Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: Rockin’ Bands Hit CV Circle

Charlie Mars and One Sweet World are set to rock CV Circle tomorrow night. The free concert, sponsored by the sophomore class in conjunction with the Centennial Village Residence Hall Association, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Free burgers, hotdogs, soda, sandwiches, and crawfish (yes, crawfish) will be available for all who attend starting at 5 p.m.

Headliner Charlie Mars takes the stage sometime after 9 p.m. “This is not just another Ratt band,” said Sophomore Class President and concert organizer Ryan Robichaux. “These guys are the real thing.”

The sound that Charlie Mars and his band will bring to the circle will be a stark contrast to the freeform jam style of One Sweet World’s opening act. “Fifteen-minute jams are not what we do,” said Mars during a phone interview. “We like to do four-minute rock and roll songs and lots of them.” Mars said that listeners can expect his band’s set to feature mostly original songs and to last somewhere just under two hours.

Mars described the band’s sound as “on the edgier side” of rock legends Bruce Springstein, Tom Petty, and Neil Young. Listeners can expect the set to consist of songs from each of the artist’s three albums— Broken Arrow, 1995; Born and Razed, 1997; Into Romance, 1999— all recorded under the independent label, Rockingham Records.

The concert sponsors have been fervently distributing copied discs containing selections off of each of Mars’ albums throughout campus for the past week. For those who have been unable to obtain a copy, selected tracks are available for download by visiting the official Charlie Mars website (www.charliemars.com).

The band currently consists of backup guitarist Dave Garrett, drummer Chris Thomas Meyer, bassist Russell Cattaneo, and Mars on lead vocals and guitar. This lineup has been touring consistently for the past eight months.

Mars said the band is “really looking forward to playing [at CUA].” The Texas native and Mississippi resident said he usually tours the Southeast and the Midwest region, so the band is “excited, as [they] rarely get the chance to perform in the D.C. area.”

Opening act One Sweet World kicks off the evening’s festivities. As a Dave Matthews Band tribute group, the band prides itself on “note perfect renditions” of the hits of the DMB. For anyone who couldn’t score tickets to see Dave at the MCI Center last week, or for those fans that just can’t get enough of everything Dave Matthews, One Sweet World is right up your alley.

One Sweet World, which formed just under two years ago, has been touring the East Coast extensively over the past year. The band’s website calls them “the premier tribute to the Dave Matthews Band.” Additionally, One Sweet World takes a cue from their idols, as their shows promise to feature “exciting spontaneous jams,” just like the DMB.

Visitors to the band’s website (www.onesweetworld.net) can download audio clips to check out how close these guys really are to Dave and the boys. Matthews’ voice is incredibly hard to duplicate, but World’s lead guitar and vocalist Anthony Iglesias does an impressive job covering both the range and the passion that makes Matthews’ sound so infectious. The vocals might not be identical, but the instrumental lineup of One Sweet World is exactly that of the Dave Matthews Band. With Iglesias replacing Matthews on vocals and lead guitar, Joe Davoli stepping in for Boyd Tinsley on violin, Jason Rafalak taking Stefan Lessard’s spot on bass, Chris Cornish filling in for Carter Beauford on drums, and Dean Keller becoming Leroi Moore on sax, One Sweet World’s instrumental sound is strikingly reminiscent of the DMB itself. At many times, it’s almost dead on.

Tomorrow’s concert in CV promises to be a successful and worthwhile event. This is no Pat McGee Band, folks. First of all, unlike the frigid HoCo concert, tomorrow’s forecast is calling for temps in the 70’s. Second, there will be free food. Third, if you live in CV, you can easily open your windows and enjoy the evening’s festivities from the comfort of your own room. Finally, and perhaps best of all, the concert won’t cost you a nickel. So head down to the circle tomorrow night to eat, drink, and be merry with your classmates as Charlie Mars and One Sweet World rock the CV suburbs long into the night.