Wilco to rock IU today

The campus will rock into a week of Little 500 festivities tonight with a concert by Wilco -- a Grammy award-winning group recognized for music that spans a range of genres. \nThe event, to take place at 8 p.m. in the IU Auditorium, marks a tradition of concerts held near the annual bike race, said Dick McKaig, dean of students.\n"The idea (is) that we want this Little 5 week to have a special-ness to it, and so you have the event itself, and you have events around it that add to the excitement," he said. "It provides (an) alternative program that people can enjoy and the University can be happy with." \nMcKaig said he didn't know the exact date of the first concert associated with the race, but said they've been around at least since he came to the University in 1971. Some have been held in outdoor venues in the past, like Memorial Stadium, while others have been put on after the race itself, he said. \nThis year's concert, organized and sponsored by the Union Board, will be the first time a performance has occurred as an opening to Little 500 week, said Katie Ly, the director of concerts for the group.\n"We never tried a kickoff concert before, now it's something new," she said. \nWhile the Union Board and its concert committee attempted to organize a concert closer to the actual race, she said only a limited number of bands are touring in April, and there were problems coordinating artists' traveling schedules through Indiana.\n"With Wilco, it just so happened it was the only date they could stop in Indiana," she said, referring to today's event. \nShe said simply finding a band that was accepting a performance date near the Little 500 race took weeks of phone calls to agents and performing groups because most bands organize tours only in the summer and winter months. \n"What's happened in the concert industry (is) big summer outdoor concerts have become some kind of financial boon for artists," McKaig said, noting that many bands weren't ready to go into the summer circuit but were already finished with their winter acts. \n"The April time period has kind of become an in-between," he said. \nLy said her concert committee -- made up of about a core of 20 undergraduates -- and her six assistant directors recommended Wilco to Bloomington because of their unique sound and ability to deliver entertaining performances. \n"It really spans across a wide audience," she said. "It draws in the indie rock people, it draws in the alt country; it's just a lot of the alternative crowd."\nAs of Friday, 900 seats remained of the 3,200 available, she said. \nTicket prices are $27 for IUB students and $35 for nonstudents. \nPeople who buy tickets to attend the event pay for the costs of the concert -- nearly $67,000 if the show sells out, less if it does not -- Ly said in an e-mail. The portion of the student activity fee the Union Board receives is not used for the Wilco concert, she said. \nFreshman Alex Boyd, who is attending the concert, said he is going for what he describes as Wilco's "surreal" music.\n"(I like) just the oddness of their music," he said. "Just how it seems that they're the only ones that could pull off the songs that they do. It's just unique." \nBoyd, an English major, said he is a particular fan of Wilco lead singer, Jeff Tweedy. \n"His voice isn't particularly neurotic, it's creepy," he said. "It works perfect for his songs." \nFor her part, Ly said she just wants concertgoers to have a good time, all in the spirit of Little 500.\n"Everybody's looking to get together, and music is really important for celebrating and having fun," she said. "Part of Little 5 is about everybody getting together and tradition"