Get loud! This is a no shushing zone!
“Everybody make some noise!” – That’s one statement nobody ever expects to hear from aficionados at the library. But indeed there was nothing but noise permeating the walls and flowing out onto the streets around Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) Central location, for the first installment of their ‘Library Loud Days’ Series, last Thursday.
The Big event caught CopyWrite’s attention with the headlining act being MKE, popular music collective, New Age Narcissism (NAN). How would such a creatively rambunctious bunch pull this one off and how would one of the quietest places on the planet handle so much sound? Well we just had to find out! We even brought in a young “CopyWrite Connect,” three-year-old Yaya, for her inside perspective.
Walking down Wisconsin Ave. to the front of the Central Library, you would think there was a street festival going on. The smell of food trucks tickled our noses while speakers were banging all those new pop culture tracks. So many faces congregating on the grand steps of the library, like somebody's front porch.
The aura inside was just as active as the one that greeted us on the street. You could find photo booths with music props, get free merchandise repping the band and the library, engage with stations for kids to try out different instruments (Yaya's favorite, the drums), view old school cover art, watch Ted Talks, hear spoken word, play Guitar Hero and visit the super cool green roof…..OMG, to explore, explore, explore! Places in the library you might not even think to go, places you never had a reason to venture to, this was the time. They were all open for the community to experience together. The vibe was everything but normal, which made the contradiction so appropriate.
NAN performed an amazing set, showcasing all of their talents and pulling at some of their more risky arsenal. Siren, you have no shame! Lex was spicy with just the right amount of sweet, as always! Lorde Fred33, we peep the influence, bold with the subliminal (but are they really subliminal?) Webster, just as crowd thrilling as expected. Bo’, funky baby! Chris, feeding us with that much needed “dapper” percussion. Angie Swan, making the guitar cry absolute tears. And don’t forget Q The Sun making it all flow, so naturally, with the dope Pokémon threads (if we may add). With a collective that seemed to unify the space with both the physical platform and social one; the library became the open book for what we hope is change.
Library Loud Days, allowed for people of all ages and all backgrounds to see what CopyWrite gets to experience on an everyday basis, people coming together in a communal way to express talent, culture and learn freely. It was a great community based event that allowed us to enjoy the library and network with two different sides of the spectrum, which may open doors for more oddly amazing opportunities and collaboration in the future.
So what did our young CopyWrite Connect Yaya have to say? Well, for her first concert I think we have a win! Our sources tell us that the next day, that's all she talked about. She said, it was fun playing music and eating popcorn in the library. She will definitely be coming back. (What a great critic! We agree with Yaya, it was fun.)
