The down-home feel

Budding music reviewer Amara Banks swung by the first Pop Up Concert of Miller Theatre’s 2015-16 season.

Miller Theatre hosted a Pop Up Concert last night featuring, as usual, talented musicians with unconventional styles. There were three performers, each demonstrating an unusual mastery of a different instrument. Inside the theatre itself, the main light source was a single string of Christmas lights, haphazardly strung up on a beam above the center of the stage. An assortment of chairs on stage suggested an unusual intimacy between the audience and the performers. A bar offering free wine and beer sat in a shadowy corner of the auditorium.

The show began with about five minutes of the same note being played on a trombone. Steven Parker, the instrumentalist, delivered this note with confidence and determination. Personally, my music taste isn’t catered toward this sub-genre, so I struggled with finding beauty in his song. The audience, on the other hand, appeared to enjoy the piece greatly—the applause for his performance rocked the room.

The next act came from Adrián Sandí, a bass clarinetist. While keeping with the trend of abstract sound as demonstrated by Parker, his performance was also strikingly different. He carried his notes to great heights and low valleys, all in a staccato rhythm. His dynamic body language was also highly engaging—as his notes peaked he would arch his back and look toward the ceiling; as they dropped, he would curl forward and scrutinize the floor. His piece lasted about eight minutes, and was, like Parker’s, treated to a delighted audience’s cheers.

Lauren Randnofsky gave the third act, in equally unorthodox fashion. Her tone was agreeably dark and unsettling, like something out of a (high-budget) horror film. Like Sandí, Randofsky also performed with her entire body and would arch her back as she reached her shrill, high notes. Ironically enough, she chose to play with a relaxing ocean wave soundtrack whispering on behind her live piece.

The show concluded with another piece from Parker on the trombone. This time, instead of playing one note for the duration, he started off by playing no notes at all. For the first minute and a half of his set, Parker toyed with various props to mimic what I took to be the sound of air being blown into a paper cup. As his performance progressed, the piece took on a more sinister tone, but the airiness persisted.

The performance was definitely nothing like anything I had ever experienced. When the concert began, I was bewildered and unable to genuinely appreciate what was in front of me. But regardless of my personal taste, the talent fostered in the performers’ hands and minds is undeniably astounding and worth witnessing in person at least once. The artists made use of their instruments in a way that is unique to the popular music world, one which can only broaden the perspectives of their listeners, as it did mine.

The pop up events take place about every month, are usually free, and provide complimentary refreshments.

Middle school dance courtesy of Amara Banks