Tag: hip hop

REVIEW: Tree City & The Contraband

nina.j

Tree City & The Contraband

Last  Saturday night, Ann Arbor hip-hop group Tree City took the stage at The Blind Pig. First real night of spring break and what better to do than get down to some local sounds with some super funky musicians? The group performed to a crowd of happy college spring breakers freshly released from exams. The atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable but hype enough to feel the spirit of freedom.

Tree City was formed in Ann Arbor in 2005 by 3 MC’s and a DJ/MC. By day, they are known as Evan Haywood, Kyle Hunter, and Jacoby Simmons. By night, as Clavius Crates, General Population, and DJ Cataclysmic respectively. The group originally included two others- Mike and Cheeks– but both have fled to the west coast, and then there were three. The trio supplies “eardrums with a  unique brand of hip-hop” via live shows around town (including last month’s Eighth Annual Midwest Hip-Hop Summit at The League) as well as through their recordings. The complete discography includes The TreE.P. (2007), Black Trees (2008), Say It Again (Single) (2010), and Thus Far (2010), and most recently Definement (2011). And luckily, you can hear samples of everything they’ve got to offer on their website!

The show at the Pig on Saturday opened with sounds from DJ Charles Trees, Thrills & Saul Good, Passalacqua, and Tunde Oliniran. And finally, headliner Tree City, as a combined act with The Contraband. The combo is an extension of other local artists that have been playing with Tree City as a group for a year. Musicians include UM students and grads Ben Rolston on bass, Julian Allen on drums, Yuma Yesaka on the saxophone and electronic wind instrument, Keaton Royer on the synthesizer and Michael Malis on synthesizers and keyboards.

The performance featured all original material. Definitely danceable; definitely a good time. The main act was worth the ticket, but the openers also warmed up the crowd nicely. Most original, in my opinion, was Tunde Oliniran, whose performance included some level of experimental/interpretative dance (click here to get a taste of what I’m talkin’ about).

A golden moment of the night, bass player Ben Rolston said, “was experiencing the audience interaction that is a major part of hip-hop. Evan or Kyle would start a chant and the crowd was right there with them, giving that energy back to us. Coming from mostly playing music where the audience connection is less direct its really wonderful to be a part of.”

I got to drop in on a rehearsal at The Neutral Zone a few nights prior to the show. It was exciting to be able to watch the evolution of the performance from practice to a complete work of art. Even in a trial run, without the lights and crowds, the group has really got it going on. Nothin’ like some good old fashioned local music to get down on over Spring Break.

Look out for more Tree City shows happening around town. In the meantime, get connected! Check out the Tree City: homepage, Facebook page, Twitter, and Soundcloud.

REVIEW: Defining Movement

Heather Burcham 1 Comment

Tuesday February 21st at 7 p.m. Washtenaw County Community College’s (WCC)  Dance4Unity resident dance company performed their choreographer’s showcase, Defining Movement. The show was held at WCC’s Towsley Auditorium, a really impressive small auditorium, perfect for intimate shows like this one.

The evening showcased the original choreography of the dancers in Dance4Unity. There was a range of dance styles showcased, with several hip-hop numbers, and a few modern/contemporary pieces as well. The show was aptly titled, as each student choreographer was given the chance to define movement in their own way, through their own original work. It was really wonderful to see students so inspired by movement, expressing themselves through dance. That students showcased their own personal expression through movement choreography on stage for an audience is really wonderful and inspiring to me personally, as a dancer and aspiring choreographer. I often feel too critical of myself as a dancer and a choreographer that I keep myself from choreographing or showcasing my choreography out of fear, but the bravery and openness of the students in this show really impressed me and inspired me to be braver in sharing my creativity through movement as well.

That being said, though the show was really strong in a variety of interesting concepts, many of the dancers’ technique was lacking. However, there were a few dancers that really stood out, like a male hip-hop dancer who performed a solo in “Second Chances”, a piece to Justin Timberlake’s “Losing My Way”. His movements were both sharp and on-point, and smooth and emotive. He could have used more of the stage, but overall he was a really impressive hip hop dancer. Another dancer who caught my eye was a female contemporary/hip-hop dancer who performed in “Chasing Memories”, a really innovative dance set to acoustic music, in which three people walked across the stage, as if they were walking down the street in every day life, then they froze, and she began dancing in a very mechanical way, posing and hitting certain points in the music, creating beautiful contemporary shapes with control and articulation. The dance conveyed a very interesting concept, and she danced beautifully. There were also some really great dancers in the hip-hop ensemble that performed several pieces in the show. However I sometimes felt that in these pieces the choreography was lacking innovative movements, and that the dancers could have used the stage more, creating different formations and using traveling movements. And with the heavily mixed music of today’s club hits, and the frequent booty-shaking, I couldn’t help but think, “This is the stage, not the club!” Most people can dance in a club, I knew these dancers were capable of higher performance-quality movements. I would love to see them raise the bar and work toward this in their next performance.

There were also a few pieces in which it seemed the student choreographers were not taking the show seriously. It was hard to believe they were allowed to have a place in the showcase. For instance, in “Tainted Love” two girls dressed in lingerie and garter belts, one in a bondage-type outfit, the other a french maid outfit, both leaving little to the imagination, danced a gothic bellydance number, to a heavy metal version of the song “Tainted Love”, with a man tied to a chair on the stage. I don’t recall seeing any actual bellydancing, but they did do a lot of crawling on the floor and prancing around the man in the chair on stage. It was very inappropriate and held no artistic value whatsoever. Another dance, a solo called “Everybody Boogie” was also questionable, and could have been emitted from the show. A woman danced around the stage as if she was dancing around her house with the radio on for several minutes. It was very drawn out, and did not appear to be choreographed in the least bit. It was great that the showcase gave everyone a chance to perform, however it sacrificed quite a bit of merit in allowing individuals to perform in the showcase who did not put time and serious effort into choreographing a dance.

All in all, Dance4Unity did a wonderful job in putting on their choreographer’s showcase, and I give them kudos for being creative and expressive through movement! It’s wonderful to see what nearby colleges are doing in the arts, and I will certainly be on the lookout for more performances at WCC.

Review: Ghostface Wears A Different Hat

Bennett

Wrong In So Many Ways
Wrong In So Many Ways

Baseball season is over.  For the Red Sox, it was over one month ago today, the Red Sox were exposed as the subpar franchise that they are in a season-ending sweep by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  Although largely unchanged from championship teams of years past, this Red Sox team lost the talent and the spark of other years- while gaining a steroids scandal (in David Ortiz) and a washed up relief man (in Billy Wagner).  So, while Dustin Pedroia and Jon Lester munched Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, watched The Notebook, and cried themselves to sleep, the New York Yankees of New York, New York rampaged their way through the World Series.  They finished off the defending World-Series Champion Phillies in six games, never really giving them any hope.

So, I ask, why was Ghostface Killah sporting a green and red Boston Red Sox New Era cap at his Blind Pig performance on Monday night?  Ghostface Killah, man of the Stapleton housing projects of Staten Island, NY.  Take the Staten Island Ferry to the 4 train to Yankee Stadium.   Or, if you have to, even take the Staten Island Ferry to the 1 train to the 7 train to Shea Stadium (or the new Citi Field).  But, come on Ghost, you have to paddle across the river Styx to get to Fenway Park.

Although my barber, Bob, has explained to me on multiple occasions that the handshake and first 20 seconds of meeting someone new is the most important part of a good relationship, Ghostface quickly redeemed his horrendous first impression.  At 39 years old and over 15 years after the Wu-Tang Clan debut, Ghostface still has an intense and demanding stage presence.  Perhaps he is no longer the perpetually high, in your face, attention grabber of the 90’s, but as hip hop has grown, so has Ghost.  He still coaxed the audience to scream in support of their love of weed and conducted a vote of the crowd’s alcohol preference: Hennessey vs. Grey Goose.  But that doesn’t seem to be Ghostface’s gimmick anymore.  He still holds the crowd with his intricate word plays and boasting banter but he no longer seems to need to hold a blunt to connect with his audience.  With the tracks from the new album, he has also let some catchy hooks grab the audience as well.

Despite a bit of a persona change from Ghostface, the crowd remembered exactly who he is.  He could (and on a few occasions did) let the beat drop and let the sweat-soaked, cigarette-drenched crowd do his bidding, reciting every line to his fast paced stories.  He commanded an even greater response for the Wu-Tang hits (including “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nothing To Fuck With” and “C.R.E.A.M.”.

Not that Ghostface has never been sentimental – because he has- but it marks a different path when his best-known song is a track about his love for his pregnant girlfriend, complete with a light-hearted R&B loop.  As was apparent by his on-stage demeanor and set choice, Ghostface is content with the maturing of hip hop, the development of the Wu-Tang Clan, and his own, highly regarded status.

(Also, in my concert-going experience openers are generally not worth mentioning.  However, worth mentioning is local local, DJ Chill Will was on the ones and twos in between sets.  Chill Will has a show called The Prop Shop every Saturday night from 9pm-midnight on 88.3 WCBN– a show that I would very highly recommend to any dabbler in the art of hip hop)

Preview: Ghostface Killah- aka Ghostdini, Wizard of Poetry In Emerald City aka Tony Starks aka Ironman aka Pretty Toney- aka the Greatest Wu-Tang Solo Artist, Visits The Blind Pig

Bennett 1 Comment

Yes, Hes Doing What You Think Hes Doing, Sort Of.
Yes, He's Doing What You Think He's Doing, Sort Of.

Ghostface Killah, founder and foundation of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap crew from Staten Island, brings his solo act to the Blind Pig tomorrow evening, November 9, in support of his new album, ‘Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City’.

The Wu-Tang Clan gained world fame in 1993 with the release of “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)”.  A raw, innovative work of genius, ’36 Chambers’ continues to rank as one of the greatest rap albums of all time (with hits such as ‘C.R.E.A.M’,’Method Man‘, and ‘Protect Ya Neck’).  Since, the Wu members have continuously released Wu-Tang albums and collaborations as well as their own solo work.  Ghostface Killah, I declare after an extensive and ongoing internal debate along with a very public and popular debate, has had the greatest Wu-Tang solo career. Topping the list of solo albums is his year 2000 masterpiece, “Supreme Clientele” (featuring the hot tracks ‘One‘ and ‘Apollo Kids’, among others).

Ghostface has recently toured with Ann Arbor-born Mayer Hawthorne (Ghost professes his love for Mayer in this New York Times interview) and now brings his solo-act to the Blind Pig tomorrow night.  In support of the new R&B and soul savvy album, Ghostface will bring the motherfuckin’ ruckus as he has done throughout his career.

Blu & Exile, Fashawn, and Skyzoo open the show. Blind Pig @ 208 S.First St. Doors at 9:30.  Cover: $23 (Surcharge free tickets available at 8 Ball Saloon, Underground Sounds, and Vault of Midnight.  Or you can let the internet scam you for all you’re worth).

Video below is from the new album.  It is Ghostface at his grossest.  Enjoy.  (Potentially Not Safe For Work.  But I guess it depends where you work…) (Update: Video removed due to venturing “too far into porn and misogyny area”. Track is called Stapleton Sex, if you so have a desire to find it yourself. I don’t think it goes too far to say that “porn and misogyny” is a large part of the current state of rap music. Although, as a culture, we claim to reject porn and misogyny, hip hop is the largest art form in the world today. I think this is a topic for a post of another day, but it is one worth thinking about. Who is responsible for misogyny in hip hop? Why does it still exist? Where does hip hop go from here? Where does our culture go from here?)

Here’s a different video from the new Ghostdini album-a track called Baby. This one shows a pretty different side of Ghostface.

(Very unrelated but check out the new J.Dilla/Michael Jackson mix from J.Rocc. Pretty unreal)

Bennett. bstei@umich.edu ‘No Shirt, No Radio’ Wednesday Nights, Midnight-1:30am WCBN