“From Coney to Stony,” Brooklyn beats emanated from the University Cafe as RockYoFaceCase presented its third concert of the semester.
Brooms, bands and trashcans had students clapping to the beat as the night progressed. Students also played carnival games Coney Island-style to win prizes. This week’s theme brought New York City and Brooklyn bands together along with carnival games, plastic monkeys and fish.
Spirit People, a New York City band, opened the show on Monday Nov. 8. They were followed by the Stony Brook Drumline’s rendition of STOMP.
STOMP is a popular attraction in New York City that consists of choreographed percussion performances utilizing household objects. The Stony Brook Drumline used brooms, metal trashcans and plastic buckets during their performance and encouraged audience participation by handing out mallets and drumsticks to surrounding students.
Jonathan Milard, one of the percussionists, mentioned that they “only practiced twice” for the performance, but thought it “went alright” nonetheless.
Over 100 students and friends wandered in and out of University Cafe to see the bands throughout the evening. Steve, a junior English major, went to RockYoFaceCase because he “heard about the So So Glos prior to [the event]” and “decided to see how they were live.”
Bryan Liguori, a senior TSM major, who has been to about five RockYoFaceCase events said he especially likes the concert series because “a lot of residents don’t have cars to get off campus [to see concerts],” and that “it’s awesome that they do this.”
The So So Glos originate from Brooklyn and they just returned from their national tour with Matt & Kim. Although it was the first time the So So Glos performed on Long Island, Matt & Kim performed at Brookfest last spring along with the final band of the evening, Neighbors.
Mickey Bennet, a friend of a Stony Brook student, “really liked Neighbors” and thought they seemed like a “mix between Head Automatica and Patrick Stump.” He had been to shows at Stony Brook before and commented that he thought the event was “really awesome.”
The event coordinator, Patrice Zapiti, was pleased with how RockYoFaceCase has been going this semester.
“[It] went very well,” Zapiti said. ”There was a great energy in the room, a lot of people stayed the whole duration of the event and our guest professional act the So So Glos were especially happy with our team, the show and their experience.”
She continued that RockYoFaceCase tries to prioritize in order to make sure students are having a “good experience,” regardless of whether or not they are “into” a band.
“What makes our program different is that we understand that people have so many different likes and dislikes, so we try to make our shows as diverse and interactive as possible while still staying true to our vision,” Zapiti said.
In an effort to make the show more enjoyable, Patrice asked students after the show about what they liked and disliked about the event.
“We always try to improve on our events even when they are hugely successful,” she commented. “In terms of really big changes, anything major would happen over winter break.”
The final RockYoFaceCase event of the semester will be a rave night on Monday, Nov. 22. According to Zapiti, the lighting and sound will be revamped for a “big rave night to close out this semester’s series.”
