Council Signs Band Contract

Following failed attempts to bring the Digable Planets and Blind Melon to campus, the Undergraduate Council last month signed a contract with yet a third group, They Might Be Giants, for an April 28 performance.

The $10,000 contract with the popular alternative band, known for songs such as "Istanbul" and "Particle Man," is still subject to approval by the council. The vote will occur February 13.

The council must also ensure that it can meet the detailed technical requirements stipulated in the contract, said campus life committee member John A. Mann '92-'94, who helped sign the band.

Mann, however, said he is confident that the band will play at Harvard.

"It doesn't look like it will fall through," Mann said. "It looks pretty much definite."

The difference between this signing and the earlier, failed ones, is that the council now has the contract in hand and cannot be turned down by the band. Mann said he expects the same kind of council support that the Blind Melon resolution received--members voted 50-1 in December to bring the band to Harvard.

If the resolution passes and the council can meet contractual requirements, They Might Be Giants will jam in Memorial Hall as part of the Arts First/Spring Festival weekend, an event co-sponsored by the council.

Concerns about campus popularity that made the approval vote over Digable Planets a close one should not be a problem with They Might Be Giants, Mann said.

He pointed to a recent council survey of 1,600 students which found that 33 percent of responding undergraduates would attend a performance by They Might Be Giants.

Many council members say financial issues arethe ones most likely to affect their votes on thealternative band.

If the venture appears fiscally prudent, theresolution should be passed overwhelmingly, saidcouncil member Hassen A. Sayeed '96.

"The vast majority of us feel that if thenumbers work out and if it looks like people willturn out, we'll vote for it," Sayeed said.

The actual cost of the concert will be morethan the $10,000 contract price due to technicalexpenses.

The council must also ensure that it canfulfill other contractual obligations, "down togetting them all the food they want," said Mann

Many council members say financial issues arethe ones most likely to affect their votes on thealternative band.

If the venture appears fiscally prudent, theresolution should be passed overwhelmingly, saidcouncil member Hassen A. Sayeed '96.

"The vast majority of us feel that if thenumbers work out and if it looks like people willturn out, we'll vote for it," Sayeed said.

The actual cost of the concert will be morethan the $10,000 contract price due to technicalexpenses.

The council must also ensure that it canfulfill other contractual obligations, "down togetting them all the food they want," said Mann