Cornerstone 2003: Liz’s Diary, July 4
Happy 4th of July!
The day began with Kevin and Bubba (“Bubby” as Kevin likes to call him) doing some freestyle rapping from within the tent. It was one of those, “you had to be there” things. Friday was also the day I wore the mini-skirt, because it was JUST THAT HOT. Around 1:00 p.m. I think, we went into Macomb for some ice cream at McDonald’s.
After enjoying the air conditioning and ice cream, we made a quick stop to the Dollar Tree, where we bought some American flags and a “Happy 4th Of July” banner. Upon returning to the campsite, I secretly stuck the American flags on Danny’s car (one of the Newfies), and put the banner up inside their tent. =)
Friday afternoon we just kinda sat around the campsite, fanning ourselves (because we’re “so dainty”), and talking about why girls love brooding rock-stars so much (“Brooding + Brooding = Breeding”).
July 4th Shows
The Violet Burning (Cornerstone Magazine Stage) — I’ve never owned a Violet Burning album (though on Wednesday, Michael Pritzl gave me a free copy of the new CD), but I did see them two years ago at Cornerstone and really enjoyed the set, so I decided to see them again this year. One thing I like about the Violet Burning is that somehow they know how to be real and friendly and personable, and yet onstage they are such rockstars! I’m a sucker for good stage presence, what can I say? I didn’t stay for the whole show, but I enjoyed what I saw. I needed to get over to the main stage for…
Blindside (Main Stage) — So, maybe liking mainstream screaming/singing metal rock bands isn’t very cool, but so what? I’ve loved Blindside since I first saw them at Cornerstone ’98. One thing I like about Blindside is that they treat the main stage the same way they treated the Underground stage in 98. You can tell they aren’t letting recognition get to their heads, and that they’re truly grateful for their fans. They’re some of the best people I’ve met (used to know them pretty well back in the day). Oh, and they put on a great show Friday night. They played pretty equal amounts of new stuff and old stuff, realizing that a lot of their fans have been fans for a long time, and are appreciative of that.
The Prayer Chain (Encore One Stage) — Yeah, you can all be jealous that I saw the Prayer Chain. And you can all think I’m absolutely insane for not staying for the entire show. I really like the Prayer Chain, and they sounded amazing. But you see, I had to use the restroom (quite a Cornerstone understatement), and on my way back from Mr. Johnny On The Spot, I caught some of the Cornerstone fireworks show. And then I got in this really strange mood that I can’t quite describe… something like nostalgia and sadness and homesickness for somewhere I haven’t even been. So, I went back to the Prayer Chain show, where I ran into Melissa. She immediately sensed something going on with me, and so we decided that we should go catch the rest of…
Over the Rhine (Gallery Stage) — Melissa and I sat outside the tent on the grass, and had a really good talk, and every song Over the Rhine played fit perfectly with what we talked about. They played one of my all-time favorite songs, “Latter Days,” as well as some new songs that sounded really great and made me look forward to their double album coming out sometime soon. One of the new songs was very “apocalyptic” as they put it, and I remember the words “Jesus, come” being sung over and over, and giving me the chills.
Friday night was another late night at the campsite, but I think I went to bed the first out of anybody. At 5 a.m. I woke up to some of the craziest wind I’ve felt in a long time. It was so loud and was blowing everything around like crazy. I think if most of Cornerstone hadn’t been sleeping in their tents, they probably would have just blown away (the tents, not the people).