To ease the transition from weekend back into the week, each Monday beginning at 7 p.m. local venue and café Muse Music in Provo offers a free platform for local musicians to share their music with the public.
Local talent is invited and encouraged to sign up for a time slot during the two hour block to perform and those who might not be so musically inclined can simply bring along some friends to enjoy the local flavor you would not hear otherwise, free of charge.
Following Open Mic Night beginning at 9 p.m., a screen and projector replace the musicians on stage. The venue creates an intimate viewing environment in which to broaden fans’ musical cannon by offering free screenings of various music documentaries. It gives the public an opportunity to enjoy a unique visual and audio experience with like-minded fans in the area as well as giving bored Happy Valley residents an alternative to the usual Monday night obligations.
This past Monday brought the unique rockumentary of Death Cab for Cutie entitled “Directions.” The band describes the rockumentary as a visual companion to their 2005 release “Plans” containing the hit single “I’ll Follow You into the Dark,” which some may argue is overplayed.
The film essentially consists of artistic interpretations of each of the songs from the album as well as a few bonus tracks not included on the album. While both live action and animated creations were offered up as platforms of interpretation, the animated videos captured more clearly the unifying concepts expressed in the album.
The imagery and style of each video varied greatly from song to song keeping things interesting while confronting and mixing common relatable themes of love, nature, loss, pain, family and death. It is always a unique experience to view someone else’s interpretation of a song you may know and love, but “Directions” brings something new and interesting to the table in almost each case.
Muse will continue their Free Monday Open Mic Night/Rockumentary screenings through April, and here are a few upcoming screenings you won’t want to miss-
3/1 – Anvil: The Story of Anvil
3/8 – It Might Get Loud (featuring Jack White, Jimmy Page, and U2’s “The Edge”)
3/15 – Dig!- Brian Jonestown Massacre &The Dandy Warhols
3/22 – Spend an Evening with Saddle Creek (the label that launched Bright Eyes, Cursive, The Faint and more)
