The Bowery Ballroom is a legendary club in downtown Manhattan—a dark, red-lit space that usually fills with sweaty rock fans jumping and cheering on their favorite bands. Recently, it was also filled with rock fans, but this shaggy-haired, skinny-jeaned crowd was amped not only for the string of performers on the line-up (including indie favorites OK Go), but also because it was the eve of Super Tuesday, when 22 states nationwide held their primaries for this year’s presidential election.

This wasn’t just any concert—it was a “get out the vote” event called Barack Rock, and folks like organizers Craig Wedren and his wife, Meggan Lennon, think that places like the Bowery are the best places to make young people aware of their stake in politics. All night, bands like Alberta Cross, Craig’s own band, Shudder to Think, and OK Go themselves—as well as Jewish funnymen Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain of comedy trio Stella, who hosted the show—reminded the crowd to get up the following morning to vote and make their mark on the future of American politics.

Perhaps the highlight of the night, non-musically, that is, was the one-time and very random appearance of über-actor Paul Rudd, who was introduced to the crowd by the boys from Stella as “Caroline Kennedy” and questioned by Showalter, Black and Wain as to what it was like running around the White House as a little girl, sleeping under JFK’s desk, etc. Probably a true “you had to be there” moment, but funny nonetheless. 

It doesn’t surprise JVibe that Craig Wedren—one of our favorite Jewish rock stars—is out there trying to make a difference. “I was never very political,” he said before his performance, “but always very Jewish. While doing this event, I kept thinking about my mom, who is a JCC fundraiser and does a lot of work for Jewish organizations, and for the first time, I’m doing what my mom does. It’s all part of her Jewish activist legacy, and it’s what I grew up with.”

Craig, front man of alt-rockers Shudder to Think, said that his, Meggan’s and collaborator Amy Rice’s vision for a political event originally started as a fundraiser, but that they quickly dashed the idea. “We cater to broke college students and broke 20- and 30-somethings,” he said, “so instead, we thought we had the ability to do a non-traditional event with lots of online publicity, and to use this concert to remind people to get up and vote.” It worked—the show, which only cost fans 20 bucks a ticket, sold out well before the night of the event.

The musical highlights of the night included a mini-reunion of Shudder to Think, which was immensely popular in the Washington, D.C., and New York City areas in the early to mid-1990s but broke up in 1998. Craig and band member Nathan Larson dusted off some of their classics for the older, die-hard fans in the crowd, who weren’t swooning after Damian Kulash and the boys from OK Go, clearly the headliners of the night and the final performers of the nearly three-hour show. OK Go left the crowd rocking with stirring renditions of a few of their hits, including “Here It Goes Again,” which has earned its own cult-like following because of the wild treadmill-infused music video. Guitarist and keyboardist Andy Ross actually performed just a few hours after having his wisdom teeth removed, which earns kudos of monumental proportions. 

The concert concluded with all of the performers, led by Craig and Meggan, joining on stage to sing the Zombies classic “This Will Be Our Year.” The following day, video and sound clips from the concert were uploaded to many pop culture websites, including the event organizers’ website, getupandvote.com, so Craig and Meggan’s efforts could continue to have a ripple effect beyond the concert itself.

“When I was in college,” Craig remembers, “I would always forget to vote, and always felt bad about it the next day, so this is my way of making up for that.”

It’s clear from many of the returns so far in this year’s primaries that young people are showing up in forces like never before in recent American history, making the difference at the polls from Iowa to New Hampshire to California. It’s a trend that Craig, Meggan and all the performers from the concert would like to see continue until the big event in November, when young people will have just as much say in who will lead the country going forward.

And our parents thought young people only voted for the next American Idol. Safe to say, we’re proving them wrong.

Joelle Asaro Berman thought sitting up in the VIP section of this concert was maybe the coolest thing she’s ever done, short of hugging Craig Wedren, her rock-star hero.