Cornerstone Festival 2002

4 July 2002 - 8:10am

Independence Day. I am lying here, once again, in the hammock. Haven't gotten up yet for the day. My tarp is overhead. It provided enough warmth that I didn't need a blanket and enough ventilation that I could breathe. (Plus there is the whole privacy thing!) People are beginning to stir in the campsites around me. I think that Ted has gone already but he could just be really quiet.

I sure was tired last night. Just 3 hours of sleep the previous night and a little dozing in the car. It is a wonder that I lasted as well as I did.

So I went to see Skillet! After some debate, I decided to walk to the venue. It is on the other side of the festival grounds but walking seemed to be less of a hassle than dealing with a bike. Took me quite a while to figure out what to take (which bag? the camera bag or the satchel? both? my utility vest?). Probably my lack of sleep had something to do with that. The important things were my camera and the Lori picture that I had for autographing purposes. Because I didn't want to fold the picture, I had it inserted into the pages of a hard-bound book, "The Literary Cat". So I definitely wanted my vest in order to use the large back pocket. After much to-do, I was ready so I left.

Ester Drang was playing still. I really liked them. Mostly instrumental with an ambient sound. Very cool. Gotta find a cd. After listening to them for a while, I wandered over to the big Exposition Tent where much of the merchandise is for sale. Quite a lot of possible places to spend my money there! I will definitely have to go back later.

Once I had gotten a feel for all that the Exposition Tent had to offer, I went back to watch the rest of Ester Drang. I was able to circle around to the back of the stage to see them better. Very cool. A large band. Keyboards of several varieties. Bass. Drums. At least 2 guitarists. One guitarist - the closest to me - was squatting down most of the time with his guitar up against his amp as he nearly exclusively tweaked his various processors to control the feedback in a drone-type sound of various pitches. Very nice.

Eventually Skillet arrived. Ester Drang tore down their stuff while Skillet set up. Very short transition time. Rosie started setting up their table right next to me. So I was able to meet her finally. She asked me (thinking that I was part of the venue staff) if I had a flashlight since she had to set up during the show. I did, but it ended up being unnecessary since there was enough ambient light for her to see. That freed me up to go even further backstage until I was right behind Lori. I have never watched their show from that position before. It was a cool vantage point. In some ways it felt more intimate than even being in the front row. (and certainly less claustrophobic and quieter) You get to see stuff between the band that you might miss out in the House.

What a powerful drummer Lori is. She sits totally straight with her elbows slightly out and just beats the crap out of those drums. Like a machine! She was wearing short white socks without shoes. Her jeans were barely embellished and her right pant leg was rolled up nearly to the knee.

At some point into the show, she lost her in-ear monitor earpieces. So when John did his preaching, she and two volunteers hunted around her kit for them. Since I was standing right there, one of the staff guys used my pencil torch.

Korey is definitely showing some tummy. Only a few more months now, I guess. But her pregnancy didnt seem to phase her in terms of activity during the show! I couldnt help wondering how it affected her diaphragm as she sang...

John and Ben were their normal spastic selves. Everybody was just drenched in sweat from the sweltering heat in the tent. Every so often John would flick his head back to get his hair out of his eyes and I wondered if Lori was getting sprayed each time that happened...

It was interesting to watch the audience. Very emotional. I have a problem relating to that. I maintain too much of an arms-length detachment from everything to really lose myself in that way... The kids have such looks of bliss on their faces as they belt out the lyrics at the top of their lungs. Sweat literally pouring off them in the crush of bodies. Each face portraying an odd mixture of suffering and ecstasy. Every so often the stage manager would run out onstage and spray water over everyone to help cool them off.

After the show, everyone backstage was kicked out to facilitate the band transition. Korey had such a horrible tangle of cords that I moved forward and volunteered to help her. (If anyone knows about tangled cords, it is a sound guy!) She was glad for the help and even left me to finish so she could go sign autographs.

When they started to leave to go to their table at the Expo tent, I grabbed Lori and showed her the picture. I couldn't tell if she really remembered it. She said that she did but I got the feeling she was humouring me. Of course I could be wrong. I explained the situation with Jade not being able to be there and asked her to call and leave a message. She was like, "I have to be going to join the band." I pulled out my phone and said that it wouldnt take long.

I dialed the number just as someone came up to us so we couldnt tell if the phone was connected or not. She was still feeling the pressure to get over to the other tent so I told her that I would walk with her. I redialed and actually listened as we walked so when I was certain that it was recording, I handed the phone to her. She left a message and after profuse thanks from me, we parted. I returned to the stage area and helped Jonathan finish loading the gear.

The new bus looks very cool. Big and black with one of those extension -slide out pieces on the side. Jonathan thanked me for my help (he is so polite!) and I left to go see Michael Knott play.

After all of that, I was pretty upset with myself because despite all of my preparation, I forgot to bring extra rolls of film. I was stuck with the roll in my camera. Very disappointing. With my campsite so far from the venue, I would have missed everything if I had tried walking back to get more. So I was forced to ration my shots to maximise my resources. Oh well, I guess. Next time!

After Knott's show, I came back home and went straight to bed. Happily, I have not been bothered by bugs at all! Really, it was a good day.