Western students’ musical acts co-headline at Dino’s Coffee Lounge

By Caroline Lampinen
Western Herald

(Jay Pliskow/Western Herald) Tyler Bennett, left, and Mike Horrigan perform at Dino’s Coffee Lounge, located on Stadium Drive, on Monday.

Last Friday, Tyler Bennett, a  Western Michigan University senior and Jes Kramer, a junior at Kalamazoo College, co-headlined an intimate evening show at Dino’s Coffee Lounge.

Jes Kramer opened the show.  Before her last song, she introduced Bennett to the crowd.

“He’s super good, so I’m glad he’s here. And he’s got cool blue earrings,” Kramer said.

Bennett described his musical style as “acoustic, folk influenced pop music.”

Bennett’s set focused on calm but emotionally driven vocals, unobtrusive acoustic guitar, a harmonica and whistling.

“This is the first time we’ve played together, so we’ll see how it goes,” Bennett said to the crowd.

All songs with one exception were originals, including a title that exposed Bennett’s English Education major: “A Modest Proposal.” The last was a cover of Bright Eyes’ “From a Balance Beam”.

When asked how long he’s been writing music, Bennett took a minute to sort out the chronology aloud. “Piano since four or five,” he said. “Drums since 10 or 12 … how old are you in sixth grade? I started in sixth grade.”

Guitar was his most recently acquired instrument. WMU Junior Mike Horrigan played the upright bass in Bennett’s accompaniment.

Robin Magnet was one of a handful of new WMU freshmen that attended the show.

“[I came] because my friend suggested it to me. I heard good things,” Magnet said.

Bennett’s next show will again be at Dino’s Coffee Lounge,  9:00 p.m., on September 20th, 2008. He will open for touring bands Sunset Sunrise and Alisa Turner, the cover is $5.   Dino’s cafe is located on the corner of West Michigan and Academy.

Check out Tyler Bennet on myspace at www.mypsace.com/tylerbennettmusic and Jes Kramer at www.myspace/listentojeskramer.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Sep 10 2008. Filed under A & E, Local. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com