The Big Concert was a fabulous success story – SUAAB’s tireless efforts transformed the Activity Center into a great venue for headliners Blue October and Bowling For Soup, bringing more than 1,500 concertgoers to the quiet little UTD campus March 25.

“It was great,” said Stella Mulberry, Student Union Activities and Advisory Board (SUAAB) adviser. “Logistically, everything went so smoothly and the students really seemed to enjoy the performance.”

The Activity Center received a complete concert-venue makeover, which included acoustical padding and wall-to-wall drapes. This mitigated the devastating effects tile walls can have on the vocal, lyrical and instrumental qualities of the performers.

The hot xenon lights and towering amps completed the Activity Center facelift, drawing a huge crowd towards the stage that slowly melted from complacent interest to visible energy – people sang along and some even pioneered an amateur mosh pit. It was a real concert.

“I have got to admit that I was really surprised,” said Jaret Reddick, lead singer of Bowling For Soup. “When we were on tour with Catch 22 and Sum 41, we went to OU (Oklahoma University) where we were just sort of tossed on the floor.”

Two familiars from the UTD Underground Poetry Circus, Smooth Choppy and Common Folk, opened the concert. Both have been gathering deserved kudos during the past several months, with acclamations in the Dallas Observer, in which Common Folk is currently nominated for the Music Award in Funk and R&B.

People poured in once Blue October was preparing to perform. Blue October played a long and characteristically diverse set of beautiful, heart-wrenching music from its Brando/Universal album, “History For Sale.”

The Grammy-nominated Bowling For Soup was an excellent closer for the evening, shaking the mellow vibe of Blue October out of the crowd with a high-energy, audience-engaging performance.