Arriving at Fest at 5:30 p.m., my friend, Annette Lesniak, and I had been hoping for a warm and sunny day all week. Unfortunately, the skies were grim and overcast, and the air was crisp, balmy at best. Luckily, you could sense the excitement from students as they hurried through security to get into the Quad.

Fest 2011 was my first foray into DePaul’s end of the year music concert. I didn’t know Chromeo or Wiz Khalifa’s music too well when I bought my ticket, but am overall pleased with the general tone of the concert. I am not a music connoisseur and, in fact, only really listen to it when I can go to a concert, but it was a lot of fun to hang out with my friends for fairly cheap.

Although the beer served (Miller Lite and Miller Genuine Draft) was not my top choice, after drinking a few while listening to Chromeo rock the smallish sized crowd, I was already satisfied.

Chromeo’s set seemed to pass by pretty fast. The crowd danced as the neon lights blinked all around them. Though the number of people crowded around the stage when Chromeo was performing was small, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Chromeo played to an excited crowd for about an hour before the DJ took over. When he introduced the headliner, Wiz Khalifa, everybody went wild. The crowd was thrilled when Wiz Khalifa came out for his set. Immediately, the entire quad filled with students and alums energized for his show. Overall, it was pretty fun too.

Through chants of “black and yellow!” Wiz Khalifa teased the crowd asking what kind of weed they were smoking. Possibly the most fun song of the set, when he performed “In tha cut,” the whole audience sang along and lit up.

Senior Ellie Serrano said that Fest 2011 wasn’t bad this year and that she thought “the set was well constructed and the ambiance was good.”

Serrano said that “90% of the time she was having a really good time” and that was very relived that security was “pretty smooth.”

Lesniak, a senior as well, also thought that the concert went pretty well. “I think that both Chromeo and Mr. Wiz Khalifa did a good job engaging the audience in anticipation. They were good at lifting the mood but not as good as Eminem,” Lesniak said.

Alum Josh Bowman said that Fest 2011 was “not as good as last year.”

“Ludacris is an entertainer and Wiz is still learning how to handle a crowd. Luda knows how to turn an audience on whereas with Wiz people mostly only knew one song,” Bowman said.

Much to the happiness of students, Wiz Khalifa finished his set with “Black and Yellow” which the whole crowd went nuts for, singing the chorus at the very least.

Though this was my first real experience with DePaul Fest, Chromeo and Wiz Khalifa, I had a really good time. For the last few weeks of my senior year, this was definitely one way to go out.