Mu-Suck-Fest

There was a time that going to Musikfest was the highlight of my summer. It was something that was looked forward to, and the 10 nights it went on were all a chance to have some fun. As the years have progressed it's become a time that I dread. I'm sure that I noticed all the things that currently bother me back in the day, but being a teenager I didn't care.

For the 10 days that Musikfest is going on, going into center city Bethlehem for something non-Musikfest related is a fucking nightmare. Attempting to park anywhere within a mile and a half radius of Main Street is a test of patience and intestinal fortitude. Once you've managed to either get lucky enough to find a free parking spot (or have gotten bent over for $8, give or take, to park in a lot), you have the pleasure of walking the "Main Street Gauntlet" (the term I started using Friday night). Wall to wall teenagers acting like a bunch of brain dead herd animals (no offense to herd animals or animal rights activists) is not something that is remotely fun to walk through. They'll occasionally do something so stupid that you get a good laugh, but 8 times out of 10 they do something (like bowl you over) that makes you want to drop napalm on the whole thing. The only form of currency (i know there are a few places that actually accept cash, but FEW is the key word) that is accepted is the ridiculous Musikfest tickets that cost you 50 cents a pop. Then you get to spend these tickets on overpriced food and beverages. I mean today (Sunday) i noticed a stand selling a fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich for 10 tickets. $5 for a fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich, are you fucking serious? That better be the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the history of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for them to charge that. I understand that the venders have to charge insane prices because of the substantial cut that I'm sure Musikfest must make from each sale. We'll revisit some of these topics in a little bit, but I don't want to turn this into too long of a rant.

Now we get to the part that relates this bitch session to the blog. The music choices at Musikfest are pretty fucking dismal. A huge majority of the shows at Musikfest are free to the public. That would be fantastic if the public at large wasn't a bunch of herd animals (sound familiar?). Everything you will hear and see is all easily swallowed and digested by the masses, not rocking any boats or ruffling any feathers. I'm not trying to downplay any of the artist's talents, but it's all fairly generic radio friendly stuff. The only time that the bands or artists that can be a bit controversial get to play is on the Main Stage on Sand Island. This is only because people have to pay for these shows, so if you're there you want to see them and won't be offended by their lyrics/behavior. That pretty much makes it an impossibilty for any punk or hardcore band to get a chance to play at Musikfest. Very few have the kind of following to warrant Main Stage, and many have lyrics that would make the Musikfest organizers cringe. There's no room in the Musikfest mission for bands who push the limits of normal society with messages that I want to hear. I don't want to hear bubble gummy pop bullshit. I don't want to hear polka. I don't want to see 85 local cover bands. I want to see music that I connect with. I want to be surrounded by people who are there for the same reasons I am. The atmosphere at Musikfest is stupid. Even though I'm not a fan of the music selection, what bothers me even more (and I'm guilty of it too) is that 75% of the people that go to Musikfest don't even go for the music. They go to eat the food, drink the beer, hang out, and accidently hear some music. Music is secondary to most people who go and to the organizers. Musikfest always was, and always will be a money making machine, therefore being less about music and more about $$$$$$$$$.

As much as I dread Musikfest, I've gone twice already since it started last Friday, and I will probably go a few more times. My friends enjoy going, so I tough it out for them. They just need to make sure I get my hands on a 40 oz to drink on my way there, or they entice me with the promise of Theo's Gyros (the best food at Musikfest for us meateaters and one of the main reasons I go, they also be found in the lovely Quakertown Farmer's Market).