It's painful to read this one, but notable for its reference to Alex's perceived wasted behavior--another example of how people can't
accept that someone would be capable of that without being under the influence:
FAILED INVASION/ MTV STOP AT UB DOESN'T MATCH PAST SPRINGFESTS/
BYLINE: SEAMUS GALLIVAN; News Contributing Reviewer/
BODY:
REVIEW
WHAT: UB's Springfest
WHEN: Alumni Arena, North Campus
WHERE: Last Friday
The much-maligned University at Buffalo Student Association only further alienated its student body brethren by booking MTV's Campus Invasion
'04 Tour featuring H****stank, lostprophets and Ima Robot for their Springfest last Friday. They spent far less than in years past (George
Clinton headlined last year), and they reaped what they sowed -- while the student entrance line into Alumni Arena was short and moved fast, the
nonstudent line (filled mostly with the high-schoolers "Empty-Vee" seems to be targeting these days) stretched halfway to South Campus and
nearly stood still.
That crowd was certainly not ready for the spacey, punked-out sleaze rock of Ima Robot, who opened the show with a half-hour set of
weird-and-proud-of-it originals from their self-titled debut, plus a breakneck cover of Eddie Murphy's novelty hit "Party All the
Time." But while they may have been the most impressive band instrumentally, especially aggressive and adventurous bassist Justin Meldal-Johnson
(familiar to many from his eight years in Beck's band), singer Alex Ebert's sloppy vocals and obviously plastered disposition turned off an
unimpressed crowd whose boos nearly drowned the applause at set's end.
The lostprophets followed with a pretty drab 45-minute set that was easily highlighted by its last two songs, the rolling punk anthem "Burn,
Burn" and the absolutely shredding metal of "Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja." The latter showcased guitarists Mike Lewis and Lee Glaze and
turntablist Jamie Oliver, who hovered deftly over Stuart Richardson's pedestrian bass lines and Mike Chiplin's pounding drums, while singer
Ian Watkins ironically urged the moshing crowd to "Lose your (expletive) minds, but seriously -- be careful, look out for one another."
Call H****stank post-grunge, pop-metal or whatever you want, but their success can be explained with Kurt Cobain's first lyrics of Nirvana's
last album, "In Utero" -- "Teenage angst has paid off well." Color me bored and old, but the well covered themes of unmet
parental/societal expectations and the wrenching of the heart take a lot more originality to make a lasting impression than what these guys'
lyrics offer, no matter how catchy the hooks are.
That said, singer Doug Robb has a great voice for such emotions. He delivered each word with every drop of energy he had and communicated greatly with
the receptive crowd, both best exemplified in their breakout hit "Running Away." Though guitarist Dan Estrin and bassist Markku Lappalainen
had some great progressions in "Never There" and the ethereal "Remember Me," the band has some maturing to do if they plan on
achieving any longevity.
Same goes for UB's SA -- hopefully they'll learn from the backlash they received from within and next year return to booking bands that the
students can get excited about.
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