In response to ‘Wash. U. gone W.I.L.D.’

| Op-Ed Submission

After leaving what I thought was a spectacular concert two Saturday nights ago, I couldn’t help but brag to my friends at other schools about not only W.I.L.D. in general, but especially our latest concert. Team 31 managed to bring in performers who were both well-known and critically-acclaimed. So you can imagine my surprise upon learning that Student Life’s Randy Brachman disapproved of nearly every aspect of the concert.

In his column, “Wash. U. Gone W.I.L.D,” (Oct. 15) Brachman says, “Now, correct me if I’m wrong about this, but I don’t think there were any big names here either.” That’s easy enough. Talib Kweli, in terms of modern hip-hop, is one of the most respected artists alive. Last week Student Life did a profile on Kweli (which I assume Brachman failed to read) that discussed his current stature and importance in the world of hip-hop. If Brachman was not hoping for a widely-acclaimed artist like Kweli, and instead for a chart-topping artist whose songs constantly fill radio airwaves, he had to look no further than David Banner. Banner’s latest album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard charts, and he has had numerous hit singles over the past five years.

I am personally unsure about Brachman’s claims that the Chipotle burritos ran out earlier than expected. I was there to listen to the music as opposed to eat a burrito that I could get any day after a 15-minute walk to the Loop. But, as Brachman says, that’s not really important to the story.

Brachman later takes the liberty of assessing a concert that he admittedly left after the opening act. He missed both Kid Sister (whose concert, although sparsely attended, was widely enjoyed by all spectators) and Little Brother, an indie hip-hop act whose performance was widely cited as one of the shining moments of this year’s W.I.L.D. Little Brother was followed by Banner, whose electrifying concert involved numerous stage dives, a student pulled onto the stage, and raucous cheering from a well-entertained crowd. Next on was Kweli, who sang songs off of his recent album as well as older crowd-favorites that had the crowd rapping along with him. The concert didn’t even stop there, as Little Brother, Banner and Kweli all retook the stage for an unscheduled 20-minute encore that involved freestyles and reinterpretations of old hip-hop classics. I’m pretty sure that even someone like Brachman, who admittedly is not a hip-hop fan, could’ve found something in that final performance to like.

As if passing judgment on a concert he failed to see was not enough, Brachman goes on to suggest that we get a band like R.E.M. or the Arctic Monkeys to play at the next W.I.L.D. These are both bands that have headlined major music festivals, and with no offense intended to Team 31, we do not have near the sort of budget necessary for acts of that stature. In fact, getting Talib Kweli and David Banner was seen as somewhat of a coup (and the first nearly complaint-free W.I.L.D. choice in a while), as noted in a previous Student Life article. Along those lines, acts like the two Brachman suggests are completely unrealistic. However, he then changes his tune and requests “an indie rock band that no one has ever heard of.” How would that be any better than rap acts that he claims no one has ever heard of? I am personally a fan of indie rock, but if Brachman is looking for big name performers (as he stated earlier in the article), switching from rap to indie rock is certainly not the way to go.

To top it all off, Brachman suggests that we “get some instruments and musicianship back on that stage.” This comment is simply insulting to the Rhythm and Roots All-Stars, who played as a backup group for the three final artists of the show and whose performance was praised by every musician with whom I have discussed the show. However, I guess it’s hard to witness a great performance by a band that consists of drums, horns, guitars, bass, steel pans, other percussion instruments and vocalists when you’re back in your dorm during their set like Brachman was.

I hope that Brachman gets his wish and that all subsequent W.I.L.D.s are head and shoulders above this previous one, because that would mean that Wash. U. would be able to witness a multitude of incredible concerts. However, given the success achieved by Team 31 and the acts featured in the latest installment, topping Fall W.I.L.D. 2008 will prove to be a tough feat.

Sign up for the email edition

Stay up to date with everything happening at Washington University and beyond.

Subscribe