This is Cornerstone. Near riots pulsating inside 400 degree tents. Sleeping outdoors to the echoes of metalcore growling. And guys in banana costumes.
On late Saturday night I returned home from 4 days at Cornerstone with Youth Group Kid Ethan, The Ladyfriend and my friend Charissa. It was a different year at C-stone for me, but very rewarding. One big difference is that my flesh didn't melt off. Usually, misery is a defining trait of the festival because it's always 125 degress outside of the concert tents and 400 degrees inside them. This year, it was beautiful. It was 80 in the days and 60s at night. We even wore sweatshirts.
The festival also didn't seem to be as crowded this year. The last time I went was about 3 years ago and in the 5-year stretch I went, the attendance was always about 25,000 or more. This year's crowd had to be less than 20,000. There was still lots of people. Most shows were pakced. But what the slightly-dipped attendance meant was that people pretty much camped in the normal spots and weren't forced to pitch tents in crazy places like driveways and 90 degree slopes.
We got a nice shady and spacious camping spot on a hill out in an area called "The Shire." That is a fitting name. It was quiet and cozy. And there were hobbits. Anyway, we set up our tents around these two big trees that formed a neat little "living room" for us to hang out in and chat. The hill then sloped down a few feet to the tents...and then went down on a big slope down to the road which took us on a 5-minute walk to Cornerstone's main drag.
Another interesting thing I noticed this year was that there were still the typical Cornstone mean-looking people in mohawks, tatoos and dog collars but more than that there were lots and lots of costumes. We saw Braveheart, a banana, two koalas, several cows, Link from The Legend of Zelda, Mario from Maro Bros, Gumby and more. There were also a lot of flags. All of this made for very lively sights at shows. (You can see snippetts of shows here.) This leads me to my Top 5 Cornerstone Music Moments.
5. The Wedding's Open Door Policy. At the concert of pop-punk band The Wedding, it seemed as if just anyone could go up and sing. They had a large group of their friends sitting off to the side of the stage and every once in while, random people from that group would walk up to the mic and start singing. It was very democratic.
4. Family Force 5's headstands. New Gotee artist Family Force 5 puts on an amazing, high octane show. It is just crazy. They are showmen. One guy makes mean faces the whole time. Another gets down on the keytar. And then they have a 6th guy who plays no instruments but just dances...and throws things at the other members. At the end of one song, they all--even the drummer--ended in a headstand except for Nadaddy, the keyboardist and DJ--who stood triumphantly above them all.
3. Anberlin's tears. I've always liked Anberlin--who actually started their career by playing Cornerstone on what C-stoners call a "generator stage," which is just playing on amps in your campsite. But this week I got to see their lead singer do a press confernce and I fell in love with the band and their ministry. Talking about his persoanl realtionship with Jesus and how he is angered by anyone who tries to "sell" Jesus, he got choked up and actually began to cry. This is a man with a deep faith, real convictions, and a missionary's heart. That all makes up for how much he looks and acts like Rod Stewart on stage. You will eventually be able to hear a podcast of the interview here.
2. Staple's Farewell Prayer. As readers know, I am a huge fan of hardcore band Staple. And I was broken up when they announced they were hanging it up. But I got to see one of their last shows on Saturday night. I went to the show by myself and stood near the stage and let the rock heaven wash upon me. The show was higlighted by crowd chants of "Don't break up!" and the lead singer's honest, vulnerable and dynamic stage presence. They. Rocked. The. House. I found out later that Ethan couldn't find the band he'd been looking for and watched Staple from the back. He's not a fan but admitted, "That was an amazing amazing show." After the last song, the crowd brought them back on for an encore (which is actually rare for Cornerstone because of the tight schedules needed to fit 300 bands on 11 stages). But before they played, the stage manager brought them out and led the crowd in prayer for this band and their next chapter. Seeing the crowd with hands extended and heads bowed was humbling and moving. And it was a fitting salute to a thoughtful, godly--and rawking--band.
1. The Braveheart. The photo (taken by Phil Blair for Cornerstone) at the top of today's blog was taken at Thursday night's Flatfoot 56 show. Flatfoot is a Chicago-based Irish punk band. They're like The Clash or Rancid with bagpipes. I've become a big fan since getting their album a few weeks ago. But I didn't anticipate their show. It was the craziest, most fun time I've maybe ever had at a concert. They just go nuts--and invite fans to do the same. First of all, the three brothers in the band are about 9 feet tall. And they command the stage with an everyguy, jokey persona. It's like you are just at their practice. They goof around, tell jokes and even play a punk version of "Do your ears hang low?" But the defining feature is the rowdiness. There were people climbing the tent poles. There was a full-tent-sized circle pit. There were the many flags held by fans around around the tent which then, as the music started, slowly moved to the center, and began rotating quickly around the center in circle pits. And then there was The Braveheart. Flatfoot instructed the audience to part in the middle and face each other. The crowd then shouted "Oi" back and forth between the sides to build themselves into a frenzy before--to the rawkus sounds of the band--charging at each other and slamming into whoever was opposite you. It was insane. But awesome. Like at the Emery concert a few moths ago, I was impressed by how these Christians could mosh so well--but then pick each other up and show real compassion for each other. Both Flatfoot concerts I saw ended with Flatfoot's awesome cover of "Amazing Grace." Druing the slower, bagpiped part, the crowd joined with arms around each other and sawyed back and forth. And when the music picked up, the hitting resumed.
There were other great concert moments. David Crowder, House of Heroes, MxPx, Relient K and Kids in the Way all put on great shows. RK's Matt T clubbing people in the face with beach balls, MxPx's energy and charmisma, and Crowder's sly witty comments all made the week.
I also had a great time just chilling with our group. And playing Xtreme Bocce Ball. By the end of the week I saw the four of us falling into typical "family" roles. I was so the dad--keeping Ethan in line and such. Apparently my line of the week was, "Ethan, be careful." One particular challenge the two of us had was that Ethan liked to be the one who drained the melted ice from the cooler--but he'd do it in the middle of camp so we'd be sitting in mud...and the hill would allow the water to flow right into the tents. The Ladyfriend fell into the role of the saucy and entrancing nextdoor nieghbor lady who the dad is sweet on. And Charissa? Well, I realized on Saturday morning that she was the cool aunt who kept egging on Ethan so I'd have to yell at him more.
Perhaps the most meaningful thing to come out of the week is that Charissa decided that Matt Theissen of Relient K is a really cool guy who'd she'd like to meet. And so, this launches the newest PTOIT campaign: The Matt-Charissa Connection Campaign. We here at PTOIT vow to do everything possible to unite these crazy kids. We won't rest until they meet! Stay tuned as we count down from today (Day 1) to the inevitable day they meet.
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