Kateland Dittig
Equinox Staff
On Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011, college students claimed to feel on top of the world as they danced in the dark with the bass down low.
The Cataracs, introduced by the acts of Timeflies and Vita Chambers, performed an electrifying show. Around 8 p.m., the Mable Brown Room was filled with dancers getting their boogie on to the hip-hop party rhythms. The high-energy music put people in the proper mindset to have a good time by getting up on their feet and moving. Freshman Lauren Villanovia said, “The openers got the crowd really amped, everyone was feeling it, then when the Cataracs came out, everyone was going nuts and got pumped.”
In the beginning, it seemed hard for people to get into Timeflies’ music as they appeared to be standing around, waiting for a catchy tune, but after a freestyle rap involving Keene State-based things, everyone went wild. References about the Dining Commons, Appian Way, dormitories, local bars, and our rival Plymouth State gained much respect. After, Vita Chambers took the stage where she performed two songs awfully quickly. Following that was a rather long break that frustrated many. There was a thirty-minute window where background music was the only entertainment. Finally the headliners made themselves known, which was well worth the wait.
Even before the concert had begun, the energy was upbeat. Junior Emileigh Liebetruth and sophomore Moriah Ferguson were the first two waiting in line. They posted up base camp at the entrance two hours early to make sure they were front and center at the concert in hopes to touch and, if lucky enough, kiss the artists. Both spoke of their excitement to rave. Liebetruth stated, “Their beats are crazy and allow me to groove; as a dancer I got to get down and their music is hot.”
[singlepic id=595 w=320 h=240 float=right]
The vibes between the bands and crowd could be sensed. Students were pumping their fist, others risked being yelled at by Campus Safety officers for crowd surfing, and the rest were jumping up and down while jamming out.
When asked about making the listeners energized, Cataracs vocalist, David “Campa” Singer-Vine, said to “get on the same level as them, figure out where they’re at, and then do it together, since energy needs a partner.”
Singer-Vine also noted on the hit single, “On Top of the World” as he said, “The way that people respond to that song, it is the highlight of the set.”
Cataracts vocalist, Niles “Cyrano” Hollowell-Dhar talked about the relationship between himself and the audience.
He stated, “Knowing that songs can connect each other is the best, when singing on stage and fans sing the words along, it’s a connection, there is an energy that’s bigger than the money and fame.”
At the end of the day, it is about the music. In addition to the fresh beats, another fine perk was the affordability of the concert.
The tickets only cost five dollars, which was a major incentive. Junior Torri Haddad said, “Five dollars on a Sunday night, why not? I’m not doing anything else so I might as well go for a fun time, people.”
In past years, students have seemed upset or even been disappointed with the artists chosen for the fall concerts, but this year seemed to be much different.
Student Activities Council worked with Concert Ideas, a college concert-booking agency, to find bands that suited best for the date.
With the Cataracs becoming more and more popular with their dance hits, they seemed perfect for the venue. SAC Concert Coordinator, Colleen Butler said, “There has never really been an electronic dance band here before. We wanted to switch things up and create a different atmosphere.”
From ticket sales, it was clear to see that the student body was animated to go see these bands play. Numbers-wise, many more people bought tickets for this concert compared to previous years. It was almost a sold out show as over 850 tickets were purchased. Freshman Olivia Testa made an interesting observation. Testa said, “There weren’t that many people there. I thought it would be a bigger turnout and I also felt like it was all freshmen. There was a lot of underclassmen.”
If someone were to have scanned the room, it would have appeared that younger students attended; maybe it had to do with the genre of music and at whom it is targeted. Whatever the case may be, the majority who were present had an awesome time. Freshman Jackie Kerigan said, “I absolutely loved it, they were good performers. SAC did a good job putting the concert together.”
Even those students who had never really heard about the bands until the announcement of the concert rocked out. Freshman Tyler DiPietro said, “I didn’t really know them too well before, but that didn’t stop me from having a good time, their music was good and I think Keene made a good choice.”
Kateland Dittig can be contacted at kdittig@ksc.mailcruiser.com