Author: Zoe Forster, Jessica Sion

Early this morning, the Cornell Concert Commission announced that Passion Pit will be this year’s Homecoming concert performer, preceded by electronic artist Robert DeLong as the opening act. As always, the executive decision was met with both positive and negative sentiments.

Some were quite pleased with the selection. As Jamie Zabinsky ’16 explained, “Passion Pit is awesome because they’re such an established band already. Usually we get a headliner who’s #ontherise but then drops a major album a year or two later (see: every Slope Day ever). Retroactive bragging rights aren’t that cool, so I’d be down for Cornell to be more of a destination than a stepping stone. My graduating class also missed them in 2011 (before Gossamer dropped in 2012) so that would be a win for the seniors.” Well put, Jamie.

Other seniors seemed to agree, such as fellow class member Alice Anichkin ’16. “I’m so excited that passion pit is coming! I know they came the year before I arrived at cornell and I was so jealous I missed out on that– so it’s almost a blessing that they’ve come back. They’re also one of my favorite bands so I could not be more thrilled.”

Others were less than enthused, such as Spencer Nord ’16. “I would enjoy it if Concert Commission would bring more mainstream artists that could impact the entire campus community,” he shared.

Indeed, this past year had a visible trend of more underground bands, such as The New Pornographers, Iron and Wine, Dr. Dog, OK Go, and The Knocks. Many students are unhappy about the upsurge of noncommercial acts. They feel that these performances only appeal to a small portion of Cornellians, leaving a hefty part of the student body excluded and unexcited about future acts.

Nonetheless, there seems to be a generally positive sentiment with regards to Passion Pit.

 

“I’m excited! I’ve heard they’re good live. It should be fun,” Felicia Kuhnreich ‘17 says. “Also my cousin has seen them and she has a cool shirt from their concert.”

So “Take a Walk” over to Barton Hall on Sept. 19th to hear Passion Pit perform at the Cornell Homecoming concert. Psyched or not, we’re excited to see everyone getting a little “Carried Away.” Say it with us now: