Images from the Hill PAGE 8A MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1997
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
IMAGES AND STORIES OF LIFE IN AND AROUND KU
10,000 maniacs
Getting a little help from the crowd, a fan gets a better view of the bands. The music festival drew crowds of about 10,000 people yesterday. Photo by Pam Dishman/KANSAN
Left: Libor Karas, trails riding expert, demonstrates at the Jayhawk Music Festival. Terraplane Bike Shop brought Karas in as a special presentation for the crowd. Above: Charles Glover, head security guard, squirts water into the first few rows of the crowd. Photos by Pam Dishman/KANSAN
Seven bands and a sea of fans brave the rain for music fest at Clinton
By Tom Winter
Kansan staff writer
Kids surfed on a chaotic ocean of hands and hurled empty water bottles onto the stage.
This was the scene that Cake played to yesterday at the third-annual Jayhawk Music Festival at Clinton Lake State Park. Cake was one of seven bands on the main stage in front of an audience of about 10,000.
The festival, which is sponsored by Kappa Sigma fraternity, has raised more than $60,000 for charity in the past two years. This year's proceeds will benefit Ballard Community Center, The Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence, Head Start Community Children's Center and Women's Transitional Care Services.
Vince DiFlore, trumpeter for Cake, said that he enjoyed yesterday's manic, uninhibited atmosphere.
"These kinds of crowds are always made up of people who make up a show." he said.
really want to see a show," he said.
One problem that the festival had was a 27-minute rain delay.
Luckily, sound engineers brought tarps to cover all of the electrical equipment.
Steve Alcorm, systems engineer for the concert, said that the rain delay posed less of a problem because concert organizers had set up much of the equipment on Saturday.
However, the rain delay did change the scheduling of the bands.
"Now we're trying to get the bands on as soon as possible," he said as Fredy Jones played in the middle of the day.
While the crowd dealt with showers early on, the bands sat under tents and ate catered food.
"We always ask for hummus," DiFlore said. "It's a band staple."
Even though the crowd members were abused by mother nature and each other — many of them were jammed against the wooden barricade in front of the stage — they still managed to enjoy the show.
"I really thought it was pretty cool," said Casey Mulligan, Overland Park freshman. "My favorite band has been Cake, but I'm looking forward to Cracker," he said minutes before the headliners struck up.
Mulligan said he had attended the concert two years ago, when 311 played.
"I've been really happy with it every year I came," he said. Some bands, including Cake, had difficulty adjusting to the festival's sound system.
"The stage phonics are different," DiFiore said. "You just have to have a lot of faith in the sound."
The way the festival's sound was managed differed from a normal concert.
"This is combat audio." Alcorm said. "There are no sound checks and no nothing."
Alcorm said his job was to make sure the individual sound engineers for each of the bands didn't hurt any instruments or eardrums.
"We call it baby-sitting; that's what I do." Alcorm said. "I'm here so the mixers don't get lost."
The electronic circus, a tent filled with club music and young Lawrence ravers, was a new addition to the festival.
"It's cool. I like it," said Amy Smith, a 21-year-old Lawrence resident, as she sat under the tent wearing dark makeup and dark clothing.
As the concert came to a close around 8 p.m., the diminished crowd maneuvered around the empty Miller beer cups strewn across the beige field.
And as the sun set, so did the music.
Far lofts The drummer for the Freddy Jones Band gets a feel for the music at the Jayhawk Music Fest. The band plans to release a new album soon. Lofts Matchbox 20's lead singer belts out a song for the crowd at Clinton State Park. Photos by Eric B
Photos by Eric B.
Howell/KANSAN