By Martin Castro (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: February 4, 2015
On Thursday, January 29, AfterMath, in conjunction with CIVL, hosted an open mic night. The goal of the event was to raise canned food donations for the UFV Food Bank, which serves to help feed students.
Comedian Clifford Prang presided over the event, delivering a barrage of jokes and sprinkling humour in between acts.One of the night’s earliest acts included Braeden Clark, who entertained the guests with a relaxed acoustic cover of Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks,” and later changed things up with a ukulele cover of Lorde’s “Royals.” Alex Rake continued the musical trend after Clark, playing an eclectic synthesis of folk and punk-rock on mandolin.
Although comedy seemed to pepper the event, a variety of artists took to the stage, including singer-songwriters on guitar, and one student performing a piece on piano.
CIVL station manager Aaron Levy was happy to help out with the event.
“Anytime somebody wants to help raise money for charity, and you’re talking to CIVL, the answer is yes, let’s help do that,” he said. “Jared from SUS and AfterMath said he wanted to turn [the event] into a food bank fundraiser, and I said ‘Perfect.’
“I’d be happy to [contribute] any time there’s an event [of this nature],” he added.
Although turnouts at UFV events aren’t always the most enthusiastic, Levy was pleased with the turnout of 50 to 60 people at the event.
“There wasn’t really much [extra] space — it was basically a full house,” he said.
As the night wound to a close, Levy took to the stage, taking the crowd by surprise as he launched into a fierce Killer Mike cover, much to everyone’s enjoyment. Levy’s rapping, along with the display of student talent at the event, made the night a success.
Alex Rake is an employee of The Cascade.
