student blog

Tomas review / Melea

“Professor Kubínek Meets the Symphony” is nothing short of a revolutionary interpretation of the symphonic experience. Friday night’s Iowa City premiere reminded me of Disney’s Fantasia – musical masterpieces, exquisitely performed by Orchestra Iowa, illustrated by Kubínek’s sometimes zany, sometimes heart-wrenching theatrics.

In certain ways, the show almost felt like a dance concert (although admittedly, dance was on the mind in Iowa City, as the UI’s Dance Gala was also this past weekend). Rather than a single overarching narrative, each orchestral work was brought to life “scene-by-scene,” creating a storybook filled with individual fairy tales. Some were hilarious, such as when Kubínek rode a life-size ostrich puppet around the stage. Others were endearing, especially Kubínek’s delicate depiction of the wondrous love between a father and son.

 But whether painting the majesty of an epic warrior or somehow managing to balance a wine glass on his forehead mid-somersault, Kubínek was mesmerizing in what may have been the most earnest performance I’ve ever seen.  For any students who can catch the Mason City or Omaha performances, don’t pass up the opportunity to explore (perhaps with a younger sibling) the ways a self-proclaimed “certified lunatic” can make classical (and jazz and folk) music come alive on stage.

-- Melea Dau

Melea gets geeky

Let’s get geeky for a minute and talk about choral music.

I would say I really like listening to choirs, but unless they’re of the “show” variety, I’d be lying. Despite the fact that I’ve been in some choir or another for the past fourteen years and will graduate from the UI with a BM in Vocal Performance, I’ll admit that listening to the average (or even the above-average) vocal ensemble tackle anything from a Schubert chorale to a Hogan tends to less-than-thrill me.  I’m no choir expert, but I have learned is a thing or two about what makes a great choir (limited real-life experience) with what makes an awful choir (lots of experience).

But how astounding it is when one happens upon that highly sought after but rarely achieved “great” choral sound - on that’s finely tuned and meticulously balanced to the point of perfection. It’s a true anomaly, and as anyone who has ever participated in a choir could attest, that robust and impactful sound is extremely difficult to craft – if obtainable at all by most groups.

If you would have asked me a few hours ago when was the last time I heard a “great” choir, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. Now, after listening to the YL Male Voice Choir, I can tell you it was right after the director stops talking during this YouTube clip [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC5rMwRJwlw] of the choir rehearsing. The group has a simply breathtaking choral sound – pure, multi-faceted, steady and resonant – and is a must-hear for anyone who loves, likes or (like me) could take or leave most choir music.

It’s no wonder the YL Male Voice Choir is known as “Finland’s National Treasure” – a sound this glorious is worth its weight in gold.

—Melea

YL Male Voice Choir will perform this Sunday (Feb. 21) at 2 p.m. at West High School Auditorium. Tickets are available on the Hancher website.

a must-see / Melea

I grew up on Sesame Street.

Well, not really- I suppose if you want to get literal, I grew up on Falcon Avenue, but like many children of the late ’80s, television was my benevolent babysitter, and thus, I have always felt like Sesame Street was my second home address.

My younger brothers (who mind you, aren’t so little at 13 and 17) and I still often rely on the teachings of our PBS Muppet friends, recalling their teachings to affectionately remember to count all “one, two, three rubber duckies (baw ha ha).”

It would be easy to dismiss Sesame Street as an educational show for children, maybe even THE educational show for children, but to do so would fall short of the show’s impact on the international pop culture collective. In reality, Sesame Street is the iconic epitome of everything sweet and simple—the essence of everything a childhood should be.

But not all puppets are created equal.

Don’t let their cuddly appearances fool you: Though the characters of Avenue Q were designed by former members of the Jim Henson team, Avenue Q’s residents are unequivocally complex, and are by no means sweet. The decidedly mature musical pays homage to Sesame Street, featuring parodies not only of its beloved characters (like Cookie Monster, who makes the move to Avenue Q as the pornography-addicted Trekkie Monster), but also the show’s “Be All You Can Be” message (Avenue Q instead instructs “I Wish I Could Go Back to College”).

Sure, I may treasure my Sesame Street roots, but Avenue Q updates PBS’s puppet-initiated education from mere ABCs and 123s to meditations on the Quarterlife Crisis and finding one’s ultimate purpose. The twenty-somethings in Avenue Q ask the questions real life college students have on our minds (like really, what *do* you do with a BA in English?) while dealing with the less than clear cut issues of unemployment, sexuality and heartache. The issues may not be pretty, but like Sesame Street before it, Avenue Q instructs with a catchy tune and a superb underlying storyline.

Avenue Q is a must see for all adults (and college kids who theoretically face impending adulthood but are still on their parents’ health insurance and can’t afford to pay the monthly electric bill).

Tickets for are on sale for the March 26-28 performances at the U.S. Cellular Center March 26-28 now.

P.S. And just for fun, here’s my and my brothers’ favorite adult-oriented Sesame Street moment (who says our favorite shows can’t age with us?):

P.P.S. More classic Sesame Street
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3049TRLo5M&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjbpuK_H2VY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgIfdl6by1o&feature=related

totally badass /Melea

Nothing could have prepared me for how incredibly cool Time for Three’s performance was.

I guess I shouldn’t have been that surprised- after looking at their website and adding their YouTube channel to my list of favorites, I was prepared for something at least moderately entertaining. But the way these three guys took command of City High’s stage and had me hooked on every piece from Brahms to the Beatles was completely unprecedented, not to mention the fact that they very well might be the most charismatic and fun performers I’ve ever seen. Get this- they had groupies literally screaming from the balcony.

There’s no other way to say it: Time for Three was totally badass.

What’s even cooler is that the guys of Tf3 are really nice, affable dudes. I had the opportunity to interview Tf3’s bassist, Rannan Meyer, for the playbill that accompanied Thursday’s show, and I can safely say that he was one of the kindest and most genuine musicians I’ve ever talked to. We spoke for a long time about what kind of music we liked (his answer was “everything from Yo-Yo Ma to Stevie Wonder to Bulgarian wedding bands”), and he asked me to recommend some stuff I like to him.

Me- a silly little college journalist- recommend music to him??? I was totally taken aback that a musician of his caliber actually cared about what I thought. What a guy! I can only hope the Tf3 makes a habit of dropping by Iowa City every year.

P.S. I told him to check out volumes one and two of the Guilt by Association collection, in which popular indie artists (well, popular by indie standards) cover their favorite guilty pleasure pop songs. My favorite- Max Vernon’s version of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl.”

an hour well spent /Melea

So I got done watching the Grammys about an hour ago (and can I just say, John Mayer over Paul McCartney? I don’t know what the Recording Academy was thinking), and have been continuing the procrastinate writing a review for the Daily Iowan of Lily Allen’s latest album (which is actually a fairly solid collection of cheeky pop songs). I’ve been on YouTube for over an hour and just ran into this sweet clip of Time for Three playing the crap out of their instruments. With this in mind, I’m pretty sure their performance Thursday evening will fall somewhere between “legendary” and “epic.”

good advice/ Melea

I just downloaded ETHEL’s 2006 CD, Light, and I’d advise you to do the same.

The ETHEL string quartet brought the house down last Saturday night (along with the fabulous Kurt Elling and Ernie Watts), in what might have been the best performance I’ve ever seen at the Englert Theater. I’ve talked about being a sucker for strings in the past, but these guys totally blew me away. Talk about bending the rules- ETHEL is a rock ‘n’ roll string quartet through and through (hell, they even had temporary tattoos!) and added the perfect pizzicato punch to Elling’s soulful crooning.

Being a jazz vocalist myself, I’m already a licensed and registered Elling fan and I knew that my man wouldn’t leave me disappointed. What I wasn’t prepared for was how AMAZING both the ensemble and arrangements of the Coltrane/Hartman songs would be. Let’s just say that as soon as the live CD of this concert comes out (Elling said it would be released around June-ish), it’ll go directly into my Amazon cart.

Melea

watch this immediately / Melea

Howdy, y’all!

It’s great to be back on the UI campus after a long (but honestly, not long enough) winter break. Thankfully, Iowa has finally decided to remove itself from its residence in the Arctic Circle so at least it’s tolerable to spend more than 30 seconds outside

Despite the fact that I’m excited about wiping the slate clean with a brand new semester, it’s a little hard to get back into the swing of things. After dealing with all kinds of add/drop slip bureaucracy, I feel like it might be easier to just turn around and head back home while I still can. Ack. But at least the book buying and paper signing hassles of the first week are almost over, and I can relax this weekend by seeing one of my favorite working jazz singers take over the Englert.

Maybe you’ve heard of Kurt Elling….maybe you haven’t. If you fall into that latter group, I would highly suggest that you stop whatever you’re doing and watch this video immediately (and be sure to check out the drummer…amazing!)

cool just because it exists /Melea

I’ve always been jealous of people who have a heritage.

As a middle-class white girl from Iowa whose last name was shortened by some great-great-great-great grandfather to conceal its actual ethnicity to allow for easier immigration, I can honestly say I have no idea where my cultural roots lie. I think I’m part Czech. But then again, I don’t really know.

My friend Erin is Irish- Irish with a capital “RISH.” She had the pleasure of going to Ireland over this past year to meet some aunts and uncles and take in the local scenery, see some step dancing, and hang out in pubs. She said she had the time of her life. Again, I was jealous.

But I may have an opportunity to participate in a cultural celebration that I wouldn’t normally be afforded given my indeterminate roots. Erin and I plan on going to see “An Irish Homecoming” this week, and I’m genuinely excited. I’ve always thought Celtic music was kind of amazing- a genre so steeped in tradition that it’s almost impervious to criticism and poor execution. It’s cool just because it exists, and that’s my type of music.

That being said, I’d like to take a second to turn into my mother. I saw the Chiara String Quartet perform a couple of weeks ago and was a little disappointed. Not in the show (no, the music was beautiful…I’ve always wanted to be a string player and continue to be mesmerized by the elegance and emotional resonance of any instrument that requires a bow and resin), but of the audience.

Let me paint a picture. We’re in a church. There are probably a hundred people, 75 of whom are over the age of, well, 75. The rest are college students. Within the first 15 minutes, the college students were bored with the classical music, squirming around like my younger siblings do at Sunday morning mass. The girls in front of me were communicating via text, saying things like (and I quote) “OMG I’m soooo bored,” and “I want to leave right now.” And many of them did, leaving whenever they felt like it, primarily during songs.

You guys, this is kind of unacceptable. Granted, its classical music- a style that doesn’t really resonate with our generation like My Morning Jacket or Soulja Boy would. But still, we really need to be polite. I admit that I don’t often find myself rocking out to Beethoven in my car, but I’m a firm believer that classical music is an acquired taste in that you need to know how it works in order to fully enjoy it. General rule of thumb: should you ever find yourself at a classical concert, leave in between songs, and don’t clap after every movement. It’s just how it’s done. Chiara put on a heck of a show and deserved far more respect than they were given. And I challenge all of the jerks who were rude during the show to go listen to their Prince covers right now. *End rant*

—Melea

no hemp necklace /Melea

Here’s an actual conversation taken directly from my Facebook wall:

Friend: I saw you at Global Drums last night…wow.

Me: Yeah, I was there. What did you think of it?

Friend: Um, I think it can be summed up in one word- “wow.”

Me: So is that an “it-changed-my-life” kind of “wow,” or an “I-actually-have-no-idea-what-to-think-of-the-show-because-it-was-so-out-there” kind of “wow”? Or was it more like a “sensory-overload-to-the-max” exclamatory “wow,” or perhaps an “Oh-my-God-there-were-so-many-hippies-with-ganja-there” amazed “wow”?

Friend: I think it would lie somewhere in between those options…. I wouldn’t be surprised if I got a contact high. Perhaps that’s why I can’t remember which “wow” it would be.

From the second I stepped into the West High auditorium, it was clear that I was definitely out of my element. Perhaps I would have fit in more if I wouldn’t have unfortunately left my peasant skirt, dreadlocks, and hemp necklace at home. Regardless, the crowd was interestingly divided between Hancher regulars, dressed in suits and fine jewelry, and aging Grateful Deadhead hippies. The question that kept popping up in my mind was “Am I high enough to be here?” About five minutes into the performance itself, I figured out the answer- No, I’m really not.

The Global Drum Project basically consists of a lot of old dudes in Hawaiian shirts playing an interesting, though somewhat unintelligible polyrhythmic cacophony of percussion sound. Maybe I’m just getting old (which I am), but at one point I actually felt myself channeling Dr. Seuss’s Grinch and internally began to complain about all the noise, noise, noise, noise!

However, my seat behind the sound booth did provide some interesting visual stimuli. The red, blue, and green sound wave charts were the perfect illustrations to the trippy, organic sounds of the world percussion instruments. At least the combination of the tribal drums and psychedelic colors were enough to put me in a trance to escape from my awkward boredom.

This is not to say these guys weren’t talented as hell. You know how when you see the Road Runner’s feet they look like they’re moving in a slow motion cloud because they’re actually moving incredibly fast? Yeah, that’s how the hand and arm movements of the members of Global Drum were all the time. That takes immense talent.

But unfortunately, being the snarky cynic that I am, I failed to transcend my earthly body and become part of the Global Drum sound and state of mine. Yeah, it’s always kind of cool to watch people hit stuff, but I was ultimately kind of bored (and therefore found it really hard to resist the temptation to yell out “Box of Rain!” mid-set).

My Facebook friend could not have been more correct—there really is no better word to describe the Global Drum Project than a very confused, awestruck, and perhaps stoned “wow.

—Melea

classic Kathy /Melea

The Five Best Moments in Kathy Griffin’s Saturday Night Performance:

5. Criticizing the many college-age girls who came dressed in the standard Iowa City bar attire of a short cleavage-bearing dress and spike heels, Kathy informs them that they are catering to the wrong crowd. “Ladies, you aren’t getting any tonight,” Griffin said, acknowledging that approximately 50 percent of her audience was gay males who would at least “lovingly” judge their fashion choices.

4. Griffin told a hilarious story of a college event she did years ago with a very high Andy Dick, who shocked the Southern crowd by making many homosexual references, including rubbing his naked body against an unwilling audience member. Classic.

3. One of the best things about Kathy’s standup has always been the insider perspective she gives on Hollywood parties/events, and Saturday was no exception. Kathy dished the dirt on the recent Emmy Award Ceremony and the celebrities in attendance, including Tracy Morgan (as crazy as his 30 Rock character), James Gandolfini (who never turns off his Tony Soprano vibe), Tina Fey (as lovely in real life as the characters she creates), and Conan O’Brien (who is apparently “kind of a dick”- which left the audience shocked and a little disheartened).

2. The audience laughed for a solid two minutes when Kathy called Michelle Obama, the new Jackie O., “Blackie O.” I talked to a female African-American friend of mine earlier today who said, “I would kill to have Kathy Griffin call me ‘Blackie-O’ just once.” I’m pretty sure the sentiment would be shared by most of those in attendance.

1. Kathy railed on Sarah Palin. Within the first few minutes of the show, Griffin announced that “that bitch is going down hard tonight,” and she was more than true to her word. But Kathy took on Palin and the election overall in a really smart and insightful (yet still characteristically vulgar way). After deeming the Palin’s the new Lohan’s (because each member of the family is equally crazy), she did a great dramatic re-enactment of Bristol Palin’s “Baby-Daddy’s” MySpace page. She also made some really astute Vice Presidential Debate critiques, including the fact that she was convinced Palin was flirting with her the entire time. When the one conservative in a crowd of liberals booed at her commentary (Griffin told him he was a little out numbered), Griffin made a great observation that no matter what your political agenda, Sarah Palin and the current election makes fantastic fodder for any comedian.

And in the case of Kathy’s performance at least, this was irrefutably true.

—Melea