Okay, before we get rolling, let me just say:
YP Underground. Tonight. Go.
What's YP Underground, you say?
It's a monthly, informal event where young professionals get together and... well, let's be honest, drink. It's not an excuse to network or exchange business cards, but rather an opportunity to meet people who are post-college but pre-PTA. Because, let's face it; if you aren't a student, a boomer or a parent, A2 has a tendency to forget you exist.
Your hosts are the ever-ubiquitous (I really do like that word)
Rebecca Lopez Kriss and
Angela Kujava, and it's usually a damn fine time. It's at the Full Moon Tavern on Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor, starting at 5PM and going until God knows when.
Okay, back to our regularly scheduled program...With all the quality shows playing at the Michigan Theater this week you might be better off just dropping your sleeping bag in a corner and camping out. Sure, meals of popcorn and Junior Mints might get old, but the entertainiment certainly won't.
And when did the Michigan Theater get so damn hip? I mean, yeah, it's always been the belle of the ball when it comes to cinema, but lately, the grand 'ol movie house has been ground zero for some spectacular live acts.
This week brings Ani DiFranco, the Manhattan Short Film Festival, Brandi Carlile (the countried answer to Norah Jones) and, of course, my main pick, indie-darlings
Grizzly Bear.If you haven't heard of 'em, what can I say other than, "Get a clue"? Fragmenting, distorting and otherwise roughing up folk pop, these Radiohead openers wow with their catchy instrumental breaks and soaring four-part harmonies. They trade in the kind of squelching experimental pop that turns traditionalists off and audio adventurers on.
What's interesting is that
University Musical Society is the brains behind their Ann Arbor arrival. It's a ballsy move, expanding their arts palette past programming for classical music station listeners and Shakespearean fanboys. To be fair, UMS has been slowly bringing in more acts with cross generational appeal. Mos Def from two years ago immediately comes to mind.
Programming Manager Mark Jacobson says, "Grizzly Bear represents an extremely high level of achievement in popular music, and that aligns itself with our mission to present the very best in music, dance and theater."
But does it mean UMS is hoping to rope in a younger generation of concert goers, namely younger GenX'ers and older Millennials?
"I hear what you're saying," answers Jacobson, "And as someone who is 34, I understand the desire of people our age to see more of these kinds of events. But I wouldn't say it's a signal flare that we're going to become rock promoters."
No need to do that, Mark. UMS already sells more than 17,000 tickets each year to U-M students. So, there's no shortage of young audience members. Still, sometimes it's nice for us folks in the demographic middle to get a little love.
Grizzly Bear plays Saturday night. Get your tickets
here.
And as an added treat, UMS has hired
Concentrate's ever-so talented photographer Dave Lewinski to shoot you in “Your 15 Minutes of Fame.” It's gratis for those attending the concert. How nifty cool is that? Picture-taking starts at 7:30PM.
Remember to consume your entertainment locally. And for the rest of this week's recommendations, check out
FilterD.
-Jeff Meyers, Editor
EVENT NEWS FLASH: If you're a fan of NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" then you'll probably want to check out political satirist Mo Rocca's public talk at
Blau Auditorium at the Ross School of Business, Friday (Sept 25) from 2-3PM.
Rocca was former contributor to NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno and former correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
His talk: "Making It Up as I Go Along: Satire in an Absurd World," is free and open to the public.
Want your event in FilterD? We only pick six each week!
Press releases for upcoming events in the Ann Arbor area should be sent by the Sunday before to
jeff@concentratemedia.com. Please include high res jpg images that are at least 500 pixels wide.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.