If you have never seen a one-man band perform live, you won’t understand my love for Lucas Carpenter. Not only is he the most unique act to bless State College, but he is by far the most talented and sweetest man I know.

Lucas Carpenter has been to State College a handful of times since I’ve been here. The first time I went to a show he was playing, I had no idea what was coming. My jaw dropped after hearing him harmonize with himself using a looping device, play drums with brooms, beatbox, and break out a keyboard that passed through a voice box. His lyrics are quirky, but completely honest. Since then, I haven’t missed a show of his here, or in Pittsburgh for that matter. Tonight was no exception.

Read the rest of my concert reaction after the jump.

The Element (a local high school band) played first. The guitar player could jam, though his vocals were lacking. He covered Eric Johnson’s “Cliffs of Dover” and played it well. They also covered Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Arctic Monkeys. The songs without vocals proved to be the best, as they played an acoustic song they had just written, and for a progressive soft-rock kind of deal, they pulled it off very nicely. The band definitely has potential if they snag a good singer.

Lucas followed the Element, and Will from SOZO joked about auctioning off his vest. “$200? Any takers?” Sadly, I did not have $200 in my pocket or I would have snagged that vibrant vest of his. Dang.

Lucas’s set consisted of a few songs from The Pixelated Path (his latest CD) and Art Kids From The Country (an earlier CD). He also played a brand new song entitled Tumbleweed he just posted Sunday night on YouTube in celebration reaching 500 Twitter followers last Saturday. The crowd ate it up. As they should have. This man impresses anyone who walks into the room. In fact, I remember last year, Chris Fafalios of Punchline, called people in from the street, explaining, “This guy is amazing.”

Lucas will be back in State College in the HUB on November 10th playing the 100 Days Til THON concert that the Penn State Marketing Association (PSMA) has planned. Caleb Lovely and Some Downtown Avenue will be joining him.

Find Vienna closed the show tonight. Formerly known as Clarity, this band has dropped a member and changed their sound quite a bit. Coming from a more pop-based background, their sound has become more electric-rock. The energy the bass player and keyboardist provide was enough to grab the attention of the audience. The only thing that bothered me was that the majority of their songs just…end. You know that awkward, “Should I clap now?” type deal. Yeah. Lots of that. The show was their EP release party for “In Your Favorite Colors,” which I particularly enjoy. I wouldn’t mind seeing them again.