Despite the small audience, “Glee” guitarist Derik Nelson proved he was much more than just a guitarist and could easily put on an exciting performance when he performed at the theater last Friday, Oct. 10.

Nelson came as part of his Take Chances Tour 2014, which aims to help benefit high school performing arts programs. He made it a big point of his to try and assist communities everywhere he goes.

Nelson also held an inspirational masterclass during 6th period the same day of the concert, where he, his brother, Dalton Nelson, and his sister, Riana Nelson, all told anecdotes about obstacles and instances where they had to make a decision in life and take chances, hence the tour name.

The extra depth of the masterclass to add to the concert performance was a great extension and provided an inspirational takeaway that anyone could apply to their lives.

“I just want to be able to be someone who can connect with people and help inspire people who want to pursue their dreams,” Derik Nelson said.

The concert began promptly at 8:30 p.m. and almost instantly everyone in the crowd got up and stood before the stage to cheer on Nelson. The crowd was small but mighty, consisting of around 50 people, but the energy was surely there.

“I loved the excitement from the crowd here, [and] I love coming to play music for such an awesome audience,”Nelson said.

To accompany Nelson and his band, there was a professional light show put on, along with five large flatscreen TV’s all displaying connected, pre-recorded videos that fell in line with the songs Nelson was performing.

Partway through the show, the TV’s displayed 5 identical videos that had different Derik Nelsons in each of them. They were referred to as Nelsons “clones” and were an intricate way of displaying a song made using multitrack recording. Jokes were made with getting the videos to work and finding the correct Derik Nelson “clone.”

When everything was sorted out, the clones then sang and played instruments to back up and provide the beat to the song Nelson was performing.

“We had a huge expansion in our tech aspect, [we added] a big video production element,” Nelson said.

Throughout the show, Nelson showcased some originals from his “Songs About Winter” album.

Later in the performance Nelson played a very creative song that had its production coming from simple sounds, such as a truck door being slammed or a broom sweep, which compiled together and displayed accordingly on the TV’s to create a beautiful harmony in an acapella like manner.

Nelson also performed covers of popular songs such as Happy by Pharrell Williams, and Suit and Tie by Justin Timberlake ft. Jay Z, to get the crowd moving.

Nelson’s brother Dalten and sister Riana made appearances and performed alongside Nelson. He mentioned while on stage that his favorite part of concerts was being able to perform with his siblings.

Soon after there was a quick but special celebration for their light show manager who’s birthday was that same day and had graduated from MTHS in 1988. They invited him on stage and sang happy birthday, even bringing out a cake with candles on it for the MTHS alumnus.

Right after that, the Nelson siblings gave the band a quick break and performed a singing collaboration of just the three of them, giving a softer and more meaningful tone for that part of the show.

“I really liked when they all sang together, kind of the unplugged moment,” senior Cassie Stires said.

The show continued with more originals and covers played, along with more high definition videos and animations showed on the flatscreens, including a galaxy themed set of videos.

The concert then ended with Nelson’s most popular song, “Take Chances,” which received the most cheers from the crowd. The seniors were especially touched by this, as they are soon to graduate.

The whole event went well and was quite entertaining for all ages, with different moods, paces and atmospheres provided throughout.

“He’s a really talented performer and he always brings a lot of energy. You wouldn’t know if he was having a bad day,” Stires said.

Even though the audience was small, Nelson still delivered. With this concert finished, Nelson continues along the west coast to perform at many more venues on his tour.