Fall semester starts on a different note

Free college concerts tend to feature a few nameless, forgettable bands kicking off the night, playing indistinguishable music for what seems like centuries. The crowd ferments in increasing BO, boredom and impatience, distracting itself with various substances or electronic devices. Finally, when everyone’s about ready to call it a night, the headlining band — usually some likeable, mainstream group — takes the stage, and the crowd at last receives its due.

But this year’s Welcome Back concert, however, turned out light-years better. USC Program Board scored big with the crowd gathered in McCarthy Quad Saturday night, presenting them with not one, but three worthy indie acts: Down Down Down, As Tall As Lions and headliner Cold War Kids.

Concertgoers knew they were in for a rockin’ night when the very first band took the stage. Far from the usual humdrum opening act, Down Down Down began the evening on a high note, performing the kind of upbeat, infectious rock-soul tunes you can’t help but groove to.

With their fun, catchy jams, the relatively unknown band proved worthy of major indie buzz. In their closing song, the band pleaded: Please don’t go / I just wanna kick it with you. Judging by their undeviating attention, the audience seemed to reciprocate the feeling.

Following Down Down Down was major label alternative-rock band As Tall As Lions, who made sure their cross-country trip from New York was worth every CO2 emission. A combination of pitch-perfect harmonies, spunky attitude, unbuttoned shirts and an eclectic lineup of both old and new songs created a show worthy of headliner status.

While frontman Daniel Nigro’s sensual, deliciously tortured vocals were spot-on all night — the aural equivalent of a warm, fuzzy blanket — the East Coast band is about more than just its talented lead vocalist. Bassist Julio Tavarez’s passionate, smooth-as-butter falsetto could’ve brought any audience member to his knees — particularly during his phenomenal vocal solo in “Breakers.” Add in the perfectly timed trumpet solos and ambient instrumental breaks and you’ve got proof that the whole of As Tall As Lions is more than just the sum of its parts.

By the time the band finished off its set a little before nine, many crowd members had most likely forgotten that the “main attraction” of the night was still sitting in its tour bus.

Sure enough, one extremely long, endurance-testing set change later, the black-and-white skeleton cover art of the Cold War Kids’ latest album, Loyalty to Loyalty, unrolled down the backside of the stage with a flourish and the headlining indie-rockers took the stage — much to the loudly proclaimed delight of the front half of the crowd.

The Cold War Kids began with a slow number but immediately dove into one of its iconic tunes, “Something Is Not Right With Me,” showcasing the sharp-as-a-knife vocals of Nathan Willett. The head-banging, fast-paced anthem had the potential to go hugely wrong live in concert, but as ended up being the perfect way to break the ice and loosen up the audience.

A bit of an instrumental break paved the way for two more of the band’s beloved singles: “I’ve Seen Enough,” the video for which has been nominated for Breakthrough Video for the 2009 MTV Music Awards, and “Hang Me Up To Dry,” which had a number of devoted fans singing along at the top of their lungs.

As Willett crooned the arousing refrain of “I’ve Seen Enough” to the excited crowd — How’s it gonna feel when summer ends? / Out of money, out of friends — you just knew that everyone in the crowd was thinking the same thing: “Pretty good now that I’m here, actually, thanks for asking.”

The highlight of the night, though, came several lesser-known songs later when Willett sat before his keyboard and the band slowed it down with a flawless, soulful performance of “We Used To Vacation.”

Subsequent tunes paled in comparison; “Red Wine, Success!” and “Tell Me In The Morning” blended together in a slightly headache-inducing barrage of indistinguishable lyrics.

The band treated the crowd to a new song, “Santa Ana Winds,” a pleasant and rather unobjectionable number, and then closed the night early (“Is that it?” I heard a nearby concertgoer ask) with another fan favorite, “Hospital Beds.” Put out the fire, boys, Willett sang, as if to his band members. Put out the fire on us.

As the stage lights dimmed and the audio switched off, the crowd lingered awkwardly in the quad, hoping for more. Apparently, the audience wasn’t ready to put out the fire — at least not yet.