Despite rumbling bass lines, bright lights and transcendent, poetic vocals delivered by Talib Kweli, the Campus Activities Board ended its series of concerts in the Duke Ellington Ballroom Wednesday night due to lack of funding.

Past CAB shows have featured Howie Day, Jason Mraz, Michelle Branch and most recently, the Epitaph Tour, all of which pulled in more than 700 concert-going patrons.

CAB concerts lost funding last semester when the Student Association took control and rewrote the CAB constitution and cut all concert funds. This, in turn, means Duke Ellington Ballroom shows are no more for the time being and future shows will be held at the Convocation Center.

“I’ve been on the CAB concert board for four years and this just sucks,” said Bridget Brennan, CAB concert coordinator, who wore a shirt that said “damn the man” in bold letters. “I’m putting in my letter of resignation after the show.”

Even though it was CAB’s last show, a fact most audience members were completely unaware of, Kweli kept the crowd of about 500 moving and on its feet.

Incorporating beats from such artists as Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five to the Beatles, Kweli kept the audience involved through his hour-long set with call and response of vocals and having the audience constantly wave their hands back and forth.

“Y’all sound all right,” said Kweli from the stage after the audience filled in lyrics whenever the disc jockey stopped the beat from behind his two turntables.

Halfway through the show, Kweli stepped aside and allowed his DJ to showcase his talents and the audience roared in response.

NIU student and resident rapper Sam-I-Am also performed, delivering rhymes and an energetic stage presence. He slowly worked over the crowd, and let the expletives fly during his 20-minute set.

Before ending his set, Sam promoted his last open mic night, which takes place tonight in the Diversions Lounge, and thanked the crowd for its support over the years.

“Sam has been a big influence on the community, so it’s nice to have him play,” said Brennan.

Before Sam’s set, the mood grew somber as the night was dedicated to a recently deceased NIU student.

“I just wanted to thank CAB and Talib Kweli for dedicating this concert to my former girlfriend, Abigail Rose [Schirmer],” said Maliq Fuller from the stage. “What happened was a terrible tragedy.”

Junk in the Trunk opened the show with 25-minute set encompassing a mix of jazz and funk while playing such songs as James Brown’s “Sex Machine” and Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish.”