Mac Miller performs live for ASU students at the annual Fall Welcome Concert on Tuesday, Aug. 19. (Photo by Andrew Nicla)The Fall Welcome Concert is meant to kick-start the year and the college experience for freshmen, but this year, it attracted a good number of upper-classmen as well. This year's concert included both Mac Miller and Caked Up on the Wells Fargo Arena stage at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 19.
Communications freshman Erika Carrera said, “It was definitely a new experience. I’ve never been to a major concert, and that was just beyond amazing.”
The show was full of jumping, dancing and a whole lot of hands in the air.
“So much energy and so much excitement to start the new year,” Carrera said.
Miller mentioned during his set that he never made it to college, telling ASU students, “Y’all made it farther than I ever did, that’s for sure.”
He made it evident that he wanted the students to enjoy their college career to the fullest extent, because it will be the best time of their lives.
Undergraduate Student Government Downtown President Frank Smith III said USG received a lot of input on how to choose this year’s performers.
Some of the associations that helped plan the concert included the the Programming Activities Board, Associated Students of ASU and the Student Alumni Association.
“So we all came together to talk about what kind of artist our students wanted, so I feel like the concert went really well,” Smith said.
It was easy to tell that both performers pumped up the crowd — in between songs, students would begin chanting, “A-S-U! A-S-U!” with their pitchforks high in the air.
Caked Up, the opener for Mac Miller, held an ASU flag causing the students school spirit to nearly burst.
Sparky had a good time as well, dancing to the music throughout the crowd in the standing room area throughout the entire show.
Some of the students complained about the sound quality of Miller’s set, saying it was difficult to understand the words.
“I thought the concert was OK; the sound system just wasn’t very crisp. You couldn’t hear his words, and it was all just bass, bass, bass,” political science junior Kyle Renk said.
Caked Up put on a show that had the students dancing the entire time as that set didn’t have as many sound issues.
The performers seemed stoked to be performing for ASU, and the students ate it up. The freshmen declared it was a perfect kick-off to their college career and are so excited to be attending ASU.
Reach the reporter at danielle.kernkamp@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @danikernkamp
