Newspaper Page Text
Page 6
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
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After performing
at a department store in
London on March 10 and
a church in Philadelphia
to begin their North
American tour. The Slits
invaded another uncharted
territory this past week
the Deep South.
The Slits first formed
in 1976 and played a role
in the early punk scene
in London. Over the next
five years, the band would
show' a lot of musical
growth which can be
heard on 1979’s“Cut”
and 1981 ’s “Return of
the Giant Slits”.
Aftera long hiatus,
the band reformed
this year with four
new members and
are currently touring
North America.
The new members
(NO, Adele, Anna and
Holly) are talented,
young and bring a lot
of energy to the band.
Both Adele and
NO are guitarists,
giving the band a two
guitar lineup for the
first time. They are
capable of playing
all of the different
styles that the band
brings to the table, which
include punk, reggae and
dancehall.
Anna the drummer
and longtime bassist
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“Elite Beat Agents”
Nintendo DS
Fans of such quirky
rhythm games as “Gitaroo-
Man” and “Taiko Drum
Master” should go ahead
and get their money ready;
“Elite Beat Agents” for the
Nintendo DS is here and it’s
addictive.
Originally released as
“Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan”
in Japan last year, the
game “Elite Beat Agents”
is basically the same as its
Japanese counterpart.
The only difference is
that the original Japanese
songs and story cut
scenes have now
been replaced JUgMSk
with American
songs and
characters to
make it more
Tessa Pollitt are also in
the band, along with the
incomparable Ari Up on
lead vocals.
Holly, the daughter
of legendary Sex Pistols
drummer Paul Cook, is a
backup singer and is in a
band for the first time.
Following a gig
in South Carolina last
Tuesday, the band headed
to Atlanta’s Drunken
Unicorn on Wednesday
night.
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Photo courtesy of www.myspace.com
Slits bassist Tessa Pollitt.
It was worth the wait
for all of the fans, both
young and old, who had
been waiting for years to
see The Slits live.
relevant in the Western
market.
Changes aside. "Elite
Beat Agents” is quite easy to
pick up and play.
As one of the three
agents of the mysterious
Elite Beat Agency, gamers
are responsible for aiding
distraught people around
the world with an uncanny
knack for rhythm and
dance. Of course how
rhythm and dancing actually
helps anyone in trouble is
completely left up to the
gamer.
Levels are comprised
of a relatively popular song
from the past 50 years and
a story that can either turn
out for better or worse
depending on how well the
gamer does.
Each level
and song is then
broken up into
five smaller parts
to help separate
k the often intense
action and to help
the story flow.
I Fans of rhythm
games will £
feel
The band, which is a
continuation of The Slits
instead of merely being a
reunion tour act, played a
nice mix of both older and
newer material.
For example, they
began their set with their
cover of the John Holt
and The Paragons classic
“Man Next Door” and
also played new songs like
“Kill Em With Love".
Other highlights
include songs from “Cut”
like “Shoplifting” and
“FM” and a brand new
song called “Hated By
Many”, which Ari Up said
is Pollitt’s new favorite.
My favorite moment
of the night was when they
performed “Animal Space”,
a song that appeared
on both “Return of
the Giant Slits” and
also The New Age
Steppers’ self-titled
debut album.
I also enjoyed
finally getting to
heartheband’scover
of the late, great
Dennis Brown’s
“Revolution”. Any
fan of reggae and
its “Crown Prince”
would love The
Slits’ version.
It was also great to
see Super Dane on
stage with the band
since he brought
more dancehall
flavor to their set.
Overall, my first
Slits concert lived up
to my expectations. It
was the best show I had
seen since Steel Pulse
absolutely blew me away
right at home with how
“Elite Beat Agents” is
played. Asa song begins,
small little buttons will
appear on the Nintendo
DS’ touch screen. Rings
will then form around said
buttons and can be used to
time when players should
jab the onscreen buttons.
These buttons can
follow many different facets
of a song, such as the beat of
the percussion or the words
of the chorus, and require
perfect timing to match up
with the song.
Gamers will also
need to recognize aspects
like short and long rests,
extended notes, and all
around have a good grasp
on rhythm in order to excel
in the game, especially in
the tougher levels later.
If a player is doing
well in a section of a song,
they will be able to watch
the central character of
said song overcome a
small problem. Play well
enough through the
—entire level and the
m
Photos courtesy of Myspace.com
After a long hiatus, punk legends The Slits have returned with new members and anew
North American tour. Among the scheduled stops was Atlanta's The Drunken Unicorn.
in June.
The sound quality
could have been better
(which wasn’t the band’s
fault), but that did not
stop the audience from
enjoying the show in
a venue that normally
doesn’t draw' a big crowd
in the middle of the week.
One night later, the
band traveled to The
Bottletree in Birmingham,
Al. In front of a less
diverse but livelier crowd,
they matched the previous
night’s set.
The band played a
similar set, featuring old
favorites like “Typical
Girls” and new ones like
“Grown-Ups”.
“Revolution” was
especially great on this
given night. Much to
the delight of Ari Up, an
audience member named
Chris managed to add to
the songs’ chorus.
The lively crowd
really got up for "Let’s Do
the Split", which the band
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Photos courtesy of Gamepro.com
Nintendo DS’ “Elite Beat Agents” follows in the ever-wacky rhythm game genre.
This time, players must dance (tap the screen) to the beat in order to help those
in distress. Think “Men in Black” meets “So You Think You Can Dance”.
character will solve the larger
issue that is troubling them.
Likewise, do poorly
during the song and reap the
consequences of watching
the level’s character fail
miserably and a "Try
Again?” screen.
While it’s
easy to
speak
mtim
had performed the night
before as a 1976 punk
song played in a 2006
style.
Afterwards, NO
and Pollitt shared their
opinions on the band’s
current tour.
Pollitt, who is in the
United States for the first
time since she helped w ith
one of Neneh Cherry’s
tours in the late ‘B()’s, is
pleased with the North
American tour so far.
“It’s good to play
the smaller venues and
the places that normally
don’t get a lot of gigs,”
Pollit said. “They are
more intimate gigs. They
have more character,
basically.”
When asked about the
band's reputation for being
ahead of the times during
the punk era, Pollitt said,
“1 hope we’re ahead of
this time, as well. That’s
what I’m aiming for.”
NO, who was in
the South for the first
positively about “Elite Beat
Agents” into the wee hours
of the night, one thing is
certainly not memorable
about this game. That one
thing is some horrendous
song selections.
If listening to mediocre
cover of a good song
isn’t bad enough,
I this game excels
at forcing gamers
] to listen to many
mediocre covers
to already horrible
songs, essentially
making them cringe
worthy. This is
especially
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time since she was 15. is
honored by the reaction
the band receives from
their fans.
“We get notes from
a lot of fans who are just
shaking because they are
so nervous,” NO said.
“There was one from this
girl named Alexis last
night (in Atlanta) that
said, ‘You don’t know how
much you mean to me.
Thank you very much’.”
Personally, it seemed
unreal to see my favorite
band playing on stage
about three feet away
from me in my favorite
Atlanta venue. I always
knew I would see them
eventually, but 1 didn’t
expect it to be in this
country. I’m glad they
came to me instead, since
I’ve never flown before.
Fans of The Slits
should try to catch them
live if they can, and
should also pick up a copy
of their new EP, “Revenge
of the Killer Slits”.
cruel during the difficult
levels in the game that often
require multiple attemptst.
These songs can
range from anywhere to
Ashlee Simpson’s "La La”
bad to the Rolling Stones
"Jumping Jack Flash" good,
with songs from groups like
Sum 41 and Chicago filling
up the middle grounds.
Despite some less than
pleasurable music, "Elite
Beats Agents” is still worth
the time and money.
If gamers find
themselves reaching for
something to plug their
ears with while playing,
then spending a little extra
money on importing “Osu!
Tatakae! Ouendan” may not
be such a bad idea.
Waters’ Hating
S.E
(out of 10)