Category: Music

REVIEW: Benoit Pioulard, Windy & Carl & Hitoko, Man the Hunter

Pencil Pete 1 Comment

Shows at the Yellow Barn on Huron can be hit or miss, either packed with great energy or awkward with only a handful of patrons.  Thankfully, this one was a total hit right from the beginning with a large diverse crowd of Ann Arborites dressed in their Saturday-night best arriving even before the first act.

The show began with a short unannounced set by Skate Laws, aka Forest Juziuk of Hott Lava, the experimental film outfit that booked tonight’s show.  Perhaps one of the strangest live performances I’ve seen in recent memory, Forest orated and gyrated to a prerecorded soundtrack of vaguely hardcore music, played off an iPod connected to the house PA.  As unexplainable as his music is, it is thoroughly entertaining and maybe you’ll learn a thing or two from his musings on, I don’t know, the American educational system.  It was kind of hard to follow, but in a really charming way.

Full disclosure: Man the Hunter is a close friend of mine, so I’ll keep this super-duper-objective (what up, Evan!).

I’ve seen Ann Arbor’s own Man the Hunter perform several times in the past, and this show was among his best.  Joined for the first time by Ezra Noble on bass, his nostaliarock sound took on a groovy new dimension that ultimately led to a more danceable set.  The catchy-ness of his songs paid off, with the crowd singing and shouting the lyrics to his songs, sometimes louder than the PA.  You guys remember summer 2010?  Are you nostalgic about it yet?  Come to a Man the Hunter show and you will be.

I must admit, I missed most of Windy & Carl & Hitoko because I needed a pizza really, really bad.  Upon my return from Papa John’s, they were playing a sustained tone that gently undulated, but never appeared to really change.  I’m 95% sure it was the same note they were playing when I left.  Historically, I have had a hard time approaching ambient music, especially live, but I will admit I regret missing the majority of their set.  The other concertgoers seemed to really enjoy it.

Benoit Pioulard will always remind me of riding the University of Michigan buses the winter of my freshman year, when I lived on North Campus.  His gentle and compelling music set the perfect mood to watch the snowy Ann Arbor landscape pass, and allowed me to forget for at least a minute how bogus it is to live up there.  Seated in front of an extensive collection of guitar pedals, Benoit seemed completely at peace in front of the mesmerized crowd, most of whom sat in rows on the Yellow Barn’s unfinished wood floor.  Making slow and deliberate music, he crafted a beautiful soundscape of heavily effected vocal and guitar tones for each song.  His melodies are either haunting or slightly awkward; I have yet to decide which, but I don’t think it really matters.  He’s moving to England shortly, so make sure to catch him next time he’s stateside.

Overall, the show was fantastic, but I found the lineup to be a little strange.  Following the high energy sets of Skate Laws and Man the Hunter, Windy & Carl & Hitoko and Benoit Pioulard seemed a little out of place with their relaxing offerings.  Not to say it didn’t work, but I’m used to leaving a concert after the highest energy act.  Perhaps that is why I was restless on my way home from the Yellow Barn, but hey, at least I didn’t have to catch a bus to North Campus.

REVIEW: Deerhunter, Real Estate, Casino vs. Japan

Pencil Pete

The Magic Stick in Detroit is the kind of venue in which one could live a fulfilling life without ever leaving.  Downstairs: bowling, pizza, theater.  Upstairs: cozy music venue, bar, billiards, deck with (another) bar.

Despite the amenities, I hadn’t been to a show that more than half-filled the Magic Stick.  This show finally did it.  The night began with Casino vs. Japan, a minimal electronic act celebrating a recent reissue on semi-local Moodgadget Records.   I was surprised to see Casino vs. Japan on the bill, not only because the music is very different from the other two acts, but because minimal electronic music usually doesn’t lend itself well to live performances.  And as I arrived towards the end of the set, my suspicions were confirmed: pale dude behind a laptop wearing a beanie.

The gathering crowd showed appreciation, and towards the end of the set I realized that this type of music could fill an important role on a split bill like this one.  Rather than the typical classic rock and stale pop piped in through the PA as the crowd assembles, live minimal music allows for milling about and holding conversations in the same way, but at least there’s something creative going on in front of you.

During Real Estate’s set, the crowd thickened considerably, growing to include: a group of kids who couldn’t have been more than 12 years old, many, many teenagers in plaid shirts, and a girl with gold shoulders who brought with her a group of overdressed college students who pushed everyone aside to get to the front and take a bunch of iphone photos of themselves.  And do you guys remember the Bash Brothers from The Mighty Ducks?  They were there.   I guess that’s what a Pitchfork Best New Music review earns you.

Real Estate played an impressive set, embellished with a couple new tracks from the guitarist’s solo project, Ducktails.  If you could describe Real Estate’s set as relaxing, which it was, Deerhunter’s was anything but.  The distinctive affected and noisy sound of Deerhunter was augmented by an unexpected energy that slowly built throughout the set.  Perhaps it was the stage presence of the front man, Bradford Cox, who despite his weak and skinny appearance due to Marfan syndrome, was able to interpret his emotional involvement in every song in a physical way throughout the 90+ minute set.  Or perhaps it was the carefully constructed set list that consistently grew in intensity and encompassed material from their three most recent albums and EPs.  Or maybe it was just the mosh pit that formed several times, stressing the floorboards of the Magic Stick in an alarming manner.  Either way, I was past the point of exhaustion by the time the last song ended.

Final thought:  Avoid the Bash Brothers when moshing.  Seriously, those guys weigh at least 300 pounds a piece.  No match for skinny hipsters.

REVIEW: Rosanne Cash @ the Hill Auditorium!

krithika

Does this happen to you? You know that you have forgotten something but don’t now what and you let it remain at the back of your mind.

And then suddenly it comes to you-at the stoplight as you wait for the lights to go green, tapping your fingers on the steering wheel impatiently and hear the bells in the bell tower  nearby chime “500 miles away from home!”

Eureka! Oh, yeah,  of course I forgot to post the review for Rosanne Cash’s performance at the Hill Auditorium! Now, how did that happen? Well, I do have to tell you about the first show for the UMS for this year at the Hill Auditorium.

Rosanne Cash was here at the Hill auditorium in the not-so-recent past (in today’s world, I believe that anything more than a day old gets archived under “the not-so-recent past” category) performing songs from her album,The List.  The  songs were from a list of 100 that her father Johnny Cash gave her when she was 18 so that she could learn what he considered to be “the essential songs that  every country singer must know.”

Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash

I loved the way the stage was set. We had the guitarists, the pianist, the fiddler and the drummer all neatly spread out with  screens in ths backdrop. Paintings and drawings  of exotic birds, flowers and patterns (they seemed amateurish but very colorful) were projected onto the screens and they were interesting. My friend and I tried to make connections between the songs and the paintings. Unless someone would deem to correct me, I guess the projections were just random and nice distractions.

Miss Cash walked in to big applause and started off on a great song, William Heagney’s “miss the mississippi and you”. What struck me first as I listened to her live was  that her voice was very different. Neither too melodic nor too shrill, it seemed to have something very unique. I felt that her voice wasn’t suited to all the songs. But her rendition of “she’s got you”, “500 miles”  and ” miss the mississippi and you” was really very pleasant.

The song “500 miles” was my favorite. Ms Cash sang it more slowly than the Hedy West’s original and it was even more moving. The pace of West’s version made it  rushed and it feels as if the railroader was resigned  to his fate and so he shrugs it off in a  matter-of-fact manner with this song. Cash, on the other hand,  made it more like a lament and hence there was more pathos in it leaving room for even more empathy from the listener.  There is a Hindi song with this very same tune (the slow version) that I have loved for years  and I was surprised and sad to find that it had been, to put it euphemistically,   “inspired by” 500 miles! Well, I will leave that matter at that. <shrug>

Ms.Cash’s  songs were from a vide variety of genres that included folk, blues, pop and  rock. I loved her band. They were superb and made her shine. Especially when it came to them doing their lil solo improvisations, they were awesome! I loved the lead guitarist, John Leventhal, Ms.Cash’s husband, who would not be out of place in a rock band as he was so full of energy and really good.

That she gave two encores and the audience was still clamoring for more, goes to show her popularity. Would I listen to her? Hmm…yes, to some of her songs. I think her voice is something that grows on you and is more like a cultivated taste. As for her song choice from the list of 100, it is really good. That she chooses to “rerelease” these songs to introduce them to new generations is commendable.

Overall, it was a very pleasant evening. And thanks to the bells chiming “500 miles away from home” at noon in Kerry Town for reminding me about what I had forgotten.

more than 500 miles (8549 to be exact) from home ,

Krithika for  [art]seen

REVIEW: Brandon Flowers, “Flamingo”

hannahrye

Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers, has officially begun his solo career with the release of Flamingo. It’s clear from the very first song that he hasn’t strayed too far from The Killers’ sound – “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” opens with a sound that could be pulled from any one of their four albums. “Only the Young,” the second song, plays with an African influence that can first be detected on Day & Age. Indeed, there are familiar elements all throughout Flamingo. Flowers isn’t letting the listener forget where he’s from, or where he’s been.

However, Flowers certainly didn’t limit himself to the sound he created with his band. This album sounds first and foremost like an artistic experiment. For the first time, he sings a duet with a female musician: Jenny Lewis, who is both a solo artist and the lead singer of Rilo Kiley. A couple of the songs, most notably “Was it Something I Said?,” have a few Arcade Fire-inspired qualities to them, which is an influence I hadn’t yet heard in a Killers album. There are even hints of country music throughout Flamingo – this was perhaps the most surprising to me.

Flowers is perfectly comfortable having most of a song’s focus on his voice, rather than the band as a whole. These tracks are musically complex, but the instrumentation does not compete with or overwhelm Flowers’ voice in any way. He doesn’t stick to safe, easy melodies, either – he’s really pushing his talents to a new level. “Playing with Fire” demonstrates that there are still limitations to his voice, but songs like “Crossfire” and “Magdalena” show how far he’s come as a vocalist since the days when he could barely get through a performance of “Somebody Told Me.”

For me, the experiment paid off. Brandon Flowers has a gift for storytelling and clever lyrics, which shines through no matter what project he’s working on. The fact that he’s pushing himself on this solo album suggests that when the time comes for The Killers to reunite, they’ll be even better than ever.

For your listening and viewing pleasure, here’s a link to the video for “Crossfire.”  It’s a little graphic, though – for fairly unexplained reasons, Flowers is being tortured.  Luckily, a pretty blonde saves the day.

Review: “Trafford Tanzi”- A Definite A-show!

krithika

April 9,2010

Grappling, booing, catcalls, cheers, lock ups, sleeper holds, a flying referee, take down, venus flytrap, countout, submission,sweat pouring down faces both on and off the ring! You are thinking of WWE RAW right? No, I wasn’t watching the WWE. I was at this  true-to-life wrestling ring constructed for the Malcolm Tulip production of  Claire Luckham’s play “Trafford Tanzi” at the Arthur Miller Theatre, replete with posters from the seventies and the dazzling blue lights as well as the seats arranged around the ring in true pro-wrestling style!

This play is about “Trafford Tanzi”, a girl who lives in a uncompromising and hard world where she is not allowed to pursue her dream of being a professional wrestler. It is all about how she fights (literally) her way through this. It is an interesting play where the struggles of a character are portrayed so clearly and yet subtly in a way that will make the audience feel exactly what the character feels. The essence of each character (the referee cum school psychiatrist, Platinum Sue, Tanzi’s Mum& Dad, Tanzi’s husband Dean Rebel) shows in the way each fights Tanzi. The wrestling is so important to this play. The actions speak and actually, the actors don’t really have too many lines (except for the comic and talented referee).  The character’s internal conflicts are more clear and there isn’t much use of ambiguous complicated metaphors. This simplicity of showing the character’s emotions is unique and hats off to Claire Luckham for this! It is fascinating to think of life this way. Of course, this play reflects strong feminist views and Tanzi emerges the winner at the end.

As a part of the audience, you sit there and watch Tanzi getting pushed around and hit many times and when she ends as the winner, naturally you root for her. In this production, I didn’t  watch a play. I was in one, watching a real fight. This ability to engage the audience completely is why Malcolm Tulip’ s production of “Trafford Tanzi” wins full points. This production has everything right. The physical element in this play is crucial to delivering its message and the actors under the tutelage of Charles Fairbanks, ( a filmmaker and wrestler who goes to the MFA program in Art and Design at Uof M) got this right! The audience were encouraged to be cheer or boo and if there had been beer, cigarette smoke and vendors with peanuts, we would have been in a real wrestling match! If one had walked in midway he/she would have assumed that it was a wrestling show. It was that good!

There were  many scenes where I was extremely uncomfortable. For instance, the character Dean is in his briefs throughout the play. Even though we see a lot of nudity and of course tons of skin exposure on TV these days, this sudden encounter with a almost-naked actor felt so in-the-face and it was disconcerting initially. But I think this “costume” was quintessential to the definition of Dean’s character. The other costumes were so cleverly designed too. Tanzi’s mom wears pearls and apron over a tight swimsuit as if to show that she was a conforming shallow woman who knows that males are hypocrites but still basks under their attention.

The thuds from the numerous falls of the actors as they wrestle each other make you flinch and you want to jump up and see if the actor is alright.  But then that is how the play was so realistic. The grossness quotient in this play was a lil high too. For instance scenes like a 1-year old Tanzi with her fingers full of boogers and up in her nose, like Dean pulling out hankies and flowers from his underwear- YUCK! . But this is what set the scenes where Tanzi is made to kiss the ground  by her opponents apart. The hilarious (and disgusting) scenes along with the other semi-serious scenes infused realism and it seemed so genuine. I loved the fact that the actors all spoke (or as per Mr.Tulip, “tried to”) speak in pitch-perfect British accents.  It added that little extra element of humor.

As for the music, Carlos Valdes was amazing. His covers for Gloria Gaynor’s”I will survive” and Beatles’  “I wanna hold your hand” were absolutely hilarious. His background score was cheeky, fun and brilliant!  He has done a great job.I loved the referee’s acting  (played by Torrey Wigfield). His frequent flamboyant entries like diving across the ring  or in a cowboy outfit as well as his witty delivery was fun to watch. His rendition of the French song “non, je ne regretten rien” had the audience in splits. Dean Rebel, the character most booed in this play and played by Louis Marino  who had to wear in a blue brief throughout, did a very confident job. His acrobatic skills and fluid movements were great too. The totally disgusting and obnoxious character of  Tanzi’s Dad was portrayed perfectly by Nicholas Strauss-Matathia (his pronunciation of “buttercups” in that fake British accent had me cracking!). For this performance, the understudies Aimee Garcia and Charlotte Vaughn Raines performed the roles of Tanzi and Tanzi’s Mum respectively. Charlotte rocked the song “Stand by me” and Aimee gave a very strong performance too.  The endearing   (and as it turned out humorous) director Malcolm Tulip came out with the crew  for the talk after the performance and this was so illuminating. This is definitely a great success for Mr. Tulip and his team.

I had read a preview for this play and the plot didn’t appeal to me. But somehow I ended up going to this play and trust me when I say this- it is one of the best all-round entertainment you can ever get. I had such a delightful time! You are entitled to one too.

Don’t forget to catch one of the following shows:

Saturday April 10 @ 8 pm or Sunday April 11 @ 2 pm @ Arthur Miller Theatre

tickets available at box office or online: http://www.music.umich.edu/performances_events/productions/09-10/trafford.htm

A  delighted,

Krithika, for art[seen]

REVIEW: Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra with Lang Lang

Cynthia

Program
· Prokofiev : Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 (“Classical”) (1917)
· Prokofiev : Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 (1917-21)
· Encore – Chopin : Etude, Op. 10, No 3
· Brahms : Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 (1877)
· Encore : Smetana’s “Dance of the Comedians” from The Bartered Bride

Did you know Lang Lang has his own shoe? Of the facts from the talk at the Arts and Eats Program, that was probably the most interesting one! Never mind that all of the members of the orchestra are all 26 years old or younger (they’re all virtuosos)…a shoe with his picture and his name in Chinese on it. Of course, the first thing I did when I returned to my room was to google it.

Our seats were in the very last row of the middle of the mezzanine section. While these seats are usually pretty cheap, they turned out to be perfect for my friend and me. The person in front of us was at least 6.5 feet tall and if we were sitting down, we would not be able to see anything! We ended up letting the seat fold up and then sit on top of that. The Arts and Eats program turned out to be a pretty good deal after all!

I found the selection of pieces to be very intriguing. The first Prokofiev piece took me by surprise and was much more “cheerful” than I expected. To be honest, I was expecting a loud crash of the symbols, dissonant chords played by the strings and brass, topped off by a smattering of the drums and timpani. Instead, the symphony sounded more reminiscent of a classical symphony, but with a little more freedom and less restriction of the form. The second piece, the piano concerto with Lang Lang had more of modern music that I was expecting. The piece was not hard to listen to though, since the piano melody helped relieve some of the tension felt in the notes played by the brass and strings section.

By the last piece, a lot of the audience was gone. I had a vague impression that the majority of the Asians who had tickets (I noticed there was a larger percentage of Asians at this concert than in previous classical music concerts) were gone. Lang Lang was also done playing. I loved the Brahms symphony though. It turned out to be a very characteristically “orchestral” piece. And throughout, I was sure I heard snippets of Brahms’ famous “Lullaby,” creating the perfect ending to a long day.