The crowd rocks out to DJ Lazaro Casanova during the Jan. 31 Winter All-Campus Dance 2008. (Will Parson/Guardian)

Thumping techno beats and sweaty students brought the Price
Center Ballroom to life at the first-ever Winter All-Campus Dance, the A.S.
Programming event that replaced the WinterFest concert of previous years on
Jan. 31. However, despite the change in size and venue, it drew less of an
audience than last year’s WinterFest, making it the lowest-attended Winter
Quarter programming event in the last four years.

Rx Bandits opened the event to a modest but excited crowd.
Playing reggae, funk and ska-infused rock, the mostly bearded quintet switched
from jazzy breakdowns and soulful instrumentals to mosh pit-inspiring choruses.

Though the band played to a crowd that filled less than a
quarter of the ballroom floor, by the time the Bandits left the stage, they had
the crowd chanting for an encore.

The Bandits’ act was a surprise to those who were expecting
original act Ima Robot, who canceled their appearance due to illness.

“Rx Bandits have played quite a few very successful shows at
UCSD before,” A.S. Programming Festivals Coordinator Garrett Berg said. “We
felt they were a solid choice for the last-minute change.”

Rx Bandits vocalist and guitarist Matthew Embree serenades the crowd as part of the event’s opening act. (Will Parson/Guardian)

At around 8:50 p.m.,
Lazaro Casanova took the stage. The act, comprised of a young DJ, his turntable
and a slew of catchy electronica, prompted concertgoers to dance with wild
abandon.

L.A. Riots followed Casanova at 10:15 p.m., a duo that has gained growing attention from
electronica lovers and clubgoers over the past year. The crowd dwindled as the
show progressed, but those remaining continued to dance until midnight.

The latter two bands of this year’s lineup brought a new
genre of music not usually seen at UCSD.

“Rather than simply repeat the fall dance, we decided to
diversify the lineup,” Berg said.

Some attendees were surprised by the relatively low turnout,
which peaked at about 800 people, 60 that paid to attend the concert. Last
year’s WinterFest attracted 1,200 people.

“There weren’t as many people as we expected,” said East
Lake High School
student Samantha Villegas, one of several local high school students who
purchased tickets to see the last two electronica acts. “But it was still so
much fun. I wish we could have kept dancing.”

Some East Lake
students complained that many of their friends tried to purchase tickets for
the performance at the door but were turned away despite the low attendance and
mostly empty Ballroom floor.

“In general, students should always plan to buy tickets to
our events in advance,” Berg said. “Student guest tickets were on sale right up
until the night of the event.”

Despite the turnout, Berg said the programmers were
generally satisfied with the new format.

“The event was essentially a test run, and while we would
have liked to see a larger turnout, we feel the event went well overall,” he
said.

The size and scope of Winterfest has been consistently
reduced in recent years to free up funding for more popular events such as Bear
Gardens. Last year the event was
moved from RIMAC Arena to the less-expensive ballroom and remained there this
year due to low funding and the predictably small attendance.

Also different this year was the decision to host the event
on a Thursday night instead of the traditional Friday.

“We have yet to decide whether Winter All-Campus Dance will
continue in years to come,” Berg said. “Regardless, it’s unlikely that we will
return to the traditional WinterFest format.”.