There is nothing like a fall music festival to start off the school year, and DU enjoyed one Friday.
Sponsored by DUPB, with contributions from DU Athletics, RHA, Student Media Board, Greek Council and Late Night at DU, the first annual Boone Stock was a hit.
Headliners Swollen Members stole the show when the band came on stage 30 minutes behind schedule. Opening for Swollen Members were DU bands Becktet and The Foot., followed by special guest appearances of (Ninth) Cloud and DJ tom PHIL-e.
Local vendors provided a variety of fare. Booths and tables were manned by The Crushery, Pajama Baking Company, Unity, Spicy Pickle, Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta, Brother’s Boards, 5 Green Boxes and Stick-e-Star.
Student had the chance to make Boone Stock T-shirts. Using different colors, patterns and stencils, some T-shirts were tie-dyed, while others were striped.
Although the turnout for DU’s own Becktet and The Foot. was somewhat of a disappointment, the bands’ jazzy, funk, Christian rock beats still deserve more than just a simple round of applause.
A completely instrumental band, Becktet’s saxophone player Park Smith played some fabulous solo runs along with bass player Aaron Hochberg. On the drums was Mike Beck, playing a smooth jazz percussion sound while keyboardist and brother, Chris Beck, played a steady beat in the background. Altogether the band produced a modern jazz sound with energetic and catchy tunes.
DU’s other band, The Foot., had a slightly larger turnout than Becktet. Their performance was upbeat, offering a catchy California sound that is hard to categorize.
Next came the hip-hop rap band (Ninth) Cloud.
When DJ tom PHIL-e came out with his techno beats, everyone began dancing.
The crowd waited impatiently for the main act and people chanted “Swollen! Swollen!” The crowd went wild when Swollen Members finally appeared. Everyone became immediately ecstatic as the band began rapping. The crowd jumped, shouting lyrics, pushing and dancing. Everyone became enchanted by “Black Magic” and bobbed their heads to “Pressure.”
When the band was finally ready to say goodbye, the crowd pleaded for an encore. Swollen Members complied, closing the show with an overwhelmingly joyful cheer that an after-party was soon to follow at Stick-E-Star.
