Contest winners, local band unite for Haiti

Last week, student-run Ground Zero Performance Café gave extra meaning to its regular Friday night show. As attendees trickled in for the concert’s 8:30 p.m. kick-off, each walked past a jar for donations set on a table that stood to their right.

First to take the stage was Jessica Mahon — she prefers the moniker Jessica Leigh in the music world — one of Ground Zero’s three “So You Think You’re A Star?” open mic contest winners.

Accompanied by a bassist, guitarist and drummer, Leigh, a freshman majoring in theatre, sat poised at the piano and gave a peppy hello to the audience. Her original song, “The Messy Things,” featured a melancholy bass line, a flitting piano part and lyrics that, with repetition, became emotionally charged. In each song there was a moment when, in a sudden rush of emotion, Leigh displayed her impressive range.

Leigh’s voice suited the lyrics of her songs perfectly, especially her song, “No Exit,” which explained It’s not enough / To fall in love / You have to change your mind / Yes, you have to change your mind.

She offered no easy, repetitive pop beats, which sometimes made her songs difficult to digest, but her talent was apparent.

“It felt absolutely thrilling. It felt kind of like home,” Leigh said after her set. The performer also took advantage of her platform to remind the audience of their opportunity to lend a hand to the quake-ravaged nation of Haiti.

“You have the benefit of saving children tonight,” Leigh said.

For Friday night’s show, Ground Zero teamed up with Save the Children, a non-profit organization that seeks to ensure needy children can grow up in environments where they can be educated, well-nourished and protected. In 2009, the organization provided assistance in 25 different emergencies across the globe. To Kelsey Lynn, Ground Zero’s public relations manager, the collaboration made perfect sense.

“When the earthquake hit Haiti some time ago, we decided in our following meeting that we would like to do something to help out,” Lynn said. “We made plans to transform our open mic concert into a benefit concert. Everyone in our staff really loved the idea of having a charity event, as did the open mic competitors.”

So music and charity converged.

Gian Visciano, an undeclared freshman and the second winner of the “So You Think You’re A Star?” contest, took the stage next, sitting alone on a stool with an acoustic guitar. From his position at the front of the stage, he engaged the audience in a soft voice, quietly speaking to those gathered before beginning his performance.

“You’re completely nervous and there’s something that happens when you’re walking onstage,” Visciano explained. “You get the adrenaline going. There’s a feeling of just being completely into the music, and there’s nothing else like it.”

It was obvious from his performance that Visciano enjoys a close relationship with his art. Singing softly, he managed to pull listeners in with nothing more than his clear investment in which ever song he was singing at that moment. Instead of Visciano’s lack of accompaniment somehow harming the performance, his onstage solitude only engrossed the audience.

His song “Apartment Door” showcases his songwriting skills and performance style.

Oftentimes Visciano lets the guitar convey emotions he didn’t appear able to properly convey with words. He easily alternates between high and low notes, conveying a shift in emotion.

Natalie Angiuli, a sophomore majoring in popular music and theater and a photographer for the Daily Trojan, rounded out the opening performances by open mic contest winners. Her set began with her sweet voice and a ukulele and was later joined by a guitarist, bassist, drummer and violinist.

Her songs melded the country and pop music genres. She sang without affectation and kept the beat with her legs.

Later, she picked up a guitar and then took to the piano, singing lyrics like Well I heard you’re out of rehab / Let’s see if you can stay out.

At one point she covered a segment of Sublime’s “What I Got” and blended it with her own song.

In her song, “Your Name,” she switched to a pop ballad that bordered on rock.

After a short break following Angiuli’s performance, someone started banging on what looked like metal trash cans. Someone else joined in and finally a third person walked out, using trash can lids as large cymbals. The stomp-like interlude served as an introduction to the quirky, rhythmic world of the local band Moving Picture Show.

With a backdrop of Superman cartoon clips and other animated sequences, the trio took the stage. From their unique clothes to their unorthodox beats, the band members filled Ground Zero with original sound and lyrics. The band has taken various experiences and used them as fuel to create music.

Its music lent itself to audience involvement, as evidenced by the widespread headbobbing that characterized audience response to its performance. The songs had traces of electronic, with high electric violin notes starting off one song before the rest of the band cranked up the energy and launched in.

The members of the Century City-based band’s love for what they did was apparent. Funky bass player Jeremy Nesse constantly kept a complicated tune to the song, while drummer Scott Manley created what seemed like dozens of different beats that kept the audience wanting to dance. Matt Kap, confident and energized in his singing, let the notes take hold of him, his face unabashedly expressive and mouth sometimes opening wide to sound off.

The music was the perfect backdrop for the audience members to apply their own thoughts and recall their own experiences while still moving to the beat. The danceable yet heartfelt music seemed a celebration of the experiences that the band members had gone through, and the unadulterated feelings that were expressed showed a recollection of the events that made up their lives.

Kap describes hearing about Ground Zero from a USC alumnus and wanting to play a show there. It seemed each performer’s desire to take the stage was translated into a good cause.

The show had a relatively low turnout, which was unfortunate considering the performers’ immense talent and the great cause. Events like Friday’s show need more USC students in attendance not only to appreciate talent but to help those in need.