"Where disappointment and regret collide"

Hot on the heels of last week's post, I had, delivered into my hands, a concrete example of what I was complaining about last week in the form of Alpha Sigma Phi's Band Aid concert. (Yes, I'm picking on a charity show. Deal with it.)

The fliers advertised a show from 8-11 p.m., featuring Mark This Day, Arctic Summer, The Man, Minor White and Cloverleaf. I made the trek out past Frat Row to Fairmount Ave., hoping to see the Man and Minor White in particular, two of my favorite local acts.

The show started not at the advertised 8, but pushing 9. Not a big deal, I thought at the time. (More on this later.) We got a unadvertised bonus: some of the brothers playing a few acoustic covers of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Third Eye Blind, etc. All in good fun, I suppose.

Then came Marks This Day, on guest from Pittsburgh (if you trust their MySpace, which they made sure to shill regularly.) Tailor-made for the Warped Tour, they supplied plenty of songs about high school, girls, and high school girls. They weren't bad at what they did. They had a new nice riffs and good energy. All the same, I'm not fifteen anymore. I've gotten over the fact that I didn't have a date to my freshman dance, so I've kind of outgrown Mark This Day.

Cloverleaf came on next, which confused me since they had top billing in all advertising I saw. That made sense; in terms of drawing power, they probably have it over the rest of the bill. They made it to the quarterfinals of mtvU's Best Music on Campus contest in the spring, and were opening up for Yellowcard the next night. I popped out per my friend's request, thinking I'd get back in time for the last few bands.

I never made it back, but it wouldn't have mattered. The show ended promptly at 11 due to noise regulations. Neither The Man nor the Minor White ever made it on the stage.

So I guess it was a big deal that the show ran an hour late. I would think that, if the show had to end promptly at 11, they'd start on time. I would think that, if they knew they had five bands and two hours, they'd cut the frat brothers doing cover tunes (as much as I liked harmonizing the "doo doo doos" in "Semi-Charmed Life.") Instead, we had a cluttered mess of people in the backyard of a frat, watching cover tunes and emo rock while talented groups like the Minor White just sat and watched. (They were in the crowd. I saw them.)

A frat-organized show has the opportunity to draw people who wouldn't usually come to shows. People who haven't heard these bands before lost the opportunity due to poor organization and planning. Instead, the lackluster show will probably sour them to exploring the music scene further. I personally dragged four people to the show, and feel I let them down.

Maybe I forfeited my right to complain when I excused myself. But if I'd stayed, even I'm not enough of a jerk to demand my money back from philanthropy. But why waste time with covers and imported emo when you have some of the local scene's finest bands at your fingertips? Unfortunately, the existence of a few quality local bands can't always overcome local apathy and bad booking.

EDIT: It has been brought to my attention the Man cancelled because of a family medical emergency. My condolences go out to the family members. I stand by all other comments.