It is finally that time of year that all Bowdoin students have been waiting for: Ivies Weekend.
This year's Spring Concert on Iview Weekend features four popular and diverse groups: campus band Eleven, Passion Pit, Reel Big Fish and The Cool Kids.
When the Entertainment Board (E-Board) began its selection process for Ivies performers earlier this year, they focused on listening to students' opinions as to who they wanted to see play.
"We chose the artists based on a large number of factors," said E-Board Co-Chair Chris Omachi '12. "Most importantly, we looked at the Ivies survey that we sent out to the campus at the beginning of the year. We also have to take into account artist availability, and obviously, price."
The three visiting bands playing this weekend were three of the most popular options selected by students who completed the survey.
The process of submitting bids and signing contracts is often complicated and contentious, but the E-Board found that this year, everything went smoothly.
"Everything has gone surprisingly well," said Omachi. "We had to do some negotiating with price, but everything worked out in the end."
A recent setback in the process, however, has been some students' disappointment in the venue change from the Quad to Whittier Field.
However, one of the reasons that the concert was re-located was to support the technical equipment needed by each band, so students should expect a larger-scale and more elaborate concert than in years past.
"This is going to be the biggest production show Bowdoin has ever had," said Omachi.
The afternoon will begin with an opening performance by Eleven, one of Bowdoin's own musical groups. The ensemble is made up of eight members: Matthew Bowers '10, Kirsten Chmielewski '10, Nicholas Lechich '10, Jamie Nadeau '10, Emily Schonberg '10, Max Taylor '10, Alexi Thomakos '10 and Brooks Winner '10. The group won the coveted Ivies opening spot at the Battle of the Bands competition on April 8.
Following Eleven will be Passion Pit, a five-person band based out of Massachusetts.
This American electronic band comprises: lead vocalist and guitarist Michael Angelakos, keyboardist and guitarist Ian Hultquist, synth players Ayad al Adhamy and Jeff Apruzzes and Nate Donmoyer on the drums.
Passion Pit's success has exploded this year with the release of their album "Manners," which features the popular singles "The Reeling" and "Little Secrets."
"They have a really cool sound, and I've heard their live performances are awesome and high energy," said Danny Chin '12.
The Cool Kids will take the stage next with music described by Omachi as "rap [with] funny, and clever lyrics."
The Cool Kids are a hip-hop duo made up of Antoine "Mikey Rocks" Reed and Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll. Originally from the Midwest, the group found innitial success releasing music on their MySpace page
More recently, however, the group has also found commercial success with songs including "Delivery Man" and "Bassment Party" which appear in advertisements and on television shows.
"I think it's really cool that Bowdoin's bringing a rap group to campus," said Nick Lenker '13, speaking to the relative rarity of rap performers visiting the college.
The final act of the afternoon will be Reel Big Fish, a group from Huntington Beach, Calif. that has been making music since the 1990s. The band comprises of founding member Aaron Barrett and horn players Dan Regan and Scott Klopenstein.
Their style can be described as "ska punk," a genre that combines features of styles from rock to swing music.
Best known for their 1997 hit "Sell Out," the band earned national recognition with the release of thier third album Turn the Radio Off.
"I think people are going to really like Reel Big Fish, whether they know about them or not," said Jessie Turner '13. "It's probably the best ska punk band that could come to Bowdoin, even if you don't really know what ska punk is."
Whether a dance, rap, ska or good-old-fashioned oldies fan (Eleven promises to serenade with some crowd pleasing covers), the Ivies concert promises to provide a little something for all.
In anticipation for the weekend, Omachi assured eager concertenthusiasts: "Students should expect an amazing and entertaining concert."
To preview the bands music visit the following websites:
http://www.passionpitmusic.com/.
http://www.myspace.com/thecoolkids
http://www.reel-big-fish.com/.
Whittier Field will open to concertgoers at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The Ivies Spring Concert will run from 3 - 8 p.m. on Whittier Field.