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Anberlin, Taking Back Sunday and The All-American Rejects played to an energetic crowd of around 3,100 people at Wednesday’s concert in the West Virginia University Coliseum.
The trio of rock bands kept the audience’s attention throughout the entire four-hour concert, managing to keep even those 800 audience members on the floor participating in mosh pits and crowd-surfing.
Anberlin served as the opening act and played five songs that showed off the band’s loud, powerful sound. As an underground band, Anberlin’s performance may have won some new fans in last night’s crowd.
Courtney Dineen, a sophomore forensic chemistry major, who attended the concert for Anberlin was not disappointed by the band’s performance and was anxious for Taking Back Sunday to take the stage.
"I really hope that they’re good live," Dineen said. "It’s a bummer when bands don’t sound as good as their CDs."
Taking Back Sunday opened with "Set Phasers To Stun," a single from its second album, and burst onto the stage with intense energy and impressive, unrelenting guitarists.
Lead singer Adam Lazzara showed off his signature style with his bizarre dance moves and unique technique of playing around with the microphone, even wrapping it entirely around his neck a few times.
The band did a remarkable job of balancing out old and new music, alternating between crowd favorites like 2005’s "Cute Without The E" and tunes from the newest album, like "Sink Into Me."
The entire audience seemed to sing along to Taking Back Sunday’s final song, "Make Damn Sure," which was a big radio hit in 2006.
The All-American Rejects’ performance can be summed up as wild, thanks to lead singer Tyson Ritter who performed on stage wearing only a pair of tight pink pants. The audience couldn’t take its eyes off the stage all night.
Ritter continued to shock and entertain his audience with his sarcastic humor, profanity and even vulgarity.
He incorporated the Morgantown area and WVU into his performance frequently and changed up his lyrics here and there either to incorporate West Virginia, or just to make a joke.
Ritter continued his energetic antics when he got on his knees and played a fellow band member’s guitar with his teeth, and when he singled out a few audience members, demanding they get up and dance.
Singing old songs like the band’s first hit "Swing, Swing," while at the same time promoting its new album, Ritter proved he wasn’t just all jokes with the harmonizing side of his voice that isn’t usually heard.
Ritter showed his softer side when he ventured into the floor’s crowd and serenaded audience members with a slow love song featured on the band’s new album, "When The World Comes Down."
The band received a double standing ovation, during which Ritter returned sporting WVU football player Jarrett Brown’s No. 16 jersey.
Katie Hackney, freshman pre-pharmacy major, was one of many pleased fans leaving Wednesday’s concert and thought it was an "awesome show."
"All of the bands were really funny, talkative and seemed like they had great personalities," Hackney said. "They all really did a fantastic job."
Justin Mooney, a junior psychology major, has been a fan of all three bands for years and was pleased by the three performances.
"It was definitely a high energy show," Mooney said. "Everyone was pumped the whole time, and all three bands really knew how to work the crowd."
Mooney said he hopes to see more rock-style concerts come to the area.
"A lot of shows I’ve been to in stadiums tend to lose clarity, but I was surprised at how high quality the sound was," Mooney added. "I have to say that The All-American Rejects were one of the more entertaining bands I have seen live, and Taking Back Sunday proved why they have been so influential."
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