On February 25, 2023 The Mudpit, a new house venue near Syracuse University, hosted four student artists in its spacious basement. The show was put together as a fundraiser for Ottothon, a student-run philanthropy group, with all proceeds going to the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. The venue is a huge basement with vents and pipes sprawling in every direction like cobwebs, the “stage” being more of a dingy corner, tightly packed with semi-sober students who were willing to chance future deafness due to their concerning proximity to the speakers. While the crowd’s half-drunk exuberance ensured that every act was well received, some of this jubilation was unwarranted.

The first two performances (Mnemonic Advice and Nancy Dunkle) delivered what you would expect from a college house show: standard garage rock with desultory instrumentals and strained vocals. While the vibes were immaculate for covers like Declan McKenna’s “Brazil” and Paramore’s “Still Into You,” there is a reason that the two opening bands, with their erroneous guitar squeaks and scattered vocal runs, are playing in basements.

Saint Luke’s set changed the pace, moving away from brash rock into an acoustic bedroom-pop style. Luke has been making music for years, but just recently caught traction on campus after being featured on CitrusTV and Jerk Magazine. He debuted his new single “Only One” at the show, which featured aspects of lo-fi and hip-hop, as he smoothly rapped over a sludgy, looped instrumental.

The night’s headliners, Rhodes Corduroy, returned to the garage rock energy of the first two acts. The four-piece band featured instrumentalists who also sang: bassist Aidan Labella, guitarist Cooper Lang, and guitarist Zach Franze. As with the first two acts, it’s clear that the members of Rhodes Corduroy grew up listening to a lot of Weezer. Though their original songs may not stand out in a world inundated with college kids trying to replicate that nerdy, playful rebelliousness, they maintained an energy that the crowd loved. Upon recognizing the first discernable chord from Rhodes Corduroy’s covers of “Freaking Out the Neighborhood” by Mac Demarco and “Freaks” by Surf Curse, the audience erupted into cacophony.