Doug Van Pelt

Cornerstone.5

Started my Fourth of July Independence Day celebration by catching my first show at 3pm. It was the bouncing, raw, melodic and poppy metal sounds of Main Line Riders (Cliffy Huntington's new band). They sound bratty, on, and energetic. A nice start to the day. Half an hour later it was the crazy experience known as a Grave Robber show. Clad in Creep Show style dripping flesh and skull masks and rag-tag black outfits, the band made the entire show a themed experience, with the frontman spouting quotes about dying to self, putting off sin, destroying Satan, complacency, and the choice of death now or death forever. The band was a tight metal band that didn't let the visual show overpower its performance. Fans of The Misfits would love this band, I think, due to its true blue inspired show and quality songs. Many of them were sing-along-able, including a Misfits cover with a guest vocalist. Then there was the chainsaw and then the giant squirt gun filled with fake blood. Most of us got pretty soaked with the sticky red substance. These guys simply ruled. A must-have experience, to be sure.

After a myriad of daytime and generator stage performances, the entire festival pretty much shut down to focus on the Main Stage celebration of the festival's 25th anniversary. I was hoping to see lots of vintage footage on the giant video screens, like the 20th Anniversary (but seeing the HM Spot several times was a joy), but this celebration was pretty much performance only. Flatfoot 56 started things off and their loyal crowd was there en masse to help party. A giant moshpit featuring flagholders and lots of energy was unleashed. The next act was one not to be overlooked -- The Lee Boys rocked the joint a la lap pedal steel style. Robert Randolph and his family band would've been proud the way this band rocked. Mike Farris took the stage next for his 3-song set. He would have ratched things much further and ripped away any ceilings of restraint had he had his whole band rocking with him. Alas, he was doing it solo. The life of the songs shone through and it was good, but those of us that've seen his whole band before know what was missing.

The Glorious Unseen played some melodic and raw worship songs at the end of the catwalk that jutted out from the Main Stage. The 77s came on next and played one new song, their mega-indentifiable number "The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes and the Pride of Life," followed by their Zeppified version of the Blind Willie Johnson cover, "Nobody's Fault But Mine." It sounded nostalgic, but would've ripped if the stage volume would've been screaming those riffs through the twilight sky.

Michael Gungor Band shared their hip, politically-fused and acoustic-based rock worship with the crowd. Josh Garrels followed with some of the same, but slightly more soulful. The Lost Dogs shared some fun old tunes after a respectful introduction by John Thompson, which broke down the numbers in the collective musical experience inside this outfit. Fest director John Herrin introduced his longtime friend and bandmate, Glenn Kaiser, whose band rocked hard yet laid back and bluesy.

Over The Rhine was rightfully introduced as an incredible gem with Cornerstone roots (alongside such greats as P.O.D., Sixpence None The Richer, and Mute Math). The band brought their distinctive and beautiful sound with another one of those "crowd the entire band at the end of the catwalk" sets. Robbie Seay Band got to experience his first Cornerstone as part of a nice big celebration. This was more than just a birthday bash for the festival; as it was obvious that worshipping the Lord was an important goal. Charlie Peacock came on next and offered some praise tunes of his while he and others implemented communion with the crowd (with thousands of tiny cups with grapce juice and a wafer inside were dispensed). It was a solemn and joyous event. It was dark by this time and there was also tons of candles in the crowd that highlighted the grass bowl natural amphitheater.

David Crowder Band came on last to close out the night's big event. He romped through about a full set of songs from Remedy and many of his other well-known worship songs. The bluegrass-like "hoedown" version of "I Saw The Light" kept the crowd light-hearted, as did the Guitar Hero controller song introduction and jam. A full-blown fireworks display from the lake's peninsula followed, which was so cool it might've caused more than a few people like myself to miss the very first song from the reunited Living Sacrifice "Evening Encore" performance. They had a tent bursting from the sides as they blazed through a furious set of tunes that sounded as tight and brutal as the last time they played (about five years ago). They really sounded on and as if they just stepped right back into their roles as if it were only yesterday. Bruce Fitzhugh made it a point to clarify the permanent basis of the band. "This isn't a one-off," he proclaimed. When they played "Enthroned," the amazingly fast fret fingering between Fitzhugh and Rocky Gray was amazing. Lance Garvin's thunderous drumming was incredible. Wow. Having missed the tour with Demon Hunter, I now felt almost completely absolved for missing that show by seeing this longer one. Living Sacrifice exceeded my very high expectations.

After Living Sacrifice finished with an encore, there was still noise coming from the Encore II Tent that housed mewithoutYou cutting loose. Their tent was packed like sardines all the way to the back -- packing in more people than had witnessed the Living Sacrifice show. After the fading lines about a "brownish spider" they launched into my favorite tune of theirs -- "Feed The Goats." It's always a high point of their show and many were singing along to the repeating line of: "...the trap I've set for you has caught my leg instead." They performed not just one encore, which was sweet. The second was "February 1979," which Aaron Weiss coaxed the audience to start with a faux feedback sound to mimic the feeling of "watching something (spontaneously) happen" inside the studio. He even sang a few verses with his shirt over the top of his head, like a gradeschool kid imitating Cornholio or something. Quite funny to see him having fun up there, even at the end of an energy-draining show. There was a bunch of people on stage for the final number, and lots of onstage hugging and friendly audience salutations followed. This band always seems to bring it. If someone's keeping a written record of "magical" or "great shows" by this band, their fingers are probably cramped from logging in so many show entries.