The stage brightens as headliner Wilco performs at the Tennessee Theatre on Friday night. Both photos by Rrita Hashani • The Daily Beacon
Big Ears showcases, celebrates avant-garde talent DJ Rupture performing at The Standard on Saturday night.
Megan Patterson Managing Editor No matter the music festival you attend, the line up is always going to be daunting. Who to go see, when to take breaks and how to fit everything in is an impossible, wonderful dilemma, and Big Ears failed to be an exception to that rule. I did my best, however, to catch all the different aspects of what does make Big Ears exceptional. Friday, March 24 I began my festival experience a day late with nief-norf, a contemporary music collaboration based in Knoxville that centers around percussion-based experimentation. Going in with this expectation, niefnorf met my expectations. I was skeptical when I saw a full stage set up and only one man standing on it. But, he proved that one man with a snare drum can make you experience Orion’s Belt during his performance of “Constellations.” While the music was enthralling, it was difficult to focus with the sound of clanging dishes and voices in the background. The Square Room is an okay venue for other musical acts, but when the performance relies so heavily on subtle shifts in dynamics and intricate melodies, its location behind Cafe 4 becomes a huge problem.
Volume 133 Issue 42
utdailybeacon.com @utkdailybeacon
Next, I traveled to the Knoxville Museum of Art for a performance by the UT Electro Acoustic Ensemble. This group of students improvises using acoustic instruments and electronic equipment. The location of the KMA allowed the group to create a very active, multifaceted performance. Musicians flowed from the large hall at the back of the museum up into the exhibit rooms on the first floor and back. The instruments pair in each room seemed to correspond with the artwork, and the combination of auditory and visual stimuli enhanced each other. One of the more interesting aspects of the performance was the variety of objects used as “instruments” and even how the instruments themselves were used by the musicians. One man stood with only a microphone and gave the most literal example of using his voice as an instrument that I have ever seen. And, toward the end of the performance, the musicians one by one tossed their keys onto the ground in front of them to add to the cacophony of sounds winding down in the hall. Next I switched gears and headed to Jackson Terminal for the second segment of the poetry slam competition underway. This was one of my favorite parts of last year’s festival, so my hopes were high for the performance. See BIG EARS on Page 2
Monday, March 27, 2017