Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 4/18/05 Section: News
Concert attracts meager crowd to Wynn Common
Lauren Sloss
Despite a new venue and marketing aimed directly at students, this year's Spring Fling concert was significantly less attended than concerts of past years.
The Social Planning and Events Committee said that they sold over 400 tickets to the show, which featured Sonic Youth, Citizen Cope and Cat Power, according to College senior Tom Kurland, a co-director of SPEC Concerts. However, students in attendance estimated that approximately 250 to 300 people were present.
"I thought it was fantastic," Kurland said. However, he expressed his disappointment with the low turnout.
"I wish the vibe hadn't been so negative," he said.
Last year's concert featured Wyclef Jean, Reel Big Fish and The Working Title, with a turn-out of about 2,200.
While the event was sparsely attended, students present commented on the quality of this year's performances.
"I was a little worried that it would be a small venue and the crowd wouldn't be into it," College freshman Max Stevens said.
"I happen to be one of those lucky people that's been a fan of [Sonic Youth] for a long time," he said. "They played their hearts out, which was cool."
However, Stevens found the concert enjoyable despite the small crowd.
Of course, not all students agreed with the merits of the lineup.
"I've never even heard of Sonic Youth," said College freshman Alex Feldman, who did not attend the concert. "I didn't want to waste that much money on a band I've never heard of."
Feldman said that no one he knew had planned on attending the concert.
Kurland acknowledged the risk SPEC took with this year's lineup.
"Every year we start from scratch and we try to put together the best possible show," he said. "This year we thought to try something different."
Stevens, while a fan of the groups, thought that the choices ultimately led to low turnout.
"I think headlining with Sonic Youth was a problem," he said.
He did like the fact that it was a "self-selected crowd -- there weren't a bunch of random, drunk, angry Penn students."
The concert, which was held in Wynn Commons, was advertised to begin at 7 p.m.
However, due to a memorial service being held at College Hall, the concert's sound check was delayed, causing opener Cat Power to begin her set at 7:30 p.m.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 12
anonymous882
anonymous882
posted 4/18/05 @ 12:22 PM EST
So if 400 people showed up at the concert and assuming that they paid $25 each (at the most), SPEC brought in $10,000. I doubt that covers setup costs and security, let alone paying the musical acts. (Continued…)
anonymous882
anonymous882
posted 4/18/05 @ 1:17 PM EST
To Chris: SPEC, like all school organizations, are given a budgeted amount of money for the concert. If I recall correctly, that amount was 70K, the bulk of which covered the guarantees for the artists and some of the production costs. (Continued…)
anonymous882
anonymous882
posted 4/18/05 @ 3:22 PM EST
This was an AMAZING show and I really hope that SPEC will continue to get good bands to come and play at Fling. I only wish that SPEC had opened up ticket sales to the public again - I know there were a lot of West Philly kids who would have loved to come out for this. (Continued…)
anonymous882
anonymous882
posted 4/18/05 @ 4:46 PM EST
SPEC absolutely should not open up Penn concerts to the public. The Spring Fling concert is supposed to be for STUDENTS. Sonic Youth may be a great band who could draw a sophisticated audience from outside of Penn, but it would be completely ridiculous for our tuition funded SPEC to put on concerts for Philadelphians with groups that don't appeal to Penn students. (Continued…)
anonymous882
anonymous882
posted 4/18/05 @ 4:52 PM EST
Um. No. If SPEC is spending 70K bringing in music acts I want it to be reserved for Penn students. That is our tuition money being spent on the bands and it is a sorry fact the SPEC chose a concert lineup that did not reflect the desires of the students. (Continued…)
anonymous882
anonymous882
posted 4/18/05 @ 7:05 PM EST
i mean damn, why don't you lil people say "not those black kids from west philly" since that's what you really wanna say anywayz...all that nice "not those west philly kids either" is starting to make me sick. (Continued…)
anonymous882
anonymous882
posted 4/18/05 @ 7:37 PM EST
If that 70k comes from a donor who puts the money directly towards a concert, then I have no qualms about it. But I'm pretty sure we're footing the bill for the concert - one that so few people attended, that the school might as well have had student groups perform at it. (Continued…)
anonymous882
anonymous882
posted 4/18/05 @ 7:54 PM EST
How this show could be in any way labeled a success I don't know. After SPEC claimed that ticket sales were on par with last year (yeah right), the turnout was about 10 times smaller than last year's turn out. (Continued…)
anonymous882
anonymous882
posted 4/18/05 @ 9:30 PM EST
Tony,
You, like many other kids at penn, have this odd sense of entitlement. You sit by the side and criticize what other student planners at the University do instead of being proactive about the situation. (Continued…)
anonymous882
anonymous882
posted 4/18/05 @ 11:26 PM EST
Ace of Base would have been so much better. If only rumors/dreams came true..
John
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