Virgin Mega Tour A Success

By: Chris Engelhardt

Posted: 5/2/07

On Wednesday April 25th, the College of Mount Saint Vincent hosted the highly anticipated Virgin Megastore College Tour. The tour maintained a broad selection of musical variety, which included genres of pop/rock, punk/alternative rock, and rap.
The show began with a pleasant performance by newcomer William Tell. With a colorfully lit stage, a calm piano soon filled each and every corner of Hayes Auditorium. That was the start of a great performance by Tell. Throughout his set, the drum beats replaced the audience's own thumping hearts of anticipation; the harmonious guitars and vocals blended together to produce feel-good rhythms that pulsated with an irresistible emotion-provoking sound. Tell's vocals ranged from hushed, mellow notes to loud yelps as he emphasized each lyric with an intense passion.

The exceptional and catchy "Young at Heart" was undeniably the best song of the evening. Tell often cut to the microphone with a smile and, in doing so, offered depth through lyrics that captivated the audience and provided us with a warm-fuzzy feeling. Tell concluded the show with "Fairfax," a song about "L.A., cocaine, and sluts." Spoken like a true musician. While opening acts are customarily short, Tell made his presence known and his time worthwhile.

The highlight of the show was Sugarcult, who sparked a fuse that ignited a frenzy of rowdy students. The crowd sang along as lead singer Tim Pagnotta conducted himself through sexual remarks and antics which added to the amusement and thrill of their performance. The band performed a good set of songs, which included the remarkable "Pretty Girl" and "Memory."

It was when Sugarcult began to play "Stuck in America" that the show became even more worthwhile when the rebellious Pagnotta decided to invite two ladies on stage. It was then that I realized how involved the audience was with the band, especially after a member of the event staff security personnel, who is also a student, pulled the two ladies off the stage. Uncalled for? You bet. The result was an auditorium of boos led by Pagnotta. This was a priceless moment that added to the true concert experience. Sugarcult concluded with "Bouncing off the Walls," the song that established their career and is still as fun and catchy as it was years ago.

It was all downhill afterwards when urban underground rapper Talib Kweli came on. Creative? Yes. Stylish? Definitely. Meant for this tour? Not at all. I will give Kweli credit for demonstrating his ability to work the crowd, at least for those that actually hung around after Sugarcult had finished. I would be a liar if I told you I witnessed the performance of his first song. Sorry, I went up to the balcony to have my poster autographed by Sugarcult. Maybe I should have stayed up there. The problem with Kweli was that while he established a crowd of fist-pumping students and good beats, he was simply misplaced in the selected group of musicians on this tour. The only highlights of his performance were his creative covers of "Sweet Dreams" and the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," in addition to his massive hit "Say Something." Variety is great, but it has to be done the right way.

Overall, many found the concert to be worthwhile, but for different reasons.

"I felt that Sugarcult was pretty good," said senior history major, Brad Smith, "Talib Kweli was horrible. I could not understand what he was saying. He sounded muffled in the microphone." However, Smith did enjoy the show overall, "mainly because I was with my friends," he says.
David Euvin, a freshman at the Mount, held a different viewpoint. "The energy from the crowd wasn't as exciting as it should've been. But I thought everything went smoothly and was overall a good show!"

"Although I mainly went to the concert to enjoy the tunes of William Tell, I also enjoyed Sugarcult's set," said Megan Clark, a sophomore history and sociology major.

"Although the auditorium was a nice place for the show, I believe that there could have been a better spot in order for standing and dancing room, but all together I applaud The Mount for attaining such an interesting and fun tour to come to school, for once, I actually wanted to stay on campus for an evening event," Clark says.

I for one agree.