Atomic Walrus rocked the Dance Marathon stage for its third year in a row, pumping up exhausted dancers who were just a few hours away from finishing the event.
Vocalist Joe Kellman began the set by running under the bright blue lights toward center stage, belting encouragements at the crowd.
“You’ve been here for 23 hours now; we’re here to help you do the rest of it,” Kellman said.
[Related: Mixed-genre band Atomic Walrus to release first EP ‘Slug Life’]
The funk/rock group, which refers to its playing style as “more hipster than your ex-girlfriend from Echo Park,” started off the performance with an original song titled “Pancakes ‘n’ Chinese.” Dancers began pumping their fists along with band members and clapping to the steady beat, led by UCLA alumnus Nivedan Nayak on the drums.
A series of upbeat rock originals followed, including “WYMMF,” “Cis White Male” and “Your Ego Is Not Your Amigo.”
“Cis White Male,” with its quick, steady beat, provoked a visceral reaction from students that included feet stomping and air drumming. The song ended with a loud, hysterical laugh from Kellman before he changed up the pace of the set with the slower ballad “Your Ego Is Not Your Amigo.”
“It’s very funky,” said third-year psychobiology student Pia Salcedo. “They’re different than what we’ve seen earlier, which is refreshing going into the final hours.”
The 20-minute set ended with a throwback to 2007 with a cover of M.I.A’s “Paper Planes.” Students sang along to the familiar beat as they entered into the homestretch of their 26-hour stand against pediatric AIDS.