Boyz II Men – Harmonizing Motorcity Casino Hotel

For the music world Boyz II Men represent a unique mixture of Hip Hop and R&B. The decision to give everyone in the group a leading role has had a big effect on their career and it’s rather unfortunate that their big bass voice, Michael McCary, decided to call it a day due to medical reasons. Nevertheless, Shawn, Nathan and Wanya still has some magic to spread and on Friday, 21 November, they will be spreading that magic in the Motorcity Casino Hotel, Detroit. Given that their new album “Collide” is set for release in September, fans can expect to hear mostly new material.

Looking back over the years Boyz II Men has definitely made an impact on the music industry. More importantly, they find themselves among record holders like Elvis Presley and The Beatles. These three were the only artists capable of replacing their own number one spot on the Billboards Top 100 with their own songs.  Boyz II Men also managed to beat Elvis’s record by staying in the top position for 13 weeks with the cover single “End of the road”. As if that isn’t impressive enough they went on to break their own record with the hit written by Babyface called “I’ll make love you to”, which stuck to no.1 for 14 weeks. However, a collaborative song with Mariah Carey, namely “One Fine Day”, still holds the record with 16 weeks.

The reason why Boyz II Men is so successful is because they are able to harness fans across musical borders. Instead of keeping to the typical boy-band guidelines and covering the strong hip-hop beats with more harmony, they captured the attention of just about everyone. Another unique aspect can be seen in the lyrics for some of the songs, for example “Water Runs Dry” and “Four Seasons of Loneliness”. Even though they didn’t play a huge part in writing the songs, they used writers who sought to break away from mainstream R&B image. This has garnered a lot of respect for the group and the covers they did outside of their genre also made them stand out. For those who don’t know, the song “Yesterday” that featured on their popular “II” album is in fact a Beatles song.

Times have changed and they have yet to produce so much success as they did at the start of their career. However, they are still doing very good and fans still love the harmony they deliver. The R&B and Hip-Hop scene is very unforgiving and new the talent only gets a couple of years, if they are lucky, before they are forgotten. Unlike Rock where there is a place for veterans in the classic section, guys like Boyz II Men have a much tougher time staying in the business. Well guess what, they have managed to do it quite elegantly. Their voices still flow perfectly together and they still contribute something different to the music industry.  To get your taste of old-school harmonizing then book your ticket for 21 November at the Motorcity Casino Hotel in Detroit. 

Twenty One Pilots Live at The Filmore, Detroit

Creating something that is truly unique in the music industry today is a rare commodity, and it seems Twenty One Pilots has done exactly that. In fact, their style is so different that it’s classified under “Schizophrenic Pop”, which is yet to be established as a pop genre. Detroit fans who are already familiar with their songs, and those who have yet to discover it, can enjoy their performance on Thursday, 2 October, in The Filmore.

Even though Twenty One Pilots is no stranger to the popular MTV channel, they are still relatively unknown to the rest of the world. It took 2 self-recorded albums and a sold out show to get the attention of big labels, and in 2012 they signed a contract with “Fueled by Ramond”, a sub division of Atlantic Records. The band originally formed in 2009 with 3 college friends namely, Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas and Chris Salih. Joseph derived the name of the band from a play he was studying, and it represents the moral dilemma of the human condition.

The first self-recorded album they released was in 2009 and simply called “Twenty One Pilots”. This was followed by a second self-recorded album in 2011 by the name of “Regional at Best”. Up until that point the three guys generated a stable fan base, but it wasn’t enough to convince Thomas and Salih to keep going. Tyler on the other hand decided to stick with it and was joined by Josh Dun, better known as the live drummer for “House of Heroes”, and this is the duo that currently makes up Twenty One Pilots. The regret Salih and Thomas had about leaving must have stung bad, because only a few months later Joseph and Dun played for a sold out audience and received various offers from popular labels.

Defining the type of music they fall into is a very difficult task. Their blend is one of the most creative compositions today, and they have no problem flowing between Rock, Pop, Indie and even Rap if the lyrics are too long for the melody. The songs are typically piano driven, although the type of piano differs from time to time. It also consists of drums, synthesizers and every now and again a ukulele is thrown into the mix. Tyler is in charge of the lead vocals and the lyrics are poems that he writes.

For a two man band Twenty One Pilots is very entertaining and interesting. They might be new to the scene, but they contribute heavily to the expressive side of music as supposed to creating sing-a-long pop songs fit for commercial radio. Their sound is distinct and will help them greatly in reaching new heights. Make a note Detroit, they are coming your way and you don’t have any excuse not to be there. This particular tour dominantly promotes their debut album since signing with a label and it’s called “Vessel”. These guys are the future of the music world, so take a listen. 

Tori Amos will be lighting up the Fox Theatre, Detroit

If there ever was a solo female act who managed to bridge the troubled waters of music industry politics in order to keep her music expressive, it’s Tori Amos. As the youngest pupil to be awarded a full scholarship to the Peabody Institute, at the age of 5, she was also the youngest pupil to rebel at this prestige Johns Hopkins University at age 11. On Wednesday, 6 August she will be rebelling at the amazing Fox Theatre in Detroit.

This tour is based on her 14^th studio album called “Unrepentant Geraldines” and it sees Tori coming back to her roots in terms of style. Since 2009 she had taken a very experimental route, seeing as she needed to find some inspiration to break the barriers of whatever kept her creative juices from flowing. She went from classical influences to more modern, wave sounds; only to come back to what made her so enchanting in the first place. Fans can expect to hear bright melodies, very personal lyrics and her wide vocal range for this show. More notably, fans will get to hear Tori explore a variety of subjects that cover women’s rights, politics and stories from her life, or snapshots as she likes to refer to them.  

Hardcore fans won’t find it hard to remember her first breakthrough album called “Little Earthquakes” which was released in 1992. The reason I mention this is because Tori has transformed rather differently compared to most veterans. While it seems like so many great artists either lose their edge at some point, or try frantically to hold on to it, she has made a graceful transition into adulthood without any compromise. The only people who can really be compared to her are artists like Fiona Apple and Mazzy Star, both of whom are very unique entities.

Since she started her musical career Tori has always been true to herself and fearless in her repertoire. She is one feminist guys tend to like, and if you are like me, you listen as well. It’s simply not possible to ignore her energy. What makes her live shows even better is the sheer quality. Every pitch is perfect and every sound is crisp. If you close your eyes you won’t be able to tell whether it’s an album that’s playing or a live performance.

Ticket sales start at $51 and it doesn’t matter where you sit. Just being in the same theatre with the one and only Tori Amos is enough to take you on a spiritual journey from which you don’t want to return. In other words, if you are in the Detroit area on 6 August, then you have no excuse not to be inside the Fox Theatre. Just imagine the envy of all your friends when you tell them about the magnificent Tori Amos, and witnessing her ability to still send goose bumps up your spine.