All-American Rejects put a little ‘Swing, Swing’ into UW-Green Bay finals week with freewheeling pop-up concert | Green Bay Press Gazette
By Kendra Meinert
Green Bay Press Gazette
If this is what final exams week looks like at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, just one question: When does the next semester start?
The All-American Rejects put an unexpected exclamation point on the academic year with a pop-up performance that happened less than 30 hours after it was announced. That was plenty of notice to draw hundreds to Phoenix Park for the pop-rock band’s 45-minute set, proving that nothing takes the stress out of finals like singing along to “Swing, Swing” with frontman Tyson Ritter as he wades into the crowd.
The May 14 concert filled the sprawling green space with summertime vibes, as students and members of the public enjoyed the music from blankets, lawn chairs and — the preferred spot — squeezed up by the band, which played, not from a stage, but just large tiles laid over the grass. It quickly became an in-the-round setting as fans swarmed on all sides trying to get a look.
A volleyball game under the lights of the courts nearby never stopped when the concert started, with The All-American Rejects providing a soundtrack that included such hits as “Dirty Little Secret” and “Move Along.” Chalk art leading from the parking lots of the nearby Kress Events Center advertised the show, which was hosted by UWGB’s student station Radio GBX and featuring local artists DJ Saintsonne, Ditch the Hubcap and The Coves as opening acts.
A shiny black tour bus with a trailer parked nearby was the only real hint that a band whose first two albums went double platinum was on campus. The guys arrived for their set by rolling up unceremoniously in a pair of golf carts.
It was the first of seven pop-up concerts the band has planned for May to feed off the momentum of its new single, “Sandbox,” which it played midway through its set.
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