By Anna Marden, News Staff
The caution tape adorning the scene at afterHOURS was surprisingly necessary Wednesday – it was there to go along with the 2011 Springfest theme, NUTORIOUS, but ended up serving as a warning for the night to come.

Tokyo Police Club played for a full house at afterHOURS last night as a part of the Springfest lineup organized by the Council for University Programs (CUP).

The indie rock band hails from Ontario, Canada and gained fame when it emerged onto the indie scene with its 2006 debut album, A Lesson in Crime.

Baltimore-based electronic group Raindeer and Hollerado, a rock band from California, opened the show.
During Tokyo Police Club’s set, the energetic crowd was dancing; however, some people at the front were getting pushy. One girl who got shoved into the stage was helped by the lead singer – he had the tech worker to take her to a comfortable spot backstage.

“It actually got intense, I was getting pushed,” said Courtney Tanner, a middler architecture major.

The audience was pretty sparse when Raindeer began the concert just after 8 p.m. and people trickled in until the venue reached capacity as the afterHOURS staff set up for Tokyo Police Club.

Before the show, the Concerts Committee Chair for CUP, Stephanie DiRocco, a sophomore communication studies major, said she was excited for the projected turnout for the show.

“When we started thinking about planning this show back in January we were pretty sure it would be sold out,” she said. “We’re really glad that it met that standard.”

Tokyo Police Club played mostly newer songs and had a strong stage presence.

One daring concert-goer, freshman engineering major Shane Williams, attempted a stage dive.

“I’m happy they got an alternative rock act for Springfest,” Williams said. “[Tokyo Police Club] plays great live shows.”

Matt Flug, a freshman undecided major, also thought they had a good live sound.

“I especially liked the singer’s voice,” Flug said of lead vocalist and bassit David Monks, who is known for his distinct, raspy but boyish voice.

The opening bands did a good job getting the crowd worked up before Tokyo Police Club took the stage.
Raindeer, a four piece band, started off the show with some low-key experimental electronic pop songs, some of which got the audience dancing. They utilized synths and a drum machine, but no real drum set. However, one band member was actually beat boxing for part of the set.

A highly energetic band, Hollerado pleased the crowd with a good mix of heavy rock instrumentals and pretty-sounding vocals. The two guitarists, Nixon Boyd and Menno Versteeg, and the bassist, Dean Baxter, dressed in matching grey pullovers and did a lot of jumping and leaping around the stage.

“They had some really catchy harmonies and melodies,” said sophomore music industry major Laura Trice. “They rocked out. They had really good stage presence.”

Megan Vick, the Springfest Week Committee Chair for CUP said the Tokyo Police Club show fit really well with the 2011 theme NUTORIOUS, The Good, The Bad, The Huskies. The theme is symbolized by police and jail paraphernalia.

CUP members handed out NUTORIOUS swag such as mini-handcuff key chains, candy, temporary tattoos and T-shirts designed to look like police uniforms.

Mid-set, Monks addressed the audience and talked a little bit about his past life as a student.

“I was once like you,” Monks said. “I was once a student. I was once of academia, but I dropped out of that [expletive.]”

In the middle of the Tokyo Police set, DiRocco said the show was going well.

“It’s a lot better than I expected,” she said.

However, a minor glitch occurred shortly thereafter, when the bassist experienced technical difficulties. While they waited for a fix, the band played a song with just guitar and vocals, which Monks said most people have never heard.

“It was a great recovery,” Tanner said. “The guitar sounded nice.”

Overall though, the night was a success. According to afterHOURS manager Keven Kelly Kenkel, the venue rarely sells out. This show was the first show all year to reach capacity.

“I thought it was a really sick show,” Tanner said.

– News Correspondent Will Macowski contributed to this report.