BY DAISY SCHMITT

In print | Published October 9, 2008

A motley parade of performers hit the stage in Olde Club’s “Rose Tattoo Cafe,” a traditional showcasing of Swarthmore talent. Classmates, teammates, hallmates—all were able to publicly reveal their musical flair, whether rooted in folk, pop, punk or the blues.

“People are so impressive here,” Molly Siegel ’12 said. “It was great to see my peers on stage.”

When James Robinson ’10 took the stage and kicked off the night with a spot-on rendition of “Love,” the enthusiasm of his fans was palpable — and for good reason. Robinson’s presence on stage was humble and unassuming, and his songs ranged from tongue-in-cheek to incredibly sentimental. Perhaps the highlight of his set was “Alexander Hamilton,” an original and incredibly clever song about the Founding Father. Robinson was recently contacted by documentary filmmakers out of Washington D.C. and asked to perform — you guessed it — “Alexander Hamilton” for their documentary. The heartfelt, genuine performance given by Robinson was an evening highlight.

Then Ben Plotkin-Swing ’09 charmed us all with his ukulele and Devendra Banhart-esque vocals. He got the crowd stomping, clapping and bobbing their heads to his original songs. Lyrics like, “It’s a spring day, but I tell my heart to be wary, because a spring day don’t come in February,” were reminiscent of a simple, folksy style.

In another unusual performance, Tasha Lewis ’12 joined Sam Goodman ’10 onstage and the blending of female and male vocals made for a unique contribution to the night. Their cover of Dar Williams’ “My Friends” was especially lovely, and “The Monkey Song” was met with great enthusiasm from the crowd. Goodman wrote the catchy tune himself, and I will admit to having “Hey mister, won’t you tell me, does your monkey play the blues?” stuck in my head as the night went on.

From the moment Alicia Lemke ’09 began to sing, the crowd was rendered speechless by her sultry, controlled and haunting voice. Lemke sampled several beautiful songs: “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac, “I Know You By Heart” by Eva Cassidy and “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” by Death Cab For Cutie. Each song was gorgeous in and of itself; Lemke brought her own special something to each one, making for a truly memorable performance.

Then, Jon Peters ’09 delivered an enthused performance, singing about the “cruel, cruel, cruel world” in which we all live. Joined by Ben Starr ’11 on drums, Peters strummed his guitar left-handed and performed his own songs with the unmistakable gusto of a born performer. Peters expressed considerable (faux) annoyance at not yet receiving a record deal, but it’s surely just a matter of time.

Ben Starr completely rocked out on the keyboard, eliciting an encore. His first song, “The Hunt” was a haunting piece with a soaring melody, which contrasted sharply with his cover of “How to Touch a Girl” by Jojo. Suffice it to say that his encore piece was highly inappropriate, and the crowd loved it.
Some day, we will all be able to say proudly, “Yeah, I knew Silbia Han.” Han ’12 delivered the most professional performance of the night. Her songs were polished, pop-tinged and fast-paced.
Frankly, she was born for the stage. She attracted a large group of fans and even managed to get the entire room to sing along to a chorus of “Whoa’s.” Han’s unassuming, humble persona made it even more pleasing when she began to sing—a likable, impressive and singular performance indeed.

The night closed with Olde Club veteran Ben Hopkins ’09 and his band, made up of Nick Gaw ’09 on acoustic guitar and Dan Sito ’09 on drums. Hopkins, who cites Elliott Smith and Neil Young as influences, got over his self-proclaimed laziness and nerves so as to give us a taste of his songwriting.

The simple melodies and varied styles of guitar made for a slightly country, slightly folk and entirely enjoyable performance, capped off by a great cover of “Your Little Hoodrat Friend” by, as Hopkins would say, “the best band in the world”—the Hold Steady.

Disclosure note: Sam Goodman, Silbia Han and Jon Peters are all members of the The Phoenix staff but were not involved in the production of this article.

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