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The Gorilla Activities Board (GAB) hosted comedian/musician Dan Henic as the beginning of the Thursdays with U series. Henic performed Thursday, Sept. 6, at the U-Club in the basement of the Overman Student Center.
“I really love it here,” Henic said. “The students here are so cool and I loved seeing them laughing and actually this was one of the funnier shows I ever played and performed.”
GAB travelled to Boston last semester and visited the Boston National Association of Campus Activities open house, a national-based level for organizations like GAB where they have the opportunity to meet performers and watch showcases to bring back to their schools.
“I am the club entertainment chair for GAB and we booked Dan last semester when we went to NACA Nationals in Boston and I believe somebody on executive board found him and we like what we saw, so we booked him and that’s what how we brought him here,” said Iman Ghasempour, junior in English. “… At this event we meet with agents and talk business and then book them there and we bring them here and we will also be traveling in October to Arlington, Texas, and do the same thing we did at nationals but on the regional scale and finding performances for next semester.”
From conferences like this, GAB decided to begin the Thursday with U series.
“We started the Thursdays with U series last semester and we brought a couple of different performers last semester, so we wanted to continue in this series,” Ghasempour said. “So this semester we are keeping the name Thursdays with U and we’re still doing a variety of performers. So Dan is the first one to kick it off with the first Thursday of September as a musician and then we’re bringing Sean Bott who’s on ‘The Mentalist,’ Angela comedian. So the running theme is kind of scary funny with his music and everything is going to be the same way with his performance. So, then the third in November—I believe the date exactly is the first Thursday of November—we’re bringing Jesse Campbell, a comedian, and she will be performing and wrapping up the last Thursday with U for the semester.”
Henic’s opening performance for the Thursday with U series drew a crowd of students, who were pleased with his songs and comedy act.
“Tonight was really fun and Dan did a really good job of covers and originals,” said Amanda Robison, senior in nursing. “We’ve looked forward for him to come for a long time and he just did an amazing job tonight in entertaining us.”
The mix of comedy and music surprised some attendants, such as Zoey Rankin, freshman in nursing.
“It was really interesting, yet I didn’t know what to expect but I still came and I had a lot of fun and it seem like everybody else was having a lot of fun too,” Rankin said.
Sarah Case, freshman in mechanical engineering technology, said she felt the same way as Rankin.
“This comedian music show was really interesting,” Case said. “I did not expect this, but it was really funny and entertaining.”
For those new to campus the Thursdays with U is an opportunity to meet new people as well as become more involved with activities on campus.
“It was honestly a really great show and experience especially for me as a new student to the campus,” said Chevah Taylor, freshman in elementary education. “And when I heard about it from my friend I thought ‘it’s going to be really boring,’ but when I came here I realized that it’s really funny and I loved it and looking forward to attend more events like this on campus.”
Some attendants received more than what they originally expected before seeing Henic’s act.
“I thought it was awesome, like I agree I was kind of sketchy, I was like ‘it’ll probably be boring,’ but we have nothing better to do so we came and I was really surprised,” said Kaitlyn Robinson, freshman in social work. “It was really funny and I liked it. He’s really great.”
During his performance, Henic threw out jokes between his songs, creating a fun atmosphere for all in the room.
“That’s why I’m here to tour around the states and visiting small cities like Pittsburg,” Henic said. “To entertain its people was a really good opportunity.”
Upcoming, GAB will be hosting the Wild Wild Petting Zoo Monday, Sept. 17, in the Oval from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring various animals.
“I’m really excited about (the petting zoo),” Ghasempour said. “So I believe they’ll be bringing some boas and some snakes and a lot of interesting animals for the students to see and pet.”
