Students choose band but Volapalooza still disappoints some

Dashboard Confessional was chosen to be the front-runner for this year's Volapalooza festivities, but some University of Tennessee students were still disappointed by their selection.

Every year Campus Entertainment Board chooses a band to play the concert held on Fiji Island. The free-of-charge event attracts students and non-students alike and the audience ranges from young to old.

This year CEB did something a little different: they let the students decide. The survey that decided on this year's entertainment was given to students in November 2007 and featured bands like O.A.R. and Jimmy Eat World. The results of the survey was announced at Vol Night Long on March 8, 2008. Dashboard Confessional was coming to UT and some students were not satisfied.

As a student worker in the Office of Student Activities, sophomore Jessica Livingston was very familiar with the students' reactions, "You can't please the entire student body. Dashboard Confessional was available and in our price range. They're a very popular band that's had a lot of hit songs. It was a free concert, are you really going to complain?"

Other students like junior Psychology major Stacia McKennon had a different reaction, "Dashboard is like some emo kid's band. I'm not a depressed high-schooler locked up in my room who wants to slash my wrists. If non-students have to pay $10 for a ticket they should have gotten a good band. Any other band would have been better."

Since Volapalooza began in 2003, there have been bands like last year's CAKE, Ben Folds Five, Ingram Hill, and Robert Randolph and the Family Band. The event has grown more and more each year, with last year's attendance close to 10,000 students and non-students. Keep in mind that doesn't even include those listening from outside the gates.

"CAKE was such a big deal last year and so many people came out. The Office [of Student Activities] was so busy trying to get all the details together last week. They were excited about this year and were disappointed that so many students were upset," Livingston said.

Although Jimmy Eat World was the first choice for the student survey, process of elimination brought Dashboard Confessional to play at Volapalooza along with opener Todd Carey. The concert itself lasted from 7 to 10 p.m. Vendors like Dominoe's Pizza provided food and drinks. The crowd had an equal parts mix of students and non-students and despite its negative reception the concert was filled with energy and fun.

Dashboard graced UT listeners with songs from its soon-to-be released album, as well as old favorites like 2000's "Swiss Army Romance" and 2001's "The Place You Have Come To Fear the Most" from albums of the same names. "The Shade Of Poison Trees" is the newest Dashboard Confessional album and is set to be released October 8. It is the follow up to 2006's "Dusk and Summer" and is resulting in the first UK tour for the band in five years.