Nervous energy borne of coffee and unfinished CC papers pervaded Lerner as the tech crews set up for Bacchanal's annual spring concert last night. Kids who arrived at 8 p.m. camped out near the white plastic barricade like they were at Webster Hall ca. 2003 waiting for the Get Up Kids, or maybe Interpol. In any case, they came, they clustered on the floor, they took out a laptop or two to maximize efficiency. WBAR jockeys spun the de rigueur ambient noise and obscure electronica, and the elite with green backstage passes perched near the merchandise table.

It didn't take much prying to determine that a lot of people at the show arrived sans knowledge of what they were in for, despite Bwog's best efforts to the contrary. And if they thought "indie rock" was in any way related to "rock and roll" apart from the implementation of the same instruments, the first swirls of Grizzly Bear's atmospheric noodling hopefully set them straight. But lukewarm crowd responses, ample chatter among the grad students in the back—including one prescient, tight-pantsed character who had slipped a Stella Artois into bone-dry Lerner—and bored-looking couples glued to the auditorium chairs all indicated a lack of rapport between band and crowd, give or take the clusters towards the front who hummed along to each four-part harmony.

Courtesy of planning staff, here's the moment you've all been waiting for... Bacchanal! A Monday night concert in Lerner! A not-free luau! Exciting...?

BacchanALIENS 2008

Keep an eye out for free BacchanALIENS t-shirts and giveaways!

Wed. April 9:
Comedy Show (Ardie Fuqua w/ Fruit Paunch)
9-10:30pm, Davis Auditorium (Shapiro)
*Pick up FREE tickets at the Lerner Box Office*

Thurs. April 10:
Dinner & Space Comedy
6:30-8:30pm, Lerner Party Space

RESLIFE's "Wild Wild Columbia" CAPTURE THE FLAG
9pm, College Walk

Sat. April 12:
Relay for Life
12pm-3am, All over campus

This is part two of a two-part series introducing you to the acts playing at this year's Bacchanal.

"Everything but country," is an all too familiar way for unimaginative people to define their taste, or lack there of, in music. Sure, we all like different kinds of music, but the ambiguity of that statement is preposterous and country is just not that bad. Like it or not, Grizzly Bear's music incorporates all sorts of genres and to some extent reflects that glib tag mentioned before. Their music has been described as everything from folk, country-folk, folk-rock and psychedelic folk-rock to electro-folk, post-rock and Baroque pop.

Fortunately, this Brooklyn based quartet coordinates their eclectic influences with dreamy cohesion. The pluck of acoustic guitars, reeds, retro organs and the occasional banjo articulate the soporific voice of the band's lead singer, Ed Droste. With breathy gasps and sighs, Droste's vocals give Grizzly Bear's songs a natural, nonchalant sound.

2008's Bacchanal has been announced and a (mostly) complete schedule has been released. In addition to performances by Grizzly Bear and The National, this year's festivities will include stand-up comedy by Greg Giraldo, an outdoor screening of Planet Earth on the Low steps for which absolutely no one will arrive stoned, and a Hawaiian Luau.

If you couldn't tell from the indie rock, Hawaiian luau and stand-up comedy, this year's theme is "Bacchanaliens." "Fun has landed," proclaims Bacchanal's flyer; without an article, without a doubt.

UPDATE 8:04 PM: The outdoor screening of Planet Earth is on 4/20. Best. Bacchanal. Ever. (Thanks commenter no. 5!)

Eschewing their own tradition of booking hip hop acts for spring, Columbia Concerts has booked awesome Brooklyn-based indie rockers Grizzly Bear and awesome Brooklyn-based indie rockers The National for this year's Spring Concert.

An anonymous source also informs Bwog that this year's Spring Concert will also differ from last year's because it's going to be indoors and tickets are going to cost a completely reasonable and completely worth it $5 fee.