Category: Music

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.

PREVIEW: Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra with Lang Lang

Cynthia

Date: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 at 8 pm
Location: Hill Auditorium
Tickets: rush tix available at the League today!

Program:
· Prokofiev : Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 (“Classical”) (1917)
· Prokofiev : Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 (1917-21)
· Brahms : Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 (1877)

I have finally taken advantage of the UMS Arts and Eats Program and I look forward to a pizza dinner, talk from an expert, and good seats. Though I have been to many piano and orchestra concerts, I am excited to hear the “biggest, most exciting keyboard talent encountered in many years” (quoted from the Chicago Tribune). I’ll keep y’all posted about the “good” seats and the talk from the expert!

Review: ChristianTetzlaff and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

krithika

San Francisco Symphony- March 19,2010

They say each symphony orchestra is different than the other in many many ways. Until now, I was really into learning the basics that this concept escaped me. But when I saw the San Francisco Symphony in action, I finally got what they meant. The difference was not only in the arrangements, the music they chose but also in the way they performed as one. They were a more contained unit.

The program started with a piece called “Post-scriptum” by contemporary composer Kissine. No offense, but I didn’t like it. It had this dreading , urgent tone that was disturbing and annoying-a smorgasbord of notes (often jarring and out of place)- no rest for the musician, no rest for the listener. There was definitely an innovative use of the sounds of the entire orchestra. But the piece was abstract and felt purposeless, always aiming towards the dramatic, as if pandering to today’s love for things “abstract”. My frustration sprang from the fact that I couldn’t connect with it at all. There were “bravos” when the piece ended, to my surprise.

Intrigued by this, during the intermission, when I asked a couple of people if they liked it, one (an older person) said that it was uncomfortable and screechy) and the other (younger one)  said that she had liked it for the novelty in the tempo and musical arrangement.  So I guess there was a divided house, based on my pathetic sample size. <Shrug>.

But then the second piece, a definitely classic composition by Tchaikovsky, “Violin Concerto in D Major”  just gave me my ticket’s worth . Listening to the violin solo  felt like stepping out onto the fresh, dew-kissed grass while the smell of the earth lingers in the air after the first rain of spring. Christian Tetzlaff has  perfect technique and when he plays the high notes, especially in the recurrent melody in this piece, you can’t help but bow to his bow.

The brilliant Christian Tetzlaff
The brilliant Christian Tetzlaff. Master of the bow!

This piece touched so many moods but there was no despair of non-comprehension at the end, like the first one. The compelling beauty of the violin was hard to resist. Mr. Tetzlaff  totally owned the piece.

Ravel’s piece was interesting but didn’t leave me that impressed as his other works before. The Liszt work of “lament and triumph” was intriguing and sad. In this piece, I thought that the use of the trumpets and horns as ‘highlighters” in order to emphasize a musical sequence of importance was neat. It started off  on a gloomy note but grew on me.

Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas

Mr.Thomas breezed through these tough compositions and everything was executed so well. I think that kind of clockwork precision comes only with amazing natural talent as well as years of practice and hardwork. Overall, it was a great show.

That night, the triangle was used maybe seven times at the max. On my way back, I was wondering what the musician who played the triangle must feel. Maybe  it is pure discipline. Maybe it is the fact that they know that they are contributing, even though it is a small role. ” They also serve who only stand and wait.”

Krithika, for [art]seen