above:  Cool Hand Luke

 

Cornerstone is my favorite time of year.  I like it better than Christmas because the weather is warmer outside, I like it better than my birthday because its cold in February too, and I like it better than all the other holidays because time with extended family is, for the most part, at best, awkward.

 

 

 

Overall, there were some great things about this year’s festival.  First off, it was never hotter than 85 degrees, it was really cool at night for sleeping, and it never rained.  Also, last year, I didn’t even go to main stage.  This year, they tried sort of doing “theme” nights where they had all one style of music for each night.  For instance, one night was all heavy stuff, another night they had college rock, then they had the pop punk type stuff and then the last night was all radio rock.  I think it worked, except some of the bands folded under the pressure.

 

They also seemed to start the music later in the afternoon, allowing for more of a focus on the seminars and Bible studies.  The Decapolis study was beneficial as always as Conrad led studies on finding your calling, how to get married, and encouraged everyone to dig deeper and tackle the tough issues of God’s character.  Basically, you want to do whatever God’s called you to in EVERY season of your life, you should marry your best friend, and you should read your Bible.

 

Mark from Cool Hand Luke led a discussion on knowledge vs. zeal, and encouraged everyone to be not only whole hearted for God, but also correct in our perceptions of Him.  He shared some things he’d learned in his year away from the band, and he also had some words of encouragement for festival attendees to take the focus away from idolatry of music and bands and put focus back on God. 

 

Aaron from mewithoutYou had a well attended talk where he took questions regarding his stance on pacifism (and other personal matters).  It was refreshing to see someone actually base their arguments on scripture and the words and actions of Christ.  Of all of the poignant observations he made, the crowd cheered and clapped only when he explained the merits of dumpster diving.  Overall, the talks seemed kind of how I pictured stuff to happen in the Bible where John the Baptist would go out in the wilderness and people would come and just listen and ask questions. 

 

Finally of course, there was the music.

 

 

The BEST

 

LOVEDRUG   played late on Wednesday night.  This was my first time seeing them, and I was glad I stayed up late to catch their set.  The songs were delivered with precision and passion as the band played all the favorites including “Spiders”, “Down Towards the Healing”, and “Blackout” (encore).  Down Towards the Healing is one of the most inspiring songs I’ve heard in the spiritual sense, which is remarkable considering Lovedrug isn’t really Christian at all.  Hooray for universally inspiring art. They were one of the tightest bands at the fest.

 

 

 

 

 

MUTEMATH

Mutemath is a band formed by Paul Meany (formerly Earthsuit) and some of his cronies.  They have an electronic-influenced pop rock sound.  They were definitely one of the most buzzed about bands at the fest, and deservedly so.  The band was all over the stage, standing on keyboards and speakers and gathering around the drum set for some ritual pounding.   This band has been on Warped Tour, so I guess they pretty well had their act together.  They played lots of favorites, including “Chaos”.  The song is especially meaningful considering the band is from New Orleans and amidst the chaos of the hurricane and flooding and such, they still sing about the consistencies of God in our lives and the universe.  Towards the end of the set, Meany brought out what looked like the newest weapon in the war on terror. Meany pulled of some pretty hot licks before handing it off to the crowd.  They played crowd favorite “Control” as an encore. 

 

 

left:  new anti-terrorist weapon

 

 

ANATHALLO
I saw Anathallo once before so I knew what to expect, but it was still good to see a packed tent appreciating such a creative and talented band.  The 7 members played songs mostly from Floating World complete with claps, stomping, xylophone, harp, horns, shakers, and old garbage-can-reject drums.  The best thing about this band is the joy they share on stage.  They ended with one of my favorites, Holiday at the Sea. 

 

COOL HAND LUKE

 Last year when I came to Cornerstone, I was pretty bummed to hear that Cool Hand Luke wouldn’t be playing because they had broken up.  A year later, they’re back together with the same focus I’ve always loved about this band.  The festival gave them over an hour and a half to work with, so Mark took a few opportunities to share his heart on things he’d learned during the break as well as some encouraging/convicting words for festival attendees to keep the focus on Christ.  Mark’s voice rang loud and clear both in song and word.  They played their full 1.5 hour long set, including some new songs and even the old favorite “Sideways” with a friend joining the band on piano.     

 

UNDEROATH

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what underOATH is up to these days, I’m just not the biggest fan.  Still, I was blown away by how well they handled the mainstage.  Their songs came across loud and clear as they played through favorites old and new that kept the crowd going.  Seeing them flash around on mainstage with a full blown light show and the energy of the crowd was a powerful statement of how far this band (and hard music) has come.  Like them or not, they have gotten to where they are because of times like these where they truly connect with [sic. Destroy] their audience.  Their 2 song encore included the closing track to their previous album, “Some Seek Forgiveness While Others Escape.” 

 

THE GOOD, but not without flaws

MEWITHOUTYOU
I considered them unusual candidates for the mainstage, and although they drew a large crowd, they seemed uncomfortable with the setting at first.  Aaron nervously muttered into the microphone between songs as the rest of the band worked out technical issues.  As the set went on, however, the band took on their usual form as guests joined them onstage including a bird-man, a drum circle, and a harpist.  A few songs from A>B life made their way into the set, as well as favorites from Catch for Us the Foxes.  Interspersed throughout were 4 brand new songs from their upcoming September release.  Aaron played acoustic guitar to open 2 of the songs with his usual poetic delivery before the usual buildup and entry by the other musicians. All 4 new songs seemed like they possessed a harder edge than Foxes and each song was simply splendid.  You can hear one of the new songs here…http://www.cornerstonefestival.com/coverage2006.cfm?page=clips&ClipID=67

 

 

HUNDRED YEAR STORM

I only managed to catch a few songs of this bands set, but I definitely stuck around once I heard their moody melodic rock.  They sounded a lot like the band Moments in Grace, and fans of Mineral or Sunny Day would likely appreciate the direction of the songs.  The band brooded around intently on some simple progressions that led to epic endings, while the singer occasionally chimed in with spiritually significant musings.  Their first release was on Northern Records, and another release comes out on Floodgate in the fall. 

 

BERNARD

Another band with a lot of buzz, I only caught a few songs, but I appreciated their electronic elements combined with a UK style ambient rock.  Fans of Muse and Radiohead might appreciate these guys.  I did.

 

AS CITIES BURN

Another band that seemed uncomfortable on main stage, but once the band got over the jitters, they played along with energy and passion.  This band is unfortunately breaking up, but I could still sense the beauty in the closure of the moment as the band finished on a worshipful note with hands raised with improvisational instrumentation under the words “We will wear compassion, and the gates of hell will not stand against it.” 

 

LAKES (formerly Watshi Wa/Eager Seas)
Seth Roberts has had a rough time finding a consistent sound or name, but with Lakes and a new label home on Militia Group, it seems like he’s perhaps settling down.  That happens I guess when you started releasing music in your upper teens.  He seems to have found his place with songs that breathe fresh air into the sometimes morose musical atmosphere.  His songs of love and life are simple and sincere and his smile is all the stage presence he needs.  

 

SHOWBREAD

Showbread was a great choice to help finish the festival.  Their set was well attended and well received as the band stuck to the favorites.  A dinosaur appeared on stage and threatened the audience, but his head was chopped off in gory detail (you could see a bone sticking out).  Also, a squirt gun shot water out of the hole in the neck and with the read lighting it looked pretty sweet, like blood shooting on the crowd.  It made me miss the Deadlines.  They spat real fake blood on the crowd.

 

DIVEBOMBER

Again, the funniest band at the festival with not one, but TWO Creed covers.  The first was kind of an accident and it happened after Michael broke a string.  Instead of fixing it himself, he passed his guitar off to Conrad while he subtly drew the crowd into a tender moment with Arms Wide Open.  What’s sad is that he actually played the right chords.  Actually, he told me he leads worship and he can just kind of hear it out.  Anyways, their music isn’t very good but they remind me of the good old days of ska and punk and sloppy musicianship with smiles.  

 

ESTER DRANG, ROSIE THOMAS

The Gallery stage had a dynamite lineup for Friday night.  Ester Drang  was joined by legendary bassist Jonathan Ford (Roadside Monument, Unwed Sailor).  They played their usual ambient indie rock with a video playing in the background.  Their newer songs are a little more poppy, even catchy.  Jonathan Ford helped Rosie with his bass playing as well.  Rosie’s talking voice made me laugh, her singing voice made me cry (in a good way).  Apparently she had some glue or markers before the show.  

 

MERCURY RADIO THEATER

The sci-fi horror surf rock band brought a full brass ensemble to the stage this year.  It made for some nice additions to the songs.  They played straight through their new album, “Blue Eyed Model” including interlude clips voiced by Otto Bot from Blaster the Rocketman.  The crowd was in full apparel with snorkels, squirtguns, creepy masks, and even creepier dance moves. Still, I've seen all of this before and perhaps the novelty has worn a bit. 

 

 

THE BAD/UGLY
THE CHARIOT
I don’t know why they had this band play mainstage, maybe it was to make up for some bad sound issues they had last year.  In any case, their show was a train wreck.  You know when something really tragic happens and you walk by and feel bad, but you can’t help but stare?  It was like that.  I couldn’t tell which sounds coming out of the speakers were intentional and which were technical difficulties.  They got 2 new members or something, and it seems like they struggled for the 2 songs I sat through. 

 

COPELAND

This band just didn’t seem to fit the mainstage.  Copeland is the kind of band you should see in a small club with lots of other people who know all of their songs and sing along.  They seemed awkward on-stage and Aaron’s voice was just off.  He missed notes and even whimped out by skipping of the more challenging vocal lines in the songs.  I love this band, but this was not their day. 

STARFLYER 59

I looked forward to the late night set with SF59, hoping they would actually use the 1.5 hours allotted to them.  The beauty of Starflyer is that the songs are transcendent of time.  Jason writes great pop songs that he modifies and molds as time progresses, and the results are always favorable, even when the songs are over a decade old.  On the downside, the band was sparse (bass and synth were tracked) and they only used about 35 minutes, playing mostly songs from “Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice.”  Martin looked bored and quickly wrapped things up.  They finished with an oldie, and I think he meant it when he sang “honestly, I’d rather sleep.” 

 

FAMILY FORCE 5

I walked by and I peeked my head in just to see if anyone would actually go to see this band who I had encountered in my days at a Christian rock radio station.  They were playing their usual 80’s hip hop disco breakbeat whatever.  I just..I don’t…I mean…the place was packed.  What

NASTY TRACK SHORTS (picture censored for obvious reasons)

I don’t know where this fashion started, but its absolutely disgusting.  Guys (or girls) were wearing track shorts that showed more than 50% of the flesh above the thigh.  It was not only tasteless, its likely to cause brothers and sisters to stumble.  I mean, they cover less than like a pair of boxers and the white leg meat is really shiny.  I saw hardcore kids going from show to show wearing only shoes and nasty shorts.  They probably just got sick of getting their clothes sweaty and gross so they decided to wear nothing. 

 

BUG EYE GLASSES

Lots of people, especially girls were wearing those big glasses like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.  Ladies, your green eyes are definitely prettier than those glasses.