Concert Video: Pedro the Lion at Cornerstone 2002

The first time I saw Pedro the Lion was at Cornerstone 1998, shortly before It’s Hard To Find a Friend was officially released by Made In Mexico. (Now that I think about it, that might’ve been the album’s release show.) It was an incredibly emotional concert, and I doubt I was the only one reduced to tears by David Bazan’s unassuming, disarming, and deeply poignant songwriting. In the following months, It’s Hard To Find a Friend became something of a lifeline as I navigated post-college years that were characterized by spiritual struggles and searching.

Suffice to say, Pedro the Lion’s Cornerstone sets became must-see events for me and my friends. David Bazan and Co. never failed to deliver, whether it was the emotional music itself or Bazan’s Q&A sessions that found him answering all manner of audience questions with honesty and humility.

Sadly, my recording of Pedro the Lion’s Cornerstone 2002 set is incomplete. My camera battery was dying, so I had to be judicious in what I recorded. (As you’ll see, it died right in the middle of a particularly impassioned performance of “Secret of the Easy Yoke,” arguably Pedro the Lion’s signature song.) But I got most of the set plus some Q&A, including Bazan’s thoughtful answer as to why he ultimately decided to perform at Cornerstone 2002 — and on the main stage, no less — after having sworn off returning to the festival.

(Partial) Setlist:

1. Of Up and Coming Monarchs
2. Indian Summer
3. Nothing
4. When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run
5. Options
6. Bad Diary Days
7. Secret of the Easy Yoke (Partial)

Read my full review of Pedro the Lion’s set, which also includes some thoughts on the weirdness of seeing Bazan’s quiet, heartfelt indie-rock performed on Cornerstone’s biggest stage.