While acts like Mac Miller, Matt and Kim and Walk the Moon have headlined Binghamton University’s Spring Fling in the past, BTV’s Spring Thing provides a different kind of show. Student band POOL, improv group the Pappy Parker Players and a cappella group Rhythm Method were among the groups of student performers in this year’s Spring Thing lineup.
Andrew Rabinowitz, a producer at BTV and a junior majoring in English, said that he hopes this event can help put the station on the map.
“When you ask someone, ‘What’s BTV?,’ no one can answer you,” said Rabinowitz, who hosted the show. “People don’t know we have a whole student-run TV station, so hopefully people hear about this event and are inspired to come to our next GIM and check us out.”
The intimate show began with a quick introduction from Rabinowitz before the Pappy Parker Players took the stage. The Pappys improvised entire skits off of single words suggested by the audience and concluded their performance by creating sexual innuendos out of completely nonsexual words.
“I just love improv and making things up on the spot,” said Ari Schild, a member of the Pappys and a junior majoring in computer science. “Getting onstage and having no idea what you’re going to do is always a good time.”
After the Pappys, a cappella group Rhythm Method performed. The group ended their set with a rendition of A-Ha’s “Take On Me” led by Brian Racaniello, vice president of Rhythm Method and a junior majoring in geology.
“Our motto is the songs that you grew up to,” Racaniello said. “When you were a kid in the backseat of the car and your parents had the radio on, those are the songs we bring to the table.”
Jeshua DeJesse, a member of Bing Stand-Up and a junior majoring in biology, then performed a set for the crowd. To finish off the night, POOL, a band composed of Binghamton University students, played three original songs.
Rabinowitz said he hopes to use the event as a jumping-off point for future events for the station.
“We’re trying to make this an annual event or have a Friday show like this once a semester with different people,” Rabinowitz said. “The whole goal of this event was to get our word out and let people know, ‘We’re BTV and we’re here.’”