Around Hear

Tales of wild times at the annual Omega Fest used to greet KU freshmen with their arrival on campus, providing yet another reason to look past fall and winter to those glorious days in late spring. "I stayed up for three days on ..." the stories always began before the author would indicate what kind of hallucinogens were ingested over that turbulent weekend.

But a few years ago, the stories abruptly stopped with the festival. Sure, there were those village historians on the eight-year plan who could relate the epics of years past, but fresh fables ceased to exist. Even with Omega's rejoining the realm of outdoor festivals over the past two years, there seemed to be very little of the fire left in the event that was at one time the annual "Woodstock of the Midwest." But all that may be about to change.

"We've sold almost 3,000 advance tickets to out-of-staters alone," says the festival's tireless promoter, Chuck Baker, who has maintained a hand in Omega since its inception in 1970. "I've been going to all the Phish and Widespread (Panic) shows since last year when Omega was over and passing out handbills."

And while these guerrilla-style tactics have paid off with the advance ticket sales, it's a safe bet that most of the out-of-towners would not have been as interested if the festival were dominated by Lawrence's hometown favorites, as has been the case in the past. "People didn't want to see just local bands anymore," explains Baker. "Every year it's evolved, and every year it's different. I try something, it doesn't work, I go on to something else. So I guess I'm finally starting to listen to the people that go to these things now."

Though plenty of locals will be scattered throughout the affair, this year's three-night bill includes headlining sets by cosmic-noodle crowd favorites The Schwag (Thursday), Ekoostik Hookah (Friday), and The Big Wu (Saturday). And there will be a host of other attributes festivalgoers might consider "kind." "The only two 'nos' are 'no glass' and 'no unkind people,'" says Baker. "There are no cops this year. I hired some people from Kansas City who do the Blues and Jazz Festival, and they're going to be really, really nice." He notes that even with the sheriff's walk-throughs last year there were no problems.

But last year there weren't 3,000 tickets sold in advance, and with the embarrassing events that took place at Woodstock '99, people recognize now more than ever the dangers of putting a lot of people in cramped quarters and charging, say, $4 for water. However, because there won't be any pyrotechnics or Limp Bizkits to rev this crowd up, Baker will nip any potential vending problems in the bud -- so to speak.

"I'm creating a Shakedown Street down there, right where the bonfire will be. Once you pay to get in, there will be completely free and open vending. The camping is separate, so if anyone wants to sleep, they can. But, of course, the park is going to let us rage all night long," says Baker, claiming that the raging will begin each morning at 12:30, following the headliner's encore and a fireworks show.

So maybe there will be some pyrotechnics and some all-nighters, which is getting to sound more and more like what the corporate sponsors wanted from those Woodstocks. Even though there are no corporate sponsorships here (Baker raised all the money himself) and there's hardly been a fistfight in the festival's 30 years, Baker knows why the event is getting coverage from publications like Rolling Stone, High Times, and Relix.

"I sent them all passes, and they were way interested in this, especially because of all the free shit I'm giving with the low ticket prices. But the reason that they're all on it is because of what happened out at Woodstock this year, and this is a total 180-degree flip-flop from that."

It will also be sort of a flip-flop from past Omegas where concertgoers were forced to navigate farmland in which mud and cow became one. "It's more organized. It's better land management because now it's in a state park and there is beautiful grass, showers, trails, everything. We didn't have to build a road and tear up a farmer's field or get sued because some farmer 10 miles down the road decided his cows didn't produce enough milk that day."

With worries about lactose-reluctant bovine aside, the thousands of others who will attend Baker's magnum opus seem determined to make sure that this year's Omega will not live up to its Greek translation but will once again become an annual event for all who are kind. Tickets are $25 in advance or $35 on the day of the show and are available through Ticketmaster, the Phil Zone, and Alley Cat in Lawrence, and Illusions in Topeka, and they come with a free T-shirt while they last.

Marching as if one
A lot of great rock bands have hailed from Kansas City over the years, but none among these shooting stars has ever had the audacity to lay claim as the greatest rock band on the face of the earth -- until now. Onward Crispin Glover, a band with perhaps the greatest name on the face of the earth, has some people claiming just that. Actually, those people are the band's "people" -- the group's press liaisons and the only people allowed to disseminate information to the general public because of the group's hectic schedule of celebrity-related events and rock star parties.