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The $6 cover didn’t stop students from pouring into the Hi-Dive Friday night when DU musicians Molly Cottrell and the band Bemused were playing. The first band, Silver String, started the night off with a few songs before leading into solos by Cottrell. She took over the stage to huge applause and warmed up the audience with her first song, Fellow Travelers. Cottrell is a singer/songwriter and has been writing her own music for seven years.

A senior vocal performance major at DU, Cottrell hopes to become a Grammy winning performing and recording artist, and she is well on her way. She is recording her demo within the next few months so be sure to keep her name in mind. Though this was her first show at the Hi-Dive, Cottrell has previously had shows at Martini Ranch, Illegal Pete’s, Jordan’s, Dazzle, Mercury Café, Jazz at Jack’s and Alto.

You wouldn’ t know it simply by talking with her, but when she gets on stage with a microphone and a piano, the deep jazz voice she has is surprising. She has a range in her voice that lures you in. Combined with her smart, deep lyrics it is no surprise that she has been compared to Alicia Keyes, and says she ” is really inspired by old school soul music like Otis Redding and Ray Charles.”

” I thought Molly’s voice was way too big for the Hi-Dive and that kind of talent needs to be showcased in a bigger venue,” said Denver resident JD Snell.

She sang a few songs with Bemused, including ” Criminal” by Fiona Apple and ” Son of a Preacher Man” by Aretha Franklin. Lead singer of Bemused, Christian Wood Seith said that they had ” definitely had Molly in mind when putting together the show.” He wanted to create a DU-themed show and Cottrell ” contributed a key part of the success.”

Bemused was originally created by Seith in January of 2009, but the group members that are in the band now have been playing together for a little over a year. There are four DU alumni that make up the band. Seith is the lead singer/guitarist, the drummer is Nic Thornsberry, the lead guitarist is Colby Marks and Rich Kimball is on bass.

Bemused is not new to the Hi-Dive and they say it is one of their favorite places to play. They opened their set with some songs written by Seith that the band contributed to and you could see the way they worked off of each other.

” I thought that each individual member of the band was able to stand out while contributing to the whole experience and sound,” said DU student Liz Glissmeyer.

They had fun during their set and didn’t get too serious, feeding off of the audience’s vibe. Guitarist Colby Marks had a few great solos that blew the crowd away.

With their last song, Driven, Bemused got the few people who were left sitting to their feet and even dancing. The show was well put together, balanced and upbeat. The inspiration for the band comes from many different places; each member has his own style. These different styles, when combined, create something entirely new and it works.

Though Seith has said he has ” extended his artistry into the realm of sandwich making” as a side job, playing music is what he loves to do and ” this is definitely the goal” for him. Lets just hope that Bemused continues to play so that we can keep enjoying their music.

Bemused has a few upcoming shows including one tonight, October 26, in Boulder for a benefit to raise money for victims of the fires. You can check out more about

Bemused at their website: www.facebook.com/bemuseddenver and listen to some songs at www.myspace.com/bemuseddenver.