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NOVEMBERFEST FOR TOYS OF HOPE By Shaun O'Brien       On Wednesday, November 16, WCWP and Toys of Hope joined forces to put on Novemberfest; a free concert in the Hillwood Commons Lecture Hall on the campus of C.W. Post. The concept behind the show was to not only put on a show for the students, but to collect toys for needy children. Assistant Prison Break coordinator, Beverly Koondel said "we wanted to do a show to promote the station, and then we began working with toys of hope, so we figured it would be a good way to do both". The show featured 9 acts all together; three long island rock acts, three rap/r&b acts, two tribute bands, and a classic rock ensemble. Kicking the show off was Strawberry Fields. If you are a fan of the Beatles at all, you would appreciate this group. The faux fab four come out dressed just like the real band; imitating the garb worn back in the early Ed Sullivan show days. Strawberry Fields belted out classics like "Hard Days Night", "Can't Buy Me Love", and "I Saw her standing there". While they usually change costume a few times, due to time constraints, they stuck to the one image for the night. Three of Long Island's best bands shared the stage, as The Getaway Drive, Cast in Shadows, and Stars in December each rocked the crowd. Mike from the Getaway Drive was battling an illness but still gave 100 percent and belted out great tunes such as "She's All Smiles" and a cover of Enrique Iglesias' "Escape". Mike said that the Getaway Drive got involved with Novemberfest because it was a good cause, and would be a great time to get back on stage after a two and a half month hiatus while the band records a new album. Cast In Shadows mixed some older songs while showcasing new songs off a new album which will debut in the winter of 2006. Among the new songs were "Circles", and "Thank you". Their set was an excellent blend of hard rock and solid vocals. Vinny did encounter one brief hiccup as his microphone experienced technical difficulties, but Brian and Kevin's guitar playing were awesome, and Anthony and Shaun's rhythm of bass and drums were great. Stars in December performed a very intimate acoustic set, with just Billy on vocals, Brian on guitar, and Rich on keyboards. The set was well-received, and had the audience's full attention. Stars in December could have opted to have their two other members; Steve and John join them for a full band, but choosing to perform a stripped down version of their set was very unique and proved to be a great idea! While the three Long Island Bands defiantly had support, it was Almost Queen who stole the show. The Queen tribute band were absolutely amazing. Joseph Russo is a dead ringer for Freddie Mercury. So much so he had many people turning heads thinking they just saw the legendary frontman! Guitarist Tom Cavanah looks and plays just like Brian May. The band kicked their set off with the stadium anthem "We Will Rock You" then got the entire crowd up on their feet for "Fat Bottom Girls" and "Crazy Little Thing called love", and brought the house down with an amazing rendition of "Stone Cold Crazy". Rock was not the only genre on display this night, as rap and r&b acts also took the stage. Staten Island rapper AC was first out of the gate for his genre, and was followed by the duo L.I.M and Boogs. All three acts had special assistance from two WCWP staff; as Selveno and Eli provided the DJ work. The final act of the night was The Mike Titchy Disaster who brought their classic rock vibe to the show. The band ended the show with a nostalgic feel, as if we may be at Woodstock. The end of the night resulted in three boxes of toys from just the show alone. WCWP Interim Program Director, Peter Bellotti says that there will be a press conference sometime in December to announce the success of the toy drive to date, and thanks the entire WCWP staff for their help in putting together this charity event. (TOP OF PAGE TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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