WCBN-FM (Ann Arbor, MI)

« All Events Details Time: 7:00 pm Venue Saint Andrew’s Hall 431 E Congress St Detroit, + Google Map Phone (313) 961-8961 ALWAYS READ WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH EVENTS: Events Calendar is brought to you by the locally owned Ann Arbor Observer, providing news and events online at AnnArborObserver.com, on a2view, the Observer’s weekly newsletter, and in print. You can hear Events Calendar every three hours on the half-hour, on WCBN-FM Ann Arbor.

If I had to limit myself to a single word to describe this lineup, it would be best delineated as this: electric. The concert began with Luna Pier, an indie rock band based right here in Ann Arbor, Michigan and fronted by WCBN’s very own, Dexter Kaufmann. Luna Pier demonstrated tremendous versatility and eclecticism, incorporating elements of surf rock, new wave, and garage rock into their act.

Violin Memory is a collaboration between John Stowell, an excellent jazz guitarist; Dave Glenn, a trombonist; and the Hawčaptak Quartet. The result is a unique ensemble bringing together funky jazz sounds with the smooth sound of a violin quartet. The pieces are also very unique with nine pieces arrangements of Stowell originals along with three Glenn originals and a medley tossed into the middle of the album.

Mhondoro means “the lion spirit” in Shona, a language of Zimbabwe, and this was a group born during the pandemic. Saxophonist Idit Shner, vocalist/percussionist John Mambira, pianist Torrey Newhart, bassist Garrett Baxter, and drummer Ken Mastrogiovanni came together as a parent pod to jam while their kids attended virtual school.

This past Wednesday at the Magic Stick: Boris took the stage with opening act Nothing on their North American tour! Nothing is a band I’ve been aware of for a few years now but it was a pleasure being able to see them for the first time on this tour. Their really compelling mashing of several different styles made for a really moving live performance. To describe their sound in an overly-simplified manner, they kinda sound as if Amenra listened to a lot more Slowdive.

The Godspeed and Silver Mt. Zion comparisons are inevitable, of course. Not that that is inherently a bad thing, and there definitely is inspiration both direct and indirect littered across the tracks(both parts of “Entropy” being one example). But “Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More” is, for the most part, able to stand enough on its own to end up as a wonderful ride straddling the line between chamber music and post-rock.

Hilton delivers a masterful album with this creation. The trio of her on piano, Luques Curtis on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums locks in so tight to the music, yet gives every piece room to breathe. Every song sounds so well put together, and yet they all have a lightness that threatens to whisk the listener away. “Nightingales and Fairy Tales” is an exquisite example of this where the music sounds wistful and dreamy.

Few commodities are as coveted in the modern imperialist west as the image of revolt. Its rancor, its passion, the conflict that is inherent within the concept itself, revolt serves as an excellent thematic starting point for the artist. However, as per the nature of commodification, “revolt” can be very easily stripped of its semantic, ideological weight in exchange for this abstracted emotional power.

Walking into the back room of the Otus Supply in Ferndale, I was incredibly excited for the concert that was to come.

It is difficult to conceive of Boyle as anything other than an ensemble of at least 8 players, but somehow the entirety of “Psych-Jazz Collage 1” was performed and recorded by a single multi-instrumentalist/tape manipulator, something I was admittedly not aware of until I had written up the majority of this review. Despite its name and instrumentation, this rarely feels like a jazz album, with its improvisation avoiding individual lines.