Organizers, students say CatFest '97 successful

Ian Mayer Arizona Daily Wildcat The Refreshments' fan surfs the crowd during CatFest '97. Local band Greyhound Soul opened Friday night for The Refreshments, who replaced the feature attraction Poe.

Alternative artist Poe's unexplained and sudden Thursday night cancellation left organizers scrambling to find a replacement, said CatFest Director Ariane Mele.

Poe's agents, Creative Artists, gave no immediate reason for Poe's absence but offered another band the company represents, The Refreshments. The contract was signed just a few hours before Friday night's show.

"I think The Refreshments worked out better than Poe ever would have," Mele said. "They were just great with the crowd."

Rising Star Entertainment Director Ryan Goebel said they were not given a reason as to why Poe canceled, but were assured they would get one in the near future.

"We did have a signed contract with Poe, so if there is no good reason, there may be some action the university can take," Goebel said.

ASUA adviser Jim Drnek said he would meet with university officials today to asses the need for legal action against Poe.

However, The Refreshments were paid $17,000 for the show, $3,000 less than Poe's fee, Drnek said.

Though the concert did not turnout exactly as planned, many students believed the event was a worthwhile experience.

"I'm really glad I came out tonight," said Rebecca Isaac, an undeclared freshman.

"This was an easy way to find out about a lot of clubs," she said.

Annette Blnonno, a pre-education freshman, said, "I was disappointed about Poe, but we came here to dance."

Some students had suggestions for next year's event.

"I liked the concert, but it would be fun if they made it more of a festival," said Tracy Curtolo, a pre-pharmacy freshman.

Chemistry graduate student Marc Airola said he almost missed it.

"They should try to advertise it more. I didn't really know about it until the last minute," Airola said.

KAMP radio provided music and the Arizona marching band and dancing tubas performed before the opening act, Greyhound Soul.

More than 100 clubs and organizations were on the UA Mall from the early afternoon until the concert started, and many collected large lists of new members.

"I am pleased with the turnout," said T.J. Finn, a philosophy junior and member of the recently formed Habitat for Humanity. "This was out first real recruitment effort, and we now have pages of names."

Mele said the evening was a success, and credits volunteers with their service.

"The people we had out there did an incredible job making things run smoothly," she said.

This was the first year for CatFest and Mele said it was an event ASUA wants to continue.

"We should start earlier and try for more sponsors, but everything still turned out great."

The night concluded with about 300 people watching a free midnight showing of "Singles" at Gallagher Theatre, Mele said.