Insane in da Crane
The weekend rolls around. You’re looking for something to do; the frats are getting old, you hardly know the kids throwing that house party, and you are much too broke to do anything downtown. But what if you could go to a concert, for free, right on campus? Well, kid, you’re in luck – Insane in da Crane offers just that.
“Crane provides students at Tufts with an avocado-walled, awesome-music filled environment where they can hang out and enjoy avocado-colored walls and awesome live music” says sophomore Luke Pyenson.
Insane in da Crane is the rebirth and transformation of what used to be Oxfam Midnight Café, well-known small venue that has sadly disappeared from campus. Crane hopes to continue Oxfam’s tradition in their new, avocado-walled space.
“We want to try to have many shows that appeal to many different tastes. Our main requirement: that it’s interesting and unique, and not something you could hear just anywhere” says sophomore Natalie Selzer, “Hopefully, we can make live music more regularly available on campus and expose people to innovative and creative artists that they might not have had access to before”. Crane hopes to host music that, Pyenson adds, “you might not hear in Distler, Cohen, Dewick, at Spring Fling, or anywhere else on campus”.
Crane concerts are a little-known (but awesome) alternative to the typical Tufts social scene, offering everything from experimental jazz to indie-pop rock bands in the past few weeks alone.
“Due to the very nature of the Crane Room, the concerts are intimate and casual affairs, typically involving lots of band-audience interaction – certainly nothing you would find at larger Boston venues such as the Orpheum and Paradise Rock Club. Plus, it’s free. You can’t beat that,” says Selzer.
With its new venue and new name, Insane in da Crane is looking to expand their Tufts fan,base
“We want there to be a lively audience for these great bands that are taking all the trouble to come out here and play for us! The more people we have excited about this thing, and the more people that attend the shows, the more money we can get from TCU, which means bigger and better bands” says Selzer. Crane is also looking for people to help with promotion and technical set-up, hoping to re-establish the alternative music culture that Tufts was well known for with Oxfam.
In the coming weeks, Insane in da Crane will be hosting bands Best Coast, This Frontier Needs Heroes, KC Quilty, and others. As Pyenson puts it, “Everyone has the opportunity to be Insane in da Crane if they attend one of our concerts” – and, seriously, it’s worth it.
More information can be found here.
April 11, 9pm: Best Coast w/ KC Quilty (Ethereal Surfer Pop)
April 17, 9pm: This Frontier Needs Heroes w/ Last Good Tooth (Indie-Pop, Folk-Rock)
