Don’t Fall Down the Rabbit Hole of Juice Jam

If you were one of the many to follow the white rabbit down the hole Sunday, September 25, 2016, to Juice Jam presented by University Union, then you most likely experienced something much different than Alice did when she stumbled upon Wonderland. The scenery was not lush and wild. There was no caterpillar smoking a hookah and no tea party guests. Rather there was a conglomerate of poor college students smoking perhaps the shittiest weed they could get their hands on and smuggle past security guards standing amidst a gravel parking lot jiving to the music of a DJ wearing a trash can over his head.

Throughout the day, the exposition of our tale continued on…and on…and on. It appears that the white rabbit led all to the most unexcitable concert crowd our no-show Mad Hatter - Fetty Wap - has never seen. Even rapper D.R.A.M. was feeling the need for a little “relief” from reality when he asked the panel of interviewers, “Does anyone have any weed?”

LOLO was quite charming in her interview. She talked to the panel about anything and everything her hungover mind could think of as she searched around her pink teddy bear backpack. But with all due respect, when asked about why her newest album, “In Loving Memory of When I Gave a Shit,” was touted to be a come-to-Jesus moment, she humbled herself by talking about her struggles with depression and self-acceptance. She explained, “You can’t give a fuck about what anyone thinks of you,” ultimately portraying her in more of an Alice manner.

Stephen, whom one can only compare to the March Hare, was quite a unique one to with whom to speak. He was quite scattered between his profound thoughts and his explanation of how his Twitter claiming him to be “a hot mailman named Pablo” came to be. In fact, he informed the panel that it may address him as Pablo.

And oh, what to say about the main acts? Well, Tove Lo, who possess the energy of Demi Lovato and the vocal sound of Miley Cyrus, was more underwhelming than expected, but was nothing compared to the aforementioned no-show Fetty Wap. But fear not – students of Syracuse University took to social media to call out the celebrity for his string of no-shows. Over this one, Fetty may have just lost a good chunk of his fan base and will receive harsh criticism for who knows how long to come, but you know what they say: an eye for an eye.

So yes, everyone in the crowd did flip off the empty stage where Fetty Wap should’ve been standing yet hardly paid attention to the lesser known artists that did bother to show up, but it was not the big things that made Juice Jam an experience. The concert atmosphere was a manifestation of all things obscure. Between a girl in a tiger costume, a guy dressed as a panda bear, and the whatever-it-was with the purple horse head, there was quite a sea of characters in this Wonderland who all raised their voices for an impromptu sing-along.

Although this was Juice Jam at a glimpse and one had to actually be there to get the full experience, just remember for next year: Don’t fall down the rabbit hole! Jump instead through the looking glass; do not be lured in by another lush headliner and instead go for the obscurities of the scene and, as Jefferson Airplane said in their song “White Rabbit”, “feed your head,” because when surrounded by the motliest of characters, how can you possibly desire to leave your mind from where it came?