Almost 6,000 undergraduates braved a rainy forecast to come out for Fall Fest this past Saturday, Sept. 8.
OneRepublic opened the show with six tunes that went mostly underappreciated by an impatient audience. Their final performance, "Someone to Save You," was heartfelt and sincere, and the projector screens on both sides of the stage showed front-man Ryan Tedder with a fist over his chest. Bassist Brent Kutzle briefly rocked out on his cello, drawing cheers and turning heads.
"When they brought out the cello, it really added to the sound," said pit crew worker and UB alumnus Christopher Wirz.
Though OneRepublic served as an extremely modest opening act, the group seemed to be well-received by those 3,000 or so students present and willing to listen.
"They were hot," said Ada Wong, a freshman biological sciences major.
Trapt took the stage after an intermission that was spiced up by the Kiss Cam, which projected unsuspecting couples in compromising positions on the stage screens.
"It's funny," said sophomore undecided-major Jose Recalde, commenting on the Cam. "It's a good way to pass the time."
"Stillframe" was Trapt's first performance and set the bar high early on. The act kept the energy high for all five songs but was cut short for time constraints.
"It was awesome. I really like them; he's a really good singer," said Megan Stratton, a junior communication major.
Two of their hits, "These Walls" and "Headstrong," pumped the crowd up enough to get hands in the air, though the audience remained still for much of the set.
Amy Kessler, an on-campus cook, brought her seven-year-old son Kyle to the show.
"These guys are pretty good!" he said during "These Walls."
Kessler commented that she felt perfectly comfortable bringing a child to the show, and that the genre and ambiance of this year's Fall Fest was much improved since last year.
"I definitely approve," she said.
"I like Trapt but I'm waiting for the All-American Rejects," said Ashley Johnson, an eager sophomore civil engineering major.
However, not every member of the crowd was as pleased by the acts.
"It's not my music," said Danette Wawrcymiec, a senior economics major who traveled from Buffalo State to attend the show with friends. "This is just for the experience."
She commented that she would have rather seen Dave Matthews Band.
Matt Cobb, recent UB alum, preferred country acts.
"I don't hate this, but I'd never buy it," Cobb said, adding that Garth Brooks and Brad Paisley were his artists of choice, rather than groups such as Reel Big Fish, who took the stage following Trapt.
"Your Guts" was their first song, and the Fish began with vocals mildly out of tune but otherwise pumped up, echoing the audience's excitement to see the ska act.
The crowd grew progressively louder and more charged as the night drew on and, by the Fish's final song, was cheering, shouting and tossing full water bottles in an aerial spray that left some sections in the front drenched.
"They're the best live show around," said fifth-year political-science major PJ Hines. "I've seen them four times now and each time they blew the place away."
OneRepublic appeared for a backstage interview during intermission and during part of Reel Big Fish's act.
"Thank you for representing the East coast," Tedder said, addressing the entire UB campus. "This is our first New York experience, and we love New York now."
After the interview, All-American Rejects front-man Tyson Ritter was sighted skateboarding through the halls of Alumni Arena, but did not make himself available for comment.
Jack's Mannequin, the rock act from California and side-project of Something Corporate vocalist Andrew McMahon, took the stage next to even louder cheers from the audience. Tension was building, and a riotous sense of impending action was almost palpable in the humid indoor air.
"This is awesome; I feel awesome right now," said Jeremy Wojcicki, a junior mathematics-major.
Bri Fundalinski, a freshman accounting-major, agreed with the sentiment.
"I'm so excited. This series of amazing bands, it's so great," Fundalinski said.
Jack's Mannequin opened with "The Mix Tape" and "Miss Delaney," both of which disappointingly seemed more buzzkill than business.
"I like them, but they need to get the crowd going," said Alyssa Craft, a Medina High School student who chose to attend for the All-American Rejects.
"The crowd is dead," agreed Steve Olliver, a freshman business major.
By their final performances however, Jack's had pumped some life back onto the floor.
"What we do for a living is such a beautiful thing. We're so lucky to be here," said front man McMahon, who then thanked the crowd for being "such a gracious audience."
With that, he threw himself into "I'm Ready" and four other final songs, each of which saw hands in the air and a more charged floor. The energy stayed all the way up through their final song, "Made For Each Other," which saw McMahon making passionate love to his piano amid screams from nearby fans.
"The All-American Rejects are our generation's soundtrack," claimed freshman nursing-major Ashley Hanhurst as Jack's Mannequin left the stage.
Whether or not that's accurate ("I love them, but that's definitely not true," said senior biological sciences major Cy Tipton), the crowd was more than willing to welcome the Rejects in Buffalo style.
The floor and stands were nearly full, and almost everyone close enough to feel the speakers' bass screamed in celebration at the sight of Ritter taking the stage.
"It is so good to see so many smiling faces tonight," he said into the mic.
UB witnessed a much-matured version of the Rejects, who have come a long way from the earnest but very green high-school garage band that signed with Doghouse in 2001.
"Are you ready to get sexy?" asked Ritter, provoking catcalls and cheers from the audience. He and the Rejects seemed at ease with a full house, and showcased their guts with a 12-song act plus an encore.
"Dirty Little Secret" opened their show, but the vocals were nearly drowned out by the audience, singing along.
"Remember this from high school?" asked Ritter, who launched into their seventh song, "Swing, Swing."
After their tenth, "My Paper Heart," Ritter returned to the stage with a beer funnel and demanded to see somebody's ID.
"I have a little whip here," he said, smirking. The audience roared.
A student named Emily became a minor celebrity for the night, after being escorted on stage to show Ritter some identification and down a beer onstage in one shot.
The audience shouted for an encore after "The Last Song," and the Rejects hopped back into position - almost as if they'd been expecting it. They played "Move Along" to righteous accompaniment by a singing, shouting crowd.
"The encore was awesome. Everyone was going crazy," said Matt Hargenbergh, a freshman electrical-engineering major whose roommate, Chad Jackson, caught one of the drumsticks tossed by Rejects-drummer Chris Gaylor. "I was definitely into it."
"I listened to them in high school; it really brings back a lot of memories," added Tipton.
With the All-American Rejects having come and conquered, the floor began to empty out.
"It was amazing," said sophomore psychology-major Jen Walnick. "One of the best concerts I've ever been to."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
