By Jen WiecznerThe Daily Northwestern
Ticket sales and energy were low at the Jurassic 5 and Clipse show Sunday night, as A&O found itself struggling to fill Patten Gym to capacity.
“We were a little bit disappointed that we didn’t sell out at the box office,” said A&O chair and Weinberg senior Rachel Cort.
Cort said that there was a rush for tickets when they first became available but that sales declined throughout the rest of the week.
“You never know what to expect with Northwestern,” said A&O programmer Todd Lewis, a Weinberg senior who was selling tickets. “That’s kind of the motto we go by.”
Several factors, ranging from the headliner’s popularity to midterm exams, probably had an affect on ticket sales, he added. Tickets sold for $10, twice the price of Jurassic 5’s last NU show in 2002.
A&O also wasn’t allowed to advertise the show until Northwestern and the bands’ management signed a contract, which didn’t happen until Monday, slightly later than A&O had hoped, said director of concerts Liz Korutz, a Medill senior and former Daily staffer.
Cort said that by Friday, only 800 tickets out of 1,200 had been sold.
Cort estimated that more than 1,000 people attended the show.
Usually when A&O holds an event at Patten, the group will sell 1,200 tickets at the box office and another 400 at the door, Lewis said.
Clipse started promptly at 8 p.m., calling for the crowd to “put their hands in the air.” Head-bopping students formed a column around the stage. The gym was loud with the crowd clapping, screaming and singing along.
Even though the crowd chanted for an encore, Clipse didn’t deliver one. But Jurassic 5 did.
“It was good even though the crowd was a little stiff,” said Soup of J5. The crowd noticeably quieted down as the show came to an end at 11 p.m., but Soup said he thought the crowd looked tired the whole time.
When Jurassic 5 walked through the gym, it received no more attention than “a couple of double takes,” said A&O crew member and Communication freshman Zack Johnson.
“Their pictures are right above the stage and they’re in the audience and people are here to see them, and nobody recognizes them,” said Communications sophomore Alex Wayne, who was volunteering with A&O.
During the show, Chali 2NA of Jurassic 5 leaned against a side wall to watch Clipse, but hardly anyone approached him.
“I’ve never even seen them before, so I thought I’d check them out,” Chali 2NA said.
Before the show Chali 2NA visited his father in Chicago, where he grew up.
“I’m from the South Side,” he said. “It always feels good to be back.”
When a student finally noticed him on the side wall watching Clipse perform, Chali 2NA decided to pose for a picture. Suddenly the crowd swarmed him, with students asking for pictures and autographs on anything they could find.
“College crowds are usually cool,” he said. “I don’t care if it’s 100 people here. They will have more fun than if there were a stadium full of people here, and in turn I will.”
He added that his group has been touring Canada, and Sunday’s performance was only its second stop in the United States and its first at a college.
The band members stayed after the show to talk to fans and sign autographs.
Chali 2NA told a few students scattered around to “crowd around real close.” In a huddle of about ten students that quickly became 30, he listened to Communication freshman Jordan Looney freestyle to the beat of his childhood friend.
“Word up,” Chali 2NA said, telling his friend that Looney reminded him of a rapper called Juice.
“I want to check you,” he told Looney, who calls himself “the Solution.” “Let’s link.”
Reach Jen Wieczner at [email protected].
