A&E
Uptown Booty brings daytime fun
By Alex Witonsky ’17
April 24, 2015
Student Performing Arts Club (SPAC) put on Hamilton College’s first ever Outdoor Concert & Cookout last Saturday afternoon. It was an early and rare day of sunshine and wind. A charcoal grill was smoking behind Babbitt while frisbees and footballs flew through the air. A ball game was endeavored upon in the distance and some students threw down blankets to chat, sunbathe and nap. On that island of grass in the middle of the Minor Parking lot, a collection of isolated students sat smiling in Adirondack chairs. It was the happiest Hamilton College has been lately — happier even than last year’s Class and Charter Day.
At 4 p.m. students decked out in bright summer-wear and equipped with proper identification gathered under the Babbitt Pavillion. The hot dog line grew and grew, good scents circulated through the slow air, a sound check was performed... and suddenly Uptown Booty was plugged in, turned up and rocking out. In a flash, students mobbed the back of the pavillion to watch Hamilton College’s very own Booty boys.
They were loud. They were raucous. They were playing covers like they’ve practiced them at least five times. A crowd of dancers was before them and UB was all confidence and smiles.
They were good, above all. Matt Dickstein ’17 kept it easy on the drums and flashed a knowing grin at Sean D. Henry-Smith ’15, Booty’s vocalist. Sarah Hooper ’16 clutched a mic and kept the crowd smiling as she pinched her eyes shut and shouted lyrics. Jeremy Trombetta ’15 and George Taliaferro ’15 grooved with the rhythm and the lead. Students stood on picnic tables just to get a good view. Carter Sanders ’18 worked the keyboard. Outkast’s “Hey Ya” was one of the last songs in the set and everyone was singing along. “ICE COLD!”
By 5 p.m. or so, Uptown Booty had finished their set and the crowd began to thin a bit. Most students were basking in the still-strong sun, leaving Sarge Kinlin ’16, Hamilton’s D.J. wunderkind to work the table. While waiting for hot-dogs I heard someone whisper, “you know he went to D.J. school right?” And it sounded like it; Sarge played a set that was both listenable and experimental, sunny and groovy. Great music made the day. Here’s to hoping this becomes annual.