Kalamazoo gets the U2 experience

By Laura Citino
Western Herald

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum may have the answer for those who want to indulge in the iconic American experience of an arena rock show without the sweaty drunken moshers, outrageous ticket prices and split eardrums the next morning.

Their entertaining, yet affordable alternative is their latest planetarium show, “U2,” beginning Friday at 8:30 p.m.

This unique show takes the music of internationally popular, and seemingly-ageless rock band, U2, and pairs it with the new and upgraded technology of the museum’s 50-foot dome planetarium.
This particular show was purchased by the museum from Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The show utilizes the planetarium’s laser projector to create a colorful combination of psychedelic light designs and lively graphics that will morph and change in conjunction with U2’s soaring guitars and inspirational, scribble-them-on-your-notebook lyrics.

“It’s comparable to a Pink Floyd laser show,” said Eric Schreur, the planetarium coordinator at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. “But you’ll see a lot better graphics here than you would at those shows.”

Patrons whose only memory of a planetarium involves school field trips, long bus rides, and the droning narration of a bored museum employee might expect a typical astronomical trip through the galaxy.
According to the planetarium’s staff, come prepared to be thoroughly surprised and impressed.

“The biggest difference is that this program has nothing to do with stars and planets,” Schreur said.

Patrons can see this show as an opportunity to enjoy the music of U2 in a setting similar to a live concert, although U2 will not actually be in Kalamazoo.

The planetarium’s production will include all the classic hits of the Grammy Award-winning rock band that fans are sure to recognize.
The planetarium holds 109 individual seats, but Schreur recommends getting to the opening show about an hour early to guarantee a spot.

“We’re expecting to fill up on the first night,” he said.

After opening to the public on Friday, the 35-minute long production will run on a weekly basis every Friday at 8:30 p.m. through the rest of the semester and into next year.

The “U2” show opens in conjunction with the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s “Friday Night Highlights” event, a series of concerts and movies running every Friday starting this week, and continuing on through January.

This Friday, Kalamazoo musician Micaela Kingslight and local break dance group Kalamacrew will create a double-headliner opening for the much anticipated “U2” planetarium show opening.

As a solo guitarist, Kingslight gives a full-band atmosphere to her pop music styling through live audio looping technology, similar to artists like Andrew Bird and Chris Bathgate.

Other events throughout the semester include screenings of popular movies such as “Philadelphia,” “Phantom of the Opera,” and “Twilight.”
Concerts will also become a regular occurance including shows by String Cheese and Belfast Gin.

In true local Kalamazoo spirit, all performances and events at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum are extremely affordable, even on a typical shoestring student budget.

The U2 planetarium show, like most other planetarium events, is $3 per ticket.
For the “Friday Night Highlights” series, all movies will be $3, and concerts will cost $5. Tickets for all events can be purchased over the phone or in person at the museum.

For more information on this show, and the rest of the Kalamazoo Valley Musuem’s programming visit the museum’s Web site at http://kvm.kvcc.edu, or call (269) 373-3370.

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Posted by heraldstaff on Sep 30 2009. Filed under Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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