by Cullen Ronan and Hannah Cotter

Q30 Entertainment’s beat reporters Hannah Cotter and Cullen Ronan took to South Lot on Saturday to check out Quinnipiac’s annual Fall Fest concert. After standing amongst the crowd to get their own perspectives on the event, they recapped their experiences on everything from the weather to the food trucks.

Food Trucks

Photo Credit: Student Programming Board

H: For some reason, Quinnipiac loves greasy food trucks, so it was no surprise showing up to Fall Fest this afternoon and seeing a spud truck and a grilled cheese station. Any other day, I’d be drawn to the potato truck like a bee to honey, but with the intense heat and little shade in South Lot, I was pleasantly surprised to see a “Bowl’d Creations” truck that sold acai bowls and smoothies. Ah, something refreshing! After grabbing a ticket, I dragged Cullen in line with me to quickly grab a bowl. What I didn’t realize was that “quickly grabbing a bowl” would take 45 minutes surrounded by other hangry, sweaty and impatient students. After what felt like hours, eventually, I ordered a “Very Berry” bowl that instantly cooled me down and prepared me for the rest of the afternoon in the sun. Topped with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, the bowl was a refreshing treat and well worth the wait.

C: As we made our way into South Lot, sound certainly wasn’t the only sense being stimulated. The smells of the food trucks were almost overwhelming, as students could choose from a grilled cheese truck, Açaí bowl station, gourmet cupcakes, and baked potato truck. I was initially hesitant to order a grilled cheese solely because eating a hot sandwich felt like a bold move in the blistering heat, but boy was I wrong. Not just your everyday grilled cheese, this gooey, panini pressed creation was arguably my favorite part of the event. Despite the fact it took upwards of 30 minutes in line to order it, it’s hard to leave a bad taste in your mouth when a sandwich tastes that good.

The Ready Set

Photo Credit: Grace Manthey

H: Truthfully, I didn’t know what to expect from The Ready Set this afternoon. I hadn’t heard much about them, but a small crowd had accumulated as they took the stage around 1 p.m. The band performed a pretty standard set of songs no one really knew, but I have to give it props for trying to interact with the small crowd. Eventually, I heard a few ohhh, I remember this song’s as the crowd erupted during an apparent blast-from-the-past-song that I must have missed during my childhood: “Love Like Woe.”

C: A true blast from the past, The Ready Set was a fun addition to the lineup, but unfortunately one that might not have resonated very highly with the crowd. That was at least, for the first portion of the set. While the group’s biggest hit “Love Like Woe” drew the attention of most in attendance, and certainly helped bring up the energy, it unfortunately didn’t seem like enough to salvage the first half of the set. The Ready Set put on an entertaining performance; it just seemed as though Quinnipiac was not exactly “Ready” for it.

The Plain White T’s

Photo Credit: Grace Manthey

H: The Plain White T’s definitely lived up to the hype that had been building on campus. Frontman Tom Higgenson’s “How we doing, Quinnipiac?” quickly followed by: “…that’s how you say it, right?” set the tone for the rest of the concert, as students laughed, danced and snapchatted the performance from start to finish. Like The Ready Set, the T’s interacted with the students asking questions and commenting on the unironic plethora of plain white t-shirts in the crowd and appeared to get a much better response than the opening act. The T’s played a combination of older songs and debuted some new ones, but I know I’m not alone in saying that hearing “Hey There Delilah” live was the highlight of the day.

C: I feel comfortable in saying the The Plain White T’s have easily been the most entertaining Fall Fest guest Quinnipiac has brought in over the last few years. The band’s sound brought together fans of all genres, as the group’s sound flawlessly blends pop, rock and alt-country. The group has plenty of mass appeal, and when you sprinkle in a few classic “sing your heart out jams” like “1,2,3,4” and “Hey There Delilah,” you’ve got yourself the ideal Fall Fest performer.