By Joshua M. Pratt

First off, I love your newspaper. I have read it for the past four years and enjoyed every issue. That was until last week. After reading your article about the two musicians who left afterHOURS to find an alternate space to play (“Student musicians create alternate venue,” Dec. 8), I felt that I should inform you of some information that was not printed in your newspaper.

“We were supposed to be headlining,” [Mike] Mathieu said. “A friend of ours said to go play in the student center. Everybody got up [and followed us out]. We just had our guitars and started playing.”

This is an excerpt from your article. This is a completely incorrect statement. I was the actual event organizer for that night at afterHOURS. I was putting together a concert with various bands. The truth of the matter is that Mr. Mathieu and Dave Coffin were not headlining this event. I ran into Mr. Mathieu a week before my event and after some small talk, he asked me if any upcoming events were available for him to perform at. I told him about the event I was holding in afterHOURS and that he and Mr. Coffin could play at the end of my event.

Since afterHOURS has a very flexible show environment, last-minute changes such as these are possible. My event was booked, but since afterHOURS stays open late into the night, there is always time for another act. The event went well up until the last band of my show, and while they were performing a couple of students from the WRBB radio crew were putting some stuff away. This is when Mr. Coffin and Mr. Mathieu became irate and upset. Mr. Mathieu came to me and asked if they were still playing. I said of course they were.

The students who were putting equipment away had volunteered their own time for free at the radio station. They were just taking WRBB’s equipment back to the radio station. Mr. Mathieu and Mr. Coffin were only playing acoustically and did not need an entire sound system. They could have easily used the afterHOURS sound system.

Mr. Mathieu agreed with me and returned to calm his fellow performer down. The next thing I witnessed was the biggest slap in the face to Northeastern student performers I have ever seen while attending this university. Mr. Coffin went around afterHOURS and convinced students to leave the club and go upstairs to this “hangar,” (an area on the first floor of the Curry Student Center that showcased a collection of acts) and he was doing this while fellow Northeastern students were performing.

Mr. Mathieu apologized to me and to the band performing after they were done (he came back down from the hangar to do this) but I never heard a thing from Mr. Coffin. For anyone who does attend an upcoming performance by this band be prepared for, well, for exactly what was quoted in The News — “You never know what to expect at the show.” (Megan McGregor, senior music industry major.)

Fans, friends, strangers, students or faculty honestly have no idea what this duo will do. Will they play some songs? Or maybe create a nightmare for another Northeastern student who had the courage to go up and perform in front of his peers? (And then have some pompous, egotistical, arrogant, prima donna act ruin their night and yours.)

– Joshua M. Pratt is a junior management information systems major and Council for University Programs concert chair.