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Releasing a singles collection three albums into their half-decade long career may have been a bit premature, but there is something infectiously catchy about Blessid Union of Souls' music. The disc sports a generous helping of hits, which were interspersed evenly throughout the set. Indeed, those received the best reaction, but the crowd was a bit faint out of the starting blocks given the fact that singer Eliot Sloan's vocals were marred by the over amplification of his bandmates and the echoing of the college gymnasium. Even less helpful was the fact that the several thousand-person capacity venue was only filled a quarter of the way. Nonetheless, the group poured a valiant effort into "I Wanna Be There" and "Oh Virginia" in the first half of the set.

The sound engineer was able to kick up the vocals by the midpoint, showcasing Sloan's voice and keyboard playing skills on the group's first hit "I Believe." Although the crowd was excited to hear the track, they sang quietly so as to take in the message of racial equality and the fact that no one has the right to judge another.

He was joined by the rest of the band for their other heartwarming slow songs "Let Me Be the One," and "Light in Your Eyes." They also scored points with the audience in between songs by sampling fun filled hits of the past originally performed by other artists. Out of the half dozen the group mixed in, The Knack's "My Sharona" was enjoyable, as was the geographically appropriate blues standard "Sweet Home Chicago." In fact, the group incorporated the second most famous song having to do with a sweet city into their set list, that being the Lizard Skynard "Sweet Home Alabama." 

That southern anthem's first verse and chorus were the lead in to the group's biggest smash "Hey Leonardo," in which the mostly teenage fan base went berserk over the "she likes me for me" chorus line. The group's latest single "Storybook Life" was written in hindsight of the prior hit, although it failed to captivate the crowd at the same level. 

Blessid Union of Souls encore was tightly packed into about 10 minutes, featuring a drum solo by Eddie Hedges, a hard edged cover of the Beatles "Revolution," and a revamped version of "I Believe," featuring punk styled verses and reggae-influenced choruses. The cheers at the night's end were strong, but far from the thundering level they should have been based on the group's energy and variety within the show. It's clear that the band would have faired better with a bigger crowd and a more acoustic-friendly venue would have made the entire show much more delightful.