My Arts Fest was probably a lot like yours. I'm too poor to buy art (although I like lookin'), too exhausted to run the 10K and too inundated with guests to actually see everybody who came back to town. I spent most of my time at this year's Festival walking around with lemonade, checking out paintings from near and far, and catching little bits of music when I walked by. But the biggest thing for me about the whole thing is AfterFest, the free concert that caps things off every year. And this year's AfterFest was, unlike last year's, worth checking out.

Opener Boost was, if I'm being honest, a little strange. Playing "Blister in the Sun" only reminded us old folks how great it was to see The Violent Femmes on the AfterFest stage two years ago, and the band's take on Shaggy's "Angel" was possibly the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen anybody do on a stage. But, hey, the band didn't overstay its welcome, and, in fact, the group's originals worked well next to all the covers. Ah, to be a band in State College.

Pepper's Ghost, bed head and all, were clearly the highlight. The band's Led Zeppelin-meets-Lynyrd Skynyrd bombast worked great on the big stage, and it certainly made a fan out of me. The group's best move came midway through the set, when a few bars of "Eye of the Tiger" got people on their feet, only to follow it by playing a great song of its own. I'm not sure if anybody bought the two-dollar CDs the band was peddling after the set, but if I hadn't been diligently reporting, I would've picked one up. There's always next time.

And Lit, though it was some surprise to me (sorry, had to do it), turned in a decent set, too. The band played for a solid hour with little time between songs, blasting out that mall-punk with energy to spare. The crowd was maybe the largest I'd ever seen on the lawn, and quite a few people really seemed to be there to see Lit. The late-night crowd's inebriated state probably led to more of the rockin' than the music (highlighted by some idiot near the front yelling for a b-side I'm fairly sure doesn't exist), and the band's songs did start to bleed into each other after a while. But avoiding dragging out the hits just to get a yell wins some cool points in my book, and it was, ultimately, a good time.

I'd like to yet again take this opportunity to use my extremely limited power as a Daily Collegian reporter to suggest that, in choosing bands for AfterFest, Movin' On, and the other big-time outdoor shows the good people of Penn State put on, a few things be considered. Why, time and time again, go for bands whose all-too-brief heydays are things of the past, like Lit, SR-71 and our beloved Sponge? Why not, given financial constraints, try for somebody up-and-coming (The Secret Machines, maybe, or !!!) who would still put on a great show, or maybe even a totally awesome reunion tour (the kids love Styx). I'm just sayin'.

But hey, it didn't rain, there was no riot, and people had smiles on their faces. Not a bad way to end Arts Fest, if you ask me.