Students Look Toward Friday's Fall Fest

With Incubus headlining Fall Fest this Friday at Alumni Arena, students have mixed feelings about how this year's single-genre fest will turn out.

Some say that they're pleased with this year's lineup, while others say there is a lack of variety between Incubus, The Music and Seven Day Faith, all of which are alternative rock bands.

"It's not really a diverse group this year, it's just directed more towards one group (of students)," said Deidrea Bryan, a senior nursing major. "But money-wise, the setup's better."

But many students said they felt it was better to focus on a specific genre than have a musical grab bag like last year's Fall Fest.

"I would rather have a certain genre than have than have the bands be all over the place," said Robert Goldberg, a sophomore marketing major.

Fall Fest 2003 was considered by many a coming out party for SA Entertainment when the newly formed organization landed three big-name artists in Lil' Kim, Nas and Godsmack.

After spending so much on Fall Fest, however, SA Entertainment had to work with a drained budget for Spring Fest and landed Hoobastank as a headliner, which many students thought was a disappointment.

"I think we could have gotten a better band for the amount of money we spent last year on Nas," said Chris Kenyon, a junior political science major.

The Student Association's decision to have only one big name headlining this year's Fall Fest has put some students at ease.

"One big band will still get a good turnout, and maybe save some money," said Ryan Blount, a freshman chemical engineering major. "Last year, I went just for Godsmack, and you had to wait around through bands you didn't like anyway.

Liz Wozniak, a senior music and history major, said she thought better balance would be beneficial to Spring Fest next semester.

"I think it will attract more people to the Spring Fest," Wozniak said. "I left halfway through last year's Spring Fest."

Students also had diverse opinions on the sort of entertainment the Student Association is providing students this semester.

Goldberg said he was generally pleased with SA's effort to get big names here, though he's less satisfied with this year's SA comedy series. Last year, Chris Rock and Margaret Cho highlighted a series of top-notch comedians who came to UB.

"UB is doing a good job at getting big-name bands here," said Goldberg. "But compared to last year, the comedy performances this year are sub-par."

"The entertainment's been good this year, like with the Latino Bazaar and the (homecoming) carnival," Ryan added.

Danielle Cook, a sophomore communications major, praised SA for putting more events on the calendar than just Fall and Spring Fest.

"They seem to be consistent with the amount of activities that go on," Cook said.

While tickets for Fall Fest will be free to UB students, some students said they felt ticket prices for most SA-sponsored events are too high.

"I think they're providing enough entertainment this year, but not at the cost of the tickets," Burns said.

A few students said whatever names SA brings in for concerts, the undergraduate government has a history of squandering money.

"They wasted our money on crap last year," said Chris Bonnez, a sophomore environmental design major. "Clubs had to fundraise for money."

Despite complaints, students seem generally satisfied with the choice of musical artist and budget handling this year.

"Incubus this year sounds better than last year's lineup," said Aaron Schrader, a freshman biotech major. "It seems like something fun to go to."