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One Night Stand

By Haley Webb- Staff Writer

On Friday, April 3, SNHU hosted its annual concert event, One Night Stand, which provided music and entertainment for all of those who went.

One Night Stand is a yearly concert featuring local bands hosted by Radio SNHU, with this year's show also being co-hosted by the Observer. One of the largest appeals of the annual One Night Stand event, in addition to the great live music, is that it is usually an outdoor concert held in the middle of the West Side apartments. This yearly event has been known to bring in huge crowds. Unfortunately, our freshmen and sophomore students have not been lucky enough to experience the annual outdoor concert; for the past two years, rain has forced the event to be moved into the Last Chapter Pub. Luckily, with a full lineup featuring three bands, My Last Flight, Traces David, and Permanent Holiday, the event was still a great success with the bands performing for almost three hours.

Nearly one hundred students showed up throughout the night to attend the show. The first band to perform was My Last Flight, a band originating from Massachusetts. Started by the band's lead vocalist and guitarist, Devin Donohoe, My Last Flight got One Night Stand off to a strong start. Band members included Donohoe on guitar and lead vocals, Dustin Yager on guitar, Alex Fagan on bass, and John Boulanger on drums. Many of the attendants of the show may not have known, but My Last Flight is a band dedicated to suicide prevention. According to the band website, Donohoe has stated that, if he were asked to describe the band in one word, it would be "positive." The band's first EP, entitled "You Are Loved," is set to be released this June.

The second band to take the stage was Traces David, a self-proclaimed "New Hampshire bred Indie Rock band." The band includes six members, including  Dan Kennedy on vocals and guitar, Jimmy Hawkes on guitar and vocals, Bill Hinkle on guitar and vocals, Brendan Bower on bass, Mike Kemp with strings, synth, and vocals, and Clinton LaPointe  on drums. Comparisons have been made between Traces David and bands such as Death Cab for Cutie and Brand New, with the band citing the Beatles, Counting Crows, and Thursday as some of their influences. The band gave out copies of their album "Conversations in A Minor" to audience members; the album includes "With Certainty of Flight," a popular song for the band. They performed for about an hour and kept the crowd going the whole time, finishing out strong.

Lastly, Permanent Holiday took the stage. Permanent Holiday is a band from Derry, NH. The band includes four members, Josh Foster on vocals and guitar, Jay Band on guitar, Chris McCoole on drums, and Zanca on bass. Permanent Holiday performed for about an hour and was probably the liveliest and most energetic performance of the night, since the previous band, Traces David, was a bit more low-key. An established band, Permanent Holiday’s music is available for purchase on iTunes. Their music could be compared to the earlier days of Fallout Boy, including many high energy songs.

As if the great music was not enough, the event also included tons of giveaways and raffle prizes. Each student who attended the show received a free commemorative T-shirt. Throughout the concert, there were many intermissions to raffle off a variety of gift certificates to various places, including Dunkin Donuts and Shaw’s Market. Radio SNHU gave away clappers and their foam penguin mascots. The bands gave away their share of free items as well, allowing most students to leave with promo CD's featuring a good amount of the live music they heard throughout the evening.

While the show was definitely a success overall, there is no doubt that being held indoors had an impact on the popularity of One Night Stand. However, the audience members definitely seemed satisfied with the performances. Between the students up at the stage singing along with the bands and people hanging out in the back just enjoying the music, all seemed to have a good time. Let's all just hope for no rain next year.