A8
Mondav. August 26,1996
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tyler Witken/KANSAN
RIGHT: Cary Pierce, of the Dallas-based band Jackpiperie, plays guitar yesterday during the band's set at the Jayhawk Music Festival, which was held at Clinton Lake.
Tyler Wirken/KANSAN
TYler Wirken/KANSAN
BELOW: Trying to escape the heat of a Sunday afternoon, Jessica Honaker, Topeka sophomore, cools off with the help of Jayhawk Music Festival security guard Doug Cheatham of Kansas City. Cheatham and other guards at the concert were throwing water on hot fans in the front rows.
Chris Hamilton/KANSAN RIGHT: Clint Gengry, Lecompont resident, sleeps next to his friends as the band Jackopierce performs on stage.
Kathleen Driscoll/KANSAI BOTTOM: Members of the crowd at the Music Festival are lifted up and passed above the crowd.
Sweat, sun and Rock'n'Roll
By Jeff Ruby
Nineteen bands got the royal treatment backstage yesterday at the Jayhawk Music Festival, basking in the sun when not performing for a less-than-capacity but energetic crowd at Clinton Lake State Park, west of Lawrence.
"I definitely feel like a rock star," said Mike Mahaffey, guitarist for Self. "I love it because they've got these veggie trays."
Self, a Murfreesboro, Tenn., self-described buzz-hop band, played at 1:40 p.m. on the main stage. Then Mahafey was able to relax with a cold drink under a shady tent while thousands of fans baked in the sun out front.
For bands accustomed to playing for a few night owls in dark, smoky bars, the bright-and-early outdoor concert for thousands of sunbathers was a welcome contrast. The pandemonium involved in playing this type of outdoor gig excited Mahaffey.
He said he liked the aspect of not knowing what was going to happen, the daytime atmosphere and that there were so many bands running around.
The large stage and extensive crowd altered his band's on-stage performance. Mahaffey said.
"You want to give them something to look at, you know, jump around a little," he said. "Days like this, we have to draw together during the hard parts, like a little huddle. Because when you're spread out on a big stage and you're about 50 feet apart, it's hard to be tight. But it's been a great event — a lot of exposure for us."
Karl Grable, bass player for the St. Louis band The Urge said his approach to performing was the same whether playing in a small club or at a huge venue.
"I go up there and I just want to play a good show and act like a moron," he said.
Jeff Dimpsey, bassist for the Hum, a band from Champaign, Ill., said his band's on-stage attitude took the opposite persona.
"We're not very creative with our stage show," said Dimpsey. "We get up there and stare at our feet and play."
Hum, a veteran of outdoor music festivals, played at the Lollapalooza side stage last year.
Band members were hesitant to use the word "alternative" in reference to anything, but some said the Midwest's tolerance for non-mainstream music had grown in recent years.
"I don't know if it's improved so much as people have stood up and taken notice," Dmpsey said. "There are
always good bands everywhere, it's just a matter of people paying attention."
Lawrence got rave reviews from The Urge's Grabble, who said he believed KU students and local residents were some of the most knowledgeable music fans in the country.
"The kids here are just great," he said. "They just love everything."
Kathleen Driscoll/KANSAN
The guitarist and the drummer of the band Shag jam at the Music Festival. The second-annual festival lasted until dusk yesterday at Clinton State Park.
Parking
Continued from Page 1.
tickets that were given for having no vehicle permit would cost each driver about $50. The tickets included a $9 permit fee and penalty charges.
Officers on the scene would not comment on the parking situation, and no one in the Sheriff's Department could be reached.
Marshall Loo, Stillwell, Okla., senior, came to the park at 3 p.m. to see the live music that began at 11:15 a.m. Not wanting to miss any more of the show, Loo and his friends decided to park along the road where they were stuck in a traffic am..
"We were waiting in line for at least an hour," Loo said.
Craig Hanson, Wichita senior,
also waited in line when he arrived
at the park at 3:15 p.m. He parked
along the road to avoid a long wait
on the way out of the park.
"We were just trying to think ahead," Hanson said. "We didn't see any no parking signs."
Travis Laudermilk, Abilene freshman, said he had no idea there was no parking on the road, and he didn't mind walking.
Hall couldn't believe that the park would give tickets to so many people. When he was told the parking lot was full, he turned around with all the other cars to find another place.
"There was no movement in the traffic so I just parked," Laudermilk said.
"There were probably already a hundred cars lined up to park there," Hall said.
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