I think one of the coolest things about the city of Rochester is how much music is present and goes through here. On top of the Eastman School of Music, which is one of the top music conservatories in the nation, there are many venues and places for artists to perform and make music. One of the most famous venues for bands to play at is Water Street Music Hall. It is in downtown and constantly holds concerts with multiple bands playing. It is always a good time, and I have gone with friends before and have always loved whoever played, whether I knew them well or not. My last concert there was one of my favorite bands, Fun. Speaking of which . . .
Last month, Fun. and Janelle Monae kicked off the Campus Consciousness tour at the University of Rochester, in the Palestra on campus. With Fun. being highly loved by me, I had to make sure to attend. I dragged some of my friends along as well, and they were glad I did, because even those who had never heard of either band loved both. Fun. is coming out with a new album soon, and they played songs from it at this concert; needless to say, I am so excited for the release of it. They even have a song featuring Janelle Monae. I had never listened to or watched Janelle Monae, but at this show she blew my mind. She didn't just sing for us; she gave us a performance. I was entertained the whole time. She reminded me of Lady Gaga in the sense that she wanted to put on a show for us. All the people that sang and played with her on stage wore similar themed outfits, and throughout there was a lot of dancing, costumes, and acting. I loved it. Her songs were also amazing, and how good her voice was really surprised me. She is going to be huge one of these days with that talent. She rapped so fast I couldn't keep up, she danced so fast I couldn't see what her feet were doing, and she hit notes so high the overtones gave me goosebumps. Her range and quality of her voice really amazed me, and I really like her. I am already working on buying all of her music. It is so worth it.
The University of Rochester hosts concerts quite often, and lots of students I hear plan concerts together around the city. There is just something about this city that so many performers love. When I saw Fun. at Water Street, they mentioned how Rochester is their favorite place to come to. They love the audience, and the audience loves them. When I saw them, Rochester was their last destination of that tour. What's funny is that Rochester was then the first performance of their next tour. And of course they mentioned again how they love Rochester, and Janelle Monae screamed multiple times that they will be back here. Rochester is an exciting place, and the strong presence of music is just more evidence of how there is always something going on in this amazing city and there is always something to do!