The Falcon   |   Volume 83, Issue 52

Published 5/22/13   |   Log In

Retro cover concert gets nostalgic

KSPU hosts boy-band covers, ’90s- themed trivia

By RACHEL BOISEN, Features Writer

Published: February 22, 2012

Nostalgia oozed from the walls.

A Cabbage Patch doll, cassette tapes, VHS tapes and Kool-Aid Jammers. A 2-foot Angelica doll, from Rugrats, hung from the ceiling.

These items dated Weter Lounge at Thursday’s ’90s Cover Concert, hosted by KSPU, Seattle Pacific’s student radio station.

Twelve groups performed covers of songs produced in the ’90s.

Winning the grand prize was Haystack Charm. The band has been performing together for over a year, lead singer senior Dusty Henry said. (Henry is also a staff reporter for The Falcon.)

“I feel like Adele,” he said after winning.

The band’s rendition of “Arms Wide Open” by Creed was performed in the band’s characteristic style of alternative rock with heavy folk influences.

Sophomore Marshall Frimoth, who plays both violin and electric guitar for the group, listed the Grand Canyon, fried chicken, consumerism and the red, white and blue as various sources of inspiration for the performance.

Mid-song, Henry recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Initially speaking in his even tone, he surprised the audience by bellowing “under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

At this, the music swelled and a flag-bearer leapt to the stage. His sporadic foot stomping, paired with the gesticulating of various band members during the intense rift, gave a sense of chaotic, but unabashed American patriotism.

With a more mellow performance, What’s Up Sassy came in a close second, performing “All the Small Things” by Blink-182.

What’s Up Sassy’s rendition included a ukulele, guitar, a box and a trio of brass instruments all lending to the unique jazz sound.

Junior Erin Wirth, who sang “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt, was another fan favorite.

“Bon Iver recently covered it, and I liked it,” Wirth said, explaining her choice.

Her cover closely resembled that of the recent Grammy award winner. Despite being a ’90s kid, Wirth does not remember hearing the song before, though her parents recognized it, she said.

“She’s going to go places,” junior Desiree Friesen said of Wirth.

A duet by seniors Justin Saephan and Lucas Pulver reduced the women in the crowd to giggles.

The song list included love melodies such as “Hardest Thing” by 98 Degrees, “As Long As You Love Me” by the Backstreet Boys, “Tearing Out my Heart” by NSYNC and “Truly, Madly, Deeply” by Savage Garden.

“I’m a fan of Lucas Pulver,” junior Dorothy Huynh said. “I saw him over the summer, and he was awesome.”

“I see him headlining someday,” Friesen said.

Rehearsing for the event and creating their seven-minute set brought back middle-school memories, Saephan said.

This particular duo went to great lengths to embrace the ’90s spirit. Saephan went so far as to dye the top of his dark hair burnished blonde to embrace the decade.

“I wanted to win,” Saephan said.

When asked if he cut his hair specifically for the occasion, Pulver said, “If I said I didn’t, I’d be lying. But if I said I did, you’d probably think I’m high-maintenance. I’ll just put it this way: Boy bands got to be clean-cut.”

While the various acts provided the advertised show, the trivia questions and prizes between performances added an element of audience participation.

The questions addressed a variety of topics across ’90s.

Easy questions, such as the names of the twins on Rugrats (Phil and Lil) and the love of Doug’s life (Patty Mayonnaise) started the evening.

The trivia escalated in difficulty as the night progressed, asking the names of Tim Burton movies made in the decade (Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands and others), the secret ingredient in the Powerpuff Girls (Chemical X), and Nirvana’s hometown (Aberdeen).

Even the romantic life of former President Bill Clinton was addressed, as well as unnatural catastrophes, such as when TLC member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes burned down the home of her boyfriend, Atlanta Falcons football star Andre Rison.

With the most correctly answered trivia questions, sophomore Tim Miller was awarded Pez candy, a T-shirt, a beanie baby and a six-pack of Kool-Aid Blasters (or Jammers).

Miller gave credit to his family for his extensive ’90s knowledge.

“I had a lot of older siblings, and they told me what to think,” Miller said.

However, not all participants answered trivia questions correctly.

When the audience was asked to name members of the Backstreet Boys, senior Leslie Dolim shot a hand in the air. Counting names on her fingers, she began with “Lance,” but stopped as the crowd let out a collective groan.

“I felt like I let my ’90s peeps down,” Dolim said.

Despite being a Backstreet Boys fan, she blamed naming an NSYNC singer as a part of the Backstreet Boys band on a sudden rush of nerves.

Event coordinator for the evening, junior Brianna Lantz, was satisfied with how it went.

“We had a lot of creative covers, which makes it more fun,” Lantz said.

This is the first time the event has had a theme, she said.

“This gave it more unity,” she said.

The theme was chosen because “the ’90s are so relevant with our generation,” said KSPU Station Manager junior Nick Derrah. “It’s a nostalgic thing for the students and the performers.”

“It’s fun being nostalgic about our youth,” Lantz said.

Of all the performances, Lantz appreciated Haystack Charm the most.

“They put a lot of practice and heart into it,” she said.

After the show, when covers of “Party and Bullshit” by Biggie Smalls, “Believe” by Cher and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song had all been sung, Derrah was happy.

“It’s good to hear the ’90s,” he said.

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