The local music scene received an injection of rock from students on Monday’s Open Mic Night from PACE. With Oreos in hand and a comfy seat, the crowd gathered around the Fireplace Lounge to enjoy a night of good music and to cheer on their friends.
The openers of the night, Tyler Borror and Ryan Williamson, started out with two well-done covers of Johnny Cash tunes. Following them was Matt Leveille trying to get a crowd reaction with his rendition of “Play That Funky Music.” He practiced his air guitar skills and brought some ladies on stage to add to the festivities.
Luiz Pinheiro and Doug Setzler took the stage and dedicated their first song to future performer Mike Kim, who performed later on in the show. It was a quiet duet of guitars that had them playing off of each other, intertwining until Pinheiro took the mike. The following two songs capped off a strong performance.
Mike Kim took the stage with his acoustic cover of “The Color and The Shape” by the Foo Fighters that instantly transported the crowd back to 1995. Quiet, yet powerful, it was a great lead off to his invitation for Aliah Cortes to join him on stage. Together the duet covered Jewel’s “You Were Meant For Me” and Cortes awed the crowd with honeyed pipes.Ryan Marchand was next, and brought with him handclaps and a little Usher. His acoustic cover of “Nice and Slow” was not only hilarious, but it was also well-done and consistent with his overall style. His performance kept the crowd entertained and the audience in their seats.Tyler Newton, Derek Heideman, and Ryan Kinghorn brought back a little Forging Reverie to the stage and with the night’s performance, one can hope that future band happenings continue. Heideman and Kinghorn create a great laying for Newton’s voice. It was a very strong performance by the trio that hopefully will soon have a new drummer.The night capped off with a little blues and “Sexual Healing” from DJ J-Money, aka Jerod Kerouac. This was, overall, a successful, be it long, Open Mic.