This may sound like an insane question: Why would you go to a concert? The explanations are straightforward. One, you enjoy the music the band plays; it touches you in some manner. Two, your friends are going and it might be fun; Friday nights and lab reports don’t always mix. Three, you know someone in the band; maybe they’ll give you a wave during a song, or throw you a (wood) drumstick. Four, you like live music. If you’ve heard of the Deadheads, or recognize the term “Red Sox Nation,” you know that some people have an elevated level of dedication to some bands or sports teams.

An inaugural cry of vitality kicked the Decemberists into gear with a tight, up-tempo cathartic march. Rocking to the Barton Hall rafters, the veteran Portland, Oregon band confirmed their reputation as a jaw-dropping live act while reenforcing their status as “independent super-pop” trailblazers. Busting the Sunday evening stupor, the Decemberists hitched indie rock’s scratchy, emotionally piercing dissatisfaction with a charged army of rich organs and inventive percussion.

Eclectic percussionist Jerome Cooper came to Cornell “to perform, that’s under my contractual agreement. I’m not here to talk.” Or so he said at Tuesday’s American Artistic Renaissance Symposium panel, emphasizing the symposium’s performative element over its academic one. He led jam session with a glockenspiel-laden set, expertly harnessing the deep pulse of true, free jazz. Though his reputation was cemented as a soloist famous for short, rhythmic phrases, Cooper played alongside jazz legend Leroy Jenkins in the 1970’s “Revolutionary Ensemble.”