Not a table was empty on Tuesday, March 4, as a trifecta of talented performers took to the stage at the Rathskeller, entertaining Rat-goers with a collection of high-energy performances.
First to take the stage for the night was the College’s local band, The Dundees. They primed up the audience with their acoustic guitar and soulful songs.
The Dundees only had two of their members, Matt Iayton and Dan Gibson, but their performance still felt like the complete experience. The band, who met each other their freshman year at the College, have been a common sight at Rat shows.
“We’ve been doing it together for two years. We have great chemistry,” said vocalist and guitarist Gibson.
According to Gibson and Iayton, The Dundees have performed at the venue over five times. Despite being such a recognizable fixture, they give every performance their all.
The second act of the night, NGHBRS, spiced things up with their new-age alternative grunge style. The Long Island natives’ powerful vocals sent shock waves of energy through the crowd. For lead singer Ian Kenny, playing to a packed house was a memorable experience.
“Sometimes we play college shows and no one shows — this is great,” Kenny said.
During the show, the band gave out a free download code to check out their newest album, “21 Rooms,” which came out last summer.
Next week the band will be heading to the South By Southwest music festival in Texas.
The headline performer, Jon Simmons, gave the crowd an intimate performance. He not only enticed the crowd with his original songs and covers, but also told personal anecdotes about this life on the road.
As Simmons explained, it’s not every night he opens up to the audience about his drunken adventures in New York City eating pizza and conversing with a random taxi cab driver.
“No,” said Simmons when asked if he usually gets personal on stage, “tonight was special. I felt comfortable.”
The crowd responded well to his performance, and many thought he did deliver the goods.
“I came here to see Jon Simmons, and I was surprised by how good he was,” sophomore communication studies major Dylan Short said.
Simmons, who is the lead singer for the band Balance and Composure, performed without the rest of his band.
“It was a lot of fun — they were really good acts,” freshman English major Brooke Schmidt said.
