"The Who," a British rock group that writes rock operas and breaks instruments, gyrates on the stage of the Mississippi River Festival Monday night before a record crowd of 34,000. Their frenzy was matched by the crowds.

EDWARDSVILLE — More than 34,000 rock music fans pushed, elbowed, scrunched and mobbed their way into the suddenly-small Mississippi River Festival site here Monday night to see "The Who" and set an all-time attendance record.

Hanging from platforms and guywires, perched on trees and lightpoles, the boisterous crowd avoided any major trouble, although those standing in front became targets for bottles, rocks, "frisbees" and other improvised missiles.

Some arrived Sunday, camping out on festival parking lots until the gates opened Monday afternoon. By 4:30 p.m., more than 500 cars filled the front lots and thousands entered the gates.

At 5 p.m., radio stations were advised that some 20,000 tickets had been sold and the show was "sold out."

No one listened to the radio stations as the people continued to come.

Traffic lined up on Interstate 270 from Rte. 157 back to Rte. 3 more than five miles away. Accidents on the Mississippi River bridge slowed cars further.

By 8:30, the festival site appeared packed and the smell of marijuana filled the air. The box office said 24,000 tickets had been sold.

SIU officials said the festival site is designed to hold "about 20,000 persons" safely.

At 7:30 p.m., 32,000 tickets had been sold.

Inside the tent, they sat in the aisles, forcing those with reserved seats to climb across. Outside, every bare space was occupied as people sat two-and-three-deep.

Plastic "frisbees" crisscrossed the air, thrown to no particular destination and competed with a football for attention from the crowd.

Beach balls bounced from head to head, ending finally on stage, where an equipment man would kick them back.

Refreshment stands added spice and more help, but fell behind the demand. More than 30,000 pounds of ice melted for the show.

Officials pressed 25 transport buses into service to carry people from Southern Illinois University parking lots to the festival site.

Backstage, in health service, young men and women "freaked out" on drugs sought help. Cut feet, busted heads and bruises required attention.

Madison County Deputies, working near the main gate, arrested three men and three girls from Creve Coeur, Mo., and one man from Carbondale on illegal drug charges.

Charged with illegal possession and sale of marijuana were Don Schultz, 20, Michael Raymond Garrey, and Brad Sherwood, all of Creve Coeur. Paul Kirst, 20, of Carbondale, was charged with possession of marijuana.

The three girls, all juveniles, were released to their parents.

During most of the confusion, "The Who," a British rock group famous for "Tommy" (the first rock opera) and broken instruments, waited to go on stage — housed in their own cocoon of beer, "groupies" and security guards.

Once they appeared, the crowd reacted with cheers, clapping, more "frisbee" throwing and bottle tossing.

They played for 70 minutes leaving the stage at 11:07 p.m. with one sprinting for a waiting car and the others heading for the dressing room.

Their crowd almost doubled the previous MRF record attendance of 15,671 — set last year for the "Chicago" concert — and ended this year's festival season.

Some fans waited around the backstage area, hoping for a glimpse, but most of the crowds headed for the parking lots and the confusion of getting home.

At 1:30 a.m. today, traffic out of the area remained bumper to bumper. Police said it was after 2 a.m. before all the parking lots cleared.