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April 28, 2015
Jackie Evancho ‘Awakens’ Luhrs center with new music ELDON GRAHAM
Multimedia Editor The H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center was awakened to the musical style of Jackie Evancho. The night of April 23, Shippensburg University welcomed Evancho. Her smile brightened the auditorium as she entered the stage and waved to the audience with an innocent look of joy. The Pittsburgh native, who is only 15 years old, sang her heart out to a packed audience. Her blissful voice elevated the ambiance of the Luhrs center. It is astonishing how someone can be so young but have the grace of a seasoned veteran. Her latest album, “Awakening” was released early last fall and debuted No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart. Evancho gained stardom at the age of 10. She was the runner-up on the fifth season of “America’s Got Talent” (AGT). Although she did not win on AGT, she did take that opportunity and make something of it. Her transition from contemporary singing to her opera-styled singing is flawlessly executed. Under the direction of Peter Kiesewalter and an amazing orchestra behind her,
Evancho sung various songs off “Awakening” and songs from “The Phantom of the Opera.” Not only does Evancho love singing some of her favorite songs from “The Phantom of the Opera,” but she has high hopes to one day play the leading woman Christine. “I think I can pull it off,” she said with a smile full of confidence. The audience reciprocated as she moved across the stage singing so beautifully you could feel the emotion from the song, “The Music of The Night.” Her rendition was successfully performed with great pose. She sang the song “The Impossible Dream,” and dedicated it to her family and all kinds of families. She expressed that she knows she would not be where she is without the love and support of her family. She also included the audience as her family. “I love you,” she said, many time throughout the night. Love was the theme of the night. Evancho would go on to sing a song called “Je t’aime,” which means I love you, in French. The mood took a heart-warming turn as Evancho sang the song, “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” another song from “The Phantom of the Opera.” “I love singing this song because it makes me think of my dad,” Evan-
cho said. The auditorium could not contain the burst of emotion in the room. After a brief intermission, the night got even more exciting as Evancho would pull out some dance moves. Evancho may sing like an angel but apparently has two left feet. “People say I’m not a good dancer and that’s OK,” she said humbly. Her dancing was not as bad as she led everyone to believe. It is hard to miss a beat when you are singing and dancing to U2’s “With or Without You,” a song off her “Awakening” album. The entire night was filled with grace and elegance all the way up to the final song. The final song of the night was “Think of Me,” another one of Evancho’s favorites from “The Phantom of the Opera.” It was a very subtle and classy goodbye from a very classy young woman. Whatever the future holds for Evancho on her journey, I know many will be delighted by her wonderful voice and get a glimpse of her wonderful personality and amazing heart.
‘Avengers’ previews receive mixed reactions LAURA KREISER
Managing Editor “Avengers: Age of Ultron” hits theaters this weekend, and while there is more than enough hype, considering how well previous Marvel movies have done, “Age of Ultron” has received mixed reviews. Publications, such as Rolling Stone, seem to have nothing bad to say about “Age of Ultron.” “Age of Ultron’ is a whole summer of fireworks packed into one movie,” Peter Travers said. Travers talks about how Joss Whedon, the writer-director of “Age of Ultron,” uses the movie to make Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye darker and more twisted characters than in previous movies, thus adding more depth to who they are. On the other hand, publications such as The Verge, do not seem to have much good to say about the movie. In the scene where the Avengers are having a party together, Bryan Bishop says the interaction seems fake. The characters seem to have lost their development from previous movies. “To sell the idea of a massive, ongoing story, Marvel needs to keep its character development as consistent as it keeps its mythology,”
Bishop said. He also accused Whedon of being “out of sync with the [Marvel] universe” and that the material in this movie is going backward instead of moving forward. Bishop also adds that Whedon has said publicly that the movie was tiring and hard to pull off. However, Rotten Tomatoes gave “Age of Ultron” an 81 percent, or a 7.3 out of 10. It also put the critics’ consensus as, “Exuberant and eye-popping, ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ serves as a suitably satisfying sequel, reuniting its predecessor’s unwieldy cast with a few new additions and a worthy foe.” “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is about Tony Stark putting together a peacekeeping program that scans the earth for potential dangers so they can be eliminated. The program then goes haywire and creates Ultron, whose goal is to wipe out the problem — humans. This brings the Avengers together in an effort to save humanity. So whether these reviews make a moviegoer think twice before going to see “Age of Ultron” or not, it will come down to how each audience member interprets Whedon’s film. It also comes down to how they feel it sets up what is to come next in the Marvel universe.
The Hello Strangers hit Thought Lot CATHERINE AMORIELLO Staff Writer
` The Hello Strangers combined a unique array of instruments and an indie-folk vibe to bring audiences to their feet at the Thought Lot on April 24. Before the complete group began its performance on stage, three of the guitarists and the drummer from The Hello Strangers introduced themselves as the Sons of Pitches, informing the audience that this was their first live performance as a group. This is a trend a lot of bands are following as of late, starting sets as different “bands” that have the
same members as the headlining act. The members of the group clearly had a sense of humor and enjoyed this act of spontaneity. They described their sound as jazz/country and played a few instrumentals to begin the show. With the steel guitar making a very Hawaiian sound, the music they created made you feel as if you were at the beach. I instantly liked the sound and was excited to hear more. After the Sons of Pitches was finished, the whole group came out on stage and began the main show. I was pleasantly surprised when they began their first song, titled “Ruined.”
The group had an indie-folk sound, mixed with a little country, playing instruments such as the bass, electric and acoustic guitar, drums and tambourine. They also mixed in unique instruments, such as the guiro, a Latin American percussion instrument; harmonica; shaker can; accordion; steel guitar; and even a beer bottle tapped with a metal rod. The Hello Strangers are led by lead vocalist Larissa Chace Smith and Brechyn Chace, two sisters from our very own Cumberland Valley. They began their music careers officially in Austin, Texas, in 2006, when they wrote their first song together, titled “Pregnant in
Jail.” For its performance, the band played a variety of songs, old and new, such as “Oh He’ll Drown,” “Caribou,” “Holy Unholy,” “Poor Dear” and “What It Takes To Break A Heart.” The audience could clearly see how passionate the group was about their music by the way they moved and played together. The audience could also see how much fun the group had together by the way they interacted with each other and cracked jokes between sets. They clearly play music because they love it. Together, Smith and Chace create a haunting harmony that draws you in completely. Any listener can
tell that the group is aiming to create a Texas-like sound with the way the sisters sing and how they use different guitar styles. Although the show ran rather long, I was enraptured the entire time. The music made me homesick for Texas, even though I have only ever been there once. I am also normally not a folk or country music fan, but The Hello Strangers were so good, I ended up buying their album halfway through the show. The Hello Strangers are an amazing band with a sound that is not played enough these days. For more information about The Hello Strangers, visit its website at www.thehellostrangers.com.