On Saturday, February 28, the Barge Canal Coffee Company was filled to the brim for its Saturday Nite Music Series. This week, Earthman Embassy performed, a popular band on campus made up of Colgate students. The group consists of junior Ben Taylor on electric guitar and vocals, junior Jeremy Padow on bass guitar, junior George Zeitler on keyboard and vocals and sophomore Tommy Crocker on drums and vocals. Taylor and Zeitler started the band, initially playing at open mic nights at the Barge together. Now, the group performs at many events on campus. Padow is new to the band this year.

Earthman Embassy’s genre is hard to describe. Some of their songs seemed like classic rock, some were more emo and some could easily be heard on a modern pop station. Whatever the label, Earthman Embassy is known to play “good” music. The band’s mistakes were few and far between during Saturday’s performance. Though their first song started off rough, they started over, announcing that this time was “for realsies,” and their talent and charisma made up for any minor problems.

Zeitler’s sense of humor, for instance, entertained the audience.

“If I spiked my hair and went out in the cold and the spikes froze, I could use them to defend myself,” Zeitler said.

This in turn sparked a conversation about Spoon Assassins, a reminder that Earthman Embassy is made up of normal Colgate students.

“If you’re thinking about getting me out in Spoon Assassins, I brought my spoon. If you do assassinate me, at least stay for the rest of the show,” Taylor commented.

Zeitler came back to his hair story later on, musing that, should he need to defend himself-from, say, ninjas-he could “do a spin move,” and all the spikes would fly off and injure the assailant. Thus, between good music and charming banter, Earthman Embassy kept the audience engaged.

The band played a mix of original songs and covers. They even performed a new song of theirs, “Grumbles and Groans.” Later, they played “Na’ve,” which was “interactive,” as the audience clapped along for a portion of the song. Other originals included, “Nothing to Anyone,” “Melody of Catastrophe” and “Lullabies and Gold.” All the band’s original songs were quite impressive.

Beneath catchy tunes, there were also deep, heartfelt lyrics. One of their cover songs was “Short People” by Randy Newman, which Zeitler described as being “about everyone getting along with everyone else.” Another cover began as “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap, and gradually incorporated other songs, including “Let It Be” by the Beatles, “No Woman No Cry” by Bob Marley and “Sk8r Boi” by Avril Lavigne. Each band member sang a line from one of these other songs, with all the lines intertwining. It turned out to be an extraordinary rendition, skillfully performed. The final cover was “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, a classic Earthman Embassy cover.

Overall, it was a great concert, obvious to any passersby due to the crowded, cheerful atmosphere at the Barge. All of the chairs were taken, and people even gathered behind the chairs, pushing up against the cash register.