Jack Lion performing. Image via Izzy Dorothy

Jack Lion kicked off the show as the opener with a roar of powering bass, trumpet, drums, and syntenic sound. The band is local to Iowa City, and consists of drummer Justin LeDuc, bassist Drew Morton, and trumpeter Brian Lewis Smith. Their use of techno music with jazz instruments created a new, calmer sound. Their music felt like the oceans with crashing waves and peaceful tides to show the build up and release with the music played by the three musicians.

The entire vibe of the band reminded me a lot of Finding Nemo with the calm blue surroundings but also the intense chaos of the fish that Marlin in the movie meets. Maybe I get that impression from the vivid marine lights covering the performers. Through out their performance each member really stood out with solos of their own. I enjoyed the drummer’s interesting use of a scarf and shirts as mufflers for his drums during the songs. The red scarf really made the performers pop out. Overall they were able to create a spectacular opening to the show and established the electronic jazz vibe to continue through the rest of the night.

Tahjia Dorothy reciting one of her poems. Image via Izzy Dorothy

The next performer of the night was Iowa City poet Tahjia Brantley, a large crowd favorite given from the loud applause and yells she received for crossing the stage. Her performance was a bit different from the night’s other musical numbers. She surely did not disappoint with her series of poems, consisting of topics ranging from womanhood, to sexual identity, and to her relationship with her parents.

Brantley’s words came out calm and collected but had such a powerful and influential meaning behind them. She used such an interesting combination of words that can easily set a descriptive scene for the audience. Brantley is not afraid to show the dark realities she faces. Overall her poetry was an immersive experience that had me searching for what some of her descriptive words meant at the end.

Kassa Overall and crew performing. Image via Izzy Dorothy

Kassa Overall and his amazing band brought in a bang with their performance. Overall’s music is heavily influenced by the percussive instruments in jazz. This created a new, interesting sound for the rap lines over it, occasionally showing a chorus of the performers singing a phrase together. This mixture of sound can range from impressing to solemn, and from relaxing to insanity all within one show.

Three other people performed along side Overall at the concert. Each of his band members were extremely talented with their own instruments. On the keyboard was Ian Finkelstein, and playing the congas was Giulio Xavier Cetto, while Tomoki Sanders played soprano saxophone, bongos, and pretty much any other percussion instrument you can think off. All of them sang back up vocals too. Throughout the show while performing, everyone except Ian had a chance on the drum set in each song. It was incredible to see the talent that each member had, Kassa Overall included, performing a killer two minute long drum solo.

The music is not the only attraction to Kassa Overall and his troupe, but their spectacular stage presence as well. Each song never fell into a dull moment with Overall’s high energy and humor. During his opening number he jumped into the crowd while rapping to plop down right next to one of the audience members. In one of his songs he pretended to be floating mid-air, mentioning how he was imagining the show as a music video. One of my particular favorites of his quips was during a call and response song where he ran around the crowd, getting them to chant the word “HOT”, and pointed the mic right at me to shout it. I was shocked but felt so lucky to have picked that seat.

Overall wasn’t the only member to have great stage presence either, but Tomoki Sanders also did so with his fashionable bright orange wig that he sported with a cartoonish purple hat with a pink flower on top, matched with some killer red sunglasses. Seemingly jumping straight out of a Doctor Suess book, Sanders brought the magical energy to the crowd with his impressive soprano saxophone playing, and intense cowbell love. He ran around the stage and audience while aggressively keeping the beat on the cowbell.

Image via Izzy Dorothy

As the show came to a close Overall gave the statement, “Here’s one more slightly coherent one before we make our way away,” before crashing into the jazz song “The Lava is Calm“. As the smooth instrumentals began to play out, audience members made their way onto the floor for a final dance party before the night was over. We were lucky to snag one more song out of the band with their unique remix of the song “Drop It Like It’s Hot” by Snoop Dogg. Overall, Overall did an spectacular job at entertaining the entire audience that evening and it was very much worth the five hour drive that the band admitted to just to be here on tour.

The post Kassa Overall’s Ode to Percussion for Track Zero appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The most enthralling part of this experience was his medium. The entire soundtrack was just a guy playing drums really really well. My father had been a part of a heavy metal cover band when I was a child, so I have a pretty good amount of nostalgia attached to a drumkit.

When I walked into the Englert, I noticed that there were a lot of people waiting in line to buy tickets, as though they’d decided to attend last minute. A lot of people were standing around and talking as well, most of them middle-aged or older. The theater itself was comfortably vacant in the sense that it wasn’t crowded, but there were enough people there that it was still busy.

When the event started, Sanchez came onto the stage and was greeted with applause. He began by telling us he wanted to explain his history as a drummer and how he came up with the Birdman soundtrack.

He tells the audience about growing up in Mexico City and that he’d been drumming since he was five years old. He pursued drumming as he moved to the United States and that he became a US citizen two months ago. “The timing on that couldn’t have been better,” he proclaims with the loudest laughter that would take place that night.

He discusses that the director, producer, and writer of Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu, was particular about how he wanted the soundtrack to sound.

They would sit in a studio and work through each and every scene to make sure that it was how Iñárritu liked it but was also improvised to Sanchez’s liking. He then told us that he improvised all the time during these live performances and that we would be hearing things no one else had. A performance that was completely unique.

As the movie begins, it’s easy to tell how tied the drums are to the film. The first seconds of the movie reveal a quote, the letters revealed a bit at a time. With every beat Sanchez made, a new set of letters were revealed. There was such a clear amount of precision involved with the soundtrack, that it was easy to forget that it was being performed in front of us.

As the scenes of the movie continued, the percussion created the largest intensity in a way that none of the actors could’ve. Sanchez knew the movie forward and backward and was able to use his drums to elaborate on the film. They drew out movement in the scene, literally as the characters made gestures and slammed doors, and figuratively with their emotion.

The beginning of the credits was very similar to the intro when it came to the letters appearing with the beat of the drums. I thought about how it would be such an honor to know how my name sounded to Antonio Sanchez.

As the credits kept coming, Sanchez kept playing and created the most influential and intense part of the performance. At this point, I think he was improvising since there was nothing going on in terms of plot anymore. He was moving so fast and making such detailed rhythms that would change every two seconds. He was playing like nobody could tell him what to do, like his kit shared some kind of extension cord that connected to his mind. He just knew what he was doing, but gave off the impression that he was just experimenting with sound at the same time.

The only word that I can come up with to describe the performance is “phenomenal.” The movie itself was captivating, naturally, since it won Best Picture at the Oscars in 2015 along with three other awards. I left not understanding it, and I found it enthralling but obscure and fascinating but also really bizarre. The cinematography was beautiful, and probably the most appealing part of viewing it.

However, Sachez put his entire soul into playing his set and made a specific effort to put on a spectacular show. I can tell that he could have sat there after the credits had rolled past and drummed for us forever. Going to the Englert last night wasn’t about watching a movie, it was about listening to the music that was designed with it. I wish it could’ve gone longer.

Listen to the Birdman soundtrack here or on Spotify below.

The post Show Review: BiRDMAN LiVE with Antonio Sanchez @ The Englert Theatre appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Ra Ra Riot has been putting out music for almost a decade, with previous albums such as “Ra Ra Riot”(2003), “The Rhumb Line” (2008), “The Orchard” (2010), and “Beta Love” (2013). They are an indie pop band from Syracuse, NY consisting of five members: Milo Bonacci, Wes Miles, Mathieu Santos, Rebecca Zeller, Kenny Bernard and John Pine.

“Need Your Light” is their newest release and it has a very obvious 80’s pop influence. It is full of sneaky breakdowns, heavy beats, and synth-filled builds with sudden releases.

The album begins with a running start, “Water” was a great choice as the first track. It is very upbeat and is full of heavy percussion. “Absolutely” gets you hooked with its positive, uplifting sound. It puts you in a motivated mood with its anthem-like lyrics. The synth-filled track, “Foreign Lovers,” follows. Like most of the other tracks, it is very upbeat and makes you want to get up and move around with its unexpected breakdowns.

The title track, “I Need Your Light” starts off very slow with an almost whisper-like vocal speaking about how he needs this girl because he, “can’t see nothing without your light.” Eventually, it builds into a very fantastic piece.

“Bad Times” is one of my favorite tracks on the album with its fast-paced, synth-filled sound. It has very heavy beats and kept me hooked the entire time.

“Call Me Out” reminds me of an almost fairy tale-esque sound when the track first starts with the prominent violin; it slowly builds up to a very happy beat. Chock-full of more heavy beats “Instant Breakup” is another buoyant track that will make you want to dance around your bedroom in your underwear. You can hear the 80’s pop influence in “Every Time I Am Ready to Hug” with the added clapping, happy sound, and sudden releases.

Unlike everyone’s favorite childhood place to play, the next track “Bouncy House” isn’t quite as fun. I think it was one of the least enjoyable tracks on the whole album. “Suckers” was about the same, they were just very slow tracks and not a very good way to end the album.

Overall, I think it was a really good album. It kept my attention for the majority of the time, which is a success in my opinion. I would give it a C+ because I enjoyed it, but it is not something I would listen to on my own time. I would recommend it to anyone that appreciates indie rock and 80’s pop music more than I do.

Listen to the full album here:

The post Album Review: “Need Your Light” by Ra Ra Riot appeared first on KRUI Radio.