Mighty Mighty Bosstones may headline Fling

Sources said a deal with some band could come as early as next week. If you "have never had to knock on wood," now might be the time. A professional concert organizer working with Penn's Social Planning and Events Committee said the group is currently talking to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones about the possibility of headlining the Friday, April 17 Spring Fling concert on Hill Field. The Bosstones -- who combine ska and punk beats on such hits as "The Impression That I Get," quoted above, and "The Rascal King" -- would follow Cypress Hill, the Violent Femmes and A Tribe Called Quest as recent headliners for the annual concert, which usually brings together more than 10,000 area students and residents. Drew Pompilio, a "talent buyer" for Electric Factory Concerts of Philadelphia who is working with SPEC to fill this year's concert schedule, said "we are beating up the Bosstones" to get them to play this year's Fling. "They are being entertained," he said, adding that no arrangements have been finalized. Reached by phone, several members of SPEC's Concerts and Spring Fling committees refused to comment on whether or not the Bosstones were being pursued for the concert. But they did indicate that SPEC may strike final deals with bands as early as next week. One committee member, however, denied that they were in talks with the Bosstones. This would not be the first time that the Bosstones have been invited to play at Penn. According to several student leaders, the group was committed to play on campus last September, but did not come because not enough money could be raised to fund their appearance. As in the fall, money is still a primary issue surrounding the quest to secure a top band for Fling. Pompilio explained that the complicated process of securing a major national act revolves around how much money is available. "It goes by who makes the biggest offer," he said. "[The bands] go after the money." He added that the cost for a band to play on a college campus ranges from $1,000 to $50,000, with most major acts hovering in the $15,000-$25,000 range. He named the Bosstones, pop acts Matchbox 20, Smashmouth and Third Eye Blind, hip-hop artist Busta Rhymes and singer Erykah Badu as some of the current top college acts. "There are no charity cases," he said. "You'll never get Eddie Vedder to play with Pearl Jam because you want to save the rain forest." Pompilio also attributed Penn's inability to secure major national acts over the last several years to its lack of a suitable facility and logistical difficulties. "You didn't have the date. You didn't have the venue. You didn't have the money," he said. He added that Penn is restricted in its options because of a limited student activities budget. Meanwhile, Drexel University -- for whom Pompilio also books acts -- featured Rusted Root and the Wallflowers at separate shows last semester. Pompilio could not cite a specific cost, but did say that the Wallflowers show was "very expensive" for Drexel due to the band's increase in popularity in 1997. "[Some schools] have more money than God," he said. "They will outbid you." Stressing that the problems with securing a strong band are due to funding and venue issues, Pompilio credited the work being done by this year's Concert Committee. "I'm telling you now as a professional with 12 years of experience, they're doing it right," he said. "They're not pissing the money away." But Wharton senior Allison Rosen, co-director of the Concerts Committee, said talent, not money, is the prime consideration for the committee. "We don't look at price tag as the determinant," she said. "If we could get Phish for $200,000, we'd do it." And the Bosstones were far from the only band under consideration by SPEC. Pompilio said he discussed 10 to 20 bands with the committee -- including the Allman Brothers Band, which SPEC was unable to sign for the concert. Rosen said the committee makes an effort to survey student preferences before extending offers. Barenaked Ladies and Dave Matthews Band were favorites she mentioned. Last fall's attempt to bring the Bosstones to campus -- organized by a coalition of the Undergraduate Assembly, class boards, InterFraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council -- would also have been staged on Hill Field during the "There's No Place Like Penn" weekend last semester. Students who worked on the concert said the band was set to perform before the funding fell through. "We definitely could have had them," said UA Vice Chairperson Samara Barend, a College junior. "We ended up not being able to do it because we were short about $10,000." Barend, a Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, added that the University administration had originally promised to contribute several thousand dollars, but pulled out shortly before the concert. Wharton junior and UA member Clive Correia, who said he worked from December 1996 until March 1997 to bring the band to Penn, had hoped to bring a national act to campus for "kind of like a Fall Fling." According to Correia, the office of University President Judith Rodin had agreed to help fund the concert on top of the money already given by the UA, IFC, Panhel and junior class board, but pulled its financial support at the last minute. "It was ready to go," Correia said. "[Then] they said, 'Oh, I'm sorry, we don't have any money for this'." A source in the administration familiar with the plans to bring the Bosstones to campus, however, indicated that the administration had never committed any funding to the project. Correia said that when negotiations with the Bosstones' agent began in 1996, Penn could have had the band for between $20,000 and $25,000. He added that with the group's rise in popularity in 1997 due to its album Let's Face It, the band's current asking price would be "probably $50,000 or $60,000, if not more."

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