Nearly 2,000 students kicked off their weekend by rocking out to hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang and jam band Of A Revolution (O.A.R.) at the Student Union Board (SUB) spring concert Friday night.
SUB concert programmer Matt Stolze said SUB initially planned to sell 1,100 tickets to students, but the overwhelming student demand for tickets prompted SUB to sell more tickets.
"We worked with campus officials to increase the number of tickets sold," Stolze said. "I'm happy to say that after this increase, we sold approximately 1,940 tickets."
Chiddy Bang opened the concert for an enthusiastic Stepan Center crowd, playing new songs in addition to their most popular single, "Opposite of Adults."
Freshman Bobby Hess said he thought the audience reacted favorably to Chiddy Bang's performance.
"I felt that most of the population at the concert was looking forward to Chiddy Bang more than O.A.R.," he said. "Everyone was really excited at the end when they [Chiddy Bang] came back on stage to play with O.A.R."
Students agreed that Chiddy Bang's collaborative finale on O.A.R.'s fan favorite "That Was a Crazy Game of Poker" was the highlight of the night.
Senior Julie McCaw said she also enjoyed Chiddy Bang's initial performance and their surprise appearance at the end of the show.
"They brought a lot of energy to the stage which helped get the crowd into their music," she said. "One of my favorite parts was when they took words and phrases from people in the crowd and then freestyled."
Headliners O.A.R. followed Chiddy Bang with an engaging performance that exceeded the audience's expectations.
"[O.A.R.] was so much better live than I was expecting them to be," sophomore Caroline Lennon said. "I didn't go to the SUB concert last year, so I had low expectations for the show being in Stepan [Center], but both acts were really good. It was a good scene."
Sophomore Kat Wilson said she had seen O.A.R. perform live before Friday's show, and this show compared favorably with her previous experience.
"They were just as good as the time I saw them before, but it was cool that all of my friends were there with me," Wilson said. "They did a good job of pulling off the show in Stepan, and I really liked that everyone was so close to the stage."
McCaw had also attended an O.A.R. concert in the past, but she said this concert was enjoyably different.
"In both concerts they played some of my favorite songs, like ‘About an Hour Ago,' but [O.A.R.] sounded different both times," she said. "I love the way O.A.R. changes up the way they play their songs every concert, so overall it was really good."
Although students who had seen either group perform prior to Friday's concert expressed more enthusiasm for the performances, both acts also appealed to audience members who were not die-hard fans before the show.
"Even though I'm not really familiar with O.A.R. and didn't know all the songs, I just had a great time with my friends," sophomore Katie Fuentes said. "[Chiddy Bang and O.A.R.] kept the concert going, so it was really fun."
