I'm not going to beat around the bush on this one: When the elements are not favorable, Riverplace at Sand Island is possibly THE WORST place to see a concert.

There were plently reasons to demand my money back from last night's Steve Miller Band show, but it will fall on deaf ears to Jeff Parks and the rest of the Musikfest heads. In the end, it all comes down to safety and judgement. And the people in charge last night showed NO judgement and put everyone in harms way.

The band came on a half-hour late, knowing the storm was coming, then it started pouring after 9:30 p.m. with a lightning storm that could have rivaled any fireworks performance. With the way Sand Island is situated, the only way out was down the side past the trees...with lightning striking around the corner. Not a good situation.

The concert was officially cancelled about 9:45 p.m., before Miller got to sing most of his staple hits, and left a mob of a crowd that remained trying to maneuver past the trees, under a river of water under the train tracks and back out to the platzes.

A NOTE TO LEHIGH VALLEY HOSPITAL: In the middle of a severe thunderstorm, UNDER THE TREES, it is NOT wise to place handicapped people in wheelchairs underneath. You had a emergency vehicle next to the tent -- why not place them safely in the vehicle and move them to safety?

Finally, to top it all off, should we be surprised by Musikfest's agenda of setting off fireworks in the middle of a lightning storm? Real smart putting thousands of people in danger, leaving them to stand out on the streets.

Some really questionable actions Sunday, and we probably won't get any answers.

-Marc

Musikfest started out as a festival for the poeple. The festival has changed drastically over the years. When it originated, there weren't ticketed events. Thats right!; the big time headliners could be seen free of charge. Our home town has grown and evolved from its humble roots creating a growing and ever-present hostile environment at these sort of events. Match that with lackluster planning (obviously due to the inflated view these officials have on their own intelligence) and a capatalistic agenda, you bound to have a dangerous situation. My condolences go out to all the patrons that have been upset by the events that transpired at this and previous musikfests. Hopefully it's an encouragement that there are still townies like me that are sympathetic with the dissatisfaction being realized by you(my neihbors). This pseudo economic boom that our town has been observing over the past few years could also aid in the dissolutionment between the connection we had felt as a town before. Do we really need 4 WaWas?

i'm 21 years old and have lived in Bethlehem throughout the entirety of my life. This doesn't seem like my home anymore. Even Musikfest is so much different. Our city has bled itself of all integrity and pride for the all mighty dollar. It's all quite fitting for the 21st century.

With Regard,

Mark : a stranger at home.

I must say Musikfest has changed big-time for the almighty dollar. What used to be a fun, free, family oriented and affordable event has turned into an Ugly Beast of a festival. I understand the need to charge to get the big-time acts but any extra fees they charge the vendors are passed down to us the fest goers. The only ones who are benefiting are Musikfest itself... I personally buy my beer from the local retailers and save some big dough. Rosanna’s on the corner of Broad and New had the best deal $2 for a 24 ounce beer. I made out like a bandit… 10 tickets or $5 for a beer is outrageous and should be illegal. I used to enjoy all the food they have to offer, but I can not afford to eat everyday down there even if I saved my two week salary. I am glad the bus service during the week did not start till after 6 pm so it forced me to eat at home and just snack while I was there. If it wasn’t for the hundreds of volunteers that help every year and take pride in the fest I feel it would not have last past ten years. Let’s hope Jeff Parks does not get to greedy and decide to charge more or even fence it in like Mayfair was this year. If so, then I say good bye to Musikfest…

The worse part of the Steve Miller concert, was not the thunderstorm. It was the misprint on the tickets. My tickets (and many others too) listed the start time as 7:00. so we arrived at 6:30. We learned from one of the workers that the concert was actually scheculed to start at 8:15.. (it actually started at 8:30). so there we were baking in the sun for two hours. They wouldnt even let us leave because of the "re-admission policy".
If the concert started at 7:00, thenwouldnt of been cut short.
MUSIKFEST cant control the weather, but they could at least could get their own tickets right.

The worse part of the Steve Miller concert, was not the thunderstorm. It was the misprint on the tickets. My tickets (and many others too) listed the start time as 7:00. so we arrived at 6:30. We learned from one of the workers that the concert was actually scheculed to start at 8:15.. (it actually started at 8:30). so there we were baking in the sun for two hours. They wouldnt even let us leave because of the "re-admission policy".
If the concert started at 7:00, thenwouldnt of been cut short.
MUSIKFEST cant control the weather, but they could at least could get their own tickets right.

Disgruntled, I think that happened to a number of people. I had found out via an e-mail from ArtsQuest a few weeks ago about the time change for the concert. It was in the paper also, I believe, but they probably should have done more to make this information known.

I don't know the policy on refunds for the Steve Miller concert but I have a feeling you will have to eat the cost of the tickets. This tends to be the normal thing for outdoor concerts. But at least they could have put up signs telling you at the gate that the concert actually starts at 8:30.

During the electrical storm and downpour at lightning platz (AmericaPlatz at the library) there was a huge crowd of people with absolutely nowhere to go to get into safety except under the overhang of the library.
Problem was, the whole thing was jammed except for the cordoned off "reserve seating" area for the sponsors. Rather than allow the people to safety in that area, the Musikfest people refused to let the people out of the storm and potentially lethal situation. Finally some people smart enough had enough of that and jumped over the wall, and opened the gate allowing people, many with umbrellas in the lightning storm, out of harm's way, despite the yelling and threats of the Musikfest people to get out of that "reserved area". I could see why the Musikfest people would get uptight if it was simply raining a little but this was one very dangerous storm. Sometimes the ignorance of people with a little volunteer power is baffling. I haven't seen such arrogance and disregard for safety in a long time.

Mark and John, I totally am disgusted with the Musikfest idea. I agree that the perfomances and the meaning has long its integrity a long time ago. I remember going to see free concerts all week with my parents, enjoying the scenes, and actually caring about the poster. We couldn't wait each year to find out what the design or logo was going to be. oh well, its all for the best.? with our great econonmy in this LV i guess we merit a really big commercial music event. Who is buying the 5.00 beers and the concert tickets?>

I agree with all of you and it's unfortunate that we'll never see a penny of our $. I bought a total of 6 tickets and am out $240. This will be the last time I waste money on the Musikfest. Why couldn't they have cancelled the concert after seeing the weather forecast? It wouldn't have been so bad if Steve Miller had come on earlier knowing that it was a possible chance of rain and then when he came on and played those other songs................ Ugh....... Finally a good song and then the power went out. We were doomed not to hear the good songs. Definitely not a fan of Musikfest. This was our first time going to a concert there and definitely the last. We'll stick to Penn's Peak.

I am absolutely disgusted by the attitude of some of your comments. In this day and age, it cost money to do anything! The high quality of entertainment (the majority of which is still free!) that Musikfest presents is certainly worth a few dollars. The organization consistantly losses money, yet continues to offer tthis world class festival in our backyard, and all you can do is complain about having to pay to see a performer?

In what other part of the country can you see headline entertainment, for free, for 10 days? Nowhere. So what if Musikfest charges for the main stages... the tickets are still WAY cheaper than most venues, including the Allentown Fair!
It amazes me how much some people take this festival for granted. Obviously every performer appearing may not be your particular favorite, but let's get realistic here people. The event is still FREE!

My only hope is that such a wonderful event can manage to sustain itself inspite of such ridiculous accusations and general greed.

-Steve

I was wandering through at the latest acts, and saw this old post about the S.M. concert, and saw Steve's last comment...

>>In what other part of the country can you see headline entertainment, for free, for 10 days? Nowhere. So what if Musikfest charges for the main stages... the tickets are still WAY cheaper than most venues, including the Allentown Fair!<<

Steve, you are WAY off. Steve Miller band tickets were -- count 'em -- $47 each. That IS NOT cheap for a crappy venue like Riverplace. Musikfest better get their act together this year. I for one am not planning on investing a lot of money into that type of act EVER again until Jeff Parks and Co. provides a safer venue.