Whatever the case, my first experience as an enthralled audience member at a major arts event in Ann Arbor took place close to forty years ago, in 1971. Some of my high school cronies and I drove to Hill Auditorium to see a performance by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, a leading avant-garde troupe that is still led to this day by the 90-year old choreographer Cunningham.

Admittedly, we weren’t big fans of dance at the time, but we idolized John Cage, the revolutionary composer responsible for such infamous works as “4' 33",” during which a performer sits at his or her instrument and deliberately doesn’t play anything for, you guessed it, four minutes and thirty-three seconds. Keith Richards could barely hold a candle to Cage when it came to breaking all the rules and being rebellious, something which had endless appeal to us know-it-all, smart-ass teenagers. And Cage was going to be in person at Hill performing music live (not the silent “4' 33") to accompany Cunningham’s dance troupe.

A bit late to the show, we walked in on a dreamlike piece entitled “Rainforest,” and the sounds and images I witnessed remain fresh in my mind to this day. The dancers were accompanied by lulling electronics provided by composer David Tudor (Cage sat this one out, as I recall), and the stage was filled with numerous silver-colored, helium-filled Mylar pillows, which floated and wafted through the air. These were designed by Andy Warhol, and the dancers would occasionally bump into the pillows and push them around in crazy ways. The combination of all these elements added up to a uniquely collaborative work of art. Lots of randomness, lots of beauty, and rather strange, all at the same time.

My most recent goose-bump moment at a show in town also involved the work of Andy Warhol. Musicians Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips (formerly of the indie-rock group Luna) performed at the Power Center as part of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival in a presentation called “13 Most Beautiful,” where their music accompanied projections of short ‘screen test’ films Warhol made in the '60s of Dennis Hopper, Lou Reed, Nico, Edie Sedgwick, and many others. Mesmerizing stuff.

These two examples don't even scratch the surface of the vibrant arts scene in Ann Arbor. I started to get a better understanding of how much was truly going on here when I began my gig as the morning drive host at Ann Arbor’s 107one, WQKL-FM, in January of 2006. From the Macpodz to the Michigan Theater, from the Ark to the Ann Arbor Art Center and from Tally Hall to Top of the Park at Ingalls Mall, I quickly found that there are a dizzying amount of choices in town when it comes to the visual arts, music, dance and theater.

This is my first column for AnnArbor.com, which will continue every Sunday beginning July 26. Besides writing about shows and bands and movies and plays and other local arts events, I also look forward to covering some of the behind-the-scenes people who make the arts spark in this city. I greatly look forward to your ideas and your feedback!

Feel free to reach me at martin@annarbors107one.com.