So if 400 people showed up at the concert and assuming that they paid $25 each (at the most), SPEC brought in $10,000. I doubt that covers setup costs and security, let alone paying the musical acts. Does that mean that the bill from SPEC's ineptness gets passed on to us? Where's the accountability here? Chris, Student Philadelphia, PA

To Chris: SPEC, like all school organizations, are given a budgeted amount of money for the concert. If I recall correctly, that amount was 70K, the bulk of which covered the guarantees for the artists and some of the production costs. The rest of the money raised from ticket sales would go to cover the remaining show costs. Speaking in my capacity as a concert promoter here in Philadelphia, my guess is that SPEC cleared all their costs but just barely. To SPEC: Congratulations on an amazing show!!!!!! THANK YOU for bringing something different to campus, even if the student population doesn't get how important bands like Sonic Youth are to our musical history AND to our current music culture. Since all of this is new to you, here's a bit of advice for the future -- when ticket sales are poor and practically the entire campus is protesting your show, its time to think larger than the scope of Penn. It might have seemed like a huge risk, but the show could have better turnout if you lowered the ticket price and opened the doors to the general public. [a public that may i remind you, wanted nothing more than to attend this show] There's no need for a band like SY to play to less than 400 people [though the effect was not unlike having them play a private concert for every one of us] when they can sell out the Electric Factory on a moment's notice. Hostile City USA

This was an AMAZING show and I really hope that SPEC will continue to get good bands to come and play at Fling. I only wish that SPEC had opened up ticket sales to the public again - I know there were a lot of West Philly kids who would have loved to come out for this. LAM

SPEC absolutely should not open up Penn concerts to the public. The Spring Fling concert is supposed to be for STUDENTS. Sonic Youth may be a great band who could draw a sophisticated audience from outside of Penn, but it would be completely ridiculous for our tuition funded SPEC to put on concerts for Philadelphians with groups that don't appeal to Penn students. In the future, get commercial bands who students want to go see, even if they are less original or important than the Sonic Youths of the world. This should be obvious, and the two people who posted above are mildly retarded. Mike, student philly

Um. No. If SPEC is spending 70K bringing in music acts I want it to be reserved for Penn students. That is our tuition money being spent on the bands and it is a sorry fact the SPEC chose a concert lineup that did not reflect the desires of the students. I don't want thousands of non-Penn students, especially West Philadelphia youths, clogging our campus during Spring Fling. We have enough bullshit behavior from Penn students without having to add the trouble that outsiders will invariably bring. Tom, student campus

i mean damn, why don't you lil people say "not those black kids from west philly" since that's what you really wanna say anywayz...all that nice "not those west philly kids either" is starting to make me sick... i guess that's why i hate classist penn folks... just dat philly bul illy illy philly

If that 70k comes from a donor who puts the money directly towards a concert, then I have no qualms about it. But I'm pretty sure we're footing the bill for the concert - one that so few people attended, that the school might as well have had student groups perform at it. If you're going up against Moby and Jimmy Eat World on the same night, that's where Penn students will be. Cut your losses, save 70K and put that money towards something else. Heck, you could send a kid to Penn for two years with that kind of money. I'm not debating the merits of the groups that played on Friday night. I just think it was in poor judgment by SPEC to spend $140+ per attendee for a concert. Chris, Philadelphia Student

How this show could be in any way labeled a success I don't know. After SPEC claimed that ticket sales were on par with last year (yeah right), the turnout was about 10 times smaller than last year's turn out. What matters is not what SPEC thinks of the group playing. What matters is what the general population of the campus thinks of it. We are the ones paying for it, and it is our concert, our fling. When the general population of the campus is this much against a choice that is meant to be for the students, and the results reflect it this much, it is clear that SPEC not only failed miserably to do the job they are supposed to do, but robbed hundreds of Penn kids at least of an enjoyable time they have had in years past. Shame on you SPEC. Tony, Student Hamilton Court shockwaves@gmail.com

Tony, You, like many other kids at penn, have this odd sense of entitlement. You sit by the side and criticize what other student planners at the University do instead of being proactive about the situation. Your concert and your fling are only brought to you because the dedicated directors of SPEC work effortlessly to make this past weekend possible. Your concert and fling wouldn't exist without their hard work. If SPEC robbed you of "an enjoyable time," then you should be the first person next year at the SPEC Concert's and Spring Fling's meeting. I agree that this year's headliner for the concert wasn't the biggest name on the market, but in year's past when there was a big name, not many people went either (relative to the cost of the event). This year, they went for something different and you have a right to disagree with their choice but to be so defiant as to proclaim that SPEC robbed you of your fun is ludicrous. I suggest you wipe your tears and help make next year's concert more pleasurable for you and all the people who didn't like this year's show. Mark Mark, student philly

Ace of Base would have been so much better. If only rumors/dreams came true.. John

Mark, "Working effortlessly" does not necessarily dictate a job well-done. For example, you may study effortlessly for an exam, but study the wrong material and fail it. Even last year many people called for more student input into performer choice. Perhaps next year there will be more recruiting for SPEC membership and some type of input mechanism. And $20 per ticket was such a weak call. When SPEC shows a sense of responsibility, Penn students may stop showing a sense of entitlement, to the money which they have indirectly paid already. I'd like top hear Tom Kurland's ideas for next year. Penn Senior

What I've been reading about this concert over the past month has sickened me to the core. The fact that students at an Ivy League institution, people that have apparently demonstrated intelligence over an academic career, can judge and condemn a band they've so vocally "never heard of" without informing themselves is stunning to me. I've heard so many people passionately profess that Sonic Youth is a "bad" band in the past few weeks. I question how many "bad" bands those people have actually seen. It seems these people exposure to music is limited to MTV Total Request Live and the occasional Dave Matthews arena show. I've seen bad bands. Many of them. Even if you aren't into rock 'n' roll -- and I challenge you to name three better rock 'n' roll acts playing today -- Sonic Youth are five adroit, experienced musicians playing music that is *their's*. This is live music at it's best. There are few better live acts playing today. So why do SOME Penn students clamor for these mindless, derivative college acts? Is it accessibility? Perhaps music that these kids don't recognize immediately -- radio-friendly singles -- makes them feel intellectually uncomfortable or even inadequate. Is this true for EVERYBODY who didn't go? Of course not. Have I sensed that undertone in SOME attitudes? Absolutely. Do these people really have to be "in the know" that badly? What's so abhorrent about seeing a band you've never seen before? Especially when you don't have to leave campus to do it! One of the benefits of attending Penn is that you are afforded these extracurricular opportunities, whether it's a lecture, an art exhibit or a recital. I can already hear rebuttals to this: "But this is FLING, this is for the students! We deserved a bigger name." First of all, this (shameless) sense of entitlement is nauseating. Secondly, if the majority of Penn students truly desire nothing more from their Spring Fling concert than catchy, familiar background music to get blacked-out drunk to, then the problem is even bigger than I can put my arms around. In the college environment, I know how contagious this closed-mindedness can be. One person says "f*ck sonic youth and SPEC" and everybody follows because the idea is popular -- and the follower wasn't that enthusiastic about seeing a band they'd never heard of int he first place. This is the very abstract conformity so many of you kids are so desperate to rebel against; it's in your backyard. I find it amusing that so many of the kids -- especially underclassmen -- that found the Sonic Youth choice so reprehensible probably have Cobain posters (next to Marley?) hanging on their dormatory walls, yet how many bands fed Nirvana's creativity more than the premier punk band out of NYC that formed six years before them? I mean, they took Nirvana on tour with them pre-Nevermind. I don't think there's a single band that's been together that long (1981) that is still releasing critically acclaimed albums. How many other groups have collaborations with Mat Gustafsson, Public Enemy, David Byrne and Cypress Hill? Penn students had a golden opportunity to see a band that, even if their name didn't drop the jaws of their Brown and Dartmouth colleagues, might have at least been a conversation-starter at some cocktail party or function down the road. I can't believe how stuck up Penn kids are. It was horrible when I was there and it's only getting worse. Bryan bryanarmengraham@gmail.com