By Devin Loring
Correspondent
Student Band Night at the Rathskeller last Wednesday, Nov. 10, was filled with ’90s covers, ukuleles and guest rappers as two bands commanded the stage with their own distinctive styles.
The opening band consisted of Will Haduch, junior civil engineering major, and Tyler Olsson, junior journalism and communication studies major, who called themselves Blue’s My Favorite Color.
Olsson played the ukulele while Haduch played acoustic guitar until he was forced to switch to electric after one of his strings broke. The duo performed a set of cover songs that included Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You,” Brittany Spears’s “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” and Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” where the pair was joined onstage by Victor Oliveira, junior marketing major, who rapped the song to Olsson’s beat-boxing.
Olsson and Haduch’s personable interaction with the audience and interesting array of song choices engaged the audience, establishing a familiarity with the audience.
The duo ended the night with a mash-up that included songs by Alicia Keys, Taylor Swift, Colbie Caillat and Train.
Following Blue’s My Favorite Color was the newly dubbed Time Will Tell. Wednesday night was Time Will Tell’s first show.
Bassist and junior secondary education major Cristian Fernandez is the only member of the band who attends the College. The other members of Time Will Tell are guitarist Matt Gontarek, guitarist Mike Larned, drummer Zachary Shaftan and lead vocalist Chris Ciardiello.
“We thought Time Will Tell was a more serious name (than Blue’s My Favorite Color),” Fernandez said.
Time Will Tell’s loud, yet pop-generated sound gave way to an alternative feel. The band played a mix of original songs and covers, including “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys.
However, because this was the group’s first show, it needed some help with lyrics — Ciardiello apologized for having to read the lyrics from a paper.
“(Playing a song for the first time) is kind of like your first time having sex,” Ciardiello said to the crowd, “at least for me, anyway.”
The fun that Time Will Tell had onstage emanated into the audience — the crowd fed off of the group’s energy and gathered in the pit to dance and sing with the band.
The band’s enthusiasm was evident as Fernandez, Larned and Ciardiello repeatedly jumped around the stage and off amplifiers. One jump even resulted in Fernandez breaking his guitar strap, forcing him to finish the song on his knees.
“I have been (wanting) to be in a band,” Fernandez said to the audience, “and now I’m a junior and finally am.”
