Category: Music

REVIEW: El Ten Eleven

watsonsauce

El Ten Eleven is an amazing band. If you have never heard them please do so immediately!
Kristian Dunn is probably the most incredible guitarist I’ve ever seen perform live. His skill with rhythm and melody are unparalleled from anything I’ve experienced before. He loops live, playing with tempo, melody, harmony, key signature you name it. Knowing what little I do about loop pedals I can imagine this is a very difficult process that requires a great deal of attentiveness and command over this particular approach. Dunn is also a rather likable fellow. He interacts well with a crowed and seemed pleasantly surprised at the enthusiastic reception they received at The Blind Pig.
Tim Fogarty, the drummer, has mastered his instrument to an expert level. I appreciated the way he and Dunn interacted musically, combining their rhythmic patterns and respective melodies. They are a seamless team of highly skilled, innovative artists.

The entr’acte for the evening was Beacon (Thomas Mullarney III (vocals) and Jacob Gossett), hailing from Brooklyn NY. (http://www.ohmyrockness.com/bandbio.cfm?bandid=34842, http://beacon.bandcamp.com/). They mix samples with haunting, high falsetto vocals from Mullarney (reminiscent of Michael Jackson, with a lack of pop, not to mention his curtain of black hair!). This duo was a great set up for El Ten Eleven. Different enough to keep things interesting but not so different that the collaboration felt disjointed.

The size of the venue was very conducive to this kind of show. Some people wanted to hang out on the fringes and bobble head, others, myself included, were in the thick of things, full body jamming to the beats of these two excellent bands.

Please take a moment to check out their music and broaden your horizons. Also, be sure to take advantage of all the amazing music that comes through this lovely college town of ours! It really is a treat!

REVIEW: Sunday in the Park with George

Kayla Silverstein

Friday night, I had the privilege of seeing “Sunday in the Park with George” as performed by the Musical Theatre Department here at the School of Music, Theatre, & Dance. The premise of the show is the story of Georges Seurat, the creator of the famed painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”. He struggles with success and criticism of his work in his time period, never having sold a painting during his lifetime. He has difficulties balancing work and his relationships with others and ends up losing his mistress and model, Dot, to another. George is an interesting character in a lot of ways. His concentration to his art and failure at succeeding at much else for one thing is quite perplexing and the attention to detail in his work is astonishing. The show mentioned also that it took him two years to finish the painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”. I thought the musical did a lot to represent accurately Seurat’s work habits and advanced concentration to his work.

The show was definitely a success, the actors and actresses, singing, and dancing was entirely up to par, as anticipated. Some standouts from the show include the actress performing the role of Dot. Her voice was absolutely phenomenal and she totally reminded me of Bernadette Peters, who played the role while it was on Broadway. The lead, George, was so good at mimicking a crazed artist, affixed in both his paintings and his work. He flitted around the stage, particularly in the scene “The State of the Artist,” where he hovered between appearing interested in potential investors and posing for photographs. It was a whirlwind of a scene and it played to his strong points.

The middle of the show, in all honesty, was sort of a snore. The three hour-long performance droned on and I felt bored with the nitty-gritty of the plot while the songs seemed to me rather dull. The first act was definitely better than the second, but it still wasn’t entrancing. I truly believe, however, that this was due entirely to the writers of the show and not the men and women of the Musical Theatre department. I think the show isn’t Sondheim’s best, but it is such a cool concept, basing the entire plot and musical numbers on a single painting and its artist – it’s worth portraying. I think with a few more crowd-pleasing numbers and less dialogue-heavy scenes, it would have worked better.

All was restored for me, including the immensely boring middle parts, when that final song “Sunday” was performed at the ends of both acts. It’s such a beautiful song and the melodies seem to flow directly from the heart. It has the usual Sondheim ring to it, finishing with a bang and a grand flourish of the arm. I loved it. And when the musical ended and the backdrop went white, Dot leaves the stage while George’s final word coincides with the emotions of the audience: Harmony.

I don’t believe I would recommend the show to a friend if it were inconvenient for them to see it; although, if it was right in your backyard with an amazing cast, I wouldn’t say no to a ticket. Glad I saw it, but glad it’s over. Can’t wait for what show they put on next.

PREVIEW: Deftones at the Royal Oak Music Theatre

j-bones

The Deftones are back in town on the 24th in support of their upcoming album, Koi No Yokan, to be released November 13th.

Roughly translated, “koi no yokan” is essentially the Japanese equivalent of the phrase “love at first sight” – not surprising when we look at Chino Moreno’s past lyrics, which often dwell on love and relationships, though not always in a positive sense like Koi No Yokan seems to promise.

It remains to be seen whether or not we will be served with an album mostly consisting of gooey, lovey-dovey songs, but if the two recently released singles “Leathers” and “Tempest” are any indication, we can expect a heavy, steaming pile of good ol’ Deftones rock.

I’m really digging “Tempest” – like the name promises, it’s a violent, chaotic windstorm of heavy riffs complemented by lulls of melodic, surreal beauty. Take a listen below:

Deftones – Tempest

Though the new singles are definitely high-quality rock, I can’t say that I think the Deftones are doing anything much different this time round. As usual, there are no guitar solos, and Chino’s lyrics aren’t groundbreaking (sorry Chino), nor do they convey any sort of higher message. One can’t deny, though, that Chino’s lyrics do a great job in effectively conveying emotions, versus simply describing them (I’m looking at you, mainstream rock). Still, the Deftones are a badass band with their own unique brand of music that can’t be found anywhere else.

Come to the Royal Oak Music Theatre this Wednesday the 24th at 7:30 and let’s get our faces fuckin’ melted!

-Jordan

PREVIEW: Sunday in the Park with George

Kayla Silverstein

This weekend come see the stunning U-M Musical Theatre department perform the beloved Sondheim production “Sunday in the Park with George”! Inspired by the painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat, this fictionalized story tells of this painter’s life and his interactions with his lover and model, Dot. The book is by James Lapine, who also worked on such popularized shows as “Into the Woods,” “Falsettos,” and “Passion.” He frequently collaborates with Stephen Sondheim and this show is considered one of their best (info from wikipedia.org)

“A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat
“A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat

The show is running October 11th-21st at the Mendelssohn Theatre – buy your tickets soon!!

Preview: Battle of the Bands: A Roman Blood Bath

watsonsauce

Mark your calendars for this epic battle of Spartan proportions, which will take place on November 16th: Pendleton Hall in the Union
Although this event will not take place until November is bears mentioning now for those of you who have a band and are interested in joining the fray!
New Beat Happening (NBH), a student group on campus, holds this event every fall to showcase local talent from around Michigan and the University. NBH brings a bigger performer to campus in the Winter semester for general student enjoyment and moral boosting, not to mention potentially introducing you all to something you wouldn’t have otherwise been exposed to. (In the past NBH has brought: Atlas Cloud, Girl talk…..) Although this cannot be guaranteed by NBH, due to the finicky tendencies of musicians, the winner of November’s Battle of the bands may be able to open for Winter’s headlining band. If not NBH may be able to offer the Battle winner their own headlining show on campus, to be adored by all who are fortunate enough to bask in their glory.
If you would like to throw your band’s, or your own solo-performing, name in the ring for this Battle please send a sample of your music to:

nbh.battle.2012@gmail.com

and wait with bated breath to see if you will be chosen to battle against fellow musicians for the title of:
New Beat Happening’s 2012 Battle of the Bands Victor!

Preview: Music-Con: The Comic-Con of Michigan Music

watsonsauce

Music-Con is an event sponsored by The Center for Campus Involvement, The Ark and the University of Michigan’s own, student-run, musical performance organization: New Beat Happening.
Sunday, October 21st, 12:00pm-4:00pm (FREEEEEE!!!!)

This event is for students who are interested in learning more about the music world through workshops on Demo Listening, Talent Buyer and Agent Forum, How to Get and Promote Gigs, a Song Writing Workshop, Street Marketing and Social Media as well as a Panel of local arts talking on “Being the Artist.”
Active members of the Michigan music scene lead all of the workshops. The keynote speaker for this event is Eric Morgeson; founder, producer and engineer at Studio A (http://www.studioarecording.com/).
Other workshop leaders hail from The Blind Pig (http://www.blindpigmusic.com/), The Ark (http://theark.org/), Radio hosts, iSPY magazine (http://mispymag.com/), and others.

This event takes place on Sunday October 21st 2012 from 12-4pm in the Michigan Union.

Registration is open to all students until Tuesday October 16th.

Register at: http://campusinvolvement.umich.edu/content/music-con-2012-registration

(if it is after Tuesday the 16th and you are still interested in registering go to: http://campusinvolvement.umich.edu/article/music-con-2012 to find updates on registration)

Please come and absorb the wisdom of these incredible human beings for the furthering of your musical and personal success!

EVENT BREAK DOWN:
11:30am-12:00pm Registration Check In – Michigan Union, 2nd Floor

12:00pm-12:45pm Keynote Speech: Eric Morgeson, Founder, Producer and
Engineer at Studio A
Eric tells us how he got to where he is today owning and operating a recording studio, and the lessons he learned along the way.

1:00pm-1:45pm How to Get and Promote Gigs: Get insider tips on forging through
the local scene to book successful gigs. These experts have worked
in many areas of the industry and offer up-to-date advice.
w. Susie Giang, Vice President and Agent at Fleming Artists and Joe Choma, Owner and Talent Buyer for Grand Circus Media

Talent Buyer and Agent Forum: Have questions about the talent buyer vs. agent relationship? Want to know more about this as a career? This panel discussion will give you the chance to ask questions.
w. Mike Green, Agent for TG2Artists, Adam Bauer, President and Agent at Fleming Artists, Anya Siglin, Programing Director at The Ark, and Jason Berry, Talent Buyer for The Blind Pig

Demo Listening: Demos submitted at the session are listened to, and then our experts provide a to-the-point discussion on what they are hearing and what music execs listen for in a demo.
w. David Siglin, Former Director of The Ark, and Rob Reinhart, radio host at WDET and Acoustic Café

2:00pm-2:45pm Street Marketing and Social Media: From flyering to Facebook,
this meeting explores the trends in marketing and social media.
w. Tim Adkins, Bro-Founder of Pakmode Media + Marketing, and Publisher of iSPY, and Matthew Altruda, Radio Host for Ann Arbor’s 107.1FM Treetown Sound and Marketing Event Coordinator for Sonic Lunch

Songwriting Workshop: Get creative and start writing some songs. This workshop provides guidance in getting your music on paper.
(speaker TBA)

Being the Artist: A discussion with local artists about making a name for yourself, creating albums, being a role model and more.
w. Dante LaSalle, Hip Hop Musician and Deejay
(other artists TBA)

2:45pm-4:00pm Trade Show: Featuring live music, a raffle for Ark tickets and local
vendors offering information about their music related products
and services.

All sessions will be located in the Michigan Union.

Here’s how to have your best conference experience:
· – Make sure you arrive to register between 11:30am-12:00pm so you don’t miss any of the keynote speech by Eric Morgeson!
· – You can choose 1 session to attend from 1:00pm-1:45pm and 1 session to attend from 2:00pm-2:45pm.
· – There will be a 15 minute break between each session to go to the rest room, check your cell phone, grab a snack or ask the speaker a one on one question.
· – The sessions will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. So go to your desired session first, and if it is at capacity, we will ask you to choose another session.
· – Planning to attend the demo listening workshop? Bring your personal demo in on CD for the chance to have your demo critiqued by the experts.
· – Planning to attend the songwriting workshop? Bring a pen and paper.
· – This conference is for you to build your knowledge about the music industry, so make sure you ask questions of the speakers during the Q&A portions of the sessions.
· – Don’t miss out on the trade show at the end of the conference. There’ll be more time to mingle with the speakers, check out local vendors who offer music related products and services, live music and a raffle for a chance to win tickets to The Ark!