Bloc Party to head Juice Jam; Talib Kweli and Ra Ra Riot to open

By: Sierra Jiminez

Posted: 8/25/08

University Union announced Friday that Bloc Party will headline its annual Juice Jam concert to be held Sept. 7, in the band's first appearance at a North American college event. The concert, now in its fifth year, will be held at South Campus's Skytop Field.

"It was really a no-brainer to bring Bloc Party," said Kelly Bertog, UU's executive director of concerts. "Their agent was honest - he said they've turned down many offers to play at colleges."

The English indie rock band released its first album in 2005, going platinum with "Silent Alarm." British music magazine New Musical Express named it an album of the year. The group's new album, "Intimacy," will be released Oct. 27.

After booking Bloc Party for the event, UU secured hip-hop artist Talib Kweli and Syracuse-based Ra Ra Riot. The six-piece indie rock band began its musical career in 2006 at SU. Its newest album, "The Rhumb Line," was released Aug. 19, and reviewed by Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, gaining mainstream exposure as an up-and-coming band worth following.

"Once we had Bloc Party, we wanted to appeal to a slightly different crowd," said Bertog, a senior marketing and entrepreneurship major. "We've gone with a lot of pop acts in the past, but the artists we picked for this year still compliment each other."

And that selection process goes back months. It started spring semester, when UU received its funding from SU's Student Association. When securing a date for the concert, UU took a different approach this year - it booked two.

"We always book Labor Day weekend, but we decided we wanted to keep our options flexible, so we booked the weekend after as well," Bertog said. "Finding acts is kind of like finding a needle in a haystack, because the selection is huge."

Suggestions for acts come from student feedback - both online and from general interest meetings the organization holds - with Bertog and UU's 12-person concert executive board making the final decision.

"It takes a long time to check out hundreds of bands," Bertog said. "We look at who's coming out with albums, who's touring and who students want on campus. Discussions take several weeks, if not months. And then we have to find out who's actually available for the dates we have."

Another restriction UU has to deal with is its concert budget. SA allocated $133,000 for this year's concert, a cut from last year's budget. Bertog said UU dedicated $100,000 to booking this year's artists.

Other changes from past years include ditching the concert's old location of the Lawrinson parking lot. Last year's concert was the first to be held at Skytop Field, which has a maximum capacity of 5,000 people. Last year's show drew 3,700 attendees, and UU hopes to break that turnout this year, Bertog said.

"Last year, we were missing the idea of the whole festival atmosphere," Bertog said. "We have space for people to toss Frisbees, play volleyball - all those kinds of activities."

Past concerts have featured artists including Method Man, Dashboard Confessional, Robert Randolph and Third Eye Blind.

Tickets for Juice Jam are on sale now at the Schine Student Center Box Office to SU and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students for $10 and $15 for faculty and staff.

sirodrig@syr.edu