Readers of this blog know that I’m in love with many, many things. They are also aware of the fact that I overuse superlatives, but always, always pure-heartedly. It is, therefore, with no exaggeration and the truest of intentions that I state: The Love Hangover is my new Favorite Thing.
Folksters Davy Jones and Matt Millia performed three unexpected covers.
Okay, I was excited about the Love Hangover, and nervous, and hopeful. Here’s what went down: A bunch of people came, Hathaway’s Hideaway was a lovely and perfect venue, and all musicians showed up and truly WOWED the crowd with excellent renditions of love songs. It was, quite honestly, the event of the year. If you missed it, you missed: Dana Kletter and Holly Mae Haddock performing Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” to the tune of the Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun;” Frontier Ruckus alums performing “Stay” by Lisa Loeb and “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman; Jim Roll, Anna Burch, and friends doing “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart” by Wilco and “Lovefool” by the Cardigans; Neal Fisher and Jennifer Guerra rocking out “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” by Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks; a tragic-love-story shadow puppet show by the incomparable Carrie Morris and Ryan Howard; Annie Palmer, Black Jake, and Mark Wallace belting the Bangles’ “Eternal Flame;” our very own intern Jared Saltiel and girlfriend Charlene Kaye performing “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing;” Dave Lawson, Christian Doble, and Adrian Robles acting as a barbershop trio; Patrick Elkins and Moon Elves howling “Kiss from a Rose” by Seal; a Chris-Bathgate-and-friends finale that actually made several people cry; and well, a lot more, but this paragraph is getting unwieldy.
826michigan volunteers Arielle Hirshfeld and Scott Beal met because of
the Love Hangover, and did an amazing Husker Du cover, among other things.
It is this writer’s opinion that the highlight of the evening was the Wham Arbor Collective. Fiddler Evan Childress, songstresses Annah MacKenzie and Urmila Venkatesh (who, holy cow, can really BELT IT OUT), guitarist/workshop-leader-extraordinaire Scott Beal, and for-lack-of-a-better-term-we’ll-call-him rapper Paul Farber. They did a very sweet and lovely cover of one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs, “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go.” And THEN, my friends, they did a rousing cover of George Michael’s classic “Careless Whisper,” and, right in the middle, Paul busted in with some Mary J. Blige. It was heavenly. It was hilarious. I laugh a lot, but I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard.
The Wham Arbor Collective, the highlight of, let’s face it, a night of highlights.
The event, as a whole, made me want to thank the entire world and everyone in it. In an effort to save space, however, I’ll limit it to: Thank you SO MUCH to the musicians. You guys exceeded my every expectation, and set the bar so high that I cannot wait until next year. It is truly amazing how the Ann Arbor musical community has come together time and again to support us. Thank you to Bob Skon, our PA, who received the first Above and Beyond Award of the night. Thanks to Ann Jung, who received the second Above and Beyond Award of the night. Thanks, of course, to the Elbow Room’s Andy Garris, a huge 826 supporter who ran out and restocked the bar at Hathaway’s at a crucial moment. Thank you thank you thank you to Mary Hathaway, the owner of Hathaway’s Hideaway who wholeheartedly supported the event by donating a large portion of her beautiful and amazing space. (It really was the perfect place.) Thanks to volunteers Chris Hiltz, Erika Manczak, Maggie Hanks, Hannah Ashmore, Leah Warshaw, and Sandra Anrade for bartending, dooring, and just all-around helping. Thanks to the fine people at HuRai, the Huron River Arts Initiative, including Onna Solomon, Mariah Cherem, and Chrissy Deiger for all their help setting up and executing the event. Seriously, put it on your calendar for next year: 2/15/10, and don’t miss it!