By Lara Becker
Staff Writer
Technicolor lights illuminated the walls of the Brower Student Center Room 225 on Nov. 13 as students gathered around CUB Alt’s intimate stage, ready to hear live music, as the doors opened at 8 p.m, from Christian Holden of The Hotelier.
Holden started out his set by telling everyone to take a seat and gather close around the stage. Before the music even started, he engaged in some friendly banter with the crowd, which he said he often practiced more than he did his set. He liked being comfortable on stage and familiarizing himself with the audience.
When Holden did sing, he performed showstoppers such as “Weathered,” “Dendron” and “Goodness Pt. 1.”
“I love being able to play acoustic, and make people laugh — I feel much more in control of the set,” Holden told The Signal. “When I’m doing a full band set, there’s three other people on stage telling me to shut up, but when I’m by myself, no one’s telling me to shut up.”
Holden had two openers before his own performance, both of which did their best to get the crowd excited for the main event.
“I’ve been having dreams, I can’t remember them all,” belted Have a Good Season frontman Nicolas Palermo while closing his eyes to focus on the meaningful lyrics of the opening act of the night.
Have a Good Season opened with a crowd pleaser, “Before the Gold Rush,” with Dan Sakumoto on drums and Dan Stattner on bass. The band, which formed when its members were just high school students growing up in Eatontown, New Jersey, showed off its alternative indie style with a series of guitar-based tunes. The band ended the set with a cover of, “I’ll Melt With You,” which students recognized from a childhood classic film they all fondly remembered, “Sky High.”
“I think college kids are a really important audience to give your music to,” Palermo said at the end of the night. “I appreciate everyone coming out.”
Next up was Jake Ewald, co-frontman of the former band Modern Baseball, who played songs from his recent solo project called “Slaughter Beach, Dog.”
He sang songs off his 2017 album, “Birdie,” such as “Bad Beer” and “Phoenix.” He even brought out his harmonica, which impressed the audience. He contributed to the chill vibes of the night with his peaceful acoustic guitar.
Audience members felt a sense of camaraderie by the end of the event, sitting beside friends, new and old.
“This is the most people I’ve seen at a show in a while,” said sophomore communication studies major Conor Moran. “It’s nice to have all the students come out to an event, especially on just a Tuesday night.”
