Volume 124 Issue 99
Friday, February 17, 2012
kansan.com
ENTERTAINMENT
--reggae, or good punk. It just has to be good, and that's unique. The Bottleneck has always done everything to have a very diverse calendar."
The Bottleneck: Celebrating 25 years of live music
The Bottleneck displays their collection of photos of bands they've hosted in the past.
Nestled just off of Massachusetts Street in the slightly quieter block of New Hampshire, the sounds of every genre of music can be heard cascading out of the Bottleneck on any given night of the week. Lined with posters of upcoming shows, the windows are colored with paper advertisements of hopeful future stars.
Since 1987, the Bottleneck has played home to hundreds of local performers and countless traveling bands, including Foster the People who penned the current single "Pumped Up Kicks," and older bands like the Pixies and the Flaming Lips. As the historic venue celebrates its 25th year of business, the Bottleneck's owner, Brett Mosiman, attributes the success to hosting a wide variety of music and appealing to a larger population of students and the Lawrence community.
"I think from the get-go it became apparent for us to survive, we couldn't become a niche bar." Mosiman says. "We'll have metal, indie, we'll have good
Walking into the Bottleneck, it becomes evident that the venue is landmark of sorts. Photos from past performers line the walls like a museum exhibit, featuring many singers and bands who have ventured onto the historic stage.
And Mosiman is serious about diversity. "I've fired people who say, 'here come those stinky hippies.' We want people to feel welcome; we've all been to clubs where the door guys look like they're going to squeeze your head off. Not here."
"On the walls inside there's everyone who's played, from Radiohead to Wilco to the Foo Fighters," Flynn says of the famed photo wall. "When you're in there you feel like you're in somewhat of a local hall of fame. It's good to see who's come through Lawrence and played that same stage."
Isaac Flynn is no stranger to the Bottleneck's commitment to a diverse and welcoming audience and local shows, many of which are all ages, according to the venue's website. Now the lead guitarist of Lawrence band Quiet Corral, Flynn played his first show at the Bottleneck when he was only 14 years
old. Quiet Corral is currently touring throughout the Midwest, but stopped back by Lawrence in January to play one of the most historic venues on the Midwest music map.
The Bottleneck's décor isn't what attracts the bands, though. It's the magic of performing live, felt ripping through the bar's patron's every weekend.
"There's so much energy from the crowd when you're on stage; whatever happens, happens." Flynn says of live performance. "It's way more just of a 'get up there and go for it and see what happens.' When you're live you have to play off your band members and just see how it goes."
The feeling is mutual on the audience's side. According to Robin Smith, a senior from Lawrence majoring in English, it's all about the live music.
"One of my favorite guitarists makes faces while he's playing that are very expressive," Smith says. "It's a kick to see what he's thinking as he's doing and feeling it. There's something greater that happens in the moment when they're all playing then and there. It can go farther than what's accomplished in recording because there's variation."
Elizabeth Bell, a senior in education from Coffeyville, visited the Bottleneck for the first time last month, drawn to the venue not because of its history but after hearing about the Quiet Corral show from friends.
"It was really different than things I normally do on weekends," Bell says. "Usually I just go out to different bars in Lawrence and hang out with my friends. This was cool because there was entertainment there, it made the night a different kind of fun."
The Bottleneck has always been host to some kind of live entertainment, but used to be known as the "Dynamo Ballroom" until the late 70s, then the "Off the Wall Hall," and also "Cogburn's" before Mosiman purchased the venue with a friend in 1985.
"It's crazy, some monster acts have all gone through the Bottleneck," Mosiman says. "Sometimes they were sellouts and sometimes they played there for 45 people for 75 bucks, but they all played if you were paying attention."
THE BOTTLENECH REGULARLY HOSTS TRIVIA NIGHT SUNDAYS, KARAOKE WEDNESDAYS AND Shows EVERY WEEKEND. CHECK OUT THESE EVENTS COMING UP THIS WEEKEND:
FEBRUARY 23:
SOJA
The Movement
Kids These Days
FEBRUARY 25:
Reverend Horton Heat
Larry and his Flask
The Goddamn Gailows
FEBRUARY 27:
Yo Monicas Big Fat Booty Band
A limited budget, a month of rehearsal and a cast and crew comprised completely of students could be a director's worst nightmare. For Jaci Lufkin, it was a dream come true.
"You get a minimal budget, a minimal set so that it's only about your acting and your directing," Lufkin said. "This is supposed to be about the students that you're directing and what you can get out of them as far as your acting ability."
This year Lufkin, a junior from Melbourne, Fla. was the one student selected by the University Theatre Department to direct a one-act play.
Lufkin was excited about the chance to direct a project since opportunities for aspiring theater directors are often limited. But being in charge of the show isn't easy. Her first task was choosing a one-act play that could be successfully staged with the available
The length of the show also allowed Lukkin and her actors, Julie Miller, a senior from Hutchinson, and Alex Roschitz, a junior from Kansas City, Kan., to develop both the comedy and drama of the play. Roschitz said that being a part of a two person cast was something he had never done before, but it gave him an opportunity to explore his character and play off of Miller. Working with a student director instead of a professor or an outside director was also something new.
1930s New Orleans, the story focuses on a mother soliciting gossip from her son, who is struggling with a secret. Lufkin was drawn to the one-act play because of its emotional intensity, but also because it required little set design.
"It's so raw; it's so easy without anything else," Lufkin said. "You could do this in a park. You could do this in a stairwell."
"It's a totally different experience from anything I've had." Roschitz
After "Auto-da-fe," the recently formed group, Musical Theatre for Kansas, will perform a thirty-minute musical love story. Gil Perez-Abrahman, a junior from Wichita, said the group members, like Lufkin, were excited to have a chance to show off skills that aren't always showcased in the theater department.
"It's so unique for a university to have this kind of opportunity for the students, just to have the group and the performance opportunities." Perez-Abraham said.
personal. Decisions were never 'I'm right, you're wrong.'"
CLASSIFIEDS 11
CROSSWORD 4
The second performance is tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the William Inge Memorial Theatre in Murphy Hall. Tickets are available on the University Theatre website.
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 9
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 4
Edited by Anna Allen
Student Union Activities hosted a dodgeball tournament that consisted of 10 teams, and each team had seven players with at least three women on the team. The tournament started out as double-elimination, which means a team must lose twice to be eliminated from the tournament. After half the teams were eliminated, the tournament switched to a round-robin format where all five teams played each other once. The teams with the two best records would face off in a best two out of three series.
The tournament used prison ball rules, which differ slightly from regular dodgeball rules. If you are hit anywhere on the body, including your face or head, you're out. The ball is live until it touches a ceiling, a wall or floors. This means a ball is still live if it bounces off a player, which is different from normal dodgeball, where a ball is only live if it has not touched anything.
"Whether it's dodgeball or something else, we would like to see this continue to help student organizations who have smaller budgets."
When you're hit you go to "prison",
which is located on the opposing
DAKOTA STRANGE
SUA Spirit Coordinator
of prison ball rules is the "shame ball", which is larger than the rest of the balls. If a teammate catches the shame ball while he or she is in prison, two teammates can get out of prison.
SUA opened the tournament up to all students, but it was geared more toward student organizations. The winning team received $225, and second place winners received $150.
The Sports Management Club captured first place and the $225.
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Strange said SUA held this tournament to benefit student organizations and to help with its budgets. He also hopes to make this an annual event.
Dakota Strange, spirit coordinator in SUA, was happy to see a student organization win first place. The tournament was originally exclusive for student organizations, but because of the lack of teams, SUA opened it up to all students.
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"It was a good showing from student organizations, and we received a lot of positive feedback," Strange said. "We want to continue events like this in the future. Whether its dodgeball or something else, we would like to see this continue to help student organizations who have smaller budgets."
Edited by Corinne Westeman
To learn about "Our Dangerous Universe" with Washburn astronomy professor Brian Thomas at 7:30 p.m. in Malott Hall. Be careful out there.
Today's Weather
Beautiful day with sunny skies and light winds between 5-10 omph
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Good day to wash the Trans Am