Looking for a change in your Friday night routine? Check out WVOF’s “Hostile Takeover” concert series! The premier of Hostile Takeover was on Friday, Sept 20th at 10 p.m. at the Levee, and was a blast. Thanks to WVOF and its Music Director, Nick Mercadante, ’04, Fairfield can look forward to many more enjoyable nights, just like this last one was.
Fairfield University was ready for a refreshing change, which Mercadante took note of at the beginning of the year. “I noticed that there weren’t a lot of events that appealed to kids on the weekends, nothing exciting or fresh,” he says, “I noticed that we had bingo and a hypnotist, but really, who wants to go to that on a Friday night? I wanted to set something up that would catch people from and on their way to parties.”
Catch them, he did. Over 100 people packed the Levee last Friday for the concert, which featured Grover Dill, Set for Stun, The Quiet Turnaround, and Collapse Computer. The event lasted from 10 p.m. to past 1, and almost everyone stayed the entire time.
Up first was Grover Dill, the self-proclaimed “fun lovin’ pop punk rock” band. The crowd didn’t seem too motivated at first, except for those who were either very enthusiastic or were drunk. The band was extremely loud and the vocals muffled, but that was a problem that seemed consistent for all the bands. Nevertheless, everyone began to enjoy themselves. “I think [Grover Dill] is good- they’re better then some other bands I paid to see,” says Kathryn Turcsany, ’05. Rae Stack, ’06 and Chris Indiveri, ’06, agree. Indiveri gave Grover Dill two thumbs up, but Stack mentioned she couldn’t hear the lyrics.
Set for Stun, the next band to play, had some great instrumentals and showed a lot of promise. “They’re worse than Dashboard Confessional and Creed!” says Chris Miller, ’06. Considering the fact that Creed has been an extremely successful band, this only shows that people’s opinions differ. Set for Stun is scheduled to return Sept 27, so come decide for yourself.
The Quiet Turnaround was by no means quiet. Their first number seemed a little reminiscent of The Doors. Some students compared The Quiet Turnaround to Grover Dill. “These guys sound like another college band,” Stack says. Lori Boccuzzi, ’06, agrees. “They’re kind of mediocre and uninspiring, yet enjoyable.”
The band that got the most reaction out of the audience was Collapse Computer, without a doubt. The crowd started a mini mosh pit, and screamed for an encore at the end of the performance. “These bro’s have brought punk to a new home at FU!” said Mike Cat, ’04.
Overall, the event was definitely worth the time; I give it an A-. “I think it was a HUGE success!” Mercadante says, “Definitely! The place was packed the whole night and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.”
So what’s in store? For starters, there’s a show this Friday at the Levee at 7 p.m., as well as shows through October and November. Mercadante hinted that some of those shows would be national events. With the first show such a large success, he hopes that the shows to come will be bigger and better.
So do we!
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