On the heels of last year's much-maligned Spring Fest, the headliner for this year's Fall Fest has been announced and, according to students, it is a vast improvement.
Pollstar.com lists that Incubus will perform in the newly renovated Alumni Arena on Oct. 29 with guests The Music.
The concert will include at least one additional local opening act, said SA President Anthony Burgio. More acts and possibly a second day of festivities will be announced at a later date.
Although Burgio could not comment on Fall Fest due to contract obligations, he did say that SA is still working the possibility of a second day of Fall Fest on October 30, during which three or more other groups could perform.
Burgio said that holding Fall Fest in October, rather than the recent tradition of scheduling a September show, was simply due to how the scheduling worked out with the groups and the venue. The last October show was Fall Fest 2001, which was postponed because of the September 11 attacks.
Burgio said even though there will only be three groups on October 29, there will be a "huge set" by Incubus.
The "huge set" would certainly fit the size of their stardom, as Incubus is arguably the top hitmaker in modern rock music. Their first two albums, "Enjoy Incubus" and "Fungus Amongus," were released in 1996 and very funky and jam-oriented.
1997's "S.C.I.E.N.C.E." found Incubus exploring its sound and oddly enough had the band on tours with bands of all types, from indie rock to hip-hop to the burgeoning rap-rock movement of the time. From 1997-98, they hit the road with bands as varied as 311, Korn, Far, Phunk Junkeez, Orgy, 2 Skinnee J's as well as Ozzfest 1998 and spots on the Family Values Tour with Limp Bizkit and Rammstein, amongst others.
1999's "Make Yourself" proved to be the album that marked Incubus' rise to the peak of rock and roll. "Make Yourself" spawned a number of radio singles, most notably "Drive," "Stellar" and "Pardon Me," as well as a number of cult favorites like "Privilege" and "I Miss You."
The band continued its assault on the radio with 2001's "Morningview," which featured the singles "Warning," "Wish You Were Here" and "Nice To Know You." This year's, "A Crow Left of The Murder" wasn't up to the band's usual success standards, but still fared well with "Megalomaniac" and the current single, "Talk Shows On Mute."
Students weren't split at all on their opinion of this year's headliner, but did have varying opinions on the idea of a two-day Fest.
"I think Incubus is a band that absolutely everyone can appreciate," freshman business major J.P. Bianchini said. "It's better to break up the show, too. It gives students more to do over the long weekend."
Sophomore history major Sara Danielewicz agreed.
"The two day idea is better because more people can make one of the days. I know I have a hard time requesting off of work for a specific day and I'm sure its like that for others, too," she said.
Not everyone was in tune with the longer Fest. Junior communication major Nicole Fauel said the show would be "better if they had more bands," but worried that "a small lineup drawn out over two days," would hurt the draw.
After last year's big budget Fall Fest, some students were only concerned with one thing: money. Senior communications major Wilson Bautista doesn't know Incubus, but that doesn't matter.
"I'm not really sure who the band is, but its cool as long as it isn't going to cost the students any more money," Bautista said.
Some students say they will attend just for the atmosphere. Freshman business major Pilar Rial advocated the two day Fest, saying it was a better idea simply because "more days means more partying."
Graduate pharmacy student Vivek Purohit has supported the Fests his entire tenure at UB.
"An extra day means more activities, more stuff," he said. "I don't know the band. I don't really follow music, but I go every year either way."
Fallfest 2004 is free to UB students with a limited supply of tickets available to purchase by the general public.
~Additonal Reporting and Writing by Jeremy G. Burton and Jennifer Fusco
