Amid unpredictable weather, construction, and last-minute cancellations and additions, Spring Fling ’07 charged on all day and most of the night on Saturday, April 28.
Overcast skies and spitting rain did not prevent crowds from attending the annual carnival. Lines for rides and student booths with free food were always long during the afternoon, and food tickets sold out around 4 p.m.
Nor did the wet weather prevent the Binghamton men’s lacrosse team from defeating its biggest rival, sixth-ranked SUNY Albany, 9-8 at East Gym Field. For a full look at the game and what it means to BU lacrosse, see the inside back cover of this issue.
Student performances took place all day and included shows from dance groups, a cappella performers like the Harpur Harpeggios and the Binghamtonics, and local bands Party Edition and One Who Stayed.
Soundhouse, the winner of Late Nite Binghamton’s Battle of the Bands, started off the night opening for Reel Big Fish over two hours before the headliners performed. Soundhouse gave a rousing performance filled with energy and several wardrobe changes by lead singer Jesse Reed. The band captivated the crowd like pros, and chants for an encore lead to one more song.
Popular power-pop band Head Automatica was forced to cancel at the last minute due to lead singer Daryl Palumbo’s Crohn’s disease, which causes swelling in the the gastrointestinal tract. The band has had to cancel performances and even whole tours in the past because of his bouts with the chronic condition.
Though Head Automatica’s cancellation left many bummed, pop/punk band Sugarcult, which is touring in the area, agreed to fill in and play a last-minute show ‘ after headliner Reel Big Fish.
After playing a show at Marist College earlier that day, Sugarcult made the trip up to Binghamton and delighted fans. Going on almost an hour and a half after Reel Big Fish, Sugarcult was left with about one third of the crowd that turned out for the first band.
Sophomore environmental planning major Robin Sanchez came out to the muddy concert pit specifically to see Sugarcult.
‘I was disappointed Head Automatica canceled but I’ve seen them before so I was excited to see Sugarcult for the first time,’ Sanchez said. ‘I thought that it was going to be pretty horrible since they just played a huge show and were on the road for over two hours. But it turned out to be very entertaining and they kept the crowd going, even in the crappy weather.’
Reel Big Fish took the stage promptly at 7:15 p.m. and immediately got the crowd going with high energy both on stage and in the muddy pit of fans. By the second song crowd surfing, mosh pits and the popular ska dance style known as ‘skanking’ consumed the whole crowd.
The band played for over an hour and their set included a mix of their hits including ‘Sell Out,’ ‘Beer,’ and their popular cover of A-ha’s ‘Take on Me.’
Junior human development major Ben Fedigan, a long-time Reel Big Fish fan, enjoyed the performance.
‘I thought the performance was excellent, energetic and entertaining. They played most of my favorite songs,’ he said. ‘It was awesome to finally see them live after being a fan for many years.’
‘They’ve been around for so long and have so much stage experience, so I wasn’t surprised,’ he said.
Sandi Dube, vice president for University Programming, was pleased with the crowds for Reel Big Fish and Sugarcult.
‘The crowd in the pouring rain was awesome. I heard it was a bigger crowd than they had at Marist,’ Dube said. ‘With all the last minute changes, Spring Fling met all my expectations. It was flawless.’