All Time Low headlines fall fest

After starting a mosh pit and crowd surfing, sophomore Joe Aravich found himself on stage at the…After starting a mosh pit and crowd surfing, sophomore Joe Aravich found himself on stage at the All Time Low concert. Lead singer Jack Barakat called him up from the crowd, and Aravich got the opportunity to meet each band member before exiting the stage.

“It was an absolute dream come true,” said Aravich, a long-time All Time Low fan. “They’re the reason why I play music.”

The concert was part of Pitt Program Council’s annual Fall Fest at Schenley Plaza on Sunday. The event included craft booths, small competitions, kettle corn and apple cider and a performance by pop-punk band All Time Low. About 1,500 people attended the event.

Because of a flight cancellation, the band’s performance was pushed back from its original early-afternoon start time to 4 p.m., and the headliners actually started at about 5 p.m. To accommodate the band, PPC pushed back the two opening musical acts and extended the time students could participate in the activities booths.

“I wanted to get my fall grub on,” sophomore Melanie Esterman said, emphasizing her anticipation of eating the fall-themed foods. Despite the rainy weather, Esterman and her friends participated in all of the day’s activities.

Although normally held on Bigelow Boulevard, Fall Fest moved to Schenley Plaza this year because PPC did not get permission to block the road.

“The people at Pitt Parks Conservancy were kind enough to cooperate,” student life assistant director Tom Misuraca said about moving the event to the Conservancy-maintained land.

The new location made setup challenging because the ground at Schenley Plaza is uneven, and there is no easy way to move equipment around.

“We had students building for 12 hours,” said Zoe Mulcahy, PPC’s public relations director.

Despite the difficulty of setting up the event at the new location, PPC managed to make sure the show went on.

“This was a great accomplishment for the students of Pitt Program Council,” Misuraca said. “They overcame all the obstacles and hardships and made it happen for the students.”

PPC began planning the event last April.

“It takes a long time for contracts to go back and forth,” Mulcahy said.

To pick the bands that would perform in the opening act, PPC held an online battle of the bands in which musical groups could submit performance videos. The Special Events Committee of PPC then chose what they judged to be the two best bands to perform before All Time Low. The winners for Fall Fest were The Midnight Special and White Like Fire.

The late start and shaky weather did not deter enthusiastic fans from crowding around the stage.

Duquesne junior Cody Bartges, sporting an All Time Low shirt, waited in Schenley Plaza for the band to arrive. It was Bartges’ second time seeing All Time Low, and he didn’t mind the wait. To pass the time, he walked around and visited the different booths at Fall Fest.

“I really like that they do this and then provide a free concert,” Bartges said.

By the late afternoon, the sky cleared, and the sun shone over Schenley Plaza. Students who had left Fall Fest earlier came back for the concert and cheered as the band walked out onto the stage. After quickly apologizing for the late arrival, All Time Low began its performance.

“We love them,” freshman Amy Zeglen said, speaking for her group of friends. “They always put on a good show.”

Barakat and the other band members interacted with the crowd and spoke a lot between songs. They mixed up old hits with new songs, even singing a few tunes from their upcoming album, Don’t Panic.

“It was awesome,” freshman Nate Kendsersky said. “It was good that not many people were there, so there was more of a connection with the band.”

After the concert, the band stuck around to sign autographs and take pictures. Kendsersky held up his wallet, showing off the autograph from the band’s drummer, Rian Dawson.

Samantha Bycura, special events director for PPC, thought the event was successful.

“They have really devoted fans, so the crowd was awesome,” Bycura said. “I thought it went really well.”