Bronkar Lee (right) and Aaron Williams were the ‘Collision of Rhythm’ playing at the Ellen Eccles Theatre on April 13.

LOGAN – With a name like Collision of Rhythm, you’d expect this show to be something like Stomp, with lots of banging trash can lids.

Instead, it was two guys, 17 instruments and one show – and what a show it was.

Collision of Rhythm played a one-night stand at the Ellen Eccles Theatre on April 13 as the next-to-last event in the 2021-2022 National Touring Season.

Aaron Williams and Bronkar Lee began the night with a drum-duo performance that gave the show its name, then proceeded to move to other instruments, including an alto saxophone, a Native American flute and a baby grand piano, among others.

Think that an audience full of Later-day Saints would recognize the tune of a song called “Tequila” and chime in at the appropriate time?

Think again.

Williams is a tap-dancing, musical virtuoso. Trained in classic music, jazz and percussion, he achieved Internet fame with a virtual video entitled “Mario on Marimba.”

At last count, Lee plays 42 instruments including drums, saxophone, guitar and the Native American flute (which he insists will calm a crying baby). He can also juggle and beatbox.

The pair filled the stage like a 12-person ensemble, moving from instrument to instrument to create a richly rhythm-centered experience. Their show has been described as “Stomp meets Blue Man meets Cirque du Soleil.”

Bull!

None of those one-gimmick shows can match the sheer talent of Collision of Rhythm. It’s one of a kind, with drumming, tap-dancing, juggling, marimba, piano, saxophone, flute and more.

Williams sits down at the piano to bang of some Herbie Hancock jazz and ends up transitioning to the melodic classic Clair du Lune.

With Lee accompanying on drums, Williams taps his brains out (though he admitted that doing that at 4,534 feet of elevation was a little more strenuous than at sea-level in Los Angeles).

At heart, of course, the pair are musical educators. When Collision of Rhythm’s original scheduled performance didn’t work out in April of 2021, Williams gave teleconferenced workshop for local music teachers. And Wednesday, they gave a student matinee of Collision of Rhythm for 850 schoolchildren.

The next – and last – performance in the CacheARTS 2021-2022 National Touring Season will be the fun-filled Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre on May 11, featuring talented furry performers rescued from animal shelters.

The Cache Valley Center for the Arts is an independent non-profit organization that promotes the use of Cache Valley’s publicly owned cultural arts facilities.

Those facilities include the Ellen Eccles Theatre, the Thatcher-Young Mansion and the Bullen Center.







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