On Columbus Day, the NHHS Band marched in the 63rd Annual Columbus Day Parade in New York City. Nate carried the American flag, since they don't make him push his bells down 5th Avenue. The parade route is 35 blocks down 5th Avenue, north from 44 th to 79th St. (Google Maps has street view for NYC - if you click on the man icon, you will see St. Patrick's Cathedral. You can pretty much see the route as Nate did by panning or dragging the little man icon around) That is almost 2 miles on a October day that hit 90 degrees (Dispute global warming now, Nate?) Nate was one tired puppy when he got home. Here is a video of NHHS performance in the parade:
For those of you that like the technical info.....I recorded the whole 3 hour parade coverage on my Tivo. Fortunately, I was also watching the parade at work, so I knew about where in the recording NHHS performed. Otherwise it would have been 3 hours of searching through opera performances and ads for every Italian business in greater NYC. I copied the Tivo file to my laptop when I got home (almost 4 hours for a 3 hour video!). I then used a video editing program called VideoReDo Plus to extract the MPEG from the Tivo file and edit out everything except the intro and the band's performance - 3 hours down to 1:42 - yes, that's a minute and 42 seconds. I then created a YouTube account (which is easy since I have a Google account for, among other things, this blog) and uploaded the video. A word about the quality....I have an old-fasioned, non-HD TV and Tivo, so the resolution is 480 x 480 and I think the upload to YouTube does some compression, too. We all know it's Nate with the flag, but I doubt anyone could pick him out without some hints.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Nate's First Football Game
North vs Central (9/7/2007)
OK - so despite the title, Nate has been to football games before but this was his first NHHS Football game performing in the Marching Band. As a Freshman drummer, Nate is in "The Pit" (that's him on the right) which is where the various forms of bells and other non-marching percussion hang out. Nate is playing bells which is funny because, although he can read music to sing, he has never had to read music for an instrument. And even better, he had to memorize it! For parades (like the NYC Columbus Day Parade), he will get to carry the banner.
The best thing that can be said about the football game was that the Band looked really good.
They did 2/3 of their field show and looked pretty tight for only 3 weeks of practice. The are doing a show based on West Side Story and the music sounded crisp (especially the solo by the Pit) and the formations actually told the story. It will be interesting to see the complete show later in the season. The field show is more Drum and Bugle Corps than what I remember from marching band, but I think that's just the way it is now. We were all symmetrical with a heavy dose of John Philip Sousa. The idea of a "Pit" or triple and quad drums never entered the mind of our director, Larry McGriff.
The football game ended a 35 - 7 defeat to arch-rival Central. It's a cheap night out ($3), so I guess I can put up with bad football to watch Nate and the Band. I have some experience with bad football - In my years at Marple-Newtown High School, the football team had some bad years, including one year where we were 0-10-1, the lone bright spot a 0-0 tie. We also seemed to lose to cross-town rival Cardinal O'Hara (a Catholic League powerhouse) by scores like 50-0. At Villanova, we had no football team the four years I was there since they had been so bad in the years previous. Villanova returned to football in 1-AA after I left and produced the Eagles star running back Brian Westbrook.
After the game, Nate and I watched the finals of Drum Corps International which I had Tivo'd. It's been a long time since I'd seen DCI - we used to watch it every year when I was a kid when we were on vacation in Brigantine. I can definitely say that watching it on a modern 31 inch TV is better than the 19 inch "portable" we had at the shore. It was fun re-living a childhood memory with Nate - he thought the marching and the drum lines (of course) were awesome and his favorite corp was Phantom Regiment. He says they have the coolest name and the sound just hits you. Alas, the Santa Clara Vanguard won - which was cool since it was the first finals in California. Nate and I are planning to go see one of the DCI preliminaries next summer if it comes to NJ or PA.
OK - so despite the title, Nate has been to football games before but this was his first NHHS Football game performing in the Marching Band. As a Freshman drummer, Nate is in "The Pit" (that's him on the right) which is where the various forms of bells and other non-marching percussion hang out. Nate is playing bells which is funny because, although he can read music to sing, he has never had to read music for an instrument. And even better, he had to memorize it! For parades (like the NYC Columbus Day Parade), he will get to carry the banner.The best thing that can be said about the football game was that the Band looked really good.
They did 2/3 of their field show and looked pretty tight for only 3 weeks of practice. The are doing a show based on West Side Story and the music sounded crisp (especially the solo by the Pit) and the formations actually told the story. It will be interesting to see the complete show later in the season. The field show is more Drum and Bugle Corps than what I remember from marching band, but I think that's just the way it is now. We were all symmetrical with a heavy dose of John Philip Sousa. The idea of a "Pit" or triple and quad drums never entered the mind of our director, Larry McGriff.The football game ended a 35 - 7 defeat to arch-rival Central. It's a cheap night out ($3), so I guess I can put up with bad football to watch Nate and the Band. I have some experience with bad football - In my years at Marple-Newtown High School, the football team had some bad years, including one year where we were 0-10-1, the lone bright spot a 0-0 tie. We also seemed to lose to cross-town rival Cardinal O'Hara (a Catholic League powerhouse) by scores like 50-0. At Villanova, we had no football team the four years I was there since they had been so bad in the years previous. Villanova returned to football in 1-AA after I left and produced the Eagles star running back Brian Westbrook.
After the game, Nate and I watched the finals of Drum Corps International which I had Tivo'd. It's been a long time since I'd seen DCI - we used to watch it every year when I was a kid when we were on vacation in Brigantine. I can definitely say that watching it on a modern 31 inch TV is better than the 19 inch "portable" we had at the shore. It was fun re-living a childhood memory with Nate - he thought the marching and the drum lines (of course) were awesome and his favorite corp was Phantom Regiment. He says they have the coolest name and the sound just hits you. Alas, the Santa Clara Vanguard won - which was cool since it was the first finals in California. Nate and I are planning to go see one of the DCI preliminaries next summer if it comes to NJ or PA.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
The End of Summer
The last couple nights it has dipped into the 50's at night here in New Jersey. It was reminder that summer is coming to an end. Of course, Labor Day has come and gone and Nate is back in school but here are some other reminders I thought of.....
Don't get me wrong - I love the fall. The days are crisp and the air just feels new and clean. Not to mention the color in the leaves. Of course it is easier to enjoy the leaves when you don't have to rake them - ahhh, the joys of renting.
- I had to work a full day on Friday.
- I can barely get Church and a round of golf in on a Sunday.
- The hockey equipment and the golf clubs were in the car at the same time, soon to give way to just the hockey equipment.
- I made bread today for the first time since the spring (yes, the bread likes to rise in the summer heat, but I can't bring myself to fire up a 500 F oven when it's 90+ deg outside)
- I didn't buy salad stuff when I went shopping today
- The tomato plants in the garden are turning brown and it's time to harvest the remaining tomatoes.
- I have to wear socks with my shoes.
- It's time to make the reservations to go to San Diego at New Years
Don't get me wrong - I love the fall. The days are crisp and the air just feels new and clean. Not to mention the color in the leaves. Of course it is easier to enjoy the leaves when you don't have to rake them - ahhh, the joys of renting.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Nate's a Freshman!
Today is Nate's first full day of High School. He seems to be pretty non-plussed by the whole idea. Granted he was at the High School for Geometry last year, but in general he doesn't seem excited or displeased with going back to school. Maybe it's just his personality or being a teen - Band Camp didn't seem to excite him that much either - or maybe he's just doing that teen thing of non-communication. I think it's a bigger deal for me and his Mom - it was bad enough having a teenage, but having a freshman makes feel even older.Nate's going to be one busy kid this fall. In addition to going to class, he has marching band after school 3 days a week and pretty much every Friday night for football, he's trying out for Jazz ensemble, and I'm sure there are clubs he'll want to join. His class load is pretty tough, so much so that he could not fit in "regular" band during school. Outside of school he's still doing Tae Kwon Do and drums as well as joining the High School Youth Group at church. As my Mom and Dad always said, as long as his grades are good he can do the other stuff.
Some weird things I noticed looking at his schedule....Nate has gym every day 1st semester and none the second semester, replaced by Health class. Wouldn't it seem to make more sense to give the kids some exercise a few times a week throughout the year? And there is no required Art classes. Not that they were my favorite, but in art history, I at least learned about different styles and artists. Nate says there is a "Fine Arts" requirement which he'll fulfill with band. Then there is this odd class he has to take called Advanced Academic Literacies - I'm not whether it's some state mandated class. The class description says "Advanced Academic Literacies encourages students to develop basic skills across the curriculum including basic literacies in reading, writing, listening, speaking, information, science, economics, technology, mathematics, visual, global and multicultural studies." I'm not really sure what that means but the class consists of a project where they have to run a Travel Company. I guess it's kind of a life skills class. It's only one semester and Nate will be taking Java programming in it's place in the 2nd semester.
I'm going to try and get to as many home football games as I can. Partly, to relive the fun I had in Band, but also to see Nate enjoying it. As a freshman drummer, he doesn't get to play "real" drums - the get assigned either cymbals or bells. Nate got bells which he seems OK with - it's a chance to read "real" music. It also means he only has to learn the music and not any marching formations. In parades, the bell players carry the banners and such. I'll be sure to post pictures of him in Band, maybe with some of me from my days in Band if I can find them.
Bubba Burgers
Yes, it has been a while since my last post and I really have no excuses. Sorry, Mitch that my first post in a month is about non-Kosher food, but the arrival of two new varieties of Bubba Burgers in my local ShopRite was too much to pass on. We always had regular and onion but now we also have the jalapeño and Angus. All the flavors have been around for a while, but the store just started carrying them.
For those of you not familiar with these tasty, 1/3 pound, patties of juicy goodness, Bubba Burgers are made from ground chuck. While not the lowest fat content, they seem to have the highest taste content. They come frozen, 6 to a pack and are a bit pricey at around $1 a piece ($1.25 for the Angus). They have very specific cooking instructions, which if followed, make one of the tastiest buggers around. They come in a bunch of varieties including, oddly, a low fat burger. It's all explained on the website, if you really need more info. You may have seen ads for Bubba burgers at a baseball game or, if you are a NASCAR fan, on the #21 Bush Baked Beans/Bubba Burger Truck.
On to my "new" varieties. The jalapeño is in a word spicy. I've had a lot of burgers or chicken that has claimed to have spice, but these have bits of jalapeño in them and need nothing more than some jack cheese, maybe a tomato and a sturdy bun. As for the Angus Bubba, I'm not sure words can do it justice. Picture a great Angus steak, crossed with the juiciest burger you can think of. This image probably best describes it:
We are still waiting for the Texas shaped burgers (1/2 lb. !), the "Natural" burgers and the Bubba Bacon, but I'm sure they will be worth the wait.
For those of you not familiar with these tasty, 1/3 pound, patties of juicy goodness, Bubba Burgers are made from ground chuck. While not the lowest fat content, they seem to have the highest taste content. They come frozen, 6 to a pack and are a bit pricey at around $1 a piece ($1.25 for the Angus). They have very specific cooking instructions, which if followed, make one of the tastiest buggers around. They come in a bunch of varieties including, oddly, a low fat burger. It's all explained on the website, if you really need more info. You may have seen ads for Bubba burgers at a baseball game or, if you are a NASCAR fan, on the #21 Bush Baked Beans/Bubba Burger Truck.
On to my "new" varieties. The jalapeño is in a word spicy. I've had a lot of burgers or chicken that has claimed to have spice, but these have bits of jalapeño in them and need nothing more than some jack cheese, maybe a tomato and a sturdy bun. As for the Angus Bubba, I'm not sure words can do it justice. Picture a great Angus steak, crossed with the juiciest burger you can think of. This image probably best describes it:
We are still waiting for the Texas shaped burgers (1/2 lb. !), the "Natural" burgers and the Bubba Bacon, but I'm sure they will be worth the wait.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
When You're Gone - Video
This is my first post about my Mom, with some help from my little sister Tina. Though I think everyone who reads this blog knows me, just in case, here's the history....My Mom passed away suddenly on January 1st of this year. In hindsight, I wish I had this blog to put some of my thoughts and feelings down back then. Instead, I put my energy into the MomSite. I haven't updated it in a while - Work got busy and I think just doing the site was enough "therapy" for me.
So....on to Tina's contribution. Tina originally sent me the video below to put on the MomSite. Since I hadn't been updating that, I decided to post it here. The video has 3 story lines, one of which is about an older couple where the Mom dies. That alone would be emotional for us six kids, but Tina got the extra whammy - one of the other stories in the video is about a Marine who is sent to Iraq, like her husband Gary. I wouldn't say I am an Avril Lavigne fan (too old!) but this is pretty good. Normally I'd say enjoy, but in this case, just watch.
(If the embedded video doesn't work, try this link.)
So....on to Tina's contribution. Tina originally sent me the video below to put on the MomSite. Since I hadn't been updating that, I decided to post it here. The video has 3 story lines, one of which is about an older couple where the Mom dies. That alone would be emotional for us six kids, but Tina got the extra whammy - one of the other stories in the video is about a Marine who is sent to Iraq, like her husband Gary. I wouldn't say I am an Avril Lavigne fan (too old!) but this is pretty good. Normally I'd say enjoy, but in this case, just watch.
(If the embedded video doesn't work, try this link.)
Monday, July 16, 2007
Burying St. Joseph
From the title, this could be a post about the lack of attention St. Joseph gets in the Catholic faith, but, no, it's about the tradition of burying a St. Joseph statue in your yard to help sell your house. There are many websites out there about this practice - here is an example. Traditions like this have always seemed a bit like mixing religion and magic and I have always shied away from them. Others ones that bother me are ones that say if you say a certain prayer X times in Y days, something "good" will happen. For the St. Joseph burying tradition, I have heard it called idolatry (don't be shy Tom McG.), to a marketing ploy by Realtors, to superstition, to faith, to luck or coincidence.What brought all this up is my friends Boom and Miss Nancy. Their house has been on the market for several months with no serious bids. They had lowered the price twice and as of the beginning of July hadn't had a nibble in two weeks. They also had a new house which they needed to close on in August. Our area of NJ is a real buyer's market right now with a glut of homes up for sale. St. Joe went in the ground on July 5th and at an Open House on July 7th, six couples saw the house and one made a cash offer which will expedite the closing.
Coincidence? An up tick in the housing market? Miss Nancy being out of the country? or St. Joe in the ground. Knowing Boom and Nancy, there was probably some prayers to St. Joe for intercession along with the burying of the statue. Maybe that's where the truth lies. Or maybe burying the statue is an act of faith, that God rewards. Not becuase it's magic, but because you put your faith in Him.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Element(al) Bumper Stickers
As many of you know, I have a bright orange Honda Element. It's a fun car and it even gets (sort of) decent mileage - 25 mpg. After seeing an Element ad where they cover the back of the car with bumper stickers, Nate and decided to do the same. The bumper stickers show the places we've been, bands we've seen and things we believe in (sort of a moving version of this blog). There is only one rule - nothing political. That doesn't mean no issues - it just means no "Leave Iraq" or "Vote Whoever 08".
The Cornerstone Festival was a big chance to get stickers so here are the before and after of the back of the Element:
The Cornerstone Festival was a big chance to get stickers so here are the before and after of the back of the Element:
Before & After
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Cornerstone Festival - Final Thoughts
Some final thoughts, impressions, etc from our trip....
The Music - We found new bands and styles we liked, we realized that we really don't like extreme hard core and found out it's really cool to be in the front row (at least Nate did). How many kids can say they saw Switchfoot from the front row? The other cool thing is that the artists are so accessible - the sit at their own merch tables and will talk to you after their show. The guys from Hundred Year Storm were genuinely moved when I told them about Mom and their song "Yesterday We Had it All". The other cool thing that makes the artist real is that some of them stayed right in the Holiday Inn Express with us. Kinda neat to see the Wedding on stage on Wed. night and then see them at the breakfast buffet the next morning.
Faith, God & Religion - Two things that stuck with me here....First, a reminder from Kevin Young of Disciple that God loves us unconditionally, no matter what we do. If we are separated from God/Jesus, it's our doing. Second, from Jamie, the founder of To Write Love on Her Arms, when he talked about deciding to say they were NOT a Christian organization. Jamie said he does the ministry because he is Christian and this is where God has led him, but felt he could be much more effective by not identifying the organization as Christian. Part of it (he said) was the negative connotation of the label "Christian" (how sad!) but also his organization is all about helping people wherever they are. (I started this post on Sunday morning before we left and it was interesting that the priest at church touched on both these topics in his homily.)
The Trip - Sure we could have flown out to the midwest and rented a car to go to Cornerstone, but there is something about the concept of a road trip that is special. Even with his near constant Nintendo DS playing, Nate and I got to talk about religion, politics, school, etc. He also got to see firsthand the vastness of the country and see the mile after mile of corn and soy. Despite the 2277 miles and 33 hours in the car (click here for the route), it was a fun, memorable, experience, not just for the music but the time spent together.
So that's all from Cornerstone - to paraphrase a shirt I bought...
The Music - We found new bands and styles we liked, we realized that we really don't like extreme hard core and found out it's really cool to be in the front row (at least Nate did). How many kids can say they saw Switchfoot from the front row? The other cool thing is that the artists are so accessible - the sit at their own merch tables and will talk to you after their show. The guys from Hundred Year Storm were genuinely moved when I told them about Mom and their song "Yesterday We Had it All". The other cool thing that makes the artist real is that some of them stayed right in the Holiday Inn Express with us. Kinda neat to see the Wedding on stage on Wed. night and then see them at the breakfast buffet the next morning.
Faith, God & Religion - Two things that stuck with me here....First, a reminder from Kevin Young of Disciple that God loves us unconditionally, no matter what we do. If we are separated from God/Jesus, it's our doing. Second, from Jamie, the founder of To Write Love on Her Arms, when he talked about deciding to say they were NOT a Christian organization. Jamie said he does the ministry because he is Christian and this is where God has led him, but felt he could be much more effective by not identifying the organization as Christian. Part of it (he said) was the negative connotation of the label "Christian" (how sad!) but also his organization is all about helping people wherever they are. (I started this post on Sunday morning before we left and it was interesting that the priest at church touched on both these topics in his homily.)
The Trip - Sure we could have flown out to the midwest and rented a car to go to Cornerstone, but there is something about the concept of a road trip that is special. Even with his near constant Nintendo DS playing, Nate and I got to talk about religion, politics, school, etc. He also got to see firsthand the vastness of the country and see the mile after mile of corn and soy. Despite the 2277 miles and 33 hours in the car (click here for the route), it was a fun, memorable, experience, not just for the music but the time spent together.
So that's all from Cornerstone - to paraphrase a shirt I bought...
Keep Worshiping at Full Volume!
Cornerstone Festival - Best of List
Here are a few "best of" awards from me and Nate:
Best Food: Nate - Pizza Hut Cheese Sticks, Dad - Monster Funnel cake
Best Main Stage Act: Nate - tobyMac, Dad - Flyleaf
Best Overall Act: Nate & Dad - Disciple
Loudest: Nate - UnderOath, Dad - Seventh Star
Most Fun Band: Nate - Switchfoot, Dad - Family Force 5
Best We'd Never Seen Before: Nate - Blissed, Dad - Hundred Year Storm
Weirdest Thing We Saw: Nate - Garbage Men in Suits, Dad - Guys in cow costume
Best T-shirt: Nate - "If You Don't Like Showbread, You're an Idiot", Dad - "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" (Honorable Mention to "Virginity Rocks")
Best Food: Nate - Pizza Hut Cheese Sticks, Dad - Monster Funnel cake
Best Main Stage Act: Nate - tobyMac, Dad - Flyleaf
Best Overall Act: Nate & Dad - Disciple
Loudest: Nate - UnderOath, Dad - Seventh Star
Most Fun Band: Nate - Switchfoot, Dad - Family Force 5
Best We'd Never Seen Before: Nate - Blissed, Dad - Hundred Year Storm
Weirdest Thing We Saw: Nate - Garbage Men in Suits, Dad - Guys in cow costume
Best T-shirt: Nate - "If You Don't Like Showbread, You're an Idiot", Dad - "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" (Honorable Mention to "Virginity Rocks")
Cornerstone Festival - The Trip Home
Sunday morning was time to say goodbye to Galesburg and head off for Columbus, OH our stopover for the way home. We headed to Corpus Christi Church more mass before hitting the road. I had been told Catholicism was a bit more conservative in the midwest and Corpus Christi was certainly old school. I was transported back to being Nate's age at St. Anastasia's with the altar biys wearing cassock & surplice, standing by the ambo during the gospel and the use of pattens during communion. Not quite pre-Vatican II but they did sing the Holy, Holy and Lamb of God in Latin. After mass, N "needed" a Bizzard so it was a last stop at DQ.
Sunday night dinner was at Bob Evans, since N says we can't get them in the East. I had the Pot Roast sandwich, which will definitely be off the menu once I start the diet. We stayed at the Comfort Suites ("I've been everywhere, man" says the commercial). It was a Suite - Ok it had a half wall with a couch, microwave and a fridge. Too bad the walls were paper thin and the beds were hard. Holiday Inn Express was much better.
The trip to NJ on Monday was pretty uneventful. We went through Ohio, W. VA, and PA before getting to NJ. I hadn't been on that part of the turnpike and it brought a lot of memories both from taking Nancy to college and VU band trips. We didn't feel the need to visit Breezewood despite the memories there. One cool thing we saw on the turnpike was windmills on top of the mountains east of Pittsburgh near Somerset PA. This farm produces 9 MW of power and the windmills are 210 feet tall with a blade length of 112 feet. Annual pollution offset is 25 million lbs of CO2.
We arrived safely back home around 6 PM and after unloading the car pretty much crashed. It was a long, fun and exhausting trip.
Sunday night dinner was at Bob Evans, since N says we can't get them in the East. I had the Pot Roast sandwich, which will definitely be off the menu once I start the diet. We stayed at the Comfort Suites ("I've been everywhere, man" says the commercial). It was a Suite - Ok it had a half wall with a couch, microwave and a fridge. Too bad the walls were paper thin and the beds were hard. Holiday Inn Express was much better.
The trip to NJ on Monday was pretty uneventful. We went through Ohio, W. VA, and PA before getting to NJ. I hadn't been on that part of the turnpike and it brought a lot of memories both from taking Nancy to college and VU band trips. We didn't feel the need to visit Breezewood despite the memories there. One cool thing we saw on the turnpike was windmills on top of the mountains east of Pittsburgh near Somerset PA. This farm produces 9 MW of power and the windmills are 210 feet tall with a blade length of 112 feet. Annual pollution offset is 25 million lbs of CO2.
We arrived safely back home around 6 PM and after unloading the car pretty much crashed. It was a long, fun and exhausting trip.
Cornerstone Festival - Saturday
Saturday's lineup was loaded up with the Cornerstone's "base" - hard core rockers. The Main Stage featured Norma Jean and Underoath as the headliners. Underoath had the coveted closing spot, which has been POD's for the last couple years. (POD is in the studio this Summer - good we get a new album, but bummer they didn't do Cornerstone).
As I said in the Friday post, Nate and I still had shopping to do, so we hit the merch tents as soon as we got there. I had stopped at the ATM since almost everything is cash at Cornerstone. I got a few more t-shirts, CDs and bumper stickers as well as a book. N picked up an old Disciple CD. Even though he thought a lot of the t-shirts were cool, I think he's still a bit shy about "Living out Loud" - I get that, I would have been the same way at 14. After shopping, we ate what may have been the biggest funnel cake we have ever seen. At least a couple pounds - from a place that deep fries their hot dogs and bacon, too. Obviously we were not counting calories on this trip.
The one non-Hard Core band at the Main Stage was Family Force 5 so we headed up to see them after the funnel cake - we needed the walk. I'm not sure how to categorize them - they have 80's feel with break dancing, but sound current, too. The show they put on is amazing, though - high energy, weird costumes, dancers. If you get a chance to see these guys, go for it, it's a wild show. Nate and I watched this set from the hill and the sound was great - the natural amphitheater works. We stayed up at the Main Stage for some dinner since we though the next band was Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. I know nothing about this band other than that they have gotten good reviews in CCM and have possibly the best band name, ever. Unfortunately, they were a no show and were replaced by August Burns Red, a hard core, slightly screamo group. The set was OK and unintentionally funny - the guitars and bass have the whole rocker stance and synchronized head banging thing going on. We decided to pass on Emery and Norma Jean and come back for Underoath.
Since we had a little time before Hundred Year Storm, we caught about half of a set by The Myriad, an alt rock band out of Seattle. We had heard them on Revolution on Sirius and they even better live. Great sound and very tight vocals and music. Exceptional for being in a tent in a corn field. (An aside here to boo Sirius for dropping Revolution, their Christian Rock station. Maybe they don't have Sirius, but 15,000 people at Cornerstone can't be an anomaly. Now I get my Christian rock online at ChristianRockRadio.com.)
Hundred Year Storm was another "must see" for Nate and me. I'll do a whole post on this, but their song "Yesterday We Had It All" really ministered to me after Mom's death. They didn't do that song (odd since it is their single, but this was also their second set on the Festival) but still were amazing. This is another band that is hard to categorize. They called themselves indie rock, but they also had hints of "art" bands like Renaissance from the 80's. The stage show featured TV's showing videos backing their songs. Turns out the CD also has voice overs behind the music of newscasts, etc. Very eclectic stuff, including instrumentals. They closed with a moving song called "Arms" that featured a harpist and closed with the line "Fall into the arms of Jesus" repeated over and over. Great stuff.
We headed up to the Main Stage to close out the Festival with Underoath and it was packed! The hill was completely covered and the floor of the amphitheater was full, too. We found a spot at the top of the hill where we could see the stage. Underoath was loud and was rocking the place, but about 3 songs in, Nate looked at me and said "I really don't like this" which I had to agree with. I guess we found our "rock limit" - POD, Disciple, Demon Hunter - yes, Underoath and hard core screamo - no. We decided we actually like being able to understand the lyrics.
No encore bands on Saturday, but since we left Underoath early, there were a few bands still playing. We though about more hard rock at the Underground stage, but chose Sleeping at Last at the same stage we saw Hundred Year Storm. They are a 3 man alt band and it was a nice finish to the week. As we headed back to the hotel, we listened to the Hundred Year Storm CD and talked about the week. N didn't even play his DS.
As I said in the Friday post, Nate and I still had shopping to do, so we hit the merch tents as soon as we got there. I had stopped at the ATM since almost everything is cash at Cornerstone. I got a few more t-shirts, CDs and bumper stickers as well as a book. N picked up an old Disciple CD. Even though he thought a lot of the t-shirts were cool, I think he's still a bit shy about "Living out Loud" - I get that, I would have been the same way at 14. After shopping, we ate what may have been the biggest funnel cake we have ever seen. At least a couple pounds - from a place that deep fries their hot dogs and bacon, too. Obviously we were not counting calories on this trip.
The one non-Hard Core band at the Main Stage was Family Force 5 so we headed up to see them after the funnel cake - we needed the walk. I'm not sure how to categorize them - they have 80's feel with break dancing, but sound current, too. The show they put on is amazing, though - high energy, weird costumes, dancers. If you get a chance to see these guys, go for it, it's a wild show. Nate and I watched this set from the hill and the sound was great - the natural amphitheater works. We stayed up at the Main Stage for some dinner since we though the next band was Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. I know nothing about this band other than that they have gotten good reviews in CCM and have possibly the best band name, ever. Unfortunately, they were a no show and were replaced by August Burns Red, a hard core, slightly screamo group. The set was OK and unintentionally funny - the guitars and bass have the whole rocker stance and synchronized head banging thing going on. We decided to pass on Emery and Norma Jean and come back for Underoath.
Since we had a little time before Hundred Year Storm, we caught about half of a set by The Myriad, an alt rock band out of Seattle. We had heard them on Revolution on Sirius and they even better live. Great sound and very tight vocals and music. Exceptional for being in a tent in a corn field. (An aside here to boo Sirius for dropping Revolution, their Christian Rock station. Maybe they don't have Sirius, but 15,000 people at Cornerstone can't be an anomaly. Now I get my Christian rock online at ChristianRockRadio.com.)
Hundred Year Storm was another "must see" for Nate and me. I'll do a whole post on this, but their song "Yesterday We Had It All" really ministered to me after Mom's death. They didn't do that song (odd since it is their single, but this was also their second set on the Festival) but still were amazing. This is another band that is hard to categorize. They called themselves indie rock, but they also had hints of "art" bands like Renaissance from the 80's. The stage show featured TV's showing videos backing their songs. Turns out the CD also has voice overs behind the music of newscasts, etc. Very eclectic stuff, including instrumentals. They closed with a moving song called "Arms" that featured a harpist and closed with the line "Fall into the arms of Jesus" repeated over and over. Great stuff.We headed up to the Main Stage to close out the Festival with Underoath and it was packed! The hill was completely covered and the floor of the amphitheater was full, too. We found a spot at the top of the hill where we could see the stage. Underoath was loud and was rocking the place, but about 3 songs in, Nate looked at me and said "I really don't like this" which I had to agree with. I guess we found our "rock limit" - POD, Disciple, Demon Hunter - yes, Underoath and hard core screamo - no. We decided we actually like being able to understand the lyrics.
No encore bands on Saturday, but since we left Underoath early, there were a few bands still playing. We though about more hard rock at the Underground stage, but chose Sleeping at Last at the same stage we saw Hundred Year Storm. They are a 3 man alt band and it was a nice finish to the week. As we headed back to the hotel, we listened to the Hundred Year Storm CD and talked about the week. N didn't even play his DS.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Cornerstone Festival - The Area
The Cornerstone Festival is held on a 500 acre farm near Bushnell, IL. Where is that, you say? Go to Peoria, IL and head another hour west or go to the Quad Cities and head an hour and half south. As Boom says, "Welcome to the prairie". It is corn and soy beans as far as the eye can see and boy can you see - it is flat. I think the highest elevation I hit was a railroad overpass. Oh yeah, in Galesburg, where we stayed, there was huge train depot. Gotta move that corn somehow...
When Nate and I headed to the Festival everyday, we saw these roads with weird names like 2250 St and 1900 St in the middle of nowhere. When I realized that each "hundred" was a mile, a memory from the deep recesses of my brain came to me - it was Township and Range! This is how the government laid out the West. (http://www.outfitters.com/genealogy/land/twprangemap.html). Thank you to the late, great Dr. Elaine Bosowski for teaching me that in North American Geography at Villanova. Nate's mom and I took that course for fun and I think I may have learned more there than any other class that year.
We drove through 4 little towns every day. Our favorite was St. Augustine (pop 150) which pretty much consisted of a few houses, a post office and a Catholic Church. If it had been a litle closer to Galesburg or I-74, we might have gone to mass there on Sunday.
When Nate and I headed to the Festival everyday, we saw these roads with weird names like 2250 St and 1900 St in the middle of nowhere. When I realized that each "hundred" was a mile, a memory from the deep recesses of my brain came to me - it was Township and Range! This is how the government laid out the West. (http://www.outfitters.com/genealogy/land/twprangemap.html). Thank you to the late, great Dr. Elaine Bosowski for teaching me that in North American Geography at Villanova. Nate's mom and I took that course for fun and I think I may have learned more there than any other class that year.
We drove through 4 little towns every day. Our favorite was St. Augustine (pop 150) which pretty much consisted of a few houses, a post office and a Catholic Church. If it had been a litle closer to Galesburg or I-74, we might have gone to mass there on Sunday.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Nüvi
A diversion from my postings about the Cornerstone Festival to tell you about the Garmin Nüvi. This is a GPS unit and one of the coolest gadgets I own. (www.garmin.com/nuvi) I have the 350 model, as do N&V. It is about the size of a deck of cards and contains maps and listings for the entire US. In a nutshell, you look up where you want to go and it gets you there. It has voice prompts and text-to-speech, so not only do you get "turn right", you get "turn right on Main Street". We have our set on "Emily", the British voice.
So far, it has not steered us wrong. I used it to get to a couple golf courses and it literally gave me directions to the front door of the clubhouse. For the Cornerstone trip, it was awesome. It got us to every hotel, the drop off for Jeff (a tanning salon) and even found the festival. I'm not sure how I lived without it on long trips. It actually had a "shortcut" through a corn field -- still a "real" road - that saves us about 5 minutes going to the festival.
It will recalculate the route if you intentionally or unintentionally go off course. It does have an annoying habit of doing this when you get off for gas or food, but this could be handy if you wander a bit to find that pizza you are longing for.
My favorite feature is when you tell it to 'Go Home". It's like cheap insurance - wherever you are, you can always at least get home.
So far, it has not steered us wrong. I used it to get to a couple golf courses and it literally gave me directions to the front door of the clubhouse. For the Cornerstone trip, it was awesome. It got us to every hotel, the drop off for Jeff (a tanning salon) and even found the festival. I'm not sure how I lived without it on long trips. It actually had a "shortcut" through a corn field -- still a "real" road - that saves us about 5 minutes going to the festival.
It will recalculate the route if you intentionally or unintentionally go off course. It does have an annoying habit of doing this when you get off for gas or food, but this could be handy if you wander a bit to find that pizza you are longing for.
My favorite feature is when you tell it to 'Go Home". It's like cheap insurance - wherever you are, you can always at least get home.
Cornerstone Festival - Organizations and Causes
The merch tents - which officially are called the Exhibition Tents - were host to a varied group of organizations promoting all sorts of causes. Below is a listing of ones I found interesting, not that I necessarily agree or are promoting them:
The One Campaign - http://www.one.org - This is group that is working to end global poverty. They are a coalition of secular and religious organizations working together for change. You probably have seen the ads with Bono and famous actors and actresses.
To Write Love on Her Arms - http://www.twloha.com/ - Ok, so this one I really do think is cool. This is a group that helps kids deal with depression and self-injury. It was started because one guy (the founder, Jaime) helped one girl and has grown into this huge ministry. I think their website describes it best: "TWLOHA's mission is to communicate hope and love to broken people. We also aim to invite and inspire lives of compassion. We believe that "rescue is possible", that we can be rescued and we are called to live as rescuers. In the same way, we believe that all people are loved and called to love others. This is an attempt at community." Despite being founded and run primarily by Christians, they do not consider themselves a "Christian" organization, rather they are doing Christ's work. Nate and I went to a press conference they gave at the Festival, actually it was Nate's idea.
The Fellowship of Reconciliation - http://www.iwillnotkill.org - This is an antiwar/pacifist group that has been around since World War I. What I found interesting is that while they encourage conscientious objection, they really push that youth should make an informed decision, not just sign up.
DiscRevolt.com - This is a company that's trying to change the way music is sold, by giving control to the artists. The concept is that artist upload music to DiscRevolt and then buy download cards which they in turn can sell or give away at concerts. The cards usually have the band's logo on them so it's another form of marketing.
XXXChurch.com - This is an anti-pornography group - they catch attention with wild slogans - a couple of the tamer ones are that they are "The #1 Christian Porn Site" and "Jesus Loves Porn Stars". A bit outlandish, but what I found interesting is that they set up booths not just at Christian events, but at the big porn conventions. Talk about going into the lion's den.
Abort73.com - As you can guess from the name, this is an anti-abortion group. They seem pretty radical, not like blowing up clinics, but really in your face with their slogans and t-shirts.
StopConsuming.org - Their slogan is "The Only Customer of the Church is God". Their idea is that church is not about what we receive but what we should give to the world - grace and love.
The One Campaign - http://www.one.org - This is group that is working to end global poverty. They are a coalition of secular and religious organizations working together for change. You probably have seen the ads with Bono and famous actors and actresses.
To Write Love on Her Arms - http://www.twloha.com/ - Ok, so this one I really do think is cool. This is a group that helps kids deal with depression and self-injury. It was started because one guy (the founder, Jaime) helped one girl and has grown into this huge ministry. I think their website describes it best: "TWLOHA's mission is to communicate hope and love to broken people. We also aim to invite and inspire lives of compassion. We believe that "rescue is possible", that we can be rescued and we are called to live as rescuers. In the same way, we believe that all people are loved and called to love others. This is an attempt at community." Despite being founded and run primarily by Christians, they do not consider themselves a "Christian" organization, rather they are doing Christ's work. Nate and I went to a press conference they gave at the Festival, actually it was Nate's idea.
The Fellowship of Reconciliation - http://www.iwillnotkill.org - This is an antiwar/pacifist group that has been around since World War I. What I found interesting is that while they encourage conscientious objection, they really push that youth should make an informed decision, not just sign up.
DiscRevolt.com - This is a company that's trying to change the way music is sold, by giving control to the artists. The concept is that artist upload music to DiscRevolt and then buy download cards which they in turn can sell or give away at concerts. The cards usually have the band's logo on them so it's another form of marketing.
XXXChurch.com - This is an anti-pornography group - they catch attention with wild slogans - a couple of the tamer ones are that they are "The #1 Christian Porn Site" and "Jesus Loves Porn Stars". A bit outlandish, but what I found interesting is that they set up booths not just at Christian events, but at the big porn conventions. Talk about going into the lion's den.
Abort73.com - As you can guess from the name, this is an anti-abortion group. They seem pretty radical, not like blowing up clinics, but really in your face with their slogans and t-shirts.
StopConsuming.org - Their slogan is "The Only Customer of the Church is God". Their idea is that church is not about what we receive but what we should give to the world - grace and love.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Cornerstone Festival - Friday
Friday, we headed down to the Festival around the "usual" late afternoon time frame. N had seen a promo for a band called Blissed that wanted to check out and we both wanted to hit the merch tent before the nighttime acts on the Main Stage. We were pretty excited since the lineup was Pillar, Flyleaf and Switchfoot. Friday night is a short lineup of music, since they have a worship service around dinner time. We decided to hit the merch tent and eat during the worship service - I can hear it already - some scripture reference about God and money. The worship service was run by Jesus People USA (who put on Cornerstone) - http://www.jpusa.org and I suspected there would be an altar call and a love offering. Not that we wouldn't have enjoyed the worship music but I've heard the altar call talk enough times.
Nate made a good choice with Blissed. They are a band out of Toronto who play what I would call 80's rock. Just check out the singer in the pic. The music was good though N said it more my type than his. Funny moment during the half hour set - two guys who were older than me did a chest bump during one of the songs - I said "adult moshing", N says "senior moshing" - nice...
After Blissed and a little dinner, we hit the merch tents - hard. It's possible that Mr. P would still be there buying stuff and talking to vendors, bands and organizations. I bought some shirts and CDs but didn't really have time to hit all the stuff before the time came to head for the main stage. A plan was made to get there earlier on Sat., both to maybe catch so other "new" (at least to us) bands and to have more time in the merch tent. N headed up to the Main Stage and I went to the car to drop off the loot.
N did very well on scoring a good spot - I found him the front row on the (audience) left of the stage. I took up my picture taking spot - a little left and back. Even w/o moshing, the front row is no place for me and my camera. Although the crowd for Pillar was good, the ones for Flyleaf and Switchfoot were the biggest so far. N and I decided it was "mainstream" night since they both have had crossover success. God treated us to another spectacular sunset....
Pillar rocked the place as expected, playing old and new stuff. Flyleaf was amazing - their lead singer, Lacey Mosley, is this pixie of a girl who is so passionate and emotional in her singing. A lot of their songs are based on her personal experience which was pretty rough. Switchfoot was flat out great - they rocked, they were tight and the sound was good (even next to the speaker with earplugs). One cool thing was that both Lacey and Jon Foreman (Switchfoot's lead) did a little "preaching" - both bands are "Christian by faith, not genre" - I guess at a Christian event they can let their guard down a little. Jon talked about being "one" - not dividing the body of Christ before they did "We are One Tonight".
After the Mage Stage acts, N and I headed to a set that we had circled on the schedule as soon as we saw it - Disciple. The show was in one of the "encore" tents and started at midnight, so it was a smaller crowd. It was, though, one of the best shows we saw - it rocked, it had worship and had one of the craziest mosh pits we saw the whole festival. (An aside on moshing - I'm not sure I like it, especially at a Christian event. I know it's just supposed to be about energy, but it always, to me, seems to have an edge of trying to hurt each other). Nate and I were just behind the mosh pit and the music was awesome. Even better, right in the middle of the set, Kevin Young, the lead singer, read from Psalm 139 and talked about how God loves us unconditionally. It was probably the best teaching I heard all week. This show embodied what I like about Chritian rock - it's loud, but teaches and worships God.
Nate made a good choice with Blissed. They are a band out of Toronto who play what I would call 80's rock. Just check out the singer in the pic. The music was good though N said it more my type than his. Funny moment during the half hour set - two guys who were older than me did a chest bump during one of the songs - I said "adult moshing", N says "senior moshing" - nice...
After Blissed and a little dinner, we hit the merch tents - hard. It's possible that Mr. P would still be there buying stuff and talking to vendors, bands and organizations. I bought some shirts and CDs but didn't really have time to hit all the stuff before the time came to head for the main stage. A plan was made to get there earlier on Sat., both to maybe catch so other "new" (at least to us) bands and to have more time in the merch tent. N headed up to the Main Stage and I went to the car to drop off the loot.
N did very well on scoring a good spot - I found him the front row on the (audience) left of the stage. I took up my picture taking spot - a little left and back. Even w/o moshing, the front row is no place for me and my camera. Although the crowd for Pillar was good, the ones for Flyleaf and Switchfoot were the biggest so far. N and I decided it was "mainstream" night since they both have had crossover success. God treated us to another spectacular sunset....
Pillar rocked the place as expected, playing old and new stuff. Flyleaf was amazing - their lead singer, Lacey Mosley, is this pixie of a girl who is so passionate and emotional in her singing. A lot of their songs are based on her personal experience which was pretty rough. Switchfoot was flat out great - they rocked, they were tight and the sound was good (even next to the speaker with earplugs). One cool thing was that both Lacey and Jon Foreman (Switchfoot's lead) did a little "preaching" - both bands are "Christian by faith, not genre" - I guess at a Christian event they can let their guard down a little. Jon talked about being "one" - not dividing the body of Christ before they did "We are One Tonight".
Flyleaf & Switchfoot
After the Mage Stage acts, N and I headed to a set that we had circled on the schedule as soon as we saw it - Disciple. The show was in one of the "encore" tents and started at midnight, so it was a smaller crowd. It was, though, one of the best shows we saw - it rocked, it had worship and had one of the craziest mosh pits we saw the whole festival. (An aside on moshing - I'm not sure I like it, especially at a Christian event. I know it's just supposed to be about energy, but it always, to me, seems to have an edge of trying to hurt each other). Nate and I were just behind the mosh pit and the music was awesome. Even better, right in the middle of the set, Kevin Young, the lead singer, read from Psalm 139 and talked about how God loves us unconditionally. It was probably the best teaching I heard all week. This show embodied what I like about Chritian rock - it's loud, but teaches and worships God.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Cornerstone Festival - Musings
As I said before, it's a pretty eclectic group of people here at Cornerstone. In theory, what unites all (or the vast majority) is that we call ourselves "Christians". So what does that mean with such diversity? I'm sure there are people here who wouldn't consider me a Christian being Catholic and all and others that would look down on the kids in black with bullets for a belt. To me, it's simple, you only need to believe that God loves us unconditionally, Jesus died for our sins and that every blessing we receive is through God's grace. Sure, there's a lot of other stuff I believe because I'm a Catholic, but they just make me Catholic, not Christian.
The Cornerstone Survival Guide (http://www.cstonesurvival.com) had some good ideas along these lines....
The Cornerstone Survival Guide (http://www.cstonesurvival.com) had some good ideas along these lines....
- "Be prepared to be offended. Not everyone shares your views on abortion, homosexuality, the death penalty or the Clinton presidency. If you find that someone is wearing a t-shirt espousing views that you don't like, ignore them. Or better yet, talk to them about it. You may make a new friend, and more importantly, you may learn something.
- Not everyone holds to the same "holiness standard" that you do. Some people smoke, drink, and wear two-piece bathing suits. Try and focus on the beams in your own eyes before plucking slivers out of theirs.
- Remember that not everyone has had the blessing and benefit of a good upbringing. Sometimes the people who seem to be the most rude and obnoxious are at Cornerstone because they really are trying to live a Christian life. It isn't easy for a lot of people to transcend their upbringing (or lack thereof), show grace and understanding with such people. This doesn't mean that you should be a pushover, or should tolerate abusive or dangerous behavior. It just means that you should try and settle problems with people in a gracious and understanding way, rather than immediately going to security."
Cornerstone Festival - Thursday
Before heading out today, we got ear plugs and had lunch at a Dairy Queen which we can't do in the East. Pretty much same quality as a Wendy's I'd say.
The main stage bands were supposed to be Pigeon John, Skillet, Anberlin and Relient K. Unfortunately, Relient K's bus caught fire on the PA Tpk, so they were a no-show. (http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=69670&r=1). They are just one of the many bands trying to do both Creation and Cornerstone. Stupid to schedule them the same w/e if you ask me. So without Relient K, Anberlin became the headliner and they added Jonezetta as one of the openers. Pigeon John was LA hip-hop which neither N or I cared for. Jonezetta was ok - pretty standard rock stuff.
Before the headliners, there was an awesome sunset. This pic shows the sunset and also the "natural" amphitheater that the main stage sits in.
Skillet and Anberlin blew the place away. Serious wall of sound stuff - N was 2nd row and I was just slightly further back but with no one in front of me so I could get pics. Both N and I had our hearing protection and it made a world of difference. You could still feel the bass (are your pants supposed to move by themselves to the music?) but no numb ears in the morning. It cuts out some of the treble and maybe muddies the sound a bit but that may have been the mixer. I saw another post where they complained about Anberlin being too much bass and distortion. I thought Skillet's mix was much better.
As we walked out, we stopped at one of the "after hours" shows - a band called Seventh Star. Very screamo but you could still hear the message - I think one of the line was "you can't do that in God's house". N and I haven't done a lot of it, but if you just wander around there are bands playing everywhere and you might just happen on something good (or really bad ). Anyway the weather was cool and cloudy so we weren't completely wiped by the end of the day.
The main stage bands were supposed to be Pigeon John, Skillet, Anberlin and Relient K. Unfortunately, Relient K's bus caught fire on the PA Tpk, so they were a no-show. (http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=69670&r=1). They are just one of the many bands trying to do both Creation and Cornerstone. Stupid to schedule them the same w/e if you ask me. So without Relient K, Anberlin became the headliner and they added Jonezetta as one of the openers. Pigeon John was LA hip-hop which neither N or I cared for. Jonezetta was ok - pretty standard rock stuff.
Before the headliners, there was an awesome sunset. This pic shows the sunset and also the "natural" amphitheater that the main stage sits in.
Skillet and Anberlin blew the place away. Serious wall of sound stuff - N was 2nd row and I was just slightly further back but with no one in front of me so I could get pics. Both N and I had our hearing protection and it made a world of difference. You could still feel the bass (are your pants supposed to move by themselves to the music?) but no numb ears in the morning. It cuts out some of the treble and maybe muddies the sound a bit but that may have been the mixer. I saw another post where they complained about Anberlin being too much bass and distortion. I thought Skillet's mix was much better.
Skillet & Anberlin
As we walked out, we stopped at one of the "after hours" shows - a band called Seventh Star. Very screamo but you could still hear the message - I think one of the line was "you can't do that in God's house". N and I haven't done a lot of it, but if you just wander around there are bands playing everywhere and you might just happen on something good (or really bad ). Anyway the weather was cool and cloudy so we weren't completely wiped by the end of the day.
Cornerstone Festival - Wednesday Night
Nate and I headed back to the Festival around 4 and got to watch a thunderstorm pass just east of us and the festival. I love how you can see the whole storm and that it is a lot further away and bigger than it seems. Not sure I could live in a flat tree-less land but it's cool to visit and for N to experience - he's been East coast/west coast but this is his first visit to the Heartland.
We spent the whole night up at the Main Stage. David Crowder and tobyMac were the headliners, but the Wedding, Everyday Sunday and Fireflight were pretty good "openers". N and I were about 20 feet from the stage for both DCB and tobymac. Both were awesome in different ways. DCB gets everyone moving and I think N called it "rock worship".
David Crowder did a version of Come thou Fount that melded in Amazing Grace that just rocked but also was so worshipful. Even though the rain had cooled it off a bit, it was packed in and moving by the stage so we were drenched. Not sure my old ears and knees are really up for this but I'm loving it.
TobyMac was as always out of control. The crowd seemed a bit subdued at the beginning but really got into when he did the old dcTalk In the Light. He ended with Jesus Freak and Extreme Days - and pretty much brought the house down. N and I were way too close to the speakers - my left ear still feels muddled today. Might need some ear plugs.
We didn't get back until almost 1 AM and N slept almost to 11 AM. Nate is having a blast - jumping, head banging, worshipping - no mosh pit though - I do need to bring him back to his Mom in one piece!
We spent the whole night up at the Main Stage. David Crowder and tobyMac were the headliners, but the Wedding, Everyday Sunday and Fireflight were pretty good "openers". N and I were about 20 feet from the stage for both DCB and tobymac. Both were awesome in different ways. DCB gets everyone moving and I think N called it "rock worship".
David Crowder did a version of Come thou Fount that melded in Amazing Grace that just rocked but also was so worshipful. Even though the rain had cooled it off a bit, it was packed in and moving by the stage so we were drenched. Not sure my old ears and knees are really up for this but I'm loving it.
TobyMac was as always out of control. The crowd seemed a bit subdued at the beginning but really got into when he did the old dcTalk In the Light. He ended with Jesus Freak and Extreme Days - and pretty much brought the house down. N and I were way too close to the speakers - my left ear still feels muddled today. Might need some ear plugs.
We didn't get back until almost 1 AM and N slept almost to 11 AM. Nate is having a blast - jumping, head banging, worshipping - no mosh pit though - I do need to bring him back to his Mom in one piece!
Cornerstone Festival - Wednesday Afternoon
Wednesday is the first "official" day of Cornerstone, not just for me and Nate but for the music and everything else. You can actually get there on Monday to setup camp (N said no camping and I agreed) and Tuesday have some music sponsored by some of the record labels.
N and I headed to the Festival around noon to get the lay of the land - I had no idea what to expect. Even though things were just getting started, I could tell Cornerstone was huge both in the stuff going on and the physical size of the farm. N and I walked around the whole property - we checked out the Main Stage (as you can see in the pic), the merch tent, and some of the food. It was in the high 80s and none of the bands we really wanted to see were playing yet so we headed back to the hotel to chill (literally) for a while. It's a 45 minute ride each way but the car is air conditioned and there are very few trees at the Festival - welcome to the prairie.
A couple initial impressions (though they certainly are influenced by that this is Sat AM when I'm writing and we have 3 nights of rocking under our belt)....I'm not really sure how to describe Cornerstone - It's big and sprawling but has a wildness about it - I think it feels somehow random even though I'm sure it's highly organized, it just doesn't have that corporate feel about it. The people here are as diverse as they come - maybe not so much in race, but you have aging hippies with pony tails, emo kids, goths, families with kids and babies and "generic" teenagers, as well as the guys like me who probably go to a corporate job during the week. The camping is completely crazy - people drop a tent next to the road, next to a stage that has music until 2 AM, anywhere almost.
N and I headed to the Festival around noon to get the lay of the land - I had no idea what to expect. Even though things were just getting started, I could tell Cornerstone was huge both in the stuff going on and the physical size of the farm. N and I walked around the whole property - we checked out the Main Stage (as you can see in the pic), the merch tent, and some of the food. It was in the high 80s and none of the bands we really wanted to see were playing yet so we headed back to the hotel to chill (literally) for a while. It's a 45 minute ride each way but the car is air conditioned and there are very few trees at the Festival - welcome to the prairie.
A couple initial impressions (though they certainly are influenced by that this is Sat AM when I'm writing and we have 3 nights of rocking under our belt)....I'm not really sure how to describe Cornerstone - It's big and sprawling but has a wildness about it - I think it feels somehow random even though I'm sure it's highly organized, it just doesn't have that corporate feel about it. The people here are as diverse as they come - maybe not so much in race, but you have aging hippies with pony tails, emo kids, goths, families with kids and babies and "generic" teenagers, as well as the guys like me who probably go to a corporate job during the week. The camping is completely crazy - people drop a tent next to the road, next to a stage that has music until 2 AM, anywhere almost.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Cornerstone Festival - The Trip Out
OK, so maybe Friday of the Festival is a bit late to start blogging on Cornestone, but the idea to stop sending email and start blogging only came to me last night. Hey, I'm 43, not 23 and part of the texting and blogging generation. Anyway, a lot of the blog so far will excerpted from emails I've sent - cheating? sure but their my emails. Thanks to Boom and Nancy for putting up with my long winded emails about this trip.
So we headed out on Monday, 6/25 for the heartland. It was me, Nate and Jeff (my landlord's wife's son) leaving just at 9 AM as planned. Jeff was with with us since his Dad (who he spends the summer with) lives about 30 miles off of the planned route to Cornerstone. Jeff and Nate spent most of the trip (OK, all of the trip) playing their Nintendo DS's. It's pretty cool - the DS's can talk to each other so they can chat or see each other if they are playing the same game. Day 1 was home to Angola, IN - about 10 hours with stops. Pretty uneventful - I-80 for lots and lots of miles. I loved when the Nüvi at one point said "Next Turn in 328 miles". One note on Angola - not much there except for the intersection of 2 interstates and some outlets. 2 comments from Jeff - "good thing Mom isn't here or we'd never get away from here" and (to me) "they don't call it a pie in IN - it's pizza - if you order a pie they think you want an apple pie".
The second day was drop off day for Jeff. We got him safely to his Aunt at the Troppa-tanna Tanning Salon and were back off to Cornerstone. I listened to my iPod on random to keep sane while N kept on with the DS. We drove through a couple classic midwest storms today - we could se them coming for miles and then watched the rain come like a line. Not sure why it's that way more out here, maybe the terrain. We drove almost all the way to Iowa before heading south on I-74. We got safely here to Galesburg (the birthplace of Carl Sandburg - who knew?). About 7 hours on the road.
So we headed out on Monday, 6/25 for the heartland. It was me, Nate and Jeff (my landlord's wife's son) leaving just at 9 AM as planned. Jeff was with with us since his Dad (who he spends the summer with) lives about 30 miles off of the planned route to Cornerstone. Jeff and Nate spent most of the trip (OK, all of the trip) playing their Nintendo DS's. It's pretty cool - the DS's can talk to each other so they can chat or see each other if they are playing the same game. Day 1 was home to Angola, IN - about 10 hours with stops. Pretty uneventful - I-80 for lots and lots of miles. I loved when the Nüvi at one point said "Next Turn in 328 miles". One note on Angola - not much there except for the intersection of 2 interstates and some outlets. 2 comments from Jeff - "good thing Mom isn't here or we'd never get away from here" and (to me) "they don't call it a pie in IN - it's pizza - if you order a pie they think you want an apple pie".
The second day was drop off day for Jeff. We got him safely to his Aunt at the Troppa-tanna Tanning Salon and were back off to Cornerstone. I listened to my iPod on random to keep sane while N kept on with the DS. We drove through a couple classic midwest storms today - we could se them coming for miles and then watched the rain come like a line. Not sure why it's that way more out here, maybe the terrain. We drove almost all the way to Iowa before heading south on I-74. We got safely here to Galesburg (the birthplace of Carl Sandburg - who knew?). About 7 hours on the road.
First Post....
OK everybody, I've decided to jump into the blogoshpere. A couple inspirations - first, I'm doing a blog at work for a weight loss contest we are having (more on that in future posts) and second, I've been having such fun writing about our trip to the Cornerstone Festival that I figured I'd use a blog rather than typing the same thing to lots of people in email. And, oh yeah, posting pictures here is easier than trying to resize and send lots of email.
Hope you enjoy it - I think you can subscribe via RSS (if you don't know what that is, ask someone Nate's age!) and you will get updates whenever I post. The next bunch are going to be about our (ongoing) trip to the Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, IL (http://www.cornerstonefestival.com).
Hope you enjoy it - I think you can subscribe via RSS (if you don't know what that is, ask someone Nate's age!) and you will get updates whenever I post. The next bunch are going to be about our (ongoing) trip to the Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, IL (http://www.cornerstonefestival.com).
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