By Nadir Roberts
Arts & Entertainment Editor
CUB Alt went full throttle with a lineup of bands that had students jumping, shouting and dancing to the rhythm. On Friday Oct. 5, Cicala and Toy Cars zoomed into the Brower Student Center Room 225 to open for OSO OSO.
Once Toy Cars left the stage and OSO OSO began to set up, the crowd instantly doubled in size.
The emo / indie rock band hails from Long Beach, New York and is signed to Triple Crown Records. The band is very intimate with the audience and has sentimental lyrics that reach listeners on a deep level.
Playing a mix of songs from their debut album, “Real Stories of True People, Who Kind of Looked Like Monsters” and 2017 project “The Yunahon Mixtape,” the band encouraged fans to sing along, while introducing new listeners to their music.
“I can’t believe I thought I was safe in my most crooked shape, most vulnerable place … and all that time I was hangin’ on your shelf, I was just running away from getting to know myself” sang out lead singer Jade Limitri.
The rolling theme of the night seemed to be jokes about the College that had the crowd laughing nonstop.
“Everytime we play a college show it’s in New Jersey, it’s a scholar state,” Limitri said. “That’s what they call NJ right? The education state?”
Cicala, a band from South Carolina kicked off the show in high fashion with a set comprised of climactic riffs and transitions that had the crowd yearning for their songs to never end. Some songs like “A Diner in Poughkeepsie” combined graphic lyrics with a soft approach.
“And I will bleed out of my mouth, and I’ll never talk again,” whispered Quinn, Cicala’s lead singer.
In between songs and sets, each band killed the awkward silence of setting up for the next song with jokes and appreciation.
“Thank you to The College of New Jersey for having us,” Cicala said. “Thank you to hummus too.”
Cicala met through the music scene a couple years ago and has been together ever since. The band, which has a record coming out this spring, gets inspiration from the likes of Big Thief, Ryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen.
Next up onto the stage illuminated in purple was Toy Cars, a band from Asbury Park, New Jersey. The group kicked up the tempo and brought out high energy and a lot of movement.
During the middle of its set, the band took a moment to sell merchandise, and announced that 100 percent of proceeds went to victims who lost their homes in the California wildfires.
Toy Cars, who did not leave much time in between songs, kept the ball rolling the whole show with fast paced hits accompanied by aggressive vocals. The band executed suspenseful transitions between verses and then lowered the volume to deliver descriptive melancholy verses.
In the band’s closing song, lead vocalist Matteo DeBenedetti sang, “Despite what you may think, everything good must come to an end.”
