By Cody Lee
All around the school, the walls were filled with Give Back + Savanna and Charlie Kim posters. Normally people just blow past everything posted up in Lane, but apparently not this time. The debate fundraising concert generated a healthy, 150+ crowd in the auditorium on March 2.
Everyone wooed as the curtains opened to the suprisingly shimmering gold background. Soon after, Savanna Dickhut and Charlie Kim took the stage together and began with their original song “Mixed Signals.” Before long the whole audience was clapping to the beat.
“[At Lane] I feel like I can connect to the students more,” said Charlie Kim. “In open mics you don’t really know the audience, but here you see the kids everyday so it’s more personal.”
Following a few collaborative songs, Savanna left the stage to let Charlie perform a solo piece entiled “Vincent,” a song dedicated to Mr. Bertenshaw’s discussion on Vincent Van Gogh.
Savanna soon returned, and the duo closed with a cover of “It Will Rain” by Bruno Mars which induced countless numbers of “I love you guys!” from the crowd.
When Savanna and Charlie were over, a 10 minute intermission began, with a raffle that got suprisingly rowdy as kids yelled and ran to claim their winnings. The prizes included, but not limited to: a 5 pound Hershey’s bar, a photo of Zac Efron, gift cards, and a autographed picture of Christina Aguilera.
Once the intermission was done, the curtains spread again to Give Back (and their blinding stobe lights). The sound of screams and claps rattled through the auditorium. The band opened with a song that remains nameless until the release of their new EP, dropping this spring.
“It might be kind of weird since there are seats, as opposed to a normal rock show where people are up there jammin’.” said Owen Jones, drummer of Give Back.
But that did not stop the crowd from rockin’ out to this Neon Trees-esque band. Students were in their seats clapping, singing, and dancing along. There was even the stereotypical row of girls fanning themselves.
“We’ve played everywhere from basements, to really terrible bars out in the suburbs, to some pretty legit venues like the Beat Kitchen and Empty Bottle,” said Jones. “But playing at Lane is a lot different. It’s a lot more familiar and I think that’s so cool.”
The concert, was a hit amoungst students.
“I had a really great time. It was something nice to do after school, and the fact that the music was good definitely helped,” said Scott Olivares, Div. 265.
“Oh my god, Give Back was awesome! After seeing [the concert] I would definitely see them again,” said Gabby Hernandez, Div. 353.
On top of the enjoyment, the show was for a good cause.
“Obviously the money will benifit us, but [the concert] also helps get the debate program out there,” said Joey Peculis, Div. 274. “It shows that we are actually doing things like fundraising and that we’re active in the Lane community.
Since the concert was such a success, some seem to think the school could expand on the idea and have more concerts in the future.
“They should have more Lane bands do this kind of thing,” said Charlie Kim. “There’s Crash Hero, and Twin Peax, and a bunch of others. It could be awesome.”
