Category: Arts

PREVIEW: The Milk Carton Kids

Aria Gerson Leave a comment

I used to think I didn’t like folk music, but that was before I went to The Ark. From my first show, I was hooked. Folk is usually centered around simple instrumentation and exquisite harmonies, which combined with the venue’s exceptional acoustics is a match made in heaven. The Ark only seats 400, so even the introduction to a song can feel like an intimate conversation with the band. After the show, you can often meet them.

This Halloween, if costumes and haunted houses aren’t your thing, here’s an alternative: come to The Ark to see The Milk Carton Kids! They’re an indie folk duo that has been nominated for a Grammy, toured with The Lumineers, and been praised by Sara Bareilles, and they even have a song called Michigan. The Ark’s website sums them up using the phrase “haunting vocal harmonies” and that alone is enough to make me want to drop everything and come to The Ark Tuesday night.

The Milk Carton Kids with opening act Sammy Miller and the Congregation come to The Ark Tuesday, October 31 at 8:00 PM. You can buy general admission tickets for $35 at The Ark, at the Michigan Union Ticket Office, or online at theark.org.

REVIEW: Gook

kjwuzhere Leave a comment

Gook is a remarkable film, one that manages to balance both art and emotion. From the eerie beginning of Kamilla, the young black girl, dancing jerkily and strangely in front of what appears to be the burning shoe store, to the end of the movie, Gook is beautiful and poignant. It shifts tones deftly, and will go from making you laugh to inducing rage within seconds without any of that awkwardness one is used to feeling. Furthermore, the film explores the lives of poor Korean-Americans and the strife between their community and the black community whom they share the streets of LA with–in this way, the film already stands out from other films that focus on the lives of those in the ghetto and seeks to tell a story that hasn’t been told before.

Perhaps the film’s greatest strength is its characters. Each character has his or her own set of motives and desires that feel fully fleshed out despite having little if anything to do with the plot (such as one of the brother’s desire to become an R&B singer). None of them are stereotypes, and though viewers are going to be most sympathetic towards the brothers and Kamilla, the “villains” of the movie remain sympathetic, for the film shows how their anger comes from a place of hurt, how no one in this movie has been or will be capable of moving on from an unshown tragedy that happened years before this day, how grief and violence go hand in hand.

Though the movie describes itself as following this set of characters on the day of the Rodney King riots, the riots intersect with the characters only rarely. The drama of the movie is more personal than that. While the riots drone in the background, the characters rush towards their own startling and tragic confrontation, this sort of mirrored image of the riots. To use history in this way is a bold decision–it is easy to make films where the drama lies in a big event that everyone already knows the conclusion of–here, the historical elements are another layer to an already well-made film and not the substance of the story. Still, though the scenes we encounter that have to do with the riots are limited, they are impactful enough that no one would accuse this film as adding them in to give the movie more substance.

It is impossible to talk about Gook without comparing it to last year’s Moonlight. Both are films focusing on race and class matters, adolescence in the ghetto, and both have similar styles in scenes, preferring to hit viewers with dramatic images accompanied by violins, and each work well with their palette of choice. Gook, despite its black and white aesthetic, is probably more approachable for most people–unlike Moonlight, it has a cohesive and limited (the events of the movie occur in one day, instead of over a lifetime) plot and the artistic elements don’t detract from the emotional scenes. Unfortunately, Gook had a limited release and shows no signs of taking off like Moonlight did.

 

REVIEW: Pigpen Theatre Co.

Abbey Rose Leave a comment

Singer-songwriter David Luning entered the stage as the opening act. The audience came to a hush and the lights dimmed as he plugged in his acoustic-electric guitar and began picking away gently at the strings. The venue reminded me of The Listening Room Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee with its small stage, intimate lighting, and attentive audience. David stood on stage naturally, tuning his guitar and telling stories. He warmed the audience with his banter and humility. When he began to sing, you could feel the emotion in his voice and recognize the authenticity of his words. The personal stories he would tell between songs brought the audience into his life. He enraptured the audience with his adeptness on the guitar, his compelling voice, and his ability to engage people.

                                 10.20.17

The main act called themselves the Pigpen Theatre Co. and the group consisted of seven men and more instruments than I could count. Growing up, I was never a fan of boy bands. I didn’t have posters of the Jonas Brothers or One Direction on my walls. However, last night I think I learned what it feels like to be a so-called “fangirl.” Pigpen Theatre Co. is exactly what a boy band should look (and sound) like with their flannels, facial hair and folk music. Their harmonies were unparalleled and their musical prowess was inspiring. After each song, the band members would rotate instruments and start up again like it were nothing. They vibed really well with one another and with the music. A few songs into their performance, they all hopped off of the stage and found a place to stand in the middle of the audience. Without microphones or amplification, they brought the show to another level of intimacy. They played a few songs that way, and it felt like we were spectators looking in on their living room rehearsal. Pigpen Theatre Co. was an energetic and incredibly talented band, and I aspire to see them again! To check out their music, visit: http://www.pigpentheatre.com/. 

REVIEW: Amir ElSaffar’s Rivers of Sound Orchestra

tintinj Leave a comment
Pretty UMS promotional picture
My view of the orchestra

I came into the auditorium not knowing what to expect. I was excited to watch the show but that was probably because I had never seen an orchestra play live before and I wanted to see what all the hype was about.

At the end of the show, I was definitely hooked. I’m not going to pretend to know how to describe ElSaffar’s musical genius using technical jargon, so instead I’m going to dump this perfectly phrased quote from the UMS performance booklet here.

“The highest ideal in maqam music is to reach a state of tarab, or “musical ecstasy,” which results from the melting away of borders between a notion of self and other, as performers and audience revel together in the music.”

These words are no exaggeration. I SWAM in musical ecstasy. Whatever physical barrier stood between me and the music was washed away by their compositions. Not only was I bopping my head and swishing my body to the music’s rhythm, my body would also act up to the music’s dynamics. Whenever the performance built up a crescendo or when all the performers started to madly improv, my throat would clench, my heartbeat would quicken, and my back would go rigid. I only realized these effects after the performers slowed down, when I started to be aware of my surroundings again. (And the midterm I needed to study for fast.)

In that auditorium, I lost my sense of form: I became a serpent lulled by 17 snake charmers; a marionette pulled by tendrils of tangled rhythms; a grain of sand carried by a roaring river of sound.

Random highlights of the show and some of their recordings:

Jason Adasiewicz playing the vibraphone (like watching the Mad Hatter play the vibraphone)

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Rajna Swaminathan and her mridangam (Whiplash vibes)

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Amir ElSaffar’s trumpet solos (I now see trumpets in a totally different light)

(I forgot to record this part)

Orchestrated madness

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PREVIEW: Ragamala Dance Company

Neha Srinivasan Leave a comment

The Ragamala Dance Company is a group that performs the South Indian classical dance bharatanatyam. This performance will be based around the game Paramapadam (from which Snakes and Ladders originated) as well as the 12th-century Persian epic The Conference of the Birds. The board game will be represented by paintings projected on the floor, done by Chennai-based visual artist Keshav. “The live music for Written in Water is composed and performed by Amir ElSaffar, interwoven with original South Indian Carnatic compositions by Prema Ramamurthy” (UMS).

I have never been to a bharatanatyam performance with live music before, and ElSaffar’s music is a really beautiful blend of different styles. Furthermore, the fact that they are blending visual arts, music, and dance is so exciting. I can’t wait to see how they blend those types of art into the Hindu and Sufi traditions that form the context of the performance. The performance is Friday, October 20, at 8pm in the Power Center. Tickets are available at ums.org.

(Photo credit: Bruce Palmer/UMS)

REVIEW: Trombone Insurgency

Angela Lin 1 Comment

Insurgency indeed! Steve Swell, Joe McPhee, and Dick Griffin captivated the room at Kerrytown Concert House with their flourishes and improvisations and craziness they called music. The venue itself was really small and cozy, seating no more than 100 people, giving the audience a homey, comfortable, intimate vibe with the musicians.

With Swell and Griffin on the trombone and McPhee on the valve trombone, the trio started off on stage together warming up…or playing their first song. I couldn’t really tell as each individual did their own thing and the warmup actually sounded like the rest of their sets. There was no melody. There was no set rhythm. There were only notes. And those notes came together to make music. Their skills were amazing, and it was clear all three of them were super talented musicians. At one point in the first song, all three blared on their trombones, and I literally got chills as it vibrated throughout the room.

After the first song, McPhee and Swell left the stage and Griffin solo-ed, exploring many different techniques and playing the entire range of notes. For the final number, McPhee and Swell joined back with Griffin and they did everything musically possible, playing with mutes at different tempos and dynamics. McPhee and Griffin played multiple notes on their trombone at the same time, which fascinated me. Afterwards, I learned from my friend who plays trombone that this technique was called multiphonics, which sounded really impressive.

I for one was really confused throughout the set. I wasn’t exactly sure what was happening during it, but everyone else seemed to understand the music. However, even though I was caught off guard by the music, I appreciated it and I thoroughly enjoyed it. What made my experience even better was the fact that the audience, which consisted mostly of older 50+ year olds, was completely into it. Heads were bopping the entire time, even when there was no beat to bop to. But, that didn’t matter to them, and they took out of the hodgepodge of notes exactly what they wanted and needed.

The three trombonists played well together, and they obviously understood what they were doing, both individually and as a group. At the end, Swell, McPhee, and Griffin received a standing ovation, and it was clear that the music, cacophonic and chaotic in nature, spoke to the audience in a way a symphony or concert band never could.

This was not a typical trombone performance. This was not normal music. This was an insurgence. And it was amazing in its own way.