Ann Arbor – Page 16

REVIEW: M-Agination Film Festival

April 10, 2015April 10, 2015 Phillip Wachowiak

Going to any event at the Michigan Theater makes the event itself a hundred times more grand. Despite a tornado warning and wretched weather, the 14th Annual Festival put on the student group M-Agination Films was a smashing success.

Each year 10-15 short student films are created with the help of M-Agination films and the results are shown together at the end of the year. I have seen this festival for the past three years, and every year the overall quality of films has improved.

As with many festivals, the genres of the films varied: “Oreo Therapy” was about a man getting over a recent breakup with the help of food-related gifts from his hall neighbor, while “Awaken Ann Arbor” was a documentary about a meditation group of the same name on U of M’s campus, and “Dreamer” was a full-on avant-garde piece that I will not even attempt to decipher.

This was a full event, with multiple half-hour films–“Co-Education” and “A Sense of Sound”–to end each block of the festival. There was a nice mix of comedies and dramas to take us on a subtle emotional roller coaster throughout the night. “Looking Back,” a depressing piece about a young student reminiscing about his lost lover, preceded “Babysitter,” a hilarious comedy about a young teen jumping through hoops to get the title job, and then we went to the documentary “Awaken.”

The second half of the festival was much the same. We opened with “Fortune Teller Gynecologist” which is a comedy that needs no further description, on to “A Study in Tokyo,” which was a documentary shot during a class trip. The best part about “Tokyo” was that, despite being shot almost entirely with a GoPro, it was entertaining and edited well enough to keep the audience focused.

“Legs” was a groovy music video shot literally below the waist. “Three” followed three individuals with various disorders (OCD, Anorexia, Social Anxiety) and used images, rather than words to describe their daily lives. To cap off the night was “A Sense of Sound,” which was a lot like Whiplash, but with elderly people.

Overall, amazing festival and something to attend in future years.

Festival Line Up

Oreo Therapy Directed by Monica Dollive (4 minutes)
Looking Back Directed by Leo Sheng (7 minutes)
Babysitter Directed by Jameson Duggan (8 minutes)
Awaken Ann Arbor Directed by Will Ellis (11 minutes)
Hero Directed by Claire Holloway (2 minutes)
Co-Education Directed by Anna Baumgarten (25 minutes)

Intermission 15 minutes

Fortune Teller Gynecologist Directed by Michael Wylie (6 minutes)
Dreamer Directed by Layne Simescu (6 minutes)
A Study in Tokyo Directed by Rachel Goldberg (9 minutes)
Three Directed by Karen Hua (7 minutes)
LEGS Directed by Jorge Gonzalez (4 minutes)
A Sense of Sound Directed by Jeremy Borison (30 minutes)

REVIEW: Knox Hamilton at the Blind Pig

January 21, 2015January 21, 2015 Phillip Wachowiak

What do you get when you bring a band from Little Rock to the Blind Pig on a Tuesday night? Catchy music and a great excuse to avoid the week’s workload.

Knox Hamilton is rare in two cases: not only are they a three man alternative rock band with a full sound, they also toured on the strength of a single song “Work it Out.” That is correct, you can only listen to and/or buy one of their songs.

For some bands, you might shrug and move on to the next Taylor Swift single, but Knox is one of the best bands I’ve seen at the Blind Pig. Not only did they joke around with the confidence of a more mature band, but their music was downright full of energy. Their EP should be dropping sometime in March and this is one collection of music I highly recommend purchasing.

Under the trippy blue-red glow of the Blind Pig’s lights, we stood for a little less than an hour as the band played through its entire set. It was disappointing because their sound was infectious, and even better, there was only 1 filler song for the entire hour.

Knox Hamilton said they would return to Ann Arbor in the future and I fully recommend seeing them in concert.

Even better, they are active Twitter users: @KnoxHamilton

PREVIEW: Autumn Fest – Performance with a Purpose

October 16, 2014October 16, 2014 camsterdam 2 Comments

Where can you find ComCo, Angels On Call, Groove, the Compulsive Lyres, the Michigan Magician Society, Arabian Dance Ensemble and the Violin Monster all sharing the same stage? Autumn Fest, of course!

What: The second annual variety show put on by Appreciate + Reciprocate, a University of Michigan student organization which raises money for the LSA Emergency Scholarship Fund.

When: Wednesday, October 22 at 8:00 pm

Where: Lydia Mendelssohn Theater in the Michigan League

How Much: $3 in advance and $5 at the door

Buy your tickets at the Mason Hall Posting Wall, October 16-17th and 20-22nd 9am-4pm, and join the Facebook event for a reminder.

All of the profits from the show will go to support Appreciate + Reciprocate’s newly established scholarship, which benefits Michigan students who suffer from financial crises, so no student has to drop out due to costs! For the price of one ticket, you can sample many great local talents, as well as treat yourself to a dose of good karma.

For more information about Appreciate+Reciprocate, check out http://www.umichappreciate.org.

REVIEW: Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

March 15, 2014March 15, 2014 Chelsea Zabel

When’s the last time you listened to music by itself? Not in the background, not while walking to class, not as you’re watching the music video, but just on its own; when was the last time? Before the evening of March 15, I probably could not have given an accurate answer. It seems that we’re always multitasking nowadays, and that being busy reduces our ability to sit and listen. That’s what I did during the performance from the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and I would recommend it to you.

The music hardly paused once the first note was played, and the entire performance was rather intimidating. Hill Auditorium’s stage was filled with extraordinarily talented musicians who played Bruckner’s 8^th Symphony, a rollercoaster of tempo and dynamics, for 90 minutes. 90 minutes that flew by because so much of the audience was entranced by the sounds the Israel Philharmonic was able to produce. I don’t know why I keep being surprised by how talented professionals are at their professions, but all of the musicians occupying the stage played their parts passionately (especially you, triangle player and cymbal player. You both played for just a handful of measures an hour into the performance and stole the show, at least from where I was sitting).

Of course, I’m no expert because most of the time, if I am listening to classical music then I am also studying. This time, however, there was nothing else to pay attention to but the orchestra. While listening to them, I got the full force of fortissimo without the ability to turn down the volume, not that I would have wanted to. I felt the floor shake under my feet with the vibrations emitted from the low brass section. When’s the last time you avidly observed someone play the timpani?

I would imagine that most of the audience would agree that what we heard was a brilliantly executed performance from the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. I feel privileged to have received that performance live; I know now that live symphonies are so much better than a YouTube playlist can produce.

Again I’m no expert, but I think that should make the following advice mean even more: don’t be afraid of classical instrumental music. I don’t think you’ll be bored, and I hope you’ll enjoy yourself. The university gives us great opportunities to see extremely talented people, so take advantage of it! In a few years you’ll have to pay full ticket price.

PREVIEW: Coriolanus

February 6, 2014February 6, 2014 Chelsea Zabel

This Sunday, February 9 at 7:00PM the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Coriolanus will be shown at the Michigan Theater.

Broadcast by National Theatre Live, this Shakespeare play stars Tom Hiddleston (probably best known for his role of Loki in the Marvel franchise) as the title character who must defend the people of his city from imminent attack while also addressing their call for political change. This production is sure to be an intense spectacle not to be missed.

Tickets to see the recorded stage production at the Michigan Theater are still available and can be found through the University Musical Society here.

Preview for Handel’s Messiah

December 8, 2013December 8, 2013 LitaPitasMusings

Handel’s Messiah is an Ann Arbor Holiday Tradition! Many townies say that the Holiday season hasn’t officially started here until one sees Handel’s Messiah. So, why not take a break from frenzy-final-studies and go to this glorious masterpiece of music. The instrumental music and glorious voices are offered by the UMS choral union. It is rumored that the Hill Auditorium is decorated with holiday magic for this performance:) Go and See it!!