Choose quality over quantity when deciding on concerts
Issue date: 3/9/10 Section: Editorial
Who went to the concert on Saturday? We didn't. We had other, more exciting things to do, in more exciting places than Kresge Auditorium.
It seems that we weren't the only ones with other plans, because Kresge was-for the second time this year-conspicuously not full, as Union Board estimated 500 people attended the concert, in which it had 900 tickets available to sell.
For several years, this has been the rule rather than the exception for the fall and spring Union Board concerts. This isn't entirely Union Board's fault. It has done its part to bring various bands from across the musical spectrum. From Fabolous to Stephen Keller and the Sixers, its acts have been far from one-note productions.
The problem, it seems, is not that Union Board doesn't have the ideas to put two concerts together, but rather that it doesn't have the resources to do so.
We aren't advocating that, in this time of universal budget belt-tightening, we allocate twice as much money to Union Board for it to do two concerts. Instead, we feel it might serve both Union Board and the DePauw audience to dedicate the entire budget for a year to one show with a bigger name rather than two shows that end up flopping.
The most successful Union Board concerts in the past have been more recognized names, like Guster and The Black Eyed Peas. While such acts might cost more money, they undeniably draw a bigger crowd both inside and outside of the DePauw community.
Even if the campus is too busy or uninterested to fill the venue when a larger act comes to town, there's hope that people from Greencastle and the surrounding area might be able to. In addition to attracting more people to the concert itself, a big-name band and more successful concert has great value to our admissions department. A successful concert with a big name is a much better selling point to a prospective student than a lackluster Fabolous show.
Splitting the Union Board yearly budget into two halves for a spring and fall show hasn't worked well for a while now. In the last few years, the biggest name was Third Eye Blind, which wasn't even a Union Board concert. Students still talk about Guster and Black Eyed Peas coming to campus; most have already forgotten about Fabolous.
Union Board's current strategy isn't working, and it isn't creating exciting concerts. In the future, we hope Union Board re-evaluates its game plan, and finds a way to give DePauw something to talk about.
It seems that we weren't the only ones with other plans, because Kresge was-for the second time this year-conspicuously not full, as Union Board estimated 500 people attended the concert, in which it had 900 tickets available to sell.
For several years, this has been the rule rather than the exception for the fall and spring Union Board concerts. This isn't entirely Union Board's fault. It has done its part to bring various bands from across the musical spectrum. From Fabolous to Stephen Keller and the Sixers, its acts have been far from one-note productions.
The problem, it seems, is not that Union Board doesn't have the ideas to put two concerts together, but rather that it doesn't have the resources to do so.
We aren't advocating that, in this time of universal budget belt-tightening, we allocate twice as much money to Union Board for it to do two concerts. Instead, we feel it might serve both Union Board and the DePauw audience to dedicate the entire budget for a year to one show with a bigger name rather than two shows that end up flopping.
The most successful Union Board concerts in the past have been more recognized names, like Guster and The Black Eyed Peas. While such acts might cost more money, they undeniably draw a bigger crowd both inside and outside of the DePauw community.
Even if the campus is too busy or uninterested to fill the venue when a larger act comes to town, there's hope that people from Greencastle and the surrounding area might be able to. In addition to attracting more people to the concert itself, a big-name band and more successful concert has great value to our admissions department. A successful concert with a big name is a much better selling point to a prospective student than a lackluster Fabolous show.
Splitting the Union Board yearly budget into two halves for a spring and fall show hasn't worked well for a while now. In the last few years, the biggest name was Third Eye Blind, which wasn't even a Union Board concert. Students still talk about Guster and Black Eyed Peas coming to campus; most have already forgotten about Fabolous.
Union Board's current strategy isn't working, and it isn't creating exciting concerts. In the future, we hope Union Board re-evaluates its game plan, and finds a way to give DePauw something to talk about.
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