Last Friday night, Montclair State University students were able to relive their favorite memories of the ’90s with a throwback concert promoted by the Department of Campus Recreation and Health Promotion. According to the Student Recreation Center, the event had been in the making for two weeks to promote their week-packed ’90s themed activities.
Despite the cold winds and weather conditions, it did not stop the concert from going on as the night kicked off at 6 p.m. with a long line at the Student Center Ballroom as students waited outside to register for the Nine Deeez themed concert. Outside the ballroom, T-shirts with the logo “REC-Rewind” were given out to concertgoers by the recreation department along with ’90s themed snacks and beverages, such as Gushers, Scooby-Doo fruit snacks, Yahoo milk and Capri Sun juice pouches.
As students waited for the concert to start, they took selfies by the state-of-the-art Simple Booth system that sends them through email and to multiple social media networks. Students using the selfie booth were able to record video and photos of their experiences throughout the concert to their social media networks.
Amber Allen, a jurisprudence junior with a minor in journalism, explained how she could not contain her excitement to hear the Nine Deeez cover band while she waited in line to take a selfie.
“I am so happy that the university has such events like this because I am a transfer student from Union County College and I find that promoting concert events like this helps me immerse myself with the feel of college life,” Allen said.
Nine Deeez Nite concertgoers enjoy refreshments provided by the recreation department at the Student Center Ballrooms. Tiffany Baskerville | The Montclarion
The event, hosted by the Student Recreation Center, designed the 90’s theme concert to get students who live on campus and commuters the opportunity to interact with student organizations while involving themselves with campus life.
No stranger to the students of Montclair state, the Nine Deeez cover band from New Jersey graced the Student Center Ballrooms at 7 p.m. to perform a night full of throwback music from Vanilla Ice to NSYNC. The cover band has opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Prudential Center and most notably, performed at the MetLife Stadium prior to a New York Giants game.
The Nine Deeez cover band, who prides themselves on delivering thrilling flashback of ’90s nostalgia, did not disappoint Friday night as the audience screamed and danced to songs they love and songs they forgot they loved.
As the students danced to favorites like TLC, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, the Nine Deeez Band stopped and played a game of ’90s trivia passing out ’90s themed prizes from signed CD albums, collector edition action figures and board games.
Students danced the night away attracting looks outside of the ballroom to join in the night filled with music.
Cynthia Tyrrell, a family science and human development freshman who lives on campus, talked about her experience attending the ’90s themed concert.
“I’m having a good time,” Tyrrell said. “It’s cool that the Student Rec Center had signs out to promote this event. If they didn’t, then I would be in my dorm tonight, so I am glad I came.”
Members of the recreation department host Nine Deeez Nite concert at Montclair State University. Tiffany Baskerville | The Montclarion
With the musical performance from the Nine Deeez band to ’90s trivia and raffled snack baskets, the ’90s themed concert proved to be a success in creating student interaction and involvement. As the event was wrapping up, students began collecting contact numbers and taking photos recording their night-filled throwback experience.
Michelle Ji Hee, a political science senior, expressed her gratitude for the Student Recreation Center for creating the event.
“Being I’m from South Korea, I found it hard to interact with students on campus because my accent was so heavy,” Hee said. “However, I’m really glad I came out tonight because I’ve made some new friends and had the opportunity to experience what a college concert is like.”
