Continuing its tradition of hosting talented new artists, Student Events brought musicians Rob Gonzalez and Jason Levassuer to the Shapiro Campus Center Wednesday night. Surrounded by comfortable couches and tables decorated with colored candles, a few dozen students sat in subdued anticipation for the acoustic performance to begin. Hailing from Wisconsin, Gonzalez warmed up the crowd with his sober melodies and skillful keyboard playing. With a voice similar to Bruce Springsteen, Gonzalez captivated the audience with his flawless transitions from styles as diverse as soft rock and country. He received the most applause when he proved his amazing ability as a blues singer in his third song.

After Gonzalez finished his set, Levassuer took the stage. Before starting his solo career, he was a part of the band "Life in General." The duo was selected as one of Musician Magazine's "Top 100 Unsigned Bands" in the country and was voted the National Association for Campus Activities' "Music Artist of The Year." Levassuer is currently touring the United States to promote his new CD, "Watching The Girls Go By."

As soon as Levassuer greeted the audience the tone changed from serious to more amusing as he joked about not being able to use the bathroom due to the broken water pipe and likened the Campus Center to a jacuzzi. He then launched into a witty introduction of his first song, about trying to woe a girl unsuccessfully at a bar on his 21st birthday. Using a guitar, Levassuer's sound was more aggressive than Rob's, but just as melodic. His style was reminiscent of David Grey's, although his voice was slightly rougher, and his Barenaked Ladies type humor came through in his clever lyrics. The audience, which continued to grow through out the night, enjoyed his humor.

Most of his songs spoke of relationships and ranged from tributes to past girlfriends to recounts of meeting an engaged girl in a bar. Following the theme of tributes, Levassuer kindly thanked the Java City employees for gracing him with a free cup of tea.

In addition to sharing his humor, Levassuer entertained the crowd by mixing several cover verses during the instrumental sections of his songs. Levassuer had the audience laughing and singing along with covers such as Eminem's "Lose Yourself," Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" and TLC's "No Scrubs."

After these covers, Gonzalez and Levasseur collaborated together on stage. The combination of the keyboard and guitar gave Levasseur's songs a richer dimension that they had previously lacked. After a few of Levassuer's songs and two interesting covers of "Time After Time," and "You Can't Always Get What You Want," Gonzalez left the stage again. Levasseur played a few more songs. He closed the show with a song he dedicated to a fellow musician who misses his wife while touring. He also told the audience that the song contained a universal message for those spending time apart from a loved one.

With a combination of humor and talent, Levassuer and Gonzalez were able to engage the audience with their performances. Hopefully, Student Events will bring more budding musicians like them to Brandeis.