covers then would have been more exciting. While I still prefer to spend my late nights with Ghosts, one thing is certain: Tiny Cities is growing on me.
(11/10/05 1:21am)
Alright. Time to familiarize people with Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon leader Mark Kozelek.\nKozelek began making music with his group the Red House Painters in the early 90s. After RHP's split in 2001, the singer-songwriter-producer-guitarist went solo on an album of AC/DC covers which were so unlike the originals a radio station in Santa Barbara misinterpreted one track as a Leonard Cohen number. Then, in 2003, Kozelek released Ghosts of the Great Highway with his unplugged Sun Kil Moon project, sounding like the House Painters' folksier, sunnier alter ego.\nFast forward two years to the present, Kozelek's at it again with a sophomore album under the Sun Kil Moon moniker. That's not all. On Tiny Cities, released on his own Caldo Verde label, he covers his back-catalogue favorites of -- none of us saw this coming! -- Modest Mouse, the long-established Seattle indie-rock.\nThe music of Modest Mouse is raw, assertive and intoxicatingly tense -- a swinging sound almost entirely the polar opposite of Sun Kil Moon's style. Instead of merely taking a fundamentalist, sound-alike approach to the covers, Kozelek casts his inimitable spell on a retrospective of 11 pre-"Float On" tracks, scrapping everything but Brock's lyrics and phrasing.\nIn Modest Mouse's lyrical template he finds original inspiration. Whereas Ghosts was more a compilation of talents led by Kozelek, Tiny Cities' instrumentation is sparse, most fitting to another solo album.\nUnfortunately, Kozelek's disappointingly short half-hour of covers is hit and miss. "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" doesn't lend itself well to Sun Kil Moon's mood; it's a sinister, head-bobbing song and the Modest Mouse grooves are sorely missed. Other times, Kozelek shows himself to be adept at expressing a different side of the same emotions. With his gently picked acoustics and ambient atmospherics, he recreates the off-kilter "Neverending Math Equation" as intimate bluesy folk. Modest Mouse delivered it as an angsty declaration; for Kozelek, it's meditative -- Modest Mouse's Buddhist cousin.\nThe rest of Tiny Cities saunters along at an even pace, unremarkable until its conclusion. Never is Sun Kil Moon's signature romantic sensibility rendered more clearly than in the group's (Kozelek's) interpretation of "Ocean Breathes Salty."\nKozelek came across Modest Mouse by accident, hearing them at a Shins show a few years back. Kozelek's decision to tackle Modest Mouse recordings is quite the magnanimous gesture, but it would have been more profound had he taken on this project before the popularity of "Float On" pounded the name Modest Mouse into us. Discovering the band's goodness through another artist's covers then would have been more exciting. While I still prefer to spend my late nights with Ghosts, one thing is certain: Tiny Cities is growing on me.
(11/02/05 5:29am)
One local restaurant owner's vehicle is proof that what's bad for your health might be great for your car -- as well as your pocketbook and the environment.\nRon Stanhouse, owner of the Crazy Horse, 214 W. Kirkwood Ave., has been selling fried foods for nearly half his life. While the restaurant's greasy foods might not be beneficial to customers' waistlines, they are great for his blue 1999 Volkswagen Beetle.\nStanhouse recently purchased the diesel-run vehicle on eBay, only to have it adapted to run on cleaner-burning waste vegetable oil, in addition to regular diesel. It was driven in last month's IU Homecoming parade.\nStanhouse became aware of the doubly useful combination of having a car and recycling his leftover fryer grease as fuel after reading about vegetable oil fuel conversion kits in the media -- spurred by the recent increased gas prices.\n"It seemed like a good idea and the timing's perfect," Stanhouse said. "But I'm just a car guy; always have been. That is, a car guy with a restaurant, with easily 20 gallons of waste oil each week, who thought, 'Hey, I could do that, that's easy.'"\nHe is not alone. Because of high demand for conversion kits, the only difficulty he had in making the switch to grease was placing his order. According to MSNBC, there are approximately 5,000-plus vehicles on U.S. roads today that run on the biofuel.\nThe idea of using vegeable oil is far from new. In 1900, Rudolf Diesel himself demonstrated his signature engine that ran specifically on peanut oil -- foreseeing sustainable green energy and the development of the agriculture in countries using it. After his death in 1913, the diesel engine was re-engineered to run on fuel derived from petroleum, which historically has been the cheapest and most easily obtained fuel.\nDiesel prices are now running between 80 cents to $1 more than gas prices. However, Stanhouse remains unphased, as his fuel comes straight from his own personal filling station. The restaurant's deep fryers, which produce grease to customers, serve up what amounts to "liquid gold" for Stanhouse — his main reason for making the jump to "grease up" with vegetable oil.\n"I figured I already had access to all the fuel; the hard part was covered," Stanhouse said. "On diesel the 'Bio Bug' gets about 40 mpg, and I joke it gets 20 chicken wings to the gallon, but I don't really care -- it's free."\nIn less than two months the Beetle, or "Bio Bug," has nearly 500 miles on it and Stanhouse has only good things to say about the investment.\n"It really makes me smile to know that I've completed the project," Stanhouse said. "To see it done and see it work -- it's not just like every other car you see up and down the highway."\nAfter spending a couple months to find a suitable vehicle and to have it converted, Stanhouse paid nearly $1,000 for a conversion kit and that much more again to have local mechanics install it inside the Beetle's spare tire well.\nThe Bug still depends on regular diesel to get started so the vegetable oil has time to heat for a few minutes, liquefying it so it doesn't clog. The switch is then made from diesel to veggie oil.\nHowever, there was also a learning curve. The switch, which is in the center dashboard area, is so close to the stick it's easy to accidentally tap into the wrong mode.\nStanhouse isn't sure whether there will be any kind of side effects to using his vegetable oil-powered car, such as its start ability in the winter season, but so far so good. It turns out he's saving money at a time of high gas prices and is helping the environment, too.\nIn general, vegetable oil is a renewable resource, said Philip Stevens, an associate professor in the Chemistry Department and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He explained that the carbon in the fuel doesn't come from coal, but from plant matter, which comes from the atmosphere. The result is that burning vegetable oil doesn't add any net carbon dioxide.\n"Nonetheless, whether it's better for the environment depends on how the ethanol in the vegetable oil is produced," said Stevens. "The net benefits may not be as great as you think because of the fossil fuels used in its production. But if you have a process (like Stanhouse's) that recycles used vegetable oil, of course that's better for the environment than producing vegetable oil strictly for automobiles. Right now, energy efficiency is key."\nWill running your car on vegetable oil be the next "big thing?" Stevens said he doesn't know.\n"It'll depend on the relative cost of gasoline for regular cars versus diesel, whether you can convince people to switch," Stevens said, "And gas is currently a lot cheaper of the two, which is interesting."\nStanhouse's "experiment in fun" is a nice environmental gesture, but he added that he doesn't think cooking oil will eventually help solve the United States' energy crisis.\n"I think biofuels will be a realistic, permanent part of the energy policy in this country in the future," he said. "Farm towns are tripping over themselves for ethanol -- one step towards cellulose, (another possible biofuel alternative), and that's where I think the future points"
(10/13/05 4:00am)
An experimentation has always been central to rock, and that's what Broken Social Scene's new eponymous album epitomizes. Not satisfied to stay with what's already worked for them, they've pushed the envelope even more, taking the "growing as a band" cliché literally.\nSocial Scene's label, Arts & Crafts, is a constellation of Canadian stars including, well, Stars themselves, Feist, Apostle of Hustle, Valley of the Giants and Jason Collete. Interestingly, various clientele from each of these groups -- which amass half of the label's catalogue -- are now in the Social Scene fold. \nSince the release of their comedown-induced debut in 2001, Feel Good Lost, this Toronto collective has become a bit more collective. After swelling from two members to 10 for 2003's breakout, You Forgot It in People, now, two years later, they've reached a nearly unprecedented 17 members, and each distinct pop genius' pent-up enthusiasm is released all in one fell swoop on BSS.\nEach track seems to reach for Apollonian momentousness, creating a perpetual climax characterized by intense, shuffling rhythms. Regrettably, this makes for the album's overriding fault -- there's just too much. Although BSS is brilliantly ambitious and as positively charged as music gets -- exemplified by "Windsurfing Nation," a hip-hopping flurry of scurrying vocals and manic instrumentation, with Juno award-winning rapper K-OS making a cameo -- a little deconstruction and restraint in album production could have gone a long way, and fans would have a swirling orch-opus of baroque folk on their hands instead of an obnoxious assault.\nThus, as much as it pains me to say it, the group's audaciousness -- exactly what makes their stage performance so impressive -- hinders their latest studio work. While a few of the album's 14 tracks, such as "Swimmers" and "Hotel," do recall the mellow, pondering feel of People, for the most part a pollution of guitars, strings, percussion and horns spoils the broth; that is, save for the insomniac mumblings and standout vocals by the male leads as well as Stars' Amy Millan, Leslie Feist (Canada's Norah Jones) and Emily Haines of Metric, which released a sophomore album, Live It Out, the same day as BSS.\nAll this griping is not to say that BSS is a disappointment. No way. Using their honest passion and sheer attendance to form melodies that are at once crude, layered and sophisticated -- not to mention the creatively ambiguous lyrics -- Broken Social Scene the band remains a miracle of pop, an indie-rock symphony with rock 'n' roll soul.\nPlus, BSS' packaging rewards buyers with a limited edition bonus EP called For You and Me. Seven tracks, 26 minutes long, it's definitely a worthy addition, especially when -- more often than not -- bonus EPs tend to suck.
(10/13/05 2:31am)
An experimentation has always been central to rock, and that's what Broken Social Scene's new eponymous album epitomizes. Not satisfied to stay with what's already worked for them, they've pushed the envelope even more, taking the "growing as a band" cliché literally.\nSocial Scene's label, Arts & Crafts, is a constellation of Canadian stars including, well, Stars themselves, Feist, Apostle of Hustle, Valley of the Giants and Jason Collete. Interestingly, various clientele from each of these groups -- which amass half of the label's catalogue -- are now in the Social Scene fold. \nSince the release of their comedown-induced debut in 2001, Feel Good Lost, this Toronto collective has become a bit more collective. After swelling from two members to 10 for 2003's breakout, You Forgot It in People, now, two years later, they've reached a nearly unprecedented 17 members, and each distinct pop genius' pent-up enthusiasm is released all in one fell swoop on BSS.\nEach track seems to reach for Apollonian momentousness, creating a perpetual climax characterized by intense, shuffling rhythms. Regrettably, this makes for the album's overriding fault -- there's just too much. Although BSS is brilliantly ambitious and as positively charged as music gets -- exemplified by "Windsurfing Nation," a hip-hopping flurry of scurrying vocals and manic instrumentation, with Juno award-winning rapper K-OS making a cameo -- a little deconstruction and restraint in album production could have gone a long way, and fans would have a swirling orch-opus of baroque folk on their hands instead of an obnoxious assault.\nThus, as much as it pains me to say it, the group's audaciousness -- exactly what makes their stage performance so impressive -- hinders their latest studio work. While a few of the album's 14 tracks, such as "Swimmers" and "Hotel," do recall the mellow, pondering feel of People, for the most part a pollution of guitars, strings, percussion and horns spoils the broth; that is, save for the insomniac mumblings and standout vocals by the male leads as well as Stars' Amy Millan, Leslie Feist (Canada's Norah Jones) and Emily Haines of Metric, which released a sophomore album, Live It Out, the same day as BSS.\nAll this griping is not to say that BSS is a disappointment. No way. Using their honest passion and sheer attendance to form melodies that are at once crude, layered and sophisticated -- not to mention the creatively ambiguous lyrics -- Broken Social Scene the band remains a miracle of pop, an indie-rock symphony with rock 'n' roll soul.\nPlus, BSS' packaging rewards buyers with a limited edition bonus EP called For You and Me. Seven tracks, 26 minutes long, it's definitely a worthy addition, especially when -- more often than not -- bonus EPs tend to suck.
(10/03/05 4:35am)
Local bands 40% Steve and the Vivid Curve will headline an event at 10 p.m. tonight at The Bluebird to benefit Fort Wayne resident Dustin Smith, who was involved in a diving accident over the summer that left him paralyzed from the chest down.\nEver since the incident, Smith, 26, and his family, including his fiancee and their two children, have been doing all they can to reorganize their lives to accommodate his disability.\nAfter an initially grim hospital diagnosis indicated Smith would never walk or use his hands again, persistent family members sought out Proneuron Biotechnologies, a company pioneering an experimental trial procedure called Procord that offers hope for a partial cure through improved cell technology.\nTrials conducted in Israel and the United States showed Procord resulted in the return of sensation and even some motor skills in about half of the participants, according to the Proneuron Web site. The treatment involves cultivating white blood cells from the patient's arms and injecting them into the spot where the spinal cord damage occurred. Smith, the 20th person ever accepted into the program and only the 12th person to receive the treatment, underwent the procedure in Atlanta and has seen gradual improvement.\n"Feeling's coming back in his left hand, and he has a lot more control over his hand and arm movements than he had before," Smith's sister Tia Tackett said. "When he came back to Fort Wayne, he could even hold his kid."\nTo further its research, Proneuron has donated its procedures at no cost, but now the family is incurring all the other expenses that are the result of this disability, such as unmet medical costs, transportation needs and modification to Smith's home for handicap accessibility.\nSmith's insurance won't supplement much of the related medical costs and rehabilitation needs, refusing to underwrite experimental procedures, said Jenny Tackett, an IU student and a distant relative of Smith's. \nJenny coordinated tonight's benefit, the funds going toward a trust fund in Smith's name.\nWhile Smith's condition has seen progress, setbacks have been demanding on him.\n"He had a tear in his spinal column and so spinal fluid is leaking out into his neck and spinal meningitis has developed," Tia Tacket said. "And it's extremely painful. He goes in and out of falling asleep, so right now he hasn't been able to do much therapy."\nStill, both women said Smith remains hopeful about his recovery.\n"He's kind of a cheerleader for everyone," Tia said. "Everyone else gets discouraged about the accident but he stays positive and brings everyone else up. He wants to continue college for another degree and that's his No. 1 goal, to get full use of his hands and arms so he can, as that just has so much to do with living and practical life."\nTia, also of Fort Wayne, will be in attendance at tonight's event at Bluebird, which will also be highlighted by a dating auction in which members of 40% Steve and the Vivid Curve will participate alongside nearly 40 volunteering men and women, including representatives from ROTC and Phi Kappa Delta. There will also be a raffle, as local businesses have donated $400 worth of gift certificates to the cause. Raffle tickets will be $1 each.\n"That's what makes this different from other benefits -- the fact that it's not put on by an organization," Jenny said. "So many individuals have gone above and beyond, working together to make something happen. "\nAll proceeds will be contributed to a trust fund set up in Smith's name. Anyone wishing to contribute can send donations to the Dustin Smith Trust Fund at People's Federal Savings Bank, 116 W. Mitchell St., Kendallville, IN, 46755.
(09/29/05 4:17am)
TERRE HAUTE -- Bob Woodward, a renowned journalist who helped link Watergate to the White House, spoke at Indiana State University's Hulman Center Tuesday evening as part of the school's annual University Speakers Series.\nWoodward, who has co-authored or authored nine No. 1 national non-fiction best-sellers, including "All the President's Men," expressed the fact that he benefited from an era when journalists had the support of editors and publishers in keeping the identity of their sources anonymous. As a young investigative reporter for The Washington Post, Woodward was able to run the story on Watergate without compromising his source. In a new memoir, "The Secret Man," he elaborates on the early years of his relationship with senior FBI official W. Mark Felt -- who was famed anonymous source "Deep Throat" -- American history's most famous anonymous source.\nThe journalistic landscape, however, looks different 30 years later, Woodward said.\nIn light of the Valerie Plame case -- which has landed Judith Miller of The New York Times in jail for refusing to reveal her sources -- Woodward discussed the value of the free press and how it is threatened, saying he would happily serve some of Miller's time.\n"People can do their jobs without sending reporters to jail," Woodward said. "Reporters shouldn't have to risk jail giving representation. That happens in banana republics, China and Russia, and that should not happen here.\n"What might do this country in -- it's not terrorism or the economy," he said. "What will do us in is, believe me, secret government will do us in. A group of people saying, 'Now we have power. We can do things our own way.'"\nWoodward noted the news media's current obsession with speed and reporting every single development to a story no matter how incremental it might be. Reporters should question why things happen and withhold judgment until they've had a chance to dig further, Woodward said.\nWoodward cited Kobe Bryant's trial in Colorado two summers ago as an example of the absurd pace of today's coverage.\n"I remember CNN's reporter standing outside the courthouse telling viewers that the lawyers aren't talking; the prosecutors aren't talking; and the judge isn't talking. She basically concluded, 'I'm here to tell you live — I don't know anything. See you in the hour.'"\nIn a question-and-answer session, Woodward touched on a variety of current subjects, including the heated process of choosing a new chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.\nWhile it appears as if John Roberts will ultimately be confirmed, Woodward said he wonders if Americans know specifics about him, especially considering his age and the potential length of his tenure.\n"We don't know enough about this man," Woodward said. "I don't know whether it's the air or what that keeps old people on that court alive, but at age 50 and given advances in technology, he might be chief justice for half a century."\nWoodward also mentioned the recent humanitarian disaster in New Orleans, claiming that the poverty of black America caught just as many journalists off guard as the rest of the country.\n"We'll point fingers and say, 'Why didn't the President know?' Well, the fact is, we didn't know either," he said. "It's partly a learning opportunity, especially for people in our business."\nHe later added that the situation in New Orleans exacerbated people's ability to evacuate.\n"(For people without the means or resources), evacuation means to hide, and that's just what they did," he said. "When the government issued an evacuation order before Katrina struck, their second sentence should've been, 'For these other X number of people, we don't know what you should do.'"\nNear the end of the appearance, Woodward made speculation about potential nominees for the upcoming presidential race, suggesting that Hillary Rodham Clinton will run for president in 2008.\n"I don't know where the flow of time will take us," Woodward said. "But I think Hillary Clinton is running. There's not proof, but there's evidence -- circumstantial evidence. Not like the weapons of mass destruction kind."\nWoodward held a book-signing after the speech. San Francisco resident Heidi Green had Woodward sign 30 books.\nGreen had the books signed as a present for her brother who teaches a journalism class at a private school.\n"I traveled (all the way from California) to be here for this," she said.
(09/29/05 4:00am)
The music of Barbez has been billed as a fusion of "ethnic-punk," "Eastern European avant-cabaret" and "post-war anti-pop." In other words, the Brooklyn-based band makes music that has yet to catch on in these parts, let alone anywhere, and the day it does is a rare day indeed.\nWhile an attempted description of Barbez might be more genre-confusing than anything, I am here to try nonetheless, starting with the group's one-of-a-kind theremin virtuoso, Pamelia Kursten, who has contributed to albums by Air and David Byrne.\nIf you are unfamiliar with the legendary theremin, don't worry. You aren't living in that much of a bubble (and there is always www.wikipedia.org's very enlightening definition!) In short, it's a crude precursor to the Moog Synthesizer and, invented in 1917, the first instrument designed to produce music without touch, as the musician fingers air and the simultaneous whooshing of electronic pitches merge and diverge at her will.\nOutside of the orchestral effects of the theremin (an unavoidable talking point), add to Barbez your standard guitar/bass/drums rock foundation, a vibrophonist, one souped-up palm-pilot and singer/dancer Ksenia Vidyaykina's husky Nico-esque verse, sung in theatrical English and Slavic. And with producer Martin Bisi of Sonic Youth, Herbie Hancock, John Zorn and Iggy Pop fame at the helm, avant-garde is the word for this band, who has also shared the stage with other unique acts like the Dresden Dolls, Cat Power, Godspeed You Black Emperor and Devendra Banhart.\nBarbez themselves cover odd territory. They are a band as fascinated with Brecht/Weill compositions as they are with the Residents and eccentric French composer Erik Satie. On Insignificance, the group's sophomore release on Important Records, they interpret Brecht's "Song for the Moldau" as well as Satie's "Third Gnossienne." The album has an austere formality and macabre eeriness to it, akin to that of Murder By Death, and Barbez finds as much chaotic control as a symphony orchestra might find in performing Metallica.\nBarbez, named for the diverse neighborhood where the group's founder Dan Kaufman once lived, is of the highest breed of interesting and unorthodox bands out there. There's no doubt Barbez has talent, but their novelty on record strays a little too far from the mainstream for most tastes. Maybe after seeing them Sept. 30 during their visit to Bloomington, we'll be able to hear their genre-defying music in another light.
(09/29/05 12:33am)
The music of Barbez has been billed as a fusion of "ethnic-punk," "Eastern European avant-cabaret" and "post-war anti-pop." In other words, the Brooklyn-based band makes music that has yet to catch on in these parts, let alone anywhere, and the day it does is a rare day indeed.\nWhile an attempted description of Barbez might be more genre-confusing than anything, I am here to try nonetheless, starting with the group's one-of-a-kind theremin virtuoso, Pamelia Kursten, who has contributed to albums by Air and David Byrne.\nIf you are unfamiliar with the legendary theremin, don't worry. You aren't living in that much of a bubble (and there is always www.wikipedia.org's very enlightening definition!) In short, it's a crude precursor to the Moog Synthesizer and, invented in 1917, the first instrument designed to produce music without touch, as the musician fingers air and the simultaneous whooshing of electronic pitches merge and diverge at her will.\nOutside of the orchestral effects of the theremin (an unavoidable talking point), add to Barbez your standard guitar/bass/drums rock foundation, a vibrophonist, one souped-up palm-pilot and singer/dancer Ksenia Vidyaykina's husky Nico-esque verse, sung in theatrical English and Slavic. And with producer Martin Bisi of Sonic Youth, Herbie Hancock, John Zorn and Iggy Pop fame at the helm, avant-garde is the word for this band, who has also shared the stage with other unique acts like the Dresden Dolls, Cat Power, Godspeed You Black Emperor and Devendra Banhart.\nBarbez themselves cover odd territory. They are a band as fascinated with Brecht/Weill compositions as they are with the Residents and eccentric French composer Erik Satie. On Insignificance, the group's sophomore release on Important Records, they interpret Brecht's "Song for the Moldau" as well as Satie's "Third Gnossienne." The album has an austere formality and macabre eeriness to it, akin to that of Murder By Death, and Barbez finds as much chaotic control as a symphony orchestra might find in performing Metallica.\nBarbez, named for the diverse neighborhood where the group's founder Dan Kaufman once lived, is of the highest breed of interesting and unorthodox bands out there. There's no doubt Barbez has talent, but their novelty on record strays a little too far from the mainstream for most tastes. Maybe after seeing them Sept. 30 during their visit to Bloomington, we'll be able to hear their genre-defying music in another light.
(09/22/05 4:00am)
Last spring Bright Eyes' It's Morning, I'm Wide Awake let me have it -- it was that cold bucket of water over the head that opens your eyes long before the sun is up. The Shins and Iron & Wine (both featured on that one soundtrack for that "Garden"-something movie) weren't the only ones making folk music beyond that of those making it 30 years earlier.\nOne or two clicks away on www.amazon.com and I'm sampling the music of Devendra Banhart. A folkadelic troubadour discovered by Young God Records owner Michael Gira, Banhart is still young at 24. Yet on 2004's Rejoicing in the Hands, for example, he and his acoustic sounded as world-weary as mid-lifers-still-going Springsteen and Dylan.\nOpposed to the bare-boned vintage sound of his previous works (the first of which was recorded on a four-track), Banhart's latest and greatest, Cripple Crow, is a communal affair of the so-called "freak-folk" family -- a collective of likeminded acid-twee compatriots whom Banhart has helped to bring together.\nThe album, Banhart's fourth in three years, celebrates this camaraderie starting with the cover art, which shows Banhart perched in front of a Sgt. Peppers'-sized assortment that includes members of CocoRosie, Feathers, Veviter and Noah Georgeson. It is singular and grand in its own right.\nAs for the music, Cripple Crow is very great. With a voice that's as warbly as Antony of Antony and the Johnsons and as maudlin as Jeff Buckley's, Benhart croons his way through 75 minutes of 22 tracks ranging from the Spanish-tongued sing-along goodness of "The Beatles" (it's one of five Spanish-sung tracks) to the vintage, otherworldly sophistication of "Dragonflys" to the Iron & Wine-y (pun intended) tenderness of "Queen Bee."\nThe album's length is close to that of Sufjan Stevens' epic Illinois. Though not as cohesive as Illinois nor Banhart's previous works, the disjointed feel of the album works to its advantage. \nAs a point of reference, Cripple Crow is as comforting an album as Nick Drake's Pink Moon (1972) on a restless starlit night. It's a lush, transitional work, and one that kids our age will refer to in another 30 years.
(09/22/05 1:38am)
Last spring Bright Eyes' It's Morning, I'm Wide Awake let me have it -- it was that cold bucket of water over the head that opens your eyes long before the sun is up. The Shins and Iron & Wine (both featured on that one soundtrack for that "Garden"-something movie) weren't the only ones making folk music beyond that of those making it 30 years earlier.\nOne or two clicks away on www.amazon.com and I'm sampling the music of Devendra Banhart. A folkadelic troubadour discovered by Young God Records owner Michael Gira, Banhart is still young at 24. Yet on 2004's Rejoicing in the Hands, for example, he and his acoustic sounded as world-weary as mid-lifers-still-going Springsteen and Dylan.\nOpposed to the bare-boned vintage sound of his previous works (the first of which was recorded on a four-track), Banhart's latest and greatest, Cripple Crow, is a communal affair of the so-called "freak-folk" family -- a collective of likeminded acid-twee compatriots whom Banhart has helped to bring together.\nThe album, Banhart's fourth in three years, celebrates this camaraderie starting with the cover art, which shows Banhart perched in front of a Sgt. Peppers'-sized assortment that includes members of CocoRosie, Feathers, Veviter and Noah Georgeson. It is singular and grand in its own right.\nAs for the music, Cripple Crow is very great. With a voice that's as warbly as Antony of Antony and the Johnsons and as maudlin as Jeff Buckley's, Benhart croons his way through 75 minutes of 22 tracks ranging from the Spanish-tongued sing-along goodness of "The Beatles" (it's one of five Spanish-sung tracks) to the vintage, otherworldly sophistication of "Dragonflys" to the Iron & Wine-y (pun intended) tenderness of "Queen Bee."\nThe album's length is close to that of Sufjan Stevens' epic Illinois. Though not as cohesive as Illinois nor Banhart's previous works, the disjointed feel of the album works to its advantage. \nAs a point of reference, Cripple Crow is as comforting an album as Nick Drake's Pink Moon (1972) on a restless starlit night. It's a lush, transitional work, and one that kids our age will refer to in another 30 years.
(09/15/05 4:00am)
With ex-Cars front-man and Weezer-producing Ric Ocasek on board for Nada Surf's 1995 debut High/Low, the band first hit airwaves with "Popular." As the song's popularity died, though, so did Nada Surf's fame. Reviewers dismissed them as nothing more than one-hit wonders and cheap Weezer rip-offs. Major label Elektra dropped the band and their follow-up album, The Proximity Effect, remains an import in the States. Nada Surf survived only by playing for the French. Need I say more?\nYes, I do. After persevering through a monotonous existence of performing "Popular" over and over again for eight years (for the French, mind you), Nada Surf released their third album, Let Go, in 2003. The album showed the trio finally hitting their stride. Let Go's new, smoother sound made the first two albums sound like they had been released in demo form. If High/Low heard Nada Surf during its rawer period, Let Go presented their evolution to smooth pop much like that of Coldplay, Pete Yorn and Death Cab for Cutie.\nIn fact, Death Cab guitarist Chris Walla helped produce Nada Surf's latest effort, The Weight is a Gift, and the album complements this recent influx of cathartic indie. Musically, it's a retread of the introspective power-pop sound discovered with Let Go, though with the more cohesive theme of long-awaited redemption. The opening track, "Concrete Bed," sets the tone for the next ten and uses catchy, upbeat Nada Surf-stylized metaphors for life such as "to find someone you love / you gotta be someone you love." The theme of release from setbacks, both personally and professionally, is prevalent throughout The Weight as lead singer Matthew Caws' lofting voice croons about love at its most trite, sentimentalized emotion at its simplest and being able to revel in the afterglow.\nJust as Let Go, a four-star album in my book, was never as popular as its contemporaries, The Weight, released by independent label Barsuk, promises to be committed to the same underrated fate. Outshined by high-profile albums such as Coldplay's X&Y and Death Cab's Plans, Nada Surf simply may not have the name to carry them. Judging from how far they've come since one-hit wonder infamy, they should be content to wear shades and enjoy some sun while it lasts.
(09/15/05 3:34am)
With ex-Cars front-man and Weezer-producing Ric Ocasek on board for Nada Surf's 1995 debut High/Low, the band first hit airwaves with "Popular." As the song's popularity died, though, so did Nada Surf's fame. Reviewers dismissed them as nothing more than one-hit wonders and cheap Weezer rip-offs. Major label Elektra dropped the band and their follow-up album, The Proximity Effect, remains an import in the States. Nada Surf survived only by playing for the French. Need I say more?\nYes, I do. After persevering through a monotonous existence of performing "Popular" over and over again for eight years (for the French, mind you), Nada Surf released their third album, Let Go, in 2003. The album showed the trio finally hitting their stride. Let Go's new, smoother sound made the first two albums sound like they had been released in demo form. If High/Low heard Nada Surf during its rawer period, Let Go presented their evolution to smooth pop much like that of Coldplay, Pete Yorn and Death Cab for Cutie.\nIn fact, Death Cab guitarist Chris Walla helped produce Nada Surf's latest effort, The Weight is a Gift, and the album complements this recent influx of cathartic indie. Musically, it's a retread of the introspective power-pop sound discovered with Let Go, though with the more cohesive theme of long-awaited redemption. The opening track, "Concrete Bed," sets the tone for the next ten and uses catchy, upbeat Nada Surf-stylized metaphors for life such as "to find someone you love / you gotta be someone you love." The theme of release from setbacks, both personally and professionally, is prevalent throughout The Weight as lead singer Matthew Caws' lofting voice croons about love at its most trite, sentimentalized emotion at its simplest and being able to revel in the afterglow.\nJust as Let Go, a four-star album in my book, was never as popular as its contemporaries, The Weight, released by independent label Barsuk, promises to be committed to the same underrated fate. Outshined by high-profile albums such as Coldplay's X&Y and Death Cab's Plans, Nada Surf simply may not have the name to carry them. Judging from how far they've come since one-hit wonder infamy, they should be content to wear shades and enjoy some sun while it lasts.
(09/12/05 4:38am)
BtownActive Festival, held Saturday at Dunn Meadow, served as a good occasion to enjoy southern Indiana's early fall weather, live music and broccoli pizza with some of the campus and community's most activist-minded folks.\n"It's been a long one, especially for those guys in the sun. Glad I got a spot in the shade," said Mylo Roze as he offered pamphlets endorsing the Center for Sustainable Living, organic grapes and copies of The Bloomington Alternative, a progressive bi-weekly for which he's a contributing writer.\nThe Center for Sustainable Living, 521 W. Kirkwood Ave., is a non-profit organization Bloomington residents formed in 1992. The community group, which Roze said seeks to transform society to be in greater harmony with the world, was only one of a "Who's Who" list of social justice, environmental and humanitarian local student and community organizations and media initiatives participating in the all-day event. \nThe Indiana Public Interest Research Group, Boxcar Books and Community Center, Hip-Hop Congress, No Sweat!, Amnesty International and IU's Progressive Faculty Coalition were among the organizations represented.\nJohn Howard is an IU student studying media production and the founder of Bloomington Media Arts Group, a group that focuses on media as tools for local activism. He coordinated BtownActive Festival with the help of Katie Claussen, advocate for community engagement of Community Outreach & Partnerships in Service-Learning and an Indiana Daily Student employee.\nHoward, 36, said he organized the festival to heighten people's awareness of the work being done by campus and community groups and also to plug a new Web site, www.btownactive.net, an open publishing forum for promoting local arts and culture as well as grassroots activism, further enabling various groups to network in new ways.\n"Dunn Meadow is the perfect place for an event like this," Howard said. "Not only is it a free speech zone but it symbolically connects campus and community, and that's what this is all about."\nVolunteers noted it was a slow day audience-wise, as people drifted through and the festival apparently lost out to other weekend activities.\n"The turnout was good for a football game day," Howard said. "Everyone came together on short notice, and today served as a good warm-up for (future events)."\nDespite the meager attendance, many participants said the collaborative event was significant for the groups themselves.\nGabe Lantz represented the Art of Living Foundation. He said he saw the festival not only as a way to publicize his group's work, but also as a means of finding camaraderie with other groups to work with in the future.\n"At the beginning, it seemed groups were just out to get their messages out," Lantz said. "But as the day rolled on everyone tabling kind of got to know each other and what we were each about, and we kind of realized opportunities to get involved elsewhere"
(09/08/05 4:00am)
While Bloomington is home to a variety of bars, there is one club that provides something that bars in particular can't -- an all-ages venue. For those who don't have the age to match their grown-up good looks and good taste, there is Rhino's. But not the Rhino's we all knew and loved -- this past Saturday marked the youth center's grand reopening at its new building, the former Army Recruitment Center at 325 S. Walnut Ave.\nSahar Pastel-Danshgar, a sophomore at Bloomington High School North, was there for the all-day event.\n"I'm here to support Rhino's because I love it," Pastel-Daneshgar said. "It's a place to hang out and keeps you busy and out of the doldrums of being bored at home."\nPastel-Daneshgar, who spends at least three nights a week at Rhino's participating in its after-school programs, said she helped clean up for Saturday's show.\n"It was barely ready," she said. "There aren't even stalls up in the bathrooms yet," she said. "We swept sawdust for almost 45 minutes before the first band played."\nThe youth center is a division of Harmony alternative school and is sponsored by the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department and the United Way of Monroe County. It needed more space with the continuous advent of its youth programs, said Bob Nugent, assistant director and booking agent at Rhino's. He stressed that the move had much to do with the space needed for the work Rhino's does for the community, including its after-school programs in radio, video, journalism and mural arts.\n"We started looking for a new building months ago," Nugent said. "We eventually decided to just stay put and renovate the old South Walnut Street Army Recruitment Center."\nIn addition, the venue will be able to host bigger shows on weekends. A sell-out show will total 440 people as opposed to 180 in the old building, and Rhino's patrons know what that means.\n"The change of location will attract bigger bands," said Cory Duncan, a senior at Bloomington High School South. "The more people that show up, the more revenue there'll be to pay the bigger bands. And if nothing else, the new sound system's a lot better and there's more space to rock out."\nTwelve local youth bands played at the $10-per-person event Saturday and a benefit compilation album featuring Rhino's bands was also sold. Saturday's crowd was overwhelmingly teenagers but the club normally attracts a healthy dose of IU students as well.\n"We never have problems with kids and the mix between ages, even though they range from 13 to mid-twenties," Nugent said. "Everyone knows and respects what people have done before them -- they know what this place stands for"
(09/07/05 3:23am)
While Bloomington is home to a variety of bars, there is one club that provides something that bars in particular can't -- an all-ages venue. For those who don't have the age to match their grown-up good looks and good taste, there is Rhino's. But not the Rhino's we all knew and loved -- this past Saturday marked the youth center's grand reopening at its new building, the former Army Recruitment Center at 325 S. Walnut Ave.\nSahar Pastel-Danshgar, a sophomore at Bloomington High School North, was there for the all-day event.\n"I'm here to support Rhino's because I love it," Pastel-Daneshgar said. "It's a place to hang out and keeps you busy and out of the doldrums of being bored at home."\nPastel-Daneshgar, who spends at least three nights a week at Rhino's participating in its after-school programs, said she helped clean up for Saturday's show.\n"It was barely ready," she said. "There aren't even stalls up in the bathrooms yet," she said. "We swept sawdust for almost 45 minutes before the first band played."\nThe youth center is a division of Harmony alternative school and is sponsored by the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department and the United Way of Monroe County. It needed more space with the continuous advent of its youth programs, said Bob Nugent, assistant director and booking agent at Rhino's. He stressed that the move had much to do with the space needed for the work Rhino's does for the community, including its after-school programs in radio, video, journalism and mural arts.\n"We started looking for a new building months ago," Nugent said. "We eventually decided to just stay put and renovate the old South Walnut Street Army Recruitment Center."\nIn addition, the venue will be able to host bigger shows on weekends. A sell-out show will total 440 people as opposed to 180 in the old building, and Rhino's patrons know what that means.\n"The change of location will attract bigger bands," said Cory Duncan, a senior at Bloomington High School South. "The more people that show up, the more revenue there'll be to pay the bigger bands. And if nothing else, the new sound system's a lot better and there's more space to rock out."\nTwelve local youth bands played at the $10-per-person event Saturday and a benefit compilation album featuring Rhino's bands was also sold. Saturday's crowd was overwhelmingly teenagers but the club normally attracts a healthy dose of IU students as well.\n"We never have problems with kids and the mix between ages, even though they range from 13 to mid-twenties," Nugent said. "Everyone knows and respects what people have done before them -- they know what this place stands for"
(09/02/05 6:37am)
Sophomore Joe Michelini said he decided to eat at Kirkwood Avenue's La Bamba Mexican restaurant because he wanted to know if they really had "burritos as big as (his) head."\n"It wasn't quite that big, but it was pretty big -- bigger than my belly," said his friend, sophomore Chelsey Wininger. "I'm stuffed."\nAs Kirkwood's Mexican restaurants ready themselves for another school year catering to Bloomington's annual fall invasion, students will once again meander down the street looking for that perfect burrito. Only this time around, Chipotle Mexican Grill is the next-door neighbor and rival in town.\nEmployees of La Bamba said their restaurant's numbers appear the same as they did before Chipotle's opening in April. The summer was dead as always, they said.\n"The only time Chipotle ever had an effect on us was that day they gave away free burritos," said La Bamba delivery girl junior Christine Francois, recounting Chipotle's fundraiser for the IU Student Foundation in April. "Ever since that day, it's been business as usual."\nBefore Chipotle's arrival, Tacos Don Chuy opened its doors at Kirkwood's Dunkirk Square in 2003. In order to vie with La Bamba's for the late-night bar crowd, it remains open until 4:30 a.m. most nights. (La Bamba's closes at 3 a.m.) Junior Alex Yoder explained his reasoning for picking Don Chuy's for lunch.\n"Actually, I ate at Chipotle's yesterday -- it's just a ton of food for the price," he said. "I come to Don Chuy's for the 99-cent 'Taco Tuesdays.' La Bamba's is just bad, and I've never been to Laughing Planet."\nDon Chuy's cashier and IU student Trinity Villanueva said many people come to the restaurant for its authentic Mexican food.\n"Chipotle is Americanized," Villanueva said. "It's just another Taco Bell."\nMost of Kirkwood's burrito-boasting eateries describe their menus as serving "authentic Mexican food" -- all but Laughing Planet Café, which dishes up "California-style" burritos.\n"It's kind of a mistake to lump us in with the Mexican restaurants," said Laughing Planet manager Sarah Owen. "We make all of our ingredients by hand -- basically we do everything but grow them."\nAs an environmentally-conscious establishment, Laughing Planet buys local and organic produce in the interest of promoting healthy eating and supporting local business, Owen said. She described Planet -- with its patio seating, funky interior and hangout vibe -- as "kind of a new tradition on Kirkwood."\n"We get an eclectic crowd of professors, local businesspeople and any given Bloomingtonian really," Owen said. "We see many faces literally everyday."\nSally Tade is one such customer who enjoys the atmosphere of Laughing Planet as much as she enjoys the food.\n"There's no ambience (at Chipotle)," Tade said. "I mean, it looks like a big metal box. And it's a McDonald's-owned chain, so you don't know what you're getting. Planet has wireless, which is convenient."\nSenior Ulises Dubon has worked both the lunch and dinner shifts at Chipotle since its grand opening a few months ago. Despite the fact Chipotle inherited a corporate reputation from McDonald's, he had nothing but positive things to say about how the business is run.\nPosters adorning the behind-the-counter menu show off the store's very un-McDonald's-like rejection of standard corporate agribusiness. One poster titled "Hippy Chick-en" reads: "We are now serving naturally raised chicken: vegetarian fed and antibiotic free."\n"Our pork is also free range and comes from a farm called Bell & Evans," Dubon said. "Our beef is the last meat where we're trying to get free range, and by the end of October, we should be at that stage."\nWith so many ethnic restaurants in Bloomington and, more specifically, a wealth of Mexican restaurants along Kirkwood, no single business commands the market.\n"Don Chuy's has the best queso and quesadilla, and we like the burritos here at Chipotle," said senior Jon Lamb as he and his girlfriend Crystal Eichhorn enjoyed foods from both restaurants at a Chipotle booth.\n"I'm a business major, so I like to support corporate America, especially McDonald's," he said, half-jokingly. "And she's into liberal arts so she likes to support the local places. We compromise"
(09/01/05 6:02am)
These days, Canada's homegrown indie rock seems to be the country's big export to the states, especially in the form of indie big bands the Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene and, last but not least, the New Pornographers.\nComprised of an assortment of Vancouver artists taken from Zumpano, Destroyer, Limblifter and the Evaporators, the New Pornos aren't exactly the super-troupe that countrymen Broken Social Scene are. Neither are they the Arcade Fire -- no one's the Arcade Fire, who are the next best thing to sliced bread. But they are, however, unbeatable in the world of hi-fi power-pop balladry.\nTwin Cinema, the group's third album in five years, may well be that breakout album à la Modest Mouse's Good News for People who Love Bad News and Death Cab's Transatlanticism. This may thrust these Vancouver been-arounds into the spotlight, demonstrating just how far a band can come in its lifespan -- however, judging from the New Pornos' first two albums, 2000's Mass Romantic and 2003's Electric Version, these guys were pretty far out to begin with.\nA little necessary back history: televangelist Jimmy Swaggart was the first person to coin the phrase "new pornography" in reference to the new rock music of the 1980s. Now, almost twenty years later, a man who goes by the name A.C. Newman is using the term to promote his vision of what he thinks this new sound is alongside the Pornos' nine sometimes-members, including alt-country up-and-comer Neko Case and her spellbinding voice (not to mention her unbelievable looks).\nThe underrated songwriter succeeds with Twin Cinema, the unofficial follow-up to his solo debut, 2004's The Slow Wonder, which came across not so much as a new avenue for Newman -- someone whom if you passed on the sidewalk you wouldn't know (you may not recognize Case either, but named by Playboy as the "sexiest babe in indie-rock" she would at least stand out) -- but rather a stripped-down version of his Pornographers' material. The one-two punch of Newman's songwriting and Case's voice -- oh that voice! -- is what spurned much of the attention given the group's first two releases.\nThe band apparently had an unsure future last year as five Pornographers released albums outside the group, possibly regarding their work as Newman's puppets as a side project. But that theory was exactly backwards. Twin Cinema succeeds because of Pornos' staples -- four-part harmonies, impeccable Elvis Costello-esque delivery and Kurt Dahle's drumming at the forefront of each lyrically arcane three-minute jamboree; but most importantly because of everybody taking a more active interest in the band.
(09/01/05 4:00am)
These days, Canada's homegrown indie rock seems to be the country's big export to the states, especially in the form of indie big bands the Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene and, last but not least, the New Pornographers.\nComprised of an assortment of Vancouver artists taken from Zumpano, Destroyer, Limblifter and the Evaporators, the New Pornos aren't exactly the super-troupe that countrymen Broken Social Scene are. Neither are they the Arcade Fire -- no one's the Arcade Fire, who are the next best thing to sliced bread. But they are, however, unbeatable in the world of hi-fi power-pop balladry.\nTwin Cinema, the group's third album in five years, may well be that breakout album à la Modest Mouse's Good News for People who Love Bad News and Death Cab's Transatlanticism. This may thrust these Vancouver been-arounds into the spotlight, demonstrating just how far a band can come in its lifespan -- however, judging from the New Pornos' first two albums, 2000's Mass Romantic and 2003's Electric Version, these guys were pretty far out to begin with.\nA little necessary back history: televangelist Jimmy Swaggart was the first person to coin the phrase "new pornography" in reference to the new rock music of the 1980s. Now, almost twenty years later, a man who goes by the name A.C. Newman is using the term to promote his vision of what he thinks this new sound is alongside the Pornos' nine sometimes-members, including alt-country up-and-comer Neko Case and her spellbinding voice (not to mention her unbelievable looks).\nThe underrated songwriter succeeds with Twin Cinema, the unofficial follow-up to his solo debut, 2004's The Slow Wonder, which came across not so much as a new avenue for Newman -- someone whom if you passed on the sidewalk you wouldn't know (you may not recognize Case either, but named by Playboy as the "sexiest babe in indie-rock" she would at least stand out) -- but rather a stripped-down version of his Pornographers' material. The one-two punch of Newman's songwriting and Case's voice -- oh that voice! -- is what spurned much of the attention given the group's first two releases.\nThe band apparently had an unsure future last year as five Pornographers released albums outside the group, possibly regarding their work as Newman's puppets as a side project. But that theory was exactly backwards. Twin Cinema succeeds because of Pornos' staples -- four-part harmonies, impeccable Elvis Costello-esque delivery and Kurt Dahle's drumming at the forefront of each lyrically arcane three-minute jamboree; but most importantly because of everybody taking a more active interest in the band.
(08/29/05 5:46am)
The Monroe County Democratic Women's Caucus will mark the 85th anniversary of women's suffrage Friday at the Women's Equality Day Dinner.\nMembers of the organization, which normally meets for breakfast the first Friday of every month at the Village Deli, 409 E. Kirkwood Ave., say it's important to remember such a pivotal movement in U.S. history.\n"(Women's suffrage) seemed like a good thing to celebrate, since Friday, Aug. 26 is the exact date after all the states ratified the 19th amendment in 1920," said Regina Moore, Bloomington City Clerk and chair of the caucus. \n"Tennessee was the last state -- I think they were doing it one by one, and the governor even called a special session to do it right then and there. It came down to one vote -- 'One man, one vote!' as they used to say," she added.\nThat vote was made by a young legislator named Henry Wade Rogers, Moore said. He had received a telegram from his mother that read: "Do the right thing." \n"Rogers opposed the amendment but voted for it because his mother was a widow who owned land like any man would, and she couldn't vote while her farmhands could," Moore said.\nMargaret Joseph, media coordinator for the women's caucus dinner, said she believes being a part of a group that's there to remember people worked very hard in the 19th century for women's suffrage is something special.\n"Women have only been able to vote 85 years," Joseph said. "Before that, except in a few Western states like Wyoming, women didn't get to vote, and people don't realize that, especially young people."\nThe evening's warm-up act will be WomenSpeak Readers Theater, a presentation highlighting the fight for women's suffrage, its progress and political complacency.\n"We've put together a multimedia showcase that will have visual images and music, and we have women reading speeches by important women in history, from Susan B. Anthony ... leading up to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sandra Day O'Connor and Nancy Pelosi," said Susan Sandberg, who wrote WomenSpeak.\n"There are 435 seats in Congress and only 59 are occupied by women, and we could use a few more," said Sandberg.\nMoore said she believes events like the caucus' dinner remind citizens of the struggles and dedication that people have had in the past.\n"And you know today in order to vote all you have to do is to turn 18, and I think it's easy to forget that people dedicated their entire lives to something we just take for granted," she said.\nAn audience of about 200 is expected for the night, including the president of the Monroe County School Board, Monroe County council members and most Democratic city and county officials will be present or represented.\nThe event is to be held at Phi Delta Kappa International Inc., 408 N. Union St., and will benefit women with political aspirations in Monroe County communities. Rep. Julia Carson, D-Ind., will make a speech.