Despite hurdles, Culture Shock commences with afternoon music festival

With a last minute scramble to change the location and set up another tent, Culture Shock organizers engaged alerts via Facebook and Twitter to keep the public informed, and despite the rain, the music lovers still came.

Culture Shock 2011 rang loud and clear amid the raindrops and neon lights Saturday afternoon and continued into the evening. 

After a barrage of thunderstorms from the night before left Dunn Meadow soaked, those at WIUX responsible for coordinating the festival had to make some changes. They shifted the location to a parking lot at 13th Street and Fee Lane, and PR Director Kat Coplan said the sudden weather gave them one day to get together another tent and generator. 

Apart from securing the correct equipment, the staff at WIUX also faced another challenge: getting attendees to show up. 

If the first band was any indicator, the day would be full of people ready to listen.
“Even though we changed locations at the last second, it was still awesome to see a hundred people show up for the first local band,” Coplan said.

Sleeping Bag performed first, followed by two other local bands, Gardendale & Berkley and The Calumet Reel. 

The Calumet Reel took the place of Waxeater, who had to pull from the ticket a day before the festival.

While numbers had been good throughout the day, Wendy Greenberg, promotions director for WIUX, said the energy of the crowd was revived during one act in particular. She said Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt brought energy to an otherwise rainy day.

The group incorporated many performance techniques and tools, including giant parachutes, neon lights and banners and interaction with members of the crowd during the set.

Neil Fridd, the front man of TPDR, said college shows are more fun for him because of the willingness of the audience to become involved.

“The participation is as important as my singing,” Fridd said. “I started this because I realized the shows I had the most fun at were ones that felt more like a communal experience. I want to have more of a party than play a set.”

The energy stayed high for the rest of the lineup as more people showed up as the rain died down throughout the evening. 

The War on Drugs offered a laid back set, and the sounds of the following act, Beach Fossils, created a mini mosh pit in front of the stage.

As if on cue, the rain stopped right before the headliner for the festival.

“How great is this? It’s beautiful for the headliner,” Coplan said.

Ty Segall excited attendees of Culture Shock even more, delivering a rousing set of garage punk all the way from San Francisco.

Between songs, Segall reminded those present how lucky they were to have a campus radio station like WIUX, especially one that would put on such a great festival with a full lineup.

As he continued to play, members of the crowd kept their heads bobbing and started to climb onto and jump off of the stage, filled with the energy of the night.

Despite the various hurdles that had to be conquered, Culture Shock still delivered music to Bloomington fans.
 
“The most important thing is that the people here seem to be genuinely enjoying the music,” Coplan said. “They all seem to be real fans.”