Past weekend nights playing Rock Band clearly prepared students for Saturday's Third Eye Blind Spring SUB Concert featuring Hoodie Allen. People were jamming on their air guitars and air drums, eyes closed, pretending the music was coming straight out of their fingers.
In other words, the makings of a good old-fashioned rock concert. There was even one small, flickering lighter raised before it was squelched by concert ushers.
Hoodie Allen started off the night right with a solid opening act. He got the crowd revved up, swaying their arms back and forth and even chanting along to his song "James Franco."
Allen was clearly excited to be playing at Notre Dame, and like any good Domer, had obviously done his homework.
During a freestyle South Bend rap, he dropped names of local establishments like Legends and Finny's, even saying he might hit up Club Fever after the show. To which a student in the audience loudly corrected him, "Dude, you don't go to Fever on a Saturday."
Allen made his feelings about USC clear, which without getting specific, clearly matched those of the crowd. Judging by the reaction, he might have made a thousand Notre Dame fans for life from his comment.
In between acts, several groups in the audience raised three fingers into the air as a "Hunger Games"-esque salute to Third Eye Blind.
When the band made their entrance, they were greeted by a crowd that had raided the closets of "Saved by the Bell" characters in an ode to a group that represents all that was great about the 90s.
All the classic songs were there, "Jumper", "Never Let You Go" and saved for the grand finale was "Semi-Charmed Life," which drew a huge explosion of energy from the crowd. A very polite mosh pit almost started.
Some of the band's song choices left something to be desired, and the crowd's energy flagged a bit, but that is going to happen at a concert where the crowd only knows about four of the band's songs.
Third Eye Blind might not be poised for a takeover of this decade, but what made the concert was the audience. Dancing, jumping, air guitar-ing, even a bit of grinding (which is weird to Third Eye Blind) made the concert a blast. The kind of concert that makes you remember what college is all about: good friends and good tunes.
Contact Courtney Eckerle at cecker01@saintmarys.edu
