A surprising number of people don't know anything about Auburn. Those who are familiar with us know we're a quiet, polite community nestled in a state a lot of people would rather forget about.
Somehow, we've climbed the academic and athletic ladder without making too many waves.
It feels like our corner of Alabama is the best-kept secret in the collegiate world. But this is a double-edged sword. We preserve our precious small-town atmosphere, but we also struggle to get big or interesting names to come to our titanically tiny town.
However, this irritating phenomenon was run out of town for those in the Auburn Arena Sept. 22.
University Program Council put on a fantastic show. Lupe Fiasco and Girl Talk are big-name acts, and they provided a spectacle not seen at a UPC concert for some time.
The lighting was wonderful; Tate Beckham, out of Birmingham, did a bang-up job with the arena.
The Twitter feeds hugging the stage were interesting and gave the show a personal element. The arena itself is a great venue for these shows, and we hope UPC continues to make use of it.
The sign-up process for tickets was smooth and efficient. People were in and out of the line in minutes.
The type of performers made a big difference with this show. These dance-focused artists got the crowd moving and kept them moving. It was more than a concert--it was a party.
The arena allowed concert-goers the opportunity to get concessions, and after a night of dancing, a bottle of water or Powerade appealed to a lot of people.
With kudos given, we would like to suggest some areas that could be improved.
The Twitter feed, while a great idea, had the same people on the screen multiple times. There were also tweets from people not at the event, or idiotic tweets that tried to call attention to the tweeter and take away from the show. Any kind of system that differentiates between good or bad tweets and location is worth considering.
The first 1,000 people at the arena received wristbands that let them onto the floor in front of the stage. This is in no way a bad idea, but the execution could be improved. We suggest that to keep people from piling up at the door and waiting hours to get in, UPC award the wristbands to the first 1,000 people who sign up for tickets.
To cut lines even shorter, we suggest UPC develop a system that allows people to register for tickets online. In the days preceding an event, too often are there hundreds of people forming a line that meanders up and down the Concourse and the Student Center.
We enjoyed Lupe Fiasco, and this opinion is in no way tied to his performance, but why did we have a big-name artist opening for a big-name artist? We feel like interest in Lupe Fiasco's performance waned as people prepared for Girl Talk to take the stage.
Instead, why not give a local band the opportunity to open for one big-name headliner?
UPC had the Battle of the Bands competition Sept. 9. It would be a simple thing to have the winner open at the fall concert. The money UPC saves from not booking two artists could be put toward booking a single, hugely popular one.
Another idea worth considering is a post-event survey. It's one thing to ask what people want. It's another to find out how things went. A consolidated post-event survey gives students the chance to express praise or frustration, and would make it easier for UPC to respond to the student body.
These are more suggestions than complaints. UPC did an outstanding job finding artists that students wanted to see. They played to students' desires for a popular artist that wasn't over-exposed or tired.
This was, by far, the best UPC concert The Plainsman staff has seen, and we eagerly await whatever they'll have for us in the spring.
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