Four bands, one night and a Grammy nomination. As Rick’s CafZ played host Wednesday night to a packed house full of energy and enthusiasm, bands Brand New Sin, Greenwheel, Breaking Benjamin and Saliva took to the stage. The scene was something straight out of MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball mixed with a little TRL.
“I didn’t expect to see such a diverse group of people,” MSU sophomore mechanical engineering major Crystal Hackett said. “You’ve got everyone in here from punks to preps. It’s just an amazing group of different types of people.”
First to take to the stage were up and coming heavy metal rockers Brand New Sin. Originally from Syracuse, N.Y., the band embodied sounds similar to groups of the late ’70s and early ’80s.
“The crowd tonight was great,” lead vocalist Joe Altier said. “It’s good to come to a place where we’ve never been before and receive so much positive energy.”
The group attributes many of their influences to rock greats such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Sabbath, KISS and Led Zeppelin.
Although, the group admits being first in line can be hard at times, it has its good points as well.
“The downer is we play when the doors open,” Brand New Sin guitarist Kenny Dunham said. “But the responses we’ve been getting are awesome.”
Crowd participation was in full effect while the band played their set.
“I had never seen any of the openers, but they played pretty well,” junior banking and finance major J.C. Kendrick said.
Another act on the tour, Breaking Benjamin, caused several participants to take notice to their act.
Sounding much like their musical influences Nirvana and Tool, with their post-grunge sound over hard guitar riffs, Benjamin tore up the stage with their debut single “Polyamourous” from their recent album Saturated.
“Breaking Benjamin did pretty good. They reminded me of some of college bands,” junior agricultural business major Rick Carver said.
“The group would definitely be someone I’d pay to go see in the future, ” junior fashion merchandising major Elizabeth Colhoun said.
The band is composed of guitarist and lead Ben Burnley, guitarist Aaron Fink, bassist Mark James Klepaski and drummer Jeremy Hummel.
“The support we’ve gotten so far is great,” said Benjamin frontman Burnley. “Before we were signed, we already had a strong fan base, but we’re still making new ones along the way.”
Burnley is also sole songwriter for the group.
“I have so many favorites [songs] on this record,” Burnley said. “It’s hard to choose when all of them are your babies and come from the heart.”
While the group has been together since 2001, Klepeski and Hummel were originally members of rock group “Lifer.” Eventually, the boys said goodbye to the group due to artistic differences.
“We just weren’t happy,” said Hummel. “I would go to sleep at night and know that it was wrong. So I just decided one day that it was time to leave.”
And so they did just that. Since then, the group went on to sell 2,000 copies of their five song EP, and signed with Hollywood Records.
Benjamin is one of the only heavy rock groups on the Hollywood records label.
And then came Saliva. The group jumped on stage with lead singer Josey Scott donning dress pants and a tie, quite different from the black t-shirts and jeans seen in rock videos. Even the lead guitarist wore an MSU football jersey to represent school spirit. They served the crowd hits like “Click, Click, Boom,” and “Always” and turned the town of Starkville into frenzy.
“I have every CD that Saliva has out,” MSU senior computer engineering major Tim Garton said. “It was such a good show, and they’re a great band. This is my second time seeing them in concert.
Frontman Scott is nominated for a Grammy award with Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger for their hit song “Hero” from this summer’s Spiderman soundtrack.
“Scott definitely deserves that award,” Kirkwood said. “He’s a really good lead singer.”
The concert was one of the largest shows at Rick’s ever. Rick’s employee Tony Mariotti commented that the show took in large numbers that night.
“I’ve done a couple of shows here, but this has been the most energetic by far,” Mariotti said. Music Company FYE was the exclusive music sponsor for the show. District Manager David Riddell commented on how each band had great stage presence.
“The show overall was great,” MSU senior general business major Melissa Sylvester said. “I liked the fact that I could see four awesome bands for only $12.”
The tour started on Tuesday night in Jackson and wraps up Feb. 21 in Clifton Park, N.Y.