WZRD hosted a benefit concert for Haiti in the school cafeteria on Thursday Jan. 28. The concert was the brainchild of WZRD members Michael Robin and Avi Steinberg, the former presented at the concert. The concert presented live music from various genres by artists such as DJ Demchuk, Kelsey Montanez, Flow Theory, and Kiddy Korral Jug Band.
WZRD, often times pronounced as the “wizard”, organized the event within a week’s time with help from Student Activities. They managed to find a varied set of performers to draw in the crowd. Sodexo catered the event and provided pizza for all guests in attendance. There was also free popcorn and tarot and palm readings.
DJ Demchuk was in the background playing various music on the turntables before the concert itself took place, and while people were going through the rummage sale items.
Kelsey Montanez was the opening act for the benefit concert and received positive feedback from the crowd with her acoustic performance of her songs. Her music was along the lines of indie/acoustic and alternative.
Following Montanez was the Kiddy Korral Jug Band (KKJB). The members of KKJB were dressed in colorful apparel, like how one band member was dressed to look like a demon and another a hobo or clown.
They also had very unique instruments because they were found and created objects used in a musical fashion. Their instruments consisted of a homemade washtub base, suit case percussion, spoons, and an acoustic guitar. The bands unique performance seemed to go over well with the crowd, during their part of the concert.
The final act of the concert was a band by the name of Flow Theory, who had a funk and reggae sound. They too were well received by the crowd and were also a bit more interactive. During one of their songs the member from KKJB dressed as a demon and Robin from WZRD went up during their performance and began dancing.
All the proceeds came from the five dollar donation for attending the concert and rummage sales purchases. The WZRD benefit concert raised an estimated $600 for Haiti, which went to the NEIU Haiti relief fund.