It’s 8 p.m. on Friday night and an unfamiliar trailer sits down the stairs in front of the Sandbar.
A warm inviting light glows out of its main window; a trail of eager-faced Pepperdine students lines up before this light.
Once each happy student reaches the window they quickly turn away Coffee Bean beverage in hand. It’s usually something huge and slathered with whipped cream. Unlike a Coffee Bean where even the cheapest blended drinks are at least $3 tonight this mysterious trailer hands out its caffeinated sweetness for free.
This cheerful sweet yet peaceful scene on Sept. 11 was the very opening act before this fall’s first student-run Coffeehouse one of a doubleheader called “Doubleshot.”
The name suits the event perfectly as Student Programming Board officers Kiersten Dunn and Steph Guina have organized not one but two nights of caffeine-flooded musical enjoyment.
Once inside the Sandbar everyone took a seat at the many chairs and couches arranged around the stage sipping at their sweet beverages and nibbling the assortment of free refreshments.
Up for grabs there were tiny pretzels Oreos and strangely enough baby carrots (it never hurts to pack in the beta carotene).
Dunn and Guina took the stage announcing the opening act: junior Brendan Feredey on acoustic guitar accompanied by junior Daniel Lim on the box drum.
The duo opens with an oh-so-familiar tune one with a chorus that begins with “Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone.”
That’s right they played Taylor Swift. They actually pulled it off in a way that was amusing — echoes never ceased to flutter about the room — yet strangely palatable. Their other two songs were a bit more serious. Their genuine talent shined especially through Fereday’s sparkling spot-on guitar styling.
Guina one of the organizers of the event joined Fereday and Lim for a slow bit; her rich velvety voice a bit like that of Ingrid Micheaelson but stronger left the room absolutely stunned.
The openers closed their setwith a prayer and the main act an Israeli-born nouveau New Yorker songstress by the name of Paula Valstein flitted onstage beaming and perched on the piano bench.
Her short simple black dress was set off and made utterly fabulous by her choice of accessories; a clustering of large gold butterflies sat around her neck but even more eye-catching were her golden gladiator sandals which moved up and down as she stomped in time to her original music.
Everything she played was self-written save a unique cover of The Cure’s “Love Song.” In describing Valstein’s sound in a single word the one which comes to mind is soulful. Accompanying herself with an intense yet perfectly blended and melodic piano Valstein hit the high notes with passion and without any of the eardrum-cracking pain that can come with listening to less polished crooners.
Her lyrical subject matter mainly pertained to love though the natural world or New York’s lack thereof was her self-proclaimed inspiration for “Sail.”
“In New York there is no nature — it is all buildings all tall buildings. So here I have written this song she said, and launched into a beautiful piece about sailing away with a lover. Oh. That song is about love, too, actually.
Valstein was just as friendly offstage as on and was surprisingly approachable, as well. There was no trace of diva” in her demeanor as she chatted with absolute strangers and laughed about having to take the L Train to get to her home in New York.
Without saying it in so many words she revealed that she is nationally famous in Israel despite having only been playing piano and singing since “about high school.”
She looked so fresh and glowingly youthful from far away that most of the audience thought she was just an exceptionally talented Pepperdine student.
The atmosphere on Saturday night Sept. 12 was a bit more relaxed and intimate due mostly to lower attendance. However the smaller size of the audience detracted nothing from the quality of the event and perhaps even added to the mellow acoustic feel. The opening act was again one of our own students senior Sam Behymer. Her performance positively bursting with talent is best described in the glowing words of junior Chelsea Kadovitz.
“All of her songs are original Kadovitz said. She has such a unique voice and her passion is so inspiring.”
The main act half of the usually four-piece band called Feel the Fall featured a 2005 Pepperdine alum Jerry Elekes. He and fellow band member Dave DisArmier play laid-back acoustic versions of their songs.
“We usually have a four-piece rock band said DisArmier, and nothing on our EPs for sale is acoustic but tonight we’re bringing a more chilled-out sound.”
Had he not said that the audience would probably have never suspected they were lacking anything by playing acoustic.
The boys of “Feel the Fall” brought a slew of original songs most notably the intense “Black and Blue” and the unapologetically catchy “Fever as well as a successful cover of Tom Petty’s beloved Freefallin’.” Like Valstein of Friday night they are extremely approachable offstage.
“My friends and I we all played music but each had our own distinct diverse styles said Elekes of how Feel the Fall came together. Their band, formed in July 2006 (We just had our three year anniversary!” said DisAirmier) was built on the basis of real friendship. The band’s formation was solidified when in Elekes’ wordsEventually, we all kind of came together and said ‘hey, let’s all just do some music!’
To sum things up the Doubleshot Coffeehouse duo-event was undoubtedly successful. The artists selected were a joy to behold yet the atmosphere on both nights was inviting and unpretentious.
Though not all in the Sandbar on Friday and Saturday were as vocally or instrumentally talented as the performers Doubleshot served as an opportunity to as Elekes said “just do some music!”