Audience excitement level pleases bands

Jason Gulley/Exponent Photographer BOUNCE WITH ME: Bill McShane, vocalist and guitarist for Ultimate Fakebook, bounced on stage Tuesday night at a concert in the Purdue Memorial Union North Ballroom.

By Beth Massura
Staff Writer

Although they were neither the first nor the last band to perform, Lucky Boys Confusion was the highlight of the concert held Tuesday night in the Purdue Memorial Union North Ballroom.

"LBC rocks," said Jon Beal, a freshman in the School of Technology. "I knew it was gonna be rowdy, but that was intense."

The audience jumped around as they sang along to old LBC favorites such as "Bossman" and "Fred Astaire," and heard LBC’s new songs "Atari" and "Something to Believe."

"I was pretty surprised," said Stubhy Pandav, vocalist for LBC. "I expected not that many people would know who we are. I can’t believe how many kids knew the words."

He said it’s hard gauging how big the band really is because their popularity is high, but their record sales are low.

LBC is working on a new record due out this summer. The band played some of their new songs to see what the crowd thought.

"I really think they went over well," said Pandav. "Reactions are good. It keeps you wanting to write."

Pandav said college shows are interesting because there are smaller crowds and no barricades.

"Tonight was awesome because I got to get in (the audience’s) face and sing to them."

Even members of the other bands playing at the event were impressed by LBC’s show.

"I thought it rocked," said Jeff Johnson, vocalist and guitarist for the Red Hot Valentines. "I never saw Lucky Boys (Confusion) before. I thought they were really good."

Bill McShane, vocalist and guitarist for Ultimate Fakebook, was a little intimidated by the crowd’s excitement for LBC at first, but was pleased with the turnout.

"We played and a lot of people stuck around (for our set). We’re totally happy with it, especially for our first time playing here."

PSUB concert director David Worniak, a freshman in the School of Management, said around 350 people came to the show.

"It turned out better than expected," he said.

The Red Hot Valentines opened the show with songs such as "Sincere," "Everything’s Fine" and "I’m Sorry." The audience responded favorably to RHV’s music, even though some were not familiar with the songs.

"The crowd was really good for never seeing us before," said Johnson. "We’re not a very large band."

He said the band would love to return to Purdue. "If they ask us, we’ll be back."

"They’re just as good as the other bands, but their fan base isn’t as big," said Kyle Eickhorst, a freshman in the School of Management, of RHV. He said he heard of RHV from friends in Champaign, Ill., the band’s hometown. Headliners Ultimate Fakebook finished the night with songs such as "Soaked in Cinnamon," "Perfect Hair" and "When I’m With You, I’m OK."

Rob Soden, a junior in the School of Science, said he came to see Ultimate Fakebook.

"I know not many people know about them. I’m glad a lot of people turned up."

McShane said UFB would definitely like to come back to Purdue. "There’s no job too tough for Ultimate Fakebook. We’ll rock who we didn’t rock this time."

 

Purdue Exponent 2002