PREVIEW: Into the Labyrinth: A History of Physics From Galileo to Dark Matter

What: the premier of an interdisciplinary musical performance narrating the history of physics and exploring the connection between science and the arts

When: Friday, January 27, 8:00pm

Where: Keene Theater, East Quad

Tickets: free & open to the public!

Into the Labyrinth is part-recitation, part-play, part-concert, a dynamic performance demonstrating how science can be interpreted and shared through the arts. A Q&A with three of the creative minds behind Into the Labyrinth–Alberto Rojo, Michael Gould and Nicholas Balla–precedes the show. Afterwards, the evening will feature a combination of narration and songs. The narrator, Michael Tulip, will read a combination of excerpts from the works of famous physicists and the writing of Elfriede Jelinek, a Nobel prize-winning Austrian author. Interspersed with the narration will be music for voice, guitar, drum set, and chamber winds, brass, and percussion. I look forward to seeing how the creators of Into the Labyrinth weave together the words–and worlds–of authors from the realms of physics and art to create an engaging performance that gets audiences excited about science.

PREVIEW: FASA’s Philippine Culture Night

We’re still in the beginning of the semester but various organizations are already throwing events. You’ve probably heard of the one coming up this Saturday: FASA’s Philippine Culture Night. Their pre-sale tickets went live last semester and sold out within 30 minutes! After various struggles and being put on a long waitlist, I finally managed to get my hands on a ticket to the overflow room. Unfortunately my seat isn’t the best, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get any good pictures.

Here’s the description written on their instagram account: “This year’s PCN is themed Hiraya: Bridging the Generational Gap. With this theme, we want to honor our parents and those who came before us by highlighting our intergenerational differences in dreams, journeys, and aspirations. With this, we hope to spur forward-thinking conversation through dance,  performances, speeches, and more.” – @fasa_umich

Before coming to the University of Michigan, I didn’t know many Filipino people or anything about Filipino culture. It’s amazing to see how large and passionate FASA is as a community: FASA has been practicing at the Mason Hall posting wall for months now, and their dance team is extremely large. I believe modern and cultural dances will be performed on Saturday night, and it’s what I look forward to seeing the most at their event. This will be my second time exposing myself to Filipino culture (the first time being a traditional music ensemble performance), and I look forward to learning more!

I’m still unsure if tickets are viable at this point, but good luck to those trying!

PCN will be from 5:30-9:30 PM (doors open at 5 PM) in the Michigan Union, Rogel Ballroom (second floor).

REVIEW: The Plastic Bag Store

I had no idea what to expect when going into the Plastic Bag Store. Literally. After seeing marketing for it, I had been asked to go and said yes to see what it was all about; I can very honestly say that it was not at all what I expected. The installation that is the Plastic Bag Store is a mix of art installation and immersive puppet play – unlike anything I had seen before. 

The installation, a grocery store filled with foods made entirely of plastic, was surreal to step into. The resemblance to any other grocery store was striking, and at first glance you wouldn’t think twice that that is exactly what it was. However, upon further inspection you will start to notice… the spinach is made of green plastic bags from Earthbag Farm. What you may have thought was a box of Lucky Charms cereal was actually Yucky Shards cereal with the mascot of a sea turtle holding a six-pack plastic soda ring. Right before you start getting used to it all is when the next phase of the event begins and you are asked to take your seat on the cardboard boxes that have been placed in the center of the store. Cue the puppet show.

Artist Robin Frohardt specializes in her puppeteering art form and the medium shines in The Plastic Bag Store. A stunning and interactive story unfolds from the beginning of single use vases in Act I, to the modern day plastic bag in Act II. Act III of the play is held through the doors of the frozen food aisle and plastic snow is rained on you from above. The third and final part of the play takes place in the far off future and centers around a scientist finding relics of the past in all kinds of plastic held under the sea: plastic bags, tooth brushes, bottles, and straws. I won’t spoil the ending, but it is unnerving to say the least; to return to your world and realize that the grocery store full of plastic was not a far off recreation of our own world is eye-opening. 

While the art and storytelling was undoubtedly phenomenal, I found the message of the piece to be a bit lacking and even misinformed. There was little to no actual discussion on the harmful effect of plastic remains, just the plastic was to seemingly last forever on Earth and that was a bad thing (even coming to that conclusion feels like a stretch). The reality of the plastic issue is far more complex than this and I personally would’ve loved to see this expanded beyond the simplicity of plastic being bad. In a Q&A following the event, Frohardt mentioned that she intentionally did not want to sway the piece to say anything specific about the environmental issue, but instead wanted the piece to simply make the audience think and reflect on the consumerist world we live in today. I think in that sense, the exhibit is a success. 

REVIEW: Wallis Bird at the Ark

8:00pm • Thursday, January 19, 2023 • The Ark

I was so glad I braved the pouring rain last Thursday night to experience Wallis Bird and Marielle Kraft on the stage of the Ark. Songs were sung. Banter was bantered. No fewer than 10 guitar strings were broken (6 unintentionally, 4 intentionally).

Kraft opened the show with a small selection of her recent music. Her pared-down instrumentals and simple, crisp pop tunes provided a nice foil to Bird’s main act. I was particularly fond of “Second Coffee” and thought that “We Were Never Friends,” featuring audience participation during the chorus, was a great closer to hype everyone up for the main act. 

If Kraft’s opening set was simple, Bird’s was eclectic, featuring an intense, intricate mix of a capella, guitar, synth, and piano. She opened with “Home,” sung a capella, approaching and retreating the microphone while she bantered with us, seeming to work up her confidence. Luckily for us, that confidence arrived, and she turned up the volume with several higher-energy songs, including the anti-establishment anthem “That’s What Life is For.”

My favorite of the night was one I’m not certain is recorded, which she introduced simply as a bit of “technofolk” which she said she wrote to emulate her partner in Berlin, a house musician. She introduced the song by asking the audience to keep the beat by snapping, stomping their feet, clapping–anything that would make some noise. As she added layers of guitar and synth, the atmosphere in the Ark strained to emulate a pulsing nightclub, a sound perhaps not in its usual auditory repertoire. In her other songs, she jammed on her guitar, continually snapping strings and casting the guitar aside to be quickly restrung in time for the next song.

Throughout the performance Bird was in high spirits and engaged with the audience, at one point asking an audience-member to sing a song she wasn’t familiar with so she could pretend to imitate it, promising him free t-shirts in exchange for his sportsmanship. When Bird was called back to the stage for an encore, none of her guitars were left with all their strings, so she called her backup vocalists/crew up to the stage to sing another impromptu a capella song, which if I remember correctly was “In Dictum.”

I was impressed with both Bird’s musicianship and her stage presence, simultaneously self-deprecating and full of swagger. If she makes another trip to the Ark from across the pond, I will certainly put in my best effort to attend.

REVIEW: Lily Talmers at The Ark

Classic folk music venue, The Ark, welcomed Lily Talmers and friends to the stage this past Sunday for a performance that was all I expected it to be and more. Their Midwest tour had three earlier shows in Michigan before landing here in Ann Arbor, and will continue on with six more shows, eventually ending in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Opener John Cushing started the night off beautifully, gathering the larger band, including Talmers, on stage in just his second song. Not only was this a group of talented musicians, but also clearly a group of friends who loved and supported one another. Together, the band cultivated a space of comfort and familiarity that the audience easily leaned into.

Talmers and Cushing brought along with them from Brooklyn Aidan Scrimgeour on the keys and Aiden Cafferty on bass. With them joined Ann Arbor’s David Ward (drums), Ben Green (trumpet), and string quartet of Lauren Pulcipher (violin), Julia Knowles (Cello), Courtney Lubin (violin), and Madeline Warner (viola). The group was in constant conversation with each other and the audience, both in words and in the music they played. Talmers’s voice floated through the space in that haunting and clear tone that we know and love about her, making sure to give space and credit where it was due to each one of her bandmates. Her family, old classmates, students, and some people who she had never met had come together to cultivate this space; it is not an overstatement to say each person felt essential to the experience. 

As someone who loves Talmers’s music, I had to bring something physical home with me a double CD with her latest two albums: Hope is the Whore I Go To and My Mortal Wound. I feel so fortunate to have seen this group live; as much as I love listening to her music on Spotify, there is something so grand about seeing Talmers and the full band of strings and horns all in the same space. Each instrument seem to transform the music in a new way. The simplicity of just Talmers and her guitar felt extremely vulnerable and delicate; as more instruments joined, there was a soothing strength in the culmination of sound.

It would be a mistake not to go listen to Talmers if given the chance — her kindness, passion, and love is as breathtaking as her music. I also highly recommend going to see a show at The Ark it is an intimate space here in Ann Arbor and completely non-profit. Words do not do either justice so, please please please, go immerse yourself in this experience in any way you can.

Picture of Lily Talmers

PREVIEW: Lily Talmers at The Ark

University of Michigan Alumnus Lily Talmers is coming to local music venue, The Ark, on January 8th at 7:30 PM. Tickets are available for purchase on The Ark’s website for $20 each. The Ark never fails to host the most intimate and beautiful performances, and so I am beyond excited to return for this show in particular. Talmers will be joined by trombonist, singer, and composer John Cushing and others on this tour. 

Talmers just released her second full length album, “Hope is the Whore I Go To”, on July 29th of this year and it has been an absolute joy to listen to. It was followed up by “My Mortal Wound,” what Talmers has described on her Instagram page as an “inseparable” piece to the former album. The music is both haunting and healing, creating a unique atmosphere worth diving headfirst into. If you haven’t already, go listen to this music; better yet, go see her perform live at The Ark. I have no doubt it will be an experience you won’t regret having.