Mustang Daily Staff Report
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Step aside, Alex Madonna Expo Center.
The Recreation Center is back — bigger, better and louder than ever.
Reopening after more than four years of silence, the Cal Poly Recreation Center will welcome five bands to perform at the “No Big Deal” concert on Thursday.
“This is Madonna Expo on steroids,” Otter Productions owner Bruce Howard said. “The fact that this is reopened again is a really awesome thing.”
The Recreation Center, now the largest indoor venue in San Luis Obispo County, is four times as big as the Alex Madonna Expo Center and holds twice as many occupants — up to 3,400 people, Howard said. He also noted that the ceiling is “almost five times higher.”
The concert is a three-way effort between New Rock 107.3, ASI Events and Otter Productions.
For years before the renovations started, the Recreation Center played host to musicians such as Bob Dylan, Incubus, Ben Harper, Sugar Ray, Jack Johnson and blink-182.
Howard, who was a key promoter and planner for approximately 95 percent of those concerts, said he plans to keep the nationally charting bands coming — starting with Thursday’s show.
Awolnation, Fitz and the Tantrums, Wavves, Robert DeLong and IAmDynamite will all rock out at Cal Poly for “No Big Deal.”
The show centers around New Rock 107.3’s typical playlist — alternative-style music, Howard said.
“What we wanted to do was have a wide parameter of bands within the format of radio stations in our market … and the radio wanted to do an alternative show on a college campus,” Howard said. “We wanted to appeal to as many listeners as we could within the alternative genre.”
Mechanical engineering senior Ben Canfield said he is looking forward to having such an accessible venue for Awolnation, who performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2012.
Canfield said while some of the artists set to perform Thursday are still somewhat unknown, “it’s exciting, because a lot of the artists … are gaining popularity quick.”
“It’s cool they’re coming to campus because I bet at least one of the bands will be playing at much larger venues in the future,” he said.
Howard said most fairly upscale universities have a venue similar to the Recreation Center that caters specifically to student entertainment.
“Most schools have a performing arts center, but that’s not for the students,” he said. “Rec centers are the perfect college venue. It’s not all puffy chairs, and dancing is not discouraged. At the PAC, if you stand up, people will ask you to sit down. Here, if you sit down, people will come ask you to stand up — I’m kidding — but it’s just all about having a good time. It would not be appropriate at a performing arts center — let’s put it that way.
“There will be one band right after the other. We are throwing a party and inviting 3,000 of our closest friends — it’s going to be a blast.”
Allison Montroy contributed to this staff report.