Athens has its fair share of intimate coffee houses and gloomy bars to provide welcoming atmospheres for any musician, but rarely is the natural beauty of some of Ohio University's most awe-inspiring settings utilized for a concert.
This Saturday night Woody Whatever will perform a free show at Scripps Amphitheater, sure to make many Athens bands jealous that they didn't think to book a performance in the acoustics-friendly venue.
For a while, Woody Whatever, a pop-rock band with politically centered lyrics, had wanted to play the amphitheater but never knew who to talk to or what to do to book the show.
Lacy Long, a friend of the band, put them in contact with Tim Hogan, the associate director of Baker University Center and the go-to man to reserve a spot on College Green.
Following protocol, Long and the band filled out a College Green site reservation form and met with Hogan to play him Woody Whatever's latest album, The Great Pop
and to discuss the logistics of the event.
There's a number of guidelines that we have to follow that include times of day that we can actually use amplification and the sound and stuff like that so we don't disturb things that are happening Hogan said.
He said that the group's lyrics, subject matter and image do not factor into his decision because the university is not interested in censoring performers; Hogan is more interested in how much noise an event would produce.
We don't want to have a concert while there are classes in Scripps or during the day when people are working in Cutler or Chubb. We don't want what happens in there to disturb what people are doing in their regular places Hogan said.
An event must be sponsored by a university organization to be booked at the amphitheater. Lacy took care of this detail by getting the OU Wastebusters Club, of which she is president, to support the show.
After a week, the show was approved and the university took responsibility only for reserving the spot and left the rest of the arrangements up to Wastebusters and Woody Whatever.
Scripps Amp. is a sweet place that no one ever uses
said Erik Schmall, guitarist and vocalist for Woody Whatever.
Although there have been several concerts held there before, most performances include drama productions and small-scale concerts. Outdoor journalism lectures most likely have provided the venue's biggest crowds, and rarely has a rock band that appeals to students booked the ampitheatre.
Schmall, who said the band has never played outdoors before, has only one goal for the show: to show people that songs don't have to suck here in Athens.
At the show, Woody Whatever will be giving out 50 free copies of The Great Pop
which was released in March.
The band is playing from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday with Rat Brains and Nark Unit. The show is free.
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Kelly Schwaberow
