Council to Bring Battling Bands To Memorial Hall on April 13

Thanks to the Undergraduate Council, Harvard students will get to hear one of Boston's hottest musical groups--"New Man"--along with four college bands on Saturday, April 13, in Memorial Hall.

Bands from Harvard, MIT, Boston University and Northeastern will play for 45 minutes each beginning at 8 pm, and New Man will do an hour gig at midnight. The council will fund part of the cost of the production.

Organizers said that although the event's headliner has not won much of a following at Harvard, New Man has become one of this area's best-drawing club bands since winning a MTV "Basement Tapes" video contest last year.

Undergraduate Council Member Josh Berger '88, one of the "Battle of the Bands" organizers, said New Man will be an "insurance policy" for the events success by bringing students from other Boston schools to the $5-a-head performance. Advance tickets will go for $4, Berger said.

The council sponsored a concert by rock group REM in the Bright Hockey Center last March, but ended up losing several hundreds of dollars on the event when ticket sales fell short of expectations.

The "Battle of the Bands" plan met some opposition from members who felt that the cost of New Man made the ticket price too high, and also from members who felt the event should host only undergraduate groups.

A Harvard band for the event will be named by March 16.