I have to admit to being extremely excited to watch as a very talented group of Luther’s best singers opened for Ben Folds at our spring concert. Such an opportunity to set the stage for one of the world’s best performers is both rare and valuable. However, as I understand, the day of the concert brought some unfortunate news to our local artists. Ben Folds’ manager found a “better” opener imported from wherever parents name kids “Eef.”

This replacement of local, homegrown talent with imported, “upgraded” entertainment couldn’t help but to raise questions in my mind about more profound problems implicit in the change. There is a parallel here between our consumer culture’s approach to food and Eef’s opening act. Not only was he more expensive (in this case primarily with hidden costs), he was also a less healthy choice. Having a local group of friends and acquaintances set the stage would certainly have been a worthier option.

When magnified onto the culture of food, Eef represents the cheap, corn-fed beef found in our grocery stores and at Walmart. It would come as no surprise that Eef didn’t even cost Luther any more than Undeclared to bring to campus due to the simple fact that Ben Folds had been scheduled long in advance. Any change in the opening music could not have cost Luther and Luther’s students any more.

However, just like the cheap meat we accustom ourselves to eating, bringing Eef here had hidden costs. He came to Decorah in a motor home, which on average gets seven to 11 miles per gallon of gas. Following Ben Folds on tour, he has driven all the way to Florida even in the last four days. He is emitting huge amounts of pollution into the air in the form of carbon dioxide. Just as corn lowers the price of cow meat, corn-based ethanol lowers the initial cost for Eef to get here, at least temporarily. Undeclared, on the other hand, could have walked to the concert.

On the contrary, Undeclared represents what would be the locally grown, community-centered option. Not only were these students already at hand, having them share in the experience and interaction of opening for Ben Folds would then cascade down onto the rest of us. Again compared with the food industry, this would equate to shaking the hand of the farmer who grows our food. Or magnified even further, Undeclared represents the very cows whose vocal mooings and the cocks whose crowing greet us at every turn of the head.

Where cheap meat can be seasoned at least to taste good, to the majority of people coming out of the spring concert, the most interesting thing about Eef Barzelay is his name. Not to completely terrorize the artist, but his songs were abstract to the point of incomprehensibility. Undeclared, on the other hand, are the backyard men with a fine selection of long-time hits perhaps even improved by their talent and musical prowess. Undeclared, our very own group, should have opened for Ben Folds, if for nothing else than to be a sustainable and community-driven portrayal in our local music scene.

Brett Wilson