As October is national Bullying Prevention Month, some of us writers at Music Times can sympathize with the plights of those who are bullied, as we ourselves are somewhat nerds and fell victim to the same abuse. One of the things that always got us in trouble with the jocks on the cross country team was our academic prowess, including our prized "100% Attendance" certificates for freshman, sophomore, and senior year. Those with perfect attendance at Anderson High School in Austin, TX got a better reward: a free Phoenix concert.
The French pop-rockers were in town for the Austin City Limits festival, and they organized with the high school and PBS program Live From The Artist's Den to plan a secret show. The school's principal, Donna Houser, said that the network had reached out during the summer because of the school's "vintage" gymnasium, however the size of the the room only allowed for a few attendees. Houser solved the problem by making the show a reward for students with perfect attendance (of course, it was for students who haven't been absent or tardy so far during this school year, so a month-and-a-half-ish).
Houser also said that she wasn't familiar with the group at the time, but after a bit of research concluded that they were censor-friendly enough to be suitable entertainment for the student base.
Students who didn't get to attend are probably miffed, and understandably so, but at least they'll get to see the concert eventually. Air dates for the upcoming season of Artist's Den haven't been announced yet, but the Phoenix show will air during early 2014.
