Verizon College Tour brings small but faithful following

The Greater Richmond Convention Center housed a school of rejects of sorts Tuesday night as lackluster ticket sales drew a small crowd for the Verizon College Tour. Opening up for The All-American Rejects were Damone, Ima Robot and Under the Influence of Giants. VCU was one of 15 college and universities across the Atlantic Coast to host the tour.

Although the show was booked in one of the largest exhibit halls within the building with a capacity of 2,500, half of the hall was reserved with seating in front of the stage.

“I thought that there would have been many more students,” said Ankur Patel, freshman biology major. “But seeing that there were only enough students to cover half of the floor at the convention center, the location issue should have been thought about more seriously. A smaller venue would make more sense because it adds to the atmosphere of a rock concert and is the ideal rock concert.”

Hailing from Boston, the rock-infused quartet Damone began the show with an intriguing rock-and-roll set filled with hard guitar riffs and melodic vocals. Though lead singer Noelle LeBlanc noticed ticket sales were low, she was surprised by the amount of the energetic audience.

“It turned out to be a good crowd,” she said. “Richmond is an awesome city. It’ s great to experience the vibes of the people and the culture.”

LeBlanc mentioned that the unique crowd of students “wonderfully” supported their performance.

“Every place is different. Richmond had an awesome crowd though,” she said.

“I liked that it was a small show, but a good one,” said Annie Leffingwell, a sophomore pre-dental hygiene major. “I liked the environment. It wasn’t too crazy with people mosh-pitting.”

Ima Robot, an alternative band with rock and pop influences, had a vibrant sound with hard freestyle-like vocals that had the audience members clap in-synch with the synthesizer beats.

Alex Ebert, lead singer of the band, caused a burst of laughter in between songs as he called Richmond a “weird town.”

In an interview, Ebert shared that they had been to Richmond before for a huge chili cook-off and musical celebration.

When asked about the inspiration and message behind their newest album, “Monument to the Masses,” he said, “It’s just that feeling that you get in your gut when something hits you and strikes you and gives you that tingling. When you get into that place, when you transcend. It’s the magic of music.”

Under the Influence of Giants, from Los Angeles, performed the ever-catchy song “Mama’s Room,” along with less than a dozen other songs. The set began by the lead singer Aaron Bruno shouting, “I feel like f–ing dancing!” The band’s eccentric choice of lighting and disco sounds made the audience members clap and groove to the tunes.

Guitarist Drew Stewart said that the major influences behind Under the Influence of Giants’ unique sound were “just the love of music. Not condemning any genres but just any music. Talking Heads, the Beatles, Ghetto Boys, gospel, blues, jazz. Just listening to any kind

of music.”

“We just wanted to write an album that covered all different spectrums of emotion; any mood you’re in, there’s something on the album you can

listen to.”

After a dramatic entrance with purple lights and stage mist, Tyson Ritter, lead singer of the headliners, The All-American Rejects, came onstage with black jeans and a white fitted bra across his chest. They quickly began their set with a fan favorite, “Dirty Little Secret,” with which screaming fans passionately sang along.

Other favorites such as, “My Paper Heart” and “Swing, Swing” drew the most audience approval. The set experienced random happenings such as water being thrown at the fans and bras flinging toward the band members.

Ritter performed a mini risque performance by revealing a part of his chest by lifting up his bra and exclaiming, “I feel sexy. I’m bringing it back.”

Ritter also joked that they were sponsored by Victoria’s Secret and admitted, “You all are the first group of people to peep our new formed image.”

The show ended abruptly with the band’s recent single, “Move Along.”

Katie Pugh contributed to this report.