Chicken, rice, and indie rock may be an unlikely combination, but, according to WBAR, it’s a good one.
Barnard’s independent radio station will host its sixteenth annual WBAR-B-Q on Lehman Lawn this Sunday. The free concert and barbecue is scheduled to run from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The extensive line-up includes bands Gang Gang Dance, Soft Circle, and Free Blood among others, including Columbia students Jerome Ellis, CC ’11 and Fitzhugh Shaw, CC ’09.
Gang Gang Dance, the best known of the bunch, plays genre-defying experimental rock with global influences. The one-man act Soft Circle creates droning, layered songs by recording and looping sounds and adding drum effects. Free Blood plays electronic dance punk.
The WBAR-B-Q may be the first time many concert attendees have been exposed to these bands, most of which are just beginning to achieve wider name recognition. “The trend has been in the past that they book bands right when they’re about to get big, then they get huge,” said Samiha Rahman, CC ’12, and WBAR event coordinator. She cited Japanther from last year’s show as an example, which may not have truly gotten “huge,” but has become a relatively well-known name in the indie rock world.
For Enrica Ferrero, BC ’09, the obscure bands are a draw. “It’s always a good time,” said Ferrero, who attended the show last year. She plans to go again this year “because they have a great selection of lesser-known bands.”
Carlos Blanco, CC ’12, hosts a show on WBAR and will be working the event. Blanco is looking forward to seeing students perform. “We obviously see them [Columbia students] a lot in academic settings but watching them perform will be something new,” he said.
This year’s show, while still boasting mostly indie and experimental groups, will have more variety than in past years. For example, PackFM is a hip-hop MC, and Liturgy’s Web site describes their music as “Religious/Black Metal.” “We’re trying to diversify,” said Rahman.
Though WBAR expects an audience of mostly Barnard and Columbia students, the event is open to the public, and past WBAR shows have attracted music fans from all over the city. The station has been advertising the concert through what Rahman called “a killer promo team,” using postering and event-related merchandise. The Web has also helped spread the word—the event’s page on Facebook lists nearly 300 planned guests, and it is listed on Oh My Rockness, a citywide concert calendar, as well as Brooklyn Vegan, an indie-media blog.
WBAR usually puts on one or two shows per semester. In February, the station presented the fuzzy surf-rock of much-buzzed-about Wavves, along with Blank Dog, Woods, and Nodzzz. The show took place at the Underground Lounge, on West End Avenue Rahman said the venue was “completely packed” for the show, which had only cost $3 for Columbia students and $5 for the general public.
WBAR’s choice to present a day’s worth of lesser-known bands, instead of a few heavy hitters, contrasts with last weekend’s Bacchanal concert. “We’re not Bacchanal—we can’t have Talib,” Rahman said, in reference to the station’s limited budget. “WBAR has a more independent vibe, and the artists reflect that.”
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