Window panes revealed a darkening sky as guitars and drums banded together in harmony. The audience banged their heads to every note, not missing a beat. Fishnets, face paint and unique costumes sprinkled in the ballroom. Everyone was a rockstar, at least for the night.
Campus Events and Entertainment hosted their second annual Emo Night on Tuesday, featuring four live bands, some local and others composed of UT students, free food, giveaways and a Halloween costume contest. Each band covered songs by prominent “emo” and alternative artists, including Muse, Paramore, Avril Lavigne and Deftones.
Rhetoric and writing senior Sophia Molina performed with her band Lunera, playing covers of the English rock band Muse. Molina said covering Muse proved to be a challenge for the band, but it gave them an opportunity to break out of their shell.
“I like saying I’m nerve-cited because I’m always nervous and excited at the same time,” Molina said. “Especially with Muse, their music is so intricate and so complicated, and it’s so specific that it’s really hard to ace. … That’s why I wanted to do Muse, because I wanted that challenge and I wanted to show off my voice, because I feel like that’s something that we don’t do a lot. We’re a very laid-back band.”
Radio-television-film junior Toine Orr said he found the turnout and audience enthusiasm for the live bands impressive.
“It was very loud in the sense that there were a lot of people cheering for the band,” Orr said. “I thought that was really cool. They were all right in front of the stage: jumping up and down (and) bopping their heads.”
Advertising sophomore Emmeline Hurter said Emo Night featured some great forms of self-expression.
“I don’t always see a lot of alternative fashion, but in that room, you could tell that everyone was very unapologetically themselves,” Hurter said. “They just loved what they loved.”
Molina said she hopes the event raises visibility for all of the bands that performed on campus.
“I feel like we’re just starting out, so this is just another boost that we can have,” Molina said. “I know specifically because we played Muse, we were able to learn all of (the) things that we’ve had difficulties with, so we were able to learn more about ourselves, more about our limits; stuff like that. So we kind of grew as a band in that way too.”
Orr said even though Emo Night was out of his typical comfort zone, he enjoyed the event and felt like it provided an outlet for everybody.
“There was this one quote that one of the performers said. She said something (along) the lines of how being emo doesn’t necessarily have to deal with how you express yourself on the outside. … It’s more of a mindset,” Orr said. “So if you feel emo, you are emo, and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t be it.”
