Bands perform at Earth Day concert on campus

Spring Fling may have started Saturday on this year, but the party in Superblock began Friday afternoon. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Earth Day, the Penn Environmental Group and the Social Planning and Events Committee held their fourth annual Earth Day concert. Bands Zex Sea and Mariner Nine opened the show, followed by the blues- and gospel-influenced rock of Joan Osbourn. Intermittent rain and cloudy skies did not deter the students who sat, stood or played hacky-sack and frisbee near the stage. Medical school student Dan Levy came with his wife and his six-and-a-half month old son Nicolas. "I'm a fan of Joan Osbourn," he said. "This is the third concert of her's I've seen." The bands were not chosen for their environmental views, although College sophomore Benjamin Hayflick, keyboardist for Zex Sea said that his group was "environmentally aware." Osbourn, who was scheduled to begin performing at approximately 4:30 p.m., arrived 40 minutes late. She began her set by urging everyone to "Plant a tree, recycle and buy fewer things." An acupressure therapist gave free Shiatsu message at the back of the field. The small crowd which gathered in Superblock swelled to almost 90 when Osbourn began to perform. The concert was the culmination of a week of Earth Day events. On Wednesday, Ann Rhodes, a speaker from the Morris Arboretum discussed "25 Years of Environmental Legislation and Danger." Thursday, nearly 20 University bikers and Philadelphia residents participated in the "critical-mass bike ride." "We biked through the city between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. to demonstrate alternative, clean methods of transportation," Wharton and Engineering freshman Peter Chowla said. "We got honked at a lot."