Michelle Herrick

Three groups of self-proclaimed “South Dakota Virgins” popped their Midwest cherries on Sunday in Frost Arena.

Despite lackluster ticket sales, The Exies, Sister Hazel and Everclear managed to find the appropriate energy to make the UPC-sponsored concert worthwhile for students and pop fans alike.

The under-rated Exies took stage promptly at 7:45 p.m. Due to time constraints they only played a short set of five songs even though the crowd wanted to hear more.

“After the first two Exies songs, I decided to go out and buy their CD,” said Michael King, a 23 year-old CST graduate student.

Songs like “Inertia” and “Kickout” with their fast rock beat had fans jumping, which just accelerated when they played their best-known single, “My Goddess.”

Sister Hazel, a long time favorite for many, played next with hits like “All For You,” “Beautiful Thing,” “Happy” and “Change Your Mind.” Though their music was a bit more mellow than Exies, Sister Hazel made up for it in crowd recognition.”The whole crowd was singing along to their songs,” said Melissa Kalsbeck, a 19-year-old nursing freshmen.

It took Everclear a half-hour to come on stage after Sister Hazel. The floor crowd, a tightly-knit sweaty group, barely moved in anticipation for the headliner. Only a few people were able to sneak into the center.

As soon as the lights dimmed, people cheered as Everclear came on with “You Make Me Feel Like a Whore.” The headliners stirred the rock pot for about an hour before returning to the comfort of their tour bus.Though the people in the stands weren’t moving much, fans on the floor were singing along with the lyrics, jumping up and down and bobbing their heads to old hits like “Heroin Girl,” “Father of Mine,” “I Will Buy You a New Life” and new ones like “Volvo Driving Soccer Mom.”

Staying with tradition, Everclear pulled people on stage as go-go dancers while bassist Craig Montoya sang rock and roll during the encore.

Jacki Schaffer, a freshmen psychology major, thought Exies and Sister Hazel were great, but that Everclear didn’t sound as good live as they do on their albums.

“Sister Hazel really connected with the crowd, because they played songs that everyone knew,”she said. “Everclear is a stuck-up band.”

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