#ron wilson
The Namor the Sub-Mariner 2020 Advent Calendar
Welcome to a Namor Advent Calendar! Have a bit of Namor cheer for each of the 24 days till Christmas! This year I’ll be highlighting Namor Team-Ups!
DAY 19: THE THING
To be honest, there really isn’t much love lost between Namor and Ben Grimm, the Ever Lovin’ Blue Eyed Thing, so finding panels, much less comics, where they team-up.
Marvel Two-in-One 28 is one of those rare comics. It starts out with Namor actually being nice, instead of a misunderstanding or slug fest.
Namor is attacked by a group of Piranha Men-Fish (don’t ask) and when Thing, pushed by Alicia, goes to help Namor, both are captured (don’t ask) who force the pair into gladiator games (don’t ask).
Namor is unusually nice in this issue, trying to avoid the slugfest, and suggesting plans to save Alicia.
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Brandeis Players Coffeehouse live performance at Cholmondeley’s
(no audio available)
On the afternoon of Wednesday Sept. 27, I spent nearly an hour conversing with a friend, lamenting the state of musical affairs at Brandeis. Standouts the Bluehouse Effect have gone their separate ways; quirkmeister Myq Kaplan ‘00 has graduated; and a general monotony had seemingly overtaken the Brandeis scene in the last year. Was there no hope for music on campus? Leave it to fate that the Brandeis Players’ coffeehouse later that night (for their upcoming “Players Gala Event,” a series of one-acts on Oct. 6 and 7) would find me not only reassured but excited for another year of Cholmondeley’s performances.
As is typical of UTC group coffeehouses, the beginning portion of the evening was dedicated to the cast and crew showing off their individual talents. Things kicked off with a set of duets featuring Liliana Kualapai '03 and Jeff Bouthiette '01. Hitting on some of the odder moments in musical theater (song topics included presidential assassin Charles Guiteau and conjoined twins), Kualapai’s formidable range led the charge through a solid set, with Bouthiette’s keyboard skills providing some structural support.
Valerie Kolko '01 then took Kualapai’s place up front for a few show tunes of her own. With Bouthiette still backing, Kolko stayed with more traditional selections, including a number from her self-proclaimed favorite show, “Ragtime.”
The night’s first standout performance belonged to Helen D. Lewis '02 and Mike Zussman '02. With Lewis on acoustic guitar and Zussman alternating between guitar and djembe, the folk-pop duo showed off their chops in a set of crowd-pleasers including covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” and Simon and Garfunkel’s “59th Street Bridge Song." Lewis’ willingness to test the lower end of her range proved a wonderful match for her percussive strumming (think Ani with some soul), and Zussman’s instrumental prowess nailed the back end down. Relaxed and chatty onstage, the duo drew the crowd in for the whole of their performance, performing the entire set without microphones. Lewis and Zussman have a good thing going, and it should be exciting to see how they progress as the year goes on.
Keeping in the eclectic spirit of the night was an as-of-yet nameless band featuring Ron Wilson '04, Michel Lamblin '03 and Scott (???). Making up for an obvious lack of practice time with some charm, the group pulled themselves through a cover of the Dave Matthews Band’s "Proudest Monkey” after an early false start and some microphone problems. Changing gears, they then tore through the Presidents of the United States of America’s jokey rave-up “Peaches” with appropriate attitude before finishing with Radiohead’s “Exit Music (for a Film).”
Next up was highlight number two, Chappie and Pals. The five-man jazz-pop-jam combo fronted by Josh Chappie '03 brought back memories of long-departed outfits like Jam Apple Zig Zag and Steel Carter, showing off a style of music that had all but disappeared from the Brandeis scene last year. Powered by Greg Schwartz '03’s terrific sax playing, the band jammed through a series of extended numbers featuring dedications to both the residents of Mod 5 and late sax-man Stanley Turrentine. Though they pushed themselves beyond their capabilities on occasion, Chappie and Pals exuded an energy which the audience eagerly picked up on.
Closing the night were erstwhile theater-group-coffeehouse performers Roger and the Presenters. The duo of Zack Handlen '01 and Jeff Bouthiette '01 keep getting better; what started as a standard coffeehouse time filler has matured into a tight, powerful performing unit worthy of the closing spot. On Wednesday they stuck to their old material in a fairly typical setlist of originals and covers. Handlen drew liberally from the Elvis Costello and Elton John catalogues for material, appearance and inspiration – his dynamic cover of Costello’s “I Want You” is always a showstopper – while Bouthiette’s obvious musical theater influences made for a wonderful contrast. Charismatic, energetic and bombastic both, Roger and the Presenters were the perfect way to cap off a genuinely reassuring night.
originally written 9/30/00
