ORONO – The University of Maine’s annual outdoor music festival came off feeling like the Bangor State Fair as the two-day event played out Friday and Saturday in a parking lot amid the smell of doughboys and curly fries.

Bumstock’s usual grass location in the northeastern corner of the campus was partially paved over to provide for more parking for the university. Yet, despite the loss of soft ground underfoot, music fans came to watch more than 40 musical acts perform on two separate stages set up on pavement.

On Friday afternoon, a crowd of less than 200 witnessed a spirited performance by Massachusetts hard-core rockers 7th Rail Crew, complete with band members infiltrating the crowd and a cover of a Motley Crue song. Portland band Colepitz played a more reserved set, with the vocalist simply urging people to “get up and move.”

Bumstock officials reported attendance in the thousands for both days, though the numbers only climbed that high during headlining acts.

Friday night’s closing act and ska professionals Reel Big Fish managed to draw more than 2,500 onlookers to the giant Erector-set main stage, built a few days earlier to accommodate Three Doors Down. Wowing crowds with energetic horn blasts, RBF incited wild cheers with sensational ditties like “I Want Your Girlfriend to Be My Girlfriend Too.”

Saturday afternoon’s clear sky and copious sun couldn’t keep a chilly wind from driving attendees into the second stage tent. The festival took on a mellow tone as jam-funk ensembles Connecticut-based Psychadelic Breakfast and Maine’s own Strange Pleasure played soulful sets to sit-down and swaying crowds.

Even as the temperature peaked Saturday night at just over 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the floodgates reopened and the masses came filing in to hear the night’s headlining reggae experience known as Sizzla. With a driving, undulating bass sound, Sizzla interspersed guest vocalists with crowd chants to keep those clad in knit caps grooving.

This year’s festival scored a number of firsts as well. Most notably were the giant row of portable toilets and the use of the second stage as a rave tent. Complete with glow sticks and eclectic lighting, dancers grooved to the trip-hop rhythms of DJ Diggler and DJ Griff.

Contributors of student literary magazine Vividarium also made their Bumstock premiere with an emphatic two-hour set of music and spoken-word performances.

For concertgoers looking to relive the chilly two-day event, a local record label, Angry Rodent Records and the UM radio station, 91.9 FM WMEB, will release a live Bumstock 2001 CD in the fall.

ORONO ? The University of Maine’s annual outdoor music festival came off feeling like the Bangor State Fair as the two-day event played out Friday and Saturday in a parking lot amid the smell of doughboys and curly fries.

Bumstock’s usual grass location in the northeastern corner of the campus was partially paved over to provide for more parking for the university. Yet, despite the loss of soft ground underfoot, music fans came to watch more than 40 musical acts perform on two separate stages set up on pavement.

On Friday afternoon, a crowd of less than 200 witnessed a spirited performance by Massachusetts hard-core rockers 7th Rail Crew, complete with band members infiltrating the crowd and a cover of a Motley Crue song. Portland band Colepitz played a more reserved set, with the vocalist simply urging people to “get up and move.”

Bumstock officials reported attendance in the thousands for both days, though the numbers only climbed that high during headlining acts.

Friday night’s closing act and ska professionals Reel Big Fish managed to draw more than 2,500 onlookers to the giant Erector-set main stage, built a few days earlier to accommodate Three Doors Down. Wowing crowds with energetic horn blasts, RBF incited wild cheers with sensational ditties like “I Want Your Girlfriend to Be My Girlfriend Too.”

Saturday afternoon’s clear sky and copious sun couldn’t keep a chilly wind from driving attendees into the second stage tent. The festival took on a mellow tone as jam-funk ensembles Connecticut-based Psychadelic Breakfast and Maine’s own Strange Pleasure played soulful sets to sit-down and swaying crowds.

Even as the temperature peaked Saturday night at just over 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the floodgates reopened and the masses came filing in to hear the night’s headlining reggae experience known as Sizzla. With a driving, undulating bass sound, Sizzla interspersed guest vocalists with crowd chants to keep those clad in knit caps grooving.

This year’s festival scored a number of firsts as well. Most notably were the giant row of portable toilets and the use of the second stage as a rave tent. Complete with glow sticks and eclectic lighting, dancers grooved to the trip-hop rhythms of DJ Diggler and DJ Griff.

Contributors of student literary magazine Vividarium also made their Bumstock premiere with an emphatic two-hour set of music and spoken-word performances.

For concertgoers looking to relive the chilly two-day event, a local record label, Angry Rodent Records and the UM radio station, 91.9 FM WMEB, will release a live Bumstock 2001 CD in the fall.