Homecoming weekend activities officially began on Wednesday evening with Tufts' annual Fall Rock show. This year's event brought locally-acclaimed Dispatch, as well as Philadelphian funksters Princes Of Babylon, to the Dewick stage. Although many Tufts students are not familiar with the bands, all 350 tickets for the show were sold.
Over the course of the day, Dewick underwent its transformation from college eatery to concert venue. A carpeted stage was constructed over the dining hall's tiny wooden platform, and Dispatch's road crew erected bars of colored stage lights. A towering drum kit and racks of guitars completed the musical decor.
At 8:30 p.m., the doors opened and a few early concertgoers rushed inside - mostly fleeing the pouring rain - eager to get things started. Princes of Babylon took the stage at nine. The quintet - which contains members of G. Love's band - churned out a mixture of smooth, fretless bass, jazz guitar, and interlaced drum and congo beats. Three of the members sang, harmonizing their rapped lyrics beautifully (if unintelligibly). The bassist doubled as a human beat-box. The percussionist, considerably older and larger than the rest of the band, wore a "Superpimp" t-shirt, which provided a strange form of diversion for some intoxicated members of the crowd. By the end of the Princes' set, many in attendance were grooving along with the band, and the auditorium had filled with concertgoers anxious to see the show's headliners.
Dispatch took the stage just after ten to a sellout crowd of rowdy fans who appeared to know every word to every song. "Watering Hole" set the pace for the night. On this particular tune, Pete Heimbold showed off on the electric bass, Chad Urmston sang and broke a string on his Les Paul, and Brad Corrigan's strong drumming audibly resembled that of today's finest jam bands. The talent didn't stop there. Heimbold and Urmston traded guitar and bass regularly, and Heimbold's searing guitar tore through the eardrums of the fortunate ones standing in the front few rows. All three members shared vocal duties, whether harmonizing beautifully or singing alone.
After an hour and a half of electric rock songs, the band traded its electric guitars for acoustics and played a beautiful rendition of "Walk With You," perhaps the band's most recognized ballad. After escaping from behind the drums, Corrigan doubled on acoustic guitar and harmonica, playing delicate solos and melodies that accompanied Heimbold's vocals and rhythm guitar. Urmston provided the rhythm, playing percussion on a set of congas.
Just before midnight, the scheduled end to the set, Urmston and Heimbold strapped on their electric guitars and Corrigan climbed behind the drum set to play "The General," Dispatch's signature composition and a cult classic in college circles. When the band announced the pending midnight finish, a student security worker climbed up to a large wall clock, and set it back fifteen minutes. The band members cheered and the audience exploded. But, at midnight, Dispatch left the stage.
The Tufts crowd, however, had plans of its own. They cheered for an encore, despite the discouraging arrival of the house lights. The crowd simply refused to leave. Within seconds, Corrigan emerged from the stage door, with his hand to his ear. Immediately, the other two members appeared and launched into "Bats in the Belfry." As the band's manager paced back and forth in front of the stage, shaking his head at the smiling band members, Dispatch played on. Corrigan played a phenomenal drum solo, kicking off a ten-minute percussive jam. Heimbold picked up a pair of drumsticks and joined Corrigan, while Urmston strapped on his conga.
By the time the band finally left the stage, it was 12:15 a.m. Outside, the mesmerized crowd, still humming the music, didn't seem to mind the freezing rain. Dispatch definitely gave the audience its four dollars' worth.
