All concert photographs by Nicholas DiFazio.

Pixelated impressions of a psychedelic dream illuminate his silhouette. Almost 2,000 sweat-drenched bodies sway to the thunderous drums and phasing bass lines released from his speakers.

Thomas Wesley Pentz points his fingers at the crowd, seemingly shooting energy into the mass before him.
You may know him better as Diplo.

On Sept. 21, Fairfield University students and guests poured into Alumni Hall for the Fall Concert, hosted by the Fairfield University Student Association (FUSA). This year, performers included Krewella, a young dubstep trio from Chicago, and Diplo, a DJ and producer known for his frequent collaborations and genre-defying originals.

With approximately a third of Alumni Hall filled, Krewella took the stage around 8:15 p.m. They opened with an original entitled “Feel Me,” a song which captures their attention to throbbing bass drops poised against provocative female vocals.

Students immediately responded to the group with raised arms and strained vocal chords. Comprised of Kris Trindl (also known as Rain Man) and sisters Yasmine and Jahan Yousef, Krewella orchestrated an array of mixers, effects boards and laptops to produce a set of pure energy. Songs included a variety of originals and remixes of songs by artists such as Rihanna, Deadmau5 and Justice.

After Krewella’s hour long set, Diplo took the stage around 9:30 p.m. with the crowd responding at a volume that rivaled his equipment. Though security measures taken at the front door delayed entrance for many, Alumni Hall filled to near capacity throughout the first 20 minutes of his set.

With Diplo periodically commanding his audience to go even wilder, attendees danced, screamed, jumped up and down on bleachers and mounted each other’s shoulders. The energy level raised even higher when student Peter Lyons ‘13 came out on stage dancing in a gorilla suit, supplied by campus radio station WVOF.

“In his rider [Diplo] had the list of all the different things he wanted,” Lyons explained. “Among other things he wanted was a dartboard with Nicholas Cage’s face on it as well as a gorilla.”

Lyons continued: “When he walked into the dressing room I was just sitting there in the gorilla suit holding a banana with my legs crossed. He walks in and he was just very casual about it. He was like, ‘Okay, cool. We got the dartboard, we got the gorilla. This looks awesome.’” Lyons explained how Diplo requested he wait a few songs before taking the stage as a gorilla to “get the people going.”

Aside from a primate doing ‘the worm,’ several other events highlighted Diplo’s performance. About half an hour into his set, he left his DJ stand, leaving a drum hook on repeat. With little warning, he jumped off a speaker into the crowd, only to disappear completely for about 15 seconds before resurfacing and taking the stage.

“Y’all motherf***ers didn’t catch me,” he said into his microphone. “But I’ll play this next one anyway.”
This unfortunate experience was also shared by Lyons: “I went crowd surfing but I fell after ten feet … and then they dropped him.”

A few minutes after his surfing mishap, Diplo pulled approximately 12 female attendees onto the stage. He began playing “Express Yourself,” a single associated with a dance that involves doing a handstand with legs spread open.

At his request, several of the female stage dwellers attempted to recreate this dance as seen in the song’s music video. With most of them using his DJ stand as support, some of his equipment became unplugged. However, Diplo encouraged them to continue attempting this physically straining dance as he worked his way around a damaged setup.

Finishing his set around 10:40 p.m. with a mix of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.” Darude’s “Sandstorm,” as well as several other notable songs, Diplo spent several minutes taking pictures and signing autographs for attendees in front of the barricade.

Alumni Hall was empty in a matter of minutes, leaving behind a mess of twisted water bottles, ruptured glowsticks and torn wristbands.

According to FUSA President Robert Vogel ‘13, “anywhere between 1850 and 1900” tickets were sold, including online sales and purchases at the door. “Capacity would have been 2000 … We were probably about 100, 120 off from a sellout,” he said.

When asked if the concert was a success, Vogel said, “Just from a numbers standpoint? Yes. Success.” He also noted that he had a “pretty confident estimate of about a 4-to-1 student to non-student ratio” in terms of attendance, saying this constituted a successful concert in terms of serving students.

According to Vogel, there were five transports to the hospital, four of which were students. In addition, four concert goers were pulled out for narcotic violations, three of which did not attend the University, according to Associate Director of Public Safety Frank Ficko. Ficko also shared that one person was caught publicly urinating and a prep student was kicked out for lighting a cigarette indoors.

Vogel said, “Obviously we would have like nobody to be attending the hospital, but I also think it’s hard to be accountable for everyone’s decisions as we are all individuals.”

And what did most individuals think?

Senior Nicolette Jackson said, “I thought the concert was a lot of fun and I hope FUSA continues to put on good shows like that with people that are more relevant today.”

Sophomore Ryan Wessel commented, “I guess I would say it was a great show. I was impressed by Krewella. The school should definitely do something like that again next year.”

“After four years at Fairfield I was so happy FUSA finally planned a concert with talented and relevant performers,” said Margaret Allison ‘13. “My friends visiting from home couldn’t get over how good the show was, and I can certainly say there was never a dull moment.”

In terms of the future, Vogel said, “I think we definitely got a lot of good feedback and a lot of the trust of the student body with our concert selections.”

He continued: “Hopefully, next year, students look into who’s coming and they find out more about it and they can trust us to be bringing in quality acts that are going to entertain.”

Last year’s fall concert, which featured artists Far East Movement, Hoodie Allen and The Hood Internet, sold approximately 400 tickets with even less in attendance, according to a previous Mirror article. With an overwhelming difference in ticket sales, Vogel said, “We’re definitely in much better financial shape than we were last year after the concert, and we are excited to be moving forward.”

Lyons, as both a quasi-performer and concert attendee, concluded: “Overall I think it was a great success. Everyone loved it.” He added that Diplo was, “one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met.”

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