Pop music brings people together, as any one of the several hundred students at Top 40 cover band Haters in the Building’s show last Saturday could tell you. They have the bruises to prove it—packing Psi U to the brim, the band began at midnight, sending the teeming crowd into sweaty, riotous convulsions with every hook and anthemic chorus. Matching the energy of the crowd, Haters took to the stage to the cosmic fanfare and horn stabs of Kanye West’s “All of the Lights.” In classic fashion, the jumping, bumping, and futile attempts to stand up began immediately. Positive vibes (and maybe, to a lesser extent, sweat) flowed freer than Dubra at a freshman pre-game.

Top 40 continued to play as the audience swelled until, about three songs in, the fire alarm went off. The band seemed visibly upset as they asked everyone to leave because Middletown firemen and Public Safety officers had arrived. Luckily, it was only a false alarm, and within minutes, the band was back on stage and ready to jam hardcore. Unfortunately, when they took to the stage for the second time, the crowd was significantly smaller, though still mighty and down to rage.

The show maintained high energy throughout the entire setlist, which included expected popular songs like “Gangnam Style,” “Thrift Shop,” and “Die Young.” The crowd lost it for Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”

One memorable moment of the show was the band’s attempted few opening bars of “Somebody That I Used To Know,” to which singer Will Feinstein ’13 had a strong reaction.

“I fucking hate this song!” declared the singer, decidedly terminating its duration and instructing the band to move on.

By the time Top 40 finished its set-list, the audience was begging for more catchy pop songs to facilitate their flailing around Psi U. The band obliged, playing “We Found Love” for a second time and surprising the crowd with Blink-182’s classic “What’s My Age Again?”

One particularly memorable highlight of my personal experience was actually climbing on stage and inviting myself to sing this last song with the band. Sorry about that, guys.

In spite of a rocky start, Top 40 Cover Band put on a really fun, out-of-control show. The audience was extremely lively, and the band members, who drank 40s while on stage, were clearly having a good time. I lost two earrings, which I consider the sign of a good night.