Chants of “Mandy” broke out on the dancefloor as the crowd anxiously waited for the final and main performer of the evening. She walked out and everyone cheered as DJ Mandy took the stage at Jack Adams Hall on Oct. 26. at 8 p.m.
Associated Students collaborated with San Francisco State’s radio and broadcast department (KSFS) to host ‘KSFS @ Jack Adams Hall’ on Thursday which featured caricature painting, psychic reading and live DJ and rock band performances. The event was open to all students and non-students, with the only catch being that everyone in attendance was encouraged to wear a costume and participate in a contest.
The event was originally taking place at Cesar Chavez Student Center’s Depot but Kyle Finelli-Bass, KSFS’s general manager, predicted a big turnout. For this reason, AS depot manager Michelle Yang decided to move the venue to Jack Adams Hall.
“This is definitely the biggest and riskiest show I’ve ever hosted,” said Finelli-Bass. “I feel like my events in particular are more weird, but a good kind of weird. It’s good to see that kind of thing [the event] on campus, and I just love the oddity of weird venues. I think this school can deliver that.”
Finelli-Bass greeted the crowd of approximately 200 to 300 students on stage to start the show. He said he’d only anticipated 70 or fewer people showing up, compared to the hundreds that turned out wearing costumes.
Rock band Juniper opened the show with their song “A Friday I’m in love” and ended their performance by throwing their drumsticks into the crowd of spectators.
“It was cool and a little intimidating because I think the presence was that there were a lot more people than we’d expected,” said Elijah Reynolds, the band’s bass guitarist. “I don’t think we’ve ever played in front of a crowd that large.”
The event was from 6 to 9 p.m. and 3 bands played.
“I would say the atmosphere was very appreciative,” said Lukas Whipple, Juniper’s lead guitarist dressed up as a TV personality Dr. Phil. “Everybody there was in tune and it was really nice. People were actually there to hear songs.”
Following Juniper was the shoegaze and jangle pop band illbie from Davis, California. They opened with their song “Just NBV” and played a total of eight songs.
“I feel like if I could describe the feeling in mind, all of us coming here was just a spur in the moment, just scrambling,” said Jesse Escobar, an illbie band member. Escobar and the band described the atmosphere as a “cacophony” of sound, and they felt like they replicated that feeling well by their performance.
The final act of the evening featured Amanda Schultz, better known as DJ Mandy. Schultz has previously performed at Stanford University and the University of California Berkeley.
“It was really cool, there were a lot of people, the energy was really cool. I think people liked it,” said Schultz. “Everyone was really energetic and the energy was good.”
Schultz went on to say that her unique style of DJing, which involves slowing and speeding up tracks, comes from mixing songs she knows her audience will love along with songs she enjoys herself.
Following the conclusion of the event, attendees described it as something they didn’t expect and something they’d definitely like to see back on campus.
“It was pretty awesome,” said Patrick Teratino, an event-goer. “I loved how everyone was having a great time, everyone was rocking out no matter what. It really inspired me to rock out myself. It felt like a club on its own, it was crazy how it was a free event. It was a pretty rockin’ atmosphere, I would say it reminded me of a rave.”
Brandon Joseph, an SFSU student attending the event dressed as Spiderman, said he’d love to see SFSU hold more events like this one in the future.
“It was lit, especially when DJ Mandy came out,” said Joseph. “The beat switches and the vibes made it so fun. It definitely brings people together, you see people from your classes having a good time and it’s free. Everyone had a lot of energy and it had really good vibes.”
