Phuoc Bui strummed his electric guitar, playing psychedelic melodies with more than 40 onlookers in the Comstock Hall Ballroom on Saturday.
Bui, a marketing senior, was one of many students who showcased his talents at the Comstock Talent Show.
Danielle Attinella, a member of the Comstock Community Council who helped organize the event, said the council holds such occasions to bring students in the residence halls together so they can get to know one another.
“It’s hard to get people to come (to residence hall events),” Attinella said. “People usually have their own plans or they see the advertising for it and they think ‘Someone will go, but not me.’ “
This is the first time Comstock Hall has hosted a talent show, she said.
Acts ranged from guitar playing to tricks with a diabolo, a Chinese yo-yo that uses two sticks connected by a string and a detached wooden yo-yo.
Stuart Wilson, first-year computer science and philosophy student, showed tricks with his diabolo, twirling it high into the air as it spun and catching it with the strings still spinning.
“It’s kind of fun to show off what you’ve learned,” he said.
Wilson got the diabolo for Christmas more than a year ago after seeing it used at a Boy Scouts convention. He learned the tricks through the Internet and made up a few of his own.
“I practice about twice a week,” he said. “It’s a good break from homework.”
Aaron Shekey, a graphic design junior, played with his band called Apparently Nothing.
He said this was the first time the band played completely acoustic.
“Usually we are a full-out rock band, so it was really different,” he said. “We didn’t want to come across as one of those coffee house bands.”
Shekey, the lead singer, said his band has all the talent but making it big takes more than just talent.
“Talent isn’t everything,” he said. “It’s about who you know and the timing.”
But for now, Shekey said he and his band members want to finish school and then see what happens.
“Everything is there, we just have to find a voice and reach an audience,” he said.