WILD used to be an event marked by kegs, couches and uninhibited drinking. Some students claim that, sans kegs, this atmosphere is still an integral part of the all-campus party. Friday’s event seemed to prove otherwise.
According to Jill Carnaghi, assistant vice chancellor for students and director of campus life, the behavior of students at WILD was mild in comparison to past years.
“I was more than thrilled with the outcome,” said Carnaghi. “Each semester, WILD is the event I fear the most [in terms of students’ health and safety…] This semester it was great to work. I think if any, very few [students] were dangerously intoxicated. [It was] nowhere like I remember from six or seven years ago.”
Carnaghi went on to describe her experience patrolling fraternity row after the concert as “heaven.”
“What this WILD marked for me was a cultural shift…a great band [and] students acting responsibly with [regard to] the alcohol policy,” she said. “To my knowledge, we didn’t have one student in the [medical] tent all evening.”
Regardless of the downpour hours before Lucky Boys Confusion and Live took center stage in the Quad, sophomore WILD co-chair Mike Duncan noted that there were no concerns that the events would be cancelled.
“It put me in a bad mood, but that’s all the rain did,” said Duncan. “We knew [the rain] was going to go through pretty fast, so there wasn’t a chance it would be cancelled.”
Although sound checks ran an hour and a half late because of afternoon storms, the opening bands were on stage by 6 p.m. Some of the opening acts had to cut their sets short, Duncan said, but otherwise things ran smoothly.
“The only thing that was cancelled [in the afternoon] was the mechanical bull…in Bowles Plaza. Everything went as scheduled,” Duncan said. “We gave away a lot of money for eating hot dogs.”
The winner of the hot dog eating contest, Duncan reported, ate about ten or 11 hot dogs in ten minutes and received $50.
Carnaghi described the event as “a bit much to watch.”
“We had a good turnout, and hopefully that’s a tradition we can start-getting people out there to stuff their faces,” Duncan said.
Compared to past years, turnout for this year’s concert was also high, he said.
“I was talking with our age, and we decided it was a much bigger crowd than Busta Rhymes,” Duncan said, noting that in the fall, Team 31 thought Rhymes had netted the biggest WILD crowd.
After listening to opening act Lucky Boys Confusion-a band that started in Chicago several years ago that has worked its way to national acclaim-freshman Tyler Starr met several members of the band, including frontman singer/songwriter Stubhy, while buying a t-shirt.
“They were really friendly guys, talking to the fans…it was cool that they were out here meeting people,” said Starr. “[The concert] was a great time, and I got up front and went crazy. They said they would have played more if things weren’t pushed back by the rain.”
Lucky Boys Confusion played such singles as “Beware,” “Fred Astaire,” and “Broken” during its set.
Carnaghi said that though the Quad filled up slower than it had in past years because of the weather, approximately 3,000-4,000 students, faculty, and alumni were in attendance for Live’s performance.
Duncan would not elaborate on what other bands had been considered, because Team 31 intends to “look into them for next semester.” He said, however, that Live was the group’s first choice.
Made up of singer Ed Kowalczyk, guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey, Live made its first appearance on the national music scene in the early 1990’s. The band’s latest album, “Birds of Pray,” was released last May.
During Friday’s set, Live played such favorites as “Dolphin’s Cry,” “All Over You” and “The Color Gray,” ending their set with crowd-pleaser “Lightning Crashes,” a single from their second LP, “Throwing Copper” (1994). Readers of Rolling Stone magazine selected Live as Artist of the Year in 1995 partly due to the success of that album.
Not everyone was thrilled, however, with the band’s appearance on Friday.
“For the past two WILDs, the opening bands have been cooler than the main bands,” said freshman Julian Frachtman. “It seems like Washington University is only getting bands that are ‘washed up.’ Busta Rhymes was popular five years ago. They should have bands like Coldplay…or the Red Hot Chili Peppers-some people think they’re on the decline, so we should capitalize on that and get them here.”