I love this school, but I can't stand some of the holier-than-thou little snobs that go here.

Patrick Makeover, in his letter to the editor last Wednesday, "Cowboy Mouth is washed up," officially announced that he is just way too cool for this campus. He decided that he is so cool, in fact, that he can trash the Student Union Board, Cowboy Mouth and anyone with musical tastes other than his.

Well, sorry, buddy. This time you were wrong. This time your elitist attitude failed you. This time your fear of accepting anything other than what pop society happens to be embracing at the moment caused you to miss an unbelievable concert. Cowboy Mouth rocked. The band's energy was incredible, and their music had the entire audience moving. I guarantee not a single person left that concert regretting either the many valuable hours of television they missed or the killer $10 they had to part with to see a live rock show.

But in Patrick's defense, he had never heard of Cowboy Mouth before; obviously, this implies that they couldn't possibly be any good. Cowboy Mouth doesn't even have a track on the latest Abercrombie & Fitch promotional CD. Damn, they must suck. U-93 doesn't play them every hour on the hour; let's trash 'em. And unlike our friend Patrick, Cowboy Mouth has refused to sell out. They must not have any talent at all.

Honestly, people like Patrick confuse me. I don't know whether I want to laugh at them or feel sorry for them. It's really just kind of pathetic that people can't think for themselves anymore. I mean, what will you all do if MTV's Total Request Live ever gets cancelled? How will you know what's cool?

Come on, Pat. You weren't really serious when you said you'd rather have Right Said Fred or some '80s hair metal band come than Cowboy Mouth? Is there something wrong with you? You'd rather see a worthless, talentless joke than a great live rock band simply because you're too shallow to open yourself up to something new?

Open your minds, people! Break free! I know it's hard to believe, but there is a whole world of thought outside the stifling trends at Notre Dame. There is music other than what the Dave Matthews Band plays. If you live your entire life too scared to accept anything not already pre-approved by pop culture, you are going to miss out. (You know, at one time, no one knew who the Dave Mathews Band was, either.)

To SUB, I say thank you. You brought in a great band, and the concert was amazing. For those of us capable of looking beyond the flavor of the hour and enjoying a concert for no other reason than because the band rocks, the concert was a great experience.

So Patrick, I guess it all comes down to this: While you were sitting in your dorm room watching "Dawson's Creek" on TV, I was at one of the best live rock shows I've been to in a while. And because none of the closed-minded clones like you showed up, I got great seats, too. Thanks, buddy.

The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

• Open your minds, people