The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, October 4, 2017 — 5
Arts
DOMINO
2 Fridays ago, Protomartyr released their latest record on a boat in Detroit
Punks on a boat: Proto-
Martyr’s release party
Revelry and community mark a night of good tunes and
good drinks as Protomartyr released their latest last Friday
On a Friday night, practically
every generation of Detroit
punk fans were united in a sea
of black and gray jeans, waiting
by the dock to board the Detroit
Princess
Riverboat.
There
was a slight disconnect, given
the more preparatory-school-
like connotation of a riverboat
cruise.
That
dissonance
evaporated when we boarded
and the first of seven bars
offered us a Pabst Blue Ribbon.
It felt very right.
Protomartyr,
Detroit’s
preeminent punk band today,
chose this venue to celebrate
their fourth album, Relatives
of Descent, a week early. The
album was officially released on
Friday, September 29, to much
acclaim. They brought along
with them five other acts in
what was an evening long party
for the local scene.
We caught the tail end of
Detroit
producer
Matthew
Dear’s set, a University alum
and near legend of the techno
world. He is currently teaching
a music production class at
the University. His was a loud,
strange, noise-filled sound that
felt hardly contained within the
low-ceilinged room.
That was around 7:00 p.m., and
the crowd dissipated and filtered
through the multiple floors of
the boat afterwards. Each floor
was, naturally, complete with a
bar. On the quieter third floor,
where the merchandise was
located, seats and tables were
arranged in front of a screen
showing
“Waterworld”
with
Kevin Costner. Tables were
also selling physicals of the
new Protomartyr album. The
cover features a stark image of a
woman in a white head cloth in
front of a pink background.
We moved to the deck for some
fresh, cigarette-filled air, and a
DJ alternated between upbeat
sounds and Beach House’s Teen
Dream, which felt fitting looking
down the river that separates
Detroit and Canada. There was
a calm on this level that felt odd
for a punk show, but enjoyable
nonetheless. Some even brought
their
Moleskines
for
some
quality time to think.
The boat set sail shortly
after, and Tyevk and ADULT.
both played strong, energetic
sets during the sail. The stage
room didn’t truly fill until we
docked again for the final two
bands, and then Preoccupations
(formerly known as Viet Cong)
played to an enthralled crowd.
Their
set,
which
opened
with their hit “Anxiety,” was
characterized by improvisation
and pure, unbridled emotion. At
the tail end they spent over ten
minutes slamming out the same
final chord, each time seeming
like the last. It was a game with
the audience and it worked — the
room vibrated still after.
The climax of the evening
was clearly Protomartyr. Part
of their cult fandom comes from
the sheer energy of their live
shows. Joe Casey will, without
fail, quite literally sweat on you
if you’re close enough. You can
usually see it drip down his
forehead by track four, and he
certainly went headfirst into
this performance. The luckiest
among us were spat on. They
played through their new album
from front to back, and added a
few crowd pleasers in between,
like “Cowards Starve,” dripping
out the words “I’m going out
in… style!” with disdain and
immediacy. It was entrancing,
it was angry and it was head
banging. The mosh pit opened
quickly and sustained a good
tempo through the show, and it
never became antagonistic — the
crowd was in sync with itself, and
with the band. When someone
dropped their purse, everyone
stopped and let her pick it up.
And the boat remained afloat
among the communal noise.
— MATT GALLATIN
On
a
warmer-than-usual
mid-September Friday, three
friends and I drove to the
Michigan-Canada border for
a miniature cruise aboard the
Detroit Princess, a riverboat
whose existence, I must confess,
I wasn’t even aware of until
Detroit
punks
Protomartyr
booked it for their record
release show. After parking
on the Cobo Center roof, we
made our way down to the
channel to wait with hundreds
of others in line. The crowd
was about what you would
expect, an interesting mix of
yuppie, grimy and old-timey,
but nothing if not brimming
with excitement. Meanwhile,
Graeme Flegenheimer — owner
of Detroit’s El Club, who helped
curate the event — anxiously
paced up and down the line,
reminding people to have their
IDs ready and that the boat was
shoving off promptly at 7:15
p.m.
Though billed as a show, the
event was more like a festival.
Sets started at 6:30 with special
guest
Matthew
Dear
and
featured more-or-less local acts
— Detroit rockers Tyvek and
ADULT. as well as Protomartyr
alongside
Calgary-based
post-punks
Preoccupations
and Toronto noise rock band
METZ, whose new album also
happened to be released the day
of the event.
The shows were all held
on the first floor of the boat,
but plenty of entertainment
could be found in just about
every corner of the five-story
ship. Movie screenings took
place throughout the night
on the second floor, with food
and band merchandise on the
third floor and myriad bars
throughout the entire venue.
It
wasn’t
until
we
had
reached the fourth and fifth
floors, though, that I decided
I would one day be doing
everything in my power to have
my wedding — let’s hope I can
manage to get married one
day, anyway — on the Detroit
Princess.
It’s
difficult
to
describe precisely the feeling I
felt when we first stepped out
onto the fourth-floor deck.
The temperature, oppressively
hot and humid earlier, was a
perfect 70 degrees, tempered
by the river’s coolness. Four
stories up was also just high
enough to see at least a portion
of Detroit’s (and Windsor’s)
sprawl under the setting sun,
itself a beautiful menagerie
of oranges, yellows, purples
and soft blue-grays. When the
Princess started moving, it was
hard not to feel like one of the
luckiest people alive, and for
only $20! (This still blows my
mind.)
As
the
night
progressed
and the boat ran out of food —
arguably the only hitch in the
entire evening — a rotating set
of DJs spun smoother, poppier
tunes on the deck while the
punks set fire to the first
floor. (Not literally, of course;
Pitchfork actually published
a piece titled “Detroit Punks
Charter a Riverboat. Somehow
Nothing Gets Trashed.”) When
Protomartyr finally took the
stage, the crowd was no less
energetic than it had been two
or three hours earlier, and the
band brought the heat to match
— frontman Joe Casey actually
kept a full-size bath towel
on his mic stand, citing his
imminent sweatiness.
The band’s set was composed
of new material from Relatives
in Descent — the album wasn’t
officially released until the
week following the show — as
well as songs from all three of
their previous albums. Though
the audience’s unfamiliarity with
the new songs threatened to kill
momentum at times, favorites
from Agent Intellect and Under
Color of Official Right ensured
success through and through.
At the end of the night, I had
only two remaining coherent
thoughts: first, I cannot wait to
have this album and second, how
the hell does anyone still have the
energy to go to the aftershow?
— SEAN LANG
MATT GALLATIN
Daily Music Editor
SEAN LANG
Daily Arts Editor
RELEASE REVIEW
ABC
‘Modern Family’ is actually still on TV
‘Modern’ remains same
and reaches redundancy
The show keeps its typical tone, forsaes originality in its 9th season
A model of consistency.
As it enters its ninth season,
that’s what “Modern Family”
has become. Each episode, each
season, is replete with quality one-
liners and self-deprecating jokes.
Since 2010, the show has been
nominated for — or won — the
Primetime Emmy for Outstanding
Comedy Series every year. That’s
the
sterling
reputation
that
“Modern Family” has earned for
itself, and, if the season premiere
is any indication, the series has no
intention of changing its formula.
Returning to its tried-and-true
brand of zany, yet genuine humor,
“Modern Family”’s ninth season
offers loyal audiences exactly what
they have come to expect, albeit at
the expense of originality.
Right off the bat, “Modern
Family”’s
premiere
establishes
the series’ trademark tone, with
Manny (Rico Rodriguez, “The
Muppets”) re-inventing himself
yet again to avoid embarrassment.
Only this time, he’s adopted the
name “Manuel” as he prepares
to ship off to college. Manny’s
inability to fit in has long been
a running gag on
the show, and this
episode does a solid
job of extending the
joke.
Elsewhere,
“Modern
Family”
introduces
us
to
Alex’s (Ariel Winter,
“Killers”)
new
boyfriend, Ben (Joe
Mande, “Parks and Recreation”).
Ben is saddled with the unenviable
task of trying to make the Dunphys
and Pritchetts like him, despite
the fact that they all want nothing
to do with him and his crop-top
pajamas. Throughout the episode,
Mande excels at being just the
right amount of annoying and self-
aware, as he agrees with Claire’s
(Julie Bowen, “Happy Gilmore”)
rant about how he is “a huge
reason why I need a vacation.”
Although Mande absorbs most
of the episode’s verbal jabs, Cam
(Eric Stonestreet, “The Secret
Life
of
Pets”)
still
shines
in
his reduced role
as the episode’s
punching
bag.
Stonestreet
spends most of
the episode being
ripped apart by
Mitchell
(Jesse
Tyler
Ferguson,
“Ice Age: Collision Course”) and
Gloria (Sofía Vergara, “Chef”)
for donning a frighteningly ugly
white robe and obnoxious amount
of sunscreen to avoid sunburn, all
while insisting to Mitchell, “We
have great taste.”
Cam continues to be the ideal
CONNOR GRADY
Daily Arts Writer
foil
for
everyone’s
favorite
curmudgeon, Jay (Ed O’Neill,
“Married with Children”). Cam’s
unabashedly optimistic persona
meshes perfectly with Jay’s
constant cynicism, producing
some of the episode’s finest
moments. As Jay wallows in
his sorrowful realization that
he is an unmemorable grandpa,
Stonestreet reminds him of the
time he so graciously “went to
Costco and got me that giant
thing of almond milk,” with
O’Neill justifying his kindness:
“Well you like it and it doesn’t
go bad!” The entire scene is a
gorgeous example of the type
of funny, yet heartfelt comedy
that has come to define “Modern
Family.”
Strangely absent from this
whole comedic picture is usual
“Modern Family” stalwart Phil
(Ty Burrell, “The Incredible
Hulk”), who barely receives
any screen time in the episode
outside of a few hilarious scenes
with Claire. It’s an odd decision
for the show given that Burrell
can carry “Modern Family” with
his perpetually neurotic style
and that Burrell shines in his
brief moments in the episode.
Since Burrell is seen as one of
the faces of the series, it seems
reasonable to expect his role
return to its normal size for the
remainder of the season.
Even
without
Burrell’s
typical
zaniness
dominating
the episode, the episode reeks
of the battle-tested “Modern
Family” formula. Chiefly, this
recipe entails a healthy dose of
self-deprecating
humor
from
Cam, laughable paranoia from
Gloria, blissful ignorance from
Manny and a biting sardonic
wit from Jay. This formula has
allowed the show to reach the
apex of small-screen comedy,
it also drags the series down
in places because using it lacks
any semblance of creativity or
innovation in it. While “Modern
Family”’s characters maintain
some of television’s strongest and
most enjoyable chemistry, the
show’s own consistency could
be its downfall if it continues its
dogged dependence on formula.
“Modern Family”
Season 9
premiere
ABC
Wednesdays at
9 PM
TV REVIEW
DAILY FILM COLUMN
What to watch
this October
Film Columnist Madeleine Gaudin
tells you all about essential horror
Every
season
is
horror
season when you’re living in a
wasteland of violence and late-
stage capitalism, but if I had
to pick one month that most
embodies the genre it would,
of course, be October. Horror’s
tricky — when it’s good, it’s
good. But it can be difficult
to begin when everything’s
a remake of a remake or part
of the “Saw” franchise. And
that’s such a shame, because
horror has so much capacity
for beauty, humor
and
compelling
narrative.
If
you
want to be scared
and unsettled and
blown away, here’s
what I recommend
for
the
most
wonderful time of
the year.
***
The Witch
Last
year’s
standout
horror
landed itself a number 10 spot
on Daily Art’s coveted Best of
2016 list, and was even higher
on my personal list. When a
Puritan family living on the
outskirts of a New England
settlement begins to implode—
dead crops, missing babies—
their eldest daughter (played
by the incredible Anya Taylor-
Joy “Split”) seems to be at the
center.
Robert Egger’s directorial
debut
is
stunning
and
horrifying. Egger — who’s set
to direct the remake of 1922
silent classic “Nosferatu” next
— is a production designer by
trade, so “The Witch” has the
kind of meticulous beauty and
composition that usually fall by
the wayside in horror.
Maybe I’m biased. Witches
are the most appealing part of
horror culture for me. I’m here
for cauldrons and spells and
black cats. I’m especially here
for covens and sisterhoods and
the part when a girl gets really
mad and the weather gets bad.
But “The Witch” brings the
subgenre back to its historical
origins and contextualizes the
plight of a woman whose power
transcends
the
limitations of Puritan
life.
It’s
a
beautiful
meditation
on
girlhood, family and
dark magic. It also
happens to have the
single greatest jump
scare
of
all
time
(that’s a fact). If you
only have time — or
the stomach — for
one horror movie this
month, make it “The Witch.”
“The Witch” is available to
stream on Amazon Prime.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
If you didn’t go back and
watch (or hopefully rewatch)
Tobe Hooper’s classic slasher
film when he died in August,
now’s your chance. This is
probably the closest this list is
going to get to canon or classic
horror.
This movie is beautiful —
absolutely stunning. It’s also
incredibly campy, the kind of
low budget horror that amuses
as much as it scares.
MADELEINE
GAUDIN
SEE FILM
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