The evening started off with a series of classic Roadrunner vs. Wile E. Coyote cartoons, bringing back the fond memories of when Saturday mornings were filled with animated joy, and not confused questions like, “Oh man, where am I?” UPAC cinema did a good job of finding these old films, figuring out how to work a projector not attached to an RPI classroom, and showing them to the roughly three people in the Union.

Things started to pick up with the next UPAC event underway. Pittsburgh singer/songwriter Brad Yoder took the stage with his Martin & Co. and unique brand of full-handed finger picking for some good ole’ solo man action. Throughout his 40-or-so-minute set, his songs ranged from self- described, “Mushy, feeling-y,” to comedic and anecdotal. Some of his numbers didn’t even include the guitar, with just Yoder singing away, a gutsy move for any solo artist.

With observations on everything from religion to burned out movie theaters, it was good to finally hear Yoder play, knowing that he has been coming to RPI to perform for longer than most of us have been here. He had a strong vocal presence and strong stage demeanor, making his performance more enjoyable. As another plus, I think about seven or eight more people showed up during his time. I knew it; RPI kids do know a good thing when they see it.

The next portion of the show is always my favorite: the comedy. As any of you who have attended a comedy club know, it’s expensive—really expensive—so getting the chance to see a show for free is always awesome, and the UPAC Comedy sponsored comedian, Eddie Ifft, proved to be one of the better UPAC picks.

A native of “Last Comic Standing” and Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, Eddie was comfortable with the smaller crowd (which thankfully was now in the double digits) and large McNeil room playing space. He described RPI as being the man of Troy, and talked about all of his world travels since television worked its way onto his resume.

From swimming with the sharks to stories about his gay dog, no topic was too raunchy for Eddie, and when questionable audience response did arise, he was quick to ask, “Was that controversial?”

Overall, this self-described Clay Aiken look-alike was not bad, and definitely kept the audience going for nearly an hour. Eddie provided some good laughs at the right price.

The last installment to this semester’s mainstage was the band. All the way from Buffalo, the boys of More Than Me provided the grand finale to the UPAC night. Their clean-cut rock/pop sound was well balanced, and you could tell that all of them were solid musicians. Their singer was one of the best I’ve seen on the McNeil room stage, and the rest of the band was tight behind his lead.

Although many of their songs sounded the same, their set was enjoyable, and these boys put on a good show. It was a good ending to the always-fun UPAC Mainstage.

With the evening over, I was again impressed with the quality of the mainstage show, and the hard work UPAC put into this production. Yet, as a senior, I was a little sadden to see its free bliss come, personally, to an end. Memories of my last UPAC mainstage experience stood steadfast in my mind, as I got on the senior bus to Jillian’s and headed to Albany, waking up the next morning and saying, “Oh man, where am I?”