I actually turned this in

Believe it or not, this is a paper I wrote--and recieve and A on--for a college course. I put it on my friend's web page the week I wrote it, making my first official blog post February of 2oo2. You nerds are soooo behind. My favorite parts are the horrible run-on sentences that I just didn't bother to edit. I told the teacher they helped to give a proper feel for the music that was being performed at the time. I think he bought it. Anyway, without further adieu, Ethos.

Dave LaGory
February 15th, 2002
Prof. Holleman

Ethos: kicking my ass in the popularity contest

I suppose I should have taken the group's name as an omen; in so many words, the ethos concert was a religious experience for me. I've always been a huge fan off highly organized yet off-the-wall percussion. If there was one thing I could wish for in this world before I die, it'd probably be something typical like a wife and kids, a good family, all that jazz. If there were two, the second would probably be enough money to live comfortably with said family. However, given three wishes, I would definitely wish for the ability to bust out those funky rhythms in similar manner to those awesome men we reverently call "Ethos."

The execution of their line-up was perfect. Their opening number was just enough to give you a teasing taste of what they could do, without making you strain to pick out each different instrument. They kept the audience on the edge of their seats, searching in vain for the meter structure that was right under their noses. Highly organized and yet not completely full of thumps, thwaks, and other various percussion noises, it got me in the mood to do some serious ninja-style killing. Oh yes, I mean blood thirsty psycho, running from seat to seat running the blood from countless victims down the aisle as I let the light catch my katana blade between stealthy thrusts and slashes in perfect synch with the beat. The only thing that kept me from doing just that was the suspense of what crazy rhythm they would produce next and a total lack of Katanas. Without any use of chords to create tension, they manipulated the rhythm itself to catch the audience in their web of percussive insanity.

Lucky for Dan Coughlin and Matthew Boehringer, the two saps sitting next to me, Ethos next number was the perfect foil to the first. I was soon calmed of my incandescent rage as I was soothed by the sweet sounds of the marimba. What a beautiful piece this was! If anything ever inspired me to do yoga, this song was it. I'm lucky I didn't fall asleep during it (unlike Matt, who will probably deny it if you ask him). Little can be said to describe this song, it was so simple, melodic, and tranquil. I could probably throw in a whole bunch of music terms at this point and try to impress you or get a nice juicy grade, but let's be honest. There's nothing I could say that you don't already know, and I'm lazy. Moving on, I'll get right to the point: Break it Down. Holy Geez, if only these men would move in with me. Talk about a sweet percussion line! The one dude down in front, playing those two Indian drums, showed some serious skill. Though not overly noticeable, he would bend the pitch of the larger drum as he tapped out eve more groovin' beats on the small drum, making a pseudo-melody for the drums. I must say it was very impressive. The meter of this piece was simply stupefying; it was so cool and complex it honestly made me feel stupid. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. To have two to three drums playing what seemed like completely different meters, and yet somehow fitting, all at the same time, well that just about made me soil myself. The finish was a nice touch; bringing the piece all together with a little Western drum set just made my day.

The next half of the show was a totally different flavor from the first. With less emphasis on the drumming itself, the choir did quite an excellent job with the African/Latin mass thing they had going on. Delicious harmonies and movement definitely made the music come alive to the droning of the bongos and other such percussive toys Ethos bore. The solos were well executed, and seldom drowned out. The only drawback I could find was the emphasis shifting from the driving beats of Ethos to the vocal music of the choir; it was almost anti-climactic. It just makes me wonder, though, how much more splendid the choral piece would have been if it were performed prior to "Break it Down"...

Whoa, I almost forgot. Before I leave you with this meager attempt at a critical review, I have to add that the man who put Ethos together, what's-his-face, he absolutely rocks at the triangle. There are few men on the face of this earth who will ever outshine his triangle solo. Seriously.

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Yeah, I acutally referred to a man as "what's-his-face," and didn't get docked points. This rivals the paper I wrote for philosophy and got writer's block so bad the only cure was several Cape Codders. And Spell check. Oh thank goodness for spell check.