Return from Hiatus/ Sco is ‘po

Hi readers. I know I’ve been neglecting this blog for a while now, especially since I find myself writing more and more for my music blog but I do still want to share other kinds of pieces with you guys.

Originally published in Oberlin College newspaper, The Grape.

Concert goers beware, a glance at the Sco calendar this spring may surprise you. After a string of moderately successful shows this fall, the Sco’s events calendar suddenly seems a bit lacking.
Why, do you ask, is there such a disparity in the performance schedule this semester? The answer lies with the people who do the actual programming.

Unbeknownst to most students, most of the Sco’s concerts and performers are brought in by one of three larger oncampus programming organizations: Student Union Programming Committee (SUPC), Concert Board, and Program Board. SUPC and Concert Board are standard student groups that are supported by the student activity fee, while Program Board is funded departmentally and is overseen by the Chair of Student Assemblies, Tina Zwegat. Individuals may also organize shows, like senior Josh Spiro who, with some financial help from Concert Board, booked The Mountain Goats to come March 30th.

So, with three different groups specifically designed to bring musical acts to campus (not including smaller, more genre-specific clubs like Modern Music Guild, Folk Music Club, and Hip Hop Conference) – why are we seining a decrease in performances?

According to Concert Board president, senior Ben Neufeld, we aren’t actually. Concert Board plans to organize just as many concerts as last semester, but is changing its primary venue to Fairchild Chapel due to financial reasons.

“We were always under the impression that there was a range of prices [for Concert Sound fees], but at the end of last semester we were in for a surprise,” said Neufeld. “All of our shows were considered large events, which cost us 610 each. I don’t really know how they decide on these things. It just ate a big unexpected chunk of our budget.”

While Concert Sound does list their prices on their website (which is in the process of changing to a new format designed by one of its members, junior Ray Gergen), it does not specify what qualifies as an event as large versus small. Concert Board, which changed officers at the beginning of this school year, had a shaky transition leaving them unaware that all shows at the sco requiring assistance from Concert Sound are billed as large events.

“The situation with Concert Board should be examined by the students rather than the organizations that book shows,” said Neufeld.
Currently Concert Board is waiting on a request from the Student Finance Committee in order to supplement the money they have left in their organization account and to make up for poor ticket sales. They received an additional 2,500 dollars last semester and hope to receive more funding to pay for the other performers slated to come in the next few months.

Bigger shows booked by Concert Board and other groups can cost upwards of 1,000 dollars. GZA, who performed to a sold-out audience last semester, alone cost over 20,000 dollars. Having concerts at venues like Fairchild Chapel, which don’t require technicians to set up equipment, is a feasible alternative for groups with limited funding.
The problem with Fairchild Chapel, however, is that it isn’t a concert venue. February 5th, Concert Board sponsored a show with MV and EE featuring Truman Peyote, but due to Fairchild Chapel’s proximity to Asia House, they received several noise complaints.

Asia House Resident sophomore Charlie Hufnagel explained, “It was kind of disturbing. I thought that the apocalypse was coming. Everyone I spoke to, no one was really bothered, just confused. I thought The Mars Volta was giving a concert nearby.”

Hufnagel admitted that while he was not a fan of The Mars Volta, he and the other residents he had spoken to do not mind if Fairchild Chapel hosts more concerts, so long as they are either earlier in the day or not on school nights.

Neufeld also explained that they had received complaints about finding empty beer cans in the chapel the day after the show. “It has always been in Concert Board’s interest to not condone drinking at venues that do not specifically allow for it,” Neufeld said. “These are legit concerns. Hopefully [sic] we will be able to come to an agreement about a non-drinking policy and sound restrictions.”

Concert Board also experienced difficulties bringing bands that clashed with the stricter policies that govern which acts are appropriate to perform at Fairchild Chapel. The new Director of Religious Affairs, Reverend Greg McGonigle, initially barred Concert Board from bringing in the bands Religious Knives and Viking Moses.

“I think it had gone under his radar for a while and the names prompted him to listen to the bands to check them out. We went back and forth and eventually he said he will allow both of these shows in particular,” said Neufeld.

There is no general policy regarding what shows are and are not appropriate. McGonigle has been approving to specific shows on a case by case basis.

If Concert Board receives additional funding, it plans to bring one of the following bands in addition to the lineup posted on their website: Marnie Stern, Vivian Girls, Fucked Up, Dirty Projectors, Blank Dogs, Dark Dark Dark, or Wavves. SUPC and Program Board have not posted updated event calendars for Spring 2009.