The Story
Life through Music: The Daniel Pearl Music Festival
There really are not many places on campus where you can hear jamming accordion music and impressive beat-boxing in the same night. And if you would prefer a dash of a cappella, a couple laughs and the overpowering crunch of a hard-rock band too, there is only one place for you to go.
The Daniel Pearl Music Festival, presented last Saturday night at Lodge 1, certainly covered all these bases as it provided an eclectic glimpse into music of all kinds, from the familiar groove of a scatting guy with a guitar to impressive and distinctive Middle Eastern melodies.
Hillel, the Jewish student organization on campus, along with the Middle Eastern Cultural Association (MECA), University Centers Activities Board (UCAB) and Multi-cultural Affairs, sponsored the event, which ran from 8:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. It stands as a celebratory response to a tragic loss, a musical stand against the hatred that led to the death of Daniel Pearl. Pearl was a journalist and musician skilled at violin and mandolin; he used those abilities to relate to those in other cultures through teaching music.
Opening the evening was the W&M Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, who demonstrated their great skill at performing what they explained as everything from Egyptian pop to folk songs. A final song, a line dance, was so beguiling that it seemed the only proper response was to stand up and dance around the room, as many did.
Female a cappella group Passing Notes performed second, with a haunting and ethereal opening of 80’s pop hit “99 Red Balloons.” What was interesting was that the more articulate vocals made the stark lyrics referring to the senselessness of war more obvious and painful, especially as final line “I think of you/and let it go” floated by, a touching reference to Pearl himself. Passing Notes also performed a few love songs that were fun and energetic, following through with smooth and sweet sonic harmony that made their performance enjoyable.
Around 9:00 p.m., more students filled in a few of the empty chairs and booths in anticipation of the next act, comedian Frances DiLorenzo. However, despite a few humorous moments, her routine remained incongruent and isolated from the overall positive tone that characterized the rest of the evening’s performances.
Indeed, many of her outright negative bits fell flat, as it seemed she couldn’t relate to the students very well. Instead, she choose to rip on her hotel accommodations and other topics. While some of the jokes were funny and elicited laughs from the audience, (notably her homemade breast implant demonstration) some cheap shots at race seemed especially tasteless given the central focus of the event.
Following DiLorenzo was an hour-long set by Bernie Muller-Thym, from the band Da Vinci’s Notebook. With a guitar and a voice that ranged from folksy growl to soulful croon, Muller definitely had the audience enthralled. Believe me, you have never heard a version of “This Land” until you have heard it rapped by a guy who looks like the frontman from Barenaked Ladies.
Also memorable was his take on Elvis Costello’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding," a touching reflection on the ideals the Daniel Pearl Music Day represents. His heartfelt, personal explanations proved him to be an “open book” to the attendees, but his overall style of music seemed better suited to a smaller block of time- the end of the set dragged somewhat.
This temporary lull was negated almost immediately when the Bagels and Fraylox Klezmer Band took the stage, full of a contagious excitement that permeated the whole venue. Playing traditional Jewish dancing music, they really stirred everyone up in a whirlwind of furious melodies and thumping beats. And yes, there was an accordion. Even if your appreciation of the squeezebox is limited to the occasional interlude by Weird Al Yankovic, its smooth sound gave a fun flavor to the upbeat rhythms. Even when the bass player temporarily lost a string, the rest of the band regrouped in stride and jammed anyways, much to the delight of the audience.
The final act, T.O.W., a hard-rock act harkening from Charlottesville, proved a strong closer. They took charge and blasted through a number of heavy, forceful cuts, with a dynamic sound that even had an autoharp on the lineup. As he introduced the band, lead singer Dan Burrows emphasized that they presented a positive message (even if you could not exactly understand the lyrics) while many other bands of their genre played songs that could be seen as depressing or destructive. And in representing the spirit of the evening, their mission statement is very fitting.
Overall, it was an evening that struck chords all over the musical map, but that was the point. All in all, the astonishing range of music achieved in such a relatively short amount of time left the room with a satisfied feeling of divine harmony- something the world could stand to see more often.