Last Friday, April 18, Case Western Reserve University students flocked to the Grog Shop’s B Side Liquor Lounge to attend Punk Prom, an “alternative formal and concert” put on by college radio station WRUW. From the talented student performers to the eclectic crowd to the venue’s lively-yet-intimate atmosphere, it was definitely not a night you wanted to miss.
I’ll start with my favorite part of the event: the clothes and the people-watching. It’s no secret that CWRU students have pretty much no school spirit to speak of, and sometimes don’t follow personal grooming regimens as closely as they should (if at all). This means that dressing for a themed event can be a bit of a mixed bag. However, all of the punk prom attendees actually showed out and impressed me with their creativity. I saw real (typically thrifted) floor-length prom dresses and tuxedos, dark eye makeup and an abundance of black clothing. I felt like I really was attending prom with the school’s alternative crowd. And with a line to use the on-site photo booth and an abundance of digital cameras snapping pictures, you could tell that everyone else felt that they looked good, too.
Moving on to Punk Prom’s atmosphere, B Side was a great choice of venue. I loved that they worked with WRUW to create custom cocktails for the event. My favorite was the “Motha Mule” with grapefruit juice, ginger beer and tequila, but the “Punk POM” (vodka, triple sec and pineapple-orange-mango juice) and “The L Word” (vodka, lychee juice and lavender syrup) were crowd-pleasers too. (My roommate actually made the lavender syrup for “The L Word” out of water, sugar and Sleepytime tea bags, which I think encapsulates the care and dedication WRUW put into Punk Prom.) B Side was also perfectly sized and located to accommodate a CWRU event: It is off campus, which makes it exciting for underclassmen, but still close enough for students to take a Safe Ride or the shuttle to the venue. Plus, the Grog Shop is right next door to Cilantro Taqueria, and I personally don’t know of a better place to end my night than that.
Finally, there was the music itself. The lineup consisted of three local and/or CWRU student bands—Placid State, Sons of Greek Love and RRRIOT!—and several WRUW student DJ sets. The crowd was definitely into the live music, although I personally find mosh pits in a small space a little much (even if the band’s playing a cover of “Teenage Dirtbag,” you guys need to behave yourselves). My one small qualm with the entire event is that the speakers for the DJ sets weren’t very loud. I honestly couldn’t tell when the background playlist ended and the DJs began, which didn’t give the latter half of the evening the anticipated “club” effect. Other than that, however, I thought all of the performers did a fantastic job, the vibes in B Side were great and I appreciate WRUW’s dedication to showcasing local and CWRU talent.
WRUW was also pleased with how the night turned out, especially considering how much work went into organizing the event. Of the planning process, Event Coordinator and fourth-year mechanical engineering student Ana Carolina Cao said, “Punk Prom was definitely my magnum opus. I wanted it to be big, awesome and memorable. I started planning very early in the semester, sketching out a vision and then breaking it all down piece by piece until it took real shape. Pretty soon after, I had the venue and bands locked down. My main concern throughout the planning process was making sure that people actually found out about the event. Because not a ton of people know about WRUW, I was worried that they also wouldn’t catch wind of Punk Prom. We got someone to do our posters and a lot of our Instagram posts. And there were a lot. Our @stwruwdents account really was the most awesome tool to get the word out.”
“Come Punk Prom day, my concerns disappeared,” Cao continued. “I felt like I was on a cloud the entire night because I was so happy to see that everything worked out and everyone was having a fun time. Truly so gratifying. Makes me a bit emotional to think that graduation is right around the corner and I’m going to have to leave WRUW behind. But I think it’s so special that I went out with a bang and overall have made an impact on the station.”
WRUW Operations Director and fourth-year civil engineering student Mariel McInnes echoed these thoughts, emphasizing the importance of the event’s waived entrance fee for students. (The general public was welcome to attend, but were largely and—so I’ve been told—purposefully deterred by the $12 ticket.) “I’m glad we were able to make the event free for all students, because there were a handful of CIA and CSU students who came and had a blast. I’d love to organize more intercollegiate events among Northeast Ohio’s college radio stations and other student organizations to widen our community off campus.”
Overall, Punk Prom was a blast and I’d encourage any CWRU—or Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland Institute of Music or Cleveland State University—students who missed out to attend the event when it (hopefully) returns next year. The live music, drinks and general atmosphere were off the charts, and I can’t imagine anyone not having a good time.