Around 2,000 students and community members turned out last Sunday afternoon to see rock band O.A.R., also known as “Of a Revolution,” perform in the Events Center.
The band, whose act was preceded by opening indie-rock band The Format, played a mix of older music, such as their well-known hit “Crazy Game of Poker,” and several songs off of their newest CD, “Stories of a Stranger.”
Though many of the concert-goers, particularly those on the floor, seemed familiar with the newer music, many said they preferred the “classic O.A.R.” which they had come to love as the band rose to popularity during the last ten years.
“I hope they play old music,” said Jeff Taylor, a Broome County local and long-time O.A.R. fan. “I want to hear stuff I’m familiar with.”
Many in attendance were surprised by the relatively low turnout, with only 2,000 out of 7,000 tickets being sold.
“It just really surprises me because we all voted for a band like this,” said junior nursing major Karisa Heisler.
Jessica Picha, a sophomore business major, added that she felt the low turnout was indicative of the larger problem of student apathy on campus.
“They can’t get someone huge for next year if no one ever comes to anything,” she said.
Though attendance was lower than many had hoped, Student Association Vice President for University programming Pat Craig said he considers the event to be an overall success.
“I think we did a good job advertising,” Craig said. “I don’t know why more people didn’t show up, but it was their loss because it was a good show.”
Craig said that the University Programming Board never expects to make money on their shows, and therefore was neither surprised nor upset that O.A.R. failed to turn a profit.
“In order to have a student ticket price, we have to take a loss,” Craig said. “That’s what our budget is for.”
He added that the O.A.R. concert, which was co-sponsored by Hillel, lost less money than last fall’s Ludacris concert, which sold roughly 1,000 tickets more, due to the lower cost of the rock band and Hillel’s financial help.
Many attendees felt the smaller turnout may have been a result of the 2:30 p.m. concert time, and that a night show would have drawn more students.
“It’s Sunday afternoon, that’s the problem,” said Syracuse University graduate Brian Kasmarcik, who napped in the stands through a good portion of the show because he had “stayed up too late for this early of a concert.”
Though dark curtains were placed over many of the Event Center windows in an attempt to create a nighttime atmosphere, senior human development major Jen Guttman said she would have enjoyed the concert more had it been at night.
“You’ve got a lot of light coming in,” she said. “You don’t get the same feeling.”
Craig said the earlier show time was scheduled so that attendees traveling from other schools would have adequate time to make the trip home, and that he didn’t feel the timing had a strong impact on attendance.
“I highly doubt that someone would say, ‘oh, I love O.A.R., but if it’s at 2:30 screw that,’” he said.
The band, on the other hand, said they were impressed with the turnout for the Sunday show, and had expected far fewer attendees.
“I can’t remember the last time on a Sunday afternoon we played a concert to a couple thousand people,” said O.A.R. front man Marc Roberge. “This is fantastic, thank you.”