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In celebration of the biggest holiday UW has to offer, Of a Revolution (O.A.R.), the five-man band out of The Ohio State University, rocked Freakfest Saturday night to a huge crowd of costumed college students.

Following Donavon Frankenreiter on the Mountain Dew Amp/Z-104 stage in front of the Capitol building, O.A.R. opened their set with “About Mr. Brown,” a high-energy song from the band’s 2001 album, Risen. O.A.R. performs well in concert, as evidenced by their three live albums (they have six studio albums); the vocals, guitars, drums and saxophone did not disappoint.

However, audience members who found themselves near the center of the action may have been frustrated as they were continually besieged with moving bodies and the smell of various substances in the air. Even behind the sound tent it was impossible to keep a steady footing as trains of people attempted to move into or out of the madness. The band, in the same demeanor as an elementary school teacher, even made note of the tightness of the crowd, requesting people not to push into each other.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the giant mosh was like none other. Elmo and Oscar the Grouch jammed to “One Shot” while several bananas made their way towards the stage.

Near the periphery of the masses was where the excitement took place. Freed from feeling like sardines in a can, several Jokers — one wearing an orange wig and nurse outfit — and their companions danced animatedly along to “This Town.” The lyrics seemed to describe the night perfectly. “I don’t want it to be the way they want it/ This town, this night, this crowd/ Come on put them up, let me hear it loud,” sang Marc Roberge, vocalist and guitar player.

Roberge, who is accustomed to performing for college audiences because of the band’s beginnings playing for OSU parties, interacted with the audience directly several times, once to check out costumes. “What are you supposed to be — drunk?” Roberge asked one audience member.

However, the chit-chat was overall kept to a minimum as O.A.R. filled the streets with songs from several of their albums. Most were from their latest, All Sides (2008), but they covered all the bases by playing the biggest hits of their previous albums, including “Love and Memories” (Stories of a Stranger) and “Hey Girl,” (Risen). Instrumentals between songs were occasionally too lengthy, but the breaks gave the audience a chance to get to know the people they had been smashed against like pancakes moments earlier and investigate other costumes. At the back of the multitudes was someone in a full gorilla suit and women’s underwear climbing a tree and looking like King Kong hanging onto the Empire State Building as he posed for cameras.

Everyone knew when O.A.R. left the stage without singing “Shattered (Turn the Car Around)” they would be back. Indeed, after playing for about an hour they left the stage and returned for two more songs, “Shattered” and “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker” (from The Wanderer).

It seemed the perfect way to end the night at the school famous for doing Halloween right, with thousands of people singing, “He looked at me with a face full of fright/ And I said, how ’bout a revolution?/ And he said right.”