U. forces SPEC to relinquish control of Fling concert

After spending all of last week trying unsuccessfully to figure out who Maceo Parker is, University administrators have forced the Social Planning and Events Committee to give up control of Spring Fling or risk a complete loss of funding. Following a seven-hour closed-door meeting with the student leaders in charge of SPEC, University President Judith Rodin and Executive Vice President John Fry announced that Electric Factory Concerts -- one of Philadelphia's largest concert promoters -- would assume complete control of organizing the main concert for next year's Fling. The line-up for the April 17 concert -- consisting of saxophonist Parker, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the punk-rock band Fishbone and the Five Fingers of Funk -- has been roundly criticized for not having a single big-name headliner or a wide diversity of musical genres. "I just can't believe all this jazz and funk they're throwing at us this year," Fry said in a written statement. "I was hoping they'd get Mel TormZ or Ol' Blue Eyes to headline." Rodin also expressed her frank disappointment with the program. "Temple University had Jewel and Drexel got the Wallflowers," she said. "My son told me that we should've been able to get at least Third Eye Blind." It was not clear exactly what the terms of the agreement with the Electric Factory were last night, though a spokesperson for the company said students should expect a "modest increase in ticket prices for next year" -- estimated to be between $20 and $25 above the current $15 charged to ticket holders. SPEC leaders expressed disappointment with the University's decision to take away SPEC's autonomy in booking Fling bands. "Hey, we like pretending to be grown-up concert promoters," SPEC Concert Committee Co-Chairperson Joel Epstein said. "They're being mean to us." "I'm calling my mommy!" the College junior added. Electric Factory "talent buyer" Drew Pompilio -- who first told The Daily Pennsylvanian about SPEC's attempt to sign the Mighty Mighty Bosstones for Fling -- agreed with the University's decision. "Hey, when those damn kids couldn't even get Vanilla Ice or the Bangles to play Penn, we knew it was time to get them out of the process," he said. "Now sit back and let the professionals do their work." The last several Flings have been marred by unsuccessful attempts to bring big name acts -- including Beck, Bob Dylan, Barry Manilow and the New Kids on the Block -- to the annual drunken gathering on Hill Field. Rodin said securing larger acts for Fling is consistent with the ideals of her frequently invoked "Agenda for Excellence." "As I've always said, 'Get some decent music for our kids to smoke up to and watch those U.S. News rankings soar'," she explained. The one point of agreement between the administration and SPEC is that it makes no difference who performs as long as everyone shells out cash for their overpriced tickets. "Those Hill House freshmen will be so stoned they won't know what's going on," SPEC Chairperson and College senior Sean Steinmarc said. "We could be pumping in fucking Mozart and they'd think it was Phish." College senior John La Bombard agreed, noting that he didn't care what the music was so long as it "didn't hit my penis."

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