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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

arts

Big Gigantic headlines GLOWfest

Five bands performed at GLOWfest on Friday, making for an electronically charged night at the tailgate fields, on 14th Street and Woodlawn Avenue.

The set list featured The Pro Letarians, FIXYN, Logic, White Panda and headliner Big
Gigantic.

The crowd was brightly colored, and some attendees glowed with neon-painted nails or fluorescent shoelaces.

The Pro Letarians, composed of IU sophomores, began their three-song set after the gates opened at 5:45 p.m., 45 minutes later than the scheduled opening time.

At the beginning of the evening, everyone crowded close to the front. The band blasted remixes of Florence and the Machine’s “Shake it Out” and Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks.”

IU junior Matt Salamander said he liked the set, but he wished there was more emphasis on vocals.

“The bass drowned out the vocals, but they were pretty good for being the first band,” Salamander said.

FIXYN came onstage next, and the bass was ground-shaking. The crowd didn’t seem to mind.

Eddie Christianson, a friend of Salamander, shouted his approval of FIXYN during a remix of 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop.”

“This is much better than the last set,” Christianson said.

Sisters Melissa and Michelle Gohde walked to the concert.

“We’re here to see Logic,” sophomore Michelle Gohde said. “We’ve known of him for, like, a year. He’s amazing.”

Logic, also known as Robert Bryson Hall II, was dressed in a white and red letterman jacket and arrived onstage at about 7 p.m.

“He’s a really great rapper,” said sophomore Rudi Wilhoite, a GLOWfest volunteer.

Wilhoite and freshman Rachael Shapiro volunteered at a merchandise booth as part of the Business Careers in Entertainment Club. 

“The creator of GLOWfest actually went to IU and was in BCEC,” Shapiro said. “He asked for volunteers.”

The merchandise they sold included apparel, such as $10 bunny ears, and $5 glow items such as sticks, jewelry and pins.

The women said water, $3, was their most popular item. Other vendors reported the same.

“Our location in this corner is not very good,” said Shadi Khoury, owner of the In a Pita food truck. “We’re mostly selling drinks.”

Coke bottles and styrofoam cups piled up as the crowd grew.

A large group of audience members arrived shortly before 8 p.m., when White Panda took the stage.

White Panda’s Tom Evans enjoyed having the concert outside.

“As long as there’s ample lighting and the audio’s good, being outside is better than anything else,” Evans said. “The crowd was great, really lively.”

Big Gigantic started just before 9 p.m. People in tutus and tube socks rushed to the stage. Glow sticks were chucked into the crowd.

Not everyone there knew of the band.

“I’ve never heard of them,” concert attendee Hunter Swails said.

Swails said his favorite part of GLOWfest was seeing how everyone was dressed, but he wasn’t a fan of the $42 ticket price.

IU graduate Will Robinson was skeptical of the price as well as the computer-based performances.

“If I wanted to see a bunch of people playing on Macs, I could have gone to the library and saved 42 bucks,” Robinson said. “This is more fun than the library, though.”

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