Howie Day fans excited by fall concert selection

Back in Torrington, Wyo., Wharton freshman Deborah Garber's home town, major pop stars do not pass through very often.

"I'm from an area that never has concerts," Garber said, expressing enthusiasm and a bit of awe after hearing that Howie Day is coming to perform on campus next month.

Garber is not the only Penn student looking forward to the Oct. 7 concert, as many students seem to be reacting positively to the Social Planning and Events Committee's choice for this year's fall concert.

"I was thrilled when I found out," College junior Dov Kogen said. "I've been a big fan of Howie Day since I was midway through high school."

The show will take place at 8 p.m. in Irvine Auditorium.

"I'm really excited to put on the show," said College senior and SPEC Concerts co-Director Michelle Chikaonda. "I think that Howie Day was a good choice to bring to campus. I feel like he would have a lot of appeal here."

The SPEC Concerts directors are hoping that there will be a better reaction to this concert than to last year's Spring Fling concert, which featured the underground punk-rock band Sonic Youth.

"We're hoping that the show is going to combine bringing in a fall show and ameliorating students' feelings toward SPEC, which we did feel was not that positive last year," Chikaonda said.

Many students seem to think Howie Day is an improvement.

"I think it's good that SPEC actually chose a performer that is a little bit more popular and mainstream," College sophomore Julietta Chang said. "I think it's more to the students' taste than, say, Sonic Youth, who's kind of old-school compared to Howie Day."

Garber had only heard of Penn's Spring Fling concert and said she was surprised to hear about the concert in the fall.

"It's just really welcoming," Garber said. "It's really cool to see such a popular artist come so soon in the year."

The show is part of Verizon Wireless' Music Unleashed Concert Series, which is sponsored by Verizon Wireless, Samsung and 411 Connect.

Chikaonda said, "This show is going to be cheaper to put on than the Spring Fling show because we're working with Verizon, [which is] covering a a large part of it."

The concert would be "significantly more expensive" if SPEC had to produce it entirely on its own.

SPEC organizers would not comment on the exact price of the concert. However, the Web site of Pretty Polly Productions -- which is responsible for the concert -- listed Day's price as $35,000.

At $10, the tickets seem to be priced for most students.

Engineering sophomore Jeremy Rosenman said that he has heard of Howie Day but is "not terribly excited" about the concert.

"I wouldn't call myself a Howie Day fan, but I've heard his music before, and it's all right," Rosenman said. "I'd probably go anyway. ... I figure that if Penn's having concerts on campus, it's a great opportunity to go to a concert that's easy and convenient to go to, so why not?"

Tickets will be sold for $10 on Locust Walk starting Thursday, Sept. 22, to Penn students, faculty and staff only.

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