Something felt wrong about stepping into the dimness of Patrick Gym for an event dubbed “Springfest.” Due to the long life of winter and a couple weeks of thorough soaking, Springfest was relegated to the indoors this Saturday. The UVM Concert Bureau explained that there was a risk of the stage sinking into the CBW Green, the event’s intended outdoor location. “I sold my ticket,” Champlain College student Thomson Nguyen said. “It shouldn’t be called Springfest if it’s inside a basketball court.” The first slot of music was reserved for the jazz/improv styling of UVM Battle of the Bands winner Potbelly. After a short but sweet set, Lazerdisk Party Sex — who got their start at Springfest 2010 — stepped up, wearing their signature Storm trooper masks, and began laying down lively techno beats. Perhaps because of the indoor setting, the crowd was sparse at 1:30 p.m., consisting of a few dozen attendees slowly bobbing to local act Fridge and the Spin$ and twice as many lounging in the bleachers. They played an original and pleasant blend of indie-pop, complete with tripped out keyboard intros. The next set break with Lazerdisk was cut short, when the power suddenly went out in the gym. The slowly growing crowd mumbled and milled about, with no music to take their attention. As the power remained out for the rest of the hour, some people exited the area for the time being, while others sought to amuse themselves with games of balloon dodge ball. Various rumors concerning the cause of the power outage circulated. “Lazerdisk Party Sex blew out all the power,” explained a Green Mountain Security event worker, “They were playing when it went out.” Though this served as an explanation for many, Vice President of SA Concerts Dan Faron aimed to debunk the rumors. “[The power outage] had nothing to do with the show,” he said. “They blew a high-power conduit. Water got into the ground.” Shortly after 4:30 p.m. the gym regained power, and the audience regained some energy for rock/soul outfit, the Brother McCann. By the time the DJs of Thievery Corporation stepped on stage, a well-filled out and enthusiastic crowd greeted them. “I was really disappointed they weren’t playing a live set at first, but they killed it” concertgoer John Nadhazi said, “[It was] way better than I expected.” When The Roots started playing, it was suddenly clear that it was well worth the wait. The Roots played to the crowd, bursting with energy They mixed covers, including Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child o’ Mine” with their own hits, such as “The Seed (2.0).” Though the acoustics in the gym left something to be desired, The Roots still filled an impressive set. Springfest had great talent to offer, and few who attended could have walked away disappointed by the concert, despite the nearly disastrous loss of power.
