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.

Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 17. The Black Keys are the headliner band at this year's Spring W.I.L.D. (Mick Orlosky | Via Flickr)

Team 31 will present The Black Keys as its headliner act and Filligar, B.o.B and the Cool Kids in this year’s spring Walk In Lay Down concert today.

Junior David Schubert, Team 31 co-chair, said that while the performers for Walk In Lay Down (W.I.L.D.)  for the past fall were booked under the Hip Hop Live! tour, the acts in this semester’s W.I.L.D. do not have a similar affiliation, as Team 31 selected the performers to appeal to multiple musical preferences.

“People who have been talking to me when I’m selling T-shirts seem very excited. I think that we brought a diverse lineup, so people in the past who have not liked the artists [will] like this show,” Schubert said. “There’s not going to be any one act that’s going to please the entire student body. I feel like a lot of people who haven’t liked past acts are going to like the Black Keys.”

The performer B.o.B was added to the lineup late to replace Kid Cudi, who cancelled due to a conflicting engagement with his record label.

“I think students were disappointed, as were we, but B.o.B, or Bobby Ray, is also a really exciting up-and-coming artist. He’s been getting a lot of press recently. He’s very talented,” Schubert said. “I feel like he’s going to be big in the coming years as well. He was a logical replacement—he had been on our list along with Kid Cudi for the entire process of booking artists.”

Freshman Michael Offerman said he is excited to see B.o.B, though he acknowledges that the artist is not very well known among students.

“I knew [B.o.B’s] one song,” Offerman said, referring to the song “I’ll Be in the Sky.” “That’s the only song I really know and I’m looking forward to. I have really no reason to stick around after that.”

Schubert said he believes the change to B.o.B in the lineup has been a success.

“The lineups are always somewhat fluid,” he said. “There’s no hard feelings on our end.”

According to Schubert, he and fellow Team 31 Co-chair Ross Festenstein, a sophomore, review student suggestions for artists and determine which ones are possible based on cost and scheduling.

“We considered a lot of different artists. We considered a lot of different directions we could take the music,” Schubert said. “The Black Keys were one of our top choices from the beginning. I’ve seen them before. Their live show is fantastic. I feel like students who haven’t heard of them before will really enjoy it.”

Junior Nadia Mann said she had not heard of The Black Keys before the band was announced for spring W.I.L.D., but she is still looking forward to hearing them.

“I like the mix between things that I do know sometimes and things that I don’t, because I like to learn about the new music,” Mann said.

“It’s rock with a blues influence,” Schubert said of The Black Keys’ style. “Some people make a White Stripes comparison just because it’s a two-person act. There’s also a Led Zeppelin comparison you can draw.”

Inflatable couches in the Quad—a staple of previous W.I.L.D. concerts—will not be available this spring, according to Schubert, since the California supplier Team 31 uses is currently backordered. Team 31 had originally planned to have even more couches than there were at previous concerts.

The couches will be back next fall, according to Schubert.

While the Danforth Campus Bookstore previously sponsored the couches, the Bookstore is funding Wydown Water coolers this spring as a more sustainable alternative to bottled water, Schubert said.

Students 21 years old and above are permitted to bring one six-pack of beer into the Quad before 6 p.m., as was the case for previous W.I.L.D. concerts. Performances will begin at 4 p.m. with the winner of the Battle of the Bands competition, which will be held at Second Stage in the early afternoon.

Free Chipotle burritos will be available starting at 4 p.m. Due to large student interest, more burritos were ordered this year than last year.

Team 31 has been giving away free recordings of The Black Keys during T-shirt sales in the Danforth University Center and the Wohl Center. For those who would like to hear the artists’ music before W.I.L.D., Team 31 has posted links to their music on its Web site, http://wild.wustl.edu.