"Three Doors Down" Headlines Springfest 2001 at Plattsburgh State
PLATTSBURGH, NY __ The Plattsburgh State Student Association presents Springfest 2001 Friday, May 4 at Memorial Field beginning at 2 p.m.
An annual event at Plattsburgh State University of New York, this year's Springfest features a concert by 3 Doors Down with special guests Shades Apart and Econoline Crush.
3 Doors Down, a group of Escatawpa, Miss.-based rockers, is known for its hit single "Kryptonite," a song from a self-produced CD. The band came to the attention of Republic Records, who signed them and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. On Wednesday, May 17, the group will be guests on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Several local bands including Hazing Jane, Seven, One Time and J.I.M., will also take the stage throughout the day. There will be rides, games, food and fireworks in addition to the concerts.
Tickets are available at the Angell College Center Desk as well as Peacock Music and the University of Vermont Bookstore. The cost for Plattsburgh State students is $7, general admission tickets are $16.
Press Republican -
Several students were injured and city ambulance crews were tied up at a raucous, outdoor concert at Plattsburgh State's Springfest last Friday night. A mosh pit was blamed, wherein students jostle one another vigorously in front of the stage as they listen and dance to the band.
Springfest 2001
A collection of mediocre, marvelous talent
You know spring is here when the Saranac is flowing, more skin is showing, kegs are rolling, natives come down out of the mountains and college kids come out like ants from the woodwork.
You also know it is spring when Plattsburgh State holds Spring Fest. Oh boy!!!
This year, frats, geeks and freaks will congregate behind good-old Memorial Hall beginning 2 p.m. Friday in an attempt to listen to the sounds of 3 Doors Down, Shades Apart and Econoline Crush.
3 Doors Down, recent "Favorite Group: New Artist" winners at the 2001 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, brings its bland post-grunge rock from Mississippi. If you aren't sick of "Kryptonite" yet, then the band's other songs sounding oddly familiar will cause you to join the fratpit. Gotta get all that winter rage out!
New Jersey's Shades Apart most likely will get all the hardcore, punk and emo kids going. The band has been around for more than a decade now and had a stint on Revelation Records. The band will punk up the field, that's for sure. Hopefully it will do its signature cover of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love."
Econoline Crush, from Vancouver, took its name from Euxebe Auxtry's book "Jeu de Fountaine," in which econoline crush was a drug that made the user/abuser feel optimistic.
Econoline Crush constantly leaves the music scene feeling optimistic and has opened for such legendary acts as Kiss, Die Krupps (better known for their industrial Metallica tribute album) and The Tea Party.
"The Devil You Know" went gold as soon as it was released. This summer, the band will be headlining with Monster Magnet and yes, the long-awaited return of The Cult.
I am glad to see that those responsible for this alternative jamboree include local bands — the root of all music scenes.
Local kids most likely will be there to support Lake Placid's and Mojo Nixon's favorite, Jim. It will be nice to see them perform outside of a bar and in the sunlight for a change. I wish them the best of luck and hope they win over many alternative kids.
Hazin' Jane, 7 and One Time are also slated to perform.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Springfest 2001.
WHO: 3 Doors Down, Shades Apart, Econoline Crush, Jim, Hazin’ Jane and One Time.
WHEN: 2 p.m. Friday.
WHERE: Behind Memorial Hall, Plattsburgh State. (Field house in the event of rain).
TICKETS: $16 general admission, $7 students.
AVAILABILITY: Angell College Center, Plattsburgh State; Peacock Music, Smithfield Boulevard, Plattsburgh; UVM Bookstore, Burlington, Vt.
Moshing
5/10/01
Not same old song
Jostling, injuries flow from college concert
By JOE LoTEMPLIO, Staff Writer
PLATTSBURGH - A mosh pit out of control at last week's Plattsburgh State Springfest caused numerous injuries and seriously tied up emergency services for the rest of the city.
Mayor Daniel Stewart is not happy about that and will ask the college to address the problem.
"These were absolutely unnecessary calls, and the last thing we want is to leave the rest of the city without ambulance service because of something like this," Stewart said at his weekly news conference Wednesday.
The problem occurred at last Friday's Student Association-sponsored concert behind Memorial Hall, featuring the band 3 Doors Down.
A mosh pit - where crowd members bash into each other while dancing and sometimes hoist people above their heads and "surf" across the top of the crowd - formed as the band played.
According to Plattsburgh Assistant Fire Chief Steven LeClair, people in the crowd would deliberately drop surfers if they did not like them.
The City Fire Department was hired by the Student Association to provide an ambulance at the concert, and it was tied up for more than an hour with about a dozen calls for cuts and scratches, bloody noses and intoxication.
The department's backup ambulance, which was on call at the station, was kept busy at the concert, as well.
The CVPH Medical Center ambulance was also called out several times, and the hospital declared a level 1 disaster situation and called in additional staff to the Emergency Department as patients came in.
The Morrisonville Rescue Squad from the Town of Plattsburgh had to be called in to provide more backup.
LeClair said the injuries were mostly bumps, bruises and scrapes, but there were also reports of a serious neck injury and some broken limbs.
Many of the injured were treated at the concert, but eight people had to be brought to the CVPH Emergency Department.
Christine Blake, a CVPH spokeswoman, said those eight people were treated and released Friday evening.
While the event caused some hectic moments at the hospital, Blake said that by 11:15 p.m. it had calmed down.
Stewart said the music should have been stopped and the mosh pit disbanded after the first injury.
Student Association President Adam Disque said it's not so easy to disperse a mosh pit.
"For people who go into mosh pits, it's obvious it is a dangerous place," he said. "They happen at concerts, and there really is no way to stop it unless the band stops in the middle of a song. And, if that happened, it would probably just cause a riot."
Saranac High School junior Bryana Phaneuf found herself unwittingly in the middle of the mosh pit as she searched for her friends in front of the stage.
"It hurt," she said. "People were jumping, pushing and stepping on you. Arms and legs of people crowd-surfing hit you, and people were stepping on everybody. It was scary."
It took Phaneuf, who estimated the mosh pit was made up of about 200 people, about 15 minutes to work her way out of the crowd.
She didn't see anyone get injured but heard the ambulances as they arrived.
Sarah Balzano, a Plattsburgh State student, also did not see anyone get injured, but she said the crowd was "kind of crazy.
"It was a concert" she said.
Disque said the student group will be sure to contact city officials when future campus events are planned.
"This was a learning experience for us, too," he said.
The mayor said he was not angry with the college but wants to make sure something like this does not happen again.
"I understand that this was something kind of new that they've (the college) never really dealt with before, but we had a situation where the entire city had to be covered by a volunteer ambulance squad from outside the city (Morrisonville), and we just can't have that" he said.
College spokesman Keith Tyo said that about 3,500 people attended the concert.
Fourteen University Police and 50 students served as security, alcohol was not served at the fenced-in site, and backpacks were searched.
"We believe we did everything possible to monitor the situation," Tyo said. "It was not our intent to stress city resources."
Despite all the precautions, he said, the college may have forgotten to inform hospital officials about the event.
"I can understand the concern about CVPH not being notified. We thought we advertised the event quite well," he said.
Tyo added that the college is always willing to sit down with the mayor to discuss concerns but said the college hopes to continue the annual Springfest event.
"There was a positive thing about this," he said. "About 1,400 general tickets were sold to people from Vermont, New York City and Montreal. They came here, ate in the city and spent money here."
The mayor said the economic impact of the event was not relevant.
"That has absolutely nothing to do with the issue at hand. Safety comes first" he said.
Because the event was held on state property, organizers were not required to get a city permit.
Nor were they required to get a mass-gatherings permit from the Clinton County Health Department, because it was only a one-day event and featured fewer than 5,000 people.
Events that last longer than one day require Health Department permits.