Saturday night from 10 p.m. until midnight, Better Than Ezra will perform a concert at the MSU Amphitheater presented by the MSU Intrafraternity Council. The concert will be free of charge and will follow the football game against University of Maine.
“We came up with ideas for more of us to do stuff together and to do stuff with the university, and this is one idea we came up with that hasn’t been done in a while,” Intrafraternity Council secretary Cory Carter said. “We thought it would be something productive for the university and for [Greeks] to come together.”
“We needed to do a Greek-wide party to better help out our standings amongst the Greek system-one big party for all the Greeks to come together,” Intrafraternity Council Public Relations Chairman Tucker Sappington said Monday.
As mentioned before, the concert will feature Better Than Ezra, a New Orleans-based rock trio who are very popular among the college crowds. Better Than Ezra, comprised of guitarist/singer Kevin Griffin, bassist Tom Drummond and drummer Travis McNabb, formed in 1987 at Louisiana State University. Better Than Ezra debuted in 1990 with their self-produced album Surprise, followed by their second album Deluxe which got them a major-label contract with Elektra Records. Deluxe included “This Time of Year,” The Killer Inside,” “Rosealia” and the band’s 1995 mainstream debut hit “Good,” which placed the album on Billboard’s Top 10 List. Their third proper album Friction, Baby produced “Desperately Wanting,” one of their biggest and most recognizable hits. Other hits include “At The Stars” and “Like It Like That” off their fourth album How Does Your Garden Grow and “Extra Ordinary” and “A Lifetime” off their fifth and latest Elektra Records album Closer.
The Intrafraternity Council at MSU feel Better Than Ezra appeal to a wide range of students and would be the best choice for a college concert.
“We thought about bands that would have a good influence, that everybody knows and Better Than Ezra just happened to be one of those bands,” Tucker Sappington said. “We looked at bigger bands, but because Better Than Ezra are Greek themselves, it would be better to have Greek representation throughout the whole weekend.”
“We were looking for a band in a good price range that would attract a crowd that would not only be pleasing to Greeks, but to everybody on campus, and Better Than Ezra was the band that came up,” Cory Carter said.
The IFC want everybody, no matter what age, to come out and enjoy the free concert. “I think [the concert’s] going to bring everybody together and hopefully help out the relationships between not only the Greek system but Student Affairs, Alumni Association and get us in better standing with the university; that was our main goal,” Sappington said. “Hopefully it will help out with Rush, too; that the guys will get to see all these Greeks together at one party and not fighting all the time. Go Greek!”
“I think it will benefit us in that it will give us a chance to do something together, which is what we don’t often do as a whole,” Carter said. “We’re trying to make MSU and Starkville a more student-friendly place and stuff like this helps us out.”
Again, the concert is presented by the MSU Intrafraternity Council and other sponsors such as the office of the vice president of student affairs, Northeast Mississippi Coca-Cola Bottling Co., MSU Alumni Association and Residence Hall Association. The rain location, which is at Rick’s, will be announced by Friday if the concert must move there. For more information, contact IFC secretary Cory Carter at (601) 672-1359 or IFC president Bubba Badgett at (901) 262-2243.