Spring Weekend Concert Will Benefit Homeless

What was originally conceived of as a spring weekend full of entertainment and merriment has been stripped down to a benefit concert for the homeless, concert organizers said this week.

After an earlier plan to bring the band the Talking Heads to the Stadium was cancelled last fall, the Student Production Association (SPA) rebounded this spring announcing a May 11 benefit concert.

Organizers expect 3000 students from six area schools and Harvard to converge on the intramural athletic fields to listen to about a half dozen Boston bands and a more widely known headliner, said concert organizer Scott B. Paton '87.

The association originally planned a fully scheduled Spring Weekend highlighted by a Talking Heads concert in the Stadium. But when the College nixed SPA's plans to use the Stadium, "the whole Spring Weekend was scrapped," said Paton.

The association, an affiliate of the Undergraduate Council, still wanted to hold a major event in the spring and decided to produce a benefit concert, Paton said.

The bands at the concert are some of "the best bands that play the clubs in Boston," Paton said. He added that the Del Fuegos, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, or Face to Face will headline.

The spring event will still use College athletic facilities, but Paton said the intramural fields are "less defined" than the Stadium, which he said College officials worried would be damaged by a concert. "Most any college loves their football field," he said.

All proceeds will go to Phillips Brooks House programs for the homeless and to the Pine Street Inn, a shelter for the homeless in Boston, Paton said.

"It seems a very solid proposal and certainly a worthwhile cause," said Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III.

The bands will play the concert at no charge to SPA, Paton said. Miller Beer will pick up the tab for production expenses and security. Paton said he estimated the total bill for the Sunday afternoon event would come in under $15,000. He said he expects the concert to raise at least $20,000.

Although Miller originally pledged only $5000, Paton said he was confident that the company, which financed concerts by the Del Fuegos and Face to Face last fall, will throw in the additional money because of the positive publicity the event will receive.

SPA had asked an organization called Boston of the World to help with the benefit by handling publicity and ticket sales, said Kim J.S. Scola '87, president of SPA.

But Epps stopped the idea. "The event has to be sponsored by a Harvard group from start to finish," he said.

"The administration doesn't like anyone fromthe outside coming on campus," Paton said.

The money raised from the $5 tickets will helppay for food, shelter, clothing and medical care,said Randy W. Bailey, assistant director at thePine Street Inn.

"We've got a long way to go with homeless andwith poverty," Bailey said.

Steven G. Kalar '88, co-director of UniversityLutheran Shelter and co-chairman of the PBHcommittee on the homeless, agreed. "It's easy toforget the homeless still exist in thespringtime," he said.

The bands will perform two days before examsbegin. But said Paton: "It's a good break to take.You've got the next day to do your cramming.