Review: Hillcrest Open Mic!

The open mic at Hillcrest on March 5, 2009, had some very impressive acts, as well as some less impressive acts. While there were not any poems read, there were plenty of musicians who performed songs. The audience was made up of about twenty or thirty students. They were all very respectful of the performers, but not overly enthused by the performances. They were attentive, but seemed like they were partly attending so that they could socialize instead of watch the different acts. The performers were mainly male, the last act being the only two female performers.

There were seven acts, and each was different from the next. The songs performed ranged from Indie music to Rock music to Country music. The various different genres of music added some excitement to the open mic overall. But, the average skill level of the performers lessened the excitement a bit.

The first performer played the guitar and the harmonica, and he also sang. His performance was very impressive. He sang two songs, both with confidence and ease. His raspy voice made his indie-rock song very calming, even relaxing. His first song set a mood for summer nights, as he sang about warm campfires at the beach and community. But the second song he sang had a very depressing theme through it, a song about a girl breaking his heart. He sang it with a lot of emotion, which enhanced his transitions between loving this girl and being broken by her. Both songs he sang were beautiful melodically, and about different and interesting topics, but his presentation of the actual words was quite poor; he did not enunciate enough to understand some parts in both songs.

The next act was a different guy, who also sang two songs. His music was country-rock, with the same summertime feeling as the first performer. At this point, the theme was that everyone was excited for when summer is going to arrive. The first song he sang was about enjoying summer while it lasts. His second song was about a summer fling he had, but it was less poetic than his first song. The first song personified the weather, and really set up a scene of a beautiful summer lifestyle, but then he sang us a vague description of his love life; it seemed sweet, but it was quite hard to find any details about the girl, or any part of their relationship, for that matter. The melodies of both songs were very nice, but the lyrics were inconsistent in their descriptiveness.

Two RA's told jokes and stories in between all of the acts, which slightly stole the spotlight from the performers. But the second to last artist was successful in being noticeable; his song described a lifestyle that many teenagers can relate to, with a very relaxed sound to the music. He described his own rebellious behavior throughout his teen years, and how he felt about his actions; he sang about how he had no regrets for anything he did, and about a girl he loved the whole time. It was not a classic love story, but he added so much emotion through the words he used, glorifying the pain he endured in order to have a good time.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this event, in the case that it happens again. It is a great opportunity for students to perform their art in a safe environment.

By Suzi O'Hare