Rose Rock 2010 graced by Kings and a green man

   Bouncy castles brought back childhood nostalgia along with rock-climbing walls, while the aroma of hamburgers and hotdogs filled the spring air. Guys and girls alike wore bright-colored We The Kings shirts all over the College of St. Rose’s lawn.

   A man dressed and as a Viking and another covered head-to-toe in green spandex, the Green Man, were bouncing back and forth through the crowd and was reminiscent of last year’s Banana Man as they crowd surfed and participated in the mosh pit.

   The opening acts for We The Kings were Try Sarah Topps, Free Henry!, A Sound Decision, and Fairhaven. We The Kings came on to the stage with energy and explosive sounds from their popular songs, “Secret Valentine” and “Check Yes Juliet.”

   After the show when Travis Clark, the lead singer of We The Kings signed two girls’ chests, he managed to tell me, “Sorry, I’m borderline deaf. I had a great time at Rose Rock. But my question to you is, did you have a good time?”

   We The Kings played Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle” and had the crowd going crazy. Students were dancing around each other side by side. There were so many people crowd surfing and moshing that Travis Clark jumped into the crowd. For the last song Clark went all out and sang along with the sea of people holding him up. “Check Yes Juliet” could have been heard a mile away from St. Rose.

   It was Clark’s 25th birthday and he couldn’t have been happier. In between songs he said, “You guys are amazing and you’re off to bigger and better things.”

   Although the main attraction was We The Kings, the opening acts were not lacking in the talent area. Try Sarah Topps was upbeat and playful with their drum beats and riffs.

    Beneath the soulful lyrics “Of a Shadow” there was surprise in the pace of the song because it would start off slow and then speed up with their instruments.

   Free Henry! was melodic with rhythmic blues and jazz sounds. The song “Three Sisters Island” took the crowd into the next level with soothing melodies and riffs. With such an intimate crowd, these four band members were in their element.

   Despite the restrictions, there were UAlbany students mixed all over the crowd along with St. Rose students. Arianna Stella, 19-year-old sophomore from St. Rose yelled “I transferred here. This is my first Rose Rock. I am just hanging with some of friends listening to We The Kings, Try Sarah Topps and Fairhaven.”

   “Free Henry! and A Sound Decision were good. Last year was better though with Say Anything. Max Bemis grabbed my ex-girlfriend and kissed her on the lips last year. I was pissed but I was like ‘whatever’ and enjoyed the show. There was definitely more people last year,” said Brandon Bryant, a 20-year-old junior from Syracuse University. 

   Even the Green Man had something to say. The Green Man, Tom Ray, a 22-year-old a St. Rose junior said, “Last year was way better because there were more people. There were too many rules: no bottles and no cans. What if I was dehydrated? I hate St. Rose’s policies! Next year should definitely have more choices. Bands like Thrice, Brand New and even Taking Back Sunday.”