Open Mic brought a great outcome of a variety of students on Tuesday, September 8 at 8 p.m. The night began with a solid set from Letters to Oz, the brainchild of PSU students Abbie Morin and John Belmont. The pair tore through three original tunes, most notably the excellent “Forced Some Feeling” and “The I in Team.” Both are superb singers and guitar players and hopefully they’ll bring some new songs to the plate at future events.
Brendan Gill turned in a solid set featuring an original song and a couple covers. Gill played a very true to form version of the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Slide” and an excellent folked up rendition of Outkast’s “Hey Ya” which nearly brought the house down with a hand clapping riot. Adam Darnell wowed the audience of 30 to 40 students with an amazing cover of Coheed and Cambria’s “A Favor House Atlantic” and a couple originals. Darnell’s voice sounds a little like Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba and he was very enjoyable to watch. The crowd quieted down noticeably during his set as everyone really seemed to want to hear every note he sang. Next up was Jake Desmarais with a couple covers and a cool, funky original. Desmairais’ version of Anthony Green’s “Babygirl” was a real crowd pleaser and he really made it his own. Mike Cuddihy and Aidan McDonnell did an impressive cover of the Kaiser Chief’s “Love’s Not A Competition” featuring a hilarious cowbell cameo by percussion bandit Kurt Pinette before Cuddihy took over and tore through Saosin’s “Seven Years” and a fun version of Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time.” The crowd sang along with Cuddihy throughout the first verse and chorus before he gave up, unable to remember the second verse.
Members of PSU’s own pop punk band Hung Out to Dry played a few acoustic versions of some songs of theirs, most notably the catchy, “Old Fashioned”. There were a few other great moments throughout the evening including a hilarious, mostly instrumental song about a cat not named Richard Parker and the always-enjoyable Ben Trister and his banjo. Trister’s fingers were a blur as they picked and slapped at his trusty banjo while he belted out a few classics like “Morphine” and “Sandy River Bell.” Students should make sure to see Trister play. It’s really one of the coolest things you’ll see at Open Mic Night.
The music ended with Nate Peters playing a few songs like, “The Roads,” and “Wild Drifters.” His unique and ambient voice was a great ending to a great evening. Event organizer Sam Spence kept the mood light and the ball rolling the entire night, so kudos should be extended to her. She’s really doing a great job. Make sure to see or sign up for the next Open Mic on October 6th at 8.p.m in the FPL