Students at the “ThrowBACK to School Welcome Week Concert,” featuring Smash Mouth and Boyz II Men, got a surprise Tuesday night when Smash Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell drank on stage, proclaimed his intoxication and kissed a female student.
The concert was presented by the Ohio Union Activities Board and was located on the RPAC North Lawn.
The band was playing four songs from itsalbum “Astro Lounge” — “Diggin’ Your Scene,” “Can’t Get Enough of You, Baby,” “Then the Morning Comes” and “Come On Come On” — when lead singer Steve Harwell invited nearly a dozen girls to dance on stage with him.
Harwell informed the crowd that he was drunk early in the performance, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to drink for the rest of the show. When the girls were on stage, Harwell directed many crude comments towards them.
When one girl put her scarf around his neck, Harwell danced with it, pulling it back and forth between his legs, before giving it back to her. Before they made their way off stage, Harwell, 44, grabbed one of the girls by the face and kissed her for a few seconds before turning back around to continue singing.
Harwell even asked those in the audience to sing the words for him on “Let’s Rock” because he said he was too drunk to sing. He said anyone who knew the words was welcome to come on stage to sing, but the audience seemed just as confused as he was.
Harwell wasn’t the only band member enjoying the college audience.
“I love to perform for a college crowd,” bassist Paul De Lisle said before the show. “Generally, they’re more enthusiastic. Especially something like this, you know, where their school year’s just beginning and everyone’s kind of excited.”
Smash Mouth took the stage around 6 p.m., opening with its well-known cover of The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer,” before going into “Everyday Superhero” from its 2006 album, “Summer Girl.”
Later in the show, the band played a new song, called “Flippin’ Out,” which will be on its new album, set to be released in February. It followed this with its classic hit, “Walkin’ on the Sun.”
Smash Mouth closed with what is perhaps its most widely-known song, “All-Star,” to which many in attendance sang as Harwell extended the microphone toward them.
Attendance was noticeably lower than at last year’s Welcome Week Concert featuring Weezer, which an estimated 10,000 people attended. More than 3,000 people were in attendance for this year’s concert, said Courtney Chow, OUAB concerts chair..
R&B trio Boyz II Men took the stage just after sundown around 7:45 p.m. It opened with its first-ever single, “Motownphilly,” which caused the crowd to cheer with excitement.
After performing “On Bended Knee,” singer Shawn Stockman told a story about how he was not sure if such a young crowd could appreciate their music, asking, “Do they feel Boyz II Men?” to which the crowd cheered.
“Thank you, you answered my question,” Stockman said.
The group then sang “Please Don’t Go” and “I Finally Know,” before going into the eminent, “I’ll Make Love to You.” Boyz II Men performed “End of the Road,” before returning to the opening song, “Motownphilly.”
They then left the stage, only to return a moment later and perform the harmony rich “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” for the encore.
DJ Axcess provided the preshow by playing both modern and old school hits, energizing the crowd and passing out free T-shirts.
