Tag: the Ark

REVIEW: Wallis Bird at the Ark

Ella Larsen Leave a comment

8:00pm • Thursday, January 19, 2023 • The Ark

I was so glad I braved the pouring rain last Thursday night to experience Wallis Bird and Marielle Kraft on the stage of the Ark. Songs were sung. Banter was bantered. No fewer than 10 guitar strings were broken (6 unintentionally, 4 intentionally).

Kraft opened the show with a small selection of her recent music. Her pared-down instrumentals and simple, crisp pop tunes provided a nice foil to Bird’s main act. I was particularly fond of “Second Coffee” and thought that “We Were Never Friends,” featuring audience participation during the chorus, was a great closer to hype everyone up for the main act. 

If Kraft’s opening set was simple, Bird’s was eclectic, featuring an intense, intricate mix of a capella, guitar, synth, and piano. She opened with “Home,” sung a capella, approaching and retreating the microphone while she bantered with us, seeming to work up her confidence. Luckily for us, that confidence arrived, and she turned up the volume with several higher-energy songs, including the anti-establishment anthem “That’s What Life is For.”

My favorite of the night was one I’m not certain is recorded, which she introduced simply as a bit of “technofolk” which she said she wrote to emulate her partner in Berlin, a house musician. She introduced the song by asking the audience to keep the beat by snapping, stomping their feet, clapping–anything that would make some noise. As she added layers of guitar and synth, the atmosphere in the Ark strained to emulate a pulsing nightclub, a sound perhaps not in its usual auditory repertoire. In her other songs, she jammed on her guitar, continually snapping strings and casting the guitar aside to be quickly restrung in time for the next song.

Throughout the performance Bird was in high spirits and engaged with the audience, at one point asking an audience-member to sing a song she wasn’t familiar with so she could pretend to imitate it, promising him free t-shirts in exchange for his sportsmanship. When Bird was called back to the stage for an encore, none of her guitars were left with all their strings, so she called her backup vocalists/crew up to the stage to sing another impromptu a capella song, which if I remember correctly was “In Dictum.”

I was impressed with both Bird’s musicianship and her stage presence, simultaneously self-deprecating and full of swagger. If she makes another trip to the Ark from across the pond, I will certainly put in my best effort to attend.

REVIEW: Lily Talmers at The Ark

bellaaa 1 Comment

Classic folk music venue, The Ark, welcomed Lily Talmers and friends to the stage this past Sunday for a performance that was all I expected it to be and more. Their Midwest tour had three earlier shows in Michigan before landing here in Ann Arbor, and will continue on with six more shows, eventually ending in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Opener John Cushing started the night off beautifully, gathering the larger band, including Talmers, on stage in just his second song. Not only was this a group of talented musicians, but also clearly a group of friends who loved and supported one another. Together, the band cultivated a space of comfort and familiarity that the audience easily leaned into.

Talmers and Cushing brought along with them from Brooklyn Aidan Scrimgeour on the keys and Aiden Cafferty on bass. With them joined Ann Arbor’s David Ward (drums), Ben Green (trumpet), and string quartet of Lauren Pulcipher (violin), Julia Knowles (Cello), Courtney Lubin (violin), and Madeline Warner (viola). The group was in constant conversation with each other and the audience, both in words and in the music they played. Talmers’s voice floated through the space in that haunting and clear tone that we know and love about her, making sure to give space and credit where it was due to each one of her bandmates. Her family, old classmates, students, and some people who she had never met had come together to cultivate this space; it is not an overstatement to say each person felt essential to the experience. 

As someone who loves Talmers’s music, I had to bring something physical home with me — a double CD with her latest two albums: Hope is the Whore I Go To and My Mortal Wound. I feel so fortunate to have seen this group live; as much as I love listening to her music on Spotify, there is something so grand about seeing Talmers and the full band of strings and horns all in the same space. Each instrument seem to transform the music in a new way. The simplicity of just Talmers and her guitar felt extremely vulnerable and delicate; as more instruments joined, there was a soothing strength in the culmination of sound.

It would be a mistake not to go listen to Talmers if given the chance — her kindness, passion, and love is as breathtaking as her music. I also highly recommend going to see a show at The Ark — it is an intimate space here in Ann Arbor and completely non-profit. Words do not do either justice so, please please please, go immerse yourself in this experience in any way you can.

REVIEW: Trace Bundy

sophiascribbles Leave a comment

After an exam-dense week, Trace Bundy’s show was a breath of fresh air to end my Friday. On top of his flashy fingerstyle techniques, Bundy’s playful personality shined through. Maintaining a conversational tone throughout the performance, he truly created an environment that felt much like a laid-back living room jam session with friends.

Because it was my first time at The Ark, I did not know what to expect in terms of layout or general audience demographic. The venue seems to be run by volunteers who are all very passionate about sharing great music. I was pleasantly surprised by the casual seating around mini tables scattered across an open floor plan, so my friends and I grabbed a couple of hot chocolates from the stand and settled down in the front.

Bundy opened the show by giving a quick overview of the different fingerstyle techniques he typically incorporates into his compositions, including tapping, percussive thumping, and looping. This really set the stage for an ongoing discussion about the technical elements that were showcased throughout the set list, which was great if you like to geek out over that stuff (like me).

Each of the songs Bundy included in the set seemed to highlight a different concept, which kept the performance engaging and showcased his range. Here were some of my favorite bits:

  • Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off You. Bundy introduced this as a recent project he took on inspired by the song’s ambiguous chord progressions, which he achieved using a myriad of customized capos (all at the same time, of course). Capos work by clipping to the neck of the guitar and pressing down across all the strings so that the resulting notes you play are shifted up by the same interval. However, by sawing the end off a capo or drilling a tunnel through, Bundy is able to only shift certain strings at a time.
  • Dueling Ninjas. This is one of Bundy’s original compositions from his Adapt album. Played entirely by finger tapping, he explained how each hand represented a ninja with a different personality.
  • Overtime. Bundy demonstrated how he used a delay pedal to create an underlying beat at one tempo and play in between at a slightly different tempo. This created an interesting rhythmical texture and hurt my head trying to grasp how he kept track of the beats.
  • Love Song. My personal favorite! Once again, Bundy brought out a handful of capos and somehow incorporated the procedure of clipping them on/off and sliding them around into the song like a choreographed dance.

I encourage everyone to keep Trace Bundy on their radar! I have a lot of respect for musicians who are not only eager to share their thought processes but are also able to present them in an accessible way to get everyone excited about something like music theory. Speaking to him after the show, I found that he is also just a kind and down-to-earth person. 

PREVIEW: Trace Bundy

sophiascribbles Leave a comment

Dubbed “Acoustic Ninja” by fans, Bundy crafts intricate guitar arrangements of popular songs and original compositions using harmonics, looping, and multiple capos. His dazzling techniques have taken him across 28 countries and garnered over 45 million views on Youtube. Back for his mini Midwest tour, the seasoned performer will be playing at The Ark this Saturday!

With a nickname like Acoustic Ninja, I felt compelled to dig deeper into his story. Outside of classical music, I love following fingerstyle guitar and the likes of Sungha Jung, Ichika Nito, Tim Henson, and Yvette Young. To my surprise, I found out that a young Sungha Jung had opened several of Bundy’s shows in Korea and toured with him in the US back in 2009 (check out their Billie Jean arrangement!). 

Fingerstyle guitar is not tied to a single genre of music and is mainly distinguished by plucking the strings with all five fingers rather than with a pick. Bundy has a personal bio on his website describing how he discovered a love for music theory and was shaped by the up-and-coming wave of musicians developing this complex playing style. I could definitely relate to the excitement fingerstyle brings, as there is so much space for innovation and experimentation. It has gained even more popularity in recent years, with younger guitarists like Marcin Patrzalek on America’s Got Talent receiving widespread attention. I look forward to seeing what Bundy brings to the table, especially since he once acted as a mentor figure for one of my guitar inspirations.

Join me to see Trace Bundy live at The Ark this Saturday, October 8th @8PM! 

Event info: https://theark.org/event/trace-bundy-221008/

REVIEW: Enter the Haggis at the Ark

Himaja Leave a comment

I love the Ark. I love its hallway lined with black-and-white frames of the performers that have graced its stage in years past. I love that it’s run by volunteers who will always help you find the best seat. I love how the stage isn’t roped off or even that tall – if you’re sitting close enough you can kick back and rest your feet on the edge, feeling the vibrations of the band’s sound.

I also love the Toronto band Enter the Haggis. I found them by accident when I was in the 6th grade. I had been going through a strange Irish/Celtic rock music phase and was jamming along to my The Corrs radio station on Pandora when I first heard their song “To the Quick”. There’s something about the Highland bagpipe that is so gorgeous to me. Each note rings clear, louder than anything else surrounding it, and without any vibrato or chance to cover up what the note is. You can’t lie on the bagpipe! And the combination with fiddle and rock guitar is so interesting.

My favorite Haggis songs are “Musicbox” and “To the Quick” — two tracks off of their oldest album from 2005, and two of the few that have no lyrics. Coming to hear them live was a pretty magical way to experience those songs, but was also a great introduction to their more recent work. I could notice a few changes. I love it when bands experiment with their sound – I don’t think any creator deserves to be put in a box where they can’t change.

At the show everyone played a little bit of everything, it seemed. There were vocals and keys and guitar and drums and sometimes, spontaneous battles between the fiddle and harmonica! I sat up close to Craig Downie, who seemed to know how to play basically every music-producing thing on this planet. I do not kid when I say that Craig had his own little *table* with a spread of instruments that he would swap between at will. It was marvelous to watch him go from swinging around a giant set of bagpipes to a tiny little harmonica or piccolo to a moon-shaped tambourine. The band joked that they needed to set up a special “Craig Cam” just to follow his movements.

Craig Downie playing the Great Highland Bagpipe

 

Just before starting the last song on their set, the frontman turned toward my part of the room and said “This song is dedicated to this pair right here. They’re a mother and daughter, this is their 5th concert of ours in a row that they’ve come to – and they were late to our show tonight because they were getting MATCHING Haggis Head tattoos.” At that the pair both rolled up their sleeves to show the audience proof. It was wild. Someone to their right yelled “That there is COMMITMENT” and we rolled into the final song. Everyone in the audience was clearly there to support the band and to share that excitement with each other, and by the end nobody was standing still.

I hope that more artists find ways to play their music in smaller venues again. Big stadiums have their own kind of magic, but they can’t replicate that feeling of intimacy that comes with being so up close and personal.

REVIEW: 35th Annual Storytelling Festival

Joann 1 Comment

I highly recommend attending this event at some point in your life. It’ll be a chance to reflect on the media exposure you are getting and appreciate the art of language.

The event took place in the ark, in front of a stage with blue curtains. Two microphones were there; one for the MC, and one for the teller. The audience was seated surrounding the stage and the tellers exchanged the ‘shower caps’ of microphones every time they took the stage. The room was dimly lit with warm, orange lights. It was a perfect atmosphere to hear a good story-minimal visual distraction so that we could let our imagination run wild and focus on the vibration of air that hit our ears. At this stage, 6 tellers told one story each, the type of stories varied from a revision of an old folk tale (I recalled hearing a story in a similar twist in the Talmud), some point in the border between a joke and real life, and humorous reminiscence of moments just a few days ago or a few decades ago. In all, the tone of stories had humor and drama to them, the two great components that captures our attention. It was a combination, a tasting menu of stories to give the audience a taste of the art of storytelling.

I loved the atmosphere of the event – It was like Youtube, but without any visuals and distractions. I realized that I forgot what it was like to listen to a good story. When you hear a good story from a storyteller, you enter this state of trance where you are running a mental film inside of your head guided by the story you are hearing. This lone light of guidance in the vast night of possibilities is a feeble but powerful one: the teller’s voice and rhythm of speech shape the story yet lead enough room for imagination to fill the gaps. As I listened to the tellers, I realized how distracted I was when I was hearing a story with so many ‘visual aids’ and ‘recommended videos’ in a queue. Words from a life story made the audience focus on every word because we could not go back a few seconds to catch what they missed.

With those chaotic distractions eliminated, finally, the pauses, the tone of voice, speed, and rhythm of speech got the attention it deserved. The language was once again more than just the meaning of the text it conveys, the wisdom we forget so easily in modern life. 90 minutes was enough to provoke all those musings and re-appreciation of language. Curious about the event? You’re in luck: the recording of the event is uploaded in youtube. Also, this is an annual event with a long history! So next winter, when you’re stacking your hot cocoa for the winter, look up the news of this event as well-it’ll make you feel cozy on a winter night, maybe even better than hot chocolate.