Masters of the Drunken Style By Charles Babbitt The Lumberjack Liquor up and live forever Phoenix hip-hop crew the Drunken Immortals play this Saturday at the Old Post Office. As part of a new series of locaL hip-hop shows and DJ nights, the Drunken Immortals bring their own style to Flagstaff. Brought together last year by brothers Alex and Mike Cosentino, the Immortals mix. traditional hip-hop with live instruments for an unbeatable live show. For several years, Alex and Mike played together as “Nomad** at raves throughout Phoenix, with Mike ("Cause’") as the MC and Alex <tkDJ WhuOas the turntablist. In March 1998, they enlisted the heLp of Steve Cox on guitar, Indiana*' Jonas Hurst on drums, Jeremy “Smokes” Dana on bass, and a second MC: Brad “B" Badoose. “The name Drunken Immortals came from a Chinese tale about eight immortals with super human powers that evolved into a style of kung fu,” said Alex. “Cause was bom (in Flagstaff) and we were both raised down the mountain in the Verde Valley. Our band loves to play there and the people there seem to like us. We love how everyone dances and gets into the music.” They all have neat nicknames and they might just ask members of the audience to freestyle at the end, so bring your biggest pants and your Krylon and get ready lo battle. The Drunken Immortals: a menace to sobriety. photo courtesy Alex Cosentino movie review music review Life is Beautiful B la c k S ta r [ Happenings Editor; CharlesBabbitt Comments and Questions: [email protected] Q music Black Star February 18 -March 3 ine without preaching or selPrighteous- Mos Def and ness. FLAGSTAFF Thursday Certainly they are socially respon­ sible and they are activists. The differ­ • Monle Vista, Nation’s Ensemble Talib Kweli ence is that they practice what they preach. • Museum Club. Southern Skv When they are not making music* • Monsoons, RajingJazz Project 25 By Charles Babbitt Mt»s Defand Talib Kweli run the Black Star bookstore in Brooklyn, N.Y., stock­ ♦ Flagstaff Brewery, Nightcrawlers Friday The Lumberjack ing texts about black history, politics, ac­ ♦ Monte Vista, Honeychild tivism and life. ♦ Museum Club, Southern Sky - New York's Rawkus label has doneTheir a message of self-determination ♦ Collins, Samba lotto bring underground hip-hopand honestyacts to is not rammed down the • Joe's, Shifter national attention over the pastlistener’s year. throat, it flows easily and just 26 Focusing on positivity andfeels artistic right. in­ tegrity, they have given a voice Theto amusic is likewise excellent. • Flagstaff Brewerv Somebodv Saturday much neglected face of rap. In a musical world dominated by the • Collins, Psvchedlic Mariachi Their series of 12" singles and last Puffy Combs formula for hit rap • Monte Visla, Exit 56 year’s Lyricist Lounge compilationsingles <1 Find an eighties pop song. * Museum Club. Southern Skv introduced great groups like Indelible2. Jack the beat and melody and re­ jMC’s, Company aFlow n d Jurassic 5. mix it lightly. 3. Rap mindlessly about * Joe's, Shifter 71 I had heard Mos Def and Talib Kweli how many women you can fit in your on that compilation and was eagerhot to tub. 4. Rake in the cash.) this al­ • Mogollon, Free Pool hear what they would do together, bumbut comes as a breath of fresh air. •MuseumClub, Latin Music Sunday nothing could prepare me forThe how beats are thick and the samples good this album actually is. run together seamlessly. Since A Tribe Called Quest broke upEven the art is great. and L)e La Soul stopped puttingThe out cover looks like a label for 28 new music, there has been a vacuumKenyan coffee (it’s cool, trust me). for genuine hip-hop. On the inside of the sleeve they even • Collins, Drunken Boar Monday Mos Def and Kweli's collaboration.do a parody of the excessive album art Black Star, tills this gap with an easethat has become all too popular in rap, that makes me wonder where they’vea bikini-clad, jewel-encrusted, money- <• been all along. drenched number in the No Limit They are not just the next big thingRecords style. 1 in hip-hop; they are the directionE thecan’t say enough good things about whole medium should take. this record, and I have not been so ex­ • Museum Club, Fiesta Night Tuesday This is the album I’ve been waitingcited about a hip-hop album since • Monte Vista, The Return of the BPS years for. Tribe Called Quest's 1990 release Records DJ 's Black Star raps about real life. “People’s Instinctive Travels." Focusing on things like love,If youfam­ have even a passing interest ily, responsibility and children,in tliev hip-hop, you should run out and get 2 make hip-hop that speaks to a deeper“Black Star” immediately. truth. While you’re at it, check out the • Flagstaff Brewerv. Grateful Dead v H cU llcb U ay But to call them socially consciousKawkus records web site at http:// Night is to miss the point. www.rawkus.com and look at a few of • Museum Club, Dime Beer Black Star is just making hip-hopthe theothet up-and-comers in the under­ way it was intended. ground scene. 3 Their music feels positive and genu­ Happenings Editor:Charles Babbitt Comments andQuestions: cji>[email protected] Q movies Life is Beautiful ★★★★ By Kelly Coombes The Lumbeijacti AFlerseeing this movie, you will believeGuido, created a character comparable to Hea tails in love with hci the firs! Jiinf theytruth. The whole time there, his son be­ that life is beautiful. romantic Charlie Chaplin. meet and does whatever he can to winlieve* her that they are playing a game and he You also will probably believeGuido that literally sweeps his love interestaway from her boyfriend. is in the lead for winning the lank people are essentially good and loveDora, is played the by Nicoletta Braschi, off Guidoher humiliates Dora's boyfriend whileEven Ciuulo manages to keep a sense of most important force in the world.feet. He uses charm, physical comedy charmingand her with chocolate ice cream andhumor in ihis horrible situation The most You will believe that love can conquerluck to attain Dora and amuse the audience.a green horse. ama/ing part ol “Life K Beautiful" is any thing, even anti-sernitism in 1939Benigni dur­ created perhaps the most enthusi­Although Guido is a silly child inCiuido an and his love of life ing World War II. astic. honorable, positive and adorableadults man body, he is not irresponsible whenEverything it in Guido's life makes him Whether these ideas are true, it is still that has been in a movie in a long lime.comes to taking care of his family. " happy because lie concentrates on what rare when a movie can make the audiencett is these characteristics that help Guido The movie takes a turn when anli-semiticcomes naturally loving someone believe in something and feel fullytry in­to protect his family from anti-semitismthreats becomeU k> severe art I Ins family is “Life Is Beautiful-” is a foreign film and spired. in Italy during the war. thrown into I he Holocaust. has Italian subtitles It was nominated for “Life Is Beautiful” makes you feel that“Life Is Beautiful’' first appears to be anCiuido is now concerned with protectingseven Academy Awards, more than an\ way because it forces you to fall uncomplicatedin love love story, hut soonhis son evolves from being killed To keep otherhis child foreign film in history. with Guido, the passionate leadinginlo man something unforeseen and lesssafe, optimis­ he tells him the concentration campsThe nominations include Best Picture. who uses humor and imaginationtic. to Guido’s pro­ original agenda was to openarc filled awith people that are competingBest to Director. Besl Actor and Best Origi­ tect what he adores, which is life. Robertobookstore, but he becomes distracted winwhen an Army tank, a little uhite lie tonal keep Screenplay Benigni, who wrote, directed and starshe asmeets Dora. his son occupied and distracted from the Blast From the Past By Kelly Coombes The Lumberjack ★ ★ v “Blast From The Past” is a movie thatthere for 35 years. vinced every man has cruel intentionsThe onlyIni character thats h o w s a tm \ tried to use a peculiar situation, suchTheir as only child, Adam, playedmediately. by Adam falls in love with livebit iif anxiety to leave the shelter is Helen a family living underground toBrendan escape Fraser, is born in the shelter andMaybe this is because Eve is the onlyWeber, whosta rts to become .in alco­ from a nuclear war that never happened,grows up i solated from reality. woman, excluding his mother, that heholic. has This could have been used more to enhance a childish character named When he gets to the surface, his characterseen in his entire life to add some come die elements, along Adam and his storybook love affairis meant with to add comic relief to an alreadyBut that is just a guess As wnh everywith ro a more helievable reaction by Adam a bitter woman named Eve. lame screenplay. mantic movie, there has to be an obstacleto his new world These elements are expected to de­Instead, this fails to bring any fresh orfor un Adam and Eve to overcome while pur liver a romantic comedy. The problemanticipated amusement to the story. suing each other is that this film was neither romantic or The premise of the movie is actually Adamthe becomes confused with his new comedic, instead it was dull and pre­most uninteresting aspect.