Tag: david bowie

REVIEW: LABYRINTH MEMORIAL SCREENING

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Due to the fact that I’d never seen the movie before, and only had my friends’ opinions to rely on, I didn’t know what to expect from the Labyrinth movie.  I did, however, know how popular it would be.  The line for popcorn curled around the theater doors and looped back around.  I imagine if I hadn’t ordered tickets online, I wouldn’t have been able to go.

Michigan Theater

The first thing that struck me about the experience was the theater itself.  Last night was the first time I’d been to the Michigan Theater.  It reminded me of a slightly more elaborate Hill Auditorium (which, if you’ve ever been there, is saying something).

Once I had (finally) bought my popcorn and we were sitting in our seats, the movie began.  The entire audience clapped when David Bowie’s name showed up on the screen.  (There was considerably less enthusiastic clapping for Jennifer Connelly…)  There was even more thunderous applause at Bowie’s first fabulous entrance as The Goblin King.

Waiting for the movie to begin…

If you will, picture David Bowie’s face.  Now, pencil his eyebrows on nearly vertical angles in stark black.  Next, paint on his winged eyeliner and add a ridiculously broom-like wig atop his head.  Finally, slip him into ungodly-tight goblin leggings and sprinkle some glitter around for good measure, and you’ve got Jareth, king of all goblins.

The movie in itself wasn’t that great.  The acting was sub par (at best) on Connelly’s behalf, although some of her lines won bursts of laughter that I’m sure were unintentional by Henson.  Take, for instance, when Sarah is about to enter the labyrinth.  She gathers herself up, takes a deep breath, and says: “C’mon, feet!”  I don’t really remember the next five minutes of the film because I was laughing so hard.

My favorite character was Sarah’s beast-like friend named Ludo.  He was adorable and a little daft.  He taught me something I imagine I’ll find quite valuable in life: if you scream loudly enough, everything will be fine.

All in all, I’m very happy to have gone to the movie.  It was a really fun time, especially because I attended with some people who’ve seen it before.  That way, if I missed anything from laughing too hard, they could fill me in.

It was also an awesome way to say goodbye to David Bowie on a light note.  The audience loved him, and I found myself humming his “Dance Magic Dance” song on the walk back to my dorm.

PREVIEW: LABYRINTH MEMORIAL SCREENING

kebishop 1 Comment

In honor of David Bowie’s passing, the Michigan Theater is hosting a memorial screening of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth film.  The plot of the film is as follows: a 15-year-old girl, Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), must rescue her younger brother, Toby.  Toby was kidnapped by the Goblin King Jareth, who is portrayed by David Bowie himself.

Although the movie didn’t have the best theatrical run (it only made about $12.7 million in the U.S. compared to its $25 million budget), I’m excited to see it.  I don’t know much about Bowie’s career, and this film sounds like it’ll be a good introduction.

Due to popularity, the film is now showing at the Michigan Theater, not the State Theater as was originally planned.  Start time was moved 15 minutes later, so it will now begin at 7:15.  All ticket purchases from the State will be honored at the Michigan Theater.  Tickets are only $8 for students, so bring your UMID tomorrow night to the Michigan Theater if you want to check it out!

Review–Erik Santos@UMMA: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

keshav 2 Comments

After this Thursday, one of my biggest regrets over the past 3 years I’ve been at school here is not spending enough time at the UMMA. The UMMA is a great cultural resource not only because of its amazing collection of paintings and its innovative gallery setup, but also because it is frequently a live performance venue for artists of all types (and the shows are free!). The event I attended this Thursday had very little to do with any of the common connotations associated with a night at an art museum. The event was accessible and enjoyable even to people uninterested in esoteric art, most of the people in the audience didn’t have grey hair yet, and the audience was actually encouraged to be loud. The event also had nothing to do with paintings or sculptures, this was a live performance of the classic rock album Ziggy Stardust and a short animated film screening by University of Michigan composition professor Erik Santos and his co-performers Toko Shiiki Santos and Collin McRae.
Santos devoted the first half of his show to playing David Bowie’s classic Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album in its entirety. Covering this album live is difficult, as much of its unique sound comes from the Bowie’s heavy studio experimentation with layering multiple guitar tracks with a multitude of distortion effects. Santos adapted the original music to play by himself on acoustic guitar. As a fan of Bowie, I admit I was pretty skeptical about such a stripped down adaptation. Nevertheless, I loved the performance. Rather than imitate the album’s instrumental variety, Santos’ focused, minimalist approach captured the raw energy of a live rock performance. I was particularly amazed by his vocal performance—critics often label Bowie the rock and roll chameleon due to his ability to seamlessly change the range, tone, and character of his vocals. The live cover presented me with a narrative—the story of a rockstar’s rise to fame followed by his tragic inability to cope with the pressures of stardom.

The highlight of the second half of the show was a screening of an animated short. Toko and Collin are responsible for design and animation, while Erik composed the video’s score. The video is a response to the suffering caused by the recent tsunami in Japan. Narrated in Japanese, the film chronicles the journey of a blue dragon, born from innocent and pure human sympathy, as it flies to Japan to comfort and inspire tsunami survivors. The dragon’s journey is harrowing, but as the blue dragon begins to falter, a panoply of colorful dragons come to its aid. The animation style of the video was striking and gorgeous. The lush color palette demonstrates the tangible effects of human emotions. At the outset, when characters are grief-stricken by the tragedy, the world is enveloped in shades of blue; nevertheless, people’s continuing optimism and good will unleash a hopeful rainbow of colors which illuminates the sky. (Watch the video here if interested)
Needless to say, I enjoyed my evening at the UMMA very much, and plan to go back soon for special events. For those interested in checking the UMMA out, consider attending UMMA After Hours on Friday, October 18th. I hear there’ll be free donuts and cider.

REVIEW: Cadence Dance Company

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Cadence Dance Company

This Saturday, Cadence Dance Company performed an evening length combination of pieces and it was fantastic. The student dance group consists of all female dancers who have backgrounds in ballet, lyrical, and modern dance as well as choreography. Each piece was a collaborative design, performed by two, four, six, or all of the company members at once. With the sounds of Whitney Houston, David Bowie, Brandi Carlile, Ellie Goulding, RJD2, Bass Necter,and more, the music ranged broadly over throughout the evening. The Cadence performance intermittently included cameos from other student groups such as Dance 2xs, Salto, and Rhythm Tap Ensemble. At the very end, all of the student groups combined to perform one large and energetic dance to finish the evening. It was an exciting, well rehearsed, and elegant performance. Of all the dance, I must say my favorite was a tribute to  David Bowie calle d”ode to The Pale White Duke.” The  dancers were  in vests and ties acted as marionettes to the sweet sound of “Station to Station.” Ahh David Bowie…really what could be better to move your body  to?