Acoustic rock group the Pat McGee Band and Boston locals chauncey will jam the George Sherman Union’s Metcalf Hall stage tonight at 8:30 for the final round of the Student Union Programming Council’s afterDARK series.
Tickets are on sale for $8 in the Student Activities Office or for $10 when the doors open at 8:00 p.m. A special “meet, greet and eat” session will allow the first 20 people to meet the Pat McGee Band, get autographs and enjoy free pizza.
Considering the scarcity of big-name performers at Boston University, council members said they hope the concert will end the semester on a loud note.
“This is our first step in bringing the concert scene to BU,” Programming Council Concert Chair Katie Muldoon said. “We have an amazing student body, and we should have amazing events like big concerts to complement that.”
BU hosted comedians Tracy Morgan and Jim Brewer last spring but no large musical acts have played the university since Guster performed two years ago at the now-demolished Armory. Until the 7,200-seat Harry Agganis Arena is completed, BU will lack a sizable venue to draw popular acts. The Programming Council has hosted several local groups this semester, but nothing like the Bob Dylan show that drew 4,500 students in 2000.
“Concerts are expected in the Boston-area schools,” Muldoon said. “We want to build a better community feeling here.”
The Pat McGee Band has appeared alongside the Allman Brothers, Jimmy Buffet, Counting Crows and Blues Traveler, and the five-man group has appeared on dozens of college campuses.
Lead guitarist and vocalist Pat McGee began his musical career at Longwood College in Virginia and said college students are some of the biggest music fans who just love to see live shows.
“We’ve graduated from college frat parties to arenas, but where we started, we never left,” McGee said.
Although the Pat McGee Band has performed at Northeastern University and Boston College, this is the first time the band will play at BU.
The Pat McGee Band is similar to groups like Guster and Dispatch, School of Management sophomore Connie Thomas said. The major label success has had a following across the country since the group formed in 1996.
From their 1997 debut album Revel to their 2000 release Shine, the band rose to the top of the progressive rock charts and has sold more than 100,000 copies of their melodic soft-rock tunes.
“What I like about them most is their acoustic guitars,” Thomas said. “The first time I heard them on the radio, I bought their CD. I’m really looking forward to the concert.”
While they may not have the cult-like following of the Dave Matthews Band, McGee said his band is proud of establishing their own identity in a music scene that has become increasingly unoriginal.
“You’ve got to put your own stamp on things,” he said.
The BU concert is well-timed for the Pat McGee Band since it is preparing for the spring release of its album Save Me. McGee said the new songs are more aggressive and a departure from the more polished acoustic harmonies of Shine.
“This new record is going to take us to the next level,” McGee said. “It’s way more rocking.”
While providing a temporary haven from final exam drudgeries, tonight’s concert is also a precursor to Springfest 2004 – the Programming Council’s weeklong bash that celebrates the end of the spring semester.
Springfest will gather many university groups for a carnival week of performances, community service and comedians.
Springfest Chair Danielle Pakradooni said tonight’s show is an effective way to gauge student reaction as the Programming Council conducts surveys and plans for the events in the last week of April.
“People at BU have so many different tastes,” she said. “It should be interesting to see the diehard Pat McGee fans as well as those who don’t know him.”
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