Bonnie Dune energizes Tommy’s Place


A throng of students crowded into Tommy’s Place on Saturday night to watch Bonnie Dune perform, many of whom likely showed up to see Glee’s Cory Monteith on percussion. As the lights dimmed, Bonnie Dune’s band members entered to raucous applause, with Monteith sneaking into his seat with a gleeful grin. Justin Wilczynski played lead vocals with Seth Roberts on rhythm guitar and Josh Kerr on bass.

To the disappointment of a few spectators, (not least of which your DT reporters), Monteith did not sing lead in any of the songs. Instead, he pointed and spoke to the crowd from his seat, blowing the occasional kiss to the lucky few in the front.

The band opened with “Seasick,” a selection from its EP released in 2008, a year before Glee premiered. The crowd danced, screamed proclamations of love and hoisted phones to snap photos of the celebrity hiding behind the drum set.

Bonnie Dune invited attendees to get onstage and sing along. Photo by Giovanni Osorio

Bonnie Dune’s band members seemed nonplussed by the enthusiasm. Wilczynski mentioned several times throughout the night what a great crowd it was, perhaps the “best” of the tour. Monteith, however, took the excessive screams without missing a beat.

After Bonnie Dune played its final song and left the stage, the audience didn’t quite seem to believe the set was over, as it waited expectantly and silently for the band members to reappear. After a minute, chants of “encore” began, and the four of them emerged buoyantly. Wilczynski told the crowd that the band would be repeating a song played earlier in the set, “Sailboat,” and invited anyone who knew the lyrics to join the group onstage.

Dozens of concertgoers — mostly girls — swarmed the stage, many queuing to hug Monteith, which prompted Wilczynski to say, “Face the audience, OK?” (Monteith was allegedly beamed by a mic accidentally in one overenthusiastic hug.)

And then the band began its song, with the adoring fans chiming in gamely on every non-specific “ooo” in the chorus. Band members looked jubilant, if a little wary of their 20-strong backup singers, and ended the set on a high note.

“Such a good time at USC! We called everyone up on stage at the end and had a party wooooooo,” Monteith tweeted shortly after the show.