Penn has chance at winning free concert

Just by browsing the Web, you can help Penn win a free concert. But you must log on quickly. As a promotion of Ticketmaster's new Word Wide Web site, the company is offering a free concert by the upcoming alternative band Everclear to the college with the most students who register on the web site. And so far, Penn is in the lead. There are 35 schools in competition for the show. Boston University is just behind in second place, and the University of Texas follows at third. Penn and Boston University have been trading the top spot back and forth for the duration of the contest. "[Penn is] neck and neck with Boston University, right around 550 entries," Ticketmaster's Senior Vice President of New Media Alan Citron said. "It's weird. It's going back and forth every day." Capitol Records, which is co-sponsoring the concert, will send the first 20,000 students who register on its home page a compilation compact disc of many Capitol recording artists. The contest began September 25 and the 20,000 limit has not yet been met. Regional Ticketmaster spokesperson Connie Bottaro, who is keeping track of Penn's participation in the contest, said she hopes it keeps its first place spot. "I can't wait to bring Everclear here to University of Penn," she said. "I hope we can keep our strong lead and overcome the other universities." College senior Mike Parker, director of concerts for the Social Planning and Events Committee, said that if the University won the contest, his organization would have to find a place to hold the concert. Irvine Auditorium is the most likely candidate, he said. If not, the concert could be held outdoors. Parker added that the band was featured recently in Rolling Stone magazine and that it would normally cost approximately $6,000 to $8,000 for the University to book. The entire SPEC concert budget for this year is $20,000. Parker described Everclear as a talented, innovative band. "They're a good band, but I don't think they'd sell out," he said. Other prizes offered in the contest include a trip to see the alternative music group Blind Melon in concert and the honor of being Master of Ceremonies at the Everclear concert, which will go to the most creative entry from the winning school. To enter the contest, students should log on to the Ticketmaster web site at http://www.ticketmaster.com and complete a registration form. The contest ends October 20.

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