Nick Stevens

Rock the U! 2011, an annual charity concert, was an event bursting with music at the Student Union Theatre on Saturday afternoon. Four feature acts, including bands playing acoustic guitar, folk rock, punk and blues rock, performed 45-minute sets over the course of the three-hour event put on by Lambda Lambda Lambda and SUBOG. Rock at the U! raised money for the MS Walk, a large fundraising event held by the National MS Society, an organization devoted to research to find a cure for multiple sclerosis. By the time the event started, around 30 people had gathered in the theater.

Jen Guha, a popular solo artist on campus and founder of the a cappella group Notes Over Storrs, was the first performer. Her trademark brooding lyrics about relationships and uncertainty reappeared, along with a few songs about the cathartic feeling of being freed of a relationship and still having the whole future ahead.



Guha's classic powerful and expressive voice helped the audience to connect to each of her songs, which were all original compositions. Several highlights included a song that Guha mentioned she had "finished writing 20 minutes before the show," as well as "The Curse," a song that switched between delicate fingerpicking and angrily strummed chords, representing the good and bad of a relationship.

Though best known for his solo act, Nick Stevens arrived on stage with a full band. The venue was soon filled with Stevens' trademark mature and emotive voice, well-suited to his brand of folk, and the sounds of piano and slide guitar. Though mostly sticking to traditional style folk ballads, such as "The Game," Stevens did change the flow of the evening with a cover of Jay Sean's "Down." After, Stevens gave his band a brief break and played a few solo acoustic songs, consisting of some that he had previously played at UConn's WoodSongs and Live at the U! coffeehouses last semester. Soon the full band returned to the stage and ended the set with a high-energy cover of the Cure's "Friday I'm In Love" that got many audience members out of their seats and dancing in the aisles.

The three-person group, Twin Berlin, went next. Consisting of Matt Lopez on guitar and vocals, Sean O'Neil on bass and James Janocha on drums, high-powered and cymbal-heavy punk was able to grab the audience's attention. Lopez combined the raw guitar playing and attitude of the Clash's Joe Strummer with a deep, Billy Idol-esque voice. Both elements, combined with the frantic up-tempo drumming and furious bass, were well-suited to the catchy, distortion-heavy music performed in a style similar to the Strokes. Their set finished early due to Lopez's sore throat. To fill the time before the final act, Drew Bligh, the guitarist for Nick Stevens, took the stage to entertain the audience with his stand-up comedy routine.

Family of Deers, a five-person blues-rock band, was the last group of the event. The crowd had grown to nearly 100 people by the time of their performance, with many moving to the front of the theater to stand. Family of Deers played a series of original, riff-heavy blues rock songs in the vein of Led Zeppelin, including "Two More Times" and a new tune not previously recorded. The songs were all moderate tempo, which showcased the band's ability to create a simple but deep groove. They continually engaged the concert-goers in many ways, from the booming, driving bass, to the gritty vocals, all the way to the shredding guitar solos. Due to audience demand, Family of Deers came back after their last song with a nearly eight-minute encore piece, showcasing each member of the group one final time.

- The Daily Campus, University of Connecticut

Friday night saw the third annual WoodSongs Singer-Songwriter Competition, held in Whitney Dining Hall. Seven UConn students were selected to play their all-original compositions for a panel of five judges. They included Bill and Kay Pere of the Connecticut Songwriters' Association, Ruth O'Neil and Jim Hammitt of the Song-A-Day Music Center in Coventry and Doug Goodstein, a residential hall director in Northwest Campus. All of the students were guitar players this year, though in the past there had been keyboards involved as well. Trophies and certificates were awarded to the top three finishers. The host of the evening, as it had been for all of the past WoodSongs events, was Jim Rogers, the area assistant manager at Whitney Dining Hall.

Jessie Ryan, a 6th-semester fish and wildlife conservation major, earned first place from the judges. Though the last contestant of the night, she brought a self-described "goofy" feel to her set and was the only entry of the night to focus heavily on soul and R&B in addition to a bit of folk. Her first song, "Let it Go," was a moderate tempo song about letting life and relationships just happen, and not to be afraid to see what happens. "Just a Friend," her second entry, was a more bluesy soul piece, featuring a deep riff-based groove with tempo changes that helped express the ambiguity of the relationship status of the song's protagonist. Ryan also made a large attempt to include the audience in her songs and interact with them.

"I always get nervous before I play, but I love to be goofy and have fun up there," Ryan said about her audience banter. "It helps me relax when I play, and I just want everyone to have a great time."

Nick Stevens, a familiar face from previous WoodSongs competitions as well as various open mics and concerts around campus over the past two years, came in second place. Stevens' deep and mature vocals fit his very folk-oriented lyrics and guitar work extremely well, with his two songs, "Soul" and "Home," both of which were popular items on set lists from his other shows. Third place went to Will Leet, a newcomer to the WoodSongs scene. His two pieces, "Things Will Be Alright" and "We're Not Going Anywhere" were both folk-based ballads with pop styling throw in. Leet's lyrics were extremely detailed and filled with emotional imagery that described the relationship problems he sung about.

There were many other familiar performers that night as well. Austin Bond, who had previously played at last year's WoodSongs, featured songs that were polar opposite emotions, the happy and bouncy "Life in Limbo" and the gritty and scathing "Greed." His songs were enhanced by his rich voice, a characteristic blend of Dave Matthews at more tender moments and Eddie Vedder in angrier ones.

Jen Guha, very active in the campus and Connecticut music scene, was another well-known returning performer. Her trademark combination of lyrical melancholy, fingerpicked guitar playing and powerful but versatile vocals entertained for her two song set. Raymond Day and his electric guitar also returned, having previously played solo as well as with Ryan Pape, at WoodSongs events past. His songs included "Crazy People" a song he had previously played with his band Daypape, as well as a politically-oriented song that protested against what Day called a "paternal government."

The show had begun with a new face, Joey Conti, who brought two contrasting songs to his set. Conti mentioned that the first, "Space and Time," was meant for a full backing band, and was a bouncy riff-based pop rock song. "Fables by Firelight" was next, a slower acoustic ballad song featuring themes of unrequited love.

Bill and Kay Pere also performed five-song set while the judges deliberated after the contestants had played. Their songs were mostly of a 1970s ballad flavour, similar in style to Harry Chapin. This was no coincidence, as the two were admirers of Chapin and his social activism. The two mentioned how they had founded the Local United Network to Combat Hunger, for which a raffle was held that evening, to continue on the legacy of Chapin's life-long social work.

Attendance was high throughout the entire evening, averaging between 50 and 60 people, surprising some.

"The turnout was so much better than last year's," said Erin Lofink, an 8th-semester English major. "I'm so impressed!"

trend stands to continue, as Dan Peacock, an 8th-semester political science and economics double major said. "It was an excellent showcase." - The Daiy Campus, University of Connecticut