Rock in UVU

Godzilla vs. King Kong. Superman vs. Batman. Star Trek vs. Star Wars. What normally happens when you pit two giants against each another? Lame spin-offs, even more lame merchandise and poorly animated movies.

But what if these giants came together and created something new?

Late on April 8, 2008, the Bravery and Story of the Year met at a college. This was no ordinary college, however, for this college was soon to become a university.

The two giants of music met, along with several other talented music makers, to create sounds that had seldom been heard before.

These musicians wove music, in their own special way, into the history of Utah Valley by celebrating the upcoming transformation of UVSC into UVU.

The participating crowd agreed unanimously with their outpouring of love and devotion through enthusiastic applause, and of course, serious rocking.

Approximately 6,700 people were already piled into the McKay Events Center as the opener, Josephine Collective, took the stage in the Rock in UVU show.

The crowd was described as "incredible" by Dillon DeVoe, one of two lead vocalists in the band.

"No one’s ever seen us here, but they were rocking," said the other vocalist, Alex Sandate.

With two ridiculously energetic vocalists, two active guitarists, and a chill bass player frolicking around, the Josephine Collective received enthusiastic feedback from the crowd.

Throw in a strong, skillful drummer, and it’s just enough to make fans who have never heard their music before fall in love and go crazy to their progressive, upbeat vocals and lyrics.

Andrew Volpe, frontman of Ludo, took the stage after Josephine Collective, dressed in a baby blue suit and frilled dress shirt.

Tim Convy, keyboardist, talked and joked with several crowd members before the band’s set. It was obvious that this band’s aim was to have fun.

Volpe had a variety of ways to generate laughs, going so far as playing in a wide open power stance, slowly falling to a straddle until it looked like it hurt, and then slowly making his way back up, all the while, playing and singing.

The crowd appeared to have very little knowledge about Ludo, except for a select number of fans who sang along to the words of "Love Me Dead," a witty song full of hilarious oxymora. Others in the crowd seemed to get by with dancing to the comedy-rock music.

"The crowd was great," said Convy, "very big and loud. Hopefully next time we come through, we’ll get to play more than a 20-minute set, though."

When The Brobecks took the stage, the crowd was visibly anxious for Story of the Year. The excitement showed as the moshing finally began during The Brobecks’ first song, "Bike Ride."

It was obvious that The Brobecks had a significantly larger fan base than the previous two bands, as hundreds of fans screamed their lyrics while Dallon Weekes, Brobeck’s frontman, sang them.

As veterans of the Vans Warped tour in Utah, it was obvious that when Story of the Year walked onto the stage, they were not unknown to the crowd.

As was apparent in the energy of the venue, both artists and their audience were pumped and ready to make something happen.

When the lights dimmed and Story took the stage, the entire audience swarmed the floor and surged forward like iron fillings to a magnet. Everyone wanted to get a front position and a piece of the action.

Story of the Year put on a show that would be difficult to rival.

With a profanity-spewing frontman, instrument-slinging guitarist, and drumstick-destroying percussionist, this band displayed a level of energy unprecedented for many of those listening.

By the time The Bravery took stage, they were performing to a worn-out crowd. The Bravery warmed up quickly and drew upon an unknown source of energy to feed the throng.

They had a slower-than-usual uptake, but that could have been attributed to tired fans.

A large portion of the crowd dispersed after Story of the Year left the stage, but die-hard fans and many others stuck it out for an all-around good show from The Bravery.

Anyone who was not in attendance missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime: the first chance to really Rock in UVU.