Wakarusa Rolls On

Wakarusa Rolls On
By Tim Hurley

This June 12th marked the end of another successful year of the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival held at beautiful Clinton Lake near Lawrence, Kansas.  The four-day festival now has three years under the belt and continues to offer a multitude of diverse music, everything from bluegrass to electronica, at a fairly affordable ticket price (under $100 if you get them early).  And an attendance capped at 15,000 persons makes this festival a lot more comfortable than its larger siblings such as Bonnaroo.

This year's festival was headlined by such marquee acts like the Flaming Lips, Gov't Mule, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Disco Biscuits, and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, each of which played sets as hot as the weather (high 90s and humid each day).  One hometown fan from Lawrence had this to say about the Flaming Lips:  "I fell in love with The Flaming Lips that Saturday night because, for me, not much beats a man in a giant hamster ball, aliens, a whole bunch of warped-looking Santas, and great live music on top of it all!"  Gov't Mule did not disappoint either, rocking through a 2-hour set of their hard-eged blues and rock.  "Their set on Saturday was intensely hot. I had never seen them before and now I know what Mule fans are talking about.  Warren Haynes commands and has one of the most distinctive voices on the jam scene, right next to John Bell of Widespread Panic", one fan was overheard saying.

Other notable artists included Keller Williams, Les Claypool, Railroad Earth, and Tea Leaf Green.  Although many fans expressed some displeasure with the lack of big hitters (i.e., Umphreys McGee, moe., Trey Anastasio, Medeski Martin and Wood, Phil and Friends) that were playing the other festivals this summer, they were treated to a lot of up-and-coming artists that turned in magnificant sets.  The always eccentric Buckethead, who wears a KFC bucket on his head accompanied by a Japanese-like white face mask, delighted fans with two seperate sets of his signature guitar work that seems to combines elements of Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour.  He even joined Les Claypool onstage for his Saturday night set along with keyboardist Bernie Worrell, nearly reviving their short-lived collaboration Col. Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains (no Brain on drums).  Late night electronica sets by bands like Sound Tribe Sector 9, Lotus, Perpetual Groove, and the Pnuma Trio had attendees dancing 'till dawn each evening.  Likely the most well-received non-headlining performance of the weekend came from San Francisco's New Monsoon set on Friday night, where they showed music lovers why they are on their way to the top of the jambands scene.  They peformed a ripping cover of the Who's "Emminence Front", and were joined by Railroad Earth's Tim Carbone (fiddle) for some intrumental jams and their signature tune "White Sky Rain".

Although the music at the festival did not disappoint fans, many aspects of the weekend left many a little disgruntled.  The extreme heat and humidity of the Clinton Lake area physically drained a lot of festival-goers, leading some to sit the last day out (the lake really provided the only relief from the weather).  This year's festival was also more expensive than those in the past.  Upgraded camping, beer, food, ice, and even tickets all saw a jump in price this year.  A lot of people seemed a little dumbfounded that prices went up, especially since the event costs were heavily subsided by various companies like Motorola, Harrah's Casino, Xbox, and New Belgium Brewing Company.  However, the most notable concern regarding the weekend surrounded the security force and police presence.  Kansas state troopers were everywhere this year, even at the toll booths checking for any illegal activity.  Initial reports suggest over 100 people were arrested for drug possesion and underage drinking.  Yet many people felt the troopers overstepped their duties and were "inventing" reasons to hassle the crowd.  One girl who travelled down from Des Moines, IA said "I saw one guy get his video camera confiscated from him and he wasn't even using it.  He was at his campsite when the police men walked by and they basically just grabbed the video camera.  It was a patheic display of power".  Another fan who drove in from Chicago, IL sarcastically remarked, "It was kind of them to take the weekend off from the child molesters and meth labs to ensure that everybody was keepin' it real...while keepin' it safe". 

It was not just the police that seemed to bother fans but the hired security force.  Apparently they were not very helpful and could not provide any useful information about the festival when asked.  One fan had this to say on her way out of the park:  "Sunday morning I ran across a poor soul who had gotten his backpack stolen that contained his cell phone, an Ipod, his medication for seizures, all his money and other random things.  We walked from the campground stage to the main entrance and saw five security golf carts along the way.  We tried to flag down each of them to get some helpful information like where we should go to report this or where the lost and found was and only one of the carts stopped.  Were they helpful?  Not in the least.  They had no idea where the lost and found was and seemed to smirk at him while asking "why would you bring such valuables out here?"  Well that's not their place to ask... their place is to help".  Officials at Wakarusa posted on their website shortly after the festival that they were going to address the security concerns for next years festival.

Overall, the 2006 Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival was a musical success but an operational blunder.  Yet in the end, it continues to be one of the more exciting and affordable music festivals in all of the Midwest, offering a wide spectrum of music, comfortable camping, and pretty good vibes.


Published June 2006 by Jammed Online Music Magazine (www.jammedonline.com)