I don't remember the title of the concert, but my nephew's high school drumline, with invited percussion ensembles from two other high schools, gave a concert Saturday Night. It was Stomp-esque in nature and was quite good.
Like Stomp, Nephew's group created scenes in which everyday props were used to create rhythmic tone poetry. It opened with Nephew and friends using tubes of different sizes and followed with a trash can serenade that was visually stunning. Also a piece using traffic cones and another using cleaning tools. It was all very clever.
Another piece performed by Nephew's group involved grinding tools and other tools. This piece was sparktacular. My only complaint was that, while the three or so players using the grinders had eye protection, other students making drumming noises around them did not. It could be that they were all far enough away. But those sparks flew pretty far.
Of the two guest ensembles, the steel drum band from another high school stood out. My high school has a steel drum band ten times the size of this one-but this band absolutely rocked the house. Whereas my school's steel drum band learns by the numbers, this band worked from charts and actually had very strong musicianship. Not only that, but they were real performers with a real sense of showmanship. Their energy was just unstoppable.
And they played a real variety of music. For three numbers, they actually had a singer, who sang "Come on Eileen," "Take on Me," and a song that I have apparently forgotten. They even did hip-hop. And made me like it!
The drumline from the other high school was pretty good. But what was fascinating to me was one of their percussionists was this kid who had two severely withered arms-one completely useless. Apparently his dad is a professional drummer. He rigged this electronic drum kit, the likes of which I have never seen, that allowed his son to play using his one semi-functional arm and his two feet. And the kid rocked.
It was a fun night.
One last highlight was a piece where my nephew and three other guys created percussion using repeated vocal patterns, which I guess was pretty much improvised.
I am one proud and impressed uncle.
They were selling glow-in-the-dark drumsticks and practice pads made from traffic cone bases. I bought a set.
Perhaps a new musical direction.
2 comments:
Send some of those steel drums our way.
Wow, that concert sounds like it was fun. That's the kind of stuff I like to see in high schools. Ramona has an awesome band but I think the director gets a little too focused on competing and getting into the big parades. I don't see too much thinking outside the box with that band. They are very much in the box and in their own little compartments. The kids are getting an excellent music education but I think they could be having more fun. I wish Paige could have seen that concert. She would have loved the Stomp thing.
Yeah, the concert was fun. They were all so good, close your eyes and you'd never know they were HS kids.
They've got a great band Director and his assistant, Matt who is a great drumline guy. Does all the charts himself and is open to doing pretty much anything. It's been a wonderful way for my son to hone his musical explorations. It's wonderful that they're more than a marching band. All three schools that performed have Matt as their percussion leader and we're danged thankful for that.
Next school year I'll let you know when they perform. I promise.
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