Alt–folk paired with the writers of last year’s youth anthem “We Are Young”? Possibly not the best combination, but considering the recent explosion in Fun.’s popularity over the summer and across the globe, SPEC really hit the motherlode on this Fall Concert. While we may not all particularly enjoy Nate Reuss’s vocals or lyrics, few can doubt the hype around these alt–pop masters. Deer Tick, on the other hand? Perhaps as an opening, the more mellow, folksy outfit served as a good counter–balance to Fun.’s operatic nature.
Though critically–acclaimed, Local Natives may not mesh excellently with Penn’s campus, but campus's indie music fans flocked to this one. Yet another example of SPEC's exercising a balanced music taste, the Local Natives show proves that SPEC thinks before it chooses fall artists — no huge flop here.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Though at the time of their Fall Concert simultaneously hailed and chided for their absurdly long name, TPOBPAH grew in popularity, eventually returning to campus a year later to play Pilam. Keep your eyes peeled as the band continues to slowly gather prominence in the indie–sphere. Maybe in the future you can count yourself lucky as TPOBPAH end up selling out…well, probably not Madison Square Garden, but maybe the Electric Factory.
Perhaps the black sheep on this list, Steven Lynch isn’t only a musician — he’s also a comedian! He doesn’t really fit in with the later fall line–ups, and maybe that’s why none of the later bands tell jokes or anecdotes. Of course, prior to Lynch, SPEC had no Fall Concert, so something is better than nothing, right?
