Do you remember in “Peter and the Wolf” where different instruments represented different animals? The Michigan Pops Orchestra invites you to explore the musicality of the animal kingdom with them this coming weekend! Featuring songs from the Lion King, the Aristocats, and King Kong that we are all so fond of, the concert will be a great way to shake off the stress before Thanksgiving. Sing, bark, and whinny your heart out-whatever your choice of vocal communication, come along and enjoy the show! Special guests by Groove, Amazin Blue, and the Michigan Pops Jazz Band! It’s going to be a wild night, indeed!
Whether you know her from her hit song 99 Times or from her time as Mia on One Tree Hill, Kate Voegele at the Blind Pig is a must see for anyone looking to have fun and blow off steam.
What: Kate Voegele Where: The Blind Pig When: November 12th at 8pm Tickets: $12
The Women’s Glee Club started strong in their opening song on Saturday night, singing “The University” to Hill Auditorium. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of students filling the mezzanine, supporting the Women’s Glee Club in their first concert of the year. The theme for this concert was Celebrating Sisterhood, Song, and Strength, and these were found throughout the evening. Song was obviously accomplished by the music they sang, spanning styles and languages from English to Italian to Bulgarian.
The Italian selection “Canzonette a tre” included accompaniment from a violin, viola, and recorder, enhancing the experience to feel more medieval. They sounded excellent together, and I am always a fan of including other instruments to contribute to the sound and atmosphere. Following the Italian pieces was a 6-song string of “Songs for Women’s Voices” by Gwyneth Walker. All poems in English that were put to music, it began with a satire that explained how women should be pedestals that are under men’s command, but concluded with a piece about the power and of a woman’s love. Next was “Ergen Deda”, an up-tempo song in Bulgarian that helped to break up the pace of the concert and give the women something to smile about and move around to. They concluded the first half of songs with “Lux Aeterna”, simply a beautiful composition.
After intermission came Midnight Blue’s performance. The a cappella group performed seven songs, and showed their strength of voices and confidence while they sang beautifully and included some dancing and parodies for the audience to laugh at. A special favorite of mine was “A Netflix World” sung to the tune of “A Whole New World”. A little too relatable, this song made me realize that I’m not alone in how much of life life is motivated or unmotivated by Netflix auto play.
Finally, the concert closed with songs about the University of Michigan, the classics that you hear at tailgates. The bond of sisterhood was evident here as alumnae joined the club onstage. Smiles and hugs were shared as the former members returned to their voice parts, and it was heartwarming to see how much the Women’s Glee Club meant to them even after they had graduated. I know that reconnecting with alumni and forming a base is something that the Women’s Glee Club is working to accomplish, and I think they are on their way to doing so if they maintain the atmosphere of sisterhood.
Overall a great concert, and I am always happy when I attend. I am glad that students are coming to support their friends in the club, and I hope the tradition continues as the Women’s Glee Club grows stronger.
Who: The University of Michigan Women’s Glee Club and Midnight Blue
What: Fall Concert: Celebrating Sisterhood, Song, and Strength
When: Saturday, November 8 at 8:00pm
Where: Hill Auditorium
Why: Why? Because the Women’s Glee Club is a fantastic group of talented women. Their fall concert is sure to be an impressive mix of styles and sounds: something for everyone who wants to support this group. I am excited to hear what they have in store on Saturday.
How: This event is on this week’s Passport to the Arts, so be sure to pick one up for a free ticket if you can. If not, student tickets are only $5 and available at the door.
Flying Lotus incorporates stunning visuals in his shows.
After a winded day at Royal Oak the night before, I was ready to get back to the music theatre for round 2 by seeing Flying Lotus with opener Thundercat. I was tired heading into the concert venue but still ready to open my musical horizons and see what the show had to offer. Once again, I was in for a visual and musical treat.
Thundercat honored his name well by dressing up in a cat costume before proceeding to jam out with the piano guy. As a band who made all of their sounds live, I was very impressed with his ability to play in such a limiting suit while still maintaining a high level of performance. The music was feel good and positive, and I was able to notice the reverb he use with his electric guitar as well as the popular wah wah effect to get a wailing sound. While I was not familiar with the group’s music beforehand, I think they did a fairly good job of introducing people to what they were all about. They didn’t try to be too over the top, and instead, successfully hyped up the audience for the headliner act.
While struggling to stay awake for Flying Lotus, I was quickly recharged with energy when he came out in a suit and light glasses that stood out behind his large white screen. Standing behind this screen added to the mystery that is Flying Lotus, as he conducts his live performing behind a screen that projects his visuals. The visuals were like something I had never seen before–very trippy and very mesmerizing. They would go from feeling like you were traveling in space to protruding out different shapes and colors for a 3-D effect. All the while, you were able to take in the atmosphere of people happily dancing around you and connecting to the music in ways they never could listening to it on their own at home.
Even when the music was something I didn’t like, I tried to understand the reasons for his putting that section into part of the show. Artists make very calculated decisions, especially when it come to electronic music where music order is super important as it aligns to the visual production side of things in this case. Flying Lotus live was absolutely worth the money to attend on a Thursday night in the middle of a busy week. I was impressed with the enthusiasm generated by him and his visual team to create an unparalleled concert experience. Even though I left early because of feeling way too tired, for the time I was there I had a great time.
After arriving at the Michigan Theater, and hearing sounds of a small jazz ensemble coming from the main theater, I knew this was going to be an interesting concert. With the couple who started a slap fight in front of me, an audience who rarely stopped talking, and an intermission in which the musicians wandered around to chat with the audience, I can honestly say I have never experienced an orchestra concert quite like this one.
Centered around the theme of games, the Michigan Pops Orchestra played 14 pieces, including music from the Olympics, Halo, Rocky, and the ever popular Game of Thrones. While most of the pieces were played well, the second half of the concert was stronger than the first, and the suites from Video Games Live and Game of Thrones were when the orchestra really shined. In those moments there weren’t any homemade movies or awkward gags, and the Michigan Pops let the music speak and showed off how well they can play and how great they sound together.
The two soloists, Allen Chang, a clarinetist, and Dylan Stasack, a singer, were wonderful additions to the concert and both performed very well. While the insertion of a classical concerto into a concert of predominately movie and video game music felt a little awkward, Chang’s excellent playing captivated the audience. Stasack gave a strong performance of “Go the Distance” from Hercules, which showed off both is musical and theatrical skills.
Overall, the concert was pretty good, with interesting pieces that were played well. Although it is a student run orchestra, I was surprised with how informal the concert was. The constant chatting of the audience, flash photography in the dark theater, unconventional intermission, and over played gags were distracting and had me wishing for a more traditional and formal orchestra concert.
