After Fall Fest was announced, students covered the Student Association Facebook page with negative comments. As 2012 begins, SA has a chance to redeem itself.
After early feedback, it looks like SA is on its road to redemption in the eyes of students.
Hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang was announced as the headlining act for the SA Small Concert next month.
"We've seen a very positive initial response," said SA President JoAnna Datz. "Within minutes of posting the information on the show, we began receiving phone calls from people who were excited to see that Chiddy Bang would be performing. We are very happy that students are excited about this concert. The response is already better than we ever expected."
Chiddy Bang is a hip-hop duo from Philadelphia consisting of Chidera "Chiddy" Anamege and Noah "Xaphoon Jones" Beresin. The pair is most known for its hit radio single "Opposite of Adults," in which it samples music from MGMT's single "Kids" while adding their own catchy lyrics. Their other songs draw from a diverse musical wellspring – covering a range of influences such as the electronic band Passion Pit and the eclectic tones of Radiohead.
"Chiddy Bang received a rewarding response from the students in the Support Act section of the Spring Fest survey," Datz said. "Using this information, we felt that Chiddy Bang would be an artist that students would enjoy for the Small Concert."
The SA Small Concert was held in the fall semester in previous years and featured popular hip-hop acts such as Kid Cudi and Asher Roth. However, SA had to postpone the concert to the spring semester due to limited venue availability and university restrictions, according to Datz.
SA was also at odds with the university while scheduling Fall Fest, as SA struggled to find a time slot where it could host a concert at Alumni Arena. The venue was also under scheduled construction last semester as well, further hampering SA's efforts.
Due to these factors, Fall Fest was poorly attended: just 1903 students and 297 paying non-students attended.
According to Datz, scheduling events will only get harder as UB continues to expand.
SA met with UB afterward to ensure a smoother scheduling process.
"The biggest issue that we face, is a more crowded schedule each year," Datz said. "Over the past decade, the arena has gone from being used several times a week to being utilized almost every minute of every day. The biggest issue that we now face in regards to scheduling is an ever-growing UB community, and expanding programs that all have to share the space."
SA will be able to use Alumni Arena's newly installed sound and lighting systems for the concert. Datz says the enhancements will cut production costs for the event, and she anticipates that they will make the concert one to remember for UB students.
The SA Budget showed that the Small Concert is allotted $50,000: $30,000 for talent and $20,000 for production. SA treasurer Sikander Khan explained that the listed price is only an estimate, and costs will fluctuate because of marketing and requirements on the artist's rider.
Chiddy Bang will perform at Alumni Arena on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 8 p.m., just in time for Spring Fest eagerness to set in.
Email: arts@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Sean Krueger / UB Center for the Arts
Photo: UB Center for the Arts
