Category: Arts

REVIEW: The Holy Bones Festival

IseeUsee Leave a comment

The holy bones festival was a Halloween themed festival-carnival of sorts with enough novelties to satisfy any occult appetite. Held near downtown Ypsilanti, you could see a lot of Ypsi spirit and pride. From 3D-printed Ypsi structures to local artists, the city’s art scene was reflected pretty well. The festival lasted an ample 7+ plus hours and had exciting events like drag shows. Even though the festival featured 40+ artisans, the fair could be explored in an hour or so. The art ranged from stickers, t-shirts, crystals, jewelry to novelty items like skull wall decorations, a mini horror-themed room, haunted dolls, and much more. There was also a tarot card reader who had a really cozy tent set up. 

There were also some decorated skulls on display with backstories of their own. 

The events really came alive (or dead since it was horror-themed) in the night after the carnival lights were turned on. I watched the drag/costumed show where people lip-synched to songs and gave interactive performances to the audience and went to see the Ypsi downtown and returned again after sundown. There was live music throughout the event and had up-and-coming artists perform some of whom had released albums with the support of Ypsi artist funding.

For food, there were 2 food trucks and one stall. One could pick their choice of Nigerian food, tacos, or sliders. All of these had lines throughout the duration of the event so you know the food was good.  

There was also an improv show for which you had to buy tickets separately. It was held in a nearby church. The church had LED lights inside with spooky music that really upped the ante and gave a gothic vibe to the event. The performers were unfortunately not very good and not worth the price of a ticket. Their jokes or the storyline was not that funny but the performers did perform very enthusiastically. Sadly many members of the audience left during the intermission. 

All and all the holy bones festival would be a nice one-hour event to go to if you want to see spooky things on display. It has only been a thing since 2019 and considering that all the ticket proceeds go to the restoration of the Ypsi art scene, we can expect this festival to gain major traction in the coming years and be on the level of a full-blown paradise for all things evil and occult Halloween carnival!

Hidden Life of Trees

PREVIEW: The Hidden Life of Trees

Abigail Fox Leave a comment

I first picked up Peter Wohlleben’s book The Hidden Life of Trees over the summer of 2019 looking for something different to add to my summer reading selection. The book is a well-written exploration of the surprisingly complex social life of trees and forests and I couldn’t put it down. Even as someone who has spent a lot of time around trees, the notion of trees being able to “talk” to each other with such detail and depth and the concept of each forest acting as a community was surprising to me. Wohlleben did an excellent job conveying the majesty and scale of forests through the written word, but I think the big screen might be an even better medium to convey the awe they deserve.

Peter Wohlleben’s 2015 nonfiction masterpiece The Hidden Life of Trees has arrived for the big screen and will be showing this Tuesday (10/19) at 5pm at the Michigan Theater. This is currently the only showing scheduled in Ann Arbor, so grab your tickets now if you’re interested!

PREVIEW: Princess Nokia at the Majestic Theater

havaliebowitz Leave a comment

 

Genre-crossing Bronx based rapper Princess Nokia is ascending to new heights on her Bloom tour, coming to the Majestic Theater in Detroit this Monday the 18th. Bloom is her first world tour and she will be performing songs from her two new full-length albums released during quarantine, Everything Sucks and Everything Is Beautiful. These two albums truly showcase her range as an artist and her influences from 90s hip hop and the various New York subcultures that nurtured her career.

In Everything Sucks, we meet her more emo persona, a bitter and braggadocious young woman who seeks success to spite her enemies and her critics. Everything Sucks explores more fully the themes she rapped and sung about on A Girl Cried Red, her 2018 mixtape, which contained candid lyrics about her hurt and anger at past traumas of being a foster child and having a loving but inconsistent relationship to her birth family. This Nokia is all about control; she needs no approval from others and the men in her life are plentiful and disposable. Singles from this album include “I Like Him” and “It’s Not My Fault”.

Princess Nokia, real name Destiny Frasqueri, celebrates her duality as a gemini with these two albums. In Everything Is Beautiful, we see the Nokia who embraces and celebrates her loved ones. This Nokia found peace and sings a lot about her chosen family, forgiveness, and transcending the ego. She also celebrates her Puerto Rican heritage and her connection to the strong women in her life who keep her grounded. In tracks like “Soul Food y Adobo”, she layers Spanglish lyrics over brass instrumentals evoking 60s Soul. At age 29, Nokia has taken up the mantle of adulthood and all that entails. She no longer looks to her past as something holding her down but rather the platform on which she has built her success. The Bloom tour is a triumphant celebration of her fully realized self.

REVIEW: The Wild Party

Lucy 1 Comment

This show unquestionably lived up to its name! I was so happy to be going to see live theater again after the height of the pandemic, and this was a fantastic show to begin on. I loved the music, vocals, outfits, and just the experience of being in a theater with a live audience after such a long time.

The first thing I think it is important to comment on is the fantastic vocals from both the lead actors. I was awed by their voices, and I realized that I have never really heard anyone from the SMTD program sing before. I enjoyed their solos as well as their duets, and I got a great sense of the major vocal ranges that both of them possessed. The music also provided many opportunities to impress, as it was complex and well written. I loved the sort of jazzy style of some of the music, and I thought each song sounded unique from the others. Also, this musical had basically no dialogue and was almost entirely singing. So I was doubly impressed that there was full voice singing and dancing the entire show, which was over 2 hours.

I also loved some of the more modern implements, the most interesting of which was the inclusion of “phones” as a prop. In many of the scenes, the characters were holding phone-shaped items that just let off enough light to be bright in the darkness. They used these props as phones, as a way to light up their faces, and as faux recording devices during exciting moments. I think this prop brought the show into a more modern “gossip girl” style, as it was advertised that it would do. However, I think it wasn’t enough to let me know that was the intent without me having known that beforehand. While I did really think this prop was cool, I was actually hoping they would do more with it. Perhaps a part of the show could have been in darkness with the phones as the only light, which could have looked very cool.

The only critique I really have for this show was the sparkly streamers that lined the back and sides of the stage. These reflected the light of the spotlights and were super distracting, especially during serious moments. I found them hard to look away from even when I wanted to be watching a scene that was going on between characters.

Pulp | Arts Around Ann Arbor

Finally, I want to mention the amazing performance by the male lead. His character’s steady progression from confident boyfriend to unhinged psycho was amazing to watch. He did a spectacular job with this slow descent into madness and I didn’t even notice how unstable he was becoming until he started really acting insane. His solo at the end of the show had crazy vocals and he really kept up his energy through the end.

I would definitely recommend this show to anyone who likes musicals. The vocalists were amazing, the dancing was quite impressive, and the storyline had me hooked. It also gave an important message about domestic violence, and I thought the director did a great job getting this message across. Not a show for children, but I would recommend this show highly.

PREVIEW: The Holy Bones Festival

IseeUsee 1 Comment

To all Halloween enthusiasts,

I will be the brave one to address what’s on everyone’s mind: Fall break is just around the corner and you don’t know what to do! Halloween season is about to start! Your midterm couldn’t have been scheduled at a worse time! AT&T stock drops toward 11-year low, as dividend yield rises further above 8%!

Fear not I have an event for you that will cast away your worries and give you the perfect, ghoul fuelled start to your fall break.*

*applies to folks free between 3 pm EST and 10 pm EST on the 16th October 2021 only Terms and Conditions apply.

Skeletons partying like there’s no tomorrow

Thee (with the special e sound) Holy Bones Festival!

If you were looking for a sign then here is the official start to Halloween season for you. This spooktacular event is held right in your backyard: Ypsilanti. A quick (did I mention free?) bus ride away from CCTC. Forget taking the bus to your North Campus 8ams this is where the groovy kids take the bus to. 

The festival will have over FORTY local artisans and tarot readers, live music, drag shows, an art show, an auction (c’mon have you ever been to a freaking auction?),  and an improv show.

So put on your Jack Skellington T-shirts and be ready to have fun in the sun like the skeletons in the poster. Do you see how much fun they’re having?! 

Also, their early tickets are prices devilishly at $6.66 so don’t wait too long. Grab a friend and let’s go!

 

PREVIEW: The Wild Party

Lucy Leave a comment

This steamy prohibition tale, following a party-to-end-all-parties, was originally set in the 1920s but has been updated to reflect a more modern, gossip girl-style show. The show is filled with jealous lovers, violence, glamour and colorful party guests, and has won several different awards for its off-Broadway run. The Wild Party also features a score written by SMTD alumnus Andrew Lippa! There is a content warning that the show is really for mature audiences, and includes profanity, drug and alcohol use, and adult situations. Additionally, it contains strobe lights. So leave your kids with the babysitter for this one.

I am excited to see this show because I have never heard of it, even when it was on Broadway, and it sounds like a lot of fun. And I love to support the SMTD program! I have missed seeing in-person theater performances, and I am eager to get back into the theater world here at U of M. The show is playing at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, which is in the League, from October 14th through October 17th.

Tickets and more information can be found here: https://tickets.smtd.umich.edu/5207