Hundreds of students attend uO Show to see band perform
The University of Ottawa’s 101 Week show, titled the uO Show, has had some stellar headliners in the past. However, this year, it featured an all-time Canadian favourite—Marianas Trench.
The Vancouver-based band took centre stage on Sept. 6, following the opening by Gatineau’s Laurence Nerbonne.
Despite a long line that ended in bag searches, students remained unphased. “I’m not unhappy about anything,” first-year criminology student, Caitlyn McCurdy, told the Fulcrum before the show. “This line doesn’t seem too bad and I’m just excited to see the concert.”
Tickets for the show were free to 101 Week students, cost seven dollars online, and 10 dollars at the door. While students have had to pay for the annual concert in recent years, it was free for all students as recently as 2015, when Half Moon Run performed at the same venue.
Nonetheless, for many students, it was worth the price. “(The ticket prices) aren’t that bad,” explained McCurdy. “Seven dollars? That’s the cheapest concert I’ve been to.”
The concert lasted from 8:30–10:30 p.m., with a 30 minute intermission between the two acts. Despite the absence of performances while the stage was being reconfigured, the audience remained riled up when Marianas Trench arrived late to the show.
When the band took to the stage, lead-singer Josh Ramsey energetically shouted to the crowd throughout the performance and told the audience that they agreed to take the small performance because “(he) expected that (the audience) would get rowdy.”
To keep the crowd engaged, Ramsey also mentioned the band’s first performances in Ottawa, played on the irony of using a guitar shaped like a maple leaf but made in the U.S., and humbly thanked the evening’s attendees for their support over the years.
“I can’t believe people still come to see us,” he told a cheering audience. “We’ve had so much incredible support from you guys over the years. Whether this is your first concert or 25th concert—thank you so much.”
So, the evening of throwback songs and audience sing-alongs was a smashing success for many students who attended.
“All my friends are jealous that (Marianas Trench) came to our school,” said first-year criminology student, Danielle Reid. “It was so much fun.”
