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Fans Turn To Mud To Kill Time At Tibet Show

June 12 [12:00 EDT] -- So what do you if you are at the Tibetan Freedom Concert, Blur is pounding away on stage, and you decide it's really not your bag?

Well, you could chuck a football with some friends, kick around a hacky sack, or (if the displays of Tibetan culture don't thrill you) start a mudfight at the back of the stadium.

A heavy dose of mellow music combined with a blazing sun and beautiful blue skies for Sunday's half of the two-day show gave Downing Stadium on New York's Randall's Island the feel one enormous class picnic. Fans came armed with blankets, sunscreen, and enough Nerf balls, Frisbees, and beach balls to seemingly block out the sun.

While conventional outdoor relaxation was enough for some, one rogue element of the crowd took advantage of a leak in a tanker truck full of drinking water to stage a mud battle. Maybe it was the gnashing Brit-rock of Blur, maybe it was the cool invitation of a wide mud pit, or maybe the kids still had visions

of Woodstock '94 dancing in their heads... whatever the reason, a batch of concertgoers dove straight in and wallowed for all it was worth.

Elsewhere around the concert site, fans tagged each other with fluorescent orange "Today's Special" grocery store stickers, danced in the grassy field far away from the crush of the stage, and talked about their musical expectations for the day.

At the end of Saturday's set, one fan was heard to remark, "Man, it feels like we only saw two bands.

Fans on Sunday seemed to be a bit more contented after the Beastie Boys slammed the crowd to the point of exhaustion, closing their set with a double-time punk version of Billy Joel's "Big Shot.

That was just flat out incredible," one sunburned fan said to another as they made their way to the exit. Hopefully they were talking about the Beasties' set, not the mud fight.

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