Do the Jumbos know how to play?

After chatting for a bit with Paul Farris and Alec Orenstein of The Mark, over the finer points of hi-fi rock bands like White Stripes and The Strokes, and discussing some of Paul's immediate influences, I went off to enjoy a set played by the band for the Jumbo Audio Project promotion concert last Tuesday at Hotung Caf?©.

Last Tuesday was the first day of the Jumbo Audio Project concert series, which promoted the recently released CD that showcases the musical talents of Tufts students.

Playing a crowd-pleaser, "Flipside," and a band favorite and the '80s-favorite Soft Cell cover, "Tainted Love," the Mark performed their third show ever that evening. After attending both their second (at the Battle of the Bands the previous Saturday) and third shows, it became clear that as they play more sets the group is quickly coming together and performing as a band rather than dueling prima donnas.

The Mark is one of the ten on-campus acts that played at the Jumbo Audio Project promotion concert. Other bands that played at Tuesday's concert included, Y.G.S., Drowned, and Human. It is gigs, like the Jumbo Audio Project concert, that give nascent bands the opportunity to test their mettles and their sound beings to materialize.

Human, unlike The Mark, has had the luxury of presence on the college show scene and has been together for quite some time. The experience they have had with technical difficulty, and their ability to handle it well -- or at least better than most -- became clear after the ten minutes of level problems that failed to stop them from rocking the house (after smoothing out the kinks).

Human has an emo vibe that summons to mind the styles of Thursday and Dashboard Confessional. Their identity relies on a fusion of grunge and progressive rock, and it fits, but didn't seem to shine through Tuesday night. The lyrics of "Ordinary Lie" -- "Open wide / intensify / paint it beautifully" -- sounded more like emo-core lyrics than grunge.

Acoustic guitarist and singer Katie McD also performed at the concert. On this particular Tuesday night, she performed duets, which exuded a light, coffee-shop style sound. The marks of the Celtic singer/songwriter are conventionally upbeat, and touch on depth.

John Dimsdale, an accomplished songwriter pianist, also played that night. On stage, he shared a bit of his soul and even more of his talent. Dimsdale played a soulful rendition of his composition "Daybreak" and a new composition dedicated to "a special someone" in the audience, reminding the crowd how personal the artist can become on stage when given the support.

AfroDzak and Cabron y Climax brought both their own hip-hop flavor to the stage. Influenced by the Mos Def styles of funk and hip-hop, AfroDzak adopted the immediate fusion of hip-hop jazz. Their lyrics were well-structured around the poetic brand of hip-hop that lent itself well to the trumpet solo being played.

Cabron y Climax preserve the political relevancy of hip-hop, harking back to the days of N.W.A. and Public Enemy and the messages still being preached by Nas. The influence of these great minds of hip-hop is seen in the foundations of their flows.

The Tom Keidel Band took the stage next, playing one song, "The Dice." This song with its classic rock vibe blended with a jam spice leaves one anxious for them to write more songs. There is an underlying allegory of in the lyrics of "The Dice;" if you're sharp you'll catch on, if not, sorry.

Overall good performances were done by all, despite the lack of notice that seemed a problem for all the acts to adjust to. All the same, the acts entertained - so keep your eyes out for flyers for these bands' next shows.