By Amber Roos
— After months of practice and preparation, last Saturday, dozens of musicians and singers from AUC assembled to perform at CREA Amsterdam. In the beginning of the academic year each musician was matched into one of five bands by OnStage, AUC’s music and performing arts committee. That weekend, they were finally given the chance to take to the stage and show off their hard work.
Throughout the evening each band performed a handful of songs, whilst in between the performances DJ Raiyu Hirayama from Webradio, AUC’s music committee, guaranteed no one stopped dancing. Ed, the sound tech at CREA, helped the organisers make sure everything went smoothly.
The first band to perform was Winter with 3 L’s. Laila Spee, a third-year Social Science major and lead singer of the band, was very positive about her experience. “It was a really nice opportunity to get over my fears and also perform in front of friends,” she said.
Next up was Vegan Tuna Pizza. They decided to end their act with the song “When You’re Ugly” by Louis Cole. Jasper Stevens, a third-year Science major and the band’s clarinet player, was very excited about the enthusiasm of the crowd during that song. “It was very fun in the moment! Especially [that] one great corner in the audience.”
Lela Roos, a third-year Science major and drummer of Winter with 3 L’s, was part of that enthusiastic corner: “I really enjoyed it, but [part of] the crowd was sh*t and they needed to step up their game.”
Psychedelic Caterpillars was the third band of the evening, at which point the crowd began to loosen up a little. Lara Riemens, Secretary of OnStage, commented “It is very lit, but I’m biased.”
Then it was time for the Lactating Lions, who jammed out some classic rock music. Coen Pels Rijcken, a second-year Science major and guitarist for Vegan Tuna Pizza, noted the diversity of music during the evening. “There is lots of different music being played tonight, which means there is something for everyone to enjoy and relate to,” he said.
Last but not least, Teenage Indie Donkerblau Flowers took the stage. Ending the night with some more rock music ballads. The audience’s response to all the bands was very positive. Anna van Elst, a third-year Humanities major, said “The energy was really amazing.”
During the performances, the OnStage board members were seen running around the entire evening to make sure the event was a success. Sarah Tjeerdsma, Chair of OnStage, was very positive about her experience. “The bands made me very proud, my babies,” she joked. “This is the first time we organised it and it turned out so well, I’m really happy!”
After the bands finished and the crowd quieted, members of the audience remarked on the success of the evening. Rebecca Scarratt, an AUC alum and ex-member of OnStage, said she was very proud of OnStage’s accomplishments, “I really enjoyed seeing the bands perform, and I am happy to see so many people involved.”
The Herring 