Middle Tennessee State University - Midlander Yearbook (Murfreesboro, TN)

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OT H V H r jft ta ' . B v;:u H B » |kJ my ' ' : S V jjP iw - ' i H Hlj ' v HH sentiments. Floats featured witches, vampires, a float with a graveyard with the names of all the teams that have fallen to the forces of the mighty Blue Raider football squad this season. The Homecoming game began with a tribute to Monte Hale for all the good things he has done for MTSU. Half time activities featured the crowning of the homecoming queen, Shan Raney, a senior from Shelbyville. Shan was accompanied by her court, Kim Newby, Shernia Brown, Beckye Henley, and Ronata Thomas. Despite a hard fight, the Blue Raiders lost to the Youngstown State Penguins in a squeaker, 10-l.V MTSU spirit and cooperation made even the nar- row loss a memorable and enjoyable experience. Commentary by Katherine Casity and Laura Rader 29 Homecunimg

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28 Homecoming

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There ' s a Place at MTSU for Dan Fogelberg Everyone knew something had to be announced soon. After all, September was half-over and as yet, no type of rock concert appeared to have been scheduled for MTSU ' s fall semester. When word finally arrived and Dan Fogelberg was officially part of the plan, the mad scramble was on. Many people assumed they would have to wait in line no more than two or three hours before tickets went on sale. Well, when Monday, Oct 5, finally rolled around, those people were surprised to find lengthy lines circling Murphy Center. Some of the diehards had been there as early as 2 p.m. Friday! Needless to say, all reserved seats were sold within hours and the general admission seats were filled by the fol- lowing week. Now, all there was to do for those fortunate folks was to wait. If Dan Fogelberg ' s music registered even half of the excitement on each person ' s face who possessed a ticket, the concert could be nothing but a success. As the date of the concert neared, not a day passed when one couldn ' t find a sign on a bulletin board somewhere on campus advertising the woes of people who desperately wanted a ticket! The night of October 25th was a rainy one, but it didn ' t stop the concert -goers from wearing their Sunday best underneath their umbrellas and slick- ers. The gates opened at 6:40 p.m., which meant an hour-and-20-minute wait. It seemed as though Murphy Center was ready to roll by 7;15 p.m. Quiet classical music played in the background, and every few minutes, a different section in the arena would begin clapping and stomping, trying to get the others to join in. When the scheduled beginning of 8 p.m. arrived, the people became anxious and began to chant Let ' s go, and we want Fogel- berg. After a 20 minute wait, the lights went out and an immediate shot of electricity seemed to hit Murphy Center. Dan Fogelberg was ready! The people of Middle Tennessee were ready! Most of the people at the show probably didn ' t even realize they were seeing much more than Fogelberg, meaning the all-star band he brought with him. Along with drummers Russ Kunkel and Joe Vitale and bass guitarist Kenny Passarelli, the group also included Nashvillians Mike Hanna and Barry Burton on guitars and Mark Hallmon on keyboards. Opening with a beautiful rendition of Tulla- more Dew, an instrumental which sequed into Phoenix, he seemed to set the story, as most of the first set came from his last albums. Phoenix and The Innocent Age. After a couple of crowd favorites, Wishin ' on the Moon and Heart Ho- tel, the band left the stage and Fogelberg sat down to his piano of play some of the pretty ones, the folk -ballad masterpieces he ' s famous for. Leader of the Band was for a dear friend who I love a lot, Fogelberg ' s father. After putting an all-out effort into Same Old Lang Syne the one that put me on the elevators, he exclaimed to the MTSU crowd, God, it ' s good to be back in Tennessee! Twelve songs and a little over an hour had passed and the concert was only half- begun. After a 20-minute break, the band returned to play outstanding versions of the See the Morning Sky, Turn the Joy Away and The Last Wait. Morning Sky featured the excellent a cappela harmonizing of Fogelberg and the band. A concert high was Joe Vitale ' s haunting flute on Tell Me to My Face, a cut from Twin Sons of Different Mothers, an album featuring Tira Weisberg with Fogelberg. Closing the show was Fogelberg ' s famous Part of the Plan, his first hit single, and after almost five minutes of audience appreciation, he returned to encore with Face the Fire, Fogelberg ' s nuclear protest song. The cut was played to perfection, with Dan ' s piercing solo closing the song. The group then played a different type of song, (So You Wanna Be) a Rock and Roll Star, made ! famous by Patti Smith and Bruce Springsten. It was ' . quite a contrast but was played with very high i intensity. When the band made their bows and : ' exited, it was the audience ' s cue to make more ij noise. The cue was obeyed for another few min- I utes, interrupted by Fogelberg ' s words, Thank i you guys, I had a great time! The crowd joined in j on the final encore, There ' s a Place in the World For a Gambler singing, dancing, and swaying in the aisles. (It ' s extremely rare to hear 12,000 people. ' singing in harmony). Fogelberg put down his gui- tar, stood in the spotlight, and covered his head as : if almost embarrassed. The way Dan Fogelberg and his band played this rainy fall night in Tennessee, he surely had nothing to be embarrassed about! Commentary by Scott Holter 30 Dan Fogelberg