It was a cold and dreary day for a 4/20 celebration. Snow flurried down periodically, and the wind made it uncomfortable to stand outside. The UB Jam Club's 4/20 Concert, which was originally set to happen hillside in front of Clemens Hall, was relocated to Ellicott Complex's Fillmore Hall in a last minute turn of events.
That didn't stop Jam Club bands Heady Yetis, Assortment of Crayons, Rochester-based psychedelic-funk band, Haewa and Buffalo-based funk-jam band Aqueous from putting on the greatest lecture in psychedelic space-funk history.
"It's a fun day; it's a cool day," said David Loss, guitarist, pianist and vocalist of Aqueous. "It's a day to get together and party and play music,"
With well over 100 attendees at some points, the Fillmore lecture hall was completely packed. Everyone danced and boogied along the rows and stairways of the classroom, chalk still on the board from a Friday lecture. The cold and miserable weather wasn't even close to a setback as Aqueous played for almost three hours, completely immersed in their element.
"It's kinda weird," Loss said, referring to the lecture hall relocation. "It's kind of sweet at the same time. Evan [McPhaden], our bass player, actually had a couple classes here, like geology, so it's probably extra weird for him."
Fans watched fewer than five feet from Aqueous as they tore it up with incredible solos, song after song, even dropping a cover of "Waterfalls" by TLC, which the crowd loved and sang along to. For a lecture hall, the sound quality was astounding, all thanks to SA production manager Chris Noll.
Regardless of the fun and music, "4/20" still retains a negative stigma. For many, 4/20 is known as a day to partake in the consumption of cannabis and other substances and to celebrate the associated subcultures that have developed around the drug.
"It depends on how you want to look at it," Loss said. "Some people don't really understand. They see a bunch of... hippies smokin' weed. But it's just a stigma."
For the members of the UB Jam Club and students at UB, 4/20 is something more reflective and profound. This is the fourth and most successful year for the 4/20 festivities at UB.
Elyse Brown, a UB alumna who returned to campus to enjoy the festivities, believes there is more value to the 4/20 holiday than simply enjoying marijuana.
"It's definitely a day to celebrate smoking weed, but it's also a day to celebrate just being together and having a lot of fun," Brown said. "I hope [this] does start a tradition here. We've had it going for four years now [and] there's been a 4/20 celebration on campus every year. I think it's a really good message and I hope it continues."
For other students like junior biology and psychology major Meg Camanzo, 4/20 presents the opportunity to trade homemade goods and make a bit of money. At the event, Camanzo sold beautifully handcrafted glassware and jewelry that she has been making for about a year and a half.
Patty Donnelly, bass player for Heady Yetis, considered 4/20 to connect more to art and subculture.
"[4/20 is] more associated with the creative side of the spectrum," Donnelly said. "Music is always a part of stoner culture."
Adrien D'Angelo*, emcee for the event, believes 4/20, while complex in meaning, is fortunately becoming much more accepted in the mainstream.
"What's cool is [seeing 4/20] being accepted more and more," D'Angelo said. "And people are beginning to understand that this isn't just a bunch of kids getting f**ked up and being irresponsible. So if 4/20 is anything, it's an expression. It's something that's growing and evolving."
So although many on the outside looking in would consider April 20 a day for illegal activities, everyone in attendance on Saturday agreed on one positive and common element in regards to the holiday: live music.
Getting together, meeting new people, sharing arts, crafts, insight and humor and inundating oneself in a collective positivity helped a gloomy Saturday turn into a quite memorable 4/20.
Email: arts@ubspectrum.com
*Adrien D'Angelo was formerly photo editor at The Spectrum.
Photo: Jeremy Meyers
Photo: Courtesy of Swisher and Opalinski
