Category: Music

REVIEW: Krewella at ROMT

Gabriella

Krewellas marquee for the October 20 show
Krewella's marquee for the October 20 show
Pretty lights abound rounded out the auditory and visual Krew experience
Pretty lights abound rounded out the auditory and visual Krew experience

As of last night, I truly understand why EDM is meant to be experienced live rather than heard blasting from my earphones on a run through campus, studying, or any other non-live avenue. Krewella’s Detroit stop on the Get Wet tour at the Royal Oak Music Theatre far exceeded my concert expectations for their music after listening to their new debut album “Get Wet” on repeat for the past few weeks.
Although their Sunday all ages show was not a sell out, the energy in the venue remained high in part to the two opening acts, Candyland and Seven Lions. Although not familiar with their music before, I was pretty happy with what they had to offer. Both DJs combined their beats and drops with intense strobe lighting techniques that added to an already trippy atmosphere. I don’t mean trippy in the drugged out sense, but in a way that leaves you feeling like you’re outside of your body and element by moving in the same environment and to the same base-y music as so many other people around you. That spirit is really at the heart of why ravers and ragers keep coming back and seeing their favorite artists pump up a crowd and getting them to let loose. Although some concert goers may also be on other substances to enhance their experience, you don’t need to be on something to have fun here.
Krewella’s ability to mix pop vocals with an electronic sound was reinforced for me at this concert. Attendees shouted along to the fun lyrics while getting rowdy as the base built to some truly epic drops. The anticipation for these drops was so much greater live than non-live, exaggerated by the atmosphere and everyone waiting to go crazy when the base dropped. Krewella’s lights too, were quite the spectacle and the friend I was with commented on how high blast they were tonight. My favorite songs they performed were “Killin’ It,” “Live for the Night” and “Alive” because of how intense they got into their performance, making people want to dance and go harder. The Krew ended their set with “Enjoy the Ride” only to come back by audience demand for an encore, “Come and Get It.” But that wasn’t the end of the show either. Jahan brought up a guy named Andrew from the front row, announcing that this was his seventh show he’s been to on their tour. For his birthday coming up soon, we all sang “Happy Birthday,” after which point he got caked in the face, a staple at many raves. Krewella’s dedication to their fans knows no bounds, and with their fan base growing I hope they’ll be able to come back to Detroit soon in a larger venue.
Even though their set only lasted an hour and fifteen minutes, I could not have asked for a better time. While many students Sunday night were getting their studying on at Club Ugli, I “got wet” with the Krew.

REVIEW: G-Fest

Gabriella

With an almost full lower level at the Power Center for the Performing Arts, student performance groups across Michigan pulled together October 18 for G-Fest, a 2-hour extravaganza of singing, dancing, comedy, slam poetry, percussion and glow-stick dancing. Each act brought something fresh and new to the 5th Annual G-Fest. Alumni G-Men from the inaugural show had the honors of opening this one. Not only were the acts solidly executed, but the ever quirky, comical G-Men introducing them kept the show’s momentum running strong throughout the entire program. Personal favorite included when two G-Men made dubstep with their mouths, including dubbing the beats to Snoop Dogg’s “Drop it Likes it Hot” and Ginuwine’s “Pony.” I think this was when the crowd cheered the loudest the whole time, although each group received a respectable amount of loud, rambunctious applause, and for good reason.

The G-Mens opening number
The G-Men's opening number

The Harmonettes killed it in black pumps and blue jeans.
The Harmonettes killed it in black pumps and blue jeans.

I found myself feeling like I was an extra cast member in Pitch Perfect when the G-Men and Harmonettes sang in harmony and pitch together. The G-Men pulled off a catchy Spanish number to open the show, followed by a mash-up of Maroon 5’s “Harder to Breathe” and Adele’s “Skyfall.” Pure ear candy. In the second part of the show, the self-proclaimed always classy, sometimes sassy Harmonettes brought their girl power with Little Mix’s “Wings,” my favorite number from their set. To quote the movie, both groups were “aca-awesome.”

Asante looks dapper in his top hat and jacket.
Asante looks dapper in his top hat and white jacket.

Asante, the only solo act on the bill, sang two original compositions at the piano. He described the process of creating his own music by visualizing different keys as different colors and putting it all together. His two pieces complemented each other perfectly well, and had the venue feeling like a small intimate jazz club. As a senior in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, he was one of my favorite acts for his ability to silence and mesmerize the crowd with his smooth voices and even smoother piano playing. He’s got showmanship down, looking and sounding mighty classy. I loved every minute of it.

The Michigan Raas Team
The Michigan Raas Team
Photonixs eye candy
Photonix's eye candy

The first dance group, Michigan Raas Team, performed to traditional Indian music wearing traditional Indian costumes. Their fluid movements had me wanting to get up and dance too, if I knew how to dance like that. G-Fest ended with Photonix, a group that dances with glow sticks to create visual art with trippy trance music in the background. It takes a whole lot of talent to wave glow sticks up and down to create something magical, and Photonix’s did just that in this out-of-this-world finale.

Grooves jamming out on trash cans
Groove's jamming out on trash cans

Before intermission, Groove beat their trashcans and quad drums made of plastic bins to perform several numbers of carefully crafted percussion numbers. The intensity and speed at which these performers can go is remarkable, and I can only imagine how much time and practice they endure to get it just right. These guys nailed it, and the best part is all their instruments are random, common items one wouldn’t expect to find in a formal show. Groove’s ingenuity, coupled with their urban allure, made for a stylistic success to round out the first half.

ComCos improv players provided plenty to laugh about.
ComCo's improv players provided plenty to laugh about.

Not only did talent lie in the musicality of performances, but in comics and poets, too. The first half featured six ComCo. members, campus’s oldest improv comedy group, playing various games with audience participation. They pulled off one of comedy’s greatest exercises, telling a story with someone else’s hands behind them guiding the action. Another game had the game master control the flow of dialogue, interrupting a “mother/daughter” pair whenever he didn’t like what they were saying and making them redo the line in a different way. The best part about the players was the sheer improvisation–these guys can think fast on their feet and that makes it all the more enjoyable and entertaining. One of the highlights of the night for me was being able to laugh at the absurdity of the situations the players acted out.

Four members of the Slam Poetry Club read their poems on stage, giving the audience chills with their themes of growing up, being there for someone in tough times and a poem chronicling Adam and Eve’s experience in couple’s therapy. Each poet slammed really well, slowing and quickening their voices at the appropriate times and really speaking from the heart. It takes a lot of guts to speak like that in front of such a large audience, and these kids nailed it.

I couldn’t have asked for a better Friday night listening to and seeing all the great talent this campus has to offer. Each group shined, and it made me even prouder to be a Michigan Wolverine. Even though G-Fest was just a sampling of the many performance groups on campus, it accomplished its goal of entertaining attendees. Bravo, everyone, for your amazing performances.

Review: FlatbushZOMBies @ The Blind Pig

keshav

This Tuesday I listened to Flatbush Zombies perform at The Blind Pig. I believe attending a concert at The Blind Pig is a bucket-list item for students here—gotta once before you graduate or you’re missing out. It’s not the biggest or most glamorous venue. Neither of those words should ever be used to describe The Pig—sweaty and crowded are more appropriate adjectives. Nevertheless, this venue is a great spot to see talented groups on the cusp of stardom for reasonable prices (tickets usually $15 before fees).
Flatbush Zombies are a Brooklyn based group formed in 2010, consisting of MC’s Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice, and Erick Arc Elliott. New to the rap scene, Flatbush Zombies follow in the tradition of legendary New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan— minimalistic yet expressive production style, dissonant harmonies, and each MC embodies a unique persona on every track. Listeners can also appreciate the many references to hip-hop culture: frequent references to famous MC’s, particularly 2pac and Wu-Tang Clan, as well as plays on iconic lines from classic songs.
Flatbush Zombies, like many other hip-hop groups, fixate on drug use in their lyrics. It would be a mistake, however, to consider this group another run-of-the-mill group drawing on controversial subjects to gain popularity. Their lyrical content is distinctly existential, openly questioning the value of conventional morality and religion, opting instead for a morality derived from real life experience. Unlike mainstream hip-hop artists who advocate decadent, illicit drug use according to a purely hedonistic worldview, Flatbush Zombies depict drug use as an inevitable consequence of socioeconomic exclusion. Rather than glamorize drug use, they problematize the activity, prompting listeners to consider why drug use is prevalent, and how the activity is a conscious act of self-destructive escapism.
So how are the Flatbush Zombies live? They kill it. The venue was perfect for their musical style—informal setting mixed with ear-splitting acoustics complemented the minimalistic production style and the raw energy of the group. In my experience, hip-hop concerts rarely recreate the sound quality of studio recordings live, but this loss of sound quality is more than made up for when a performer brings enthusiasm and panache to the stage. Panache, pizzazz, x-factor, swag, whatever you want to call it—The Flatbush Zombies came packing heat, they lit up the stage with energy, adding a personal depth to their music which cannot be captured in the studio.
Fans of Wu-Tang Clan, Joey Bada$$, and Odd Future should definitely check out Flatbush Zombies—I think this group has a lot of potential to produce quality hip-hop music over the coming years. Fan or rap or not, definitely check out The Blind Pig, a venue that is integral to the Ann Arbor experience. The Blind Pig setting is ideal for discovering new music on an intimate level.

Listen to some Flatbush Zombies for free here (I recommend No Religion and Thug Waffle): https://soundcloud.com/flatbushzombies

Watch the Music Video that helped them gain popularity–you may notice inspiration from some of Tyler the Creator’s music videos

Flatbush Zombies–Thug Waffle

REVIEW: A Little Night Music

csatter
Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s classic musical A Little Night Music is brought to life in a new production by the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. A Little Night Music presents the story of long lost lovers Desiree Armfelt and Fredrik Egerman, who, after 14 years, 2 children, and 1 new marriage find themselves together again. Of course life, and love, is never simple and this play seeks to discover what happens when the past and present collide during a summer weekend in the country.
Although slow to start, A Little Night Music found its stride during the very end of the first act and presented an interesting reflection on the nature of love and what can happen when love is lost but not forgotten. The strength of the production was the portrayal of the two leads, Desiree (Eleanor Todd) and Fredrik (Conor McGiffin), and the humourous supporting couple Count Carl-Magnus (Elias Wygodny)  and his wife Charlotte (Jordana Grolnick). Todd and McGiffin had great on-stage chemistry and the ease with which they bantered and laughed with each other made all of their scenes together extremely enjoyable. Although they represented a different kind of love, the characters of Carl-Magnus and Charlotte were similarly fun to watch. Wygodny’s portrayal of jealous lover and mostly proper soldier Carl-Magnus was intriguing and humorous, and Grolnick’s deadpanned depressive one-liners provided a hilarity that often stole the scene. Together Wygodny and Grolnick presented a wonderfully amusing couple who shone in every scene they were a part of.
While the music was mostly enjoyable and the bits of witty dialogue were definitely appreciated, the overall production was not completely compelling and oftentimes I found myself wishing we were at the closing number. The plot itself was rather predictable and there were moments full of exposition and almost no action, which made it hard to be fully invested in what was happening onstage. Although not all of the cast’s individual performances were as strong as the leads, they did perform well as an ensemble, which made up for some of the awkward and duller moments.
Overall A Little Night Music was an interesting production. Although somewhat predictable, it did have humourous moments and some well sung songs, including the most recognizable “Send in the Clowns.” I’m glad to have seen it once, and am looking forward to see what the School of Music, Theatre, & Dance do next.

The School of Music, Theatre & Dance, brings Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s classic musical A Little Night Music to life in a new production. A Little Night Music presents the story of long lost lovers Desiree Armfelt and Fredrik Egerman, who, after 14 years, 2 children, and 1 new marriage find themselves together again. Of course life, and love, is never simple and this play seeks to discover what happens when the past and present collide during a summer weekend in the country.

Although slow to start, A Little Night Music found its stride during the very end of the first act and presented an interesting reflection on the nature of love and what can happen when love is lost but not forgotten. The strength of the production was the portrayal of the two leads, Desiree (Eleanor Todd) and Fredrik (Conor McGiffin), and the humorous supporting couple Count Carl-Magnus (Elias Wygodny) and his wife Charlotte (Jordana Grolnick). Todd and McGiffin had great on-stage chemistry and the ease with which they bantered and laughed with each other made all of their scenes together extremely enjoyable. Although they represented a different kind of love, the characters of Carl-Magnus and Charlotte were similarly fun to watch. Wygodny’s portrayal of jealous lover and mostly proper soldier Carl-Magnus was intriguing and humorous, and Grolnick’s deadpanned depressive one-liners provided a hilarity that often stole the scene. Together Wygodny and Grolnick presented a wonderfully amusing couple who shone in every scene they were a part of.

While the music was mostly enjoyable and the bits of witty dialogue were definitely appreciated, the overall production was not completely compelling and oftentimes I found myself wishing we were at the closing number. The plot itself was rather predictable and there were moments full of exposition and almost no action, which made it hard to be fully invested in what was happening onstage. Although not all of the cast’s individual performances were as strong as the leads, they did perform well as an ensemble, which made up for some of the awkward and duller moments.

Overall A Little Night Music was an interesting production. Although somewhat predictable, it did have humorous moments and some well sung songs, including the most recognizable “Send in the Clowns.” I’m glad to have seen it once, and am looking forward to see what the School of Music, Theatre, & Dance does next.

REVIEW: Rachel Mazer

nina.j

Rachel Mazer

A few weeks ago, U of M School of Music Jazz singer/saxophone player extraordinaire Rachel Mazer performed her very own songs at the Canterbury House on 721 East Huron Street.With the accompaniment of a medley of musicians from the School of Music as well as several alums, Rachel amazed the intimate audience with her incredibly luscious voice. As classic as Billie Holiday and as fresh as Beyoncé, Rachel delivered five original songs and one inspired by the greats. In fact, after her performance I asked her what her vision had been for her show and she said something along the lines of  “to make jazz approachable, easy, and hip to our generation.” The possibility of adding  Jazz overtones to some Beyoncé covers is one of the projects she has up her sleeve- one day, after hopefully recording her own work first. I have heard Rachel play saxophone before, but until her show I had never had the pleasure of hearing her belt it out on stage.  It was a treat for all who were present, and I will definitely be waiting for her Beyoncé remixes to come out on vinyl.

REVIEW: Hubbard Street

Kayla Silverstein

Dance is somewhat of a challenge for me to understand. I lack the proper vocabulary and background knowledge to truly and accurately describe what I see performed in front of me. That said I thoroughly enjoyed Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s amazing performance of, One Thousand Pieces. I will do my best to tell you why.

First off, it’s beyond beautiful. The dancers move with such grace and precision – I sort of made up this game to try and see if I could see someone’s knee twitch or foot slip out of place, but I never caught any slip-ups. Every move was deliberate and precise. They would rush to complete a phrase then slow to a gentle glide across the sleek dance floor. It was spectacular. Their performance also featured a mist curtain, hanging as a billowy and ever-changing backdrop to their movements. The scene change with the mist curtain also left the stage littered with water droplets, in which the dancers continued to glide and float on stage to the rhythms of Phillip Glass’s music. The sound of the water could reach me in the balcony. I was even able to make out sparkling droplets of water dancing through the air as the artists flipped their arms in the mist.

This dance performance was not a story ballet or anything – the aim, as defined by Hubbard’s first resident choreographer, Alejandro Cerrudo, was to show how images are shaped and distorted through stained glass. Why stained glass? The choreography was inspired by Marc Chagall’s America Windows, as seen on display at the Chicago Art Institute. The props were simplistic but did include a few mirrors, tilted this or that way. It was also cool to watch the dancers when the lighting adjusted to show a vibrant reflection in the floor beneath their spinning bodies. So many of their movements seemed to me to be in a singular plane, moving within some sort of field of restraint. When I would glance at the dancers’ reflections in the mirrors or the floor, their movements seemed flattened and more distant – as if I were watching the performance through a window. It was unlike anything I’d seen before. It gave a whole new dimension to the work for sure.

Hubbard Street is an amazing company and worthy of all the praise they receive. Bravo to the dancers and thanks to UMS for bringing this fabulous company to our Ann Arbor stages.