Best part of Musikfest - The best of the fest this year would have to be, for me, the fireworks. I enjoyed a few concerts, some of the food and tent freebies but I still liked the pretty ending the best. I also liked seeing some people I otherwise would not have seen and just doing something different.

Worst part of Musikfest - The worst part for me was a few things: baby strollers in thick crowds and late at night, really high tickets prices (even though I had free tickets, it's still too expensive) and in general just really rude, inconsiderate people. I know you find rude people everywhere these days but I'm talking about the people that stand right in front and block your view when you are watching a concert or taking photos or those that just jump in line ahead of you after they can see you have been waiting a lot longer then them.

Best concert this year - For me, I would have to say Halestorm. I saw at least two different stages every night of the fest, so I saw a lot of music, but I would have to say them because they put on a fantastic show.

Worst concert this year - I can't really say any concerts were terrible. I personally didn't like Brother, even though I know a lot of people do. I just don't like their show or style or even sound. I guess my music training all my life makes me picky and I found too much wrong with them musically so I guess that's what my problem with them is.

Favorite platz - I honestly can say I don't have a favorite since I like so many different types of music. I can say though that I don't like River Place all that much though because, again even though I had free tickets, they make you pay way too much money to see shows that a few years ago were free to everyone.

The perfect Musikfest would be - I enjoy Musikfest like most everyone else. I would like to see a little less commercialism though and a little more hometown. By this I mean that I would like to see some other local food vendors like Pott's Hot Dogs or Nick's Pizza, etc. so that people can sample their food and then visit them year round. I would also like to see a little more small business sponsorship and little less large corporate sponsorship so that everyone can afford to be part of it. Speaking of affordability, how about cheaper ticket prices. No one should ever have to pay $3.00 for an 8 oz. glass of lime fizz, which I might add is mostly ice, and to get any kind of meal, it's $6.50 on average. It's a large festival where you eat off of paper plates on a folding chair, no a fancy restaurant. I think they would sell more if they priced things a little more reasonably.  Overall though I like Musikfest the way it is. I dread the day if and when they move it to another location (like SteelStack) because it will take away from the atmosphere tremendously.

~G

The final weekend of Musikfest...a pretty superb time.

The best parts?

The Carrie Underwood fans (with their cowboy hats that caused them to constantly bump into people), buying one more cigar, seeing the last dance of the cute old man who always dances under the Polka Tent, , and taking the final bite of those delicious Take-A-Taco's (which should finally just reopen as an actual restaurant already, I can't take the anticipation of waiting for every local fest/carnival for them to make an appearance).

And then came the fireworks.

Due to a severe lack of parking spaces in the area, my friend and I decided to watch the fireworks from the 7-11 parking lot, which ended up being one of the best spots to watch the show.

Why?

Because we were able to witness an additional attraction of the performance that everyone inside the Fest wasn't able to see. As the fireworks boomed, Broad Street and it's adjoining streets lit up like a christmas tree.

From what?

Car alarms, people! Car alarms blared and headlights flickered on and off as far as the eye can see. It was truly wonderous to behold, and seeing the anger of the people having run away from the show to shut off their alarms was an understandably guilty pleasure.

Aside from that, the actual fireworks spectacle was pretty impressive, too.

And with that, so ends the weeklong wonderment that has been Musikfest.

All in all, a classic end to a great year.

Thanks for reading!

This is Donnie Rucker...signing off.

Phew! I am so glad that Musikfest is over. My only regret was not having a funnel cake. Beyond that I did everything there is to do there at least once and saw more music than was necessary and charted from Platz to Platz like a champ. I am now officially an expert on Musikfest. I found myself helping lost visitors to their destinations because I had gone down every path so many times by the end of it all.

Here are some of my favorites from this year...

FAVORITE PLATZ: Volksplatz had the best music and the best food. Plus, it had the Olympus mister tent, which was a godsend in the midday heat.

FAVORITE DAY: Sunday - and not just because it was finally over - I really enjoyed the variety that day. Everything seemed heightened because it was all going to end any minute.

FAVORITE FACT: This year's mugs were totally sold out by Thursday. That must be some kind of record.

FAVORITE FOOD: Gyros. The place doesn't matter, they're all good.

FAVORITE CONCERT: Tied between Brother, the Aussie Celtic-Rock band and The Blues Brotherhood, a Blues Brothers tribute band. They both had huge, fun crowds and they both put on a hell of a show.

FAVORITE BOOTH: 99.9 The Hawk - they had a slot machine and everyone got a free pull to try and win $50,000. I won a Peanut Chew candybar and it was good.

- Judianne

The last beer has been swallowed in the Musikfest mugs for 2006 but not before a fairly decent last day.

I don't really have anything to say about music today/tonight because other then passing by a few tents I didn't sit to hear any. I spent my last day of the fest taking photos of memorable locations, art, people, signs and even flowers. You see, I keep a photo album of my fest favorites and most memorable moments. Corny maybe but it's nice to have. Just like any other album, you can look back on how things have changed over the years, the people you've shared it with and some funny people you've seen.

After my memory card was full, we hit up some food tents to get rid of our last tickets. I had really wanted my meat on a stick from Hogar Crea but by the time we went by they were sold out. Not cool. So we settled on shrimp on a stick from some place by Volkzplatz, a cheese steak from Brass Rail and some lime fizz from Mr. Bill. Not a bad deal if I do say so myself.

Then came the fireworks. I love fireworks. They were just okay to me though. They were nice and pretty and loud but when it came time for the finale, it was like, "Where is the finale? Is that it?". Then after people started walking away saying how bad the "finale" was, the actual finale came. I must say it wasn't much better though then the finale we all thought we say the first time, just a few more pops to make it obvious that it was in fast the finale.

All in all I had a pretty good time this year. Tomorrow when I'm more awake I'll comment on my likes and dislikes and see who all agree or disagrees with me. I might even have some suggestions for improvements for next year...

~G

I started my day at the fest earlier then I normally do so that I could see  some people I went to HS with perform in the Battle of the Bands contest,Sandlot Heroes, which was cool to see.

I came back later in the evening for two reasons. The first was that I wanted to catch part of Carrie Underwood because I scored some free tickets. Now there are part of Idol that I like and don't like and while she isn't one of my favorites she does have more talent then a lot of other people out there making a lot more money then her. So I checked that out a bit then I headed up to Americaplatz to see Live Wire.

Live Wire is the AC/DC tribute band in case you didn't know. That place was packed. Now I thought they were pretty good but some people were just going nuts over them. They had one of the most rockin' crowds I've seen this year anyway.

The crowd however is a story in itself. There were people smoking pot in the middle of the crowd. Ok I get it's a rock concert but come on you have to be pretty dumb to do that there, the cops will find you. Even the band on stage made the comment that they smelled something cooking. I even say a girl and her friend leave in the middle of a song and a really crowded area because I think she was too high and drunk. This girl was a total, total mess. She couldn't even walk for two seconds without tripping or falling over something. Now that's sad.

I have nothing against anyone having a good time and doing their own thing. I just wish some people would use common sense and realize there's a time and place for everything. C'mon people, Musikfest is a family friendly place - which I'm sure you can tell by all the baby strollers you've tripped over walking around, but that's a different issue.

What people forget is when things like this happen and people start to get out of control it tends to ruin it for everyone else. We wouldn't wan't a band like Live Wire to not be invited back because of the kinds of trouble that follow them...so act responsible people!

~G

I understand that some people are just fat. But I feel sick when I see someone dangerously obese walking around the Fest with one of those giant waffle-ice cream things with tons of whipped cream. I don't want to associate funnel cake and other festival treats with a giant, sweaty person. It's just gross. I guess it's all for the best because it makes me not want to eat dessert at all. Maybe that sounds mean but it's the truth. I feel bad for those people but I worry about their health too. No one should be eating that crap but especially people who are already on the verge of a health crisis. Diabetes and high cholesteral and blood pressure are not joke. And a heart attack is not worth a fried Oreo.

During Musikfest it's pretty much all about Musikfest. Everywhere else I've gone has been dead, which can be good or bad. It's bad when you are looking for a fun crowd to hang with on a Friday night and it's good when you get the bar/restaurant/club all to yourself without the usual horrible masses. I know that some places just shut down during Musikfest because they don't get good business. Makes sense, I guess. But it is nice to get away sometimes and have a drink somewhere where there aren't any Musikfest mugs.It's a shame that people visiting the area for the Fest don't get out more and support the rest of the local community. Maybe next year there should be some kind of tour/pub crawl for out-of-towners (or locals wanting to escape the Fest)? Sounds like fun to me.

- Judianne

I'm the type of person that is usually up for any type of music, except rap. Last night I tried to sit through a Brother concert to see someone I knew dance with them (she's part of an Irish dance group) and I couldn't do it. After a few songs I was bored to tears. My boyfriend actually fell asleep sitting upright in his chair.

Tonight after roaming the fest and not finding anything special we came upon one of the more crowded tents and since we forgot our schedule we decided to stick around and see who was there. Oh brother it was Brother. Tonight their music wasn't as terribly boring as yesterday but it still didn't rub me the right way.

Now I'm part Irish so I like the celtic and irish music but I can't seem to understand why they draw such a large crowd. I don't know, I guess it's just me and it's not my thing.

Maybe someone can tell me what's so great about them but honestly I would rather listen to rap music that I hate of this group. (no offense to the people that like them, like I said they just aren't for me)

~G

It is surely a small world after all. Even at Musikfest, among the hoards of people coming and going, it's inevitable that you will run into someone you know (if you live local, that is). I have seen at least one person that I know every day for the past four days at Musikfest. Of course, half that time I have tried to duck out of their line of site and avoid contact but I still "see" them.

I have even seen musicians walking around that I recognize. I saw one band one day and then I saw them all walking around with mugs the next day. That's cool that they hang out but sad that they didn't have to jet off to another gig like most.

I've started to recognize many of the police officers and even some of the other reporters and photographers you are also forced to roam the Fest day in and day out.

Musikfest may seem big but it gets smaller and smaller for me all the time. I've got to wonder how many other people that I know have seen me and not said anything. That could likely double the number of encounters I've had so far. It's pretty funny.

I can only imagine what a pain it would be for someone who has lived here their whole life. They must stop every 10 steps to meet and greet. What a pain in the ass!

- Judianne

I was a little scared by some of the crazy fans who showed up for last night's main stage show.  One of the other photographers was gushing on and on about how this was his seventh Kansas show in the last couple years. Yikes. Yet another group of people was talking about how they were "less hardcore" than some of their friends because they "only go to every show on the East Coast."  Apparently their buddies have gone to California and other western states just for Styx shows.

Now both bands put on good shows - especially Styx - and I'd go out of my way to see Styx again to a degree.  But by "out of my way" I mean head down to Philly or Hershey or something if they were playing. If I have to cross state lines (Tweeter Center in Camden excepted) to see a show, I start seriously considering whether or not it's worthwhile. 

I've definitely done some crazy things for concerts before, but some of these people were off the deep end.  If you thought denim Styx jackets had disappeared with the '80s, think again. In fact, I was actually pretty shocked by the low denim-to-mullet ratio - I figured the place would be a sea of mullitude.  Oh well, maybe next time.

    -Tucker