Matt Caponera captured his audience’s attention with his first joke and kept them laughing by shocking them with material they weren’t expecting.

One male student in the back of the crowd was red in the face from laughing.

His jokes about oompa loompas growing “dank weed” and America’s Funniest Home Videos being his favorite television show because kids and old people getting hurt was persuasive enough to get the votes of the majority of the 45 students in attendance.

The freshman communications studies major was the first-place winner Wednesday night at Open Mic Night in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union’s Bridge Lounge and took home a $75 gift card to Wal-Mart.

“I think it’s (Open Mic Night) a great experience,” Caponera said. “I like to make people laugh, and it’s a lot fun.”

Brian Thomas, a senior sociology major, took home second place and a $50 gift certificate to the University bookstore with his covers of the Bare Naked Ladies and Wallflowers.

Freshman physical education major Justin Yuroff placed third and won a $25 gift certificate to Positively Fourth Street Records with his acoustic set.

Chris Cauley, a musician from Atlanta, closed the show playing original songs and covers of classic hits. Cauley connected well with the crowd, sharing his experience of losing money at the riverboat casino near Joliet and his southern drawl.

“I’m going to get made fun of tonight,” Cauley said about his tendency to say “y’all.”

Cauley’s set list included original songs like “Deserve You,” but the crowd really reacted to his covers of Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On.”

Ryan Gerrity, a junior education major, attended Open Mic Night to support two of his friends that performed, but said that he also enjoyed Cauley’s set.

“I liked that he (Cauley) incorporated blues and piano,” Gerrity said.

Chris Neal, of Paris, came to see Cauley’s performance because he had seen him perform a year and a half ago.

“I liked it better than last time because he opened for somebody else the last time and didn’t sing as much,” Neal said. “He has a good voice.”

The Open Mic finals, which is a competition of all the past winners of open mic nights, will take place April 9 in the Grand Ballroom.