Music

Iforgot to upload music paper on blog yesterday, but I uploaded on D2L by duedate. It was funny that yesternight I was reminded of uploading the paper on the bog because of dreams.Thus, I do it today.


ARI HERSTAND
On Friday night at 8pm in the Cabin, Ari Seth Herstand gave a performance as the special guest for the 40 years celebration of the Cabin. Even though it was a solo stage, he emerged as a full band, delivering an extraordinary show to his audience. It was fortunate for me to have a chance to attend this live music event. He encouraged dynamism and enthusiasm in the audience and connected them, all of us together enjoying the music. However, I was not impressed by his obsession, soft voice, and band’s structure.
Actually, it was an interesting solo show. When I came, I was stunned by the number of people attending the event. All of the tables in the Cabin were filled by a crowd of his fans, even in the hallway, and while some people were seated, some of them stood up in order to not lose the opportunity to see and cheer their icon. With curly hair and comfortable clothes, Ari Herstand charmingly appeared and performed seven songs (“Last day”, “float by on”, etc.) He played with many different instruments including the acoustic guitar, trumpet, tambourine, piano, and harmonica. Even though the dark room was filled with the smell of popcorn, the audience attentively focused on his performance. They clapped their hands and sang sweet melodies such as “bomp barom bomp bao bumb but ta ra rao rao,” along with him. During the break, he told jokes to make the atmosphere warmer, more pleasant, and friendlier. The audience was really excited, instantaneously responding to the jokes. They pleasantly chatted with him as if they were best friends. Thus, Ari Herstand had a power to connect to the audience.
Currently, Ari Herstand has released two albums: Baby Eyes and Whispering Endearment. The genre in those albums mainly included folk, hip hop, jazz, and acoustic. In terms of lyrics, he wrote about memories and experiences of travels within the United States, and the feelings of love and loss of love that arose from his soul and the bottom of his heart. Genuine and real sensations in the lyrics made the audience move, melting our hearts. His fans were serenely seated and avidly and admiringly gazed at him, even ignoring the surrounding people’s movement. Moreover, he stole many girls’ hearts. A lot of girls waited for him after the show, when they immediately stood in a long line in order to talk face to face with him. They certainly did not forget to shake hands, hug, take pictures and obtain his signature on the posters and his albums. It took me about thirty minutes to wait for him in order to conduct the interview. Overall, those constant and real emotions depicted in the lyrics actively impressed the audience. However, the descriptions of the topics were beyond that. He illustrated a melancholic relationship with his girl friend by using provocative words. Lyrics that Ari Herstand poured out became more sexual, “The pillow loses volume below you/ I move to give it life, the blanket has now fallen all on you/ blanket serve one purpose and I am nervous/ I will never find one that keeps me warm/ I have fooled my brain into thinking blankets change with each new owner they find.” Therefore, he seemed to suffer too much obsession with sex.
Nonetheless, people cannot deny the musical abilities of Ari Herstand. Those abilities started to blossom during his childhood. Throughout the interview, I had a glimpse of part of his amazing childhood. Passion, curiosity, and excitement motivated him to learn different kinds of instruments. He taught himself by listening music of Ingrid Michael, Meiko, and Coldplay, Ari Herstand said. He started to play piano at 3 years old, continued to learn trumpet, and at the age of 14, he picked up guitar. Because of his love of music, he chose to major in music when he entered McNally Smith School in St Paul. Surprisingly, he stopped college after one year and was determined to become a performer.
Even though Ari Herstand was skillful at condensing emotions and interweaving different sounds, he did not possess a strong voice. His voice was so sweet, soft and tender like gyros (well seasoned beef-lamb) that he could not succeed in generating high notes for a long time. It became worse when he sang gently and mildly while the music was so loud, noisy, and powerful. Therefore, it was hard for me to hear his voice.
An especially remarkable aspect that everybody always noticed in his solo stage, which was unique for Ari Herstand, was using the loop pedal. This tool allowed him to intertwine different sounds from different instruments including the acoustic guitar, trumpet, tambourine, harmonica, string sounds and beat boxing, delivering a lively, energetic, and vigorous show. Furthermore, because of this technology, sounds were repeated. Ari Herstand started with one instrument and it kept playing with the support of the loop pedal. Following the example, he did the same thing with another instrument. Different repetitive sounds from different instruments were built on the top of each other. As a result, the audience could enjoy different layers of music, producing inspirational and moving music.
With the advance of technology, the loop pedal helped him convey striking performances. Ari Herstand was not bothered by having to collect other members for the band. Instead, he could complete shows by himself and did not have to share profits with other members. Consequently, if any singer cannot seek musicians who match the music style of the band but still wants to generate more capital, the loop pedal is an effective and secure method.
In conclusion, even though I did not like his obsession, weak voice, and lack of other band members, I still enjoyed the show. He brought not only inspiration, stimulation, and happiness for audience but also interaction between the singer and his fans. We also should praise for his talents and nonstop efforts of tailoring his show on his own. I will definitely come to his show next year. Finally, I hope his live DVD of the performance in St. Olaf University will acquire success.


















Work Cited

Ari Herstand Whispering Endearments. “Lyrics: Whispering Endearments.” < http:/ /www.ariherstand.com/lyrics.php>. 03 Mar, 2009. 08 Mar, 2009.
Herstand, Ari. Personal Interview. 07 Mar, 2009.