Years ago, Elizabeth Harper strummed acoustic fare in parks and coffeehouses. But this time, she didn’t come with a guitar. Silhouetted against a blood red background and armed with a synthesizer, Harper stepped onstage amid a display of frantic disco lights as the frontwoman for Class Actress.

Along with opening acts Mouth’s Cradle and Guards, headlining act Class Actress took the stage in Schine Underground on Thursday night at WERW’s first fall concert as an official student organization.

Jeanette Wall, WERW general manager, and Kyle Kuchta, WERW’s assistant general manager and a junior film major, said they tried to be mindful of the entire student body’s interests while incorporating a new element to the campus’ musical scene — both of which they want to accomplish through future concerts, at least one per semester.

‘We wanted to find artists that were up-and-coming and who we believe would really offer something to the student body that maybe not any other organization is offering,’ said Wall, a junior in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries. ‘It’s something that a lot of people are ready for.’

Class Actress transported the Schine Underground to an earlier era of electronic pop, where Harper’s breathy vocals against a sea of twinkling synths felt appropriate for twentysomethings seeking a night out in the city. One concertgoer proclaimed at the start of the set: ‘This is just like the ‘80s!’

Although it took a few songs, heavy on chiming beats, and dizzying lights to energize the crowd the audience finally shrugged off its indifference once Class Actress broke into ‘Weekend.’ The song, with lyrics like ‘so bring it on / bring on the weekend,’ seemed appropriate for a room of college students beginning their weekends.

The set proceeded with moderate head bumping and shoulder swaying that synchronized to the sound of electronic riffs. Some within the crowd clapped in coordination with syncopated snares in an attempt to invigorate others around them. And though the audience clumped around the stage fluctuated in size throughout the night, the size felt suitably intimate for music with lyrics as equally personal.

‘It got too quiet sometimes,’ said Brandy Gu, a sophomore marketing major. ‘But a couple of people danced like crazy, which was good because they were having a good time.’

Opening acts Mouth’s Cradle and Guards, with their respective hip-hop and garage band sounds, offered alternative fare juxtaposed against Class Actress’s vintage, synth-heavy set.

Skillfully navigating the line between spontaneity and deliberate execution, Mouth’s Cradle frontman and Syracuse University senior Kevin Hegedus kept the crowd entertained with his charismatic stage presence.

Guards performed with the intention of energizing the audience before the headlining act.

‘We take pride in the fact that we’re opening for Class Actress,’ said Richie Follin, the lead vocalist for the five-piece band. Follin encouraged applause, whistling and dancing throughout the set, reminding the crowd to exercise its right to have fun and let loose.

The presence of such a varied set list at WERW’s concert represented the radio station’s recognition of different musical genres — genres typically obscured by the student body’s penchant for dubstep and club music.

‘That’s what the radio station is there for: to expose people to new music that they may not have heard,’ Kuchta said. ‘We want to be at the forefront of that movement.’

And as Class Actress ended the evening with ‘Let Me Take You Out,’ the jumping concertgoers proved their willingness to take a chance on something new.

dataroy@syr.edu

Published on October 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm