Christopher O’Riley Takes Carver Hall
When I go to music shows or concerts I usually stick to the stuff that I like to listen to. Piano music isn’t really my thing but after seeing Christopher O’Riley’s piano concert in Carver Hall on Saturday Feb. 22 I wasn’t disappointed. As part of the Bloomsburg University Celebrity Artists Series, O’Riley put on a decent show. He performed a number of song covers from Radiohead, Nirvana and Pink Floyd on his piano along with some original songs too. Overall, the music he played was good but some of them seemed to drag out a little too long for my liking. From there it was an interesting show.
The concert had a lot of great moments. He took the time to talk to us as an audience before he started playing and after every song, he even cracked a couple of jokes which were well received by the crowd. He also physically got into the music he was playing instead of just sitting up on the stage like a statue. The music that was played wasn’t particularly to my interest but it did remind me of a certain something, Charlie Brown. It may sound childish on my part but the strictly piano music made me think I was part of an episode of the Peanuts gang. That reminder put a smile on my face and I couldn’t help but chuckle a few times. The timing of the show was great too. Playing four or five songs then a brief intermission followed by another few songs made the concert last about an hour and a half, much shorter than I was expecting. There were many positives to the show.
Negatives to the performance were scarce. The only thing I really had a problem with was that the show started a little late. Other than that I think it was a great show for those who went and even somewhat for me. I got a taste of what a different kind of music sounds like. If I had to rate the show I would give it 9 out of 10. Great job Mr. O’Riley.
