Talent goes wild at Punk N' Pie

By Alethia Selby

Talent radiated on Metzger Lawn Friday night as students performed in Biola’s annual talent show fondly known as Punk n’Pie.

Students began lining up for the event as early as 6 p.m., a full hour before the show was supposed to start. Melissa Watkins, senior, was just one out of the multitude of people who came early to be guaranteed decent seats on the grass.

“We got here at 6:20 p.m. and stood by the bell tower for like 40 minutes,” Watkins said.

The show didn’t kick off until after 7:30 p.m. This year, Punk n’Pie was staged in front of the Library, where students congregated to enjoy the 11 acts varying from the techno stylings of Leroy to the hand written piano medley by Rachael Farris.

The winner of this year’s talent show was Sean Thomas and Friends. They paid a comical, yet sincere tribute to America. The group received a prize of $250 for coming in first place. The act began with the Gettysburg Address, given by Sean Thomas dressed up as Abe Lincoln. When the formal address was over, participants dressed up as policemen, cowboys, Indians and other characters joined Lincoln onstage to dance interpretively to “Proud to be an American.” The act finished with a reenactment of the flag raising at Iwo Jima.

Xopoc Dance Troupe came in second place, winning $150, and Tyson Kayhill came in third place, winning $100.

The 11 performances consisted of seven musical acts differing from acoustic guitar to new renditions of “Hey Ya” to Nathan Wagenet’s performace of “You raise me up.” There was also an act entitled “Human video,” which primarily used sign language in interpreting the song “Letters from War” by Mark Schultz.

Students were entertained not only during the performances themselves, but also during the set up time for each act. On a screen by the stage, video clips were played, such as remixed snippets from “Mary Poppins” and “Hook,” and a clip from “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”

Though the venue provided plenty of space for the multitude of students that were anticipated to attend, it did cause those who came to sit out in 50-something-degree air. Several technical difficulties plagued performances too.

Despite the long lines and chilly night air, however, students seemed to enjoy this year’s show.

Many freshmen came not knowing what to expect, and were pleasantly surprised.

“I thought it was amazing,” said freshman Yesenia Mora. “It was entertaining and unexpected.”

Freshman Ben Jacuk also came, unsure of what to expect.

“It was completely different then what we expected,” Jacuk said.

Some were a little more over-the-top in their approval.

“If we were giving it five stars, I would give it six and a half,” said freshman Lindsey Eastburg.

Returning students also enjoyed the night of talent. Sophomore Elizabeth Meyer was pleased with the venue of this year’s show, along with many other differences compared to last year.

“I liked this one better,” she said. “Last year it was in Sutherland, and it was cramped. I liked how open this was. The acts were better because they filtered them, and I liked how they kept you entertained with the videos in between acts.”