College radio is back and what better way to celebrate then with a show in none other than the Schine Underground on a Thursday night?
Syracuse’s own, The Wisconaut, took the stage wearing their own bands’ t-shirts; jumping into the set with high energy. You could tell that the crowd was ready for a rock show as everyone began jumping and dancing, feeding off of front-man Andrew Idarraga’s interaction and obvious enthusiasm for being on that stage. The entire band was having a blast and you could tell that there was a definite chemistry between all of the members. By the middle of the show, Andrew’s shirt came off; a little risqué for the Schine Underground but I’m sure enjoyed by the girls in the crowd. The music was just clean enough with a grungy vibe mixed in to fit the vibe of “we care, but hopefully it doesn’t look like we care too much”; an aesthetic that will have you hooked from the beginning of their set to the end. Before I knew it, Idarraga was saying “let’s go fucking crazy because it’s the last one”, and crazy the crowd went. A mosh pit opened up in the middle of the floor and everyone was having the time of their lives. The boys left the stage with smiles as the room begged for more. The Wisconaut is an incredibly talented band, with enough high-energy and love for what they do to keep the crowd engaged, something that I can’t wait to see more of at future shows of theirs.
Soon, it was time for our headliner and LVL UP hopped in front of the crowd, leading a collective clap, opening with hit “Hidden Driver”. Balloons were flying and the energy was getting ready to soar, however many seemed uninterested, still chatting amongst themselves from the set change. Groups of friends danced and laughed in the back of the crowd, paying more attention to themselves than the stage. Some bobbed their heads a long, a select few actually knowing the words. This quickly changed as LVL UP’s songs got a little more poppin, grabbing the audiences attention. There was a slight hiccup in the middle of the set when the guitarist played the wrong chord, but with a quick “oops”, the boys kept on playing as if nothing had ever happened. One song that they played had an incredible kick-drum beat that got most people off of their feet (it certainly got me moving); unfortunately, I wasn’t able to catch the name of it to share with you right now. As somebody who is not a huge LVL UP fan, I found their set to be incredibly entertaining and something that I enjoyed watching. They did have some quite long guitar solos, causing a clean transition throughout the set, but leaving many to become disinterested at times. LVL UP is extremely professional and very talented, but they may not be a band to see if you haven’t listened to them beforehand. They stepped off stage with a monotone “thanks, have a good night” and the crowd clapped, scattering as the lights went up to their next destination of the night.
I enjoyed myself throughout the show, dancing along and promoting my favorite campus radio station. At the end of the day, WERW had another successful show to kick off the launch of the fall radio season, leaving many DJ’s excited for what was to come for the rest of the semester.
Make sure to check out LVL UP and The Wisconaut and tune into werwradio.com everyday to hear some cool jams by some cool DJ’s!