Making History
By: Abbey Carr
Issue date: 9/7/06 Section: Entertainment
During my last three years here, Villanova has had some pretty big acts entertain its students including Dane Cook, The Starting Line, OAR, Third Eye Blind, Dashboard Confessional and the list goes on. Those are just some of the bigger names that have appeared. Hidden in Plain View, Hanson and Murder By Death have made smaller appearances in the Connelly Center, as well.
So doesn't this make you curious about who entertained Villanovans before our arrival? I bet you would be surprised.
Would you believe that Bruce Springsteen and Guster used to be frequent performers at Villanova? In fact, Brian Burkhard, a former CAT president, told me about one of his predecessors, "Guster's Tour Manager for many years, known as 'Pasty', was once CAT President. Guster was known to play at 'Nova quite a few times during his tenure on the Board." Guster returned last year to play with Philadelphia natives, The Roots, at one of Villanova's largest concerts to date, Concert for a Cure.
Billy Joel played here, as well. I have heard several conflicting and unconfirmed claims that either Billy Joel or Bruce Springsteen was once booed off of stage while opening for another act. How about performers that we could have hired, but missed on their road to fame? Villanova once passed on John Mayer who was going to play in Belle Air Terrance for a few hundred dollars. Who would have thought?
The next time someone plays in the Belle Air Terrace or the Villanova Room, you might want to check it out, even if you have never heard of them. You might discover your new favorite band or comedian.
Some acts to pass through Connelly include Dave Chapelle, Naughty By Nature, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and Q and not U. Class of 2000 grad Kristina Kopach remembers seeing Dave Chapelle when no one had heard of him. A good sized crowd gathered, but nothing like the attention he gets today.
Novafest has always been known to bring in great performers including The Ataris, Bowling for Soup, The Calling and Lifehouse. The 2005 Novafest lineup was no different with The Starting Line and Dane Cook. Some of the backstage footage even made it to Dane's Tourgasm DVD.
So doesn't this make you curious about who entertained Villanovans before our arrival? I bet you would be surprised.
Would you believe that Bruce Springsteen and Guster used to be frequent performers at Villanova? In fact, Brian Burkhard, a former CAT president, told me about one of his predecessors, "Guster's Tour Manager for many years, known as 'Pasty', was once CAT President. Guster was known to play at 'Nova quite a few times during his tenure on the Board." Guster returned last year to play with Philadelphia natives, The Roots, at one of Villanova's largest concerts to date, Concert for a Cure.
Billy Joel played here, as well. I have heard several conflicting and unconfirmed claims that either Billy Joel or Bruce Springsteen was once booed off of stage while opening for another act. How about performers that we could have hired, but missed on their road to fame? Villanova once passed on John Mayer who was going to play in Belle Air Terrance for a few hundred dollars. Who would have thought?
The next time someone plays in the Belle Air Terrace or the Villanova Room, you might want to check it out, even if you have never heard of them. You might discover your new favorite band or comedian.
Some acts to pass through Connelly include Dave Chapelle, Naughty By Nature, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and Q and not U. Class of 2000 grad Kristina Kopach remembers seeing Dave Chapelle when no one had heard of him. A good sized crowd gathered, but nothing like the attention he gets today.
Novafest has always been known to bring in great performers including The Ataris, Bowling for Soup, The Calling and Lifehouse. The 2005 Novafest lineup was no different with The Starting Line and Dane Cook. Some of the backstage footage even made it to Dane's Tourgasm DVD.
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