As another week in the academic calendar comes to a close, the Keene State College After Hours organization hosted their annual “Third Thursday” program in the Night Owl Cafe of the L.P. Young Student Center. Besides the regular snacks and beverages provided for the audience, a different performer took the stage to entertain the campus. This time, it was the season one winner of The National Broadcasting Company show (NBC) The Voice singing competition Javier Colon.
Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff
As students trickled in, KSC vocal performance major Cari Caswell mentioned how she was an After Hours regular. “I try to attend every event because the performers and activities have always been fun to go to,” said Caswell.
Once everyone was settled in their seats, After Hours introduced Colon and he took center stage in the Night Owl Cafe. Everyone went silent once the performance began, but after the show, students had nothing but good things to say. When asked about their opinion on the show, KSC sophomore Abigail Adams summed up it up in three words, saying, “He was amazing.”
Adams was also one of the students that Colon invited on stage, giving her and her friend the opportunity to sing with him one of the songs he was performing. Sure enough it was his cover of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time, which was the first song he had performed live on NBC’s The Voice six years ago. This would not be the last time Colon brought audience members on-stage; he later requested one student to come speak into his microphone which had a voice altering machine attached.
“My style on stage is to just be myself, tell a couple jokes and keep it loose,” said Colon, and it was apparent he was having as good of a time as the crowd. Between every song he was always interacting with the crowd, whether it be in the form of asking questions or telling a story from his life. Even though many students had not watched the season Colon appeared on, all were clearly engaged throughout the entire After Hours program.
Caswell also mentioned that part of the reason she really enjoyed Colon was because of how interactive he was with the audience. The love did not stop there however, once he was done signing he invited anyone who wanted to take a picture to come on-stage. This request was well-received, and nearly every student in the Night Owl Cafe waited in line to meet Colon.
“This program provides the opportunity to see great performances for free, which is great for students.” Caswell also mentioned about After Hours.
When asked what they like the most of After Hours Adams talked about the interactions between the audience members and those on-stage.
“It’s how nice the people in the crowd are to the performers who come here, and it makes everyone want to come back,” Adams said.
This was one aspect of his career that Colon significantly enjoyed since performing on NBC’s The Voice and expressed much gratitude for those who come to watch him on-stage. “It’s an honor that people will come and support my music, it’s awesome.”
Colton McCracken can be contacted at cmccracken@kscequinox.com