By Caroline English
Correspondent
Not even when the 104.5 band 21 Pilots rocked the Rat last semester was the house this packed. Students here at the College love to support their own.
On Tuesday, Feb. 5, 10 Paces, from Long Branch, N.J., the Dundees, from Hazlet, N.J. and Save Face, also from New Jersey, took the stage at the Rathskellar for the Student Band Night.
“We’re the Dundees and that was weird,” said lead man Tim Bergslien of the Dundees as he signed off after his energetic set.
The Dundees, being the most established of the groups, took the middle of the three sets. Last year, the Dundees won the the College’s Battle of the Bands competition and can be heard on the “Local Noise” show on WTSR. Their Local Noise set is also available on the WTSR website.
The stand-out performance of the evening, however, was by Save Face. Their cover of the song “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness, during their broken down set, had the entire house dancing, while their cover of “Jumper” by Third Eye Blind became a cathartic sing-a-long. Drummer Chris Wills took lead vocals during their Darkness cover, which proved the range and diversity this band could muster.
Through 10 Paces’ dynamic performance of their original song “Eden’s Edge,” and the Dundees’ new song “Make it Out Alive,” the audience was happily sated by all of the performances.
If you are a fan of the Dundees, you would also like fellow New Jersey band Titus Andronicus. Both bands feature melodic bass lines, open guitar and strong imagery in their lyrics. From the crowd favorite “Make it Out Alive,” the phrase “if I can make it out alive, I swear to God it’ll be the last time” repeats, calling for honest emotion from Bergslien.
Lead vocalist Louie Morreale, from 10 Paces, has a vocal style reminiscent of Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam. With lyrics like “what made you walk away from what you had,” their early ’90s influence is apparent, and only underscored further by their heavy riverbed on both guitar and vocals. Their debut album is forthcoming.
Save Face seems to be a motley crew of musicians of the College. Yet their quintessential punk sound mixed with pop sensibility easily won the crowd over. Their free EP is available on their band camp, which is a must have for any Taking Back Sunday or The Academy Is fans.
Come out and support the Dundees on March 2 as they will be back at the College aiming to reclaim their Battle of the Band’s title against four other local bands.
The prize will be a coveted position in high rotation on WTSR, as well as the opportunity to be considered for more CUB Rat shows.
