Bunch of synthesized noise, Mr. Bregović egoistically and unnecessarily conducting, without depth in any aspect. It worked in La reine Margot; it certainly did not work in Hill Auditorium. I could not even stand the first half hour.

This was pure joy! Thanks UMS! But where was Ogi?

I knew I was in for a interesting and unusual night, but this exceeded my expectations. Goran Bregovic is a genius! The concert was one of the best I have ever attended. I did feel like I was crashing someone else’s party, however. Everyone was up dancing in the aisles or in their seats, except those in the donor seats. The singers were superb, especially the vocalist who also played the drums. Really, I can’t say enough about the evening. It was wonderful. I also want to thank Dennis Carter, the head usher, who seeing that my leg was in a boot and that I could not walk without a knee scooter, to offer to let me sit in one of the boxes. I was so comfortable which added to the experience.

You’ll never see Hill Auditorium as alive as it was last night! The concert was both high energy and extremely poignant at times. It was an experience that you could only get from seeing Goran Bregovic live. A fantastic concert.

we were smiling throughout the entire thing, what fun! I loved it! Noticed that I was hearing instruments that weren’t on stage but thought, well, I’m still having fun! I loved the mixture of styles, the women singers were outstanding! loved the male chorus although their director “over” directed in an odd way. The melodies, a mixture of Balkan (including that Turkish influence!), and modern was interesting and different. Loved the Serbian flag flying in the audience, the enthusiastic young people dancing in the aisles. I’d love a repeat performance next year. I’m Romanian American so I knew exactly what a wedding and funeral orchestra was all about. My husband had to idea, but came away loving it!

I so agree with the one commentor ie this is probaby the most energy and audience participation seen at any Hill Auditorium concert ever. For those that objected to any “musical anomalies”, know that this was meant to be pure fun……..and believe me, it was fun! AND a lot better than sleeping through a “perfectly played” classical piece. Thanks to all for providing this entertainment to our area and a special thanks to Mr. Bregovic and his amazing group for an evening that still makes me smile.

I think it was a fabulous night! I did not have such a good time in a while. I think that the people who criticized the concert did not do their homework before. This is what you should expect from a Goran Bregovic concert. If you don’t like him, don’t waste your money! It is so Easter European and to say that this music was boring is an ofense to our folk music. For people like me, who are so far from home, this was such a nice reminder that no matter how many years I have spent overseas, I am still an Easter European at heart.
Love it, love it, love it!!!

The best concert in the Hill Auditorium that I attended. We are there four to five times a year and I have never seen the audience responding to the music in such a fantastic way. It was great to have Bregovic bringing the unique sounds and rhythms from the rich Balkan folk music for a night to our Ann Arbor.

My first exposure to the music of Goran Bregovic was 12 years ago, through Polish and Ukrainian friends. I never imagined I would be lucky enough to see him and his orchestra live in Ann Arbor. I want to thank Natasa, UMS, and everyone who worked so hard to bring him to Hill Auditorium. I had an excellent time dancing with all of the other concert-goers who were enjoying themselves. This is joyous music (for weddings and funerals! and other parties) intended for singing and dancing and participation. I couldn’t imagine sitting though the entire performance.

It must be extremely difficult, and expensive, to bring such a large band and its brass instruments over from Europe and manage their transport, lodging, and everything else. It’s a necessary sacrifice to have some of the music programmed into the computer. I was disappointed at first as well, but it didn’t take much thought to understand why much of the rhythm and bass tuba were pre-programmed.

This was my first time at Hill so I’ll take everyone else’s word for it that this was the most alive we’ll ever see it. I hope my next experience at Hill Auditorium comes close; I almost always prefer dancing to music over sitting passively.

I loved it. Especially the energy that came through live concert. Very popular Balkan interpreters like Shantel, Goran brings this lively street music to unfamiliar audience with skill. This music is the part of so many people’s daily lives who don’t really care about playbacks and pretend conducting. They just live it.

I particularly liked the Georgian like vocals coming through the male vocals. I felt finally like I was at a Georgian table music gathering. His Serbian roots shined. The Bulgarian vocals through the women singing is also used by Balkan BeatBox, Shantel, even Tuvans. It was so delicious. And the brass and the clarinet was the touch of the Turkish influence coming through the Bosnian, Albanian filter. And Goran in the middle with his OK guitar playing and playbacks back put it together.

On top of that please join me admiring the wonderful gypsy voice, that showed the burden/joy which gypsies themselves went through pleasing all these different cultures, gluing them through centuries. His voice had hints of Rajasthan vocals, Punjabi modern sounds from London’s underground, sad twist like the river of the Nile and beaten up sorrow of flamenco dance floors. Which makes me want to see Cigala cconcert coming up so badly.

I adore Goran a whole lot more now than two days ago. For giving us all a gimps of what brings joy to a little girl dancing in her mom’s kitchen a late afternoon hearing the off-beat rhythm coming through the radio. In fact there was a ten year old blond girl of Ann Arbor dancing in the aisles, channeling her.

Thank you so much for making such a joyful event a reality.

This was one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen, totally over-the-top great. Goran is the mix-master genius putting it all together: the gypsy lead vocals and percussion, Bulgarian women singers, gypsy brass band, Orthodox men’s choir, string quartet, each in their own standard performance costume to highlight the meeting of cultures. He took the audience on a multi-cultural journey, and their joy in going on the ride was obvious.

I was not bothered by the volume, sitting near the stage, nor by the computer tracks. After all, there were 19 amazing musicians on stage. Did it really matter that the one or two more, adding to the rhythm section, were on a track and didn’t require more flights and hotel rooms?

Goran and the musicians were obviously having a great time and were thrilled by the enthusiasm of the audience. I even noticed the sax player taking photos of US! I don’t live in Ann Arbor, and don’t know about the Serbian/Croat/Roma community in Michigan, or if people came from across a multi-state region to be there, but it was obviously a joyous “gathering of the clan” that I felt honored to witness.

This was one of the finest evenings of music I have ever seen at Hill.
I am astonished that any of the apparently very inflexible complainers above would not have connected with this amazing cultural journey.
True music lover open their minds to other forms of musical expression.
Please disregard those who are looking for something to complain about and book more shows like this. This is the joy of music at its best!

With all g-r-e-a-t things in life – there are those who applaud and those who are nay-sayers. The most valuable history feels like a transgression, and thus, brings progress. Thank you UMS!

What a terrific show, and an unbelievable chance of a lifetime! I would have never dreamed that I would have been able to see Goran live, in the US, or 20 minutes from home for that matter. The quality and volume of the music surpassed expectations! The set list was terrific as well. This is not music ment to be played at elevator levels.
The show did start a little late, which can occur for a variety of reasons. My frustration was generally with patrons though, who failed to get to their seats promptly. At the supposed start of the show, a quarter of the seats were still empty. For the few detractors out there, try listening to the artist’s work before coming to the show. That may give you a little feel for whether or not its something you may enjoy ahead of time. I know the 80 year old couple in front of me had the time of their lives. I hope I’m still dancing in the isles in my golden years. If you left early, you really missed an opportunity for moments of sheer bliss.