Sorry to burst your bubble, Dave Matthews Band fans, but the flyers posted around campus yesterday advertising the Spring Fling concert were a "dumb prank," according to the Social Planning and Events Committee.
People had plenty of reasons to be suspicious of the flyers, which proclaimed Dave Matthews would be headlining the annual concert along with Ace of Base.
But should we really be all that surprised at the prospect of a top-flight band performing at Spring Fling?
Maybe we should. There are hurdles to bringing in top talent, such as less-than-ideal facilities, a limited supply of up-front funding and contractual obligations performers often have that limit them to certain local venues.
In refuting the false flyers, SPEC Concerts said yesterday that it was still in the process of selecting a headliner for the April concert.
While this is going on, the committee should be actively working to inform the Penn community of what it is doing. If SPEC were to seek greater student input, chances are that fewer people would be dissatisfied with the concert selection when it is announced.
The more that the student body is involved in the decision-making process, the better the chances of appealing to the widest possible audience will be. This clearly has not been the case with recent concerts, which were chosen by a small group, and then attended by, well, a small group.
Why has attendance been meager at recent Fling concerts? Is it the choice of music genre? Is it the location? SPEC should know the answers to these questions, and if they don't they need to ask the target audience -- the students.
Many at Penn would like to think that bringing in a band of Dave Matthews caliber is possible. If it is, then the concerts committee should do it. If it is not, then they should explain to the community why not.
If there is not enough money to cover up-front costs, then the University should find the money -- a good concert will easily recoup those costs plus a healthy profit.
If media conglomerates are blocking artists from performing here, it's unfortunate, but there is little we can do. And SPEC should say that.
We'll never know if SPEC keeps the process secret.
