Hundreds of Sacramento State students dropped by (or skipped class) Wednesday to attend the Ford Focus Californopia College Tour and free mini-concert featuring the band Save Ferris.

Monique Powell, lead vocalist for Save Ferris, danced and sang as if having the best time in the world. Dressed in a tight black and white striped shirt unbuttoned to reveal a glittery red bra, Powell jumped around, screamed and took her voice to all levels.

“It’s great to be home,” said Powell of the band?s return from Europe. “I really, really need to forget about what’s on the news. Just for an hour, I need a break, a little ‘vaca’ from the whole thing,” Powell said.

“So everyone feel free to join the club up here, even if you don’t like the songs, it’s a good excuse.”

For more than an hour, Powell sang her heart out to songs such as “The World is New,” “Stay,” “Can’t Stop,” and many more cheerful tunes.

“This music is great,” said Julie Donahue, a dance major. “Save Ferris has a talented, upbeat sound that makes you want to get out there and jump around.”

Many other Sac State students agreed that Save Ferris put on a great show.

“I’m skipping class just so I can see all of these bands,” said business major Jeremy McDonald. “I’ve seen Save Ferris before and they really get into their music. The free nachos are not a bad deal either,” McDonald said.

In addition to eating free food, McDonald also won a beanie and a t-shirt when he participated in the music toss, a game in which players throw a miniature pillow to try to win prizes.

Other prizes included a scooter won by a nine-year-old for staying in a hot car the longest, backpacks for winning a hoola-hoop contest and singing a Save Ferris song, and free beanies and t-shirts for all who participated.

The mini-concert opened with Placerville?s Limit Point, a four-man band dressed in black that began the concert with a fast, pleasurable rock sound. Other special guests of the day included local alternative rock bands Bucho! and Freestate.

But it was Save Ferris who mesmerized the entire crowd with their buoyant, inspiring music, finishing off the exceptional set with their version of the 80s classic “Come on Eileen,” which really got the students up off the grass to dance and clap.

Save Ferris consists of six members: Powell (lead vocals and tambourine), Brian Mashburn (lead guitar and vocals), Bill Uechi (bass), Evan Kilbourne (drums), Eric Zamora (guitar and saxophone) and their new addition, Steve White (trumpet).

Zamora and White contributed to the electrifying exhilaration the music of Save Ferris is known for.

“The trumpet and the sax really set the tone for their optimistic music,” said Joshua Rose, a marketing major.

Save Ferris released their major label debut “It Means Everything” in Sept. 1997, after selling more than 15,000 copies of their self-released EP “Introducing Save Ferris” on Starpool Records, a label the band founded.

Save Ferris plans to release a new album in February.