This Saturday, April 15, the University of Michigan’s Men’s Glee Club will be performing a concert titled Our Victory and Pride: Singing in the Key of Michigan Since 1859. Continuing the celebration of the bicentennial, the Men’s Glee Club will sing songs that pay tribute to, not only our wonderful state, but also the brilliant composers of Michigan. I even read that they will be premiering a new Michigan song, written by Professor Kristin Kuster.
The Men’s Glee Club Concert will take place at Hill Auditorium at 8pm. Tickets are on sale now, between $5-$20 depending on seating. For ticket information, visit: http://tickets.music.umich.edu/single/eventDetail.aspx?p=3005.
If I didn’t already know from the title of tonight’s performance, “G’s Out for Harambe,” by the time I picked up the program at the front of the theater I knew that we were about to see what my friend lovingly described as “a comedy show disguised as an acapella concert.” Describing the G-Men as able to rock audiences with “the power of 100 raging Mark Ruffalo’s,” and suggesting a game with points awarded for catching members “visibly power-hungry,” laughing at their own jokes, or going cross-eyed, the program was representative of the G-Men’s unique sense of fun and levity.
The G-Men were cracking jokes the entire night in between songs, showing off their tangible camaraderie. Sometimes it felt like the audience was privy to a big inside joke, that while none of us fully understood, we were fully entertained nonetheless. However, the true star of the show was the amazing musicality displayed by the group. They opened the performance with “Like Real People” by Hozier, which showcased both their singing and arranging skills. The trend continued through to their next song, “Dust Bowl Dance” by Mumford and Sons. I was most impressed by how skillfully they were able to alternate between powerful bursts of sound and quieter moments, moving together as a cohesive unit. For a sample of this particular arrangement of “Dust Bowl Dance,” check out their performance of it at last year’s Charity Fest below.
The next two songs were “Color My World” by Chicago and “Sunday Morning(s)” by Maroon 5. The soloists in each of these songs, as well as the entire set list, were fantastic and matched the tone of the song perfectly. One member even did an impressive saxophone imitation, reflecting the mix of comedy and artistry that G-Men possess. Check out the video of their performance of “Sunday Morning(s)” at this year’s MacFest below.
The last song before intermission was my favorite of the night, a stunningly emotive rendition of “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles. After introducing the song with a joke of it being, “the 22nd best Beatles song,” they blew us away with the sheer power of their performance. Below is a video of them performing the song last year.
After a brief intermission, the Sopranos came onto stage and sang two numbers, one of them “Lost in the World” by Kanye West, a video of their arrangement is attached below. They then invited the G-Men back, who rushed onto the stage with renewed energy and fresh t-shirts, only to perform a stunning rendition of “Shadow of the Sun” together with the Sopranos.
They finished the show with three more songs, “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, “Sandcastles” by Beyoncé, and “Ultralight Beam” by Kanye West. Each song was just as polished as the first half.
While snow was falling in blowing frigid air by the time we left the auditorium, my friends and I were filled with enough post-show energy to last for the entire walk home. The conversation never left the fantastic performance we had just witnessed. If you are interesting in listening to more of the G-men and keeping track of their upcoming concerts, check out their Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/themichigangmen/
This Wednesday, November 16, the University Musical Society is bringing ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro to the University of Michigan! The concert will take place in Hill Auditorium at 7:30pm.
Photo taken from http://www.jakeshimabukuro.com/home/photos/
Shimabukuro started playing ukulele at the age of four, and now he is doing concerts around the world! With a four-stringed instrument, he is able to play anything from classical music to popular songs such as Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. More information on Jake Shimabukuro can be found at his website: http://www.jakeshimabukuro.com/home/
Photo taken from http://www.jakeshimabukuro.com/home/photos/
Tickets are on sale for $16.00-$60.00 (depending on the location of the seats) at http://ums.org/performance/jake-shimabukuro/.
Ready to scream into the void about the results of last night’s election? Why not dance your troubles away with the Norwegian indie electronic duo, Lemaître, before launching right back into the thick of things like a true wolverine? They will be performing Tonight, November 9th at Necto Nightclub as a part of their “We Got U” tour.
I have personally been listening to their music for years, and love their sound, but the best way to showcase their music would be to simply listen to it for yourself. The following video is for “Playing to Lose,” off their latest EP, Afterglow. The video also features some footage of their live show in London, perhaps giving us a sneak peek of what awaits us tonight.
The following music video is for “Closer” off of their Singularity EP. This song was used in one of the first promotional videos released for the launch of Google’s Pixel Phone.
The doors will open at 9 PM, and you can buy tickets online or at the door for $18. You can find more information about the event at Necto’s Website.
Tickets are available for pre-sale here. Note that while online tickets are only $15, there is an additional $3 charge for the transaction.
Knox Hamilton is a new Indie-Alternative band straight out of Little Rock, Arkansas. As they describe themselves: “Fueled by the similar staples within their collective musical taste, the members of Knox Hamilton blend laid back guitar riffs and catchy bass lines with rhythmic drum beats and soaring vocals to produce a sound that’s as likely to make you want to visit the beach as it is to move your feet.”
Does that sound fun? Based on their single “Work it Out,” it should be awesome.
Where: Ann Arbor’s The Blind Pig When: January 20th @ 8 pm How: Walk, bike, or row your boat on over! Cost: $12
Dillon Francis can be seen looking small amidst a large stage at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.
I had high expectations walking through the doors of the Royal Oak Music Theatre Wednesday night to see Dillon Francis kill the game with his different musical personalities. He can do it all. I was pleasantly surprised to hear literally everything Dillon can be good at. From cranking up the deep house (“now, we will gone one deeper”), consisting of heavy pulsating base, to mixing in raps, and then trapping out to extremely twerkable music, his full range of style was explored. The range of genres is well demonstrated through his current album and previous work. Whereas many electronic music producers stick to one niche, he is one of the few that constantly prove his versatility at the mixing table.
Dillon kept the energy of the house high all night with his expert production skills in his musical choices and his visuals done by his visual team. Funny, exciting, and overall trippy images were projected on his elaborate set up that featured screens in the shape of mountainous rocks with him in the middle of it. The energy was contagious, and I could not stop moving to the beat. By starting off with “Not Butter” which features a looping “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter,” he set the set tone on the up. He played the entirety of his “Money Sucks, Friends Rule” album which features many collaborations with producers like Martin Garrix on “Set Me Free” and Major Lazer and Stylo G on “We Can Make it Bounce.” By having the artistic freedom to mix up his awesome album, you could easily tell that he wasn’t just pressing play up on stage. He created a unique experience for the audience based on the energy of the crowd and what kind of atmosphere he wanted us to experience. My favorite part of the night was when he remixed Ginuwine’s “Pony,” a 1990s sensual classic and super fun to dance to.
The interesting part about his production were that dedicated fans could instantly recognize what part of his persona he was emulating through his musical choies. The trap beats and inclusion of hip-hop, drum n’ bass, and rap are DJ Rich As F**k’s specialty, while DJ Hanzel is devoted to deep house. What Dillon does outside of production is super smart. Through highly entertaining and scripted videos, he shows his fans that he can do a lot more than making fun music. He’s a great self-promoter, the furthest thing from shy, and it only adds to the larger than life feeling you get when you see him in person. He loves to have fun, which makes you want to follow along and have fun too.
After his signature “Get Low” featuring DJ Snake, Dillon ended with “Love in the Middle of a Fire Fight,” a perfect anthem ending to the show that put everyone in a satisfied mood. I was left with the album ringing through my head on the way home, but it was extremely worth it.
