Concert Review Essay

On Thursday December 10th, I attended a concert at Richland College, where set up on the stage, were an array of percussion instruments, but the first half of the show that we watched only used mallet instruments and drums. I had even heard them practicing right before the concert and the sounds escaping through the doors were actually very relaxing. Even then, I set my expectations low, because after all this was a community college and down one of the stairs I had noticed a cockroach scurrying across the floor, but even with that, I know my prejudice was completely wrong; and yes it was. The show began and the most amazing part was the fact that they played without a conductor, Instead at the beginning someone would tap out 3 beats to signal the tempo.This completely blew my mind, because even when one person’s part went off onto a completely different time signature, they

After the first few notes, I was hooked. The music was a alluring mixture of jazz and soft rock; it was honestly unlike any performance that I had been to. I felt the need to be captivated by it. As the players’ mallets seemed to fly across their instruments, such as the marimba, vibraphone, and even steel pan ( the only names that I did know up on that stage were the xylophone, chimes, and drums) , I appreciated having to listen to instruments I would have otherwise never heard. On one side, I payed attention to the actual music, but on the other, I watched all their movements while playing. What caught my attention the most was not the harmony they created, but the raw energy that they were able to convey through their performance. The players would almost be in a sort of dance as they played their