Last Thursday, two excellent bands helped the organizers of the first ever SunDeis Film Festival by playing all night at the Stein. The funky sounds of Honkyphonic and The Edition brought students from around campus down to the fairly quiet Massell Quad to relax in the lounge atmosphere and hear some great music. Honkyphonic's innovative sound had influences and rhythms from a number of musical genres. Band members Zack Meyers '04 on guitar, Doug Van Hollen '04 on keyboards, Zach Goldman '04 on drums, Brandeis alumn Aaron Neily '02 on vocals and Matt Niedzwiecki '07 on bass brought flavors of reggae rock, jazz, rock, funk, Latin rhythms and even a touch of classical. The variety of genres matched the variety of sounds. From futuristic keyboard melodies to African drumbeats, the possibilities were endless and their music was delightfully unpredictable. Within various songs they transitioned from mellow to fast tempos and back again without losing any intensity or energy from the crowd. By the middle of the first song, the band had engaged the entire audience. Honkyphonic's atmosphere was completely free and sounded more like a jam session than a formal show by the way the musicians-especially Van Hollen-were wholly consumed in their performance. Even Goldman's pink hair added to the unrestrained vibe.

This liberation from sitting in class all week inspired a number of people to start dancing; they were joined by about half the audience within 30 minutes. At some points, the synthesized vocals sounded a bit excessive, but it did not detract much from the overall feel of the music. For their finale, the band played a cover of Outkast's catchy single, "Hey Ya." The Honkyphonic version was very well done and had the crowd going nuts. Many people were standing on chairs and shaking much more than a Polaroid picture. They ended on a high note and had the crowd hyped up for The Edition.

The Edition are guitarist Tom Pornikoff '05, vocalist and keyboardist Phil Selesnick '05, bassist Mike Park '05 and Berklee College of Music sophomore Dan Germaine on drums. They were a quartet of a sublime musical experience that explained their popularity. Their smooth concoction of blues, jazz and rock was evidence that there is indeed a pool of incredible musical talent on campus.

With a cover charge of only two dollars, The Edition gave a performance worthy of many fifty-dollar shows. Judging from the increase in the already-large crowd in attendance, it is certain that this fact did not go unnoticed. By 11 p.m., the dancing crowd in front of the stage was so dense that anyone sitting at the tables behind could barely see the band; their only view was Pornikoff's flailing locks of hair as he and his band completely owned the stage in movement and sound. Their creative melodies and awesome guitar and bass solos made the atmosphere surreal and almost enchanting. Even the people who were not moved to their feet seemed drawn in and enveloped by their fresh sound. The high point of The Edition's set was "Unisex," which showcased each of the band members' talents as musicians and the chemistry that created their solid harmonies and rhythms.

By the attendance of last Thursday's show at , it appeared to be a very successful night of fundraising for the SunDeis Film Festival. This first annual celebration of student film will be held this April. The festival should no doubt bring as much evidence of talent in the arts on campus as seen by Honkyphonic and The Edition last week.