Music makes up for coffee catastrophe at coffeehouse

This year’s first coffeehouse, organized by Activities Planning Board (APB) members Scot MacPherson and Betsy Schmid, was held last Thursday in the Event Space. Schmid said the idea for the coffeehouse was proposed and approved last spring by the APB Live Music Committee. Announcements for the coffeehouse were placed in the campus news emails a few weeks prior to the event, and food was ordered from Catering Services.

"Coffeehouses are great opportunities for students not involved in bands to perform. And it’s a chance to hear the music that the students write themselves," said Schmid.

Students could barely contain their excitement Thursday as they tried to enter the coffeehouse before the doors were even opened. As students filed in and took their seats, one of the first things many of them noticed about this coffeehouse was: no coffee. Even though the coffee and refreshments were a little late in their arrival, there were still great performances to enjoy.

The first performer to bravely take the stage was sophomore Lorraine Bonifanti, who played her guitar and sang a couple of songs by unknown artists, as well as a Sheryl Crow song. Bonafanti’s performance was followed by a thunder of applause and cheers.

Next to perform were freshmen Dave MacPherson and Mark Krebs, who began by saying, "We’re not really a band – we’re a radio show that wanted to get publicity," and gave a plug for their show on. The two had the audience in stitches as MacPherson played Bad Company’s "Feel Like Making Love" and Krebs sang backup. They invited the audience to sing along, and one student in the front happily chimed in by shouting "Love!" during the chorus.

Next to perform was freshman Mike Masters on guitar. Masters, who said he has been playing since fifth grade, offered a new sound to Etown’s coffeehouse with a couple Tim Reynolds-like instrumental originals. About this time, the coffee and food arrived, livening up the place a little more.

Sophomore Edwin Tichenor took the stage with his guitar in his debut performance at Elizabethtown. Cries of excitement could be heard from the female members of the audience as Tichenor began with a John Mayer song. He continued with a few of his original songs and ended with "She’s Electric" by Oasis.

People continued to pour in to the event as sophomore Garth Semple stepped up with his guitar to perform two original songs, and then a Leonard Skynard song, accompanied by Steffen Sundelius. Singing for the first time before Etown students, senior Denise Gannon was a little nervous to get up on stage. But she seemed to relax once she started singing "When the Stars Go Blue," accompanied by junior Phil Brynildsen on guitar. Afterward, Brynildsen remained on stage to play the Beatles’ "Don’t Let Me Down," as well as some original material.

The free coffee, cookies and brownies were quickly disappearing as students continued to file in, having to sit or stand in the back due to the lack of available seats. Junior Casey Moore, who has only been playing guitar for about a year, impressed the audience by performing two of his original songs.

Next was a student who is no stranger to performing before Elizabethtown students. Sophomore Pat McCarthy took the stage, guitar in hand, and played a song written by his friend Pat. "No I’m not talking in the third person – I really do have a friend Pat," he joked. He also played "Ghost" and "Faking It."

The last performance of the night was The Ryan Stillman Project (RSP), with Ryan Stillman, Andy Bozarth and Garth DeAngelis. RSP first performed a Dave Matthews song. To introduce their second and final song of the night, DeAngelis announced, in the past, that the song had brought luck to Stillman with the ladies. "So let’s see if the same thing can happen tonight," said DeAngelis, as chuckles could be heard from the audience. The band proceeded to perform "Name" by the Goo Goo Dolls. During the performance, a string on Bozarth’s guitar broke, but he kept right on playing. The end of their performance brought the conclusion of the coffeehouse, and students grabbed their last cups of coffee and headed out the door.