On Friday night, my childhood dreams came true—for the fourth time. 

The annual frosh mystery concert welcomed Vancouver band Marianas Trench on Sept. 7 to close off Orientation Week with a bang.

For many, this was an exciting chance to see a band that played the soundtrack to their pre-teen lives. For me, it was another chance to live out my childhood dreams after seeing the band three times already.

Straying from the usual tradition of keeping the performer a secret, the Orientation Roundtable (ORT) announced that Marianas Trench would be performing the Wednesday afternoon before the concert.

After the first two days of class, many first years were looking forward to a fun night out planned by the ORT.

Luckily, the concert set a new benchmark for future frosh week performances. 

The opener alone made the night worthwhile. At only 18, German pop-singer bülow filled the stage with her electric energy. An up-and-coming artist, known for her chart-topping single “Not a Love Song”—bülow got the crowd riled-up for the headliners Marianas Trench.

By the time Marianas Trench took the stage, the Miller Hall parking lot had filled up, and many eager first years were excited as they heard the first chords to the popular tune “Cross My Heart.”

The nostalgia was overwhelming as the crowd sang along to the 2009 hit song.

“I knew this was a rowdy crowd based on how excited you all were for just the music in between acts,” lead singer Josh Ramsay said to a screaming crowd.

Throughout the night, the band played hits like “Desperate Measures,” “Beside You,” “Shake Tramp,” and “All to Myself,” as the crowd sang along to every word.

It was a huge and receptive crowd, but it wasn’t that long ago that Marianas Trench were playing small bars on Princess Street for the very first time.

Years later, they were on the final stop of their tour at the frosh concert. Building off this excitement, the band was excited to announce they’d be releasing new music ahead of their next tour.

Ramsay brought a huge presence to the stage with his eccentric attitude and wardrobe.

The band is made up of such engaging performers and every time I hear them play, it gets better. Over the course of their careers, their harmonies have gotten much tighter and they’ve developed an undeniably captivating stage presence.

Lead guitarist Matt Webb and bassist Mike Ayley have stepped into the spotlight in recent years with the audience chanting their names following their solos in the song “This Means War.”

“They’re chanting Matt and Mike,” Ramsay told his bandmates, through the microphone.

It was nice to see such bold performances from Ayley and Webb. Having seen the band live so many times before, I was surprised to be struck yet again by their air guitar-worthy performance.

Every time I hear them play, Marianas Trench just seems to get better.