There was a palpable curiosity in and around convocation mall on Sept. 13, as tall blue event gates were set up to fence in the night’s festivities. The SFSS ventured to host “the biggest party at SFU,” with their Kickoff Concert, featuring performances from DJ acts Carl Louis & Martin Danielle (CLMD), Dzeko and Torres, Mat Zo, and a lucky SFU student who won the DJ contest. The event boasted a turnout of approximately 1800 people.
As he has been coined on Facebook, “Party President” Humza Khan and the SFSS worked tirelessly to make this incredibly ambitious event a reality and to provide it at a student friendly price, too. It was no easy task, especially since, as Khan said, “Nothing like this had ever happened before at SFU.”
An attempt was made in 2010 with the K’naan concert, an event that ended with a no-show from the headliner and hundreds of students requesting refunds. Khan denied to comment on the profitability of the Kick-Off Concert, as the SFSS is still in the process of paying for various services related to the event.
“We are still receiving a lot of the invoices, so an exact number is hard to measure, but the good news is that the event’s expenses are projected to be well within the budget we had prepared, showing that the management of the budget was extremely effective,” said Khan.
Nothing like this had ever happened before at SFU.” – Humza Khan, SFSS president
Before the party was in full swing, students had the opportunity to visit the various booths set up around the perimeter of the venue, including the Pepsi Taste Challenge, Spirit Bear Coffee Co., information on Build SFU, as well as a free Kijiji photo tent with purple accessories as props.
To begin the event, Sajjid Lakhani, the winner of the SFU DJ contest, had the opportunity to open up the show. The first few acts earlier on in the afternoon enjoyed an audience of few people, but what the event lacked in numbers, it made up for in enthusiasm. A small crowd of approximately 30 people gathered up front as Carl Louis & Martin Danielle (CLMD) took the stage.
By the time Dzeko and Torres were well into their set, a huge crowd of students were ready to fully embrace the mantra “Eat, sleep, rave, repeat,” with arms in the air and feet that barely touched the ground.
Typical of any large event, on-site security could be seen handling a few medical situations that arose throughout the night. Close to 9:00 p.m. — an hour before the intended end time — there was an abrupt interruption in programming caused by some minor technical difficulties; however, the technical staff quickly saw to the issue and the show was back on within minutes, allowing Mat Zo to finish the show off strong.
Khan expressed that he was very happy with the event. “I have never seen so much positive feedback from students on any SFSS project, ever since I’ve been at SFU,” he stated. “There was a sense of pride amongst SFU students and the school spirit on display was very heartwarming.”
Concert-goers ranged from first year students, attending this event as one of their first and highly formative experiences of SFU culture, to more established students giving SFU events another shot.
“Historically we’ve had a bad reputation with these shows,” Khan stated, and continued to say that once people have seen the success of this event, “that stigma will be removed.”
“I am really proud [that] my team and I have achieved something no one in SFU’s recent history has achieved,” said Khan. “Since most of the basic groundwork has been done already, and we now have the university’s confidence in us, I am sure that hosting such events will be easier in the future.”
