Hundreds of students listened to musical performances by The Receiving End of Sirens (TREOS), Men, Women and Children, Brazil and Quinnipiac’s own Stone Quarries Saturday night in Alumni Hall at WQAQ’s annual spring concert.
According to WQAQ co-music director DJ Bernat, there were close to 400 people in attendance.
“I was hoping there would be more people, but 400 or so is respectable with the number of other events going on around campus,” Bernat said.
The turnout was smaller than the sold-out crowd at last year’s concert, but it was clear that those who came out really wanted to see the bands perform.
“The crowd was smaller than last year but everyone took it to a different level, so it seemed packed. Everyone really wanted to be there and see the bands,” said Jerome Palmeri, co-music director for WQAQ.
Bands members also noticed the intensity of the crowd. The crowd was “so positive, not to mention seeing familiar faces in the crowd, but I remember specifically during ‘The Evidence,’ the crowd was louder than [vocalist and guitarist] Alex,” said Nate Patterson, guitarist for TREOS.
In between songs, Alex Bars of TREOS said: “You guys are loud and I love it.”
TREOS played songs off its last record, including “The Evidence,” “This Armistice,” as well as an encore of “Planning a Prison Break.” Additionally, the band played two songs off its upcoming album “The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi,” which is due out on Triple Crown Records in July. Band members interacted and joked with fans throughout the show. They also conversed with fans after their performance.
Men, Women, and Children put on an energetic show marked by a lot of crowd interaction. Having recently returned from the United Kingdom, the band made a special stop at Quinnipiac before beginning its debut headlining tour this Wednesday. At one point the lead singer handed a helmet to an audience member and told her to form a “party train” around Alumni Hall with other fans jumping in.
Men, Women and Children also got the crowd involved with a lot of clapping and singing. The band played for 50 minutes, featuring songs like “Messy,” “We’re Losing Oxygen” and “Dance in my Blood.” It also played “Monkey Men,” where two inflatable monkeys were brought on stage to dance around.
The band kept it fun when a bubble machine went off during the last song of the set.
Additionally, Brazil also played. Dressed in suit jackets, oxford shirts and ties, band members looked as if they just came from a day at the office.
Keeping with the interactive theme of the night, Brazil dedicated songs to fans singing along to every word in the front of the crowd. Featured in Brazil’s 50-minute set were “Vapors,” “Cameo,” “Contributor” and “Strange Days.”
The concert opened with a performance by Stone Quarries, the winners of WQAQ’s annual Battle of the Bands contest. The Stone Quarries, who often play at Side Street, were able to expose its music to a different crowd.
“You put them on such a pedestal and it doesn’t seem real ’til you’re all sitting in a room together,” said Matt DeMello, a keyboardist and QU sophomore.
“There are a lot of people here, so I’m psyched,” DeMello said after the band’s performance. “It’s a first-time experience for me. I have never been in a band that’s opened for such major label groups.”
