Spring W.I.L.D. sees strong turnout
Posted April 27, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Correction Appended Below
Waves of Washington University students flocked to Brookings Quadrangle Friday evening to enjoy the warm weather and the spring Walk In Lay Down concert put on by Team 31 Productions.
This semester’s Walk In Lay Down (W.I.L.D.) lineup featured Filligar, B.o.B, the Cool Kids and the headlining act, The Black Keys.
The main stage concert was preceded by Second Stage, which took place in Bowles Plaza from noon until 2:30 p.m. Second Stage featured the student bands The Odd Couple, The Jonny Friedman Orchestra, Best Face Forward, Potluck Dinner and The Jack and Jills.
According to members of the Team 31 executive board, the concert ran smoothly and was a success.
“I thought it was great. It was a good variety of different musical styles. It had something for everybody. It was well done and had high-quality acts,” said freshman Zack Whitacre, an executive board member.
Reactions from students echoed Whitacre’s statement.
“It was definitely favorable to last years’ [concert],” sophomore Becca Dirks said. “I enjoyed the music. I didn’t think I’d like the Cool Kids, but I did.”
According to Whitacre, many students who were unfamiliar with the bands still came out of W.I.L.D. pleased with the performances.
“People were surprised by how good Filligar was,” Whitacre said.
Some students, however, said that this semester’s W.I.L.D. acts were not as enjoyable as past years’ performances.
“I was disappointed that I didn’t know the acts performing, while during my four years here there have been bands that I knew,” senior Archana Varma said. “I was less invested in what was going on, which is why me and a couple people I was with left early.”
“The bands were pretty bad,” freshman Mariana Oliver said. “I think they could have gotten better bands for sure.”
On April 12, Team 31 announced that Kid Cudi, who was in the original spring lineup, canceled as a result of unforeseen circumstances. Kid Cudi was quickly replaced by Atlanta-based B.o.B.
Some students expressed disappointment with B.o.B’s performance at the concert.
“I didn’t like B.o.B. at all,” freshman Lian States said. “I thought it was kind of gross.”
A few students said they believe that a number of people decided not to go to W.I.L.D. due to Kid Cudi’s absence.
“[Kid Cudi] was the only person that I knew, and I know that it wasn’t anyone’s fault, but I know a lot of people were really disappointed about that. That’s who they were looking forward to seeing,” junior Michelle Bernard said. “I think it might have just [influenced lower turnout rates], because I think people didn’t really know what was going on.”
Team 31 said it is working on bringing Kid Cudi to campus for next fall’s W.I.L.D. lineup.
Whitacre said, however, that the turnout was great from the perspective of those on the stage.
“The turnout exceeded expectations,” he said. “I’ve never seen the whole concert from backstage. Being able to look over the entire crowd, it looked like there were a lot of people.”
For senior Sean Flanagan, this spring’s W.I.L.D. was not as exciting as those in previous years.
“It was more laid back. It was low-key,” he said.
Despite students’ mixed reviews about the performances, the greater supply of food at this year’s concert seems to have met demands, unlike at past W.I.L.D. concerts.
“I’m really glad they had free food there, because people wouldn’t have been eating otherwise,” Varma said.
While most students who attended W.I.L.D. were pleased with the event overall, Team 31 recognizes that not every concert will appeal to every single person who goes.
“I think it depends on what your personal needs are as a music fan,” Whitacre said. “The fall was pretty much all focused on rap and hip-hop, and if that’s your thing, the fall is better. If you have a mixed musical taste, the spring W.I.L.D. is better.”
Fall W.I.L.D. featured Talib Kweli, David Banner and Little Brother, backed by the Rhythm Roots Allstars.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of freshman Zack Whitacre as Zach Whitacre. Student Life regrets the error.
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