Hot Chelle Rae

(photocredit: technorati.com)

By: Jessica Farley

“La, la, la… whatever,” is one of the verses to Hot Chelle Rae’s double platinum hit, “Tonight, tonight.”

And “… Whatever,” has been the overwhelming student response to the university’s announcement that the band will be headlining at the 47th annual Mason Day festivities.

“All of their songs that I know are kind of   ‘played out’ now,” said freshman Casey Romine, an 18-year-old Nursing major. “There is nothing really ‘special’ about them. I’m just kind of ambivalent.”

And other students are sharing her same, I-don’t-know reaction.

“Their sound is really similar to the bands selected in the past two years. It would be nice to have a performer with a different sound,” said Ashley Rivera, a 20-year-old junior majoring in Communication.

In 2010, pop-punk band Cobra Starship headlined Mason Day’s musical performances, and last year it was pop-rock band Plain White T’s. Both bands, as well as this year’s Hot Chelle Rae, are predominantly male and possess a similar “pop-punk, alternative” sound aesthetic.

On the flip side, many students are excited about the opening act — Mason’s own Sub-Radio Standard. The band, which originally formed in 2005 in Sterling, Va., has two GMU students as members- freshmen Michael Pereira and Mark Siford.

“Some of them are friends of mine,” said 19-year-old bioengineering major Katie Clark, about the opening act, “it will be a cool experience to see them performing for a large crowd.”