<st Sunday The Cave, Carleton’s student-run bar, hosted Jamming For Justice, a student band festival and benefit concert for the Carleton FACE AIDS chapter. The concert featured student bands such as Ova Yonder, Ashantology, and Max Thunderdome as well as Carleton Slam Poetry and other acts.
Proceeds from merchandise and raffle tickets sold during the concert were donated to Partners in Health, a non-profit health care organization.
Ry Garlow ‘14, the bassist for Ashantology, said he thought the concert was a great success. “It went really well. The slam poetry interlude was a nice way to break things up and give some exposure to a great group.”
“We had a great turnout,” said Simon Lansberg ‘14, a political science major and student worker at the Cave.
“A lot of people donated money… So many people attended, which shows that the community cares. The Cave is happy and excited to be a part of efforts to raise awareness.”
The Carleton chapter of FACE AIDS, a branch of Partners in Health, was founded last spring to promote student awareness of the HIV/AIDS virus and its continued presence in the world. Emily Ager ’13 and Flannery McArdle ’13 founded the chapter after their study abroad experiences in Africa, during which Ager worked in a rural HIV clinic and McArdle studied how children care for parents with the disease. One present goal of their Carleton FACE AIDS chapter is to raise $2,500 to support 65 health workers at a rural HIV clinic in Africa.
“The concert was a lot of fun,” said Brittany Reed ’14. “It was for a great cause and I’m glad it was so successful.”
The doors of the Cave opened at 7pm, and a smattering of Carls had arrived by eight, when the music began with a performance by student band, In Search of Lost Time. By the end of the concert’s culminating performance by Ova Yonder, Carleton’s premier big band jazz ensemble, the Cave’s floor was packed with Carls twisting to the funkadelic music.
“The bands were terrific,” said Ellen McKinstry, a junior history major who claims to specialize in exotic dance styles. “I haven’t gotten to twist like that in ages!”
Eddisa Herrera ‘16 also enjoyed the concert. “The cave has done a great job so far this term. I’ve been impressed with the shows they’ve had there.”
Since the Cave’s opening several weeks ago, its shows have been garnering steady attendance by Carls eager to let loose after long weeks of studying. Despite impressively refurbished floors and bathrooms, The Cave continues to be an excellent outlet for raw artistic energy and the quintessentially collegiate desire for dark, grungy dance spaces.