Most people on campus are probably completely unaware of the fact that there was a free concert on Friday, Nov. 18. Tenement Halls, Destroyer, and The Hong Kong were the three acts, and probably also unknown to most of the student body. The Indie Thanksgiving Concert was in the Richmond Salons on the upper level of the University Student Commons. It was scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. but due to the poor attendance, Tenement Halls decided to wait until about 7:40 to get things rolling.
By that time about 30 to 40 people had showed and were ready to hear what Chris Lopez (singer/songwriter of Tenement Halls) and his band had to offer.
The first two songs were fairly uneventful, but did call for a few reserved yet spirited head bobs and/or knee thrusts. Song three, “As Long as it Takes,” had a simple but very interesting feel as both guitar players showed their versatility by switching to keyboards for the song. This dual key effect was a refreshing change from contemporary band structure.
While many of the lyrics were about past loves gone wrong, all of the music was very energizing and even triumphant at times.
The climax of the performance was probably the song “Starless Night” which featured a beautifully crafted keyboard part. Sophomore Ramona Turpin said that she thoroughly enjoyed them. “They sounded a bit like the Foo-Fighters on a song or two,” she said. Tenement Halls traveled to Charleston, S.C. the next night en route home to Atlanta.
The second act of the night was lucky enough to have the biggest crowd, which still only peaked at about 50.
His name was Daniel Bejar, and he stood alone with only an electric guitar. There was no mistaking his favoring of Bob Dylan. Everything from his big head of hair, to his high-pitched voice, to his thought provoking lyrics, to his actual singing style and word placement were all very “Dylanesque.”
The moment that Bejar began, everyone sat down but did not divert their attention. This made for a rather intimate living room-like setting.
His first song was “Music Lovers,” which seemed to be completely appropriate for the relatively small crowd, all of whom decided to see good, live music as opposed to getting drunk at some frat house (at least for three hours). The lyrics were, “People say they just didn’t want it enough, but we are the music lovers.”
After that song, the audience seemed to be itching for whatever the next song had to offer. “Don’t become the thing you hated” was another of the many inspirational phrases that Bejar had to offer.
The fifth song, “Goddess of Drought,” also seemed to strike a philosophic chord with some. Bejar’s one weakness was that as soon as one would be expecting a breakout of expression or at least another verse, the song would end abruptly and sound unfinished.
The third act, The Hong Kong, wasted no time in starting, but sadly drew the short straw when it came to audience numbers.
What they did do, though, which was very smart, was ask everyone to take about seven steps forward. In doing so, they eliminated the ever present 10-15 feet that separates audience and band at these types of events.
The whole band wore black and was topped off by singer Catherine Culpepper whose voice was just as sexy as she was.
The second song they played was “Colored Noises,” which sounded very similar to a lot of mid-90s indie-rock. “Mozoratti” was also a very good song; it had a Cranberries feel to it but surprisingly enough, possessed more excitement.
The Hong Kong also offered us the first guitar solos of the night. They weren’t extravagant, but they were very well placed and executed.
After the show freshman Kristen Ita said, “I hope they have more stuff like this in the future.” Freshman Collin Joyce, a man of few words but seemingly infinite wisdom, said that it was “kick ass.”