2B — Thursday, September 8, 2016
the b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
At most parties, you can either
feel lost or lose yourself.
Depending on the atmosphere
and location, a party — more
specifically, a college party — is
the space for young people to
dance, talk, drink, smoke, laugh,
make out and interact with
strangers and friends.
A party can be an unnerving
experience, even a mediocre one
at that. The place may be too
crowded or too empty, the music
may be wack, or it just might not
be your night.
But with the right people
and elements, a party can be a
fun and ultimately worthwhile
event. Whether in the humid,
suffocating intimacy of an
enclosed fraternity basement, the
spaciousness of a house shindig
or the rowdiness of an outdoor
function, every party, whether
big or small, has something
to offer to the overall college
experience.
During this past Welcome
Week, many students embarked
on their first, 13th or perhaps
40th college party, excited about
the prospects of each evening
and already nauseous from
stuffing down five Smirnoff shots
and a PBR only moments before.
Before an equally promising and
nerve-racking semester at the
University of Michigan would
ensue, these several nights
allowed students, new and old, to
utilize their independence, forget
about their everyday worries and
indulge in a much-needed dose of
going out.
Last Friday and Saturday
night, many got to have
that satisfying release of
unadulterated freedom at
the annual Mary Court and
Greenwood Block Parties, which
respectively exemplified some
of the typical “college party”
attributes: throwback songs,
drunkards galore and lots of
uncomfortable pushing and
shoving.
Friday night at Mary Court
At Mary Court, a neat
corner tucked away from the
quiet streets of Ann Arbor, a
cacophony of voices permeated
the cool Friday night air with
a tinge of exuberance. Set in
a gravel patch between two
parallel rows of solid-colored
bungalows, the Mary Court
Block Party was already in
motion by 10:30. The venue was
pretty crowded, consisting of a
varied cast of normal-looking
and eccentric characters: girls in
skimpy outfits; boys wearing tank
tops and basketball jerseys; three
blondes holding fruit punch
Gatorades and Snapchatting
themselves; a dude in a Hawaiian
shirt turning up way too hard to
Kevin Gates’s “Really Really;” a
G-Eazy doppelganger with a jean
jacket, a septum nose ring and
’90s glasses attempting to do a
cool smoke trick; a guy casually
wearing a Yoshi hat helmet. A
Bernie Sanders cardboard cutout
also made a guest appearance.
The acrid stench of cigarette
smoke was palpable from all
around, while red Solo cups
were scattered on the ground,
some crushed and others plain
empty. Near the first house
at the beginning of the block,
the snarling snare and blaring
bass reverberated from the
speakers, blasting an eclectic
mix of EDM, Rae Sremmurd,
the Chainsmokers and Kanye
West. Even Natasha Bedingfield’s
“Unwritten” played at one point,
prompting everyone to unearth
their 2004 selves and belt out the
unforgettable chorus in unison.
As many danced uneasily and
engaged in excited conversations,
the focus was directed toward
the Mary Court party’s main
attraction: the tall tree trunk
standing on the edge of the block.
A mixed wave of anxiety and
awe washed over the crowd, as
gung ho partygoers climbed to
the top of the trunk and were
consequently met with people
chanting “Jump!” It was mostly
drunk dudes who ascended
this formidable leafless tree.
In particular, one of the many
guys wearing basketball jerseys
sat proudly atop the trunk,
alternating between chugging
a 40 of malt liquor and smoking
a cigarette with unabashed
bravado. The looks on people’s
faces, which were mostly
obscured by the light from the
surrounding lampposts, ranged
from concerned to astonished.
Luckily, none of the tree climbers
got injured once they climbed
back down to the ground and
resumed their party-going
experience.
Despite the high energy
exuded from the block party,
Mary Court was relatively
mild. Sure, walking through
a highly concentrated throng
of people was a bit rough and
overwhelming. Pivoting in place
without bumping into someone
is nearly impossible at any party.
But considering its outside
location, Mary Court kept things
under control and acted as a nice
alternative to the usual confined,
sweat-inducing spaces of frat or
house parties. As for the next
night, the Greenwood Block
Party would prove that a balance
between a positive atmosphere
and controlled chaos is key to a
successful social gathering.
Saturday night at
Greenwood
Saturday morning’s tailgating
and the afternoon opening
football game against Hawaii
left many students exhausted
and sunburned, but that didn’t
stop most from venturing to the
Greenwood Block Party later that
night. Greenwood was especially
hyped up after last year’s blowout
got shut down early by the police.
“I wanted it to be bigger than
previous years,” wrote Charles
Antonelli, a Kinesiology senior
and the main organizer of the
Greenwood Block Party. In
an email interview, Antonelli
also remarked that “usually,
it’s tradition to have the party
on a Thursday but I didn’t put
that as an immediate option
because more people show up on
weekends.”
More elongated and spacious
than Mary Court, the asphalt
road of Greenwood Avenue
lies between two rows of brick
houses, each consisting of brown,
yellow, white and blue colors. In
order to avoid getting shut down
early, the party commenced
around 8:15 and was already
packed by 9 p.m.
Because of the block’s large
capacity, the amount of people this
time was even more than Mary
Court’s, but comprised of more
or less the same kind of people:
dudes in long-sleeved Vineyard
Vines shirts, short sleeve button
downs and polos and girls in
loose clothing and tank tops. No
crazy costumes or faux hipsters
were in sight.
A giddy sensory overload
dominated Greenwood’s vibe:
beer bottles shattered on the
ground, a twin bed mattress
being carried around and friend
groups screaming with glee
as their jam was played from a
distance. While hundreds of antsy
interactions were happening, the
bumping sound waves of Chance
the Rapper’s “All Night,” Mike
Posner’s ubiquitous “I Took A Pill
in Ibiza (Seeb Remix),” generic
trap music and even a live band
pulsated throughout the street.
Like the previous night’s
rendition of “Unwritten,” the
crowd screeched when Neil
Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” came
on and predictably screamed the
obligatory “BUM BUM BUM!”
line. The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside”
and Jimmy Eat World’s “The
Middle” — two college party
favorites — were also played and
sung during the night. On the
balcony of one of the Greenwood
houses, you could see an entire
horde of people there, all huddled
together like a colony of penguins
in the Arctic, the glow of their
phone screens and camera flashes
flickering like millennial fireflies.
Similar to Mary Court, the
party’s collective attention was
once again drawn to people
climbing a tall structure in the
midst of the block, this time a
telephone pole. The reactions
were nearly identical, with many
cheering and yelling for people to
jump and others cowering with
uneasiness. Safety, however, is
something that Antonelli noted
as imperative for a party as huge
as Greenwood.
“We always keep an eye out
for people who are drinking
too much and making sure
no damage happens to our
neighboring houses,” Antonelli
wrote. “The block kind of
watches out for each other in
that respect. The block party is
fun, but not at the expense of
someone’s safety.”
Climbing a telephone pole
is certainly a cause for danger,
but luckily, no one got hurt, and
the party resumed in normal
fashion. No belligerent drunks
instigated a fight, despite some
incoherent screaming. Not
even the two cars that drove
through the avenue could stop
Greenwood from collapsing into
disarray. A random Greenwood
attendee happened to jump on
one of the cars, though it was
unclear as to whether or not the
driver was just passing through
or purposefully cruised through
the street to show off. The scene
certainly wasn’t as frenetic as the
climactic Deathmobile sequence
in “Animal House,” but it was still
just as awesome and rebellious.
Greenwood stayed alive until
its inevitable end at around 11:15
when the police arrived, which
Antonelli hadn’t expected,
writing that he anticipated
them to come much earlier, at
10:00. Nevertheless, this caused
participants to flee in random
directions and perhaps venture to
another recreational excursion,
or South U Pizza for some late-
night grub.
Just like Mary Court,
Greenwood represented what a
large party can offer: solid music,
an open space and good vibes.
To paraphrase from F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,”
large parties can be intimate and
small parties usually don’t have
as much privacy. Large parties
can definitely feel somewhat
daunting, especially if you enter
one alone or if you’ve never been
to one before. However, with
the right attitude and people,
they don’t have to feel like they
are. Ideally, everyone is there to
enjoy themselves and relish in
the pleasure of being young and
uninhibited from responsibility
(at least, in the moment).
Final thoughts
But what makes a party fun
isn’t just the party itself. It’s the
people, the friends you’re with
who contribute to the overall
experience. Most parties in
general are mundane and can
become routine outings. They
can be anxiety-inducing and
scary. Many questions may
linger in your mind before going
out: Am I going to get plastered?
Will I make out with someone
tonight? Will I meet “the one?”
Is a fight going to break out?
Will the party get shut down
before anything fun or crazy
happens?
All of those questions are
valid, but remember this: the
night is young. Being with your
friends makes the most out of
your social experience of college
and it’s not too late to go out
to a party with them, dance
like nobody’s watching, kiss a
random person (or don’t!) and
just live in the moment.
XL RECORDINGS
Screaming into the void.
By SHIR AVINADAV
Daily Food Columnist
I can’t point to the moment I
first fell in love with cooking. It
was a gradual process, shaped
by years of experiences. I
can recall early memories of
kneading dough for rugelach
in my grandmother’s kitchen,
studying breaded chicken sizzle
in a frying pan guarded by my
mom and watching “Iron Chef”
on Food Network after school.
Food has always been central
to my family life and early
experiences, but it became
something that I identified
with
personally
soon
after
I began high school. At this
point, my family had moved
back to Israel, plucking me from
my newly settled life as a high
school freshman and thrusting
me
into
a
culture
I
was
unaccustomed to. In the frenzy
of assimilating to sights, sounds
and language unfamiliar to me,
I took comfort in one of the only
factors of my existence that had
always been a constant: food.
Soon after our frantic move,
I developed a taste for foods
no longer as easily available
to me as they were when I
lived in the U.S. Determined
to still consume them, I took
to internet recipes. Soon I
could recite chocolate chip
cookie and cupcake recipes
from memory and improvise
entire meals without a second
thought.
Indulging
in
the
comfort
of
familiar
foods
secured my confidence and
eased my transition into this
new and unfamiliar world.
The more I cooked, the more
self-assured I became in the
kitchen — constantly seeking
out guidance from food blogs
and feeding my curiosity (no
pun intended) for new recipes
and techniques.
The knack for cooking I
picked up during one of the
most tumultuous periods of my
life has stuck with me to this
day, and for that I’m extremely
grateful. When I come home
after
a
long,
sometimes
difficult day, nothing eases my
stress or clears my mind like
rhythmically
stirring
sauce
or sautéing veggies over the
stove.
Trying
new
recipes
makes me feel motivated and
inspired. And snapping a pic of
a perfectly golden pie crust or
beautifully frosted cake fills me
with pride.
Now a college senior (on
a college budget), food and
cooking hold a different place in
my life — though they are of no
less importance. Living on my
own has transformed the way
I perceive and experience both
the ways in which I use and
consume food. The stereotype
that college students eat poorly
due to lack of time, money and
effort has in little to no way
defined
or
diminished
my
passion for cooking. Nor is it
reflective of how students eat.
Firstly, I apologize if you’re
currently
reading
this
in
between spoonfuls of Kraft
Mac
&
Cheese.
This
isn’t
intended to make anyone feel
badly about their eating habits
or culinary skill level (I myself
enjoy
the
occasional
bowl
of Easy Mac, though I much
prefer
homemade
mac
and
cheese). During a time that is
characterized by the particular
difficulty
of
juggling
our
academic and social lives with
our health (yes, I’m looking at
you, Skeeps Thursday $1 Long
Islands and late-night NYPD),
what
we
eat
is
especially
important — for both our
mental and physical health.
The truth of this statement
occurs to me each time I whip
up a pot of homemade chicken
soup to cure a finals-induced
cold or feel soothed by making
one
of
my
favorite
deals
(meals?) after a stressful day of
classes. Though cooking may
be easily dismissed by some
as an expenditure of time and
money that they can’t afford
while in school, and for some
that may be the case, cooking
is so ingrained into my being
that going without it seems
unimaginable. Like running or
writing is for some, cooking is
a passion and an extension of
who I am that fits into my life
no matter the circumstances.
Since
attending
college,
altering the way it fits into my
life has become an exciting and
important life lesson.
I now revel in the challenge
of coming up with something
tasty to make out of refrigerated
leftovers, pantry items or those
last three ingredients I have
lying in my fridge before I give
in and go grocery shopping.
The feeling of triumph derived
from
easily
converting
ingredients
into
something
new and delicious trumps the
gratification of immediately
satisfying my hunger with a
meal procured from the freezer
or a carryout box. Taking the
time and energy to cook my
meals that challenge the habits
I developed while cooking at
home has made me feel like
I’ve begun to shape a lifestyle
of my own that will continue
on after college. Whether it’s
academically or socially, being
in college provides us every
day with the opportunity to
do something that will shape
who we are once we leave our
beloved Ann Arbor.
Learning to transfer a part of
my life that I was accustomed
to before school and that was
spurred by a change similar to
the one we undergo while in
college has made me appreciate
its presence in my life all the
more. Now that I’ve grown as
a cook while in college, I feel
all the more empowered to
take on whatever awaits me
once I leave (especially now
that I’m a senior). No matter
what happens, I’ll always have
cooking.
Avinadav is judging you for your
Easy Mac. To send complaints,
email savinadav@umich.edu.
FOOD COLUMN
Why I learned to love
to cook
I’ll always have
cooking, no
matter what.
From Page 1B
By CHRISTIAN KENNEDY
Daily Music Editor
Earlier
this
week,
my
roommate and I attempted to
nail down life’s crucial question:
Who is America’s sweetheart?
We eventually settled on the
fact that we’re living through
a sweetheart-less moment in
America, but now, I realize
we
were
wrong.
America’s
sweetheart is, in fact, British.
And her name is Adele.
The singer played the first of
two sold-out gigs at The Palace
of Auburn Hills Tuesday night.
Lasting
almost
two
hours,
Adele’s show is timeless and
overwhelmingly personable —
not unlike the singer herself.
The dichotomy of Adele’s soul-
crushing sound and boisterous
personality proved to be a killer
combination; when she wasn’t
hitting every note, she was
cracking jokes between songs.
Topics ranged from her love of
day-drinking, a hip-hop class
she’s taking and even landlines.
With a sporadic touring history,
Adele tactfully paid homage to all
of her studio albums, 19, 21 and 25
Tuesday. Opening with “Hello,”
she emerged from the B-stage
serenading the back half of the
arena before turning toward the
front on the first chorus.
The night consisted entirely
of Adele standing, occasionally
swaying and hitting every note.
The setlist was comprised of her
signature
ballads,
save
a short, seated
acoustic
set
and a pair of
songs
that
have
“actual
beats”
—
a
quality
she
admits
confuses her.
If she was confused, the crowd
couldn’t tell by her booming
performance of “Rumour Has
It” and the impassioned “Water
Under The Bridge.” And later
in the show, she drew in all of
the husbands who got dragged
out on a Tuesday with a cover
of “Make You
Feel My Love”
by Bob Dylan,
calling
Dylan
the
“greatest
songwriter of all
time.”
The
show’s
strongest
moment
came
when
the chanteuse returned to the
B-stage for “Chasing Pavements,”
“Someone Like You” and “Set Fire
to the Rain.” Each performance
was special and spectacular in its
own way. “Chasing Pavements”
set the groundwork for Adele’s
rise with 21 and the smash
success of “Rolling in the Deep.”
The crowd’s participation during
the second and third choruses
of “Someone Like You” is half
the reason the song feels so
momentous, but even without
their
participation,
Adele’s
clear love for the track would
without a doubt carry it to the
same lengths. And the final song
before the encore, “Set Fire to
the Rain,” found Adele in the
center of the square platform,
surrounded by walls of rain on
all sides.
Performing
in
the
same
black, sequined ball gown for
the entirety of the show, Adele
exuded
a
certain
coolness
throughout the night. She’s a
master of stank-face and shoulder
rolls, and even the “Rolling in the
Deep” encore had a casualness
that’s absent without Adele’s
stage presence. When the arena
wasn’t filled with her unwavering
vocals, it was filled with her
laugh. Adele’s 2016 tour isn’t just
a showcase of her musical ability;
it’s a showcase of Adele herself,
one of the few artists with both
the music and the personality
to create a music-hall vibe in an
18,000-person arena.
Adele dazzles during
first night at Palace
CONCERT REVIEW
America’s
sweetheart is
British.