Local hangout features college bands
The Pub hopes to draw larger student crowds each Wednesday by starting College Rock Night
By Alicia Stetzer, senior writer
Posted on September 11, 2006

Walking into The Pub on Wednesday, I expected to be greeted by a venue packed with people, music blaring, with the overpowering smell of smoke in the air. Of course, this was a Wednesday, and my only previous experience with the popular night spot was during its busy Tuesday night karaoke.

Instead, I entered the establishment at about 9 p.m. to find a relatively mellow crowd of only about 15 people, with a great mix of classic rock streaming through the speakers.

Wednesday night was this fall’s first College Rock Night at The Pub. Each week, a new college band is featured and the minimum age requirement drops from the normal 21 to 18, making the event available to nearly all JMU students.

“This could be a great chance for people under 21 to go out during the week with their upperclassman friends,” said senior David Taylor, campus promotions assistant for The Pub.

The bar and restaurant is a student favorite, as it features nightly drink specials and a reasonably priced menu. The menu has an extensive selection of appetizers, along with sandwiches, pizza and wings, and the bar has 15 kinds of beer on tap for those 21 and over.

Last Wednesday’s featured band, The Will Hoge Band, really started to draw a crowd between 9:30 and 10 p.m. There was a good mix of JMU students and Harrisonburg residents waiting to hear this nationally recognized band.

“A lot of JMU bands come to play here, plus there are a few bands that are well-known around college campuses, a sprinkling of local bands and a few nationally-known ones,” said Chuck Troutman, The Pub’s general manager and concert and band coordinator.

Troutman said he hopes to get JMU students to support local bands, and wants JMU bands to come out and support other bands.

“I really take care of the bands that play here,” he said. “I mean, I feed them, give them drinks, you know, shoot the breeze. All the bands that come here say this is their favorite venue to play in.”

By the time the band starting tuning up the instruments at about 10:45, the original crowd of 15 had amassed to about 100 people. While the amount of people present was nowhere near the size of a typical Tuesday night, it seemed the perfect size for an intimate concert.

As soon as the band took the stage at 11 p.m., the crowd went running to the floor. The Pub has a fantastic stage, one that is well-lit and big enough for even the largest band.

The five-member, Nashville-based band started off strong with several loud but melodic songs, including “Let Me Be Lonely” and “Rock and Roll Star,” before turning to the ballad “Woman Be Strong,” which showed off the sultry and almost jazz-singer quality to lead singer Will Hoge’s voice that had people in the bar saying “Man, this guy can actually sing.”

The singer/songwriter showed off his vocal talents with some songs accompanied by electric guitars and some acoustic, like the slow and sweet “Baby Girl.” The band, composed of backup guitarist/singer Adam Fluhrer, bassist Dean Tomasek, drummer Sigurdur Birkis and keyboardist Jefferson Crow, were the perfect accompaniment to Hoge’s melodic voice, and maintained the band’s rock star persona, as they smoked cigarettes during every song they played.

Hoge’s songs, combined with his voice quality and stage presence, gave the band an up-tempo John Mayer-meets-Counting Crows sound.

Senior Lauren Loeb went with a group of friends to see the band.

“I thought, ‘Wow, an eight-dollar cover charge,’ but this band is really good,” Loeb said.

I certainly thought the band was worth the price, and judging by the crowd response, I wasn’t alone. Though I had never heard of the band before, I quickly felt like I was in the minority, as almost everyone in the audience sang along to every word of every song.

While the concert was held at the same venue I’ve regularly visited on Tuesday nights, I assure you, the atmosphere is completely different. For a more mellow evening and a fully entertaining night, visit The Pub on Wednesday nights and check out a new band that just might end up being the next big thing.