Editor:
Back in the day (2006), I was the Concerts Chair for the Presenters Office (“Concerts should feature bands students want,” Chase Straight, April 18).
In my year, I brought Death Cab for Cutie, Wilco, Yo La Tengo, Jurassic 5 and Violent Femmes. I fought hard for U concerts, and it makes me sad to see the quality of shows go downhill.
The U really has an opportunity to put on amazing concerts…they have the budget, the venues and the student body. I felt like we had a lot of steam and momentum rolling into 2007. National bookers knew who we were, we had a great reputation among the bands and bookers — in fact, the main booker for the Austin City Limits festival was even aware of our activities! We were really in a great position to take it to the next level.
Unfortunately, I graduated and I had to sit on the sidelines and watch the concerts go downhill again. We were really on the edge of making the U a major concert venue.
Oh, well. Hopefully you’ll get some better bands in the future. After my year as Concerts Chair, I tried to make the case that the U really needs to hire a full-time concerts professional. With the budget the U has for concerts, they could actually make money on shows, as well as bring in quality programming.
Good luck!
Cody RobertsU Alumnus 2005