H 23°, L 4° | Tomorrow: 
H 21°, L 6°Halloween in Madison is dead. One could argue, and not without justification, that it was the city’s totalitarian tactics that led to the event’s demise long before this year. Charging admission, jacking up police enforcement and generally sedating the event to the point of absurdity may all have played a role. But the hand that swung the sharp ax of irrelevance came today in the form of an announcement that Of a Revolution, O.A.R. for short, will be the main event at Freakfest on State Street. In addition, the city announced that it will be raising the price of admission to $10 for tickets purchased at the gates.
O.A.R., as Madison’s WISC-TV reported, is comparable to the Dave Matthews Band in its ability to draw massive crowds of enthusiastic college students who still fondly remember choking up with inexplicable sorrow whenever Oasis played on the radio.
I’ve seen firsthand the disastrous plague of inebriated humanity that O.A.R. leaves in its horrendously mediocre passing. Herds of bros, visors cocked backwards and collars popped, alternate on a whim between fraternally swaying back and forth and viciously beating each other. Lead singer Marc Roberg will make an effort to woo the audience with a bizarre hybrid between the familiarity of a southern twang and a husky growl. In an objective sense, neither will succeed, but the Caucasian horde will not be deterred as its members hoist their Blackberries into the air for the umpteenth rendition of “Crazy Game of Poker”.
In “Poker,” Roberg will recount a game of poker that was crazy. So crazy, in fact, that he bet like a degenerate gambler and then was terribly surprised to learn that he had — shockingly! — “lost it all!”
Ten dollars could not possibly be spent on anything more profoundly inane.
Both the choice of music and the decision to jack up the price of attendance have powerful significance for the mourners of Madison’s deceased Halloween festivities. If the city wants to take proactive steps — bringing in the police — to ensure that private property will be protected, one can hardly blame them. And if corporate sponsorship guarantees a semblance of order and attractiveness, so much the better. But charging and then raising admission is a ridiculous move whose foundations lie in the city’s belief that there is no reasonable compromise between anarchy and micromanagement. It is difficult to see how the advocates of the plan could not see the cost to partygoers rising over time. On the same token, was it really such a challenge to predict that city planners would not see a magnificent opportunity to entertain students, but to scam money off them while simultaneously wasting their time?
In all fairness, choosing O.A.R. is no doubt statistically likely to please the greatest number of visitors to Freakfest this year. For a group that thought it pertinent to include revolution in its name, O.A.R. has consistently failed to do anything of the sort — and its appeal rests in its safety.
But the group’s selection symbolizes not only a belated attempt at appeasement. It is also a revelation of the city’s true intentions — put State Street on Prozac for the evening. The old Halloween festivities in no way encouraged students to think about, well, anything. However, it is a colossal disappointment to know that when the Mountain Dew-sponsored tents go up and Roberg steps on the stage to reaffirm how pleasant staying within one’s comfort zone really is, we are, in a very official sense, witnessing the death of a tradition.
Sam Clegg ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in French and economics. He cordially invites all the “bros” to “chill” at his apartment after the concert.
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You’re a bit out of line. I love OAR and would have no problem paying a few bucks to see them. Better than Lifehouse.
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couldnt agree more, the last really good halloween on state street went down a few years ago before they it got completely commercialized… makes me sick
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Bro, why you gotta harsh my vibe, bro? I mean really, things were just irie until you had to rock the boat. My dad, dude, is paying for my ticket, AND for the gas it takes me to get my Escalade to Madison from Whitewater. Quit being such a buzz kill, yo, and get some fuckin’ pussy, you pussy. Look, bro, I was there when the real problem was female boobies stirring the crowd into a frenzy - shit got ugly quickly, yo, cuz of lameasses like you. So just shut the fuck up and bend over for us non-Madison awesome motherfuckers who’re coming into your homes to rock the awesomeness! - Germain Q. Stemme
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Dude, after lifehouse, oar are freaking messiahs.
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amazing. thank you.
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glorious. just glorious
bon travail monsieur clegg
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fabulous article sam. this is going to be the second year in a row i dont go to state street i think. move it to mifflin, everybody?
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i’m with you, man. i remember when Halloween used to be fun, before cops on horses and plastic fencing. what a shame. Maybe the extra revenue from tickets can go to the Overture. Or maybe it’s just paying for more horses.
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sam- why don’t you just dress up as a ‘brah’ for halloween? popped collar, undershirt that says ‘i facebooked your mom’, shell necklace, leather armband, white sneaks, huge belt buckle, trucker hat tipped sideways. and when you’re watching OAR and a bunch of drunken, barely clothed ‘cats’ and ‘witches’ are grinding up against you- you might reconsider your prior dismay. just a thought …
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I just love the complaints about $7-10! For those students that go to the bars, for a good mixer you pay $6 or more!
You now get to see a big-name band, a bunch of local bands, and movies (a bit lame if you ask me, but it is included) for the price of a good mixer.
Better yet, what kind of cover do you pay to see potentially crappy live music on a regular basis? I paid a $5 cover at High Noon to see a couple of bands that ended up sucking…hard.
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“I�ve seen firsthand the disastrous plague of inebriated humanity that O.A.R. leaves in its horrendously mediocre passing.”
And you’re saying the pre-Freakfest Halloween didn’t leave behind inebriated humanity? You being a sophomore, I’m not sure you would know. If you’re so against your stereotyped OAR fan, who were likely the same people who would’ve been on State prior to Freakfest, what traditions did you partake in that you’re so nostalgic for?
I’m not a huge fan of OAR but I think they’re the best thing to come out of Freakfest. We all miss the old Halloween, but jumping on your high-horse and criticizing probably the one thing hundreds of us feel they finally did right isn’t going to change anything.
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Your article makes a valid point, that you don’t like oar. but way too many people do including myself. I graduated from the UW 3 years ago and you were 15 when actual Halloween occurred. so don’t speak on things that happened when you were in 9th grade. OAR will bring money to madison and still allow for a great time to be had by all. Yes it’s commercial but it has to be for madison to allow the event.
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this article is brilliant best photo caption ever
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sam, great article. That being said, are you from madison originally? because if you’ve only gone to last years halloween, it’s hard to compare it to years past.
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Ok, so OAR isn’t your favorite band. So what? I frankly applaud the (admittedly heavy-handed) efforts of the UW and the city of Madison to reign in the chaos of Halloween on State.
Although taken over a bit by corporate chains and an ever-expanding “food court” vibe, State Street remains a great spot to support local shops and the local economy. And while a place like Starbucks might have the corporate cash to replace smashed windows and sky-rocketing insurance costs associated with the drunken hysteria of Halloween, B-Side can’t, Paul’s Books can’t, Jazzman can’t.
My solution? Give us the New Year’s rule, and let bars stay open all night. Most if not all of the anarchy takes place when the bars close and have to kick out crowds of drunken fools into the streets with no where to go. Leave the bars open, and let everyone drink themselves to sleep.
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“O.A.R., as Madison�s WISC-TV reported, is comparable to the Dave Matthews Band in its ability to draw massive crowds of enthusiastic college students”…funny how I’ve never heard of it before yesterday.
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i see the city hall stool pigeons are out in force to pump up oar oar/freakfest in order to suck dollars out of student pockets to pay for overture and other city spending increases.
omg! omg! maybe i’ll get an internship with the alcohol task force!!! pathetic.
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Bros, quit trying to defend OAR. You KNOW they aren’t shit.
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I agree that Halloween on state street has died as a result of commercializing it with a lame ass name and sponsors. I do have to question your position to comment on the situation and your experiences on state street over the last decade being that you are a sophmore. I grew up in madison and have been in school here for 5 years so I remember well the riots that took place and endangered many as well as the chances of a vibrant State street. The death of Halloween on State Street came long ago when it stopped being light & fun and instead a countdown to destruction.
A real tragedy has been the handling of a similar event, the mifflin st block party. halloween has had riots, but why is there such a rush to clamp down on a pretty peaceful event over the last few years.
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Before you knock OAR, have you ever been to one of there shows? I was just at the one in St. Paul, MN. There were some “bros” there but they were by no means the majority of the people. Also, I’ve been to many shows and almost every band out there live sucks compared to their albums. OAR IS BETTER LIVE. Very few bands can pull that off. The only other band I can think of that can is the Eagles. Anyway the show was awesome, there was no moshing, no one held their phones up, and it drew a very mixed crowd of people. After seeing them live they are without a doubt the best band I’ve seen. They deserve a lot more respect than you give them. They are probably the most talented band touring today. If Madison doesn’t want them send them up to Minneapolis where we’ll welcome them properly.
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Oh and one more thing. You’re in college now and can stop with the whole “bros”, “preps”, “skaters” thing. That was high school. This is college. People are people. Your article is nothing more than a rant for all those people that want to be “different.” Hopefully, if you are still writing for the paper in two years, you’ll have learned something and your articles will be worth reading.
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can people who live on state street just throw massive parties…or resting areas….before the fences go up? then we can hibernate and all pop out at once?