Click here to view a video from this concert.

People wandered from the long line into the Union Ballroom around 7:35 and dispersed into small groups to talk amongst themselves — some standing, some sitting — mostly facing the stage in anticipation of the coming show.

Brian Shaughnessy, a senior Construction Management major, was especially excited about the show.

“We’ve had tickets for about two months,” he said.

Shaughnessy has enjoyed Costa’s music ever since his brother showed him Costa’s song, “Sunshine.”

Even as the opening act, Justin Farren, began his first song, “I Want to Be a Good Guy,” the crowd calmly sat, watched and enjoyed. Those who were standing moved close together to be nearer to the stage while those who remained sitting did not seem discontent — they were just happy to listen from where they sat.

“The audience was awesome,” Farren said, “They laughed at the funny stuff, and didn’t laugh at the stuff that wasn’t funny.”

The next band began its first song, softly at first, without being introduced or introducing themselves, and then slowly increasing their volume of both sound and emotion until everyone was listening. After about the third song they introduced themselves as Delta Spirit.

Sounding more like Bob Dylan, Delta Spirit played songs mostly in theme with the relaxed indie/folk feel of the concert, although a few songs had a louder, ocean-of-sound quality that some listeners did not enjoy quite as much.

“It was just screaming,” junior UC Davis English major Kelly Mocny said. “The theme was good, but there were no lyrics.”

People continued to enter the ballroom throughout Delta Spirit’s set, and the ticket count at 9:06 was 706.

Brandon Young of Delta Spirit said, “It was fun. It’s our first time in Sacramento. Nice people.”

The time in between bands seemed more like welcome breaks to use the bathroom or walk to Round Table for snacks and drinks.

When Costa took the stage, almost everyone who was sitting or lying down stood up. He brought with him a guitar and wore a tan button-up with rolled up sleeves underneath a similarly tan sweater-vest.

Costa played a few upbeat songs on his guitar and with his band. A few danced but most watched and listened. Then Costa switched to a song of a softer tone. As he did so, a relaxing, calming feeling overtook the room, and many sat or lied down in response. The crowd of over 700 seemed unified in its contentment, and the looks on people’s faces seemed to convey empathy with Costa’s heartfelt lyrics.

Soon Costa had moved from his guitar to the piano. He played and sang “Mr. Pitiful,” a song with an upbeat tune placed in interesting juxtaposition with its spirited but grieving lyrics.

Costa went back to the guitar after that and played a smattering of slow and almost fast songs in no particular order, sometimes donning a harmonica to accompany his guitar and singing.

At one point, someone in the audience yelled out “Cold December,” which is one of Costa’s most popular songs, and which Costa promptly played to a huge applause.

At 10:56 Costa Finished and left the stage. Some people left the ballroom, but they missed out because two minutes later Costa returned and played a few more touching songs. He talked about having written a song in Sacramento after a bridge burned down.

“That’s all that I can tell you,” he said. Then pointing to his guitar he added, “The most that I can tell you is in the song.”

His encore set included the somber “Never Looking Back” and ended with an acoustic and especially soulful version of his poetic “Astair.”

In the greenroom after the show Costa said, “It really means a lot to me to be in Sac? more than anyplace.”

Costa said that all the songs on his new record were written in Sacramento. This, he said, is because the most influential person in his music lives in Sacramento-a woman named Rose, who one of his songs, “Sweet Rose,” is even named after.

“Emotionally, most songs are hard to sing,” Costa said.

Of his heavily booked tour, Costa said, “I like thin beef jerky, and I like thick tours.” Costa jokingly added that before every show he gives his drummer a minimum of ten hugs.

Nobody ever got up to crowd-surf during the concert that night, which is fine. Had people done that, they wouldn’t have been appreciating the music in the way it was intended. The lyrics of such music are supposed to be (as they were by the audience) taken in, combined with the musical elements, and then felt-emotionally. In other words, Indie/folk is one of the rare genres of music that can be amazing, and lying down in a concert is still completely appropriate.

Jessie Fernandez can be reached at [email protected]

Click here to view a video from this concert.