Tag: Concert

REVIEW: Cece June, Big Chemical, and Jacob Sigman

Angela Gosselin 1 Comment

Last Friday at the Blind Pig, I had the pleasure of attending Cece June’s set, situated between performances by Big Chemical and Jacob Sigman. It was a cold trek out to the west side of downtown, but as I find with many shows I’ve attended at the Blind Pig, it was definitely worth it. Cece June’s presence in the University of Michigan music scene has grown immensely over this past year, and this set shows exactly why.

 

A mix of covers and originals, Cece Durán commanded the room as a solo act with her powerful voice and clear proficiency on both acoustic and electric guitar. She offered a fair amount of music from her excellent EP, and we were able to hear soon-to-be released material from her forthcoming LP. She also had a distinct grip on the mood of the room, offering both thoughtful, soulful moments and energetic, uplifting points throughout her set. Her ability to oscillate between the two and carry the room with her was a joy to witness.

 

Now a part of a group as well, Cece and the Crawlers, her ability to adapt between solo and collaborative performance shined through that evening. Speaking to this point, during her set she invited fellow act Jacob Sigman onstage and performed a touching duet of an unreleased song of his. Their voices complemented each other perfectly as the power and passion in their musical expression matched so well.

 

Another highlight included her cover of a song by Nothing But Thieves. This performance showed the way Durán was capable of filling the room with her voice, the ballad providing a certain emotional dimensionality to her set. In addition to her voice, Durán’s capabilities on the guitar were stellar, punctuating and accentuating her act in a highly effective way. The song she performed in her native language, Spanish, was also captivating and showed off yet another facet of her musical oeuvre.

 

Durán had natural stage presence, interacting with the crowd and encouraging participation in a way that didn’t feel forced or one-sided. It was easy to find oneself singing along, feeling the music just as much as others in the crowd.

PREVIEW: Cece June, Big Chemical, and Jacob Sigman

Angela Gosselin Leave a comment

This Friday at the Blind Pig you can catch a variety of great performances from Cece June, Big Chemical, and Jacob Sigman. I’ll be reviewing Cece June, or Cecelilia Durán’s act in particular, as she’s quickly become a staple in the Ann Arbor music scene. An LSA student herself, Durán has a new album in the works now–it’s a great time to catch some fresh music from her in preparation for her eventual full-length release. With a stacked lineup, there’s sure to be a variety of musical offerings as well.

 

Tickets are only $10, so make sure you find yourself at the Blind Pig this weekend!

REVIEW: The Philadelphia Orchestra

sophiascribbles Leave a comment

Call me biased, but one of the best parts of being a violinist has to be the concertos. They’re iconic, flashy, and for the musician playing, career-defining. The Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, in particular, has a special place in my heart, so I was delighted to hear that concertmaster David Kim would be performing it alongside the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Hill Auditorium in concert last Saturday evening. A quintessential staple of violin repertoire, the piece truly comes alive with the many different interpretations by its players.

Opening the concert, however, was a more avant-garde piece by contemporary composer Missy Mazzoli. The Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) sneaks in with a distinctly soft, grainy texture provided by violin and harmonica before expanding to bellowing slides in the lower strings. A mixture of serene and ominous, the composition gives off the impression of irregular, interfering sound waves to convey the vastness of space. Due to its unique instrumentation, they had to take some time to switch out quite a few instruments before the following concerto!

If I were to give one word to describe each movement of the Bruch, I would say intense, longing, and triumphant. However, what makes the concerto so compelling is the complexity of emotion that lies within each category. The violin enters the first movement with a subtle, unassuming G, before erupting into crisp double stops and finger gymnastics. The orchestral passages here, a textbook example of tension-building, are somehow just as attractive as the solo. David Kim’s version had an unmistakably sweet quality, which particularly shined when he got to the slower second movement. From the balcony, I had a great view of his precise bow control which allowed for both a timid, “held back” sound and an unhindered singing voice above the orchestra. In contrast, Kim’s third movement was light, clean, and playful despite the heaviness of all the chords. It was a pleasure to be able to hear in person.

Concluding the concert was Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C Major. I had never heard it before, but a particular amusing comment written by Doyle Armbrust of the Spektral Quartet in the program guided my listening: “Franz Schubert wanted to be an opera composer with all the desperation of a hollow-eyed film school grad shopping a script from his garden-level studio in Burbank. My take on him is that he would have been a lot like that one friend — you know, the one who appears to have taken up permanent residence on your couch, but is somehow redeemed by his charisma in conversation?”

The symphony interestingly begins with just horns. A lighthearted melody gets passed around the orchestra like a breath of fresh air—this is later bolstered by bass drum and big, operatic tuttis. Nathalie Stutzmann conducts with an infectious swagger, which I enjoyed watching here. My favorite movement was probably the second one, opening with a plucky oboe solo over a quirky, mysterious, tiptoeing base of strings and interrupted with sudden outbursts of emotion.

Overall, the concert program brought forth a lovely combination of familiar and unfamiliar sounds. As expected, the Philadelphia Orchestra did justice to these works!

REVIEW: dodie

Madison Krumins Leave a comment

I’ve been a follower of dodie since her YouTube days—singer-songwriter Dodie Clark is a gentle ball of light who has never failed to delight with her original songs, often demoed on her YouTube page with simple acoustic guitar/ukelele and dodie’s soft voice. dodie played at the Royal Oak Music Theatre last night as part of her Build a Problem tour. It was a fantastically orchestrated concert, from beginning to end.

Before dodie, we got to see Lizzy McAlpine, a 22-year-old singer-songwriter from Philadelphia, as the opening act. McAlpine commanded the stage with just her guitar and indescribably smooth voice, playing snippets of newly released music, old top hits, a fun cover of Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag,” and a soon to be released song called “Ceiling” that the audience listened to with reverent ears.

After McAlpine’s lovely acoustic set, we were ready for dodie, awaiting her appearance with great anticipation. The hints of strings tuning and lights changing signaled the show was about the begin, and soon enough a shimmery bright blue curtain was falling away to reveal dodie and her lovely band, complete with musician friend Orla Gartland backing up on guitar, keys, and sometimes percussion.

The concert was both soft and energetic, with moments ranging from the heartbreaking, pining song “When” to the incredibly fun dance jam “In the Middle” (complete with cute choreography from the band). dodie jumped from ukulele to piano to guitar to clarinet to percussion, interacting with her band and delivering short asides to the audience. It was a treat to watch such a talented, angelic human doing their thing on stage. It was incredible to see her in person.

      

dodie’s concert was a kind and open space. Crowd members were kind to each other, complimenting on outfits and hairstyles, singing along but respectfully listening as well. If you aren’t familiar with dodie, I recommend checking her out, and seeking out the experience of a concert one day.

REVIEW: Campus Symphony Orchestra & Campus Philharmonia Orchestra

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Amid the stresses of midterm season一because, let’s be real, it’s never truly confined within a “midterm week”一I did not anticipate the restorative effects of spending a couple of hours in the cushy seats of Hill Auditorium, bathed in ringing live music and the warm glow of stage lights. The Campus Symphony and Campus Philharmonia Orchestras, made up of non-music major students, performed a delightful fall concert last Sunday night. Despite it being my first orchestral concert here, having friends scattered around in the audience and on stage gave the performance a very welcoming, intimate feel. 

The Campus Philharmonia Orchestra opened the concert with a bold, contemporary piece by Chad “Sir Wick” Hughes. Visions of a Renaissance featured many quirky textural elements, blurry meter changes, and grand melodic lines that came together to paint quick snapshots of a chaotic bustling city. As a first-time listen, the piece is shocking and confusing. However, I find that the charm of contemporary music is that you fall more in love with each piece with every listen.

Next, we were rewarded with the familiar haunting introduction to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 2nd movement. The lower strings did an excellent job of establishing the rumbling warm, ominous motif for the violins to glide over. However, playing such a widely known piece also comes with high expectations一I couldn’t help but wish for some more delicate phrasing in the exposed melody. 

CPO’s third piece, Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances Op. 46, No. 2, was dark, lively, and distinctly nationalistic. Ensemble-wise, the performance was very cohesive and had a lovely push-and-pull of tempo and dynamics throughout.

The final piece, Edward German’s Three Dances from Henry VIII, was a refreshing conclusion to follow the richness of the previous pieces. Morris Dance featured a march-like drum with a crisp melody weaving through the beats, while Shepherd’s Dance felt more playful with light bass drum pulses throughout. The final movement, Torch Dance, was busy, intense, and filled with tension.

After a brief intermission, the Campus Symphony Orchestra took to the stage with the silky cinematic tones of “Overture” from The Song of Hiawatha. The piece opened with a beautiful harp solo accompanied by soft strings and transitioned into a plush, longing motif that traveled around the orchestra. From my view from the audience, I immediately noticed how every single violinist swayed together to the music.

Following this was Pietro Mascagni’s “Intermezzo” from Cavalleria Rusticana一another pretty piece showing off the ensemble’s lavish tone and phrasing. The introduction was soft, delicate, and purely strings. Soon enough, the woodwinds snuck in echoing the violins, and the low rumble of the basses blended in very nicely. 

Finally, we arrived at the part of the concert I was most excited about: Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E Minor. A feat of musical stamina, the four-movement work was excellently executed and a sound to behold. Some of my favorite highlights were the soaring violin melody in the first movement and the bold, triumphant fourth movement. If you are unfamiliar with the piece, you should definitely give it a listen during your next study session. I also have to commend the soloist for the famous horn solo at the beginning of the second movement. After the final note, the audience immediately launched into a well-deserved standing ovation一though I wished they allowed some time for the last sound to ring!

Again, I’d like to congratulate all the soloists and musicians for their wonderful performance on Sunday. I recommend everyone to come to support them at next semester’s concert!

PREVIEW: Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers

Madison Krumins Leave a comment

If you don’t know who Hobo Johnson is, you’re missing out—Frank Lopes Jr., known for his stage name Hobo Johnson, has a repertoire of wacky, sometimes-political, spoken-word, hip-hop inspired music.

When I first heard Hobo Johnson’s music, it was on Twitter. A clip from his Tiny Desk Concert instantly intrigued me. It was rap, but it wasn’t—it was something that felt so raw, perfectly messy, encapsulating my frustration and amusement with the world and the lingering longing of heartbreak. I remember showing the Tiny Desk Concert to my friends. Some were into it, some didn’t like it at all. Hobo Johnson is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but its unapologetic character is what draws me so much to it.

Frank’s most recent two albums, dropped this year, have signified a change in sound and style for Hobo Johnson, a move away from melodramatic scream-singing towards more goofy punk. After recently starting his own record label, Hobo Johnson seems to be moving into a different stage of his artistic career, one focusing his angst into the politics of the music world as well as his music. 

UPDATE: Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers were scheduled to appear at the Blind Pig on Monday, October 18th, but the show was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.