By Kevin Rehberger
Correspondent
Students were bopping their heads to rock music at the latest CUB Alt show on Friday, Feb. 17, in the Decker Social Space. From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., students heard performances from three bands: openers Secret Mountain and Crying, and headliner LVL UP.
A lot of people attending seemed to be the most familiar with LVL UP.
Devyani Mishra, a freshman biology major, said she had heard of LVL UP, but did not know much about the other two bands before they performed.
This didn’t matter to Mishra, however, because all she wanted to do was come out and hear live musical performances.
“Even if you don’t know the performers, it’s always nice to hear live music,” she said.
Secret Mountain, a New Jersey band, was up first. The band wasted no time getting into its first song once all the equipment was ready to go.
“We’re just going to start,” guitarist Ray Chalmé said. Secret Mountain played kicked off the night with several songs including “Shift Happens,” which is also the name of one of the band’s recent albums.
After Secret Mountain, it was Crying’s turn to play. This New York-based band comprises singer Elaiza Santos, guitarist Ryan Galloway and drummer Nick Corbo. A number of students seemed to enjoy the band’s work, as many of them cheered when the band said it would play its song “Wool in the Wash.”
“I guess you know it,” Santos said in response to the cheers.
One song by Crying, “ES,” stood out compared to the other songs played, as it used chiptune: electronic music that replicates the sounds used in retro video games.
Despite not knowing much about the band before, Mishra seemed fond of Crying’s performance.
“I think I liked Crying the most,” she said while hold a T-shirt she bought from the band’s merchandise stand.
The crowd really got into Crying’s performance, and the band’s members were grateful for the warm reception.
“We are Crying. Thanks for being so nice,” Santos said just before the band left the stage.
The night concluded with New York-based band LVL UP comprising drummer Greg Rutkin and guitarists Mike Caridi and Dave Benton. Corbo, Crying’s drummer who was also a part of LVL UP, performed as the band’s bassist. Corbo, Caridi and Benton handled all of the vocals, too.
The group wasted no time getting started. LVL UP performed a number of songs to finish the night up, including “Hidden Driver” and “Pain.”
A crowd favorite, LVL UP had the audience’s energy up as the attendees were headbanging to songs throughout the band’s performance.
For those who missed the show, some of the bands’ songs can be accessed online for free on Bandcamp’s website.
