There are not words in the English language that can adequately describe the way I feel about Gibson Fleck, an original musical written by U of M students in the department of Musical Theatre. The show made its debut last weekend in the Arthur Miller Theatre, which provided an intimate and appropriate space for the stellar show.

Gibson Fleck tells the story of a young man searching for a place to call home. Born without a family or a home, Gibson travels the country as a nomad. He prides himself in his ability to never stay in the same place for an extended period of time until he comes across a little construction site in New Haven, Connecticut. Here, Gibson finds a home he had never known before. After some time, Gibson discovers that his biological mother has past away and has left him with everything in her name. Gibson then travels to Vienna, Virginia in search for his mother’s home. While in Vienna, Gibson stays with his mother’s parents and eventually finds her diary. By reading this diary, he discovers the truth about his family and his home. Throughout this heart-wrenching story we see Gibson struggle with family, friends, love and his idea of home. We finally realize, along with Gibson, that home is not defined ‘family,’ but by people who love and care for you. We see Gibson make this realization and finally return to New Haven, the place he has come to call “home.”

Ali Gordon’s genius shines in this book, as the show features a cast of extremely well developed characters. This is one thing that impressed me so much about the show. I was so amazed that I could walk out of the show feeling like I knew the story behind each and every character. In addition to the fantastic book for Gibson Fleck, the score was equally incredible.

I am very excited to see what happens with this show. I will be very disappointed if it is not picked up. Even in its earliest stages, Gibson Fleck feels like a classic.

Arriving at the Magic Stick, I found most of the audience sitting on the floor in the middle of the venue surrounding a large spread of electronic objects, most of which were unidentifiable.  Two people, making noises into microphones seemed to be in charge, and they were also seated.  The crowd pulled on ropes and moved around the objects, modulating the dense textures of the sound.  There was a rug, something called Make A Baby.  This was Lucky Dragons.

Describing the sound of Lucky Dragons is a challenge; it would be better to listen to their Myspace.  But their live show was different than their uploads.  Gone are the gentle melodies that fade in and out of electronic nonsense, these are replaced with audience-produced layers of rhythmic elements.  In the past, I’ve found audience-participation to be poorly executed during live shows, it either comes out as patronizing or agonizing.  But Lucky Dragons have found a way to make it interesting and authentic, figuratively and literally feeding off the energy of the people in the room.

No Age took the stage with surprising rapidity, which I suppose makes sense given how simple their setup was: drums + guitar + some homie standing to the side of the stage to play pre-recorded sounds and mix their live sound.  Compared to the sound of their records, they sounded astoundingly similar, except with more energy and less fi.  You know, fi as in low fi.  This congruity between their live and recorded sound was at once reassuring – hey, they’re honest on their records – and disappointing – they’re not mega-arena-rock stars.  Not to say they weren’t good live, but they didn’t blow me away.  I’m sure that had this been my first exposure to No Age, I would have been inspired enough to buy their record, but as it was I felt merely whelmed.  Not over- or under- whelmed, just whelmed.

The heaviness of their fast-paced, short songs lent to some intense audience reactions.  The small but energetic crowd pulled off a decent mosh pit (which now that I think of it, seems to happen at just about every Magic Stick show).  I tried to get my friend to join me in jumping around and body-slamming, but he immediately got punched in the face.  Sorry, bro.  It happens.

One thing to be said for No Age, is that they seem like really nice dudes.  They counted down their last few songs, didn’t make the audience wait for the encore, then immediately after finishing went and sat on the edge of the stage to meet the fans.  Overall, a great night with great company.  Good vibes, guys, good vibes.

Sorry for the short notice, but there’s a totally-rad show happening tonight (Friday) in Detroit, and I’d hate for you to miss it!  No Age is playing the Magic Stick, supported by Lucky Dragons.  If you aren’t familiar, No Age is a noise-punk-pop-rock duo from Los Angeles, and they just came out with a new record, called Everything in Between that showcases some of their most accessible material.  I’m not familiar with Lucky Dragons, but a quick Myspace listen revealed some thoughtfully melodic but heavily affected music, that’s, well, pretty hard to describe.  I’d say it reminded me of The Books, but I’m not sure.  Anyway the show is sure to be a riot, and hey – it’s a Friday night, so bring your A-game, okay?

Who: No Age, Lucky Dragons

When: Friday, 11/19/10, doors 8pm

Where: Magic Stick 4120-4140 Woodward Ave in Detroit

D$llars: $12/14 whatever that means ($14 at the door?)