The Daily Collegian
Fans cheer on Todd Park Mohr of Big Head Todd and the Monsters dur
ing the band’s performance Wednesday night at the State Theatre.
’9os band rocks
State Theatre
By Lindsay Cryer
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Attendees stood up. danced
and waved their arms while lis
tening to Big Head Todd and the
Monsters perform proving
that a good ‘9os band never gets
old.
The band played at the State
Theatre last night, opened up by
local band J. Mac and Friends.
The opening band performed
for more than 30 minutes and dis
played their acoustic-folk sound
to the audience, who ultimately
gave a standing ovation.
The audience enjoyment never
seemed to stop from then on.
By tire many requests for songs
and crowd's enthusiasm for each
song. Big Head Todd and the
Monsters proved to have many
devoted fans.
Among those fans were Steve,
44, and Erica Amendola, 38. The
couple, both Weirton, W Va. resi
dents, were clad in Big Head
Todd and the Monster merchan
dise. Steve Amendola said that he
and his wife have attended 21 Big
Head Todd and the Monsters con
certs in the last four years. After
attending one of the band's con
certs in Cleveland on Sunday,
Steve Amendola said they were
encouraged by the band mem
bers to make the journey to its
next show in State College.
“They tour relentlessly,” he
said. “They tour and tour and
tour."
The band played song after
song for the audience, leaving
almost no time to stop and speak
Colloquium on the Environment
BILL McKIBBEM
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"The Most Important
Number in the World"
MONDAY OCTOBER 4TH
6:00 PM; HUB-Robeson Auditorium
Free and open to the public
BOOK SIGNING AFTER
with the audience.
But those attending didn’t
seem to mind. A few seconds into
the first song, audience members
stood to their feet and began
dancing, and after a few songs
they were joined by many more.
Between songs, an audience
member thanked the band for
coming and playing.
The band’s vocalist and gui
tarist, Todd Park Mohr thanked
right back and went on to play
one of the band’s more popular
songs, “Bittersweet.”
"I really appreciate you guys
coming out here on a school
night,” he said, laughing.
Mohr continued on and said
that the best has played in the
State Theatre before, adding that
he was feeling better for this par
ticular show.
“You really have a beautiful
place here,” Mohr said, “we’re
gonna light it up.”
He then encouraged the audi
ence to sit down for a few ballads
and began with the song
“Magdelina” and then onto
“Secret Mission.” Despite the
slower tempo, audience mem
bers still rose to their feet.
Erica Amendola said the
band’s live performance is what
keeps her coming back.
“You feel their energy and it’s
so good,” she said. “Todd’s voice
is delicious.”
Her husband agreed, adding a
statement about their devotion to
the band. “We’re not fans,” he
said. “We’re ambassadors.”
To e-mail reporter: Ibcl46@psu.edu
AUTHOR,
EDUCATOR, AND
ENVIRONMENTALIST
Boston Globe called
him "probably the
nation's leading
environmentalist"
and Time magazine
described him as "the
world's best green
journalist."
ARTS & EN
ERTAINMENT
Open mic night draws artists
By Hannah Rishel
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Students sat around study
tables, on couches and in clusters
on the floor while listening to their
peers showcase their talents last
night.
Students Organized for the
Multiple Arts (SOMA) held their
first open mic night of the semes
ter last night in Waring Study
Lounge of West Commons.
Sign-ups and set-up began at 7
p.m. While students waited for the
performances to kick off at 8 p.m.,
they chatted amongst themselves
as the guitarists timed their
instruments.
The Ghost Appeal, a duo com
prised of Nick Miller on guitar
and Nathan Larimer on melodica,
kicked off the night with an origi
• nal song that showcased the
unusual instrument.
“It’s kind of like a harmonica,
but with a keyboard,” Miller
(sophomore-film) explained. “You
blow into a tube that’s connected
to a keyboard and you play the
keys at the same time.”
The Ghost Appeal has played at
SOMA’s open mic nights in the
past and plan on continuing the
tradition this year.
The melodica was not the only
unusual instrument to make an
appearance at the event. A band
Seniors offer filming opportunity
By Lauren Ingeno
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Penn State students who have
ever wanted to be on or behind
the screen in a short film may get
their big break tonight.
In 113 Carnegie, 12 groups of
film majors will pitch their ideas
for senior films to any student
interested in acting, editing, cam
era work or providing other tal
ents to helping with their proj
ects.
“Our senior project is basically
a senior thesis for film majors,
except we do it in teams,” said
Bryan Marsh (senior-film, video
and psychology), the director of
senior film “LARPing.”
“LARPing” is about a universi
ty police officer who dreams of
being a real detective. When a
murder happens on campus, he
must navigate through multiple
LARPing or role playing
worlds to solve the case.
The films, which have already
been written, will begin shooting
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PSU Geek performs a song on Wednesday evening in Warring Commons
during SOMA’s first open mic night of the semester.
called We Could Be a Satire with
Bad Music used a computer to
create techno music, while PSU
Geek was comprised of a sitar,
tanga drums and mridangam
drums in addition to vocals and
guitar. Another frequent player of
the events, The Morows, is com
prised of Ryan Purcell and Silvio
Navarro, who played a song they
named “Escape” at the spur of
the moment.
“This song will be on our album
that isn’t made yet,” Navarro
(junior-elementary education)
told the crowd.
The band also played a cover of
“King of Carrot Flowers.”
“It’s a stereotypical indie
If you go
What: Senior Film Cast/Crew
Call
When: 6:30 tonight
Where: 113 Carnegie
at the end of October. Films will
need a lot of extra help in order to
be created, said Sam Broscoe,
president of the Student Film
Organization (SFO).
After the filmmakers pitch
their movies, audience members
will be able to approach them, say
how they are able to contribute to
the films and exchange e-mail
addresses and phone numbers,
Broscoe (senior-film and video)
said. Casting calls will be held at
different times next week, so
actors can audition to be in the
films. The film majors will be look
ing for people who have some
experience, but those who are
new to film are also encouraged
Thursday, Sept. 30,2010 I 5
song,” said Purcell (senior-elec
trical engineering), who plays
ukulele for the band
Ryan Fox also performed a
cover.
“I swear I don’t have Bieber
fever,” Fox (freshman-history)
clarified before beginning his
cover of “Baby” by Justin Bieber.
Fox, who was playing SOMA’s
open mic night for the first time,
said he was inspired to learn
Bieber’s pop song when he heard
a cover of it by The Neon 'frees.
“It’s a good song when you strip
it down and Justin Bieber isn’t
singing it,” he said.
To e-mail reporter: hmrso27@psu.edu
to attend the meeting.
“Most of the time it’s people
who have little to no experience
working with the equipment.
[Film students] will teach them
how to use the equipment outside
of rehearsal time,” Broscoe said.
Freshmen and sophomores
who are interested in the film and
video major can especially benefit
from working on the senior films.
“You get to handle more equip
ment than you would have in any
beginner class, and then when
you get to advanced classes you
have a leg up on other people in
the major,” Broscoe said.
The films won’t be due until
finals week for seniors, but some
students rush to get their films
finished in time for SFO’s Penn
State Student Film Festival,
which occurs in April, Marsh said.
During the event, winning films
will be showcased on the big
screen at the State Theatre, 130
W College Ave., Marsh said.
To e-mail reporter ImtsolB@psu.edu
Monday - Friday
B:3OAM -6PM
Saturday, October 2
11 AM-4PM
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