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entertainment

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

March 31-April 6, 2010

Page D-3

Tower of Power rocks MotorCity Sound Board

proached everything, from writing and arranging to mixing and performing, has been uniquely their own. Combine all of that with an outstanding lead vocalist and you have one of the most dynamic groups of musicians to ever record in the studio or perform live.

This was my first opportu-

nity to check out this band from Oakland, California. Not since early Earth, Wind & Fire

have I heard a sound so genu- ine and refined coming from a collection of musicians. After all these years and the thou- sands of performances, Tower of Power’s horn section still ranks among the best in its class.

This performance came at

a time when I was starving for a really good funk band, and TOP gave me that and a whole lot of “the other.”

Tower of Power performed

“Diggin on James Brown,” “Me and Mrs. Jones” and “What is Hip?” among others.

“Our music carries a lot

of energy and emotion. The magic is that we can translate and share it. It’s like the funk — you just can’t fake it” says Castillo.

David G. Watkins can be

reached at at oxygenphotos@

yahoo.com.

Please clip and mail with your gift today

TOWER OF POWER with lead vocalist Larry Braggs. — Oxygen Photo

By David G. Watkins

For over 40 years, Tower of

Power has created a unique style of soul music. Detroit’s own Emillio Castillo, founding member and leader, classifies

their sound as “urban soul music.” The band has toured the world every year since 1968.

TOP’s rhythm section lays down a groove like no other

band. The super-tight horn section delivers an unparal- leled sound that many other bands have benchmarked for decades.

The way TOP has ap-

‘Moment of Impact’ shows off the ‘super powers’ of animals

By Cornelius A. Fortune ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Nature’s new two-part

series, “Moment of Impact,” which airs on Sunday, April 4 and April 11, at 8 p.m. on Channel 56, explores the little known “super powers” of the animal kingdom.

Some of the footage is brutal

as we watch these beasts vie for supremacy, either through the acquisition of food or a mate, but unlike the usual documentary format showing the externals, the viewer actu- ally gets a computer generat- ed simulation of what occurs inside the animal.

What makes this entertain-

ing as well as educational is its approach to storytelling. Make no mistake, the program doesn’t shy away from the sometimes cruel appearance of a predator versus its prey, but the most satisfying part is watching the prey actually get the upper hand, and as the documentary explains, often the pair are not as unevenly matched as we think.

Using a technique called

“360 Degree Time Slice” tech- nology – high-speed time-lapse cameras, infrared and night vision combined with comput- er graphics to illustrate physi- cal attributes and behaviors, the viewer is literally brought inside the action.

“This is the definitive tele-

vision experience for anyone who wants to explore animal marvels from flying reptiles to fishing birds,” said Fred Kaufman, series executive pro- ducer. “Animals seem to defy the laws of physics with their

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A SCENE from Nature’s “Moment of Impact.”

incredible abilities every day. Often, these moments happen in the blink of an eye, making them nearly impossible to see. Now, with our cutting-edge camera and computer produc- tion, viewers get an inside look at just how animals work.”

My favorite segment in-

volves a rattlesnake against a group of ground squirrels. Due to their special genetic makeup they are able to con- fuse the rattlesnake by in- creasing the flow of blood, raising their heat index.

A mother squirrel in the

seemingly protective space of a burrow fends off the rattle- snake by essentially tossing lots of dirt in its path. At the risk of being buried alive, the rattlesnake retreats. She and her cubs live to fight another day.

Perhaps the funniest tidbit

I learned is that those highly spirited woodpeckers aren’t just head bangers with a spe- cial affection for shaping trees. A few milliseconds before

impact, the tongue actually wraps around the skull to pro- tect it and some even have a membrane that covers the eye to avoid flying splinters.

The first part, “Hunters

& Herds,” and the second, “Jungle,” is evidence that the wildlife documentary can not only delight, disgust and edu- cate, it can show an innovative approach to filmmaking.

Ultimately, as with most

entertainment, a well told story and its execution is de- pendent upon the viewer’s em- pathy, interest or connection to the lives of those featured. Whether they be human or animal, the goal is the same: the viewer ought to feel some- thing.

“Moment of Impact” is a

captivating view of the world from the smallest, yet hardly insignificant perspective avail- able. Moreover, it makes you feel alive, revealing the beauty and grandeur of the world and its inhabitants.

MOTOR CITY ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

BEAT RAVE, MotorCity Casino Sound Board, presented by 106.7 FM (“The Beat of Detroit”), with C&C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams, Lisa Lisa, Cover Girls, Rob Base and Stevie B. Tickets available via Ticketmaster. Call 1.800.745.3000.

STANLEY CLARKE, MotorCity Casino Sound Board, June 11. Tickets available Ticketmaster locations. Call Ticketmaster at 1.800.745.3000 or the casino at 866.782.9622.

ROBERT CRAY, MotorCity Casino Sound Board, Friday, April 2. Tickets available Ticketmaster locations. Call Ticketmas- ter at 1.800.745.3000 or the casino at 866.782.9622.

EARTH, WIND & FIRE, the Colosseum at

Caesars Windsor, June 4. Tickets available through Ticketmaster and by visiting www. caesarswindsor.com. To charge by phone, call 1.888.345.5885.

DENNIS EDWARDS & the Temptations Review, MotorCity Casino Sound Board, April 16. Tickets available Ticketmaster locations. Call Ticketmaster at 1.800.745.3000 or the casino at 866.782.9622.

FRANKIE BEVERLY & Maze, Fantasia, Fox Theatre, May 15. Tickets on sale at Ticket- master locations. To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

“(THE) HAIR WARS STORY,” as told by

Hump the Grinder (David Humphries). The documentary film traces the “Hair Wars” from its start in Detroit nightclubs in the 1980s to the phenomenon it became. Main Art theatre, 118 N. Main St., in Royal Oak, Monday, April 19, 7:05 p.m. with seating starting at 6:30 p.m.

DAVE KOZ, Jonathan Butler, Sheila E., MotorCity Casino Board, June 24. Tickets available Ticketmaster locations. Call Tick- etmaster at 1.800.745.3000 or the casino at 866.782.9622.

LIL’ KIM, Jadakiss, Too Short, DJ Quick, Fox Theatre, May 22. Tickets on sale at Ticket-

master locations. To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

MAXWELL, Jill Scott, The Palace of Auburn Hills, May 22. Tickets sold via Ticketmaster sites and by visiting Palacenet.com.

DIANA ROSS, Fox Theatre, May 29. Tickets available at all Ticketmaster sites. To charge by phone, call 800.745.3000.

JERRY SEINFELD, Fox Theatre, April 17, two shows. Tickets on sale at Ticket- master locations. To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

“THE SOUNDS OF MOTOWN,” the Colosse-

um at Caesars Windsor, April 8, two shows, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets sold by way of Ticket- master or visit caesarswindsor.com. To charge by phone, call 1.888.345.5885.

STING, Royal Philharmonic Concert Or- chestra, DTE Energy Music Theatre, July 16. Tickets may be purchased at livenation. com, palacenet.com, the Palace box office and ticketmaster. To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

SUPER ’70s SOUL JAM, Fox Theatre, April

30, featuring the O’Jays, Stephanie Mills, the Stylistics and the Jones Girls. Tickets available at all Ticketmaster sites. To charge by phone, call 800.745.3000.

“TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S Big Happy

Family,” Fox Theatre, May 6-9. Tickets avail- able at all Ticketmaster sites. To charge by phone, call 800.745.3000.

WANDA SYKES, MotorCity Casino Sound Board, June 10. Tickets available Ticketmaster locations. Call Ticketmaster at 1.800.745.3000 or the casino at 866.782.9622.

FRANKIE VALLI, Fox Theatre, April 16. Tick- ets sold at Fox box office, Ticketmaster loca- tions and livenation.com.

webmaster@michronicle.com to win one admit-two pass to see the film in theatres. You must include WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO in the subject line.

While supplies last. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit one pass per person. Pass admits two (2). Arrive early as seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.

WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO is rated PG-13 for thematic material including sexuality, language, drug references and some domestic violence.

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