Dark skies, constant rain and mud-slinging -- those can only mean one thing: The Movin' On festival was in town Saturday.
The concert featured 12 acts, ranging from student bands to national acts. Despite some fickle fans and April showers, many people came out for this year's show.
Headliner rap artist Talib Kweli, drew the most fans to his 10:30 p.m. performance even though some students were not familiar with his music.
Kweli, who helped bring underground hip-hop to the forefront with his group, Black Star with Mos Def, and his numerous collaborations with Kanye West, energized the crowd immediately. The light drizzle stopped during Kweli's performance, making it easier for the crowd to focus his beats and rhymes.
Kweli's set had a spontaneous, off-the-cuff feel, playing well to the college atmosphere. Whether he was paying tribute to deceased hip-hop stars or asking the crowd to clap along, Kweli kept gaining momentum.
Another highlight was an instrumental break with DJ Chase, during which he did incredible scratching on Jay-Z's "99 Problems" while Kweli took a breather.
Just as memorable was Kweli's encore, during which he invited audience members onto the stage to dance.
The California progressive punk band RX Bandits hit the stage at 5:45 p.m. and rallied a crowd with lots of moshing included. Even though the Bandits look like aged surfer dudes, the Cali kids got everybody moving and singing along.
Like any good punk rock band, the Bandits combined rock chords with an awesome horn section, complete with a saxophone. Unfortunately, the guitars drowned out a lot of the horn solos.
During the day, the audience swelled for main-stage acts and diminished for the side-stage acts. Attendance at the beginning of the concert was low until 2 p.m. when the Gym Class Heroes took the stage.
Gym Class Heroes is an alternative rap group that backs its rhymes with an emo/indie band and is fun in its execution.
Frontman MC Travis also tried to rally the crowd against the weather.
"We're going to make it stop raining right now through the power of music. Whatever that is," Travis said.
The crowd grew again at 8 p.m. when Pete Francis of Dispatch took the stage, even though the weather got worse. His music, composed of multiple jazz, reggae and rock elements, was too laid back to energize the listeners. His songs combined with the gloomy weather created an interesting mood.
Katelyn & Maria took the stage to begin Movin' On at noon. The crowd initially consisted of about 40 enthusiastic fans. The group's soft, acoustic pop was too mellow an opener to properly energize the crowd.
The crowd increased at 12:30 for the Chicago emo group The Audition, which did its best to get the crowd to participate. "You'll never be at another show like this," lead singer Danny Stevens said. "Well, you might be, but you're here now, so enjoy yourselves."
The crowd tried to get into the show despite the weather. One enthusiastic listener spiked his umbrella into the crowd to free up both hands for clapping. The rain couldn't stop student band The Man from keeping the funk alive as members began their set at 1:30 p.m. With great horn instrumentals and catchy jams, the group managed to get some people moving in its short, energetic set. Channeling a little Janis Joplin, singer Madison Flego delivered great bluesy vocals.
Albert React took the side stage at 3:15 p.m. As group members did their mic check, singer Gabe Libhart joked, "That's too loud. I'm not that good a singer." It seemed like a joke, but rough vocals turned out to be just one of the band's problems.
After a few technical problems, Chicago indie/folk rock band Hush Sound took the big stage at 3:45 p.m. with some jazzy piano that piqued the crowd's interest.
New Jersey punk/electronica act A Love Like Pi exploded onto stage at 5 p.m. and delivered the most theatrical performance the side stage could handle. Seizuring across the stage, Pi's frontman was sweating more than Britney Spears after a long dance number. This group thrashed its way into the crowd's heart.
The King Left began its set at 7:15 p.m. and showed a lot of promise -- that is until the singer opened his mouth. At least the group members can say they're very rock 'n' roll -- the singer spit a mouthful of water at the bass player's face. Dilation used many different guitar effects during its set that began at 9:30 p.m. At one point, the singer said, "Come to New Jersey; we'll give you a back rub." After aching from standing on the lawn for a few hours, it wasn't a bad offer.
