We Ridin’ Dirty – A Cornerstone Festival Report

 

This was my fifth time attending the annual smoldering sweat and dust pit known as Cornerstone Festival.  Every year I say it will be my last year as I feel so old and out of it in comparison with the average age of the normal festival attendee.  I also find that the bands I want to see are getting fewer and fewer as I graduate out of a fixation with hard music. 

            At 28, the most difficult part about the festival for me is not the horrible generator bands, the awful dust, the heat, or the port-a-potties (which were impeccable this year).  The hardest part for me is being away from my two sons, Javan 3, and Kenan 4 months.  I guess I’m including this because it was part of my Cornerstone experience.  It made me really look forward to the time when they are old enough to come experience the fest with me.  Of course, that will be quite a while down the road.

            Perhaps part of my nostalgic emotions this year were due to the fact that my 59-year-old father was at the fest with me serving as our camp cook.  It was really amazing how he assimilated into the culture.  People in our group kept coming up to me and telling me how great my dad was and how they just loved him.  It was really cool.  For years, I’ve known that my dad is the clutch man in a camping situation, but it was really great to share that with everyone else.  As I get older, I appreciate my father more and more.  Dad said he caught some great shows with Demon Hunter and Mewithoutyou among his favorite.  It all boggles my mind.  I love it.

            I spent more time this year just hanging out and not worrying about missing shows that I wanted to see.  I concentrated on what Cornerstone is really about: people and relationships.  It was so good to get reacquainted with old friends from years past.  I finally have experienced the best part of Cornerstone.  It’s the gathering of God’s people to truly fellowship, meaning, to share life in Christ together.  I had missed that in years gone by.  It was really cool to get to meet Conrad, Julia, Melissa, and my fellow writer, Evan. 

            With that said, let’s get on to why you’re really reading this: the bands.

 

Good Shows

 

Tooth and Nail Day – First off, let me say that I have been a fan of bands on T & N since the early days.  Like most of you, I’ve been a bit discouraged by some of their signees over the last few years as far as musical creativity is concerned.  I’ve also never known them to be a label that “wears its faith on its sleeve”.  This year was so different.  Many of the bands spoke up about their relationships with Jesus while doing so in a manner that was not preachy.  I made the comment that, “ this was the most Christian I can ever remember Tooth and Nail day being.”  It seems that the employees at the Nail have come head on into somewhat of a revival and a renewing of vision.  A few years ago I read an interview with Brandon Ebel that hinted at this and was very encouraging.  This year at the festival, Chad Johnson spoke with fire and zeal about what we need to be about.  He even took the stage prior to Underoath later in the festival to denounce the idea of idolizing rock stars.  It was really cool to see someone taking this stand.  Another band that impressed me with their purpose as well as musicianship that day was Becoming the Archetype.

 

Spoken – I know a lot of Decaporeaders might not be into this band but I have to tell you, they flat out rocked.  I caught their set on Tooth and Nail Day and was so impressed with the guys yet again.  I’ve seen Spoken a number of times and one thing that always gets me is the fervor of their hardcore fans.  These guys (and their fans for that matter) put everything they have into each and every show.  Once Matt Baird hits the stage there is no doubt who the front man of this band is.  These boys are sure to deliver a great night of entertainment. 

 

The Glorious Unseen – This band was completely unknown to me until about midnight of Tooth and Nail Day.  I had heard that there was going to be a worship service directly following the Mewithoutyou show and decided to stay and take part in what the festival should really be about.  I was so tired that I almost missed an amazing experience.  The band is a new signee to Tooth and Nail and shook me with their alarmingly good take on worship music.  This wasn’t just good to sing, it was actually really nice to listen to.  I look forward to picking up their debut album.

 

Mewithoutyou – What more can be said about these guys?  I just love them.  Even when their surroundings seem strange to them (main stage) and things may not go as planned, they put on one amazing show.  It’s been quite amazing to watch as they have grown in popularity and yet always tried to stretch themselves musically as well as intellectually.

 

The Rest of the Fest

 

Underoath – I like Underoath.  I’m not a huge fan.  I thought their show was pretty good but not great.  With that said, they blew so many other wannabe bands out of the water that it made me realize part of why these guys are everyone’s favorite.  I picked up the new cd and look forward to getting into what these guys are growling about.  And yeah, Aaron can sing his face off.

 

Red – I don’t know the lead singer’s name but he is absolutely the most intense person I have ever seen onstage.  I thought for a moment that his head might explode.  These guys probably aren’t for everybody, as they sort of resemble Evanescence with a male singer.  With that said, their show was wonderful.  The guitars were chopping at me like a woodsman and the bass sound was so heavy it made me shake.  All of this combined with really uplifting lyrics made for an awesome and even worshipful show.  Be sure to check these guys out if they make it to your area.

 

The Rocket Summer – I know, I know.  He annoys you.  That’s ok because his show at the Relevant stage was more fun than anyone deserves.  This kid uses more energy onstage than most of the hardcore bands at the festival.  His music isn’t the most complex thing and the lyrics might be a bit hokey at times but if you let yourself go you just might have a good time.  Who doesn’t like a good confetti cannon shot into the air anyway?

 

Hundred Year Storm – I only caught a couple of songs but it sounded like some great emotional rock akin to the Appleseed Cast.  I will be checking out their cd.

 

Seth Roberts (Lakes) – I hadn’t really heard a lot from Watashi Wa so I really didn’t know what was going on when I happened upon this show with about 150 other people one afternoon.  The tent was pretty empty and that’s really a shame because Seth and his buddies put out some of the most amazing pop music that I heard at the fest.  I was immediately compelled to go out and buy two cds worth of his smooth vocals.  Nate from Anberlin filled in on drums bringing a bit of novelty to a show that flew under many people’s radar.

 

Bernard – Buzz band alert!  Learn this name because you are going to be hearing a lot about it for the next year or so.  I wasn’t really impressed with Bernard after catching an acoustic tune on the Relevant Podcast, but I had heard good things about their live show from a friend so I decided to check it out.  Wow, was my friend right!  These guys make really great art. 

 

Anathallo – A couple of years ago I caught a couple of songs by this unusual band.  I was hot and tired and stuck outside of the tent.  I had no idea what I was actually missing.  Anathallo does not put on a great show; they give you a phenomenal experience.  After seeing this in action, I look forward to further exploring their music.

 

The Violet Burning – This was my first time seeing Mike Pritzl and company.  I thought they were simply fantastic.  Later I found out that they usually play with three guitars instead of just Mike on electric.  If they sounded as great as they did at Cornerstone, I can only imagine the sheer musical bliss from seeing them with a full band.  Mike shared some things from his heart and I really got the feeling that this band has a strong sense of purpose.  I can’t wait to get more TVB music in my collection.

 

Over the Rhine – I simply cannot believe that this band is not huge.  They astound me every time I see them.  Karin’s vocals sound angelic and the banter between she and Linford is right on cue every night.  Maybe I’m just old but there’s not much that I’d rather do at night than to sit in a dimly lit coffeehouse and listen to a live Over the Rhine show with my wife.  I love them.

 

 

Mute Math – I’ve never seen a show like Mute Math’s before.  It would seem that anything capable of making sound was used in the creation of their album.  The big kicker is that all of those crazy sounds coming out of your stereo speakers are reproduced 100% live during their shows.  The energy of the band as well as the skill with which they played “whatever they call it” was just phenomenal.  This may have been the best show I’ve ever been to at Cornerstone.

 

Denison Witmer – This year was a good year for me to reacquaint myself with artists that I used to be a big fan of but have tapered off my involvement with.  Denison’s sense of humor and soothing guitar work reminded me why I loved this guy in the first place.  His albums will always be near to my heart.

 

Rosie Thomas – I had never seen this lady before and really had no idea what to expect.  When she came out to sing with Denison prior to her show I was excited to find out what she was all about.  Let’s just say that when you hear her speaking voice, you are not expecting the beautiful sounds that come when she sings.  Her voice sounded to me like a bit of Sarah McLaughlin mixed with Karin Berquest.  Rosie’s crazy sense of humor and stage banter quickly won over pretty much everyone in the crowd.  She’s quite a delightful lady and I look forward to seeing her again.

 

 

 

Starflyer 59 – It was business as usual for one of the world’s greatest bands.  Jason and company pretty much went “30 minutes and out”.  The music was great and the stage banter was non-existent.  I guess I’ve learned not to expect too much from this musical genius. 

 

Kissing Cousins – I was anticipating seeing Kissing Cousins all week.  I had the chance to review their first ep for Decapolis and the band intrigues me.  I met some of the girls a day earlier in the merch tent and was struck with how nice they were.  They seemed genuinely thankful that I bought their record and was going to come to the show.  For those of you uninitiated, KC is an all girl band from California.  They play a slowed down brand of indie rock akin to Starflyer 59 and PJ Harvey with more of a dark and sultry edge.  The music is new and not a tired formula that we’ve heard before.  The girls pull off the recorded sound well during the live show complete with flute and a tambourine played by Josh Dooley.  These girls are developing into quite a find in the indie rock arena.

 

Leigh Nash – Obviously the return of Sixpence’s lead woman to the Cornerstone grounds brought a lot of buzz to the festival.  I was excited to check out a bit of what her new music would sound like.  Probably the main difference for me was the absence of Matt Slocum.  Leigh seems to have done a great job at writing songs that reflect her station in life right now.  The songs are about her husband and son mostly and reflect a maturity that is simply not present in much of today’s commercial pop music.  I can’t wait to check out the album.  She has lost none of her live performance ability and perhaps was even more engaging than when she fronted a full band.

 

Generator Bands That Caught My Attention

 

And Then I Turned Seven – One of the coolest Cornerstone experiences is when you are on your way somewhere else and pass a tent with music that stops you in your tracks.  This was my experience with ATITS.  They were playing show at the Fat Calf stage and I have to say, the first thing that caught my attention was the lack of screaming.  These guys were singing.  The music is a mix of acoustic guitar, violin, bass and electric guitar.  It was a welcome release from the brutal music that usually emanated from the Fat Calf Stage.  After only a portion of a song I knew I had to have the album.  This band earned a lot of new fans during the week.  The line to their merch table was amazing.

 

Alcina – Next to our campsite was a generator stage.  It wasn’t just any generator stage, for this stage hosted a hardcore/ska band that played about twelve times during the week.  That’s right, and they even had a girl saxophone player.  I didn’t catch her name but I’m guessing she goes by “Jeff”.  Just kidding.  Anyway, at some point we began hearing something wonderful coming from the general area that this band usually played.  It wasn’t ska, but metal.  I’m not a huge metal fan but this music was glorious.  The guitarist used a bit of delay and cool timing tricks instead of the typical metal shredding.  We sent a scout to check out what the deal was.  Apparently, this ska band had graciously let the metal band play on their generator.  The metal band’s name was Alcina.  They were quite impressive.  The band gave me a copy of their demo which I have been enjoying since I arrived home.  If you’re into metal, or even if you’re not, give these guys a listen.  They’re nice guys and good musicians.

 

Not So Great

 

Class of 98 – A friend wanted me to check these guys out.  I wasn’t really excited to since I didn’t like what I had heard online.  Yet, I decided to give them a try for my friend’s sake.  Wow.  These guys were awful.  You should understand that it’s my first real exposure to them and there were about 25 people in the tent for their show, but they just didn’t do it for me. 

 

90% of the Generator Bands – I don’t think I have to comment here.  You all know what I think because you’re probably thinking the same thing.

 

Dead Poetic – The vocals were off.  They were very off.  That’s about all I can say about this show.  I was not impressed.

 

Pictures to follow.