courtesy of lifeincolor.com

Electronic dance music made its subtle debut in the late 70s, as Chicago producers took existing disco records and looped bits and pieces of them, adding computer-generated sounds to either embellish or complete a masterpiece. While the genre had a lengthy exodus from the U.S. scene, it took great hold overseas, and has returned stateside due to success on the pop charts and growing cultural demand.

Along with this growth has been the evolution of the live EDM experience. While DJs previously spun tunes in local clubs and dives, they now have enough clout to run sponsored, multi-tiered tours with meticulous light displays. Life In Color: Rebirth, a variant of the form, makes it name by throwing paint into the fray ­­— 500 gallons of it.

The show was held at Reliant Park April 13, eventually amassing a swarm of college-aged kids 8,000 deep. The medium-sized stage, the center of gravity at which all concertgoers would revolve for five hours, was minimal in setup but enticing: two pillars of speakers, held to the ceiling like ribbons, subwoofers placed on both ends, actual ribbons which held dancers, fog machines, three floor-mounted paint cannons and the central DJ booth adorned in a circle of display panels, with additional panels mounted on the back wall.

The gates opened at 6:00, but the show proper did not begin until 8:00. It gave one a chance to peer about the grounds and observe what a visual delight these events can offer. Attendees spend much time dressing up in elaborate get-ups, ranging from faux ballerinas to a giraffe on stilts, and due to the paint element, it makes sense to wear as much white clothing as possible. Much like a ComicCon or an anime convention, simply showing up does not suffice, which is a fun facet of the culture.

By 7:00 though, all attention reverted back to the digital altar. As Adrian Lux, Rebirth’s first DJ, laid down techno beats, a timer ticked down for the first wave of paint assault. The garden variety assortment of four-to-the-floor techno was too tame and nondescript to sustain such a throbbing crowd. Eventually time slipped away, and the host beckoned that the crowd go “hard in the paint.” Massive streams of green glop showered the audience and set off, as it is rightly titled, “The World’s Largest Paint Party.” It was glorious.

But the euphoria from being doused in water-soluble goods did not alleviate the major gripe that hung over the first few hours of Rebirth, the generic EDM. Granted, copyrights and artistic view will limit the scope of what Lux could play, but most producers get around that through remixes and bootlegs as a common law rule.

The most recent strains of EDM, dubstep and trap, are full-force genres that shake and break listeners at a subatomic level. Even the lazy dubstep track from an Excision feels like an unruly banger compared to the clean, conformist fare a la Calvin Harris or David Guetta.

Either way, the casual excitement of the crowd from the bland music gave way to anarchy. A group of guys were aggressively pushing through the crowd, causing discomfort for those they squeezed past and disorienting those who were unaware as to why they were being shoved about. Trust me, being pushed around when loud bass drops and paint showers impair the senses is not fun. The ruckus was so great that the host on stage made the crowd back up three times, which helped suppress the nonsense a bit.

Other than that, most of the excitement was tethered to the paint blasts, the frivolous use of handheld paint canisters being sold for $5 and the enjoyment of live electronic music itself, not the actual tunes, which seemed to bleed through, more so than the DJ format requires. Also, the ribbon dancers danced sparsely and were largely forgettable installments.

Adventure Club, the headliner most of the audience came for, took the stage around 9:30 p.m. and immediately upped the ante. With a wealthy assortment of tracks — yes, even techno — AC came equipped to rock the crowd and validate the previous three-hour wait. Tracks that stood out include Mayhem & Antiserum’s “Spend It,” a trap banger that constructs signature snare rolls, rumbling bass and wooping synths around a 2 Chainz vocal, solid remixes of Ellie Goulding’s “Hanging On” and Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” and the AC remix of Flight Facilities’ “Crave You,” which practically stands as a dubstep classic.

By the time Rebirth was over, all attendees were sopping with paint, sweat and overall satisfaction. At a reasonable price and with the right mindset, Life In Color provides loads of sloppy, safe fun for hours, and although the music excluding the headliner might be on the low end, the elements of EDM culture — the lights, sights and sounds, the unbridled youthfulness, — is something that all EDM fans should experience. Plus, this will probably be the only time and place where spewing blue paint in a person’s face is allowed.

courtesy of seatgeek.com

Caveman, the rock quintet from New York, has made their name in the music scene by mostly remaining ambiguous about their sonic roots, so much so that reviews of their debut effort, “CoCo Beware,” had critics placing the group between acoustic folk-rock and gleaming synth-pop, a rather huge musical chasm. Regardless, if the band’s distinction was hard to pinpoint earlier, its latest album, “Caveman,” displays an unabashed step forward into the realm of synth and sun.

This brave adherence to a form gives Caveman stronger consistency in its sound and listeners a solid experience. “CoCo Beware’s” main fault is perhaps the clear lack of focus in the experimentation: it had the five men hammering out what mix of plaid-shirted rock and lush vocal harmonies worked with the MIDI instrumentation they had at hand. This approach turned out decent, but resulted in odd tracks like “Vampirer.”

Thankfully, Caveman’s second album shows the group finally sticking to its guns as to how it should sound. In a nutshell, the album sounds like sunbathing in the Gobi Desert for hours, with kaleidoscope patterns blotting out the sky. They accomplish this through mellow guitar melodies, frontman Matthew Iwanusa’s vocal harmonies and a liberal application of ambient synthesizers — sometimes icy and effusive, sometimes static and glaring — all held together by shimmering production.

Tracks like “Shut You Down” and “Ankles” feature this style well, the former a jangly guitar tune slowly consumed by a bright wall of synth, and the latter a smoldering fire, built on four broad notes, live drums and Iwanusa’s sparse vocal mantras.

The best song on the album, “In The City,” excels on its courage of somehow pushing Caveman’s core elements to the maximum without resulting in a sensory overload. The melody is sweet and inviting, and the plodding pace works despite the keyboardist’s apparent urge to ramp up too fast.

While Caveman takes care in crafting each song from the core sound, the lack of variation does mar things a bit. Perhaps if they produced a couple stripped-down versions of “I See You,” the album’s most unadulterated rock song, the homespun quality would suffice, but that would seem contrary to their efforts on “Caveman” as a whole. Equally, the “wall of sound” technique it routinely employs at the end of tracks — “Chances,” particularly — does promote the idea of music washing over the listener, but so did it when bands like My Bloody Valentine or School of Seven Bells employed it, and much better.

The rub, then, is that Caveman has done well in sticking their feet on one solid spot, but considering what they produced earlier, should remember to bring or find an appropriate balance that fairly places each element, the folksy and the ambient, in the limelight. It is fine to bake in the sun, but always remember to flip.

Senior pitcher Keely Shuler pitched 1.2 innings in game two of the three game series vs. Sam Houston State University. | NAOMI BERUMEN/THE COLLEGIAN

After two competitive one-run losses to Southland Conference rival Sam Houston State University, the Bearkats finished the series with a sweep of the Huskies in the final game with a score of 8-2 at Sam Houston State Softball Stadium.

The Huskies started off the game with one run in the first inning off sophomore pitcher Haley Baros when sophomore first baseman Melissa Herman hit an RBI single to right field, scoring junior center fielder Lauren Schwirtlich.

The Bearkats responded in the bottom of the first with a RBI sacrifice fly ball to right field by sophomore designated player Hillary Adams.

After one out, senior pitcher Lori Earl was replaced by junior pitcher Kendall Stiefel with the bases loaded. Moments later, senior third baseman Shelbi Tucker hit a grand slam home run to take the lead 5-1.

Coach Mary-Ellen Hall said that Sam Houston simply out-hit the University, but she was pleased by how the Huskies reacted.

“On Sunday the Bearkats out-hit us and made the most of their opportunities,” Hall said. “But we did a good job of settling down after the first inning, we just need to make adjustments at the plate sooner.”

After an eventful first inning, both teams settled down as no hits occurred in the second and third innings.

In the top of the fourth, sophomore second baseman Victoria Granchelli broke the cycle of outs with a bunt single with two outs, but the University was unable to capitalize.

The Bearkats answered back with three hits in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three runs and increasing the lead to 8-1.

Sam Houston started the inning by loading the bases with no outs. The Huskies were then able to get two quick fly ball outs. Sam Houston then rallied when freshman shortstop Tiffany Castillo was hit by a pitch followed by a wild pitch and a single by Adams.

Stiefel was replaced by senior pitcher Sarah Shotton in the bottom of the fifth inning, retiring all three batters in a row.

The Huskies responded in the top of the seventh with a solo home run by Granchelli, but were unable to score any more runs and finished the game with a score of 8-2.

Hall said that girls are working hard and looking forward to playing McNeese State Universit.y this weekend.

“This team is committed to be the best they can be and work every day to accomplish that goal,” Hall said. “We are excited to be hosting McNeese at home this weekend.”

Sophomore pitcher Ross Kennell pitches to North Dakota senior shortstop Kris Kwak who hit a fielder’s choice in the top of the fifth inning during the 19-4 win by the Huskies April 7 at Husky Field. | MARYAM GHAFFAR/THE COLLEGIAN

The Huskies lit up the score board with 19 runs, beating the University of North Dakota with a run-ruling at Husky Field April 7, which was the most runs scored by the University since May 2011.

The Huskies won three out of four games to win the first Great West Conference series of the season behind sophomore pitcher Ross Kennell, who allowed only two runs on seven hits, striking out four and walking two in 5.2 innings.

Kennell said he came into the game wanting to be aggressive and was pleased with the result.

“I wanted to throw a lot of strikes and limit the free bases that I gave up,” Kennell said. “I tried to stay ahead of the count and could have thrown a few more strikes in certain situations, but it was a good outing.”

The Huskies scored early with five runs in the first inning off North Dakota sophomore pitcher Jeff Campbell, who gave up five runs, two hits and one walk in the first inning of play since March 9 due to injury. Without getting an out, Campbell was replaced by sophomore pitcher Reid Jungling in the top of the first inning.

Junior shortstop CJ Jarvis started the bottom of the first inning with a double to left center field. The bases were loaded after a walk to senior left fielder Luke Clements and after junior right fielder Jordan McCoy was hit by a pitch.

The University scored its first runs of the game after a pitch hit senior center fielder Jake Gonzalez. The Huskies continued to add runs when junior first baseman Mike Chamberlain hit an RBI single, followed by a sacrifice fly by sophomore catcher Samm Wiggins and a groundout RBI to second by sophomore third baseman Curtis Jones.  Junior designated hitter Bradley Brown scored the last run of the inning with a single to the right side of the field.

The Huskies were scoreless for only one inning of the game, scoring one run in the third inning, five runs in the fourth, seven runs in the fifth and finishing with one run in the sixth.

North Dakota allowed 15 hits and 15 free passes to the Huskies, which included nine hit batters and six walks. Jarvis went 3-for-5 on the day with two doubles, three RBIs and two runs.

McCoy scored three runs in the game and reached base off a single, walk and hit-by-pitch to extend his on base percentage to .449. He has reached base in all 28 games this season.

McCoy said he did not realize that he had reached base in every game until a few days ago and admits that he tries to do whatever it takes to get on base.

“I try to go out each and every day and give it everything I have,” McCoy said. “Regardless of my streak, I have just tried to do whatever is needed to get on base.”

Junior pitcher Kobie Hajdik came in for relief in the fifth inning allowing two hits, one run while striking out one. Freshman pitcher Matt Harding finished the game in the sixth inning with one earned run and two strikeouts.

Head coach Jared Moon said that the team performed well offensively and defensively to win the game.

“We swung the bat well and finally swung it like we’re capable of doing,” Moon said. “Kennell settled in early, was changing speeds, keeping their batters off balance and all-in-all did an outstanding job.”

Around 8 p.m. April 6, I received an ESPN mobile update of history being made.  It indicated that Texas Rangers’ pitcher Yu Darvish was in the sixth inning with a perfect game against my beloved Astros. The worst part about it was not the fact that my team was struggling, but that I was unable to watch history in the making.

Minutes felt like hours with every out that refreshed on my phone. Without the ability to watch the game on television, I desperately needed a fix of live coverage. With two innings left and the perfect game still intact, I found myself listening to it on the radio in my truck, which felt oddly like I was in the 1930s.

Unfortunately, not having Comcast leaves fans feeling like they are in the 1930s of live sports coverage. Regardless of the unnecessary inconvenience of listening to the radio, the announcers indicated that it was the bottom of the ninth with Darvish one out away from a perfect game, recording 14 strikeouts in 8.2 innings of play.

The radio announcers introduced Marwin Gonzalez as a pinch hitter for the Astros, and moments later on Darvish’s first pitch, history was made in the Astros’ favor.  Gonzalez hit the ball up the middle of the infield, barely missing the glove of Darvish for the first hit of the game. Darvish became only the 11th player in Major League history to have a perfect game broken up with two outs left. I was screaming with joy in my truck, but realized the “big brother”-esque type of control that Comcast has.

Houstonians and sports fans alike must fix this. We need to demand that Comcast release coverage to other service providers or that every game be televised on local channels. Whatever it may be, the suffering has gone on long enough. Even though the Astros may have another tough season, I want to be the one who decides to watch a train wreck season or history unfold.

Editor in chief 

Next semester, students will not have to travel far to get the original chicken sandwich and waffle fries.

University officials announced today that by fall 2013, a Chick-fil-A restaurant will replace Tilas in the MD Anderson Student Center.

The Chick-fil-A will offer a full menu of lunch items from 11-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11-2:30 p.m. on Friday. Students can purchase food and drinks using their meal plans and declining balance dollars.

President Robert B. Sloan Jr. said he plans for Chick-fil-A’s construction to begin over the summer and hopes to have the restaurant ready by the time students return in the fall.

“It could be middle to late August, but the idea is to get it in before the students get back,” Sloan said.

Although Tilas will cease to operate as a restaurant, the Baugh will open a Mexican food station to compensate.

The Chick-fil-A will be directed by Aramark and run by Aramark employees. Benny Gilbert, director of dining, attested to how hard his staff has worked to achieve this goal.

“Aramark has worked together with HBU on evolving the dining experience to create highly desired brands and menus in comfortable environments that truly foster a sense of community and help the campus thrive,” Gilbert said.

Sandra Mooney, vice president of financial operations, said the idea for the Chick-fil-A began while moving back into the Brown Administrative Complex last academic year after Hurricane Ike damaged the building in September of 2008.

“When we re-opened Brown, we told them we wanted a food service in MD Anderson,” Mooney said. “Tilas was a temporary solution.”

Mooney added that they knew the students wanted Chick-fil-A and have been working on bringing a franchise to campus since then.

Sloan said that the addition of Chick-fil-A will help build campus community.

Paramore’s fourth studio album, “Paramore,” is an exciting, diverse album that is a testament to its fresh-faced approach to pop-punk music. The album clearly displays the band’s new experimentation with new musical genres; whether or not this is good, only time will tell.

Since its formation in 2004, Paramore has edged its way into becoming a staple of the pop-punk genre. The band, fronted by singer and songwriter Hayley Williams, has a history of churning out explosively catchy albums that are both angst-inspiring and filled with somewhat melodramatic lyrics, most notably displayed by their 2007 platinum album “Riot!” However, their latest effort does not reflect that fiery punk style that their fans love. Instead, the band channels that energy into redefining itself as something not yet fully developed.

Williams has received heaps of praise over the years for her soaring vocal crescendos and impressive range. While Williams’ voice remains unchanged album to album, the band seems to have played with her vocal style in unusual ways on this album. “Still Into You,” a brawny rock-ballad built on rich power chords, is a track that puts Williams’ sonorous vocals on full display with the central chant: “It’s just a spark, but it’s enough to keep me going.”

However, it is hard to dismiss the tracks that leave fans all too familiar with the fact that the band is undergoing a period of creative experimentation.
On certain tracks, Williams seems to play around with more bass-heavy vocals, a show of them grasping towards something more alternative, shown clearly in “Now” and “Part II.” On this album as a whole, Williams’ vocals deliver somewhat inconsistently, a disappointing and unwarranted change from the band’s previous records.

At least the band’s roots in pop-punk instrumentation have not been abandoned altogether. The album’s single “Now” is a passionately rousing rocker that makes more out of chunky guitar riffs and explosive bursts of percussion than the band has in the past.

Furthermore, when Williams fails to deliver vocally, the  instrumentation can still save the song. “Ain’t It Fun,” one of the most diverse tracks on the album, features digitized keys, explosive rhythm guitar and all-too realistic lyrics: “Don’t go cryin’ to your mama, ‘cause you’re alone in the real world.” The song’s refrain and final chorus also features a gospel ensemble echoing Williams’ vocals, an exciting experiment from Paramore.

The entrancing addition of cello and viola, interspersed only by moments of light snare drum, was an unexpected addition to the album heard most notably in “Dreamlike.” Opening with chunky, dazzling guitar riffs, the verses of “Anklebiters” are underlined with explosive distorted chords and screaming rhythm guitar.

“Paramore’s” refreshing diversity is a welcome change from the somewhat formulaic nature of previous albums and is a change that the band should develop further.

ALLISON THAI

The University will offer new classes starting this fall semester to students of all majors, allowing them to broaden their current interests, cultivate new ones and take advantage of the many options available through the University.

College should not solely be about taking classes in one particular field of study. Instead, students need to focus on expanding their knowledge by studying a wide variety of areas.

The new classes offer students a wide array of topics to study. This creates stronger diversification of interests with deeper understanding in those interests, which leads to the development of a more well-rounded individual.

An entire semester spent discussing “The Lord of the Rings” is intriguing to many.  Instead of merely learning about J.R.R. Tolkien and studying “The Lord of the Rings” briefly as part of a larger course, students will focus on this one series.

Gaining a deeper understanding through a more narrow focus is a new approach to student learning.

Other classes such as “Introduction to Criminal Justice” give students the opportunity to get a feel for a possible career choice prior to making a total commitment to a major field of study.

“Worldview Apologetics: ‘Testing Everything’ with C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer” gives students the unique chance to learn from great thinkers and compare different theological arguments.

Many of these classes focus on bringing new topics to the University or delving deeper into current areas of study. Students enjoy having the chance to take unusual classes since these classes set the University apart from others.

One may enjoy making history by taking classes never before offered at the University.

Offering these unique classes is not only appealing to current students, but they also can help increase interest from potential students, employers and faculty.  Offering uncommon classes is important in order to maintain a competitive university.

Many students are eager to take advantage of the exciting opportunities provided by these new classes.

The new classes are a great asset to the University and may leave students desiring similar classes.

Asst. news editor

Greek life has put a new spin on the traditional Greek Week with the hope of building community among Greek organizations.

This is the first year that University Greek organizations have held a Greek Week. The difference between the University’s version and the  traditional approach is the division of members into teams. Rather than having Greek organizations compete against one another, members of each organization are randomly divided into different  teams.

Sophmore Anneclaire Furnace, Panhellenic president and member of Phi Mu, said she hopes Greek Week will help to form new relationships.

“Even though we belong to different organizations, we all experience the privilege of being Greek,” she said. “Ideally Greek Week will become a new tradition to look forward to every year.”

The change was designed to help reduce rivalry between groups by having members from different organizations work together to achieve a goal and develop a sense of unity after successfully competing with their new teammates.

Roquee Forson, director of student involvement, explained the reasons the University began a non-traditional approach to Greek Week.

“We wanted a way to develop a community feel and bring each Greek community together,” she said. “It expands their boundaries so that they can get to know each other and break down the barriers that develop between organizations.”

On April 9, teams competed in team-building games, such as dodgeball, human battleship and tug-of war, all designed to encourage teamwork with members of other Greek organizations.

Greek Week has a philanthropic goal. April 10, teams began Coin Wars, a different approach to common fundraising methods. Teams competed to collect the most donations for their coin jar, but only pennies counted towards one positive “point.” Other coins counted for negative the amount they are worth.

All proceeds raised will be donated to the Elijah Rising organization, an organization whose mission is to end human trafficking.

The week’s activities will come to a close April 11 with a social event where representatives from Elijah Rising will be presented with a check of the total funds raised for their organization.

Senior Anthony Perez, member of Kappa Alpha Order, said getting to know Greeks from other organizations will help build a well-rounded community in the future.

“We can combine the talents from each organization to accomplish more and create a synergy that was not there before,” he said.