camsterdam – Page 4

REVIEW: Help! I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Turn Up!

December 20, 2014December 20, 2014 camsterdam

Last Saturday night in the MLB Auditorium 3, I knew I was in for a treat when I noticed the marathon of “Infomercials” playing on the wall. The Dicks and Janes, one of the 15 renowned U-M A Cappella groups, were promising a night of fun, diverse musical choices, and perhaps just a teensy bit of harmless daytime TV-bashing. While we waited for the singing extravaganza to begin, the audience was subjected to awful real life horrors that I wish did not exist (I urge you to explore these hilarious videos, perhaps in private, so no one can make fun of you over your shoulder):

What a creative way to lift students’ finals week spirits!

But wait, there’s more…

If you come to the Dicks and Janes concert within the next 30 minutes, we’ll throw in two free performances featuring Sha Bop Shoppe A Cappella and Groove. The Sha Bop Shoppe is an after-school all-girls ensemble at Pioneer High School. They specialize in performing popular songs, such as Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal” which was hauntingly beautiful, as well as “Until the Morning” by Thievery Corporation, which they stopped mid-way through to “speed up a bit” and remix it with their own spunk and soul. If it isn’t impressive enough that they are already dipping their feet in a university venue, add in the fact that they are also sensational choreographers, which means that they create their own choreography movements to flow in sync with their singing. The Sha Bop Shoppe girls definitely will have a powerful vocal presence in a few years in whichever university they choose to attend, so hold on to your boots!

But…the creme de la creme, the reason we were all suffering through the commercials for, was to see…the Dicks and Janes! The minute that they ran on stage and began to sing, the room came alive. Throughout the show, the setlist alternated from hit songs of 2014 (Reflections, Clarity, Say Something, and Latch) to old classics (Happiness is a Warm Gun, Proud Mary, Don’t Mean a Thing). The variety showcased not only the collective group’s range in interest and amazing ability to creatively interpret the pieces (each of the songs are arranged by a Dick or Jane him/herself), but also displayed each individual soloist’s remarkable skills and talents.

I was especially impressed by the energy created in “Clarity.” Originally a high-speed electronic dance song, I was curious how the Dicks and Janes (DJ’s) could recreate that sound. But somehow they did! I’m not a singer myself, so I’m not sure how they accomplished the feat, but they did it stunningly. The crisp “kssss” of every accelerating percussive beat, the siren-like croon of the synthesizer, the pulsing bass…all imitated the feel of “Clarity,” with the voice of DJ member Hannah Sparrow at the center. Perhaps, the DJ’s were a little too good at the house music vibe, for sometimes they turned up the volume a little too much and I could barely hear Hannah. The DJ’s know how to make the MLB Auditorium into a good time, even if they can’t turn up!

Shine the spotlight on Austin Montgomery, another DJ member, and prepare to be amazed. He soloed twice, as he is the token falsetto of the group. He sung his soul out in “Latch,” with perhaps even more energy than Sam Smith himself. And he was able to take Helena Ratte’s playful arrangement of “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” and morph it into a 50’s barber shop sound.

Because I’ve never sung A Cappella, I look on with awe at how the DJ’s start with a silent stage and slowly build on each other with only their voices. They’re like an orchestra, I guess, something I’m more familiar with. But yet, because they are standing and have hands free (no bows or horns to hold), there is a special energy that is present. I literally got shivers when soloist Lyndsey Burke belted out Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” and felt twinges in my heart just from the dramatic facial expressions shown in “Say Something.” I could feel every note, like the DJ’s were handing each one to me. Here you are, have another! their words seemed to say. The DJ’s gave me something that night that is special to a cappella singing. The sound of humanity, streaming through the voice to the ear. No phones, no instruments, no car horns to interrupt the experience; just good ole’ human to human connection. And maybe with a quick infomercial or two.

Call 1-800 999-2288 to get your DJ singer absolutely free! And while you wait, watch this hilarious infomercial video, Save a Suffering Freshman, that the Dicks and Janes made themselves!

REVIEW: Sing-Along White Christmas

December 2, 2014December 2, 2014 camsterdam

What does a tissue, a feather, a bottle of bubbles, a party popper, a plastic horse, a glow stick, and a hand clapper have in common? They could all be found in the goodie bag I received, as I entered the Michigan Theater last Friday night, ready to belt out the classic songs of Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.”

Donning the Santa Hat handed to me along with the goodie bag, I felt like an elf from the Polar Express. I followed the hordes into the theater, where the antique Barton organ was humming old classic favorites like ‘Frosty the Snowman’ and the ‘Chipmunk Song.’

The theater was packed with mostly families starting new traditions, and old friends remembering the past – a glorious mash-up of the new and classic, the young and old, coming together to celebrate the holidays. And if anyone could turn “White Christmas” into a “Rocky Horror” style experience, it is the Michigan Theater.

The red curtain lifted and the eponymous title song, “White Christmas” came on. In case you didn’t know the lyrics (????), the words were digitally projected onto the screen and looked just like the subtitles of those Disney Sing Along tapes we all watched so long ago. Throughout the movie, the subtitles prompted us to retrieve certain items from our goodie bag. Every time Emma the hotel clerk takes out her hankie, we shook our napkins (very lady-like, of course) at the screen and cried, ‘Boo-hoo.’

Grab your bubbles! It’s starting to snow!

The movie is centered around performances, and so, to imitate our role as an audience member for both the fictional performances as well as the movie itself, we were encouraged to flap our hand clappers when Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye finish their big dance number, or when Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen take their final curtsy. But, basically, we could “hand clap” whenever we wanted (very much like in a poetry slam when you snap for anything that you find especially smooth). Among this particular audience, the hand-claps seemed to be synchronized with the kissing scenes. It was like we were all back in seventh grade when we had to say something at the sight of kissing. Except, instead of “eww,” we let out a collective, “ooh!!!”

At the final scene when the General (who owns the hotel which has been financially saved) blows out the candles on his cake, we were prompted to get out the poppers. We all waited, hands at the ready. Anticipation bubbled throughout the theater, as we waited for him to signal the celebration. It was as if we, the audience, were part of the movie! Suddenly, POP!!!! Streamers flew every which way throughout the theater and the smoky smell of gunpowder filled the air.

If you ever get the chance to take part in a communal sing along experience, do it! Even if you don’t like to sing. Because it isn’t all about the singing. The community of movie watchers and you become one. Together, you bond over the 5D experience of the movie. The smells, the sounds, the tangibility of the fictional movie become real with your help! You help bring it alive, which is an amazing thing to experience. The Michigan Theater is unique in that they put on events like this: events that you the audience member bring to life; events that will become an annual tradition time and time again. Someday, when I’m 89 years old, I hope to bring my friends, my kids, and grandkids back there to the ole’ Michigan Theater and sing along to “White Christmas” tunes, just like I did in 2014.

REVIEW: Chris van Allsburg at Literati Bookstore

November 28, 2014November 28, 2014 camsterdam

For someone who never meant to be an artist or a writer, Chris van Allsburg has fallen into one giant success story of a career. With over 20 children’s books, including Caldecott Medal Winners ‘Jumanji’ and ‘The Polar Express’, Chris has undoubtedly one of the most magical voices in the literature world.

Sitting in the newly debuted second floor of the Literati Bookstore, I waited, buzzing with excitement, along with other fans, both young and old. A clean-cut man, with just a smattering of white hair trimmed carefully around his head and square black glasses, appeared behind the podium. He looked just like someone you would want writing your child’s stories.

“Well, let’s begin,” he said. Somehow, his almost solemn, dry humor could still light up the room, like the headlights of the Polar Express itself. Chris, a U-M graduate, told us his story about how in the good ole days, if you wanted to go to a university, you simply had an interview, brought in your high school transcript, and by the end of the talk, you knew if you were in or not. The college-age kids, including myself, let out a collective envious groan. Chris went into his U-M interview with his choice of school unmarked. With only his fingerprinting, model-building skills from 12 years ago to keep him afloat at college, he pressed on and said that he wanted to pursue Art and Design.

What began as a career in Sculpting (which he still does privately today), Chris fell into the publishing world when his wife showed his personal sketches to a children’s publishing house. They loved his work, and wanted him to illustrate their story ideas. But Chris refused to illustrate “stories about Duck’s first day of school.” He prefers to draw his own original drawings.

He went on to explain his style of “cognitive dissonance,” and showed us slides of his early drawings. A chair floating in the middle of an ocean.

How did the chair get there? Did it fall off a ship? Is it close to shore? How long has it been there? Is it missing a leg? “Cognitive dissonance” can be defined as the uncomfortable tension that occurs when two conflicting images are unexpectedly juxtaposed. Chris is drawn to this psychological phenomenon, which explains why such strange things happen in his unconventional stories. Rhinos stampede through a perfectly plain house? Cognitive dissonance. A locomotive train hisses through a sleepy suburb street to transport a boy to the North Pole? Cognitive dissonance.

Chris van Allsburg is never afraid of the new. He’s expanded his oeuvre to include a children’s non-fiction biography, called “Queen of the Falls,” about Annie Edson Taylor, the 62-year-old woman who was the first person to survive riding down Niagara Falls in a barrel. He has also written a book called “Bad Day at Riverbend” which questions the feelings of coloring book characters. Do they disdain the fact that one day, their entire blank world will be covered with a waxy colorful goo? It’s questions like these that give children the opportunity to grow and think about the world in a different way.

The actual purpose of van Allsburg’s reading was to promote his newest book, “The Misadventures of Sweetie Pie,” which follows the almost fatal escape of a hamster back to his place in the wilderness. I found the book a little disappointing in comparison to his older tales. Perhaps it was the absence of cognitive dissonance that did it. In some ways, writing about a hamster who feels lonely in his cage at school seemed just like the “duck’s first day of school” plotline line that Chris had rejected in the past. But I suppose it was worth a try.

Nevertheless, I think that Chris van Allsburg is an inspiration to all aspiring artists and storytellers alike. In an age when every day, we students are forced to think about our future and our career, van Allsburg is proof that ‘doing what you love and what you’re good at’ will get you where you need to be. When in doubt, just listen for the jingle of a sleigh bell…and keep faith.

REVIEW: Breaking News

November 27, 2014November 27, 2014 camsterdam

The paragraph-long “trigger warning” on the back of the playbill is not the only detail that sets “Breaking News” apart from the traditional play. The play was written and directed by the talented junior in the Residential College, Skyler Tarnas, who believes that these controversial topics that affect everyone should not be kept on the back burner.

This smart and complex comedy/tragedy splits up the many stories of citizens in the fictional town of Hiddlesville, and amps up the drama in the final scene when all of their worlds collide. First, we are introduced to Amanda Hart (Rowan Richards) who is a war veteran, hesitant to participate in the county Veterans’ Parade. She is befriended by Leon James (Kyle Stefak), a timid boy who persuades Amanda to march and be honored for her services. We later find out that Leon has been taken under the corrupted wing of Milo Hawkes (Paul Mayer), a troubled 28-year-old. Together, they make bombs to “make the world care…to make people feel something.” In fact, a few seconds later, a bomb goes off at the parade and places Amanda Hart in critical care. Leon is devastated. Milo takes the bomb’s energy and drives forward, planning the next attack.

The scenes shift and we are introduced to the police station, where the officers are trying to locate the bombers and put a stop to the terrorism. Agent Frederick Dole (Alex Bernard) volunteers to head the search. Meanwhile, the audience is tuned into the “Breaking News” reports with your host, Jack Kingsley (Travis Reilly). After each bombing, Kingsley breaks in with report after report, with each one becoming less and less accurate. In the tense last scene where Agent Dole and Leon are facing each other down the barrel of their guns, breaks suddenly into…the PLOT TWIST that no one saw coming. With all of the cameras and spotlights on her, Leon’s crazy aunt leaps out of a box she had been hiding in for hours and shoots Leon in the back because she wants to be “the hero” and receive televised fame.

I asked Tarnas to explain the message he hoped his viewer’s would get out of the play. I was interested in his new genre, “a comedic tragedy.” How could someone possibly make innocent deaths funny? In his own words, he says, “Tragedy is tragedy. It’s sad. People die. There’s no escaping that. But there’s also no escaping the fact that with the media devoting an insane amount of attention to every sad event they see, there’s a lot of comedy to be had. You don’t know whether to cry at the dead people on the screen, or laugh at the fact that CNN has Nancy Grace and Ashleigh Banfield in the same parking lot on a split screen. It’s that conflict that I chose to base the play on.”

Indeed, the satire of it all came from the broadcasting narrative. People who believe their job is more important than their life. That entertainment and fame is more important than the truth. The playbill’s “Director’s Note,” posited the insightful question, “What really is so different between a terrorist and a troubled young man?” Why do we so often demonize ‘foreigners’ for causing trouble when we have ‘terrorists’ in our own country? Tarnas pokes fun at broadcast racism when Jack Kingsley pronounces the young men’s American names, Leon James and Milo Hawkes, as ‘Layon Hammays’ and ‘Meelo Hawkees.’

Tarnas presents family issues as one possible reason why people are hardened by the world. He creates a subplot, shown as a brilliant flashback, of Leon’s childhood at home. After his dad left the family, his mother (Sara Head) began dating a new man, who hated Leon. They moved in with the boyfriend, but the mother slowly began to grow annoyed by having Leon around. She wanted him to leave her and her new ‘guy’ alone. Tarnas beautifully staged these memories with the simplicity of a spotlight, metaphorically acting as the inside of Leon’s brain. All Leon ever wanted was for his mother to notice him, to love him. Perhaps, terrorists aren’t looking for the world’s attention. They really want the attention from the only one who can’t give it to them.

A similar story of family hardship follows Agent Frederick Dole, who has a wife (Anne Marie Barry) and two children at home, yet he has lost interest in being a father. He tells his wife that “his job is the only thing that makes him feel alive.” It is this paralleling of narratives that fleshes out the entire play and makes all of the characters so well-rounded.

One thing that really struck me happened in the tense and emotional last scene. Leon James, sits in the empty warehouse, remote control in hand. One press of the thumb and he can make the entire broadcasting studio explode. Agent Frederick Dole finds him and tries to coax him out of it. Leon explains that the reason why he makes bombs is to make people feel something. Tragedy makes us come together. Which I actually found, frightfully, so true. After both man-made and natural disasters, social media is bombarded with funds, raising money for the victims. People hold a little tighter to their families and loved ones. The true tragedy occurs after Leon James is shot by his aunt and dies. Agent Dole’s wife has found the bomb and deactivated it (yay! for strong female roles!), which means that even if Leon had pressed the remote control, nothing would have happened. Leon did not have to die.

I’m not even sure I can explain the emotional roller coaster that this play took me on. At times, I laughed at the slapstick humor, which though sometimes a little silly or overdramatic, I understand why it was necessary. The play could have worked as just a tragedy, but the mood lighteners made us appreciate the actors’ performance skills even more. Not just anyone can deliver both comic and tragic lines with such control. At other times, I curled myself into a ball, hands over my ears, preparing for the gun to go off, while chanting in my head, “Don’t do it. Don’t shoot!” That is the magic of the play. We lose sense of the fictionality of the play, and it becomes all too real. The team of Tarnas’ brilliant writing and the amazing skill of the actors who brought it to life was an astounding success….and that is ‘breaking news.’

PREVIEW: Sing-a-Long White Christmas

November 26, 2014November 27, 2014 camsterdam

For those of you who have practiced such discipline and have restrained from listening to holiday music before Thanksgiving, congratulations! (I can’t say I’ve been as strong…darn that Vince Guaraldi). Once the feasting has subsided this Thursday, it is officially appropriate to rock out to festive music! And what could be more fun than ringing in the holiday spirit than with a sing-a-long of the beloved holiday movie, White Christmas?

The 1954 classic film, featuring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, tells the story of two war buddies turned entertainers who fall for a pair of sisters (Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen). The boys follow the girls to a resort, conveniently owned by their former commanding officer. But the resort is in jeopardy of getting shut down. What better excuse to stage a show than to help save the resort?

If you’ll be in town for the long weekend, come get into the holiday spirit at the Michigan Theater! It’s been scientifically proven that singing is good for your mental health! Trust me…Buzzfeed says so… 🙂 http://www.buzzfeed.com/juliapugachevsky/reasons-why-you-need-to-start-singing.

What: Sing-a-long White Christmas

When: Friday, November 28 at 7:30 pm.

Where: Michigan Theater

How Much?: Students (w/ ID) – $13.00

*Come early for caroling with the Barton organ from 7-7:30.

REVIEW: Hanging Loose with Jake Shimabukuro

November 21, 2014November 21, 2014 camsterdam

You could see it from the way he enters the room, lightening up the cold weather mood with a smile. From his first “Aloha Ann Arbor.” From the way he collapsed his inner fingers in and stuck out his pinky and thumb to create the “hang loose” sign. From the way he bowed to the audience. From the way he fist-bumped his bass player after every song, as if it was the best time he’s ever played each song – consistently. You could see that Jake Shimabukuro is one of the nicest performers around, and has a unique talent.

When I entered Hill Auditorium, my eyes were filled with a startling haze that replicated what one might see at a rock concert or a smog-filled arena. On stage were four stalks of concert lights. I was wondering how Jake was going to fill the stage. Would he sit on a stool, Nirvana-esque, and we would listen? Would he be leaping about like Lindsey Stirling? The audience surrounding me had a good mixture of young children and families, college students, and surprisingly, a large community of white-haired folks. Could one musician cater to all people in this broad spectrum of ages?

And then Jake came on the stage, and the lights flared with vibrant colors, bouncing shadows off the walls. While his bass-player appropriately took the simple accompaniment lines and stayed stone still, Jake made up for his stillness by strumming right into an uplifting, high-energy ditty. It must be difficult to create kinetic intrigue, especially when holding such a small instrument as the ukulele. But Jake’s stage presence (although one in his position may feel awkward by the way he bopped his head and bent his knees in rhythm) became larger than himself and was quite necessary for the enjoyment of the show.

If happy had a sound, it would be the ukulele.

Jake is most well known for his covers of classic rock songs such as “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which resonated with the older generation in the audience. While he played these two, as well as Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (*sobbing*) and Ave Maria, he also played quite a few original pieces, which were terrific! He has a unique talent in that he is not solidified in one genre. He is a master of many styles, including flamenco, bluegrass, rock, Hawaiian, and Japanese folk songs! Although he has the skill and control over his flying fingers, his instrument is able to achieve different tones through the use of several effect pedals, as well as one which he can create a sound sample and then loop it and play with it in the background. He told us that many of his pieces are influenced directly from experiences in his own life, as art usually is. Past travels to Japan led him to write a piece called “Ichigo Ichie” which translates to “the once-in-a-lifetime crossing of paths with a person who you may never meet again.” His own childhood in Hawaii inspired a Hawaiian-style folk song. He told a tender story about his friend’s grandmother who, while in the hospital, hallucinated that blue roses were on the ceiling and were dropping their petals on her – a powerful image. This story inspired his elegiac song entitled “Blue Roses Falling.”

The show would have suffered, I think, without Jake’s conversational interlude. He brought us closer, knitted a connection between him and the audience in this moment of ichigo ichie. We were able to listen and appreciate his music in a different way, because we understood how his head worked. We could empathize with the way he felt when he was composing the piece. He probably paid homage to the wonderful venue of Hill Auditorium five times during the night, revealing that he was awe-inspired by the beautiful structure we walk past every day (this parallels how amazed we are by the instrument that he plays daily). Jake is a performer who not only wants to entertain, he wants to inspire, he wants to uplift, and bring good cheer to the world. He gave a quick fatherly preach to the younger generation in the audience : “to choose whatever they’re passionate about and go out into the world and do it.” He followed up with “And you don’t need drugs. I’ve been drug free my whole life. You don’t need them.” Although perhaps a little overdone, I know that he meant well. He believes in “music education,” which got the entire auditorium applauding. After a little research on him, I am pleased to find out that the 38-year-old has created his own music education non-profit organization called “The Four Strings Foundation,” proof that he does not just talk, but follows his own advice.

Aloha Jake. We hope you come back to Ann Arbor and bring your sound of happy with you.