A shocking good time

Even a band running late couldn’t slow down Saturday’s WIUX-sponsored Culture Shock.

Best Coast, the festival’s headliner, was about a half-hour late and had to cut its hour-long set short.

Despite the setback, Katie McKenna, WIUX special events director, said the rest of the festival was a success.

“There were a few delays,” McKenna said. “But you will have that with any show.”
The day-long festival in Dunn Meadow gave students and Bloomington residents the opportunity to see local, regional and national bands for free.

The bands — Best Coast, Light Pollution, Clovers, Native, Osteoferocious, 2 Mics and a Kit and Prayer Breakfast — spanned several genres, from hip-hop and rap to indie rock.

There were also artists selling paintings, T-shirts and blown-glass jewelry. Several tables were also set up to promote other events such as the B-town Throwdown, “Fruits of Labor” release party and the recent release of this year’s “Live From Bloomington” album.

The weather and free live music attracted a large crowd, and by 4 p.m. the meadow was filled with blankets and music lovers enjoying the sunshine and sound. Some students brought picnic lunches with them as they watched the bands play.

Freshman Julian Maxedon said he enjoys student-run events such as Culture Shock and is glad the University has several throughout the year.

“It’s cool that they have all this free stuff for the students to do,” he said.
The bands that performed also had praises for the festival. Roy Waterford, known by his stage name R-Juna, is a member of 2 Mics and a Kit and praised the professional nature of the festival.

“This was real official,” Waterford said. “I do shows all over the place, and this was the most official.”

The day went relatively smoothly until there was a bit of a scare when headliner Best Coast did not arrive for its 9 p.m. set.

The performance, which closed the festival, was cut to about 30 minutes because of time constraints. Best Coast thanked the festival-goers for staying even though it was so late.

Junior Lizzy McGrevy said she did not attend many events like Culture Shock during her first three years in Bloomington but after attending Culture Shock, she intends to change that.

“I will definitely try to come to more events like this,” McGrevy said.