Trombone Insurgency is part of Edgefest, a series of avant-garde and jazz music performances at the Kerrytown Concert House that is taking place this week until Saturday. Three leading trombonists dedicate an evening of music to recently deceased jazz patron Craig Johnson. Trombone Insurgency takes place on Wednesday, October 18 at 7:00pm with student tickets for just $5. Come on out to the Kerrytown Concert House for a night of groundbreaking music to take you into the weekend of Edgefest!
Category: Arts
PREVIEW: Amir ElSaffar’s Rivers of Sound
When/Where: October 18 2017 7:30pm, Power Center
What is it: Amir ElSaffar’s Rivers of Sound Orchestra, a 17-person orchestra showcasing different Middle Eastern and Western musical styles, is performing at the Power Center tomorrow. Prepare to be blown away.
Why this is supposed to be spectacular:
Watch ElSaffar’s explanation of maqam.
Watch this UMS promotional video of his orchestra playing.
Watch the process.
Now you know.
REVIEW: L’etat de Siege (State of Siege)
I want to say I was mindblown. But I left the theater mostly confused and somewhat annoyed. Some comments:
I liked the metaphors: “Black horses of love.” “Summer is here.”” Winter is coming. (wink wink) ” My brain wore new clothes each time a supertitle spat out a line of beautiful poetic imagery. Each of these metaphors added new dimension to my understanding of different concepts. I can taste the salt of the sea when I hold “freedom” in my mouth, for example. Whenever I hear “repression” in my polsci class, I’m reminded of the claustrophobia created by Plague’s rule over the people. “Love”, to me, clings like the primeval, earthy smell of manure.
I liked the setup: The black garbage bag-like material that was spread across the stage created an eery sense of suspense: its supposed to CONCEAL something in or under the floor. And yes, Death and Plague showed up from underneath. The weirdly detached voice recording of a man in the beginning of the performance was a pleasant “addition” to the performance. He didn’t seem to show up after the first few seconds but it was entertaining for a while. The videos shown above the stage complemented the themes of the play. When the governor was speaking and the screens showed his silently screaming face, it gave a Big Brother-esque vibe to the play.
But I just didn’t enjoy the performance:
(a) Maybe it’s just the times. I wasn’t able to enjoy it because it was not relevant to me. I don’t “see” the problems that the performance seemed to be harping about. But maybe that’s just because the play was written during World War 2 when totalitarian and fascist governments really did make cities feel more like coffins.
(b) Maybe it was just too “romantic” for me. I don’t know. One of the messages I got from the play was that one must be able to forget the fear of death to initiate regime change. Hm. It seems to particularly glorify this romantic martyr mentality instead of, I would say, the more important pragmatic coordination needed to create a successful revolution (it’s almost polsci midterms, so I’m reviewing my notes simultaneously). I know the play is not a handbook, but I’m also questioning its appropriateness in our time, when populists who appeal to emotion are starting to take the reins and terrorists are able to convince people to die for their cause by painting visions of heaven.
(c) I didn’t understand the “jokes”. It made me salty.
REVIEW: Elephante
Elephante returned to his hometown of Ann Arbor on Thursday evening, and what a homecoming he had. The club was packed upon arrival, with a line going out the door even though we arrived late. We walked in, listening to the beat of the electro music grow more intense as we ascended to the main dance area. The club was teeming with people, even though it was only the opener. Girls with LED light-up shoes, guys wearing glo-paint, people dancing to an infectious beat. This was only the warm up, and my friends and I stood on the upper level to soak in the mildly overwhelming sight before entering the fray.
When Elephante came on, we immediately rushed into the center. Tim Wu (Elephante) told us it was great to be back in his hometown performing for people who were willing to come out on this Thursday to see him. For a DJ, he seemed pretty down to earth to me, like even he couldn’t believe how far he’d come since growing up in Ann Arbor. He began the set and the crowd went berserk. Lights began flashing, and suddenly half the crowd had massive foam glowsticks. I’m being honest when I say I have no idea where they originated from; suddenly everyone just had them. Including me! Somehow I found an abandoned glowstick on the ground and was able to wave it about over my head with the rest of them, flashing green then blue then purple.
Elephante’s set was incredible. Most people seemed to be way more dedicated to his music than I am, and knew almost all the words. I wasn’t that aware of all the songs, but did know enough to participate. He took many popular songs and remixed them, which made it easy for crowd involvement. Elephante himself danced around the booth, sometimes playing a song and spending a majority of it dancing. At the end, he signed off and wished us a good night. Everyone immediately started chanting the concert classic: “ONE MORE SONG!” To my surprise, Elephante appeared after about 2 minutes of this chant and told us he would play us a new song, to be released sometime in November. He said it was one he was incredibly proud of, and most of it was produced rather than remixed. The song had a different vibe than the rest of the music he had just performed for us, but it was a good different. It was really good, actually. He played the song and came down to dance with the crowd; people closed in around him and I was swept up in the general movement toward Elephante. I saw him crowd surfing, being tossed around in the air like he was on a trampoline. Afterwards, he returned to the mic and kindly asked that his shoe be returned.
PREVIEW: Elephante
Born in the great city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, EDM DJ/producer Elephante returns to his hometown for a BigRoom and Progressive concert. The concert is at Necto and part of his “Animals Wanted Tour”. More than likely the infectious dance music is going to attract many people and ensure a killer concert; it’s sure to be a zoo on Thursday.
Tim Wu, otherwise known as Elephante, is a Los Angeles-based DJ/producer. His productions range from big-room progressive house anthems to remixes of popular artists including Lorde and Clean Bandit. Wu first learned classical piano before teaching himself guitar, and initially attempted to break into the music industry as an acoustic singer/songwriter before transitioning to electric dance music.
Elephante was a personal favorite for warm-up CDs back in the glory days of high school sports. His songs were full of fun pop vocal tracks, with beats that you couldn’t help but dance to when you heard them. With concert tickets going at a cheap rate, at an incredibly fun and walkable venue, it’s no wonder this concert is selling out quickly.
Preview: Maddman: The Steve Madden Story
For any fans of fashion, business, documentaries or any combination of the three, this coming Wednesday go to the premier of “Maddman: The Steve Madden Story” at the Michigan Theater and attend a live Q&A with Steve Madden himself. The Madden Company, whose products can be seen adorning the feet and bodies of many students walking around campus has had a tumultuous and interesting history, and this documentary will track their history along with Steve Madden’s own rags-to-riches story.
The event will take place at the Michigan Theater, October 11th. The doors will open at 7:15 and the screening itself will begin at 8:00. I anticipate a fair amount of interest in this event so if you want good seats make sure to get there early! The event will be free to the public with limited free concessions.
