On Thursday February 21st, Hill Auditorium will present Dobet Gnahoré an Acoustic Africa. An array of musicians from all over Africa, the group will perform rhythms and dance inspired by their native countries. Dobe Gnahoré, a vocalist, dancer, and percussionist, will be accompanied by bassist/singer Manou Gallo from the Sierra Leone, guitarist/singer/dancer Kareyce Fotso from Cameroon. In addition, the performances will feature Aly Keita on Balafon (from the Ivy Coast), Wendlavim Zabrone on percussion (from Burkina Faso) and Zoumann Diarra on guitar (from Mali). The performance will be eclectic and powerful.
In conjunction with the UMMA’s El Anatsui Exhibit, the Center for World Performance Studies is sponsoring the visit of these gorgeous African artists to celebrate their culture and their art. On Wednesday February 20th, there will be a roundtable discussion in 2435 North Quad. My Thesis Advisor Frieda Ekotto will be moderating in both French and Engish. The title of the round table is Music and the Experience of Female Performance. The discussion will be a great prelude to the fantastic show.
7 pm at Hill. Click here to check out the flier for more details. And click here to watch a video preview of the kind of performance you will see at Hill.
The same place where Robert Frost recited his poetry 51 years ago and Jerry Garcia led the Grateful Dead, Scott and Seth Avett stepped onto Hill Auditorium’s stage on February 12 to play a nearly sold out show.
The Avetts, with Joe Kwon on cello and Bob Crawford on upright bass, stood on oriental rugs facing an audience of close to 3,300. When you’re a four-piece indie folk-rock band from North Carolina, what’s your next move?
True, the modest-mannered band didn’t play in the Big House, but Hill Auditorium is the Big House for music on campus. And bands like the Avett Brothers, who perform their music with the utmost sincerity, almost always require a small venue. Or, at least that’s what I thought.
With a humble guitar and banjo, beneath tranquil lights, the Avetts began playing “Down With the Shine” from their new album, The Carpenter. It was lovely. It was peaceful. They played “Will You Return.” My feelings didn’t change; I was relaxed, enjoying the music.
And then came the “La da, la da da’s,” both from Seth and Scott, but from the audience, as well. “Do not sing if you don’t want to!” Scott yelled. People sang louder, so he repeated himself. “Don’t sing! Especially if you don’t want to!” The more he said it, the more “la da, la da da’s” came from the mouths of people sitting next to me and behind me and in front of me.
Atmosphere and audience engagement are a big selling point for me when I go to a live show, and if you manage to persuade 3,000+ people in the same room to sing, clap their hands to a beat, stomp their feet to the rhythm, and bounce their heads, then that’s something indescribable. That’s music, that’s magic.
The Avett Brothers played other songs as Joe Kwon made terrifying faces with his cello and Seth Avett waltzed around the stage with his guitar. Scott fluttered back and forth between his banjo and the piano. There was a lot of jumping up and down from band members. They played “Head Full of Doubt” with appalling energy (I’ve never seen someone bounce and dance as much as Seth Avett onstage), as well as “Laundry Room” – my favorite Avett Brothers song.
After bluegrass jam sessions that made me anxious because I couldn’t get up and dance, Scott Avett took the stage solo, with just a guitar. He played a song I didn’t know – “Murder in the City” – with such elegance that after my heart was racing from such exciting music played beforehand, I didn’t know what to do with myself besides listen to the beautifully crafted lyrics. In such simple words, the Avett Brothers manage to tell heartbreaking stories: “A tear fell from my fathers eye/I wondered what my dad would say/He’d say I love you and I’m proud of you both/In so many different ways.”
The band was clearly deflated from such an energetic opening thirty minutes, but they carried the show eloquently, all the way through their four-song encore. When they left the stage, they did so bashfully, modestly, waving and smiling, because the night before, they’d be on Late Show with David Letterman, and Ann Arbor would just be another place they had 3,300 people on their feet to hear the two brothers from North Carolina strum on their instruments.
Setlist 2/12/13
Down With the Shine
Will You Return
Go to Sleep
74
At the Beach
Geraldine
Head Full of Doubt
Live and Die
Paranoia
Laundry Room
Old Joe Clark
Through My Prayers
Murder in the City
Ballad
Father’s First Spring
Living of Love
Buck Owens
Slight Figure
Kickdrum
Michigan
ILY
ENCORE//
Carpenter, Indolence, Rollin’ My Sweet Baby’s, Shady Grove
On Friday, February 15th, the School of Music, UM Chamber Choir, and UMMA collaborate to create an evening of sounds inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Faculty from the school will perform a selection from Iriving Fine’s “Alice in Wonderland” as well as several other composers from the same era as well as a contemporary, visiting composer. The music will be performed alongside Florencia Pita’s “Alice” inspired artwork. The dual representation of imagination, fantasy, mystery, and magic will surely create a dynamic and intriguing performance. 7 pm at the UMMA.
Just inside the double doors of the Institute for Humanities is a small, discreet passage leading to a far away place beyond Ann Arbor: the US/Mexican border. I see “gallery” and I imagine photographs hanging on walls or statues on pedestals- not dizzying videos, dialogue about border control, and images of tactile, human belongings staring me in the face.
As part of the Race Theme Semester, the Humanities Institute is featuring a striking exhibit about the immigration journey across the Mexico-Arizona border. Anthropology professor Jason De Léon’s four year old “Undocumented Migration Project” is the organization behind this emotive installation. In collaboration with world renowned photographer Bill Barnes and curator Amanda Krugliak, the two created the ethnographic story of unauthorized migration through dangerous southern border territory. Using techniques such as forensics and archeology, the “Project” curated abandoned vestiges of migrant workers, such as backpacks, dirt encrusted toothbrushes, forgotten bottles, salvaging rosaries, Mother Mary’s, orphaned shoes and more.
As you enter the gallery, the space is dark and crowded. Disorienting videos of a rocky pathways project onto the floor as the viewer progresses through a dark tunneled entrance. She follows the sounds of pensive, recorded voices speaking over each other repeatedly. Once inside, the viewer sees two video projections playing simultaneously: one of six faces looking into the camera and speaking their concerns, fears, and curiosities about illegal immigration; one with pastures, rough hills, and jagged fences rushing outside a moving car window. Opposite the running films, a wall of about one hundred crusty, recovered back packs blanket the walls, making the viewer appear diminutive in their presence.
This instillation is intriguing because of its collaboration between academics and fine arts. The content of the “Project” clearly addresses issues of policy, social (in)justice, and race, while the imagery is skilled, creative, and artfully executed. This combination of disciplines “considers the complexities and ambiguities of found objects and what they may or may not reveal in terms of transition, human experience, culture, violence, and accountability.” The piece did a thorough job of emoting the urgency of these conflicts, especially by incorporating lost baby shoes and tiny pony tale holders fit for toddler sized children. I wondered about the people who carried those objects, wondered who struggled against all odds to cross suc treacherous barriers.
Skimming the guest book near the entrance, I noticed a variety of responses to the exhibit. Most were positive, conveying a sense of appreciation for the severity of the work. Some comments, however, conveyed a less than delighted reaction to the piece. One claimed it was an expression of “white guilt” and did nothing to transcend the issue of race and racism. Perhaps this reaction was because the voices in the film were mostly “white”. That was a very interesting, strategic choice on behalf of the artists to choose white, American voices to address these issues. I wondered whether it was intentional or whether it happened by default. It had a curious affect on the purpose of the piece and left me uncertain about how well it affected me in the end. You’ll have to see and decide for yourself.
For more on State of Exception, click here. Click here for an LSA review of the event and here to see images and texts from the artists themselves. An most informative of all, click here to see a video of Prof. De Léon describe the details of his project and hear from his students. The gallery is located in the lobby of the Institute for Humanities. It is open 8:00 am to 5:00 pm through the end of Spring Break. Definitely relevant to this semester’s theme- check it out!
Saturday, February 23 at 8pm, the New York Philharmonic will be performing in Hill Auditorium! Come check out this prestigious ensemble alongside the UMS Choral Union as they wow the audience with fantastical overtures by both Brahms and Mozart. It is sure to be a stellar performance!
So, where will you be Saturday, February 23 at 8pm?
Hope to see you there 🙂
http://ums.org/performances/new-york-philharmonic <-- more info on the performance!
Wow. I think the overall all consensus after last night’s Mock Rock performance by our beloved student athletes was, “Well, that could have gone a lot better.” Don’t get me wrong, the skits were overall cute and entertaining. Perhaps slightly less so than last year, where highlights included the men’s swim team and the presentation by the football players/cheerleaders; however, nothing was quite up to my expectations. The Lion King-inspired performance was probably the best, I’d say, but other than that, nothing ground-breaking in the field.
Now, the Emcee. Jalen Rose, former UM basketball player and overall an all-star athlete, was just outright embarrassing. What at first seemed like enthusiastic promise turned into awkward and clumsy fumbles that his wit and somewhat clever remarks never worked to make up for. For example, after a really spectacular introduction, written for him on his notes mind you, he forgot he had already introduced the judges, told us that it said “to introduce the judges!”, and proceeded to just do it again by saying “um…Judge #1!” because he forgot the name of our women’s water polo coach and Olympian, Betsey Armstrong. So bad.
Don’t let this review dissuade you from attending next year, however, because Mock Rock really is a great event for the University of Michigan. Not only do we get to hoot and holler for our favorite UM athletes and see them actually less than stellar at something (like dancing and singing), but all proceeds go to Mott’s Children’s Hospital. It’s really a great event and worth your time. Even if only for a laugh.
Mock Rock 2013 was definitely an event to remember, but perhaps not in the way the Mock Rock-ers would have wanted. Better luck next year!
