Buzz bands invade Drexel campus at green festival
Alysson Cwyk
Issue date: 6/27/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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The gorgeous three days of the festival offered a great treat for music lovers of varying genres. June 20-22 provided the City of Brotherly Love with top acts, interesting venues and fun times.
Three days of attending a music festival takes lots of energy. So much that two reporters covered the events, who chronicled their experiences and will hopefully make you wonder why you never attended POPPED! in the first place!
Vincent: On Friday night I took a step into the unknown. I was sitting on a train, on my way to the Trocadero for the first night of the Popped! Festival, and honestly I had no idea what to expect. I was told that a Bronx hip-hop artist by the name of Slick Rick would be performing. Now for a man like myself, who is more accustomed to indie rock shows, I figured that Slick Rick would be slightly out of my comfort zone. From the second this man stepped on stage, I was sure this would be something new - Rick was sporting an eye patch and more "bling" than I have honestly ever seen around one man's neck. Yet much to my delight, he had a funky nine-piece band backing him. When he started to perform and I witnessed the drummer nearly pound his instrument into the ground, I thought, "Hey this could be cool." Rick's entire set was full of energy, emotion, and some of the best beatboxing I have ever seen or heard. Apparently the crowd felt the same way, since they chanted "Slick Rick" for about six minutes until he came out for an encore.
Alysson: Day two of POPPED! took place at one of the most odd locations I had ever imagined attending a music festival, at the intersection of 33rd and Arch streets, between Calhoun Hall and the Academic Building. The giant stage stretched across 33rd Street and was lined with lights and colorful backdrops; it was really a sight to see. The weather was beautiful and sweaty concert-goers crowded in front of the stage and hid in the shade along Lancaster Walk. This "green" event had recycling bins everywhere and volunteers mentioning to place plastic in designated receptacles. Eight acts were set to hit the stage at Drexel University, but one group really seemed to be the "buzz" band of the festival, Vampire Weekend.
I walked around asking people whom they came to see; nearly every answer included those two words of "vampire" and "weekend." Cara Vitale, a sweatband-wearing St. Joe's alumna even sang some opening notes to their songs to describe who she was most excited to see at the second annual POPPED! Music Festival. Personally, I was not a fan of the band upon entering the gates at Drexel. I owned their debut album, but it's currently en route to AKA Music to be recycled and sold to an actual fan.
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