Art X Detroit A Success!

Art X Detroit has come and gone and we had an excellent time walking around and enjoying the free showcases put on by 2011/2012 Kresge fellows. There was an eclectic group of talent and each showcase had it's own special twist. Friday night we had wine in the lobby at the DIA and then visited the lecture hall to see Junecast and Fireloom perform. The showcase was packed for both acts and the sound in the lecture hall was impeccable. It was very dark and serene and almost impossible to get a shot of the band. Terry Peake talked to the crowd and explained each project and what it meant to him. It was very powerful to see an artist perform something after they talked about where it came from and what it meant to them.

Saturday night we headed to The Scarab Club for a metal show that included Bahamut, The Armed and Alaya from Chicago. The Scarab Club is a small art gallery right by the DIA that features 2 floors including a room of art and a large “living room” upstairs complete with a fireplace. It is not a place that you would usually see a metal show and after the heart attack that Bahamut and The Armed gave the owner, they will not likely ever have a metal show there again. I had never seen The Armed before and was pleasantly surprised. Randall, the front man, brought a great energy to the room and the band brought out a light show that really added to the spectical. We were very impressed by their show to say the least. We also loved Bahamut. I don't know if you have ever seen them play live but the talent, the loudness and the precision that they bring to the table is unmatched.

We missed a few of the performances that we wanted to see including Passalacqua who brought our favorite Flint Eastwood and other friends on stage. We saw pictures online and there was lots of confetti on the ground which means that as usual everyone had a good time at the Passalacqua show. I look forward to catching the full documentary that they presented at their showcase and will share it with all of you when we finally see it.

Finally on Sunday we watched Dr. Robert Conway play the piano works of Terry Peake. To see a DSO piano player in a small room with less than 30 people was one of the biggest privileges that I have ever had. Kresge made it possible for Terry to hear his newest piece played for the first time. He may be able to write it, but without someone like Dr.Conway he would have never heard it played live.

We would like to congratulate all of the Kresge fellows and compliment Midtown Detroit Inc, The Kresge Foundation, and Kresge Arts In Detroit for putting on a major event like this. To see art being made and produced in the DIA, The Scarab Club, The Science center and the lecture halls at Wayne State for free was amazing. At some point we even got free ice cream. Art X Detroit was a success.

~S