Springfest in bloom at last night's 'Rock the Quad' show

04/14/09 - Kicking off the festivities for the University of Rhode Island's Springfest was an evening-long outdoor concert on the Quadrangle.The "Rock the Quad" event, hosted by the Student Entertainment Committee, featured a Missouri-based headlining band, "Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin," and four URI student bands.

A fifth band, Starting Over Tuesday, was unable to attend.

Acting as host for the night was comedian Shane Mauss, who entertained the crowd with short stand-up routines between music sets.

More than 75 students gathered on the Quad in front of a large stage to see the show. Many laid out beach towels and lawn chairs on the grass, eating take-out. As the evening grew colder, the students huddled in blankets as they watched the performances.

Others, taking advantage of the warmer weather early on, played Frisbee, soccer and catch with the inflatable beach balls on sale at the SEC booth.

Also on sale were Springfest t-shirts, key-chains, towels and neon-colored sunglasses, which students enthusiastically purchased during the sunny start of the show.

The event itself was free to all students, an important part of the event, said the SEC.

"I think that, especially since it's a free show, it's good because people can sit, watch and come and go as they please without having to buy tickets," senior Sarah Shields, the SEC concert president, said.

The outdoor concert was inspired by the success of October's Battle of the Bands.

"We specifically picked bands not at Battle of the Bands, so everyone would get a chance to showcase," Shields said. "We wanted anyone who is a musician at URI to have a chance to play on a big stage."

The search for bands started about a month ago as a Facebook group that requested tapes of any type of music. The SEC received 15 entries and a committee chose which acts to invite to the Quad.

"We wanted it to be something all people would want to go out and see," Shields said.

Each group had a unique sound to offer the crowd.

THC (Tetrahydro Clan), a hip-hop group from Coventry, R.I. took the stage, followed by The Minusgreen.

"The Minusgreen were really good," junior Courtney Kelley, said.

The group interspersed their own original music with covers of songs ranging from the Fray's "You Found Me" to "Sweetest Girl" by Wyclef Jean.

Rounding out the local line-up were the indie rock inspired Big Tall Buildings and Fairhaven, the winner of WBRU's 2009 Rock Hunt.

As the bands switched places on stage, Mauss would share quips and anecdotes on everything from the perils of drunk texting on Valentine's Day to the possibilities of a time machine.

"The comedian was a little awkward, but funny," senior Stephanie Gillday said.

While most of his jokes elicited laugher from the crowd, Mauss was quick to recover when they fell flat.

"I love doing jokes like that with no response whatsoever," he said to the audience. "I think I'm more entertained than you are. But, hey, I'm getting my check."

"Rock the Quad" kicked off the week-long Springfest which includes a variety of campus-wide events.

The SEC will host Mocktails on the Quad, as well as a screening of Slumdog Millionaire in Edwards Auditorium on Wednesday.

On Saturday, April 25, Angela Kinsey from NBC's The Office will perform standup and answer questions at Keaney Gymnasium.

Springfest wraps up the following night, April 26, with performances by The Roots and Sligtly Stoopid at the Ryan Center.

"We're kind of starting and ending it all with music," Shields said.