Needtobreathe performs at UC Davis

A crowd of predominantly college students took to Freeborn Hall at UC Davis on Oct. 30 to catch the South Carolina rock band Needtobreathe on their The Reckoning Tour, in support of their self-titled fourth studio album.

By the time the doors opened at 6:30, the line, made up of eager fans of not only Needtobreathe but also their supporting acts, 29-year-old Matthew Mayfield and Philadelphia band Good Old War, had already extended far past the venue.

Mayfield opened the show with an all-acoustic set in support of his second solo studio album titled A Banquet of Ghosts, which was released May 2.

Mayfield had some fun with the laid back crowd and quipped about the obscurity of Davis and the small size of the venue. His songs, however, held remarkably different tones, varying between anthemic and tender but always of brilliant guitar spectacle.

Mayfield took a moment to display to the crowd his surprising influences when he took to an impressive cover of Guns and Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle,” gathering much recognition from the crowd.

Good Old War then came out after a brief intermission and brought a more quirky nature to the stage then the serious Mayfield. The lead singer, Keith Goodwin, displayed fluid dance moves throughout their set and often called upon the crowd to “boogie.”

Their beautiful vocal harmonies won the band many new fans and their antics, such as having the drummer Tim Arnold break into an enthusiastic rendition of Harry Belafonte’s “The Banana Boat Song”, kept the crowd entertained.

The band made sure to play fan favorites such as “Amazing Eyes” and “That’s Some Dream” but also dedicated their song “Better Weather” to the victims of Hurricane Sandy, which includes Goodwin’s parents.

Needtobreathe was up next and took a great deal of time to transition into their set, much to the annoyance of the spirited crowd. But when the intermission finally ceased, the band roared on stage and began what would be an hour and a half of ferocious music, a flurry of lights, and a crowd singing along song after song.

Quite a departure from the previous acts, Needtobreathe utilized the entire stage and lead singer Bear Rinehart wailed with his vocals and on his guitar song after song.

Many of their songs were extended with lengthy jams and breaks where the Rinehart would speak to the crowd over the music. He gave an extended intro to the individual members of the band, highlighting his brother Bo Rinehart in particular, who played various instruments throughout the band’s performance, including guitar, banjo, and mandolin.

Their initial set was followed by a lengthy encore which introduced a new track from their upcoming album and had the previous acts come back out for some shredding during the final song. When the final guitar note had rung, the audience members seemed satisfied and made their way to buy t-shirts and CDs.