Hundreds of Saint Louis University students traded their raincoats for glow sticks on Wednesday, April 27 as Motion City Soundtrack headlined the stage at Chaifetz Arena during the annual Spring Fever Concert with catchy pop-rock tunes and a fog machine.

Sponsored by the Student Activity Board each year, Spring Fever features a major musical act and allows free admittance to students.
In the past they have brought acts such as Augustana and Ben Folds.

Motion City Soundtrack shared the stage with Cartel, a band from Georgia that has been making music since 2003.
Rocking melodies many college-age students have grown up listening to, the concert granted students in the University community a chance to revisit their younger days.

“I think I first heard Cartel when I was learning to drive,” senior Danny Laub said.

The band played several original songs before introducing Motion City Soundtrack, including their ?rst hit “Honestly” as well as a cover of “Wonderwall” by Oasis.

Cartel has spent the month of April touring to various college campuses across the country and said they were excited to be visiting Saint Louis University.

Like Cartel, several students have listened to Motion City Soundtrack for years. Hailing from Minnesota, the band formed in 1999 and just launched their most recent album entitled “My Dinosaur Life” in January 2010. The album includes song such as “Her Words Destroyed My Planet,” Pulp Fiction” and “Stand Too Close.”

Motion City Soundtrack’s lead vocalist and guitarist Justin Pierre draws inspiration for his lyrics from artists like Tom Waits and Ben Folds, assuring that each song tells a unique, personal story.

“Disappear,” the hit song from their latest album, had the SLU community singing a cappella in unison, painting a landscape of edgy-punk beauty on the arena ?oor as soft pink lights landed on each head of the audience, unifying them with the band.

Serene moments, however, were hard to come by with this pop-punk group. The band members were obviously enjoying themselves while they were on stage, as they danced with animated head-banging and vigorous strums on the guitar.

The award for most enthusiastic band member would go to keyboardist Jesse Johnson, a hipster-turned punk-rocker who quickly changed out of his trendy clothes and thick red framed glasses to sport a more black gritty fashion just moments before stepping on stage. Johnson’s vibes delivered his energy straight to the audience, as he worked up a sweat dancing along with each song.

Motion City Soundtrack said they are currently preparing a new album, and some of the fresh songs heard in Chaifetz might be included in the collection.

Pierre will be visiting St. Louis again in June when his side-project band Farewell Continental takes the stage on June 18 at the Firebird.
Hopefully his return to St. Louis in the summer will include an improved performance, as the sound and technical problems impaired the quality of the show.

“The show, minus the terrible sound quality, was energetic and fun,” Laub said.

However, Laub vowed he would not buy Motion City Soundtrack’s next album because he said he does not typically listen to that genre any longer and was not pleased with their last two releases.

Laub said he attributes his change in attitude toward Motion City Soundtrack to his own taste, and not the style of the band, as they still play “pop-driven rock songs about girls” at age 30.

Whether or not audiences can agree upon an enjoyable genre of music is insigni?cant to some of the best components of the evening- the glow sticks and the dancing. Nearly every audience member could be seen on the arena ?oor waving a colored wand to the beat of the music.
Some students, took their enjoyment of the glowsticks too far and  were reprimanded after childishly chucking their glow sticks at the bands. Some were also reprimanded for crowd sur?ng to the foot of the stage.

Throwing things and dangerous dance stunts are not new phenomena to the pop-rock scene. It is this energuy that causes Motion City Soundtrack to come to motion when playing in front of energetic audiences as seen at the University.

“Sometimes it’s just fun to play live,” Pierre said.