Rap, ska acts bring down the Palestra

Run DMC and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones thrilled audiences at the annual Spring Fling concert. Nearly six hours in length, it may have been a marathon concert. But held against the backdrop of a heavily monitored Spring Fling, the energy of Friday night's Mighty Mighty Bosstones-headlined show produced enough euphoria to give anyone in attendance a runner's high. "It was an amazing show," College freshman Bonnie Manaskie said. "I don't like rap or ska but the performances totally blew me away." Amid tight security in the Palestra -- where the concert was moved after bad weather forecasts doomed the original Hill Field venue -- the concert went off relatively incident-free, much to the delight of organizers from the Social Planning and Events Committee. "We were extraordinarily pleased with the show," said SPEC Concerts Tri-Chairperson Jocelyn Jennings, a Nursing senior. "It exceeded our expectations in terms of turnout and quality." According to organizers, more than 4,300 people showed up at the event, nearly tripling the number who came to last year's Spring Fling concert -- which featured jazz legend Maceo Parker. And this year, concert organizers increased the number of people permitted on the dance floor by distributing 1,300 floor-access wristbands, up from 1,000 last year. Although many were attracted by the popular ska-core Bosstones, the legendary hip-hop group Run DMC ran away with the show, giving the Palestra crowd everything it wanted --including autographed collectible shirts off the band members' backs. "We've been doing this rock and rap thing since its inception in 1983," DJ Run of Run DMC said backstage. "But we've got some shit left over." With record-scratching group member Jam Master J kicking the background beat, DJ Run and DMC brought the crowd out of their seats, pumping the audience up with old-school rap hits like "Walk this Way" until nearly everyone but the security guards were waving their hands in the air. "Run DMC totally integrated the audience into their performance," Manaskie said. But while most in attendance were quick to praise the performers, artists and audience members complained in equal numbers that the Palestra's poor acoustics hampered the show's success. "It was fun," said rapper DMC. "But it was the worst. I couldn't even hear myself." The sound reverberated off the metal-rimmed roof of the Palestra, muffling words and tunes and often producing noises more crass than enjoyable. "I couldn't hear a single word [Run DMC] was saying. It was a bunch of mumbled jargon," said Brian Silverstein, a junior visiting from Northwestern University. Despite lengthy set-up delays and the addition of punk band Clowns for Progress -- who were supposed to appear in the Quad -- no one seemed to mind that the Bosstones' late arrival forced them to "fit as many songs as possible" into their 45-minute set, according to lead singer Dickie Barrett. Responding to the fast-paced blend of horn-driven ska and Barrett's hardcore lyrical rants, the Palestra crowd got as crazy as dancing Bosstone Ben Carr's antics as audience members began skanking and a handful of crowd surfers emerged. "The Bosstones are such a high energy band," College senior Brad Bernstein said. "I was in the balcony and still dancing." The bands that opened the show -- hardcore punk band D-Generation and reggae group Wailing Souls -- received mixed reactions. Some students enjoyed the variety while others said that the band was difficult to dance to. But the minor problems didn't stop Silverstein from enjoying the show. "Everyone was so psyched that even though the acoustics stink, I had a hell of a time."