The lights dimmed and graphic screens flashed at 8:30 on Saturday night at the Student Programming Board’s annual Wake the Giant Spring concert at the TD Bank Sports Center. Anticipation was clear as rapper and songwriter Bobby Ray Simmons, better known as B.o.B took the stage.

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Only an hour earlier; however, the crowd was far less impressive. Word-of-mouth spread across campus that the show had attracted only 20 spectators, losing a ratings battle against the heartbreaking game that 8the men’s ice hockey team was playing in Pittsburgh.

 The show started with Wallpaper., a hip-hop and pop band fronted by Ricky Reed, who was voted by the student body to perform as the concert’s opening act, and the crowd of no more than 20 people rocked out to the high-energy set.

Reed even took the time to interact with the audience, asking who “pre-gamed” before the concert, and even asking the score of the game. He thanked the audience for voting for him to perform over the other options and started to perform.

“I loved the concert, even though there weren’t a lot of people here,” freshman Corrina Drost said. “Wallpaper. was pretty good, so I had fun!”

While students felt that they were missing out on the national championship, some students were more innovative in their attempts to do both.

“The concert is awesome, but the game is also so exciting,” freshman Ray Brumleve said, who live-streamed the Quinnipiac vs. Yale game on his smartphone. “I’m really happy I can view both at the same time. It’s practically the best of both worlds.”

There was about an hour of lull time after the opener, during which the audience stood uncomfortably, but by the time B.o.B took the stage there were about 70 people in the audience. Despite it being a smaller-than-expected crowd, the noise levels showed no indication of this.

B.o.B put on an energetic and upbeat performance, as he spit verses and interacted with the crowd while performing fan favorites such as “Beast Mode,” “Nothin’ On You” and “Magic.”

“B.o.B was amazing, I definitely want to see him in concert again,” raved freshman Marissa Faretta. “We got to watch an hour of the game, and still managed to come to the concert so it was great!”

Though it is difficult to call a concert with such a low turnout a success, those who were in the audience enjoyed the performance, and particularly the showy antics of the award-winning rapper.

“The concert was much better than I expected,” freshman Jessica Hernandez said, a longtime fan of B.o.B. “It was really unfortunate that it was at the same time as the hockey game, but I thought it was a lot of fun!”

 B.o.B threw water into the audience, and jumped into the audience to crowd surf several times throughout the performance. Students all but trampled each other in an attempt to touch him, or be a part of the show in some way. The show may not have gained much attention among the Quinnipiac community, but for those who were in attendance, B.o.B has certainly secured himself some fans.

“It was sick, I thought it was awesome,” added junior Mike Woolfson. “I love B.o.B, I think he’s a great artist. It was very worth missing the game!”

After his hour-long set, B.o.B finished with his hit “So Good,” jumping into the crowd, prompting the audience to cheer for an encore.

“Don’t drink and drive,” he advised. “Smoke and fly!”