Everyone was awake by 11 a.m. Saturday morning, whether or not they wanted to sleep. If their alarms didn't do the trick, or trips to local liquor stores didn't require an early wakeup, it was the deafening roar of the speakers on the president's lawn performing a sound check for this year's Spring Fling.
The annual concert is Tufts' last major social event before finals, and this year's show was no different from years past, with Jumbos making clear their desire to let loose during Saturday's six-hour festival.
One of the day's biggest thrills was Tufts' own Guster's return to campus. The trio, who opened spring fling several years ago, spent part of their set sharing memories of their years in Medford. Following Guster, the funk band Original P closed out fling. Jurassic 5, a West Coast rap group, preceded Guster and was well received by the crowd, while Battle of the Bands winner Redshift 6 opened the concert shortly after 11 a.m.
The Tufts group moved fluidly through 40 minutes of original music, evoking comparisons to the guitars of today's jam bands and the unmistakable keyboard style of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen. Unfortunately, Redshift 6's audience was mostly limited to the band's close friends - an unavoidable pitfall of starting before noon, but a necessary tradeoff for being able to open the show. The band closed out its set with a cover of the Doors' "Roadhouse Blues." By then it was almost noon, and the crowd had begun to arrive.
Many students played in the carnival-style inflatable houses near Ballou and Professors Row; others gathered at Dining Services' tables, choosing from a menu of hamburgers, hot dogs, and bottled water. Some drank the alcoholic beverages they'd brought in - legally or not - and lined up to use the Porta-Potties stationed in front of Tisch. But when Jurassic 5 took the stage, the crowd on the president's lawn rushed toward Gifford House.
The band, comprised of four rappers and two turntablists, stunned the crowd with its complex vocal harmonies and polished performance. The turntablists laid down complicated beats, often battling each other. And though concert-goers closest to the stage could not see the show, since Tufts had created an artificial hill where the stage sat, spirits were not diminished. It was just after noon, but the crowd proved itself ready to party, with arms swaying in the air and bodies moving to Jurassic 5's rhythm.
Much to the crowd's delight, Guster took the stage shortly after 2 p.m. Known for its two-guitar harmonies and Brian Rosenworcel's inventive percussion, the band entertained the audience with favorites such as "Airport Song" and "Either Way," along with guitarist/vocalist Ryan Miller's stories of the band's time on the Hill.
At one point, Miller reminisced about a party the band held on College Ave. "We found the two bitchiest girls to work the door, and they charged like seven or eight bucks for a cup of beer. All the freshmen didn't know any better... we paid our first three months' rent off that party!"
Miller also noted that Guster - called Gus during its early years - was rejected from participating in the Battle of the Bands during the members' freshman year. But they persisted - causing Gardner to earn four incompletes in one semester - and ended up headlining this year's show.
With a show scheduled later Saturday night at the University of Connecticut, Guster closed out its set just after 3 p.m. with the hit single "Fa Fa," leaving the job of closing the show to Original P.
Tight leather pants and frightful masks. Broken teeth and executioner's robes. The members of Original P - all 12 of them - vowed to bring Tufts "the funk, the whole funk, and nothing but the funk." With such epic costumes and a proven expertise at kicking out the pure funk, the band delivered.
Though many students left the president's lawn to begin recovering from the afternoon's activities, several hundred remained up front to cheer on the band, dancing along with the stellar drumming and metallic guitar solos. At two points during the set, Jumbos rushed the stage, climbing over the steel barricades designed to keep them out. Concert Board security responded angrily, but Original P welcomed the funksters onstage.
The band played for about an hour - or until it had all hips on the hill shaking in unison. Funk classics "Atomic Dog" and "Flashlight" were included in the set and sounded far better live than on the average mp3 player. Just before 5:30 p.m., the band thanked the students onstage, and concluded its set. Backup singers in tight leather danced with a masked guitarist in a fur coat. The 50-something male singers in front nodded in assent as the drummer played his final roll.
And with that, the crowd disappeared, leaving behind a mess of empty beer cans and other waste, strewn all over the lawn, satisfied with yet another Fling.
