Info
afternoon

by Megan Mills
Communcations Editor

Last Saturday, students in ML were serenaded by the up-and-coming band Common Rotation--and stunned by a surprise guest appearance by Amber Benson, a TV star who most famously played Tara Maclay on the cult favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Common Rotation, whose members include Eric Kufs, Ken Beck, Michael Uhler, and Adam Busch, also formerly of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has opened for bands as big as They Might Be Giants. Recently, however, they decided to skip on the large venue beaurocracy and launch a "Living Room Tour." Dan Crosta '06, a big fan, decided to take advantage of the idea.

Booking the band was simple, said Crosta. "I wrote to them, inviting them to come play in ML, and they agreed." When planning the event, he strove for small numbers. "My RA didn't want it to turn into a large-scale all-campus event, so he asked me not to post fliers up around campus, but I did ask WSRN DJs to both play music by Common Ro and to announce the concert." Nevertheless, the crowd stayed at about 30 people and even waited an extra hour when the band was late.

The appearance of Amber Benson was a complete surprise. The actress, who is on tour with the band to help out and sell CDs, was described as friendly by many attendees, and she spoke personally with quite a few fans. When Kate Goddard '06 ran out barefoot into the cold to meet Benson the actress lent her her shoes and coat for the duration of their conversation.

For the students who were able to see the show, the experience was an exciting one. "I hadn't heard of Common Rotation before, and I was sort of suspicious because they had volunteered to play in a dorm," said Cari Carlson '06, "but as it turned out, the band was excellent. "The fact that there were semi-famous people hanging out in the dorm and selling T-shirts added to the coolness of the concert, as well as to the general surrealistic atmosphere. We should definitely have more study breaks like this."

Luckily for those who missed them, Common Rotation seemed so happy with the Swarthmore crowd that they are considering coming back in the near future, said Crosta. Another show at Bryn Mawr is also being planned, along with a possible appearance on WSRN.

For more information, see www.commonrotation.com.