When time started to wane into the early morning hours of the Penn State Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon on Saturday, it was important that the entertainment keep the crowd and dancers on their feet — Lowjack , a State College-based band, made sure to do just that.
“I thought they did a really great job,” Amanda Lacue (sophomore-biology) said. “I think people really appreciated them performing at 2 a.m.”
Lowjack’s setlist was made up of nine songs that fell under the genres of country and Irish punk music.
Each one was exactly what the crowd called for at that time in the morning. The music needed to be energetic enough to keep the morale high, as well as catchy to keep the interest of the crowd.
The band began its set with a cover of a classic country tune “Devil Went Down to Georgia” by Charlie Daniels . The crowd was immediately captivated and Lowjack had them in the palm of its hand.
Band member Daniel Collins’ fiddle playing was absolute perfection and brought much of the band’s intensity. His solo in “Devil Went Down to Georgia” was fantastic and his remarkable stage presence only added to the band’s crowd-pleasing performance. The setlist showed off Collins’ talent to THON.
As the opening song came to an end, Lowjack moved swiftly into the next — Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” which an exuberant audience was delighted to hear. Jason Davoli, Lowjack’s lead singer , was practically drowned out by THON attendees when he sang the chorus, as no one could stop himself or herself from singing along with him.
“I really enjoyed the music they performed and the country theme,” Dan Hottinger (sophomore-accounting) said.
Hottinger’s personal favorite of Lowjack’s setlist was its cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.”
The band had unbelievable chemistry between its members, which was evident in its playing of Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” and The White Stripes’ “Seventh Nation Army.”
When Michael Krebbs, bass guitar and David Goodermuth, drums, started in on the beat of “Seventh Nation Army,” the stands began chanting and jumping as if it were in Beaver Stadium after a significant play had just happened in the middle of a football game.
The stands had nothing but positive feedback about Lowjack’s performance.
Rebecca Sech (sophomore-biobehavioral sciences) and Julie Thein (sophomore-communication sciences and disorder) agreed the band had an infectious energy and another student was overheard saying Lowjack’s performance was “absolutely unbelievable.”
Lowjack did a fantastic job of keeping the crowd going, as it neared the end of the first 12 hours of THON.
