Mraz rocks Bigelow

With finals week just around the corner, the University of Pittsburgh and Pitt Program… With finals week just around the corner, the University of Pittsburgh and Pitt Program Council’s annual Bigelow Bash offered a last hurrah of organized procrastination and fun.

Students lined up on Saturday afternoon to partake in the festivities, which were free for Pitt students and $10 for others. Attendees were greeted by friendly volunteers and mellow rock music from PPC Battle of the Bands’ winner, The Jungle. Band members Hans Lorei, Alex Keim, John Bixby and Jay Maul warmed up the stage for headliner of the “Music, Magic and Make Peace” tour, Jason Mraz. The Jungle’s unique sound, which recalls the stylings of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Reel Big Fish, flowed throughout the line, making some attendees subconsciously sway.

Venturing into the bash, one of the first stations students came across on the William Pitt Union lawn was the massage station.

Following that were the T-shirt airbrushing and caricature stands, situated across from one particularly interesting station where students were given costumes and props to reenact The Alamo for a gag “Wanted” photo.

The setup also included carnival games like ring toss and the High Striker for manly men to boast their testosterone and mettle. Next to the Striker was the sand art stand for those manly men to explore their sensitive side.

One event in particular roused students’ interest: the hot dog eating contest. After an epic three-way tie breaker, Pitt history major John “Vlad” Sobchak came out on top, netting the grand prize of a $100 Visa gift card and an enormous trophy.

“I’ll donate $50 to Race for the Cure in D.C., and [spend] the rest on loose women,” he joked. On stage, magician Justin Kredible wowed the crowd with humorous tricks, and then gave way to the eclectic Bushwalla, an acoustic/hip-hop artist who opened with a faithful cover of Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer.” The bass was overpowering, but it got people’s fists pumping and singing along at his insistence. He was eventually joined by the Makepeace Brothers, all donning fake facial hair to match Bushwalla’s.

“I think it’s great Pitt does this for students,” said sophomore Andrea Burns as she waited patiently for headliner Jason Mraz. “I didn’t come last year, and I wish I did. I’ll come back every year now.”

At the end of the festivities, the games and booths packed up as Jason Mraz took the stage from Kredible after a verbal joust involving banana-related puns (“Make like a banana and split”). Students hooted and hollered in excitement as Bigelow Bash transitioned from block party to full concert. Stilt walkers’ balloon-animal creations dotted the crowd, and camera phones worked in full capacity as Mraz delivered clear, melodic vocals. Songs included “The Remedy,” which, despite constant replay on the radio, sounded fresh on the live scene. Most of Mraz’s songs were from an album set to drop in May, titled, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things.

In the end, the crowd dissipated and traffic resumed as usual, but the memories captured through airbrushed shirts, caricatures and camera phones might be enough to stave off some finals-week stress.