KDUP's re-named music festival brings more bands, shows higher turn-out
By Aaron O'Connell
Woodstock 1969: a music festival famous as one of the most influential rock concerts of all time. Woodstock '79, '89, '94 and 99: Commemorative music festivals and concerts, famous for capacity crowds, rioting, violence and looting. Bluffstock: A concert event put on by KDUP last Thursday night in the New Commons. This year, Bluffstock was KDUP's replacement for the Battle of the Bands. According to junior General Manager of KDUP, Aaron Davis, KDUP began planning for the event at the beginning of the semester. Despite KDUP's use of the University of Portland's student-run advertising service, ADvantage, when the first band took the stage, the students hardly outnumbered them. "I was very scared at the beginning of the event, we had spent about $1000 dollars," Davis said. "And at least at the beginning nobody showed up."M. Bison, the first band to play, had an indie pop feel. The melodies were catchy and light, and at the end of the night, there was a consensus among those present for the show's entirety that the lack of students was disappointing, as M. Bison was one of the night's best artists. M. Bison derives their name from Street Fighter II, based on the boss-character who was, according to Jeff Grant (the band's guitarist, vocalist and one of its writers), the hardest boss to beat."No. Impossible to beat," Grant said emphatically. "Impossible." Aside from Street Fighter II, the band's influences range from pop rock to jazz, from other bands such as The Kinks and The Zombies."And The Beatles," Grant said. "But that's like saying Radiohead."Seattle-based M. Bison has been together for about three years, and wholeheartedly enjoyed the opportunity to come and play at UP. Playing for students offers a unique opportunity, according to Grant. "You've been to a bar before and where you just want to tell the band to shut up so you can go talk to a cute girl," Grant said. ."The cool thing about playing for college students is you get a much more educated listener." After M. Bison came Kelly Bauman, performing solo with light acoustic melodies. Trophy Generation played next with an alternative-rock type feel, and was about the time attendance was getting to its peak. "I sorta figured that's how events go," junior KDUP Promotions Director Cam Keilty-Lucas said. "Everyone figures good bands are at the end."Rounding out the show was the Electric Opera Company, and though perhaps not as energetic as at last year's Battle of the Bands, added several new voices and did not fail to impress. Overall, KDUP considered the event a success. "People kind of came and went throughout the night," Davis said. "Overall, I was very happy with the event. (The promotions director) did a head count at one point and there were about 70 people." The fans also enjoyed the opportunity to come and see live music on campus. "My life revolves around music so this is great," junior Suzie Nguyen said. Others enjoyed the tables on the side, stacked with sodas and bags of chips."I like all the free food and all the free gifts," junior Lauren Braaten said. The major complaint from KDUP had nothing to do with the event itself, but was rather concentrated on the promotion leading up to Bluffstock"I don't think we will use ADvantage again for our events," Davis said. Davis expressed that he didn't notice a great amount of advertising by using ADvantage, and the next event they host will be handled directly by their promotions manager. KDUP is even kicking around the idea of having an over-21 event in the future, though no serious plans have been discussed. Despite the overall success with the event, Keilty-Lucas believes that more can be done to boost the aesthetic appeal of the event."I feel like it would be cool if the bands brought fog or something," Keilty-Lucas said. "Like fog or lasers."Future events planned by KDUP will certainly have the support of bands such as M. Bison. "I love Portland. Any school willing to put on this kind of event is cool." Grant said. "Go Pilots."
