The fling before the Fling is the thing

COURTESY YO LA TENGO Yo La Tengo Kicks Rusted Root's collective ass

Maybe you're not super-psyched about Spring Fling. Maybe the idea of listening to Rusted Root does not set your heart aflutter. And maybe the prospect of another year of those damn "spin around 'til you puke" and "run 'til the bungee cord snaps your spine in half" games doesn't float your boat. Take heart. There is still reason to be psyched for the weekend. There is Musicfest '99.

Now presenting a blatant abbreviated Letterman ripoff: The Top Five Reasons Musicfest '99 Will Rock Harder Than Spring Fling:

5. The Organizers

WYBC radio seems to have recovered from last year's student DJ eviction, and the kids in charge now are trying to do something really good. They started playing some really good shit on the AM station, and now they've put a ton of time, energy, and cold, hard cash into organizing this concert. They've enlisted the help of the concert-savvy Performing Musicians' Cooperative, and it looks like we're on our way to having a rock scene on campus again.

4. The Day

Saturday is inherently a cooler day than Sunday all around. When was the last time you got terribly inebriated and strutted your stuff to some ABBA-esque diva squealing about the wonders of "Sunday late afternoon"? On a more practical side, Saturdays are free of that nagging "I've got shit to do tomorrow" feeling that drags Sundays down. You've got nothing to get up for the day after Musicfest--unless you're planning on getting to Spring Fling before the Bungee-Run gets too long.

3. The Place

Cross Campus is nice, but what with the big, ugly blue "Freedom of Expression" walls flanking it, and the picturesque scaffolding on battered old Berkeley looming above, it's not the coolest place to hang out. Also, it's so big that even if you get tons of people there for a show, it still feels relatively empty. In Pierson, you get that concert feeling, that "we're all here together to hear some rock" feeling, that "sorry, was that your face I just stepped on?" feeling. And isn't that what rock and roll is all about?

2. The Opening Bands

We get the intense emo effusion of Pinstripe, the intriguinginstrumentals of 33.3, the rocked-out tunes of Pearly Sweets and the Platonics, the sweet, so-sad strains of Trumbull City Heartbreakers, the live-wire thrashing of Cassius, the sincerely sentimental stylings of Gaslight, and the cooler-than-you-are import sounds of Sea Ray. These bands are so good, it's heartening to know they'll be playing in a forum where they're more than just accompaniment to meatless barbecues and Velcro Sumo wrestling.

1. Yo La Tengo

I know they've played Yale once before, but that was back during the glory days of Yale rock 'n roll, when indie kids ruled the streets and lo-fi filled the airwaves 24/7. This band is cooler than cool. They rock out without devolving into thoughtless noise, and they're considered and complex without being overly academic or esoteric. You'll laugh, you'll cry. They're better than Cats. So get your ass out to Pierson on Saturday, or you'll be sorry you missed it. It just might be the closest to cool Yale will ever get. At least until next year.

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