New Beat Happening (NBH), a music oriented student group on campus who bring a nationally renowned band to U-Mich’s campus every winter semester, snagged Rogue Wave for this weekend’s performance in the Michigan League Ballroom. A some local talent, winner of NBH’s Battle of the Bands last fall, The Paths (formerly Rosepoem) opened for Rogue Wave last Friday night:
http://www.thepaths.org/
I was not present for The Path’s performance but had heard them in the fall at Battle of the Bands and rather enjoy their sound.
Going into this performance I was not aware of how many Rogue Wave songs I was familiar with. The band put on an energetic performance, jumping and chatting with the crowed of 250+ students. The bassist became so enthused that he fell backward on stage, continued to play and was able to stand back up with out breaking rhythm or melody. A very impressive feat.
Rogue Wave is coming out with a new album this summer. They were grateful to have this opportunity to perform, having not toured for at least three years.
If you are interested in bringing bands like Rogue Wave, Girl Talk, Lupe Fiasco, Broken Social Scene and others to the Michigan Campus become a part of New Beat Happening!!
New Beat Happening and the Center for Campus Involvement are excited to present Rogue Wave at the Michigan League Ballroom!
Formed by Zach Rogue in 2002, Rogue Wave has a reputation for crafting classic, inward-looking pop songs highlighted with psychedelic guitars, pastoral sound effects and intricate rhythms. Their decade-long career has spanned four albums (Out of the Shadows, Descended Like Vultures, Asleep at Heaven’s Gate and Permalight), and includes their hit song “Lake Michigan.” With a new album coming out later this year, Rogue Wave is back to the performance circuit and sure to bring an electric performance.
Opening up for Rogue Wave are The Paths (formerly Rospoem) – This year’s Battle of the Bands winner! Before opening for Rogue Wave, The Paths are headed to South by Southwest to showcase their unique “indie-ambient rock.”
Yoyo Ma is a world renowned cellist. I personally have never heard anyone play a stringed instrument the way this man does. He is amazing to listen to and apparently just as enthralling to see in person.
Yoyo Ma will be performing with The Silk Road Ensemble at Hill Auditorium Saturday March 16th at 8pm.
More information on Yoyo Ma:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo-Yo_Ma
Information on his Performance:
http://ums.org/performances/yo-yo-ma-and-the-silk-road-ensemble
Beautiful Sounds of Yoyo Ma:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHzfD6XLK7Q
Saturday night, Hill Auditorium was absolutely packed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the auditorium sold out before, but this was just about at peak capacity. And only after I’d finished appraising the crowd, everyone so nicely suited up, did I notice the orchestra was already tuning on stage. It was a smaller section of the orchestra that they used for the first two Mozart pieces, making up the first half of the concert. Regardless, their sound was more than impressive. From the moment the conductor walked on stage, I entirely forgot where I was until it all ended in a final, flourished wave of his arm.
The first piece, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492 was absolutely staggering. Every turn of the music left me wondering, what’s coming next? As I sat their listening, I tried to imagine what I would be doing if I were in a silent film where this was the soundtrack. I imagined me dancing, then the floor gave out and I was falling, then I was laughing and flirting with a dashing gentleman, then he murders me! With every twist and lift of the synchronized first violinists, the attitude of the piece entirely shifted. As every overture should conclude, it was a valiant finish that left everyone squirming in their seats, wanting more.
Mozart’s Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425 was the second piece and even more fantastic than its predecessor. Just as flourished albeit a little more charming and embellished with shadows of passion, this piece too was breathtakingly perfect.
That’s the other thing about the New York Philharmonic – I don’t think you can do it any better! Both their Mozart pieces and the Brahms were absolutely flawless. After the show, I had froyo with a friend of mine who attended the concert with me and I asked her, seeing as she is quite an esteemed musician herself, how do you do it better than that? She replied, simply, you don’t.
The Brahms piece they played was one that took Brahms nearly 11 years to compose. 11 years on the same symphony!? I can’t even imagine. I write short fiction as part of my creative writing major here and that would mean that I would have started a story back when I was nine if I were to write a story in the time it took Brahms to write his first symphony. What?! The piece was, of course, stellar. It said in the program that it was fairly lengthy compared to the average arrangement of the time, however, I swear it felt like I sat in my seat for not 10 minutes when it had actually been two hours for the whole concert. I couldn’t believe it had ended, and I was actually sort of upset I hadn’t seen it coming.
In conclusion to my rave review of the New York Phil, it was just so great. Peter Laki, UMS correspondent, wrote in the program book: “The classics provide us with much-needed emotional stability in these volatile and uncertain times, and we must make sure we bequeath our love of them to those coming after us, just as we inherited it from those who have been here before.” Truly, nothing is better than that.
We came late to the concert by an hour or so. I had never been to this specific venue and didn’t know what to expect, there was a large congregation of people on the covered hockey rink, that is where we ended up, amidst throngs of pre-pubescent looking girls in spandex, tipsy twenty-somethings, bobbing heads, shouldered girls, flailing bodies, glow sticks and splashes of alcohol.
Matt and Kim have a lovely musical sound and stage presence. Their playful vocals were partnered by crowd interaction, conversation and grinning facial expressions. Kim decided to take a walk on the audience at one point. They were very pleasant to watch and listen to.
Passion Pit had a very cool light show. There were white fabric orbs suspended above them, which were illuminated by different colored lights for each song. Unfortunately the bass was so high that much of the more impressive falsetto from the singer and keyboard were lost. Which is a shame, the higher vocal experimentation is one of the more enjoyable aspects of Passion Pit, in my opinion.
All in all I was somewhat disappointed with Passion Pit’s performance. The poor quality of the sound was coupled with a lack of Performance zeal, the whole experience was overpowered by the largeness of the arena. I still enjoy listening to Passion Pit and have no doubt I will be for a long time. I hope I’ll have another opportunity to see them in a smaller venue in the future.
I hear the show is quickly selling out but it will be an excellent. Passion Pit is a wonderfully excellent and entertaining band! Very excited for this show.
