Photograph by Andrew Fu
ADEFG
A Day in the Life of Cornell Concert Commission
Project Head: Lindsay Rothfeld Contributing Editor: Dani Gredo単a Writer: Olivia Duell
Photograph by Andrew Fu
Shortly after 6:00 PM, doors open for the Lupe Fiasco concert and an antsy line of ticket-holders rushes into Barton Hall. The crowds are ushered in smoothly by the Concert Commission crews that had arrived twelve hours earlier. One can only wonder what really went down in Barton Hall on the day of the Lupe concert.
6:45 AM Barton Hall is vacant and does not look ready for the concert that will occur later this evening. CCC crew membres arrive, exhausted but excited for the day ahead. Crews gather and “circle up,” introducing themselves to other members. After a quick, yet delicious and catered, breakfast, Stage Crew gets to work and begins
the long process of unloading trucks filled with stage and lighting equipment. It’s a strenuous job, but the crew laughs when they notice what the last user of the stage left behind. Ke$ha, who had just previously performed on the stage, left behind her set-list. Oh, and a ton of glitter, fake blood, and cake.
Photograph by Olivia Duell
STAGE CREW
HOSPITALITY CREW
Near where the hospitality members are setting up for lunch, I talk to seniors Sean Lawless, Pete Kelly, Mason Appel, and Rebecca Jacobowitz, who tell me more about the strange errands they’ve done on concert days. Entitled “runners,” these members at a moment’s notice may be asked to do some odd things. “I sat in the front of Kid Cudi’s limo giving him directions around Ithaca,” Jacobowitz said.
Photograph by Olivia Duell
The crew also recalled how Further’s Phil Lesh wanted chocolate covered strawberries picked up for his wife, as it was Valentine’s Day. Jenny Lewis needed to drive to a store for chapstick, and MIA needed some laundry done. Girl Talk requested a delivery of mouse-pads, and Cudi needed 50 cheeseburgers. Why? We may never know.
10:00 AM The Hospitality Crew arrives back from their trip to Wegman’s, carrying bags full of food to feed CCC members and the awaited artists. Hospitality also takes care of preparing the artists’ dressing rooms, sometimes filling strange requests. Today, Lupe wanted five pans of cornbread. Down by the stage, the rest of hospitality is preparing lunch. Hospitality members are up to their elbows in deli meat and cheese, and the stage crew jokes that all hospitality does is roll meat. But Samantha Lefland and other hospitality crew members all agree that their positions are sought after. Hospitality doesn’t have to do any heavy
lifting, and they can hang backstage all night. And though it rarely happens, members of hospitality have the best chance to interact with the artist. To get on hospitality, “You need to get the most karma,” says Lefland. Karma is a process where members get points for the amount of time they commit to CCC. These points can be won by attending meetings, working concerts, or by advertising at tables or with quarter-cards. Get enough karma and you get your first choice crew.
LUPE’S DRESSING ROOMS Photographs by Olivia Duell
K’NAAN’S DRESSING ROOM
In four Barton classrooms, hospitality puts Lupe’s cornbread and other items on the artists’ riders (a formal list of requests) on the tables they have set up and covered with tapestries. The crew works together to transform these spaces into desirable and relaxing rooms for the artists.
Unneeded chairs and tables have been pushed to the sides of the room and hidden by black curtains. A vase of flowers lies on one table, and lamps are placed in the corners to improve lighting. Hospitality has made the rooms look professional and welcoming, but there are more items that
need to be moved in. Dan Cahalane’12, Production Director, pops in to remind hospitality that it’s 11:00 AM, and Lupe Fiasco is scheduled to arrive in three hours. The crew picks up their speed.
Photograph by Lindsay Rothfeld
Everybody grabs lunch and sits together backstage. Zac Peterson, a freshman, looks at me and says, “You should do Concert Commission. I wasn’t even into music before joining.” Since he became involved, he has worked every show CCC has put on this year.
12:00 PM
During artist soundcheck, members have some downtime. CCC stresses professionalism, and no students watch or bother the artists during this process. “If the artist talks to us, it’s okay to talk back,” said Douglas DuRant, former Executive Director of CCC. Otherwise, disrupting the musicians is generally off-limits.
Photograph by Olivia Duell
(left to right) Douglas DuRant ‘11, Harris Nord ‘12, and Justine Fields’10 reuinte for an Executive Director lineage pic. Photograph by Olivia Duell
Photograph by Olivia Duell
4:45 PM
Photographs by Olivia Duell
Dave Rodriguez’13, Selections Director, elaborates on how they choose and work with the artists. He says that no one person is solely responsible for selections. Instead, the group organizes discussions, sends out surveys, and compiles information. CCC members then create a list of acts they want to bring to Cornell, and Rodriguez contacts the artists on the lists until one accepts. Lupe responded to CCC’s offer within three to four days, and then planning began.
CCC’s mixture between a business and a student group helps students who potentially want to enter the music industry. Sam Breslin’12, former Selections Director, knew that a position on the CCC E-Board would be a great opportunity for his future. Kate Tucci’11, another senior, says that her time with CCC has also guided her toward a career in concert and event planning.
SOUND CHECK
SHOW TIME
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Photograph by Andrew Fu
Crew members change into their respective crew shirts to designate their positions. Security, Stage, and Hospitality members take their places in different security stations around the barriers and by the water stations. Ticket-takers are downstairs by the entrance, waiting for the oncoming rush. A group dressed in bright orange stands spread out between the barrier and the stage to keep the audience safe. Two girls hop over the barrier midway, but a CCC member is there to escort them back to the standing area. The show runs smoothly, and the CCC members look ecstatic.
7:00 PM Photographs by Andrew Fu
Photograph by Olivia Duell
Photographs by Andrew Fu
K’NAAN
Photographs by Andrew Fu
LUPE FIASCO
Photograph by Andrew Fu
1:45 AM GOOD NIGHT Everyone clears out when the lights come on after Lupe’s last song, except for Concert Commission. Their shifts don’t end until around two or three in the morning. Stage crew immediately needs to start disassembling the stage, and everybody needs to do a lot of clean up. At the end of it all, full day members have dedicated almost twenty-four hours of their time to CCC. Everybody is tired, but still having fun. Harris Nord, Executive Director, looks pleased with this performance day. “Do you see how big of a production this is?” he asks, explaining that hundreds of members have come together to set everything up, take everything down, and make the entire show possible. And thanks to the students and their passion for the organization, the show was a success. As the doors to Barton Hall close for the night, everyone head over to Manos for some late night/ early morning snacks...But that’s an exclusive experience reserved only for the devoted members of Cornell Concert Commission.