Last Saturday night over hundreds of people gathered in the transformed Veale Center to take in the sounds of well-known rappers Waka Flocka Flame and Lil Dicky. With heavy bass filling the strobe lit room and groups of people jumping in unison, Veale felt more like an immersive concert venue than the bland basketball courts we are used to. Aside from the venue, both Waka Flocka and Lil Dicky brought immense energy from start to finish and gave unique performances that seemed to more than satisfy the exhilarated audience.

Put on annually by the University Program Board (UPB), the Fall Concert is normally a night full of anticipation for students. This year was no exception, and UPB’s rebranding of the event just raised the bar even higher, along with expectations that they would deliver a night to remember. Coined “Trashed Out, Cashed Out” by UPB Board Director of Concerts Mena Vij and UPB Board Member Maria Kuznetsov after a late night Facebook chat, this year’s fall concert was put on as a way for students to escape the realities of school for one night without having to leave campus.

“We wanted to be able to create an event which separated the often stressful life as a student,” said Director of Information Stephen Aber. With an atmosphere that promised to be a grand departure from previous concerts and promotional materials that even Lil Dicky saw as professional level, “Trashed Out, Cashed Out” was promoted as an update to the classic Case Western Reserve University event.

In charge of putting the event together from start to finish, UPB finalized the performers in May of this year, with the goal of getting artists that would make this year’s fall concert live up to its name. “We got a lot of positive feedback, and it was great to see thousands of students excited to have fun with us,” said UPB’s Executive Board on their decision to have Waka Flocka Flame and Lil Dicky as the two performers for “Trashed Out, Cashed Out.”

Not only did they deliver with high energy performances that kept the crowd dancing for hours, but UPB President Temi Omilabu also had nothing but love for the two rappers. The UPB Executive Board had the opportunity to meet and spend time with both artists before the concert and praised their energy and positivity about performing at CWRU. “During my four years on UPB, I’ve met and worked with a variety of artists, and Waka and Lil Dicky were by far two of the most genuine,” Omilabu said of her interactions with the performers.

Veale was nearly unrecognizable with the floor covered and lights bouncing from wall to wall. Combine that with the thousands of students that were mushed together in a human blob, and this was clearly much more than the typical CWRU event. Waka performed first, along with his sidekick DJ Whoo Kid, and brought energetic bursts of loud bass pounding rap that kept the crowd bouncing song after song. His performance was at its best when his two hits “No Hands” and “Hard in Da Paint” came on. The audience roared with excitement, singing and dancing along as Waka yelled the lyrics across the stage. Throughout his set, water bottles were sprayed across the audience, adding to his infectious enthusiasm and keeping the audience on their feet. He kept the nerdy CWRU jokes light and numerous, complimenting a school full of “nerds” ability to party despite homework and exams. Not one to leave the stage quietly, Waka danced off stage while shouting out a complimentary introduction to Lil Dicky, setting us up to see the Philadelphia-raised rapper take the stage.

Striding on confidently with a namesake jersey on his back and a head full of curls, Lil Dicky got on stage and the crowd howled with approval immediately. He shared his love for the school by explaining that CWRU is his mom’s alma mater, a statement that garnered him plenty of cheers. Keeping his set lively with a mix of songs, humor and audience interaction, he performed with his trademark comedic intensity and kept the mood light even when broaching songs that delved into his emotions, like “Molly” and “Professional Rapper.” Performing a variety of songs, including the ever popular “White Crime” and ironically funny “Save Dat Money,” he kept a nice groove with the audience that clearly kept even non-Lil Dicky-listeners like me entertained.

Perhaps the most memorable part of his performance was an extended rendition of, “Lemme Freak,” that began with a call for a female audience volunteer. Once the lucky girl was chosen she was seated in a chair on stage and serenaded with the desperate requests for “love” by Lil Dicky. This unexpected audience interaction kept the mood comedic and gave the audience an image to remember. He closed the night with his thanks and love, giving the audience a glimpse into the personality behind his raps.

“It was really nice to see the campus come together and really enjoy themselves while listening to some great artists. It was just what I needed after my first week of exams,” said second-year student Rob Iriye on his time at the concert.

Regardless of which artist you preferred, “Trashed Out Cashed Out” was undoubtedly a night to remember. With an incredible turnout and undeniable energy, Veale hit its stride as a concert venue, UPB showed that they could put on a professional level show and, above all, CWRU students found themselves able to let loose for a few hours.

“There is no better way to describe the concert other than saying it was lit,” said the UPB Executive Board. I would agree wholeheartedly, and as a fan of music—but not necessarily Waka Flocka and Lil Dicky—I still felt the energy and enjoyed every minute.

“I wanted to take away the fact that we are students at Case Western with homework, exams and jobs and return to the idea that we are just people here in this moment all dancing to the same song,” said Vij. Her goals for this year’s fall concert were met and surpassed because UPB delivered with an incredibly entertaining and atmospheric event that was met with praise from students, UPB board members and the performers themselves (Waka tweeted about us).

With this night and months of planning behind them, UPB is now looking forward to their upcoming events: Tinkerball, the Fall Break Trip, UPBeats and Hot December. If they are half as successful as “Trashed Out, Cashed Out” they should be thoroughly enjoyable, so look out for those. UPB definitely brought a bit of fun to CWRU and for one night we nerds may have been, in the words of Waka Flocka Flame, “#TurnupGodz.”