The sound waves were nearly visible leaving the speakers as they shook the gold chandeliers and left a ringing in your ears. No, this was not the backdrop of a new underground club, but merely an attempt at music by a band aptly named Unamused Dave.
Those few in attendants would turn away and plug their ears, as leader singer and guitarist Seth Wagers, belted lyrics into the microphone.
Bradley’s Activities Council (ACBU) held the show, Rock Into Spring, as part of their Music Live concert series last Thursday.
“When we first planned the event, we were hoping to have it outside,” Music Live Co-coordinator Sam Bondi said. “Give people an opportunity to escape from finals and escape from their stress.”
Though Unamused Dave left the crowd feeling much like their name, The Strive stepped up the game.
The Kansas City, Missouri band played the Student Center Ballroom as if it were Renaissance Coliseum. Raising the attendance numbers to about 90 people, as students would stroll in from the Student Center according to Bondi.
“People can always expect us to go full out for a show,” lead vocalist Brendan Stevens said. “That’s what sets us apart from other bands.”
Combining a mix of popular covers like, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” and “Stacy’s Mom,” just to name a few, The Strive had concert goers on their feet and singing along.
“I’ve been looking [The Strive] up on the YouTube and [they’re] really good,” freshman Jack Ellis said. “It’s not necessarily my type of jam, I like acoustic more, so this is different than what I normally listen to, but it’s totally cool.”
The band played original music as well, like Stevens’ favorite song, “Sleepless.”
“It’s a very personal song about my mother’s death,” Stevens said. “She died when I was very young and it has stuck with me.”
Throughout the night, Stevens interacted with audience members by asking if they were having a good time, encouraging them to clap along, and even speaking briefly about the resources for mental health at universities.
After the show, The Strive stayed back to fans and even offered a little music business advice.
“Maintain an independent mindsite throughout the entire [business process],” drummer and sound engineer Nick Stacy said. “The best thing is to be independently operated and run.”
After the show, Tran said she, as well as the a few other members of ACBU, went out to dinner with The Strive.
“They are very down to earth genuine people,” Music Live Co-coordinator Mikki Tran said. “Which I was surprised about. With artists anything could honestly happen.”
While the crowd saw a team of ACBU coordinators running around in teal shirts, what they didn’t see was the amount of preparation needed before a concert.
The band was booked at National Association for Campus Activities (NACA), a regional conference held in the fall and spring. According to Bondi, ACBU is able to book acts at a discounted rate through the conference, which is how they could afford to make the concert free for students.
“[Last semester] we had to present the event ideas to SABRC and make sure they all think the event is good enough for the amount of money that we will spend,” Tran said. “This semester, it was more so planning marketing and how volunteer positions would work.”
During the day of, event coordinators set up green rooms and stock them with whatever the performers need. Not to mention, dealing with last minute surprises.
“Unfortunately with the weather, which is always unpredictable, we had to move the show indoors,” Bondi Said. “We were expecting it to be over 100 [in attendance] if it was outside.”
While coordinators were disappointed with attendance, concert goers like Teresa Hernandez showed excitement after the event.
“I really think they made this event a rocky atmosphere,” Hernandez said.
Bondi echoed Hernandez’s sentiments.
“Everyone who was there had a good time,” Bondi said. “Even people who don’t listen to that kind of music said we did a good job and that they enjoyed the show.”
Though the show didn’t live up to ACBU’s full expectations, advisor Lauren Smetana was still proud.
“It is always amazing to see what the students can do,” Smetana said. “It’s far from easy to organize and execute a show, but they somehow manage to do it every semester. “
Unlike most bands who visit Bradley, The Strive opted to use their own sound equipment and played along with a background track.
Unamused Dave, a Peoria local band, loudly jammed while concert goers look visibly annoyed.
Once The Strive started playing, fans bum-rushed the stage to get closer to the lead singer.
ACBU members work together to set up banners and prize table to entice audience members.
Brandon Stevens, The Strive lead singer, sang a set of covers to get the crowd excited.