4B — Thursday, February 4, 2016
the b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Taylor Mac soars 
through decades 

By ALLIE TAYLOR 

For the Daily

Performance artist and drag 

queen Taylor Mac, an actor, 
singer-songwriter, playwright, 
director, 
producer and 
above all, 
entertainer, will 
take the stage 
at the Lydia 
Mendelssohn 
Theater on Feb. 
5 and 6. Mac, 
who uses ‘judy’ 
as a preferred 
gender 
pronoun, is in 
the process of 
developing and 
writing “A 24-Decade History of 
Popular Music”: a show where 
judy will perform nonstop for 
24 hours, covering 240 years 
of music. Mac will sing an hour 
of each decade’s most popular 
music, starting from the birth 
of the United States of America, 
all the way up to 2016. The show 
this upcoming weekend will 
consist of songs from the decades 
1956-1986.

In an interview with The 

Michigan Daily, Mac chuckled 
when asked what judy’s favorite 
decade to perform was.

“They’re all like children,” 

judy said. “I love them all for 
what they are. They’re such a 
delight to do. Some are harder 
than others, but exciting to do 
because they are harder.”

In the performance this 

weekend, judy will perform these 
three decades for the very first 
time.

“That means (the show) is 

going to have a little chaos in 
it, which usually means it will 

be more fun. Anything could 
happen.” 

Mac has been highly praised 

by The New Yorker, The New 
York Times and New York 
Magazine, and TimeOut 
magazine has deemed judy a 
future theater legend. Judy 
is more than just an actor or 
playwright (judy has also 
written 17 plays) — Mac 
is an artist and a hybrid, 
encapsulating the essence 
of what it means to be a true 
entertainer.

“Being a hybrid isn’t 

something you are taught as 
a child,” judy said. “It’s not 
like people, when you’re a kid, 
say: ‘You know, you could be a 
performance artist drag queen!’ 
” Judy’s actions and ideas of 
non-conformity inspire the 
theater world, as well as inspire 
those who are generally figuring 
out who and what they want to 
be.

Mac’s paradigm-shattering 

plays, behaviors and 
performances connect to judy’s 
audiences so well because of the 
way in which judy approaches 
the crowd and communicates 
with them.

“One of the things I try to 

do is to figure out what the 
audience needs,” Mac said. “It’s 
kind of my job as a theater artist 
to be a student of humanity. One 
of the things I do is say, ‘Well, 
what do I need?’ and because 
I’m, well, a person, if I need 
something, I’m guessing other 
people in the world might need 
it as well.”

A big aspect of judy’s 

artistic philosophy is the idea 
that theater is about healing. 
Judy hopes to bring everyone 
together and consider things 

that people normally may not 
spend time with. Through this, 
judy hopes that “we can heal 
ourselves a little bit from the 
things that are destructive 
in our culture.” Mac is a true 
entertainer that wants people 
who come to the show to laugh 
and be able to experience a full 
range of who they are as people 
and as a community. Above all, 
judy wants people to have a 
“freakin’ good time.”

What’s so wonderful about 

judy’s art form is its spontaneity 
— Mac’s favorite part of judy’s 
work.

“That moment on stage, 

where you know what you’re 
going to do and then something 
different ends up happening 
in the room — you have to go 
with it. You’re doing something 
completely different (than what 
you had planned), and everyone 
is on board and everyone knows 
it’s just happening right then 
and there. That moment is 
glorious.”

Judy’s performances are 

continually executed with an 
ever-present spark. Each show 
is a new experience for Mac and 
the audience, keeping judy’s 
passion alive and audacious.

“We’re doing two shows in 

Ann Arbor,” judy said. “So if you 
see the first night and then come 
the next night, you’ll see two 
different shows. You’ll see the 
same outline, but every single 
night we perform is different. 
And that’s what so exciting.”

When asked what message 

Mac hoped to send to the 
college audience judy will be 
performing for next weekend, 
judy responded.

“Oh, I just hope we hang out 

together.”

Taylor Mac

Feb. 5 & 6, 
8 p.m. 

Lydia Men-
delssohn 
Theater

$40-$50

$12-$20 (Stu-

dent Tickets)

TAYLOR MAC

Taylor Mac isn’t playing by your rules.

COMMUNITY CULTURE

NBC

Yellow is the new black.

By ALEX INTNER

Daily Arts Writer

There are some reviews where 

I just want to write “that was 
fine” and move on. Some shows 
just aren’t 
doing any-
thing par-
ticularly 
remarkable 
or inter-
esting, 
but they 
make for a 
moderately 
entertain-
ing way of 
passing 43 
minutes 
of my day. 
“You, Me 
and the Apocalypse” fits right 
into that mold. It’s not reinvent-
ing any wheels or doing any-
thing distinct, but it does bring 
a quirky tone to a dire situation, 
making for a fun hour of televi-
sion which could easily turn into 
an enjoyable miniseries.

“You, Me and the Apoca-

lypse” takes place in the 34 days 
between humanity’s discovery 

of an asteroid that’s about to hit 
the Earth and the asteroid’s 
impact. A seemingly random 
group of people end up in an 
underground bunker at the time 
of impact, and the show tells the 
story of how they got there.

“You, Me and the Apoca-

lypse” ’s biggest issue is how 
bland most of the character-
izations are. The first episode 
works hard to give a backstory 
to a handful of the core char-
acters, but it doesn’t do a good 
enough job of giving them 
depth within the backstory. 
Take Rhonda McNeil (Jenna 
Fischer, “The Office”), a death 
row inmate taking the fall for 
her son’s hacking of the National 
Security Agency. In the pre-
miere, she moves into a maxi-
mum security prison and puts 
herself in hot water with the 
people who are there. Fischer 
brings a sense of warmth and 
fear to a character who barely 
has it on the page. Rhonda has 
a thin characterization, only 
brought to life by the performer.

The one exception to this rule 

is Rob Lowe’s (currently on Fox 
in “The Grinder”) character, 

Father Jude Sutton. Sutton runs 
the “Devil’s Advocate” divi-
sion within the Vatican, which 
works to take down people 
who are being presented for 
sainthood. He smokes and he 
curses, so he’s an incredibly 
unconventional priest. That’s 
what makes him stand out; 
he’s not a standard type. Lowe 
brings a natural charisma and 
joke-telling ability that make 
the priest’s barbs that much 
more piercing. He’s the charac-
ter who I’m most interested to 
see grow over the course of the 
series because his foundation is 
the strongest.

Yet there’s a certain quirk to 

everything “You, Me and the 
Apocalypse” does. It’s familiar 
to anyone who’s seen “Shaun of 
the Dead.” It makes light of the 
end of the world. However, this 
series doesn’t have Edgar Wright 
at the helm to bring a visual 
inventiveness to the jokes. Still, 
that doesn’t mean the series isn’t 
good or isn’t worth watching. 
There’s enough in Lowe’s char-
acter alone to support a series, 
and hopefully the ensemble 
around him grows as well.

B+

You, Me 
and the 
Apocalypse

Miniseries 
Premiere 

Thursdays 
at 8 p.m.

NBC

TV REVIEW

TRANSVIOLET

Transviolet, you’re turning violet!

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

CATHERINE BAKER

Daily Arts Writer

“When you do find some-

thing that you care about, don’t 
be afraid to share it, and get 
involved. There is nothing cool 
about ‘not giving a fuck.’ That’s 
just lazy. I do give a fuck. And 
I’m not afraid to say it.” – Trans-
violet in an interview with 
TMRW Magazine.

Once again, Spotify’s Discover 

feature came in great use to me 
three weeks ago when making 
the long, arduous trek from Chi-
potle back to my apartment. I 
owe many burritos to the genius 
who made it possible for my love 
of relatively small bands to be 
satisfied this easily. On this par-
ticular, chilly January evening, 
Transviolet played through my 
crackling headphones and I fell 
in love. It just sounded so cool.

While it was more difficult 

than anticipated to find informa-
tion on this lovely band, I have 
since discovered that Transviolet 
is an LA-based quartet com-
prised of band members Sarah 
McTaggart, Judah McCarthy, 
Michael Panek and Jon Garcia. 
Utilizing no website or Wiki-

pedia page, Transviolet instead 
relies on their own social media 
to foster their relationship with 
fans and create an intimate and 
personal platform. Releasing its 
debut single in July 2015, Trans-
violet has since skyrocketed in 
popularity after receiving public 
endorsements from Katy Perry 
and Harry Styles. In September 
2015, its first self-titled EP hit 
the charts as the band played 
on “The Late Late Show with 
James Corden.”

Transviolet takes the best 

aspects of electronica, pop and 
synth to create a sound entirely 
its own. The opening track of 
Transviolet, “Girls Your Age,” is 
Lana Del Rey meets electropop. 
It’s sultry, seductive and cynical 
rolled into one when McTaggart 
sings, “Bad boy talking fast / 
Talking dirty / He tells me that 
I’m hot / So I tell him that I love 
him.” While the instrumentals 
remain minimalistic in order for 
the lyrics to take precedence, 
the vocal skill makes up for any 
loss in bass. In a nod to del Rey, 
the song ends with, “Live fast 
while you’re young, honey.”

“Bloodstream,” my personal 

favorite from the EP, takes on a 

heavier rock sound with strong 
vocals and crashing drums. 
Consistent, underlying synth 
retains the electronic vibe, yet 
brings a angsty edge to an oth-
erwise upbeat song. “New Bohe-
mia” continues to make social 
observations without sounding 
preachy. It speaks to the new 
generation and urges us to chal-
lenge preconceived notions 
and make our own mark on the 
world, insisting, “In waves we 
crash, one voice / Making head-
lines just for kicks / Trying to get 
love, not trying to get rich.” 

The closing track, “Night 

Vision,” retains the strongest 
electronic vibe, opening with 
artificially produced beats and 
crashing synthetic echoes. Sub-
dued vocals croon, “Get on your 
knees / And praise me like you 
should.” With relaxed verses and 
a booming chorus, the juxtaposi-
tion creates a tangible shift in 
energy within the listener.

The band’s social activism and 

desire to support other groups are 
just a few of the ways Transvio-
let’s making its own imprint on 
the musical sphere. One thing is 
certain: This is just the beginning 
for Transviolet.

MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW

 Sometimes, when 

teenagers get bored, they 
make music videos. And when 
they make 
music 
videos, 
they 
usually 
do them 
poorly. 
They 
follow the same formula: a 
bunch of solo shots dancing in 
front of the camera intended 
to make them look really cool.

It’s not a stretch to say that 

Kevin Gates’s music video 
for “Castle,” released Jan. 
29, uses this tired formula. 
The song, which isn’t even 
on the rapper’s recently 
released studio album, Islah, 
spends a lot of bars talking 
about Gates’s metaphorical 
kingdom and how anybody 
who challenges such a power 
structure will be shot at (a 
lot).

The video’s plot is 

straightforward in that there 
isn’t one. Save an opening 
scene in which a subservient 
waiter serves a mimosa that 
Gates immediately laces with 

codeine, the rest of the video, 
which spans four minutes and 
16 seconds, consists of Gates 
dancing and generally doing 
random things throughout 
nighttime Brussels. Even the 
end of the video just kind of 
fades away.

It does little to complement 

a hook-friendly, trappy 
song similarly devoid of 
any discernible societal 
implication. It’s literally 
Gates, wearing a funny hat, 
doing funny dancing. It’s 
somewhat fun, though, which 

provides the bulk of the 
entertainment value.

The entire thing seems as 

if Gates and his crew were 
chilling together one day 
and thought it would be fun 
to shoot a music video in 
a foreign city. Each shot is 
hastily done; even the picture 
is low quality. Everything 
about it is down and dirty, 
which, at this point in his 
career, personifies Gates as 
well. 

- JOEY SCHUMAN

BREAD WINNERS ASSOCIATION

C

Castle

Kevin Gates

Vampy Transviolet

‘Apocalypse’ fine TV

