Author Archives | The Daily Cougar Arts Desk

Calm before the storm

Vinita Chen (right) relaxed with board games and crafts at the study break event on Tuesday presented by the UH Library. | Monica Tso/The Daily Cougar

Although finals week is ending, students continue to see the sunrise after long hours of cramming for their remaining exams, but studies show that students should be taking suitable breaks.

Award-winning psychology professor at the University of Nevada, Wayne Weiten, said students must be realistic when deciding how long they should study at one time before feeling worn from fatigue. His research also highlights the significance of allowing time for study breaks to revive sagging concentration.

The library instruction fellow Kirsten Feist collaborated with Anita Dryden, the digital and web projects fellow, and hosted a study break event Tuesday at the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library for students to relax after spending hours studying for their final exams.

“We like to ensure that when a break is needed, the students have a fun outlet to de-stress without having to leave the building,” Feist said. “For this particular event, we felt a great way to help them was to give them a chance to be a kid again.”

The staff provided childhood staples including coloring books, crafts, games, piñatas and Play-Doh as students unwound listening to Disney music.

“Study breaks are incredibly important because they help refresh the mind and stave off burnout,” she said.

A kinesiology sophomore Vinita Chen attended the event as an intermission from her strenuous studies.

“The break let me relax for a little and catch up with some friends,” Chen said. “We also got to listen to some awesome Disney music and had some fun.”

Chen said she prepared for three finals and studied on average three to six hours for each.

“My hardest final was chemistry,” Chen said. “I spent six hours going over notes and lecture slides for that test, and it was very tiring.”

She said she tries to take timely breaks while studying.

“Breaks help you relax for a little, and most importantly, they give our brains a break,” Chen said. “I think no matter what we’re studying, we need to let our brains rest every so often, so we don’t overload too much info into them.”

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Q&A with Atlas Genius frontman Keith Jeffery

The Daily Cougar got a chance to talk to indie rock band Atlas Genius, who will be playing Friday at Fitzgerald’s.

The Daily Cougar: I see that you guys are from Australia. How are you guys enjoying the U.S. so far?

Keith Jeffrey: It’s not that different, there’s a bit more people out here. Australia isn’t that much different culturally, but I always feel like there’s a huge difference when arriving here. I feel like I’m home now since we spend so much time here than we did last year. It’s really comfortable.

 

TDC: How is the music scene here different from Australia?

KJ: Australia’s scene is way different from the U.S. I think it’s the crowd since they are really into it. You got that certain reaction with different crowds when we play over here.

 

TDC: You are playing a show Friday at Fitzgerald’s. How excited are you?

KJ: Oh yes, we played a couple of times in Texas. It’s always warm, and I like that. I’m very excited to go over there again; it’s always great crowd and vibe.

 

TDC: Where did you come up with the name Atlas Genius?

KJ: That was the name I had floating around my head for a couple of years. The band and I were thinking of a name, and that was the name I like the most. What I like about it is that is has openness to it, and it stood out from the others.

 

TDC: Any new albums coming up?

KJ: We actually just released one album. We probably aren’t recording one until a year or so.

 

TDC: I also read that you will be touring the UK next month. Is this your first time going there?

KJ: This will be our first tour with the band. It will be a short tour, but the culture is great over there, and I believe our band will do great.

 

TDC: What kind of style would you say your music is?

KJ: Depending on the music labels there are and the reviews critics put us under, people would most likely say its a bit more Indie, dance-pop. Usually, it’s just the style that I like.

 

TDC: How long has the band been together and what did you do before Atlas Genius?

KJ: We’ve been together for over three years. We’re just barely coming out in the music scene. We actually had a band before, and we’d play once or twice a week with cover songs from The Beatles or The Police, but we also tried to get our own songs out there. That phase went really well, and it helped us pay our bills. We got to experience the live shows that The Beatles experienced.

 

TDC: Your hit song, “Trojans,” has been playing on a lot of radio stations. What is the story behind it, and how do you want it to impact your audience?

KJ: That song is about a personal experience I was going through when I was a writer, and I wrote about the scenario of that experience. It was a personal expression of where I was at in life. I want this song to help anyone who listens to it and let them use it as there own personal expression.

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Authors draw parallels between fiction and journalism

Authors Jonathan Lethem and John Jeremiah Sullivan read from their latest books Monday evening at the Alley Theatre as part of the 2013 Inprint reading series.

Sullivan, a writer and essayist for publications such as The Paris Review, Harper’s Magazine and GQ, read a passage from his 2011 collection of nonfiction essays titled “Pulphead.”

The essays in “Pulphead” have a strong base in human emotion and delve into the mechanics of pop culture and the vulnerability of the figures within it.

Sullivan writes about attending a Christian rock festival and his experience with those attending, The Real World and the aged rock singer Axl Rose.

In the passage Sullivan chose to read to the audience at the Alley Theatre, he muses about the life and music of Michael Jackson, reflecting on the changes in the artist’s career from being a child star to becoming an outsider.

In an interview after his reading, Sullivan noted his disregard for the distinction between high and low culture in his writing, noting that taking a stance with regard to one culture being above another undermines people and whatever kind of culture they are a part of.

“I think it’s kind of a crypto-Philistine position, and a big part of my journey as a writer has been trying to extricate myself from that,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan delivers essays on life experiences as well, such as when he worked at 20 years old in a cabin as a caretaker for Andrew Lytle, a member of the Southern Agrarian literary movement. Sullivan found a comparison between journalism and fiction.

Facts, Sullivan finds, usually lend enough leeway to compose scenes that resemble qualities of fiction.

“I never remember feeling as a writer like there was really the possibility of a distinction between something that was non-imaginative and imaginative when it came to nonfiction,” Sullivan said.

“You have this body of things that are true — that you can verify — and you get to have as much fun with them as you can,” he said.

Following Sullivan, Jonathan Lethem read from his latest career-spanning collection of memoirs, essays, fiction and criticism, “The Ecstasy of Influence.”

Reading a passage about his boyhood experience with sexual fantasy, Lethem wooed the crowd with humor by wittily calling to mind his crude fascination with which he as a child peeked into his father’s studio while a model posed nude.

In an interview following the reading, Lethem explicated the flexibility of narrative in writing nonfiction.

“What you’re applying to it is a language — not just the language of individual sentences, but the language of narrative, which itself has another form of figuration in it,” he said.

Like Sullivan, when writing nonfiction, Lethem takes advantage of raw facts and uses narrative to build interest in content.

“You’re living in a goldmine,” Lethem said. “To reach for the fool’s gold by faking it is crazy.”

The next Inprint reading event will be May 6 at The Menil Collection featuring author James Salter.

arts@thedailycougar.com

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UH’s concert chorale accepts invitation for chorallaboration

The UH concert chorale hosted groups from San Jacinto College and Colorado State University on Saturday.  |  Courtesy of Moores School of Music

The UH concert chorale hosted groups from San Jacinto College and Colorado State University on Saturday. | Courtesy of Moores School of Music

The sounds of perfectly blended voices singing in unison swelled and reverberated in the recital hall as choirs quickly warmed up and practiced the evening’s repertory.

As the clock ticked closer to 7:30 p.m., a blur of black swarmed into the Moores Opera House. Bright, young faces formally dressed in black dresses, suits and bow ties sat near the stage in anticipation of the performances they were going to give.

Moores School of Music hosted Colorado State University’s Chamber Choir for the first time. UH also collaborated and organized the event in concert with local San Jacinto College-Central for a night of choral music bliss Saturday. Each of the three choral directors had the opportunity to flex their musical and artistic muscles while representing their college and providing their students a great opportunity to broaden their horizons.

The collaborative effort was especially important for UH’s Concert Chorale. Saturday night marked the “unofficial” premiere of a top secret choral composition that will be premiered in Germany at the International Chamber Choir Competition in May. The name of the piece is being kept a secret until after its premiere.

Betsy Cook Weber, director of choral studies and conductor of the Concert Chorale at UH, seemed enthusiastic about the collaborative. By accepting the invitation from Paul Busselberg, SJC-Central’s director of choral activities, for a three-way collaborative performance with CSU’s Chamber Choir, she nurtured community outreach and collaboration.

“(CSU) will bring sounds that are new to our ears, and we will learn from hearing them,” Weber said. “I think the special nature of this particular collaboration is giving the Houston area the opportunity to hear a choir with which we are unfamiliar.”

James Kim, CSU’s director of choral activities who is with the Chamber Choir across Texas, mirrored Weber’s enthusiasm.

“We are very excited, and it’s been awhile since we have been on tour outside of Colorado,” Kim said. “The students are really excited.”

In the collegiate choral world, Kim and Weber have each gained a reputation for themselves and their choirs.

For Busselberg, it was instinctive to bring these choirs and directors together. Using his close ties with both institutions, he instigated the plan for a mammoth collaborative effort. Busselberg was especially excited about the opportunity as an “underdog” to work with larger, more advanced choral programs.

“I have learned to really value collaboration, and that collaboration is where it’s at,” Busselberg said. “Whatever we can do together makes us stronger.”

The evening’s program was filled with a wide variety of music from 20th century to baroque and Jewish polyphony to Christian spirituals.

Each group performed a separate repertory, but the evening ended with the three choirs combining to form an 82-piece choir under the direction of Busselberg. They collaboratively performed an arrangement of “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel?” by Moses Hogan in a performance that made one’s hair stand on end.

The “top secret” choral piece was at the center of UH’s choral performance. The composer, David Ashley White, was in attendance. After hearing his piece performed for the first time, his eyes watered and turned a slight hue of red, glistening even in the dimly lit opera house.

After the concert, choir members gathered in the foyer of the opera house and mingled. Michelle Girardot, a UH vocal performance freshman and member of the Concert Chorale, enjoyed working with the other choirs.

“We’ve worked on our own different stylistic things with (“Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel”), and they had completely different takes,” Girardot said. “It was interesting to see their ideas and hear them.”

For Alan Austin, the general and artistic director of the Texas Music Festival, the night’s performances were impressive and promising, and UH’s Concert Chorale was “so solid.”

Community outreach and artistry seem to work hand in hand.

It’s events like this that open up perception and experiences, Busselberg said.

arts@thedailycougar.com

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Students share family traditions

From Sunday dinners to reunions and annual vacations, traditions are central to student life, and students reflect on their families’ unique personal and cultural customs.

According to research from the Journal of Family Psychology, families that engage in shared activities together were less likely to experience conflicts in five years, and traditions highly impacted the children’s development and well-being.Roberta Nutt, interim chair of the UH Department of Educational Psychology, defined family traditions as structured behaviors that organize families and become part of the family system.

“Family traditions teach us how to cope and how to find comfort during emotional events like weddings or funerals,” Nutt said.

Having come from a Russian and British background, Nutt understood the mesh of diverse ethnics as a way to preserve legacies and to create new rituals.

“Every couple will bring different traditions together to create something new, and their circumstances will change,” she said. “They choose to change for the better, and that’s healthy. You need a strong cycle to keep the traditions alive.”

Nutt also stressed the importance of family traditions.

“Traditions aren’t always obvious, but people begin to notice them when they think ‘routine’ or ‘repetition,’” Nutt said. “Whether big or small, traditions allow you to make life fun. Starting your own personal tradition to get over anything is great as well.”

Nutrition sophomore Justine James explored several traditions, which include Guyanese, Indian and British cultures.

“Even though my parents migrated to America over 30 years ago, they kept the food traditions alive,” James said. “Every Christmas morning, we wake up to the aroma of fresh bread and a slow-cooked, sweet stew called pepper pot. We also place a Christmas sock filled with fruits and sweets on doorknobs of our loved ones on Christmas Eve.”

Beyond her cultural background and religious ties to Christian holidays, James’ family and she created a few traditions that celebrate Spanish, Chinese and Hindu cultures.

“Some of our new traditions include Chinese food, and we celebrate Chinese New Year,” she said. “We established that each child in our family must be fluent in Spanish, which began when my mother became a Spanish teacher. My family and I also began celebrating Hindu festivals like Holi, the festival of colors.”

Having integrated an extensive variety of cultural customs, James explained the importance of preserving her family traditions.

“What makes these traditions important is how they’re a reminder of the fusion of my newly-created culture,” James said. “My family was able to craft a unique identity that makes us stand out from other Guyanese-American families. Our traditions give me a sense of identity and values to pass on to the next generation.”

Accounting sophomore Aimee Muniz discussed her family’s love for spending quality time watching movies, discovering events and listening to music.

“Every Sunday, we watch action-packed movies and dine at a nice restaurant to celebrate an achievement or an awesome week,” Muniz said. “We continued this tradition even when I lived on campus because it was something we all enjoyed. We also visit the Renaissance festival yearly to enjoy the cold weather and awesome food, to take memorable pictures and to enjoy the sights.”

Muniz described her family’s union through the exploration of music.

“We listen to old songs and discover new music together every night, and sometimes we sing along,” she said. “This tradition is really important because it instills a type of confidence and happiness when we sing that’s harmonious.”

arts@thedailycougar.com

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Antiquity renewed in the Honors College

Ezra Pound once exhorted, “make it new,” and The Center for Creative Work seeks to do just that as it kicks off the Spring 2013 Dionysia with the fourth annual Ekphrastic Arts Festival, April 24 and 25 in the Honors College Commons.

The festival is divided into two portions, and the UH Honors Art Competition and Exhibition will run 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, while the UH Composers Showcase will be held 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

The Center for Creative Work’s Dionysia focuses this year on the theme of “War and Rage,” highlighted by the upcoming performance of Ilium, loosely adapting Homer’s “The Iliad.” The Ekphrastic Arts Festival, though, offers solo artists the opportunity to showcase their individual talents and perspectives on the theme, celebrating the diversity of viewpoints and abilities within the honors community.

The Greek term “Ekphrazein,” roughly translated, means to call an object by its rightful name. That idea is central to the Ekphrastic Arts Festival, in which the pieces exhibited respond within one medium to art from another medium. By reinterpreting art in a new medium, artists can give new, creative life to deeply ingrained stories or narratives.

The art that the Center for Creative Work solicited covers film, music, dance, poetry, flash fiction, lyric essays, paintings, sculpture and photography. The competition form submission says, “Ekphrastic art attempts to confront, interpret, inhabit, and speak to another work of art.”

The artworks that students have been instructed to interpret are the “Great Works” studied in The Human Situation — like the plays of Euripides and Sophocles, “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey,” and other luminary standouts from the literary age of antiquity.

Wednesday’s competition will highlight the visual portion of the artistic spectrum, while Thursday’s portion will highlight the musical compositions and will be judged by a Moore’s School of Music panel. Prizes will be awarded to top entries in either category. Both sections include performances by competitors, and anyone interested in attending and viewing should contact the Honors College for further details. Any curious parties are encouraged to witness as artists seek to make new some of the most profound and deeply ingrained narratives in the Western canon.

arts@thedailycougar.com

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Music blooms at Moores red carnation concert

Between the graduating seniors wearing them and the many wonderful performances, the Red Carnation Concert bloomed wonderfully Thursday at the Moores Opera House.

Perhaps the most wonderful part of the show involved more than just the color red, but an entire Rainbow Connection. The Men of Moores was the highlight of the night with their wonderfully moving rendition of a song originally performed by a Muppet, yet brought to life by an incredible harmony spearheaded by a moving solo.

A massive concert featuring nine different groups, singing double the arrangement at a brisk pace, the show opened with the University Women’s Chorus performing an Estonian folk song, “Lauliku Lapsepõli.” It was a bit of an odd choice to open the show. Between the dreary, almost mysterious tune, to groups of performers entering the stage and encircling a smaller group at center stage, it created a creepy but intriguing opening that left me curious for what else the night had in store. The chorus finished up with a good one-two Latin punch of “Ave Maria” and “Et Resurrexit,” which was followed by the weak card of the evening.

The men’s a cappella group, Bob’s Your Uncle, followed with an arrangement of the classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” tune, “Pure Imagination,” and it was doomed from the start. Setting aside the off-key false start of the soloist, this particular arrangement, sung by Gene Wilder, is just not my preference — the entire piece is slow and smooth, to the point where the song loses its original ebb and flow, and in essence, its energy. If there was a bright spot, the group performed beautifully after the false start, though the arrangement was still a turn-off.

Also a turn-off was The Moores School Concert Chorale’s opening number, the Beatles’ “Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da,” though that is more of preference for the original over the arrangement, rather than the performance. The performance itself was energetic, and the bit with the clothesbaskets was clever. On the other hand, the women’s a cappella group, the Acabellas, surprised me by making me enjoy a Britney Spears song, “Crazy.” With some fun and some energy, the group turned a song that drives me crazy into one that left me wanting more.

The ManChoir also left everyone wanting more with their entire set, from the manly and powerful “Do You Fear the Wind?” to an excellent rendition with Timothy Jones providing a wonderful, entertaining baritone solo. Their last number, the Appalachian folk song, “Cripple Creek,” was a bit disappointing, as the men were a bit sluggish and seemed to be losing steam. They finished the song on a stronger note than when they started.

Rounding out the night, the a cappella groups Floreat and Ardore — the former with a great, energetic rendition of “O, Mistress Mine!” and the latter with a moving rendition of “Misericórdias Dómini.” The Concert Women’s Chorus brought down the house with a trio of “Songs of the African American Tradition,” first, with a great set of “Freedom is Coming,” a South African tune arranged by Henry Leck, to a fun and sassy rendition of Gwyneth Walker’s “Sisters.”

The night ended with The Moores School Concert Chorale performing a pair of Scottish folk songs and a moving rendition of “Amazing Grace,” with a great solo performance by tenor Ryan Frenk, bringing a great finish to an otherwise amazing night by the choruses of the Moores School of Music.

arts@thedailycougar.com

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Monologues performance brings students together

Political science senior Sarah Wood (center) performed “the woman who loved to make vaginas happy.”  |  Aisha Bouderbaden/The Daily Cougar

Political science senior Sarah Wood (center) performed “the woman who loved to make vaginas happy.” | Aisha Bouderbaden/The Daily Cougar

Let’s talk about pain and pleasure, affection and violence, fear and courage. Let’s talk about our mothers, sisters, friends and classmates. Let’s talk about vaginas.

The UH Women’s Resource Center in partnership with the Gamma Rho Lambda sorority and the UH Student Feminist Organization hosted a stirring performance of Eve Ensler’s “Vagina Monologues” this past weekend. The proceeds will be donated to the Women’s Home in Houston.

The monologues were inspired by a series of interviews Ensler conducted with hundreds of women concerning female sexuality, gender-based violence and body image. Audiences chuckled, cried and sympathized as the all-female cast gave voice to millions of women across the world who have had life altering experiences.

“It was my first time seeing the Vagina Monologues,” said psychology junior Krystal Debose. “It was interesting seeing them going over different types of stories. And seeing how for some women their experience was empowering and for others it wasn’t what they thought it would be.”

Although the monologues were fused with quirky comments and jokes, there was a sense of genuine frustration and intrigue throughout. The cast members were dedicated to their roles and each woman contributed their particular style and personalities to the characters.

Creative writing senior Joy Lester met the challenge of playing a significantly older woman with a charming impersonation that was influenced by her late grandmother and an elder family friend.

In the monologue, a woman in her seventies shares an embarrassing nightmare that stemmed from a fear of ejaculating. She experienced the nightmares since her first time ejaculating as a young woman until cancer forced her to get a hysterectomy later in life.

“When I first read this monologue,’ Lester said, “I thought to myself, I wouldn’t want to be that kind of woman who grows up and doesn’t have any knowledge of her body or anything. But it is something that a lot of women go though. They’re afraid to look at and experiment with their own bodies.”

Ensler began her mission to uncover the unspoken truth about vaginas because she was displeased with the taboos surrounding them, and more afraid of the consequences of women not talking about them.

Sarah Wood, political science senior and the Student Feminist Organization president believes that the monologues go beyond appreciating the vagina on an anatomical level, but encourages self-discovery and a universal understanding of womanhood.

“It’s not just about knowing your vagina, but it’s getting to know you and knowing everything about you that makes you who you are,” Wood said. “And also the idea of having to take control and power over your own life. I’m still growing and learning the importance of that.”

In the play Wood performs two monologues, the first about a businesswoman taking the time to discover her clitoris and the other about sex worker in the business of pleasure. Wood is also a leader for the Voices of Planned Parenthood organization on campus.

While the monologues touched on common subjects like pubic hair, feminine hygiene and orgasms, there were portions that covered complex issues like rape and genital mutilation.

Communication junior Tina Loraine performed a monologue Ensler wrote reflecting the pain women in Bosnia and Kosovo experienced during years of mass rape that went unprosecuted.

“It’s a hard piece to do because it is very, very emotional and the imagery is vivid and impactful,” Lorraine said.

Lorraine said she enjoyed listening to “My Vagina is Angry” because it created various shades of emotion with in the piece and gives the audience a chance to breathe before diving into the more graphic material.

The performance ended with a stunning video presentation that raised awareness of the Vagina Day, otherwise known as the V-day movement. V-day is centered around a free, world-wide event celebrated on February 14.

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UH marching band outperforms itself

Daniel Bernard Roumain is currently the artist in residence at the Mitchell center for the arts  |  Courtesy of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell center for the art

Daniel Bernard Roumain is the artist in residence at the Mitchell Center for the Arts | Courtesy of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts presents marching bands like you’ve never seen them before with “En Masse Studies and Etudes.”

The UH Cougar Marching Band presented “En Masse,” a large-scale participatory outdoor performance, on Saturday at Discovery Green.

Unlike traditional marching band concerts, “En Masse” invites audiences to follow the band on its path and experience what it’s like to be inside a “deconstructed parade” as band members disperse into different formations around the park.

In collaboration with band director Troy Bennefield, “En Masse” is the commissioned piece by Mitchell Center artist in residence Daniel Bernard Roumain, with direction by the previous artist in residence Marc Bamuthi Joseph.

Organized into 12 different works running 20 minutes each, the marching band performed a variety of musical arrangements, including the Cougar Fight Song, powerful collaborations with Roumain on the violin and spoken word poetry by Joseph.

Throughout the four-hour performance, the marching band demonstrated consistent enthusiasm with every change of song and formation, bringing life and intrigue to the park and the community.

Just as intended, people embraced the innovative concept of “En Masse,” sharing a rare and pleasant moment with the marching band.

Lianna Esquivel, a saxophone player in the marching band and an education sophomore, said she was happy to see so many people come out for the performance.

“A lot more people are here than I expected,” Esquivel said.

Performing in close proximity to the audience, the band also encouraged children to play with their instruments.

A new and unusual experience for the marching band and audience alike, Esquivel found it brought her closer to the audience.

“It’s amazing, I feel more connected to the audience — especially if they’re right there interacting.”

“We’re making music, having fun, being ourselves and Cougars — it feels really good,” Esquivel said.

Describing “En Masse” as a “meditation through music,” choreographer Joseph was pleased that the piece turned out just as he envisioned it.

“It’s happening exactly how we wanted — a little bit of improvisation, people milling around — really using the park like a museum or a gallery; letting people wander, stare, stay, connect, depart as much as they want to and really using music as the guide to move people through,” Joseph said.

As the band changed locations around the park, performing artist Joseph recited spoken word poetry expressing sentiments of hope and American ideals.

“It’s been a tremendous week in our country’s history, from events on Capitol Hill to the obvious tragedy in Boston and to what’s happening right now in West Texas.”

“It’s a uniquely American moment and a unique moment to gather together, ‘En Masse,’ in America, and the spoken word echoes those ideas of hooding together under liberties, tresses, shelter and hope,” Joseph said.

A modern piece organized and performed with spirit, vision and a sense of togetherness, “En Masse” not only brings life to music, but music to life.

arts@thedailycougar.com

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Music Review: Crystal Castles

As the line continued to get long, fans patiently waited to get inside the venue. From inside, the fans were calling out the band performing that night to get the show started. The lights dimmed and smoke was released on the stage until bright red lights shined on the members, and the show started.

Electronic-experimental band Crystal Castles headlined Saturday night at the House of Blues. The crowd patiently stood in the sold-out venue, waiting for the artists to perform. The only light visible to them was from the stage, and the album cover for “(III),” its third release, was hanging on the curtains.

As the show began, fans were dancing to the rhythm of the music and sang to the catchy songs. The band performed music from all three albums — “Crystal Castles,” “(II)” and “(III)” — which helped the crowd know the music by heart. Songs such as “Crimewave” and “Not in Love” made the crowd dance its feet off, and the show became a party instead.

As singer Alice Glass sang, she had the microphone in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She danced freely and jumped on the amplifiers and tables as she got into the music. Producer Ethan Kath stood in the center of the stage with his instruments and pumped up the crowd by raising his hands. As the crowd became rowdy, Glass jumped off the stage and sang while the audience held her in the air.

Crystal Castles is known for their Gameboy-glitch noise and heavy drum beats that will leave your head pounding. Glass uses bit-pop beats from her synthesizer to change the tune of her voice, creating a robotic, futuristic sound. Kath used a variety of instruments, such as old-school keyboards and synthesizers, to create the lo-fi, gloomy, homemade style.

The band also invited musician Doldrums to tour and perform his own music before its setlist. Having a similar style to Crystal Castles, the 23-year-old musician creates drum beats and echoes to create a soothing, electric sound.

From Toronto, Glass and Kath formed the band in 2004 but only released limited copies of their first single “Alice Practice” as a vinyl. The band released their debut album, “Crystal Castles,” four years later and became a great hit. As the band grew, so did the next couple of albums by changing the sound and style to give them their own experience.

The band has toured all over the country and has performed in festivals such as Counterpoint and Coachella. They have also toured in Europe, Japan and Australia and have made the top charts in those countries.

arts@thedailycougar.com

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