At the beginning of every semester, the divisions of the Union Performing Arts Committee put together a show called UPAC Mainstage, an event that displays the groups’ various fortes. UPAC Mother’s began the evening with the guitar work of Sonya, UPAC Comedy followed with the varied humor of Ben Gleib, and UPAC Concerts finished the event with the Bostonian alternative rock of Gone Baby Gone, while UPAC Light and UPAC Sound provided the technical services for the show. UPAC Cinema declined to participate in this year’s event.
Sonya, with just an acoustic guitar, displayed an impressive
versatility of style as she easily transitioned from James Taylor to Paul Simon to Bonnie Raitt, and more. It was easy to imagine the artists were up on the stage crooning to about 40 RPI students in the McNeil Room of the Union. Aside from some minor difficulties in tuning her guitar between songs, Sonya’s performance went very smoothly and was received favorably by the audience. Her warm and friendly air endeared her immediately to those in attendance.
In particular, her rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s “Storm Warning” produced rhythms one would not expect possible from just a voice and a guitar – but they were there nonetheless. Also, Sonya’s version of “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell, with which she opened her act, was a testament to the power and range of which her voice was capable.
Comedian Ben Gleib took the stage next, to an enlarged crowd of nearly 60. A well-recognized young comedian, Gleib spared no expense in bringing the very best of his humor to Mainstage. Much of his act was gender-based, which fit right in with the skewed ratio of RPI’s student body. Gleib also discussed advertising slogans, criticizing how many make no sense upon further inspection. Then, just to be silly, he advanced the theory that Asians are in fact aliens living among us—the primary piece of evidence being their constant recording of their surroundings.
After finishing his routine, Gleib introduced the final act of the show, Gone Baby Gone, hailing from Boston. At this point, the crowd began to dwindle, but this did not deter the young rockers from giving the performance their all. Their songs exhibited a dynamic energy, and the lead singer’s voice was one that refuses to settle into one genre or another in the mind of the listener; it offered an exhilarating counterpoint to the bass-heavy instrumentals, which only sometimes made the lyrics unintelligible.
Indeed, the quality of Gone Baby Gone’s performance was such that it drew some people out of their chairs and into small groups dancing in the remaining areas of the McNeil Room not occupied by the stage, chairs, or sound equipment. Off to the side, a small display advertised Gone Baby Gone merchandise and CDs.
Overall, UPAC assembled a highly entertaining show, diverse in its media and befitting its different divisions. Future shows are not to be missed.
