Despite the inclement weather, organizers said that Friday’s Heatwave concert went well.
This year’s concert—featuring electronic dance music group Cash Cash—had to be moved inside Page Auditorium due to forecasts of rain, instead of its planned location on Abele Quadrangle. The concert still packed Page Auditorium despite the sudden relocation, said senior David Soled, president of Duke University Union Campus Concerts.
“We hit capacity in Page,” Soled said. “We had around 1200 or 1300 people there. That was terrific. People showed up even despite heavy rain. It was one of the most well-attended Page performances.”
Sophomores Nathaniel Brooke and and Ilona Stanback said they decided not to join the concert because there was a long line outside the auditorium. Sophomore Delaney Dryfoos, who attended the concert, said it was relatively empty at first but filled up as people came in late.
On the other hand, junior Katie Kanter, who attended the concert, disagreed. She said the room was only half-filled for the entire duration and that there was little reason to keep people outside.
“They kept us outside for half an hour, and when we got inside the room was still half empty,” she said. “I don’t know why they were keeping people out, because it was still not full.”
Some decided an indoor venue was not appropriate for an artist like Cash Cash.
“I don’t think Page is really a place to go for an EDM concert,” said junior Adam Russell. “I’ve been to it before when BØRNS came, and I had to sit up there and I wasn’t a fan of that. I just think the venue isn’t good for the music.”
Soled said DUU was well-prepared for the possibility of inclement weather and had Page as a back-up option. He added that Cash Cash was obligated by contract to perform on campus, rain or shine.
Using Page as a concert venue is not new at Duke. In April, organizers of the K-ville p-checks concert also moved their event indoors due to anticipated rain.
The performers were one reason Dryfoos decided to attend, despite being disappointed about the move indoors.
Although Soled acknowledged that an indoor EDM concert was not ideal, he said “it went as well it could go” because the organizers “can’t change the weather.”
“There’s a lot more congregation going on [outside] whereas in Page, people have to follow the logistics of fire safety and making sure the theater stays in one piece,” he noted. “People can’t congregate in front of the stage. They can’t really jump around as much. People can’t have food or drinks. It’s a different environment completely, but given everything that went down, it was still a super success.”
Kanter and Dryfoos agreed, saying DUU did the best it could given the circumstances.
“I really enjoyed it,” Dryfoos said. “I really think they made the best of the situation. They hooked up all the lights and they hooked up the smoke machines for Cash Cash and it was really fun.”
In previous years, the concert has been held in the Blue Zone. Last year, for example, alternative rock band X Ambassadors performed. In 2014, the concert was held at the Keohane Amphitheater, and before that, it has been held on the Main Quadrangle.
Likhitha Butchireddygari contributed reporting.
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