Halfway through Wyclef Jean’s headlining set at Friday night’s Art Attack, Jean took an ambitious look at the stage’s high-rising scaffold and began climbing. Moments later, the Fugees alumnus was high above the Byrd Stadium crowd, looking at the frantic energy below as his voice blared from the speakers.
“See I’ma tell you like you told me/ Cash rules everything around me/ Singin’ dollar, dollar bill y’all,” Jean sang.
Though it was the first time in the event’s 25-year history students were charged for admission, it seemed the dollar bills in Jean’s “Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)” were the only ones that mattered – the estimated 4,300 in attendance almost matched the turnout for last year’s free show featuring The All-American Rejects.
A few more than 9,000 students picked up tickets for last year’s show, but about half that number showed up, said Maggy Baccinelli, public relations director for Student Entertainment Events. This year, the $5 fee didn’t deter too many students. Though some said the cost kept them away, freshman journalism major Alexa Watford wasn’t one of them.
“I’m not complaining – that’s still pretty cheap to see all of these bands,” she said. “It would have been nice if it was free, but you can’t really beat $5.”
After opening with the song “Riot,” Jean’s rousing 50-minute set also included tracks “If I Was President” and “Fast Car.”
“I thought he was so awesome – it was just amazing,” freshman government and politics major Romy Solomon said. “I just wish it went on longer.”
Jean, who previously played Art Attack in 2002, brought an expected political tinge to his act, repeatedly voicing his displeasure with American policy. He pointed to Washington as he chanted, “George Bush, mind your business.”
As the audience jammed to Jean’s genre-pushing blend of hip-hop and rock, the 35-year-old Haitian also ripped a behind-the-back guitar solo, wandered into the crowd multiple times and treated the students to a performance from his sister, R&B artist Melky Jean.
“I’ve never been to see any music like that, so it was new to me,” sophomore criminology major Kyle Rippeon said. “But it was definitely the best concert I’ve ever been to.”
The show, co-sponsored by mtvU Campus Invasion, also featured 30-minute sets from five opening bands. While a hot spring afternoon gave way to a brisk, breezy night Jean would ultimately own, it was alternative rockers Simple Plan and The Bravery who warmed up the crowd.
Simple Plan opened its set with “Generation,” a track off the band’s new self-titled album. Despite crashing through old favorites such as “Addicted” and “Shut Up,” it was not until the Canada natives closed with emo anthem “I’d Do Anything” that the crowd got excited. The band’s on-stage banter even suggested the lethargic audience should have tried hitting the bottle before the concert.
“It’s a pretty simple procedure – you put alcohol in your mouth, and you get drunk,” mused frontman Pierre Bouvier. “And then everything is fun.”
When The Bravery followed Simple Plan, the band brought its distinctive synthetic rock sound to the concert, with a set that included songs “Believe” and “An Honest Mistake.” Particularly memorable moments occurred when a genital-shaped balloon floated above the crowd – “That’s just rude,” quipped frontman Sam Endicott – and when the band made an honest admission about its performance of “Time Won’t Let Me Go.”
“How many of you guys noticed I f—ed up the words to that?” Endicott asked. “I rewrote that shit right here in front of you. You’re welcome.”
The early fan favorite was techno-rock quintet Cobra Starship, who returned to the campus after performing at the Stamp Student Union in September. While only a small group of disinterested fans gathered to watch opening acts We Are Only Fiction and The Spill Canvas, people poured onto the field as Starship took the stage.
By the time Cobra Starship closed with “Bring It (Snakes on a Plane),” the crowd was channeling frontman Gabe Saporta’s antics by jumping, singing and following along with Saporta as he mimicked a cobra with his hands. Hours after the set was over, Saporta was still mingling with spectators, signing autographs and taking pictures with fans.
“It seemed like a lot of people here knew who they were and knew the words to their songs a lot better than most of the other bands,” said Vance Monroe, a freshman civil and environmental engineering major.
tfloyd1@umd.edu
