Hi there. My name's Aaron, and I'm on concert board. Some of you might remember me as the guy who was doing security on the right side of the stage, keeping people from jumping on a plank of wood where the many thousand dollars worth of subwoofers were. (If you were one of those who made that job quite pleasant and helped me with it, feel free to ignore the rest of this Viewpoint.)
But most of you probably remember me as the guy you threw cans at like a bunch of five-year-old little brats as he tried to get Goldfinger's drum kit off. Oh sorry, is that a little too harsh? Let's lay it out, then.
My day started at 7:30 a.m. I was one of the lucky Concert Board members who didn't have to arrive at Spring Fling until late - quite a few people were setting up at the stage at 6 a.m. At 9:30 Goldfinger's equipment showed up and we busted our backs getting it all on the stage. We did the same at 10:30 when Apollo Sunshine showed up and then we set-up for the Walkmen. In between all this Concert Board members were running around, getting things set up and making sure the equipment was just right; running sound checks and stringing wires back and forth. I got a break and went and got some food and then came back before Goldfinger started to play.
I was supposed to be free to go and enjoy Goldfinger. I'm a ska and punk kid from way back when - I love this type of music. I love being in the pit and rocking out. But bodies were needed behind the barricades so instead of being able to enjoy myself, I was busy making sure you all didn't break the equipment and hurt yourselves. I gave up my having fun so that you could enjoy yourselves. And after the show I was helping to move Goldfinger's kit off stage when Howie, our stage manager, got word that representatives from Tufts were shutting us down because it was too dangerous. Note that again: Tufts shut us down. None of the C-board volunteers had any say in it. And after you all got pissy and threw things at us, we still stayed late to clean up and pack the sound equipment and stage away. All for free.
Let's rewind and go over that for a sec again. Because the guys at the sound boards were getting increasingly bigger electrical shocks to the point where the electrician declared it not safe for the show to continue, we're the bad guys.
Because we didn't risk someone's life, my friends and I deserved to get whacked in the head by a giant can of imported Japanese beer (and whoever threw that, you're a moron. That stuff costs money). You still got to see three great bands, have a show put on for you for free, and to spend the whole day downing beers and relaxing. Puts you over us.
You're upset Busta Rhymes got cancelled. That's understandable. But guess what? I'm willing to put plenty of cash on the line that you're not nearly as upset as those of us on Concert Board were. You know why? Because for you, Spring Fling is an opportunity to wake up one morning and start drinking, then go see a free show. For us, it's been months of planning down the drain. We lined up two high profile leading acts. We secured an up-and-coming opening act. We even got a good indie rock band to fill in between sets. We set up at 7:00 in the morning and cleaned up until 6:30 at night, we spent OUR time freely to give YOU guys something fun, and we're the bad guys?
Sure, there are perks to concert board. I enjoyed hanging out with Goldfinger's drummer as he made fun of all the idiots and assholes in the crowd. He got a good laugh out of you. But overall, it's a ton of work with no reward. So maybe instead of being angry at us, you should be happy that we're willing to put in the effort to put on these shows. Because without us, there are no concerts at Tufts. How would you like that?
Maybe we should try it next year. Because it's entirely possible that due to the problems we had this year, the administration will decide that Spring Fling should have a year off.
We're supposed to be a smart school. Learn to think.
Aaron Mehta is a sophomore majoring in history.
