After months of planning and long hours of setting up the stage and equipment on Saturday, the Pitt Program Council’s hard work all paid off. On Sunday afternoon students filled Bigelow Boulevard and the Union lawn for Fall Fest. Even though it was “hoodie weather,” according to Hoodie Allen’s tweet on Sunday morning, about 2,000 Pitt students still came out to enjoy the live music and activities.
The concert began with the winner of the Pitt Program Council’s Battle of the Bands, The Brothers Craig – consisting of Jack Loeffler, Stephen Kraus, and Paul Carey. Loeffler described their music as “high-energy acoustic.” They have never played for a crowd that large, but they didn’t let their nerves interfere with their performance. Everybody sang along cheerfully to their reggae version of “All About That Bass” and their “Billie Jean”/“Get Lucky” mash-up, but the crowd was the loudest during the band’s mash-up of “Cruise” and “Wagon Wheel.” They all took turns singing and playing a wide variety of instruments, including the guitar, cajon, mandolin, and ukulele, to show off each of their individual talents. They even snapped a selfie before they left the stage!
When Chiddy Bang came on stage, he first thanked the crowd for being there rather than watching the Steelers game that was on. Personally, I don’t know too much of his music, but I still really liked his performance! Within the hour that he performed, I knew at least four of his songs. He sang “Ray Charles,” which definitely got everybody singing along. Most people also know the hit song “Opposite Of Adults,” and the whole crowd was very excited to hear it! The last hit song he performed was “Mind Your Manners,” and it certainly warmed everybody up for Hoodie Allen’s performance!
“Let’s have a f**king great time right now!” exclaimed Hoodie Allen as he came out on stage wearing a Pitt basketball jersey over a hoodie (very clever). He proceeded to sing “Show Me What You’re Made Of,” a song off of his not-yet-released album, People Keep Talking. He was very thankful so many people attended even though it was cold, and said that he wanted us all to have the best day of our lives, which definitely got everybody hyped up!
He then sang one of his hits, “Fame Is for Assholes,” which features Chiddy Bang, ironically. However, Chiddy didn’t perform his part, which was a little disappointing to me, along with others who are familiar with that song.
He performed another one of his newer songs, “Movie,” and, to make us feel special, he said it was the first time they performed that song at an outdoor concert at a college. This song really showed off Hoodie’s rap abilities.
One of the best parts of the show was when Hoodie started the “P-I-T-T, let’s go Pitt” chant and attempted to sing “Sweet Caroline.” The song didn’t work out too well and so he started making up words, but now everyone who attended can cross “Sing (or attempt to sing) ‘Sweet Caroline’ with Hoodie Allen” off their bucket lists!
While singing “Cake Boy,” Hoodie threw two cakes into the audience. He then surprised his drummer with another cake and had the crowd sing happy birthday to him, which was so sweet (pun intended)!
Throughout the show, he free-styled a few times and incorporated Pitt-related things, like Roc the Panther, Primanti’s, our rivalries with West Virginia and Penn State, and Tyler Boyd. At one point during a freestyle, he accidently started to sing, “We’re at Penn State…” but then corrected himself, which was very humorous.
He closed his performance with his most popular song, “No Interruption,” and came to take pictures with some of the audience members, which was very nice of him!
Overall, The Brothers Craig and Chiddy Bang were two great openers and definitely got the crowd excited for the main performance! Everybody was pretty wild by the time Hoodie came out and electrified the stage. Hoodie’s mix of old and new songs, cake-throwing, and attempts at free-styling provided the crowd with plenty of enthusiasm and laughter. Even though it was a very chilly day, it was still a great opportunity to bring Pitt students together for a very enjoyable fall concert!
Luckily I had the opportunity to meet and take some pictures with both of the artists!
Photo Credit: The Brothers Craig Facebook Page
All other photos taken by the author