Kimberly Ilkowski
Staff Writer
The snowstorm and delayed campus opening did not stop a variety of talents from taking the stage Friday, Feb. 14, in the Rathskeller, for Student Band Night.
The show opened with the folk-jazz band Wayfare, made up of senior marketing major Lindsey Meldrum and senior journalism major Tom Ciccone.
Meldrum, an Australian exchange student, led the acoustic set with her soft and sweet vocals alongside Ciccone’s guitar playing.
The duo did a cover of the English folk song, “The Water is Wide,” in honor of Valentine’s Day.
“This song’s about love being fantastic and then really sucking,” Meldrum said.
Along with other covers by Elvis Presley and Suzanne Vega, the band showcased their original work as well.
Ciccone and Meldrum have big plans for the summer, going on tour in the United Kingdom and Australia.
The next act, Old Briar Road, continued the folksy sounds of the night with original pieces off their upcoming album, “Creek Fables.”
The band was comprised of Kyle McCabe, junior interactive multimedia major, on guitar, Julia Malak, communication studies major, on vocals and drums, Michael Cort, junior history major, on vocals, banjo and percussion, and Dan Crowley, a student at Rutgers University, on guitar.
Their cover of “Little Talks,” by Of Monsters and Men, turned into a crowd sing-along, with McCabe and Malak giving a spot-on rendition of the vocals of the popular song.
“We’re all about creating our own sound,” said Cort, who lists The Head and the Heart and The Lumineers as some of the band’s musical inspiration.
The last band of the night, R. Barbara & The Gitensteins, turned up the volume and transitioned the night to rock.
R. Barbara & The Gitensteins’ saxophonist Brian Chesney, a senior music education major, vocalist and guitarist Jake Lewkowski, bassist Sal Trelles, drummer Sam Moeller and keyboardist Jon Flores, all senior civil engineering majors, performed a covers set.
The throwback songs included the works of David Bowie, Velvet Underground, Brian Eno, Steely Dan and Roxy Music.
The band also did a cover of “The Weekend” by Modern Baseball, which particularly excited audience member Brooks Wegmann, a freshman computer science major.
“It was unique how they were able to incorporate a saxophone into a song that was originally only guitar, bass and drums,” Wegmann said.
You can catch Modern Baseball perform at the Rathskeller on Friday, March 7.
