Who knew that Goldstein Auditorium became a club on Saturday nights? Okay, maybe not a full-blown club, but it was significantly packed for University Union’s annual Bandersnatch concert.
As 8pm rolled around, I strolled in, anxiously waiting for Roseville to take the stage. Thankfully, the wait wasn’t too long and as the lights dimmed, Roseville casually took his place in front of his laptop. I always get extremely excited to see Syracuse students perform because they all have a unique edge to them that shows their personal brand and style of music that distinguishes them from one another. I was immediately intrigued by Roseville due to his relaxed exterior because it looked like he has done this a million times before (I was surprised to hear that this was one of his first performances). As he jumped into his first song, the crowd began swaying to the music, and more people slowly drifted in during Roseville’s set, kicking Bandersnatch off in the best way possible.
Passion and love for his craft reflected off Roseville as he played. I couldn’t help but swim in the confidence that he was exuding. Dressed in a black hoodie and beanie to match, he was nothing but himself; dancing along with the crowd and bopping his head to the music. My only disappointment throughout his set was how little he spoke to the crowd; I would’ve liked to have seen his personality more rather than just hear the music he played. However this could’ve just been a result of playing his first big show in front of a crowd of his peers. With Louis the Child as a heavy influence, Roseville played almost all original mixes that any Ultra artist would envy. After watching his full set, dancing with my friends, and hearing them say how proud they were of him, I knew that Roseville was a name to keep in the back of my mind as someone who has the potential to rise to the top.
Our second performer of the night, rapper Khary, was a nice change of pace in between Roseville and Mura Masa. He immediately fed off the front of the crowd as people in the back kept filing in, bouncing around the stage with child-like energy. Khary was all about crowd participation, constantly starting chants and asking us to sing along. Later in his set, he joined the crowd for one of his songs, hyping the crowd up one final time for our headliner, Mura Masa.
Mura Masa is an artist who is incredibly aware of the world’s need for everyone to have a “brand” and shows his through the slideshow of grainy pictures and videos that flashed on the screen as he took the stage a little bit after Khary’s exit. It was enchanting to watch videos of him walking through the streets of London, pictures of his friends and shots of the city as he put his music to the montage. Everything about 2017 is aesthetically pleasing, and Mura Masa encapsulates that through his sound and visuals. I was surprised in the best way to see that he played all of his own instruments and most of the set was not computer generated. I’m not one to go out of my way to see a DJ perform, and this was a nice change of pace from usual EDM performances.
Mura Masa’s futuristic, vibe mixed with heavy jazz influences made for a captivating show that kept everyone wondering what would come next. Front woman, Bonzai helped with the vocals and keeping the crowd engaged, quickly becoming one of the most talented rappers/performers I have heard in years. The duo ended the show with hit “Love$ick”, leaving everyone talking excitedly as they left about just how blown away they were by the performance.
I’m still reeling from the energy of Saturday night and am in nothing but pure awe of the talent that this school produces. University Union has given many up and coming artists an amazing platform to showcase their work through many successful concerts throughout the year. If you ever get a chance to catch any of these performers live, please do; I promise you’ll thank me later.
Links to all performers music is below; make sure to show them some love!