More poets, performers hop on the mic

Many students felt Wednesday's Open Mic Night provided relatively diverse performances in comparison to previous Open Mic Nights.

In all, 19 performers displayed their varied musical, poetic and comedic talents.

"I'm glad they have [Open Mic Night]," performer Megan Tucker said. "People who aren't [necessarily] music majors have a place to perform."

Tucker, junior religious studies major, was one of several guitarists to take the stage.

She played covers of Sublime's "Santeria" and Oasis' "Wonderwall" as well as an original song, "I Should Wait." Her voice provided an interesting contrast in the performance of the cover songs, which were previously associated with male vocalists.

Two previous Open Mic Night performers and IUP students were among the other guitarists to play. Kenny West, with two new original acoustic songs, "Emma Alone" and "Make Believe," gave copies of his new self-recorded CD to several lucky audience members.

Andrew Loy, who played an original song called "Turning and Burning" and a cover of The Clarks' "Penny on the Floor," also performed.

Aaron Kelly of the Greensburg-based "fresh alternative acoustic" band Negative Vibe Merchant performed two solo covers: Sublime's "Date Rape" and the Violent Femmes' "Kiss-off." Kelly's brother Jon, who plays in another Greensburg band, One Way Street, performed Unwritten Law's "Seeing Red" and "Interstate Love Song" by the Stone Temple Pilots.

Melissa Engberg, another performer, played two intense and emotional original songs influenced by Janis Joplin and Tracy Chapman, "Bow Her Down" and "Sorry."

In addition to the solo performers, several bands and other musical acts took the stage. Catalyst, who has become a well-known band around IUP since its first-place win at last year's "Live and Loud" competition, made a surprise appearance to perform "Linger On."

The Impact Players, comprised of IUP students Nate Runkel, Randy Major and 2001 graduate Joe Deemer, presented their unique blend of music and comedy to the audience.

The band, whose stage antics - as well as Runkel's skeleton mask - effectively got the crowd's attention, played three songs in a style of music which can perhaps be described as a combination of acoustic, rap, bluegrass and soul.

Three members of the band Quiet Roman Tanks performed for the first time in front of an audience.

Band members include vocalist/guitarist Bryan Ickes, a graduate of Penn State University; guitarist Brett Sholtis, a junior English major; freshman business management major Josh Yahner; and drummer Joe Stavish, who unfortunately could not play with the rest of the band Wednesday. Sholtis described the band's sound as influenced by "the Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, U2 and Radiohead." They performed three original songs, "Desert Places," "Stone" and "Glance from a Passenger," as well as a cover of U2's "Red Hill Mining Town."

Rock band Insular, who played the song"tainted" is made up of sophomore undeclared major Bryan McGeary, sophomore music major Brett Tozer, freshman elementary education/special education major Lauren Palys, freshman music education major Gina Darin and high school senior Melia DeVivo.

Other musicians included acoustic duo Tom Marshall and Jake Koehler; previous Open Mic Night guitar performer Ryan Becker; Michael Brown and Koehler; Joe Saxfield and Dave Baker; Ed Manfrey and D.J. Galiffa; and saxophonist Vincent Casey.

Several poets and one comedian also performed. Christina Turner, a sophomore communications major, read two original poems, "Two Stars" and "Heavenly Night." Turner said she writes poetry as a "way to deal with emotions."

Freshman criminology major Anthony Campbell read his poem "Emotion." Tasha, a senior early childhood education major who requested that her last name not be used, read "Don't Give Up" and "One Mic," two original poems.

Junior communications major Dan Hallock's controversial comedy performance, featuring jokes about hairdressers, shoe stores and other subjects, drew mixed reactions from the audience.

Open Mic Night continues to grow in popularity among IUP students, as evident from the increase in the number of students who show up to perform or just watch, not to mention the increased energy resonating from the audience.

According to performer Jake Koehler, Open Mic Night provided a "good outlet to test [new] songs." He described the atmosphere as "very warm" and says that he plans to keep performing there.

In general, Open Mic Night provides a supportive environment in which both beginning and experienced performers can showcase their talents, and Wednesday's excellent performances certainly were no exception.