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Ever been to a Classical Orchestra concert where the musicians are in costumes, the conductors are in costume, and the audience is in costume?! If you answered no, then you haven’t been to the annual School of Music, Theater, and Dance Halloween Concert. This Sunday, October 30th, 2011, at 4:00pm and 7:30pm, in Hill Auditorum, the orchestras of the University of Michigan will come together to provide a show that will keep everyone entertained. Excerpts from standard orchestral works will be presented  in a far less serious context than your usual Orchestral Performance. Student tickets to this event are $5. From someone who has attended for the past two years, you won’t want to miss this!

From the moment I heard “Wheels of a Dream” from my beat-up, library copy of the soundtrack from the musical Ragtime, I was an Audra McDonald fan. I was so inspired by her vocals in that song in particular, although it’s only one of her many shining moments, I would actually listen to it on the way to my tennis tournaments in high school. When I heard this four-time Tony award winner was coming to Ann Arbor, I bought my tickets within the minute of replying to my friend’s text and placing my order online. The University Musical Society describes McDonald as “a restlessly creative spirit who is reluctant to be typecast strictly as a musical theater artist, despite her enormous success in that genre.” Some of her other work, as listed on Wikipedia, includes: Carousel (1994), A Raisin in the Sun (2008), and currently as Bess in Porgy and Bess on Broadway this season. It is sure to be a phenomenal performance and I hope you can all attend!

And just to share how epic that song I mentioned is, here’s a link to Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald singing “Wheels of a Dream,” enjoy!

How many of you readers know who Boyce Avenue is? I was pleasantly surprised when I got to EMU’s Pease Auditorium last night at how many people are Boyce Avenue fans–the place was packed! I saw them in concert last spring at The Blind Pig, a much smaller venue, so it was awesome to see how their fan base has grown in the past six months. For those of you who don’t know who they are, Boyce Avenue is a band comprised of three Puerto Rican-American brothers from Florida–Alejandro, Daniel and Fabian Manzano. Alejandro is the dreamy lead singer… I think its all in the name! Anyway, they started out singing acoustic covers of popular songs  and posting videos of their studio performances on Youtube. That’s how I found out about them, from their sweet and romantic renditions of “Only Girl” by Rihanna, and “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry. Check out their Youtube page here: http://www.youtube.com/user/boyceavenue.

The concert last night got off to a slow start, with two opening acts for Boyce Avenue. The first was Alex Goot, a kid in a t-shirt, flannel, and glasses who played a mean piano. I enjoyed hearing him play, however I wasn’t a big fan of his original songs–not bad, but not great either. A bit too teenie-bopper for my taste. But, here’s his Youtube page if you want to decide for yourself! http://www.youtube.com/user/gootmusic

After Alex, Green River Ordinance took the stage (with a long time waiting in between for the band to set up their own equipment!). Green River Ordinance (GRO for short) were a lot more rock n’ roll. Though again, I wasn’t crazy about any of their songs, they were really great performers, getting the crowd involved and excited. And being from Texas, the lead singer had that charming southern drawl when he spoke. They were really fun to watch! Their style was indie-rock with a little bit of country thrown in there too. What really impressed me was that they did an “unplugged” piece at the end of the performance, where they all walked away from the drums and electric guitars and microphones, quieted the audience and sang and played a country/bluegrass song at the foot of the stage with nothing but their acoustic guitar, banjo, accordion and voices. Here’s their website–check them out! http://www.greenriverordinance.com/

After Alex and GRO, I was ready for Boyce Avenue to take the stage. However, the house lights came on again and GRO took down their equipment, and some other guys came out on stage to get ready for Boyce Avenue. I grew pretty impatient. The waiting in between sets was my least favorite part of this concert. The crowd lost energy in between performances, as people shuffled out of the auditorium to use the restroom, and others sat texting on their cell phones. Finally, the lights lowered and Boyce Avenue came out strong, rocking out to one of their hits, “Tonight”.

The concert was amazing–Boyce Avenue sounds even better live than they do recorded. They are all impressive musicians as well, with incredible skills on the guitar. Though I love their original songs, I love their acoustic covers even more, so I was really excited when they played songs like “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman and “Who I Am” by The Goo Goo Dolls. My only complaint with Boyce Avenue live is that they aren’t the best at interacting with the audience, the little comedic banter that many musicians do in between songs. Alejandro is quite serious and didn’t provide much comic relief, or show us much of his personality throughout the performance. Nevertheless, the crowd was very involved, standing throughout the performance, screaming and yelling like crazy! Their performance was over too soon, so the crowd cheered for an encore–and they got one. Alejandro came back out to his keyboard first by himself, then his brothers joined after the first song. They seemed to loosen up a bit in the last few songs, and they ended the concert on a high note.

I was sad to leave the concert hall last night. I really enjoyed hearing Boyce Avenue live. Their songs are sweet and heartfelt, in no way raunchy or dirty like a lot of popular music is these days. They even change the lyrics of pop songs to make them more romantic and innocent, melting girls’ hearts who dare to listen to Alejandro’s pure voice. It was interesting to see how this manifested even in the type of people who came to the show. As we were all piling out of the auditorium and the congested parking lot, everyone was SO nice, letting other people into the line of traffic ahead of them, no pushing or shoving whatsoever–all in all, it’s good to be a Boyce Avenue fan!

The dance lover that I am, I couldn’t wait to see the unique dance company from Taiwan, The Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, perform at the Power Center on Friday night. I had heard how uniquely beautiful their movement style is, due to their wide range of training in modern dance, classical ballet, tai chi, and Chinese opera movement. Though I was feeling a little under-the-weather, I pulled myself off of my futon and went to the show.

The Power Center was packed, and not long after I found my seat the lights lowered and the curtain opened to reveal a white floor, tilted so that it was higher upstage, away from the audience, swooping gradually down to meet with the black Power Center stage, making it feel throughout the performance as if the dancers would roll right down into the audience. The dance began slowly, too slowly, as the dancers took small, careful steps out onto the stage, performing miniscule movements for the first long minutes of the performance to high-pitched, eerie music that hurt my ears. When I began to wonder where the breath-taking movement was that I had been promised of the Cloud Gate dancers, they exited the stage, the music still going, leaving us all to stare awkwardly at an empty stage, wondering uncomfortably when they’re coming back.

Though I’m not sure I enjoyed or agreed with the choice to leave the stage empty for a few moments so soon in the performance, before I saw any real dancing, it did make sense in light of the overall concept of the piece, concerning Chinese calligraphy, and the white stage as a metaphor for the rice paper on which calligraphy is done. Throughout the piece there were dark “clouds” that rolled over the white floor, at various speeds and intensities, sometimes casting a shadowy grey color over the entire stage, and at other times frantically spinning black cloud-shapes over the stage as the dancers jumped and rolled on the floor in equal speed and intensity. The empty stage gave us the opportunity to appreciate this unique staging choice.

The dancers soon re-entered and the performance continued. Though there were many clear exits and entrances, breaks and shifts in the music, as well as in the style of dance–ranging from impressive slow, controlled movements of the arms cutting through space, to quick, frantic leaps and falls, rolling on the ground–these pieces flowed easily from one to the next, blurring the lines between one section of choreography and the next. Though I felt there was some story to the piece, something possibly concerning cultural history, gender, and sorrow, this story was incredibly abstract, and anything but clear, so is often the case with modern dance. Regardless of what the choreographer was intending to communicate through the movement, the piece was certainly a unique expression, with the white floor, and uniform white costumes, contrasting with the black forms projected onto the floor, and the often eerie music and mood.

Now, the ballet-trained dancer in me couldn’t help but critique the repeatedly sickled (turned-in), flexed feet, obviously a choice made by the choreographer, but annoying to me nonetheless. Maybe it’s the result of years of being told how great a sin it is to sickle your feet in ballet, but it still just looks ugly to me! I was also disappointed at the limited range of movement used in the piece. Though I am aware that dance as an art form isn’t all about doing big leaps and turns and fancy moves that impress the audience with your technique, I had heard so much about the control and expertise of these dancers’ movements, and I felt like they were capable of so much more than the choreography allowed them to show us. I felt that the movement was very repetitive, abstract, and contained.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. It was refreshing to see dance again–I miss it so much! Hearing the breath of the dancers in moments when the music was quiet, hearing their feet landing on the stage as they jumped and traveled across the floor… music to my ears. The Cloud Gate dancers are truly amazing dancers, technically and artistically. And thankfully, the performance lasted only about an hour, so I was able to go back home to my futon and sleep off my sickness–perfection!

The Blind Pig is hosting Boyce Avenue at EMU’s Pease Auditorium on Saturday October 22nd at 7 p.m. Boyce Avenue, an acoustic-rock band comprised of three brothers from Sarasota, Florida, quickly gained popularity on Youtube through their unique and heartfelt acoustic covers of popular songs from a variety of genres. Now with several hit songs of their own, Boyce Avenue is back on tour, finishing up their US tour this Saturday at EMU before heading off to the UK. Boyce Avenue was here in Ann Arbor last spring performing for a packed house at The Blind Pig. With a growing fan base and a larger venue, this weekend’s concert is sure to be a fun and exciting experience. You can buy tickets to the concert on The Blind Pig’s website before the show for $18, http://www.etix.com/ticket/online/performanceSearch.jsp?performance_id=1499607&cobrand=blindpigmusic, or you can purchase tickets at the door for $22. For more information about the concert, visit the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128245783920804.

Boyce Avenue: Teenage Dream Cover–Check it Out!

Woken up by my mom’s incessant cries, I launched out of bed to see what was wrong. “How appropriate. The one day I have off this week and what do you know? It’s raining,” she said. Still half asleep, I reassured her that the skies might clear up. It was a classic case of bad luck but rather than letting the rain spoil our morning I remained hopeful; the storm clouds could rain on our parade but our spirits couldn’t be dampened.

“That’s Pure Michigan for you,” I interjected with as smile as she continued to sulk in disappointment. “Even if it’s raining and we’re knee-high in mud we’ll be sure to have a good time,” I said reassuringly. With a little more persuasion and a steaming cup of press coffee to calm the nerves, mom agreed to set off to Blake’s Farm in Armada Michigan where the annual Lavender Festival awaited. Knowing the state of Michigan’s unpredictability, the forecast is always susceptible to change.

At the beginning of the summer I created a list of things to do before the summer’s end. The list included hosting a three-course dinner party, venturing on a spontaneous road trip, starting an herb garden, going to a drive-in movie theater, flying a kite, riding the People Mover, and other mini goals within Michigan boundaries. The list continues to grow as I cross off older items, marked with the date of completion, and then add new items to stand in its place. One day while editing the list I recalled receiving a pretty postcard advertising some sort of lavender festival. The postcard was long lost, shuffled away in a mountain of mail somewhere. Starting an herb garden had been crossed off the list months ago and since it’s completion, I’ve fallen in love with fresh herbs and cooking. Lavender, I thought, would be a nice addition.

In an effort to research the plant, I researched  ‘lavender festivals’ in Michigan and stumbled upon Blake Farm’s website, which described the event as “symphony for the senses.” The event promised the perfect mid-summer getaway with only a short drive from the hustle and bustle of city life. The drive was truly an escape, passing acres of orchards, old Victorian-style houses, and abandoned barns that took on a charm of their own.  Unfortunately, the website notified visitors that the Lavender harvest was postponed until next summer do to cold, wet spring. That’s the “murder mitten” for you I suppose. Saddened by the news, I regretted that we were unable to pick our own lavender; however, Blake Farms offered an orchard full of fresh raspberries and tart cherries to gather. I’ve decided to save the U-pick orchard for a later date when blueberries are in season, enabling me to knock two additional items off the list: canning and picking.

Although handpicked lavender would have been a nice addition to the day’s events, the Michigan Lavender festival commemorated the purple plant in other ways. The festival knit together groups of local vendors and artists who are passionate about the multi-purpose plant as well as Michigan-made products. Booths catered to the medicinal and culinary benefits of lavender. Drawn to the sweet words of ‘free sample,’ I circled the tents, tasting lavender infused baked goods and treats. Fortunately, mom and I arrived at the crack of dawn in order to escape the heat and crowd; therefore, we were among the first to snag limited samples of lavender shortbread and scones. To my mom’s satisfaction and amusement, the sun made an unexpected appearance. Unfortunately, we could only avoid the sun’s rays for so long and by ten o’clock the sun was beating down hard. Michigan had pulled a complete three-sixty and judging by the brilliant blue skies, no one would have guessed it was raining earlier. “See, you never know what the day has is store,” I said while trying to hold in a laugh.

Ladies dressed in shades of lilac strolled the grounds, sipping on lavender ice tea and sampling spoonfuls of lavender sugar and lavender infused honey. In hopes of cooling off ourselves, mom and I decided to indulge in a scoop of homemade lavender ice cream under a shaded picnic table. There, we revealed our purchases. We exchanges stories and shared our newly found treasures. A sashay of dried lavender, two lavender plants, and a bar of lavender soap for mom and a pouch of loose lavender lemonade tea and a tiny tin of culinary lavender for me. Needless to say, we both fell in love with lavender.

Days like these last forever. The drive alone reminded me Michigan’s raw beauty and that you don’t have to travel far to find it. Meeting the face behind the product rooted a new understanding of “supporting local:” a term we are often encouraged to use but frequently forget. There are plenty of places to go to celebrate Michigan farmers and entrepreneurs who are working to bring local Michigan to our tables and those men and women should never go without recognition. Michigan farmer’s markets, flea markets, and farms are among many places agriculture, art, and culture are connected. There, priceless treasures can be found and even though up north is among every Michigander’s favorite place to visit, the gems hidden along the way are perhaps the most valuable.

While driving home we passed endless fields of baby green apple trees and I thought about the upcoming season of fall. Autumn promises walks through pumpkin patches, the scent of garden harvest bread baking in the oven, and frequent trips to the Franklin Cider Mill where brown paper bags dipped in grease are vied as if they were gold. No matter how much I may anticipate the arrival of autumn, it’s important to remember the beauty each season Michigan harvests. After fall comes old man winter and that’s something I’d like to postpone for as long as possible. In the meantime, average days can be turned into memories by discovering what surrounds you: friendly neighbors, delicious food, and “pure” adventure. Enjoy summer days even if the weather is grey- it may surprise you.

Visit www.blakefarms.com to check out upcoming events or to check up on what produce is in season.

Blake Farm Events

Arts and Crafts Show Sunday and Monday September 4^th -5^th (10am-5pm)

Fall Festival Show on Saturday and Sunday September 10^th-11^th (10am-5pm)

Interested in brewing your own cup of Lavender Lemonade Tea? Visit www.HerbalSereniTea.com

Bake your own Lavender Shortbread Cookies by following the recipe at http://www.jessicasdinnerparty.com/2009/12/lavender-shortbread-cookies/