Stars shine at the talent show

Students showed off their charisma and star performances at the 2008 Talent Show that was held at the Fieldhouse on April 27. This year's talent show almost failed to take place because of the lack of money the school had funded for clubs. With the funding from the Student Government Association Executive Board and organization from the College Republicans, the show went on. Junior Eric Jackman and senior Joseph Tyman along with junior Crista Fontana, Meghan Simon, and Phillip Painchaud were responsible for organizing the whole show. According to Painchaud, President of the College Republicans, the club wanted to help fund the talent show, because it was a worthwhile event that benefits the school. Host Jordan Handy said, "We didn't get enough money from the school, and this year instead of us hiring somebody to do all of this (pointing to the speakers and lights) and [instead of] having us just produce the show, we had to do setup. We had to do lights and sound, and none of us knew what we were doing, so we got this show together on a low budget. Everybody put a lot of effort into it." Over 300 people showed up in attendance for this year's Talent Show. Admission was $2 per person, and all the money went to the Feal Good Foundation which benefits the firefighters and first responders who are still injured and sick from Ground Zero and the 9/11 attacks. The two hosts of the show were Zach Weight and Handy. The two seniors entertained the crowd with their comical jokes and humorous videos that they created. At one point Handy and Weight went through the crowd, interviewing the fans, just to make the show more personable for the audience. According to Handy, he and Weight decided several years ago that they wanted to host the talent show, because they felt they could be funnier than past hosts. Handy and Weight actually planned the videos they showed the crowd far in advance. There were 16 acts at this years show, and unlike last year, no performer was limited to just one song. Many of the bands and dancers performed three or more songs, and the show lasted over three hours. The opening performance this year was by a three person student band called LMNOP. They performed three songs, "Fearless," "The Crane Wife Three," and "Anatomical Theatre." Although LMNOP did not have the greatest singing voices, they impressed the crowd with their diverse instrumental skills. They mastered the acoustic guitar, electrical guitar, and even played the banjo and a bongo drum. The Raven Thunder Dance Team followed and performed their first of three acts of the night. In their first act, titled "Fragile," freshman Korinne Robertson, Katie Drescher, and juniors Kaylyn Barnard and Jennifer Croce amazed the crowd with their classical ballet style dance moves and bright purple and black outfits. Robertson picked the dress attire for their dance. Robertson danced in the front, the majority of the song, as she stuck out with her finesse dance moves and her beautiful smile as she looked like she was having fun throughout the piece. After Raven Thunder, senior Lauren Underwood sang solo in her fourth and final Talent Show. Underwood performed just as professionally as Carrie Underwood. Underwood came out dressed in a stunning black outfit and white high heels. She had the support from dozens of fans in the crowd who were screaming her name. She sang over the recording of the Billy Paul song "Me and Mrs. Jones." Underwood has an amazing singing voice and a beautiful smile which boosted her performance. After her performance she received a huge ovation from the crowd. SISTUHS performed fourth on the night. They were made up of eight dancers: senior Shauntaye Shaunie Merritt-Williams, juniors Kristina Cole, Christina Levesque, Kim Mainville, and Sophomores Ricki Thompson, Tiffany Jackson, Natasha Williams, and Nyroni Wright. They danced to a variety of songs, waking the crowd up with their hot and spicy dance moves and dance attire. The crowd seemed to be moved the most when the girls threw on matching black hooded sweatshirts for their hip-hop style dancing. "I think we rocked the hoodies," said Cole. The ladies started and ended their performance by screaming their club slogan: 'SISTUHS.. Okay!'" which the crowd seemed to enjoy. Next was senior Amanda Leblanc who sang two songs: Fever and Who Knew. Leblanc's performance wasn't as lively as SISTUHS. She had a great singing voice but at times her performance just sounded like someone at a Karaoke bar. The Trailer 4 House Band performed four self written songs including "Winters in New England," "Confuse Me," "Smoke My Mind," and "Officer Pat." They also performed Sublime's "What I Got." The band, made up of Skye Perry, Jeff Anderson, and Russel Viola had great instrumentals and very creative lyrics. Before beginning their song "Smoke My Mind," the band proved to the crowd that they were rebellious, by saying "this song is about being a pot head and is dedicated to Rindge Police." They also performed a song about Campus Safety Officer Pat with the lyrics, "Officer Pat, why do you come down on me, was it because I was smoking weed." Their song also referenced the senior living area Lakeview which all of the students could relate to. "I think we did pretty well," Perry said. "The crowd was definitely feeling it and it was a good show." The Raven Thunder Dance Team performed their second dance act of the night to the Van Morrison classic song "Moondance." Sophomores Gabrielle Aufiero and Rachel Havrilla joined freshman Robertson, Drescher, and juniors Kaylyn Barnard and Croce for this dance. These ladies dress attire was the most creative of the night. Their dress selection was chosen by Aufiero. They dressed in scandalous outfits which included men's white business dress shirts with ties, short spandex black shorts, and black pantyhose. Their stunning outfits kept the crowd entertained. After facing some technical difficulties with the microphones, the band Emergency Exit, made up of Professor Doug Challenger and five other students, performed four songs. The band included fiddles and vocalist and sparked the crowd with a different style of music. This band was full of energy. Instead of rock or hip-hop, they performed Celtic music, and Irish Jigs. Seniors Kate Surgeon and Frank Seijas each sang with great passionate voices, as they got the crowd clapping their hands. Living Hazard, a rock band made up of four students, performed three songs. They were the loudest band of the night, playing loud accented beats with fortissimo dynamics on the drums, cymbals, and electric guitar. Their beats were so loud, that the crowd could not even hear or understand the lyrics coming from singer Bill Novak's mouth. Sophomore Ricki Thompson choreographed and performed her dance piece called "Never Alone." Thompson impressed many of her fans with her flexible and erotic dance moves. Thompson's dance was short and sweet as she received a nice ovation from the crowd when she was finished. Sophomore Cono Travolino was the most talented musician of the night. He not only had an amazing singing voice with clear articulation, but he was also a fine guitarist. Travolino performed "Sweetest Girl," "Christen Your Sheets," and "King of Wishful Thinking." His best performance was his acoustic rendition of Wyclef Jean, Lil Wayne, Nia and Akon's recent hit "Sweetest Girl." Instead of singing the song with a quick hip hop beat, Travolino revamped the song and sang it with slow, quiet lyrics while playing his acoustic guitar. The Raven Thunder Dance Team's third and final act was their least creative act of night but it did featured dancing from eight of their members. Sophomores Lisa Lombardo and freshman Amanda Singer joined Aufiero, Havrilla, Robertson, Drescher, Barnard, and Croce for a hip-hop style of dancing. The dance team wore flashy bright outfits, and appeared in sync throughout the piece. By the time the Raven Thunder Dance Team performed their third act, three hours had passed and hundreds of people had left the show. The few dozen people who did stay had the privilege of seeing freshman Snezana Stojkovic perform three songs. The Serbian native, who is also on the women's soccer team, had a wonderful voice and showed she had great all-around talent by playing the guitar while singing. Freshman Chad Moores followed Stojkovic with Stand-Up Comedy which resulted in a few chuckles from the crowd. After Moores, sophomore Gabrielle Aufiero wooed the crowd with her experienced dance techniques. The final act came from the Jackman brothers and their band Probyn. Mike Jackman, who attends Keene State, rocked out in fashion with his impressive beat box skills. The 2008 Talent Show ended up lasting close to four hours. Over three hundred students arrived making the annual event another success, raising over $400.