When I heard Mates of State and Timeflies were coming to Brandeis for the annual fall concert, I hoped their music would be as catchy as their inner-rhyming names. I will admit, I had never heard of either group, even though the husband and wife duo of Mates of State, Kori Gardner (vocals and keyboard) and Jason Hammel (vocals and drums), are mates of my home state, Connecticut. During the concert, I did recognize the tune of one of their more popular songs, "Palomino," included on their newest LP, Mountaintops, released in 2011. The song features many of the band's musical characteristics: echoic harmonies, psychedelic synthesizer and heavy rhythm resembling electronic or dancehall beats. The music video for "Palomino" is quite remarkably done-a cross between thick oil painting and stop animation film.

I would have thoroughly enjoyed Mates of State out of the context of one of Brandeis' largest musical events of the year. At its peak, around 300 people attended the fall concert, held in the Gosman Spots and Convocation Center, which could have accommodated twice this amount. In attempt to be ever-closer, the student body pressed up against the stage and each other to mimic the feeling of being at a standing-room-only show, while the back of the gymnasium remained nearly empty. 

It was frustrating yet amusing to watch couples awkwardly vertical spooning, and wannabe partners bewilderedly rocking from side to side, trying to figure out how to dance to music neither-here-nor-there. One couple I interviewed, Julian Seltzer '15 and Amanda Stern '15, were also lukewarm about the concert. "I thought their songs got better as they went along, but, I mean, they're not much of performers. I felt like I was watching a rehearsal," said Seltzer. Stern nodded and added, "It seemed very informal. They seemed young."

The informality may have seemed unprofessional or less of a performance, but I thought it served as a mellow segue into the headliner, Timeflies. Abby Kirshbaum '16, agreed, "[Mates of State] was not quite my type of music; a lot of people were dancing, and I think Timeflies will be much better for dancing." 

In between acts, Student Events kept the crowd engaged with a constant flow of pump-up music while Brandeisians chatted and danced in small groups. The gap between Mates of State and Timeflies only lasted around 15 minutes. 

Soon, husband and wife were replaced with Rob Resnick and vocalist Cal Shapiro, whose musical background hits very close to campus. The two Jewish performers met in a Tufts University funk band and formed Timeflies in 2010 (not to be confused with the 90s Virginia hardcore punk group, Time Flies). Their musical style is self-described on their webpage as "Electro Hip Pop Dub-Something." 

Timeflies is known for its remixes and renditions of pop songs, so all of the music sounded very familiar, and Brandeis students seemed more acquainted to dancing to this genre. 

Highlights included a version of "Glad You Came," by The Wanted featuring memorable original lyrics such as, "Her name is Kristen/ But her ass says 'Juicy'," and "She swears she not a groupie/ She a hostess baby that's the stuff/ Now we kickin' it like Bruce Lee." The crowd also enjoyed "Under the Sea," inspired by Disney's The Little Mermaid with an adult twist ("Darling it's better/ You know I get you wetter/ Under the sea.") Shapiro and Resnick then sprayed the crowd with their Poland Spring water bottles.

The most lauded song of the concert was Shapiro's "freestyle" rap about Brandeis. He read the lyrics off a sheet of paper which he crumpled and threw back to the audience, so only the lucky catcher knows the full script, but I managed to catch the references to "the Dungeon," Carl and Ruth Shapiro, BEMCO and Gordon's Fine Wines and Liquors. Nevertheless, I really appreciated this original touch to their otherwise "borrowed" musical style. 

The concert ended around 10 p.m., which felt very premature for a Saturday night. Immediately following the encore, I, along with the crowd of students piled out of Gosman. I felt energized, yet overall unaffected by the show. The two-by-two performers had barely any stage presence, and I knew I would not wake the next morning with their music stuck in my head. Instead, my friends and I left the gymnasium for another haunt to dance the night away.
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