Sun God featured tastes for everyone, with punk, hip-hop and eclectic rock flavors complemented by resounding bass from the club tent at RIMAC field Friday night.
Guardian
An estimated 12,000 people attended the annual concert, said co-coordinator Brandon Freeman.
“”Attendance was really good,”” Freeman said. “”It was one of the largest ever.””
Some of the musical smorgasbord’s flavors, however, went sour during the night as Knoc Turn’al’s set ended early due to equipment failure.
The newly expanded DJ tent remained largely full until Cake took the stage.
Cake, the night’s headliner, was welcomed by cheers and started by playing an instrumental opener without lights.
Cake’s brand of country twang and alternative rock was showcased in a set that spanned their early music and mainstream hits.
At one point, lead singer John McCrea taunted the crowd that Cake would only play country songs. This was met by disapproval, so they just played a string of their biggest hits.
Cake received the heartiest reaction from radio hits such as “”Never There,”” “”The Distance”” and their encore cover song, “”I Will Survive.””
Battle of the Bands winner Fivecrown opened the night. Their hard bassline, enthusiastic stage presence and upbeat guitar riffs triggered several in the audience to dance and even cartwheel to the music.
“”They were good, but most people did not really get into it and do much to the music,”” said Justin Kennedy, an Eleanor Roosevelt College freshman.
As the night progressed, No Use for a Name delivered a profanity-laden punk set despite a whimsical disco ball and laser show rotating above their heads.
During equipment changes, masters of ceremonies K.C. Raymond, a Roosevelt sophomore, and Bianca Daly, a Marshall, sophomore prepped the audience for Knoc Turn’al rhymes. They had the relentless beat of the club tent — which did not stop during any artist — as backup music.
“”It’s cool that Knoc Turn’al is here because I am really into that music rather than the other kind … that is what I’m waiting to hear,”” said Phil Chang, a Marshall freshman.
When stage lights went up for Knoc Turn’al and his entourage of fellow rappers and DJ Reflex, the set was quickly plagued by technical problems.
The artists chose to end their act, informing the crowd of a malfunctioning mixer. DJ Reflex remained, scratching for a few additional minutes.
Raymond and Daly returned to the stage after the premature ending and announced they were going to fill in during the delay.
The hosts also walked off after gum and the free glow necklaces provided by the A.S. Council were thrown at the stage.
“”It’s pretty ridiculous,”” said Daly of her attempts at entertaining the crowd.
“”We had to go up there after Knoc Turn’al and his group just walked off the stage after a nine-minute set.””
During the performance, DJ Reflex changed needles on his turntables several times to alleviate the feedback, however this did not work.
“”There was so much feedback from the mics you couldn’t hear anything,”” DJ Reflex said.
The crowd had other options.
“”That was disappointing, but we just went and played on all the bouncy equipment,”” said Muir freshman Bekah Jones.
A restless crowd was shown an SRTV video clip several times on the large screens adorning the stage.
After a 50-minute lapse in music, several in the audience led chants of “”Bullshit”” and “”We want Cake.””
