A night of nostalgia
Spring Coffeehouse gives students time to reflect and remininsce on the 2000s
BLAST FROM THE PAST— Students gave performances at the Spring 2017 Coffeehouse that incorporated some of the most memorable parts of the the 00’s decade, such as Harry Potter.
Photo Credit: Caroline Cummings
The arena screamed along to “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson, and put their hands up to Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA.”
A disco ball sent sparkling lights spinning over the crowd.
Coffeehouse was back, and so were the 2000s.
Liberty University’s biannual talent show hit the highlights of the decade – the music, dance, movies and TV shows most current Liberty students grew up with.
“There is a lot of nostalgia that can be created in a theme like the 2000s,” Erin Diaz, special events coordinator for Student Activities, said. “I think that’s something that makes people want to come because they know that they’re not only going to come and see great acts and videos and laugh and have a good time, but they’re also going to be brought back to a place that they reminisce about.”
Liberty University’s talent show has endured 24 years and averages an audience of 7,000 each semester, Diaz said.
This semester brought more tryouts than ever before, according to Coffeehouse host
Heath Hatmaker.
The Vegan Llamas opened the show with “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance for the band’s final Coffeehouse performance.
The audience tossed around huge, white beach balls while Jake Ziegler and the Locals covered Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.”
The night’s one standing ovation went to singer/songwriter Sydni Alexander for her cover of Beyoncé’s “Halo.”
“That ‘Halo’ cover is the best performance I’ve heard in four years at Liberty,” student Garrett Glass tweeted.
Bass rocked the arena as D-Trex danced to a medley of songs including “Drop It Like It’s Hot” by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell, “Work It” by Missy Elliott, and “Lip Gloss” by Lil Mama.
The Peacemakers Crew, HiRes and Divine Call Dance teamed up as PhD to showcase hip-hop, breakdance, and ballet/contemporary/lyrical dance styles.
“Dancing isn’t really something that is big at Liberty, so it’s really fun to be able to represent that,” Haley Holmund of Divine Call Dance said.
While some performances hyped up the crowd, others put it in a tranquil mood.
Golden beams of light shone while Trouvere covered Coldplay’s “Yellow.”
At the mention of stars, twinkling phone lights dotted the arena.
Senior Taralyn Thrasher said the night brought back memories from her childhood, with songs like Crowded Room’s cover of “Burning Up” by the Jonas Brothers.
“Jonas Brothers – I love that song, and I haven’t thought about it since it was popular,” Thrasher said.
Original videos captured stereotypical extremes of the Liberty culture.
Timothy Glenn played the part of a Liberty “bad boy” in his original rap “Reprimands,” while “LU Cribs” featured David Johnston, a resident assistant who sings “Oceans” by Hillsong in the shower and has so many Bibles he stores them in his refrigerator.
But what would Coffeehouse be without parody videos? “The Office” became “The Dorm,” “The Liberty Bachelor” featured a student on his journey to find his Proverbs 31 woman, and “LU Musical” brought new meaning to High School Musical’s “We’re All in This Together” when it bemoaned student debt.
Most parodies put a Liberty twist on these cultural icons, but the “Kidsney Channel” parody on Disney Channel commercials specifically avoided easy laughs from “ring by spring” or “Rot” jokes, according to Noah Soistmann.
“We wanted to be independent so we can reach a broader audience instead of just Liberty,” Soistmann said. “That was just something that was either going to be a hit or miss, and I think it did really well.”
Throughout the night, video montages captured other icons of the 2000s including Taylor Swift, “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Spider-Man,” “Harry Potter,” “The Office,” “Star Wars” and “Lost” – each rewarded with a cheer.
Entertainment was represented, as well as a brief reminiscence of tragic events that marked the decade.
Diaz said Student Activities had struggled with how to represent these tragic events.
“We won’t brush over those things as if they didn’t happen, but we also aren’t going to dwell on them,” Diaz said.
“As a nation and as the world, we’ve tried our hardest to move forward from those things.”
Another challenge for the show was how to represent iconic figures like Eminem in 2000s music while keeping the show “Liberty-Way-friendly,” according to the Student Activities blog.
“We tried our best to figure out ways to make sure that people who deserve to be highlighted will be highlighted — not necessarily the content that people might be offended by, but the person and their success, for example,” Diaz said.
Artists CTK and Gmb1t paid tribute to Eminem with a parody on “The Real
Slim Shady.”
“Will the real Jerry Falwell please stand up?” they rapped.
And stand up he did.
The crowd roared and called “Jerry,” as Liberty University President Jerry Falwell appeared on the jumbo screen.
“@JerryFalwellJr Thanks for standing up for me and my guys!” CTK Beatboxer Roger Payne tweeted.
“You were a real rap star back in the day and we loved your music.”
Students crowded around Falwell at the end of the night, posing for selfies.
“As always, I was really impressed with the student talent, and I think tonight was especially good,” Falwell said. “I really enjoyed it. Even though my music is the 1970s, I still enjoyed it a lot.”
For Thrasher, the 2000s Coffeehouse was her last. It was a good one to end on, she said.
“I’m sad,” Thrasher said.
“It’s Coffeehouse — it’s like a legend,” Thrasher said.
The night was bittersweet for some, but for others it was thoroughly satisfying.
“I can sleep a happy camper tonight,” Bekah Moore tweeted. “Thanks to the 2000s and #SACoffeehouse.”
Pors is a feature reporter.