Before finals run their course and the Medford/Somerville campus clears out for summer, students have one last time to let loose: this weekend's Spring Fling. Spring concerts are the norm for college campuses around the country, and Boston?area schools are no exception. Harvard University hosted its annual Yardfest two weeks ago, and Brandeis University's Springfest, featuring of Montreal and Far East Movement, will be held on May 1, the day after Tufts' Spring Fling.
Though the event is always greatly anticipated at Tufts, this year's acts - The Roots and RJD2 - have brought about mixed opinions from the student body. In past years, Tufts Concert Board has booked groups whose fame was recent or on the rise, while this year's headliners, The Roots, formed as a band before many current undergraduates were even born. Tufts' 2008 Spring Fling featured Tea Leaf Green, Dropkick Murphys and Common, and the 2009 event featured Ludacris, The Decemberists and Asher Roth. Last year the lineup consisted of OK Go, Drake and Sam Adams.
In general, Tufts Concert Board tends to book alternating styles of headliners and aims to avoid musicians who have performed at Tufts within the past few years, Tufts Concert Board co?Chair Marc Turner, a junior, said.
The strong, negative opinions about this year's acts can easily be gleaned from Tufts' CollegeACB page, a site where students can anonymously talk about issues specific to Tufts. As of April 26, 57 comments appear under the post "THE ROOTS ARE PLAYING AT SPRING FLING. [It's] official. F??? YOU CONCERT BOARD!" Commenters go on to write that The Roots "blow," and are "even worse than OK Go."
Many students look forward to hopefully seeing current, big?name groups play Spring Fling. The Roots aren't as well?known on campus as the acts of previous years, and many place the blame on the Concert Board for booking what some see as disappointing bands that do not represent the music tastes of the general student body.
"Concert Board thinks that it would be really cool to see a live performance of the music they listen to while they study in the library. That's not the point. The point is to have a loud, entertaining, known artist to provide an awesome outdoor concert experience. I'm disgusted that Concert Board is so disconnected from what Spring Fling is supposed to be," an anonymous CollegeACB poster wrote. "Love him or hate him, at least people knew Ludacris songs. How many people do you know who know a single song by the Roots?"
Though the opposition to the lineup is fierce, it's not hard to find those who stand on the other side of the fence. Freshman Ellen Mayer, a music enthusiast, is pleased that The Roots are playing Spring Fling. She credits them as being strong performers who will appeal to a large crowd.
"I think it will be universally enjoyable," Mayer said.
Others acknowledge that The Roots may be less known than previous acts but still feel they will put on a good show. Given Tufts Concert Board's funds and scheduling restrictions for the event, it is not surprising the school is not always able to book some of today's biggest performers, freshman Rob Carter said.
"Honestly I feel like I am less upset than a lot of people. I actually like The Roots. But it is kind of weird when you look at last year, Drake, and a while ago when they had Lupe Fiasco. They tend to normally have bands when you can say 'I saw him before he was big.' And you definitely can't say that about The Roots," Carter, a local who also attended last year's Spring Fling, said. "But they're a great band. People aren't quite putting it in perspective like they should be. It's not a shocker that we don't have Kanye or Lady Gaga."
There are also many students on campus who simply have no strong opinion about the bands, given their limited fame.
"I'm less excited about the performance artists this year because I don't really know either of them," junior Steven Halstead said. "In general, the bands they get are just kind of there. That's my experience of them."
Halstead noted that he sees the highlight of Spring Fling as being on the President's Lawn with friends, making the actual group that is playing less important.
Turner acknowledged that it is impossible to book an act that will please everyone. However, he is still pleased with this year's lineup.
"We were happy with our decision," Turner said. "We knew there may be some recognition gaps."
Kelsey Schur, the other co?Chair, described the acts as being an "accessible sound for everyone." She also noted that RJD2 will be one of the first electro acts to play Spring Fling. Though the Concert Board is well aware of the campus' varying opinions about The Roots and RJD2, Schur agrees with Turner that this year should be just as enjoyable as any other.
"I'm absolutely thrilled with the bands. I'm really proud of who we booked this year," she said. "You can't make everybody happy."
