Not everyone likes/cares about/wants to see Alexisonfire. Get over it.

You may like them but this is a bummer for a lot of people who are bored with the same old, same old. AOF being very same old considering they played WW in 2008-2009.

The beauty of music that it's subjective. I personally think Alexisonfire is awful, while others may think they are geniuses, it's all about what we like. I'm sure some people would be horrified at The Fiery Furnaces, while I think they are amazing. It's all about subjectivity my friends.

I don't think the issue here is whether or not these bands "suck".

James is right, music is subjective. An artist isn't "bad" just because their work doesn't appeal to you. What drives you away from their music may really speak to someone else. There's a big difference between "I personally don't like this band's music" vs. "This band doesn't play good music". This doesn't just vary person to person, consider the difference in your musical taste 10 years ago versus today, or how where you grew up or what your parents listened to influenced your taste. Outright declaring that a band "sucks" seems pretty shortsighted to me.

Personally, I love both these bands and am excited to see them play. However, there really hasn't been much effort to diversify the acts they bring to perform. While I may have enjoyed the shows these past couple of years, I know a lot of my friends weren't really interested in any of them. I think it's unfair that Mac seems to be catering to the same subgroup of students time and time again and doesn't put more effort into trying to get artists from different genres to come and perform. I thought they had finally gotten the point when they had a Protest the Hero show followed by a Classified show, but it looks like we're back to the same old routine again.

Maybe we need to make it clearer to the event organizers that we're interested in seeing some diversity this year?

Meh, only like one song from each band.

Really wish they had a different variety, I don't mind one or the other but I think the combination here doesn't work too well.

Anyways I'm hoping the comedy will make up for it because I like to laugh.

Isn't it better to have a more diverse taste anyways? I mean I started off listening to these guys and that type of genre back in the day, and since then, I've listened to a lot more than just screamo.

Originally Posted by zango

Really? Alexisonfire is known all over the world, they've toured in Australia, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, US, literally everywhere. Not many bands get to go on tour and have fans all over the world.

Pretty sure I know more than 2 bands. Music is my life thx.

Oh, and they also were chosen to play a Rush cover during Rush's induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, as well as having won many other awards.

But you know, thats not successful or anything.

I'm going to assume this was directed at me since you referenced the 2 bands thing, so with that being said: where the **** did I say they weren't successful?

well buddy you can stay home and drink... ill go and have a SICK ASS TIME

To all the critics or people who are upset at the choices of bands:

Alexisonfire played Welcome Week two years ago and at the time a lot of people were skeptical about the genre of their music and how Mac students would receive it. A great deal of people showed up, both those who like them and those who don't, and there's a reason Alexisonfire is back just two years later. They rocked Faculty Hollow. Alexisonfire was by far the best welcome week concert we've had in several years, and whether you like their music or not it's an absolutely fantastic live performance and they love playing at Mac. The drummer is from Hamilton and the rest are from St. Catherines so there's a bit of local nostalgia and you can see it when you've seen them as often as I have. They are terrific.

As far as the Arkells go, they might be the only band that's a better fit at McMaster then Alexisonfire. The Arkells went to McMaster. They are AMAZING musicians, and won the McMaster battle of the bands about 4 years ago. Absolutely phenomenal live, and I've met the guys; they are all really great guys and they love playing at Mac.

I can promise you all that this will be the best welcome week concert series McMaster may have ever had. Last year sucked; illScarlett was good but their openers USS were booed, and on Saturday, Justin Nozuka bored the crowd, Stereos was a monstrosity of a performance and by the time the decent Down With Webster came on stage, some people had left and the rest of the crowd seemed a little irritated at the quality of musicians before DWW.

Also, we will have other musicians throughout the year. The one thing McMaster is very good for (and be grateful) is our quality of concerts. We get good support from the Student Union and as a result many students from other schools are noticeably jealous of our concerts. In the last few years we've had Alexisonfire, Tokyo Police Club, Protest the Hero, Neverending White Lights, illScarlett, Mariana's Trench, Johnny Truant, Classified, Justin Nozuka, Down With Webster, Stereos, k-os, Hedley, among many others I just can't think of right now.

You've got to remember two important things:

1) We will only have Canadian artists as American artists are way too expensive.
2) We DO have a limited budget, and some of the bigger names in Canadian music are too expensive for University concerts, i.e. Drake, Billy Talent, Rush, Nickelback.

Keeping that in mind, the quality and quantity of artists we bring in is, if not THE best in Ontario, one of the best. Mac has a great music scene. You won't be disappointed.

Also, if you still don't find the range of events on campus to your liking, take some time to explore some of the great venues around Hamilton. A lot of great acts make their way through here, hitting up arenas like Copps Coliseum and smaller venues like The Casbah.

And if you're still feeling picky, Toronto's not that far off. And if, after that, you've yet to be satisfied, well then, there probably isn't much hope for you.

I've worked for Campus Events for 3 years now. The reality is that the department cannot afford to bring in huge acts (unless we raise the MSU Operating Fee), most bands would rather perform at the ACC or Copps instead of a university bar or welcome week, and any acts that are on tour generally want to perform at a bunch of schools or none at all.

If you want to voice your concerns or suggest alternatives bands, join the Campus Events group on Facebook, visit the office in the basement of the student centre, or send the Campus Events Director an email! The MSU is always looking to bring in fresh talent, but if the crowd can't be guaranteed it probably won't happen. One huuuuuge bonus is that most tickets for events on campus cost a fraction of the price of the same act playing at a larger venue.

If anyone is more interested, here is the link to The Agency Group. A lot of bookings come through this ==> http://www.theagencygroup.co m/arti...ability.a spx

I am SO super mega stoked about these shows.

AWESOME! I saw both bands at Edgefest last year and they were both so good! Pumped to see them again!

Can non-McMaster students attend the concert? I.e. Mohawk college students. Or will they be checking student cards?

what a horrible choice of bands

Originally Posted by jaym

Can non-McMaster students attend the concert? I.e. Mohawk college students. Or will they be checking student cards?

I saw AOF when they played at the U of G 2 years ago, clearly I wasn't a student. :p They way they had it set up, non-students just paid more for a ticket. Maybe it'll be similar here. If the show is at faculty hollow, you could pretty much just walk up without a ticket. From what I remember last year, absolutely no one was checking anything at all.