Fuel, Swimmer bring warm temperatures to Crowbar

By JAMES CONROY
Collegian Staff Writer

With all the cold weather lately, State College could use a little Fuel added to the fire to melt some of this snow. Wednesday night that happened at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave. when Harrisburg-based Fuel worked the crowd into a heated frenzy.

As far as opening acts, Fuel couldn't have done better than the first one, Emily's Toybox.

Once onstage, the opening band got to work and let the crowd know it was there to rock. Its neo-punk style and "screw-you" attitude got the crowd jumping even if most of the fans were there for the headlining band. It seemed like the band members had forgotten who Fuel was for the time being.

With songs like "Bionic" the band got the fans into the act by making them sing the line, "My dick smells like chapstick," and they were happy to oblige.

Toybox's hard sound seems to come out in everything, from flipping off the crowd to grinding to Madonna's "Like A Virgin."

"We could play a Monkees cover," guitarist Frank White said after the band's set, "and it would still have that hard edge."

New York City-based Swimmer, lead by male vocalist Anday McCarron, whose voice seems to cover an endless range, took the stage next. Recently signed to Maverick records, Swimmer has yet to release an album. Its first single, "Dirty Word," is set for release in February and its album, Surreal, comes out in March.

But Swimmer seemed out of place at this concert. In between two bands that really rocked, Swimmer almost lulled the crowd to sleep.

The band's first mistake was its wardrobe. Swimmer seems to be dabbling in the glam scene that Marilyn Manson brought back by dressing androgynously. McCarron later admitted wearing a mini-skirt might not have been the best idea. For the most part, the Fuel crowd did not welcome Swimmer.

"I didn't like them," Chris Rooney (junior-marketing) said. "Their style didn't fit the style of the bands they played between."

When people continued to walk in at 11 p.m. for a 9 p.m. show, it was evident people were there to see Fuel.

The fans were ready for some thrashing and they got it from lead singer Brett Scallions and company when the main act took the stage at 11 p.m.

Crowd surfing and mosh pits aren't the typical kind of thing for alternative acts, but that didn't seem to matter to the fans, who fought to stay standing or were passed from person to person above the crowd.

Fuel is lumped together with alt-rock bands like Matchbox 20 and Third Eye Blind, but a hard edge sets it apart. When fans started raising their fists in the air and banging their heads, it looked more like an episode of Beavis and Butthead than a concert.

After the band left the stage and the equipment had been packed, the members of both Fuel and Emily's Toybox stayed to sign anything that was stuck in their faces, including jeans and bare arms. The fans that stayed said they were thrilled with the concert.

Kristin Baker, who had come to see the show from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, said Wednesday's performance was her third Fuel show and the best one yet.