“Those who just came show the power of food,” said Andrew Simone ’08 while introducing ALOHA at Stagstock. After a pause he added, “and a great band.”
Simone was not wrong to point out the power of food since great bands had been playing all day Saturday to an almost-empty lawn up until the pizza arrived at 6 p.m.
Stagstock is sponsored by the HAM Channel, WVOF, FUSA and IRHA. It is an outdoor concert event meant to draw students out of their dorms to rock and socialize. Unfortunately this year Stagstock had big competition – the beach. Saturday was an unusually hot day in September with temperatures pushing 90 degrees, motivating students to cool off at the beach rather than chill out on the lawn.
Dave Grazynski, the event organizer and Fairfield alum, is not surprised by crowd numbers.
“Every year it changes based on what else is going on,” he said. However, those who did show up came to see particular acts.
One draw was Fairfield alum Mike Falzone, who played with his band ironically titled “The Magical Cakes.” Jen Clinton ’08, sitting with her friends, said how she knew Falzone and wanted to support him.
They attributed the lack of people in the audience to the lack of food early on in the day. “It was better when they made them eat out here,” commented Carolyn Cuteri ’09. Another girl in the group Brittany Sajeski ’09 was quick to comment, “I feel bad for the performers because they spent time and money and no one is here.”
The performers themselves didn’t seem to mind the lack of crowds. Jay Russell from Diamond J and the Rough, a local New Haven band said after his set finished later in the day felt the performance went great. Russell who was not at all bothered by the small crowd commented that, “We love to play anytime, anywhere.” Russell was philosophical saying, “This is a good size show, it is just a big space.”
Stagstock is not just a musical event for students, but it is a chance for HAM channel workers to learn to operate cameras and cover an event. “Stagstock was created primarily for the TV station,” said Grazynski, “It went really well today on the TV side.” The TV side seemed to be larger than the audience at times. Some acts were covered by five cameras at once.
The big act of the day was ALOHA which has gained fame and attention after touring with Pearl Jam. “I heard they were good. Really f***ing crazy,” said Alex Duggan ’11. Another member of his group Steven Scappaticci ’11 said, “They were recommended to us.” Grazynski knew ALOHA would be a good pick, “ALOHA is a great band with appeal across the board. It is good mood music.”
Even with a big act like ALOHA the crowd still never covered the lawn outside the Barone. It seems that regardless of free food and great bands students still didn’t turn out. Grazynski who has been organizing this event for seven years thinks it has more to do with the attitude of the students. “They don’t get the effort that has gone into it,” said Grazynski. Another example of student’s lack of awareness is the OAR concert. “We finally get OAR and people are complaining about the lack of diversity,” said Grazynski. For everyone who missed Stagstock it will air on the HAM Channel.
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