2008 Woodie Awards
'Brew'ing up another good time
The Brew's second free concert at KSC well received by audience
Brian Dunham
Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: A & E
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The outdoor event gave students an opportunity to dance and have a good time while listening to live music.
The night was a little cold but students kept warm by dancing to the jams pouring out the speakers.
"It's not cold out, everyone's moving, it makes it fun," said KSC sophomore Katte Gavrity.
The Brew took the stage a little after six pm, and the crowd grew large by sun set.
This was the second time The Brew performed at KSC. They were brought back after the popularity of last year's concert.
"We love it up here," said guitarist Dave Drouin. "Keene State is one of the best colleges, if not the best. I hope we can play here in the future."
"I saw them here last year," said Kevin Malicki, KSC sophomore. He said last year they talked about how good of a crowd KSC was and wanted to return because of that.
KSC senior Ian Moore said he enjoyed The Brew and would like to see more free music events on campus. He said he has "been a fan [of The Brew] since they came last year."
The band continued to play in tee shirts, despite the low temperature, as several members of the audience drank coffees.
"Hope it's not too nippy out there," said keyboardist Joe Plante. "We're doing okay up here."
"The fact they're playing here in the cold, you've got to give it to them," said Malicki.
The Brew definitely worked the crowd. Drouin danced "the robot" a few times while performing.
The audience applauded when he said "There are so many friendly, sexy faces out there."
The Brew played two fun covers, Boston's "Long Time," and Foreigner's "Jukebox Hero". They played these two arena rock songs to a tee.
Picking out songs to cover is a difficult process for the band. According Joe Plante, they like to play songs that stand out, but the band usually has a difficult time coming to a consensus on which songs to cover. Plante said it's hard to agree.
At last year's show The Brew played Kansas' "Carry on Wayward Son."
The Brew played a solid 30-minute encore after the audience chanted "One more song."
The opening band, Big Lick, was a fun ska band, playing in the style of Sublime, 311 and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
They are a six-piece band with two horns, a guitarist, bassist, singer and drummer. They played a fun cover of "Jump Around" that they made their own.
This band had a very energetic singer, who played air guitar, and jumped around the stage.
They were a good opener for The Brew, exchanging the lyrics in "We want the funk" with "We want The Brew;" not many students were out to see them however.
Former KSC student John Condlin plays bass in Big Lick.
When asked how it felt to be back at KSC he said, "It feels weird but it feels good at the same time." He said a lot has changed here since he left Keene.
The Brew provided lighting for the event.
They played in the smoke produced by a fog machine while psychedelic lights streamed along the student center walls.
The Brew used to be called Blue Fungus Brew.
Guitar Dave Druin said they changed the name because it was a drug connotation and the band didn't want to have that association any more.
"We want mothers to drop their kids off at our shows," said Druin.
The Brew consists of Drouin on guitar and vocals; Kelly Kane on drums; Chris Plante on keyboard and vocals; and Joe Plante on bass guitar and vocals.
The Brew's influences include Coldplay, The Beatles, Little Feat, Elvis Costello, and some classical romantic music, according to the band.
The band has been playing together for seven years and just released a new album titled "Back to the Woods." All in all, The Brew played an awesome show.
They jammed endlessly without the sound getting boring, a difficult feat for some jam bands.The event was clearly appreciated by the students that were present.
It seemed as though the band shared the enthusiasm when Plante said "Have we mentioned tonight that we fucking love you guys."
Brian Dunham can be contacted at bdunham@keenequinox.com.
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