Third Eye Blind to perform next Friday in Dillon Gym

Third Eye Blind will be getting their "punk asses off the street" and into Dillon Gym Friday April 25 for the USG's spring concert, just before seniors end their "semi-charmed kind of life" here and "graduate."

Doors will open at 9 p.m. and AM Radio will warm the crowd up starting at 10 p.m., USG Social Chair Tim Skerpon '03 said. Third Eye Blind manager Marti Schein confirmed the event.

A maximum of 2500 tickets will go on sale beginning 9 a.m. Monday at the Frist Ticket Office. Because the concert is occuring so soon, tickets will only be on sale for a short time, Skerpon said.

"If this one is in fact a sellout," Skerpon said, "then it's going to be a fast sellout because it's going to have to be."

Outdoors vs. indoors

Like social chairs in years past, Skerpon investigated the idea of bringing a major band to play in the football stadium.

Skerpon said the usual suspects had been suggested, including acts like Bruce Springsteen or Pearl Jam with Neil Young.

"Very early in the year, I started looking into the stadium," Skerpon said. "And then when it became apparent that the work involved in getting the caliber of band and what not would have disabled me from being able to do two concerts — I would have been able to just do the one stadium show — I decided to go for two concerts."

Skerpon said that high costs and technical obstacles specific to the venue render the new football stadium an unaccommodating space for a concert. There has yet to be a rock show in the new stadium, he said.

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Although the football stadium was ruled out early on, Skerpon was hoping to hold a smaller concert outdoors at the Weaver Track and Field Stadium, a plan that crumbled only fairly recently.

Outdoor spring concerts have a way of falling through at the last minute. Skerpon said that the Thursday Night Live comedy show the USG held with Jay Mohr and Tracy Morgan last spring was organized after plans for a larger music concert fell apart. Former Social Chair West Owens '03 confirmed the story, saying that the comedy show was put together in a matter of weeks after it became clear that no bands were available.

The band

An alternative rock quartet from San Francisco, Third Eye Blind's self-titled debut album sold six million copies off the strength of popular tracks like "Graduate," "Semi-Charmed Life," "How's It Going To Be" and "Jumper."

The timing is unexpectedly propitious, Skerpon said. He noted that the band's new single "Blinded (When I See You)" is currently receiving heavy airtime on WPST. "Blinded" is the first single off of Third Eye Blind's forthcoming third studio album, "Out of the Vein," scheduled to be released May 13.

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"They haven't toured in a while and my guess would be that they're just trying a lot of this new music out live to see how crowds take it," Skerpon said.

Schein said the band is excited to be on this tour and to have the opportunity to play for college crowds. "They love playing colleges," she said.

Crowd pleasing

Skerpon said he is aware that some students will criticize his choice of bands because the Goo Goo Dolls and Third Eye Blind appeal to similar audiences, leaving students with other tastes unsatisfied by this year's concerts.

Still, Skerpon said he stands by his choice. "Third Eye Blind is a band that's a little more unique than the Goo Goo Dolls. They have a little more of their own style such that I think more people will be genuinely happy about the band choice," he said.

Third Eye Blind's selection for this concert was not based on Skerpon's preferences, though he considers himself a fan, he said. The major factors for the choice of the headlining act for any USG concert are the price range of the band and its availability and touring schedule.

Skerpon said he chose Third Eye Blind mostly because he expects they will sell tickets. "I want something that 2500 people will want to go to," Skerpon said.

Trying to find a band with mass appeal often means ignoring the niche groups. "It eliminates some of the desire to see something that's a little more minor, a band that appeals to a smaller audience at Princeton than others," Skerpon said.

"I was looking into some really out-there kind of diverse bands for the opening act," Skerpon said. However, Third Eye Blind's stipulation of the opening act precluded this part of Skerpon's plan.

"It's going to be another highly produced show like the Goo Goo Dolls show, lots of lights, lots of flashy stuff," Skerpon said.

There is a possibility that the Third Eye Blind concert will not be the last USG musical event of the semester. "I'm also hoping to have another free event, a smaller free event later in the semester," Skerpon said. "If this show sells out, there's a good chance that I will have a surplus of money with which I can plan a free concert that should cater to the minority interests of Princeton students."

Skerpon declined to give specific names of bands he was considering but he said they would be on the level of a group that would play an eating club at lawnparties.

Skerpon said he didn't want to get people excited in case the second show doesn't come off. "I haven't even begun planning the concert," he said.

Tickets will be $15 for University undergraduates and $25 for graduate students and faculty. The ticket policy will be the same as it was for the Goo Goo Dolls concert in the fall, Skerpon said.