There are a lot of people in State College who really don't care about music or the local music scene.

Believe it or not, though, there are actually a few who do, and because of their existence, this town sees a good show every once in a while. To wit: Andrew Bird playing at the State Theatre this Monday night.

For similar shows to be a more regular occurrence, people need to show their support.

"The most important thing people can do is go to the show," Roustabout! promoter Jeff VanFossan said. "If the State Theatre loses money, they will not be able to do it again."

While the concert isn't technically a Roustabout!, it would never have come to fruition without Roust's help.

Second, and perhaps just as important, Roustabout! is a co-sponsor of the show, along with City Lights Records. Without this sponsorship, the concert would likely not be possible, at least not at a cost of $24.

"It enabled us to give a good price for students," State Theatre programming manager Joe Apfelbaum said. "Roustabout! and City Lights both have good karma about them. It's good to be working with them."

VanFossan said both businesses are just as happy to support the show, and City Lights owner Greg Gabbard agreed.

"If there are little things you can do like that to bring really big things to State College, it's worth it," Gabbard said. "It's as simple as that."

All parties involved, and plenty of parties not involved, want to see such a thing happen more often. Gabbard, who is also on an advising committee for the State Theatre, sees reason to be hopeful.

"When Crowbar closed, it left a big gap in the live alternative music scene in State College," he said. "It's taken a while for people to figure out what niche they want to fill, but I think it's on the right track. I think it's going to happen."

Apfelbaum said this concert took as long to book as any since the State Theatre reopened, and if not for a logistical coincidence of the venue and the artist having a concurrent open date, it would never have happened at all. But Apfelbaum said there's no reason for this to be the last time.

"Hopefully, it's going to keep happening," he said. "It's all contingent upon people coming out."
Fortunately, there are others who are just as excited about the show. Eric Myers, who has never seen Bird live before, is looking forward to it.

"I've seen a lot of bands, but one thing about Andrew Bird is that he seems to have more of a command of his sound," Myers (senior-chemistry) said. "He puts forth strong, effectual music, not just some chords with a melody over it that he'll call a song."

Devan Kochersperger is a State College resident who saw Andrew Bird perform at the most recent Austin City Limits Music Festival a few weeks ago. He said Bird was by far the best performer of the entire festival.

"I had never really listened to him before," Kochersperger said, "but the actual performance was just so incredible. I've listened to him non-stop since then."

Brooke Osborne (senior-toxicology) has been a fan for a bit longer -- since Bird's Mysterious Production of Eggs came out in 2005 -- so for her, seeing Andrew Bird in State College has been something she's wanted for a while.

"He's an interesting and ambitious artist, and not many people like that come through here," she said. "This is like Christmas. I'm so excited."