As first years, Luke Ogden and John Carpenter dreamed of one day hosting SPOT together. As seniors, the pair will live out that dream this Saturday. Sitting together on a townhouse couch, Ogden and Carpenter discussed the upcoming show, their role as hosts, and inevitably reminisced about their past as students, friends, and roommates.
With a half-empty gallon of green tea in his lap and his co-host’s inspiring presence nearby,
Ogden explained some anticipated differences in the upcoming SPOT, in contrast to previous shows. “There’s going to be a lot more laughing, ‘cause John and I are awesome,” he said. “There’s going to be even more jokes, more fun-ness, more ooo’s, more ahh’s, more music.”
Ogden also said that he and Carpenter eagerly await aspects of the show that he describes as “elements of surprise and fun.” They look to CAB for one such element, a series of Vines, to go with this SPOT’s theme of social networking, dubbed #hastagspot by the hosts.
Along with the promised humor, Ogden and Carpenter vowed to stay true to SPOT’s function as a variety show. They assure the appearance of some singing acts, group dancing, and plenty of videos. In addition, Carpenter anticipates “some stuff we’ve never really seen before; people are getting pretty creative with their ideas.”
Ogden himself, a music enthusiast, said, “I will probably make a singing appearance… definitely can’t keep my vocal chords from moving.”
Aside from Ogden’s own voice, both he and Carpenter expressed specific excitement regarding their choice of musical interludes between acts. Performing live, pianist Malcolm Bell and drummer Jerbrel Bowens will assume the stage frequently during the night, working together to both entertain and enthrall the audience during set changes and act transitions.
As Carpenter said of the two musicians’ talents, “They’re both good enough that we can tell them what to play an hour before the show and they’ll be able to do it.” Ogden added to his co-host’s statement, describing the pair’s awaited musical appearances as “beautiful.”
Aside from the various acts and the musical performances of Bell and Bowens, yet another aspect of SPOT lies in Ogden and Carpenter’s own performance as hosts. As friends since freshman year, the hosts claim four years worth of ideas related to the enactment of this spring’s SPOT.
As roommates, Ogden and Carpenter indulge in planning the event while the majority of Houghton indulges in sleep. “We do a lot of brainstorming in bed at night,” said Carpenter. “Once we’re talking it doesn’t really stop.”
Ogden said, in explaining his relationship with Carpenter, “We feed one another – literally and figuratively. There’ll be times I’ll be like, ‘John, you want some eggs?’ He’ll be like, ‘Yea’… But we feed off of each other as well – not so much literally in that way – more figuratively.” Such “feeding” often results in a cascade of witty comments, the essence of their pending SPOT appearance.
The hosts display chemistry off the stage that can only be anticipated to make an appearance in the spotlight as well. They profess a successful friendship due in part to making up for each other’s faults. For Carpenter, Ogden is better with words; for Ogden, if a joke goes too far, “John always knows when to stop.” Due to such chemistry, or possibly just the fact that they both have blond hair, they once were even mistaken as brothers.
Overall, Ogden and Carpenter anticipate a satisfying SPOT for this spring. They possess confidence in the acts and in themselves as hosts. As opposed to the lengthy, mediocre SPOT of the fall, Ogden plans for a SPOT filled with entertaining acts. He said, “We would rather have an hour-long SPOT of awesomeness and good acts than a two-hour-long with good acts and bad acts.”