Cheers accompany band on and off stage
State Radio and Street to Nowhere played loud enough to make one numb to a vibrating cell phone, but not loud enough to make the rubbish on the floor rattle in the Glenn Miller Ballroom on Sunday.
Despite the concert being postponed one day because of snow on the Eastern plains, State Radio and Street to Nowhere delivered solid performances. The two bands were welcomed with cheers and applause carried them off stage. The New Amsterdams did not make the show because they were still stuck in Kansas.
The Oakland, Calif. band Street to Nowhere consists of a lead guitarist, a guitarist/lead singer, a bassist and a drummer. The group played nine songs, including Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel.” The band is loosely classified as alternative rock, said Dave Smallen, lead singer/guitarist of Street to Nowhere. Smallen was quick to point out that he doesn’t like to see Street to Nowhere classified as one particular music genre.
“Touring with a band like State Radio is really good for us, they don’t have an allegiance of one specific genre,” Smallen said.
In one of their songs, titled “Tipsy,” the band broke out into whistles. That type of spontaneity and sound is what their fans seemed to like.
“Street to Nowhere caught my eyes, I really like their sound,” said Maddie Parks, a freshman English major. “They just throw in all these random things.”
Many Dispatch fans came out to see State Radio, being that Chad Urmston, State Radio’s Vox and Guitar player, is a part of both bands.
“I learned about State Radio from Dispatch,” said Jim Eisenhardt, a senior psychology major at Colorado State University. “It’s the best alternative to Dispatch.”
State Radio performed several songs that were politically inspired. The group’s new song, titled “Fall of the American Empire,” was testimony to that. The crowd was into the bands performance, as they sang along with lyrics, jumped, shouted and danced.
The lead singer’s voice and their “funk” sound were also liked, said Jake Gerber, a senior business major.
The postponement of the show was not much of a factor for the crowd that was there; except for maybe some homework-time conflicts, Parks said. However, the fact that Program Council did not offer refunds did echo negative feelings, Eisenhardt said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Gary Black at gary.black@thecampuspress.com
