By Melissa Natividade
Staff Writer
Shaky hands, anxious smiles, sweaty palms — all are symptoms of classic pre-show jitters that many artists often have before a performance. Unless, of course, you were one of the aspiring musicians performing at the CUB Alt Student Band Night on Friday, March 4, in the Brower Student Center.
Decked with an aura of confidence, the bands Prince and Beggar, Good Luck Spaceman and Secret Mountain took the stage and shook the crowd out of its slump of quiet winter nights with some alt-rock vibrations.
The night started slow, but took shape as the band, Prince and Beggar, played the first set of the night a few hours before its second scheduled performance of the night at the Music for Multiple Sclerosis event hosted by TCNJ’s STAND.
“We always enjoy playing Cub Alt events,” Prince and Beggar drummer and sophomore political science and Spanish double major Karl Weiskopk said. “They’re SAF-funded, so we have actual, proper equipment to perform and a stage and that’s the only way to actually get our full sound to come through.”
The funding and structure set for the event were definitely a major plus for all of those who performed. A special thanks from all three bands was also extended to the sound engineers of the night, interactive multimedia majors and siblings, freshman Karin and senior Chris Flannery.
Secret Mountain was the second band to hype up the crowd with original songs like “Shift Happens” and “Fiona.”
“We weren’t nervous, but that’s because we prepared ourselves by meditating and looking up some dank memes. That’s what gets us going,” Secret Mountain drummer and freshman urban education major Max Falvey said.
The one flaw of the evening, which was pointed out by all of the students who were interviewed, was the lack of publicity for the event. Posters were hung up and a Facebook page was created for the event, but as freshman psychology major Dylan Brigden said, “There were definitely not enough people who knew about this event.”
Playing original tracks off their EP “Come Here It’s Quick,” Good Luck Spaceman finished the night with a bang, announcing its upcoming tour in May, as well as a new EP to be released soon.
“It’s always awkward to play for such a small crowd, especially in a place like the Stud,” Goodluck Spaceman vocalist and junior communication studies major Jake Rubin said. “But I think that has more to do with the publicity than it does with the event. Still, the sound is great and you get paid some good cash, and that’s always great.”
Each band of the night has music available on the music streaming website Bandcamp.
CUB Alt showcases several shows a semester, including three soloist nights and four band nights, as well as a student comedy night and spoken word night. Don’t miss the next student soloist night on Tuesday, April 5, in the Decker Social Space.
