Nearly 16,000 enjoy Modesto X-Fest\'s musical feast

Tag : classic t-shirts

Balmy weather with a breeze and Xciting music made the ninth annualXclamation Festival a hit with attendees Saturday in downtownModesto.
Concertgoers from twentysomethings to gray hairs moved betweeneight stages featuring rock, hip hop, pop, classic rock,electronica and more.
Throughout the evening, temperatures ranged from the mid-90s downinto the mid-80s, significantly cooler than the swelteringtriple-digit heat of some past years' festivals.
Headliners included pop punk band Simple Plan, "American Idol"runner-up Blake Lewis and rock band Eve 6.
Festival creator and promoter Chris Ricci said he expected anothersellout with close to 16,000 people pouring into downtown.
"There's not a lot to do in Modesto," said 32-year-old Ceresresident Stan Jiminez, explaining why he came to the event. "Iwanted to see what's going on."
Friends Jacob Chum, 29, of Oakland, and Justin Klotch, 31, of SanJose, said the festival was better than anything they could thinkof to do in the Bay Area.
"It seems like another Mardi Gras," Chum said, referring to many inthe crowd wearing strings of colored beads. "It reminds me of MardiGras in the Gaslamp District in San Diego."
In between listening to the acts, crowds could browse tablesselling T-shirts and sunglasses with flashing lights, munch onfood, including pizza and corn dogs, or learn about the Air Forceand pole dance exercise classes. They also could drink lots of beerand other beverages. People seemed relaxed and mellow for the mostpart.
"It's been really good so far," Ricci said shortly after 8 p.m.
"The weather is nice, it's really comfortable. There's great musicplaying and people are having a good time."
Bee arts writer Lisa Millegan can be reached at lmillegan@modbee.com or 578-2313.