Cornerstone 2004 Review
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The 21st annual Cornerstone Festival has come and gone. What was the standout highlight? Was it the amazing set by The Alarm or was it the cool weather? Or should it be judged by the bands whose CDs I want to listen to more and more as a result of a great show (like Sleeping At Last)? Whatever criteria used, there were many moments of raw joy that took place in Bushnell, Illinois this year over 4 days this past July 4th weekend.
The weather this year was simply outstanding. Sure, it was dusty, and it did rain on Friday and Saturday (bringing out the “mud people”), but the temperature was a cool 82 to 84 degrees throughout the four days (slightly cooler in the mornings and just after the rains). This was a marked improvement of year’s past, where temperatures spiked closer to 100 degrees and the human body’s endurance and survival abilities were sorely tested.
The Alarm
Rounding out a solid Friday night after the mainstage bill featuring Further Seems Forever, Blindside, and P.O.D. (as well as a gallery stage set by The Lost Dogs) was a highly-anticipated and first-time appearance for Cornerstone – The Alarm. It was funny to walk into the full Gallery Stage tent and see the older crowd sitting quietly in chairs and tables, as if a repeat of the quieter and mellow moments of The Lost Dogs were about to take place. Nothing could be further from the truth, and once The Alarm took the stage behind spoken word poet Billy Lamont the space in front of all the chairs was immediately filled with enthusiastic fans who remembered and knew what kind of rousing rock and roll was to follow. For the next 90 to 100 minutes an English band commanded the stage with a quiet confidence that seemed to be a notch above 98% of every other performance over the weekend. Maybe it was the bias of these ears, but I’m more inclined to think it was the power of flat-out great songs (of which this band’s catalog is full of) that kept coming, right on top of each other.
Vocalist Mike Peters voiced a great enthusiasm to finally be playing a festival that he’d known about for so long. This man knows how to work a crowd, and each of the four members (which have backed various bands, like Big Country, Kim Wild, and Stiff Little Fingers) were consummate professionals at their craft, adding fills and licks at just the right times and never slipping or leaving a gap in the full and big sound. Punks dressed in black and studs were hopping nearly the entire time, as classic punk rock anthems like “The Stand” and “Marching On” and “Sixty Eight Guns” fired off like so many Independence Day fireworks. It’s ironic that some of Cstone’s legendary performances seem to always take place on July 4th – and are performed by British bands (like Iona a few years ago). Much to the crowd’s delight, Peters told the story of how they’d released their latest album, In The Poppyfields disguised as a younger band’s output, which shot up the charts and proved that people respond more to image than substance these days. Many songs from this new album were part of the set and, while not immediately recognizable to much of the crowd, fit in perfectly to the high-energy onslaught: “Coming Home,” “The Drunk And The Disorderly,” which Peters introduced as something that most of the audience probably didn’t identify with, “The Unexplained” and “Right Back Where I Started From.” About a dozen legitimate great songs were left off the setlist (“The Rock,” “No Frontiers,” “Newtown Jericho,” “Permanence In Change,” “Presence of Love,” and “Sold Me Down The River” just to name a few), it felt like a complete snapshot of a hungry and vital band touring their new album. The Alarm are truly (but unrecognized as such) one of the best rock bands of all time.
Sidenote: A friend of mine reported that a fellow came to the merch table next to the backstage area during The Alarm set, asking, “That cover song that they just played (“Rain In The Summertime”), who originally did that song?” My friend politely answered, “That was this band, The Alarm.” To which the persistent fan dismissed, “No, but that song was a big hit by a secular band. What was the original band’s name?” Without laughing at this poor guy, my friend gently told him, “The band which wrote the song and had the big hit was The Alarm.” Strange things like this happen every once in a while in the strange subculture we call the “Christian music scene.” By and large, though, the audience for this show “got it” and sang along enthusiastically throughout the show.
Sleeping At Last
With little fanfare and a ridiculously small audience (it was a relatively full tent, but with a comfortable space between each person), Sleeping At Last began their 9pm set with chiming guitars and lots of keys (courtesy Roland, Rhodes, and a Yamaha digital piano). While comparisons to Aireline, Copeland, and even Thom Yorke’s vocals may come to mind, “beautiful” would be a more apt description. This band manages to mesmerize its audience and take it somewhere cool and dreamy. Playing its fifth Cornerstone, the band was able to showcase its Ghost material for the first time here. The band is super tight live and crafts a full and lush wall of sound that becomes a slippery slope that trips the listener up and sucks you down into vocalist Ryan O’Neal’s hypnotic journey. The band defines its own sound and diversifies by switching between guitars and keyboards to carry the melody along.
Norma Jean
Always a crowd favorite, it’s amazing that this band can alter its lineup and still deliver the controlled chaos that they are live. The band played a perfectly timed “evening encore” that began at midnight on Friday and went well past 1am. They set up a large projection screen at stage right to occasionally show moving picture images that add to the band’s stark and strange image. Marilyn Manson would be proud of both the campy and institutional vibe that comes across with these tasteful images. These visuals acted as a perfect break from watching the band gyrate and crash around the stage, with their silhouettes lit up by intense strobe lights. The new vocalist, Cory, introduced himself as the new guy and staked his claim as this band’s more than capable frontman. Adding to the show’s celebratory nature, mewithoutYou singer Aaron Weiss joined them onstage for a song, bouncing around between other stage members like a pinball, adding his trademark spins between each collision. The band’s last vocalist, Josh Scogin, came out as well, dueting with Cory and riding on shoulders and launched into the audience more than once. Derr and Scottie Henry both played some cool hammer-on runs with their left hands, while holding their picking fingers under their nose, looking at each other like it was a secret handshake or something. The stage saw lots of flips, rolling on the floor, and fun mayhem. Norma Jean’s sound features the all-out intensity of death metal, but it is broken up like those stroboscopic silhouettes into stutter steps that make it slightly more melodic and pleasing to the ear. The crowd was equally into it, of course, which left both fan and audience spent after this fantastic show.
[Spoken Word Everywhere]
Spoken word poet Bradley Hathoway opened up Norma Jean’s set with a brilliant mix of humor, commentary, and edification – filled with tons of cultural commonalities that instantly connect with anyone in the scene. He touched on subjects like hardcore dancing, tight pants, emo, touching a girl’s boobies (yes, he used that word), sex, marriage, and love – all the while tying it together with the conviction befitting a follower of Christ. This kid is a must-hear / must-see, who I hope gets major exposure and the ability to express his generation’s voice. Even if (and especially because) he uses irreverent language, he scores big-time with his performances.
Bill Lamont, who helped form Circle of Dust with Klay Scott back in the day, spoke before The Alarm’s set. It also fit the context of a rock music concert context like a glove. His impassioned delivery and content about equal love treatment to everyone, got the crowd roaring with applause, as did the dedication to Larry Norman. Rob Lacey also did some dramatic spoken word on the mainstage. Thus, this year’s festival showed that spoken word is back in a big way, ready to commingle with rock and roll.
P.O.D.
I felt like Richie Cunningham in that Happy Days episode where he kept it a secret all week long that a famous rock band was staying at his house, and he couldn’t tell anybody. I was privy to a conversation with P.O.D.’s management team earlier in the year when I was up in Bartlesville, OK for the New Band Tournament finals, where I heard P.O.D.’s plan to surprise the audience by popping up at the end of the catwalk for their grand entrance. I staked my place at that location, peaking underneath for flashlights that would be leading the band members secretly to the end. I hadn’t told anyone about it (save for David Allen and my wife, of course) and I felt like the insider man standing around all these unsuspecting kids. I wondered, ‘Would they freak out if they looked underneath the platform and saw them?’ I figured they would shoot off some fireworks or something to distract the crowd while they crawled underneath the platform. Much to my surprise, however, Jason Truby came out after the stage lights went black, strumming a heavy and repetitious low note. Then Wuv and Traa. ‘Surely, it’s just Sonny that’s making the secret entrance.’ Much to my surprise, however, Sonny came strolling out on the stage and the band began. So much for my anticipated perfect location to see the start. It was, however, a great place to see the show. The band is so loved by its fans and has such a great, heavy sound that even an average performance is a great experience. Sonny took advantage of an audience that wanted to sing along to most every chorus, dipping the mic into the crowd at about every opportunity. Seeing both Truby and Traa (with his long dreds flying) dance around in front of the giant flames was a really cool visual.
Project 86
Like many of the Tooth & Nail artists, Project 86 played a set on Thursday (“Tooth & Nail Day”) and another set later on in the weekend. During their Thursday set, Andrew told the crowd he would sing the words to “Stein’s Theme” the following night, but wanted the audience to sing it this time. It was one of those intense and magic moments where a crowd pulses with powerful energy. They were clapping along in the air, keeping cadence with every verse and every word. It was so cool to look around and see people madly singing along as if their vocal performance actually mattered. It did matter, and it made the moment unforgettable. The following night’s performance was dead-on as well, and not a single audience member felt like it was redundant to see the band two nights in a row.
MeWithoutYou
If it were possible, this great band keeps getting better. The band put on a great show that made me feel like I was in a London pub with the enthusiastic audience enthusiastically demanding to be a part of the show, almost breathing with the band as they clapped and sang along. Scotty Krueger of Psalters accompanied Aaron on one song, and a friend named Ozelle came out in another and stole the mic from Aaron for a few lines, before Aaron, in mock violence, stole it back. Aaron shared from the heart, as usual, which makes the show part quiet humility and devotion and part spastic musical outlet. The band also shines on their own, staking their claim that they are musicians and not just backups for a one-man show.
Zao
This band ended Friday night on the HM Magazine Stage with a ferocious set of insane riffing and a little bit of visual mayhem (what you’d expect from Russ Cogdell) and an audience that constantly clapped along, being “right there” with the band for the entire night. It was sad and interesting to hear an audience member curse at Bryan Gray when he announced that the band couldn’t play an encore. Maybe his chant / response to “one more song” with “pre-order the album” wasn’t the right attitude to not invite such a response. The crowd dispersed frustrated, but at least dosed with the full intensity of the new Zao, which guitarist Scott Mellinger once again promised, “This band will never break up. This lineup will never change.” Here’s hoping…
As I Lay Dying
Drummer Jordan Mancino really stood out during this great fest-ending set. He pounds the skins like the great ones (Bonham, Grohl), and he doesn’t let up throughout the entire set. He even manages some helicopters with his hair. Like a few Tourniquet shows I’ve seen in the past, it would be worthwhile to watch this band play from behind the drum stool. He’s good. The twin guitar attack of Nick Hipa and Phillip Sgrosso showed that these other guys aren’t slouches, either. A perfect and brutal ending to a great festival this year.
Switchfoot
These guys were sort of like returning heroes to the Cornerstone Festival, since they have blown up so much during the last year. The band started with “Dare You To Move” and kept the mood high energy for a good 45 minutes, slowing down only for “Twenty-Four” near the end of the set. As expected, there were a lot of girls present, many of which took to crowd surfing during “This Is Your Life.” The three guitars together sounded really tight and it rocked. They played a new song called “Stars,” which fit right into The Beautiful Letdown style, and would do well on radio, but my first impression would assess it by saying it’s not catchier than “Meant To Live,” which played next to last. It started off with a great left-to-right guitar pan of those opening riffs, and the audience took over lead vocals with an extended chorus. Afterwards Jon Foreman came out solo and played harmonica (“For the first time in public,” he said) and guitar for a cover of “With God On Our Side.”
Annie Quick
This rocker is downright fun. Mixing both the sultry (“The Death of Hemingway”) with the rock. While she’s a good enough singer and guitarist to not be singled out for her looks, it doesn’t help to see an attractive woman rocking out. Her vocals are the most attractive element, however, which are stunning. They float in the air overtop hard strumming and the ever-present threat of the band just jamming out. Comparisons to PJ Harvey are warranted, but her knack for really good songs might get her more attention in the long run.
Holland / The Lonely Hearts
Holland presented themselves in kind of a weird way, telling the audience on Thursday that they were “Holland,” and that this other band called “The Lonely Hearts” would follow up with a set on Saturday, but the two bands are really vastly different. They played two Lonely Hearts songs on Thursday and the rest were Holland tunes. They ended (their career as Holland?) with “Shine,” which was appropriate, for the band really did stand out for their short tenure. The Lonely Hearts are more rock and roll soul than the somewhat flavor-of-the-month that was Holland. Lots of slide guitar and a cool, laid-back vibe that would turn on the Lost Dogs fan.
Noise Ratchet
This band was very loud and very “on.” Vocalist Joel Hosler really knows how to project! The band played lots of new songs. One of which was a love song that Switchfoot should just buy and release on its next album. “Just To See You” is seriously a tune that millions of people could latch on to. It’s that good, and here’s hoping that Noise Ratchet has a chance to get it out to that many.
At a glance:
University lived up to the hype and delivered a great set. The vocals sounded great, as did the wonderful guitar harmonies.
Duvall sounded super tight. These guys are real musicians. They ooze talent.
Blaster The Rocketman took unenviable place of replacing Immortal Souls, who had to cancel coming over from Europe, but its audience of face painted revelers looked every bit as Euro black metal as would have showed up anyways. Blaster’s shock horror-core punk-o-rama extravaganza was a blast. Imagine full costumes as outlandish (but not as demeaning or devilish) as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and you get an idea of the goofiness and absurdity that BTRM is (and that’s not an insult!).
He Is Legend was a bit surprising, as the hype I’d heard was that it was more of a hardcore band. There are some really cool hardcore style breakdowns, but the band is a little broader musically – almost emo in places. Their frontman is a good performer, and the band is really tight.
The Chariot made a great debut. Josh Scogin had the crowd practically eating out of his hand. He also had a lot of goofy and relaxed fun, which included telling a short story about enjoying the smell of skunks. Phew!
Beloved covered the Foo Fighters’ hit, “My Hero.” Their three guitars afford them the ability to mix a lot of sounds and styles into their songs, with metal leads and rhythms and sometimes contrasting the chugga-chugging with the rat-a-tat fast and hard strumming of emo.
Torn In Two performed their last song with that moniker; now referring to themselves as Red Red. They were good.
Disciple played a mid-afternoon set that was sprinkled with a couple new tunes. Former bassist Kevin Young is really coming into his own as a frontman.
Nodes of Ranvier looked slightly different, as if they were sporting a new frontman. The kids in the circle pit were doing some amazing stuff. There were kids with boxing gloves sparring with one another. There were flips, and a guy spinning his girlfriend upside down. Several folks acted as padding, as they stood encircled around the tent pole in the center. It was neat to see consideration of others’ safety forefront on the crowd’s mind. That was cool.
Sinai Beach recalled Christian metal’s early days, with songs like “Serpent’s Letter,” which was introduced as a song, “telling Satan Who’s Boss.” The flying-V and Gibson Destroyer guitars further conveyed the metal theme – both visually and with the flying staccato rhythms and leads.
No Innocent Victim performed a short reunion set, which was my biggest (and only) regret from this year's festival. I missed it. David Allen missed. Did any of you catch it? Please let us know how it was! What songs did they play? How tight were they? This little gig, you know, is a precurser to a full-blown reunion of the band. That is some of the best news I heard at the fest.
Encouragement was something that spread a lot at the fest. I heard so many encouraging words about HM. One in particular was from a wife, who was so grateful to God and for our "obedience in following His will" that HM was there as a devotional resource for her husband. Her powerful words struck me hard in the heart, and it was hard to hold back tears of gratitude. One other, albeit unrelated, word of encouragement was from a radio dj, who pointed at me to another media person and said, "This guy can play football." As a guy, that little comment was awesome!
[Here's your chance to be in an upcoming issue of HM Magazine. We may condense and run your comments in our live report for the Sep/Oct issue. Your comment here is given with the possibility that we may print your words in that issue. If you have any great photos of Cstone '04, send us an email and let us know.]
Copyright 2004 HM Magazine
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Comments
My favorite thing to do every year is check out the bands on the new band showcase stage. Many show promise and end up getting signed but many others aren't that great. I thought the University show was stellar. They have that good ol classic rock guitar sound but have some pretty catching tunes as well. Also, I liked the Sleeping At Last show quite a bit. They sound just like the cd live which is hard to do with that kind of sound. Over the Rhine was probably one of the best sounding shows this year.
Dead Poetic,
The one band that I had to see to believe. Dead Poetic put on one of the most memorable shows I have ever seen. With the massive Brandon Rike at vocals and the rest of the Poetic crew, they tore through the crowd with their strong screams and words that peirced the hearts. Starting out with one of their more popular tunes " Dream Club Murders" and ending with Rike's two favorite tunes "Glass in the trees" which tells of his struggle as a new christian deciding whether or not to accept what his friends were saying and get rid of his non-christian freinds and just hang around his christian friends. Sometime after this one of his closet friends died in a car accident leaving nothing but the glass in the trees as a rememberence. During the song the words that I can still hear ringing are " I will try to make it up to you, they cut down the trees to try to forget you but i took a vow to never forget you" I would post the rest of the lyrics but I think you should listen to the song. After this erie moment of reflexion the band ended with their title track " New medicines". Overall a heart stiring, complete relization of where we are as christians and a completely insane show of musicianship. Great band.
Lights For Nero was really great.
THE ALARM @ Cornerstone, finally! I am so glad to hear they were a smash hit with their new and old tunes burning up the airwaves in Bushnell this year because I have always felt a spiritual connection with a lot of Mike Peters' lyrics over the many years I have been a fan of the band.
I've met so many christian fans of THE ALARM over the past 18 years it makes complete sense to me to have them share the positive message of their music at this festival, like they did several times at the GREENBELT FESTIVAL in their native Great Britain in the late 80's & 90's. They were a crossover band way before there was that sort of relationship between the christian music scene and the TOP 40 Pop music charts, and are a perfect example of Larry Norman's classic sentiment: "Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?"
You can check out their latest cd, IN THE POPPY FIELDS online, to hear how Mike and the new members of the band have brought their energetic, enthusiastic and inevitably uplifting style of music full circle in 2004. And if you missed their set you can catch a Live video clip of the Cornerstone performance of their hit single ABSOLUTE REALITY at: http://easylink.playstream.com/g1network/2004/03theAlarm.rm
wasn't there, my cat died and and we had a week long funeral reception with cookie dough and pop
It was first cornerstone and it rocked. The best shows were mewithoutYou, Joy e, Lovedrug, and Unwed Sailor. There's not much ot say about mwY, there just probably one of the best bands ever. Joy E is the same way, although I'm sure alot of you would disagree. Lovedrug was just amazing and probably one of the best show I have seen ever. They sold there new cd at C-Stone even though it dosen't come out for a few weeks. I ogt a copy and it has not left my cd player since. I highly suggest them to every one. Unwed Sailor is also an awsome band. Recruted some new members, and rocked me face off.
This was the first time i've been. and i must say, there were a few bands, i still can't believe! Blaster the rocket man was probably the most fun i've ever seen on stage. Then a newer band, the Promise Book, tore it up norma jean style, only they were only playing synthesizers! It was crazy! Me with out you was very good (as if everyone already didn't know). and Joy Electric stood their ground (if nothing else).
Dear HM. The peace of Jesus to you.
This is New York Poet Billy Lamont. I'm the poet that performed before/with The Alarm at Cornerstone. Billy Lamont is my correct name and spelling not Billy LaBlant like in your Billy LaBlant and The Alarm review. Could you possibly change that?
Thank you for your kind review. I enjoyed meeting Doug Van Pelt at the festival and love reading your magazine very much these last years.
Some brief Bio information (for more complete information see billylamont.com): I am a follower of Jesus Christ who has toured with the Lollapalooza tour many times including last summer doing poetry combined with activism, have performed on MTV and Much Music Television, have done book signings across the country due to the sucess of my first book of poems "The Gallery Of Light" distributed by Ingram, have a new book of poetry "strobe light generation" on the way and a newly released CD/chapbook (at Cornerstone)entitled "billy lamont with the peculiar people" that is a benefit for The Father Of Christian Rock Larry Norman's Emergency Healthcare. My first CD/EP entitled "Into The 21st Century" included a collaboration with Mike Peters from The Alarm and an appearance by the late Allen Ginsberg reciting from his legendary poem "Howl." That CD was a benefit for Teen Challenge.
love and life to you,
blessed be,
Billy Lamont
ANBERLIN ruled the entire cornerstone.
no other show compared, and they made the entire festival worth it to me and no one at HM obviously went. sad. i guess this is a hard rock/ nu metal magazine, but they should have checked out the show!
i miss DOUG VAN PELT doing CD reviews.. best line EVER for review OF ALL TIMES.. i cant help but to air drum along on my stearing wheel while driving into work in my 84 beater"
-Roadside Monument
GOOD WORK DOUG, and you tell it like it is. Thats prob why you dont get to anymore. Your a beautiful man; just like Will Farrell. Thats what my mom tells me.. she liked your band.
o ya.. cornerstone was about as good as the royals, not so good but you still have to support them.
Do you think that we coudl have some sort of DOUG VANPELT / Jeff SHEETS tribute section or maybe a fan club on here somewhere? They both are beautiful men the only prettier men i can think of were when Stryper put out Hell w the Devil vinal and on the back i thought they were all women showing their bousums.. it was my moms album i swear.
thanks
Howdy.
Thanks for the wonderful comments on my outward beauty. I must remind you, though, that real beauty is on the inside.
And hey, I review tons of albums all the time. What mag are you reading? And who do you think wrote this cstone review?
And Billy, I meant to change the spelling of your name right away, but I'm out of the state and can't remember my password! So I'll have to change it when I get home on Monday.
What I REALLY missed at cstone was the N.I.V. reunion. Now THAT had to be cool.
It was so cool seeing Joy Electric live for the first time, and witnessing the amazing show with balloons, confetti, and candy. Too bad they only played once.
Well, I posted a whole journal of the fest on my webpage so I won't bore people with the details. A few shows that I thought were the very best, though:
Ester Drang
Sleeping at Last
Lovedrug
Over the Rhine
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Copeland
The Brindley Brothers
Kat Jones
Oh, and a little thing I noticed in the review of the Sleeping at Last show on here is that it says they played at 3pm. Actually, they played at night (at 9, I believe) and it wasn't that hot out. And the tent was probably more crowded than the review made it sound like. So... yeah.
The Chariot v.s. The Blamed is Dead was one of my highlights. It was so intense because I was standing on the back of the stage with Christian from Blindside, and most of Norma Jean watching the chaos take place.Josh Scogin is one of the best frontmen ever. There were so many really good bands at c-stone this year. The Christian scene really blows the secular away. I dont say that out of pride or because I'm Christian, but simply out of musicianship. God has got the best. Bradley Hathaway is amazing and everyone needs to check him out. I was blessed to hang out with him and The chariot a few days before c-stone. after a show in Indiana
I was camped at the Asylum, and across the street was a generator stage (the name escapes me). One of the suprises over there was a Celtic punk band named Flatfoot 56. Punk with bagpipes- and it sounded good! Speaking of generator stages, there were quite a few of them, and a large majority of the bands that played them were of the ultra-harcore "screamo" type, and it wore thin very quickly. There is an overabundance of it in the Christian market, so much so that it's become trite. Does anyone know how to sing? Having said that, one of the best shows I saw was Haste the Day. They were fantastic. A charismatic singer, solid songwriting, and a superior drummer make for a great band. Other highlights include P.O.D., Disciple, ZAO (who were incredible despite the fact they were probably responsible for "screamo"), and Demon Hunter. Overall, a slow year for music, but decent weather! Can't have everything, I guess.
How did I make that mistake? I was at the Sleeping at Last show. It was on the HM Magazine stage...
Oh well, I sure blew that one. Fixed now.
I waited a long time to hear some of my favorite bands and they did not dissapoint me. I came to watch Nodes and Zao and they both blew me away. I also really enjoyed Me Without You and Silence the Epilogue, both of those bands are wonderful live bands. I can't wait until next year.
The best show this year was P.O.D., closely followed by Demon Hunter, which was a surprise to me. Disciple, Blindside, Project 86 rocked as always. Another surprise was late on Sunday when Leper performed. Not having heard them before, I was blown away.
The disappointment of Cstone as with every year is it seems the bands of interest always play at the same time as another of interest.
Next year I am looking forward to One Bad Pig, Happy Little Day, and Saviour Machine.
I went to the Cornerstone in Florida and all the bands did extremely well, but Copeland was the highlight. I also enjoyed hearing Further Seems Forever's first appearance with Jon. It was also nice to hear some of the Tooth and Nail bands like Anberlin and Underoath. I am definitely going to go next year.
STILL REMAINS! i dont know how many of you have heard of them, but they are amazing, i just saw them for the sixth time tonight with zao, as i lay dying, and haste the day. all of those bands rocked at cornerstone also! but seriously, one of the best metalcore bands out right now is still remains.
the best shows in my opinion had to be emery, demon hunter, project 86, and norma jean... the worst had to be further seems forever with the new singer...
The best shows I saw were Haste The Day, Emery, Symphony In Peril and Still Remains. And to the kid 2 posts above me. I went to that show when it was in Ann Arbor, MI. So many good bands. The only band that I didn't like was Himsa. I hung out outside during them with my friends because I saw them with Bleeding Through a few months ago and I didn't like them. They are like to metal for my liking.
I also need to put that why do you think the christian scene blows the secular scene away Todd? I would honestly have to say that there are a ton of good non christian bands. Like a lot. There are a lot of both. You should really open your mind and not totally reject someones music because they aren't christians. That doesn't seem right.
3 words Norma Freakin Jean! WOW how incredible was that show? If you missed it you missed out incredible performance and a chance to see the old singer again. It was spectacular except for the girl that got possessed or whatever.
Nodes at Impromtu was the most insane show, so insane, I wound up spraining my ankle first song, man was I upset. I agree about Still Remains, they really impressed me. Funny thing is, I herd about them but neva knew they were christian. Haste The Day killed it along with Seventh Star & AILD. For u the writer of this article about NIV. I was there. I must say, it was magnificent. They played 3 songs which were C.E.B, My Beliefs, and Never Face Defeat. I must say, it felt really good to b with a crowd singing, "United, United By Christ". The pit was insanely dangerous cuz everyone was in it. The pit went from the front to the back by the soundboard. For, I think it was, My Beliefs there was the hugest pile up at the front. I mean it was so big, that it reached the top of Jason Moody's head while he was on stage. Not only everyone from the crowd jumped in but also everyone from backstage jumped in. It was truly insanely great. C-Stone had so much goin on, there is too much stories for me to tell. Anyway, God Bless everyone.
This year was my first at cornerstone and i enjoyed a great number of bands from the tooth and nail, encore, gallery, main and all of the unofficial stages. I know I'm showing my age by this comment, but I enjoyed the Glenn Kaiser Band the most. You don't see that many blues/rock band in christian music. I think that's too bad.
Who said Saviour Machine, and what do you know that I wish I knew? Cornerstone was awesome as always. The Alarm was a big highlight for me too...it was great to see a bunch of "old guys" rocking out and getting as sweaty as Squad Five-O. Seriously, more hardcore kids should have come to this one...they would have gotten a lesson in "bringing the rock" without annoying, out-of-tune vocals and repetitive chainsaw riffs that no one wants to hear every night as they're trying to fall asleep. My other big highlight was Madison Greene. They are far from HM, but no fan of good music should miss them. They are an incredible mix of different types of world music and acoustic attitude, and just great showpeople--all of their music was very fun. I also enjoyed Switchfoot, Joy Electric, and Steven Delopolous greatly, wanted to see more of the Goth/Industrial night, was disappointed by all the "real metal" and Woven Hand cancellations, but one thought kept circling in my mind throughout the festival...Cornerstone really needs to get ahold of Robert Randolph again!
I wrote a long review and posted many photos of the bands on http://www.danielsmusic.com/cornerstone.html
I came all the way from California, and my favorite shows were Project 86, Spoken, Bleach, Blindside, Demon Hunter, Kids in the Way, Staple, and TFK!
A lot of the shows that are being mentioned I didn't get to see because I was busy running the RFL stage, but some of them, like N.I.V., were awesome. I have photos of every band that played on that stage on my website, www.thescenezineonline.com. However, as previously mentioned, the N.I.V. pile on included people backstage, (like myself), so I don't even know what it looked like. Does anyone have any pictures of it they could email to me? That would be most appreciated. Thanks.
Dan Stephens
theeditor@thescenezineonline.com
so, we drove from canada for cornerstone, and were we impressed? of course. the best shows? everyone seems to have forgotten them or missed them in my opinion they go in order:
1. Emery- (near perfect performance and playing made this a spetcle i will never forget).
2. Hope For August- (playing the fat claf stage on wednesday before the fest even officially got under way, these guys and girl blew me away)
3. Silence the Epilogue- (surprising performance that had it all, except alot of people- your loss everyone).
4. Society's Finest Reunion- (i don't know if anybody had any idea this was happenning, but man alive, what an awesome treat for old fans like myself and friends!).
5. P.O.D.- So proffessional, and definitely still amazing even after seeing them a whole bunch of times now.
Last but most importantly, Jesus moved in SO many ways, and answered SO many prayers for me and my friends this year, and i would reccommend anyone wanting to have an amazing time, and get closer to God to go next year and every year. i will be for sure!
COOL HAND LUKE'S Sunday worship set at the Rock for Life stage was just a lovely and overwhelming way to end my week at Cornerstone. It was so fulfilling and wonderful with help from Anathallo and Aireline. They ended with "So Shall It Be." It was a delightful and needed flow of God's love in the tent among believers. This was the best and most refreshing part of the week and I look forward to it next year.
This was my favorite year of Cornerstone so far, as it was my ninth year. I have been doing overnight security of the past 4 years, and last year I didn't go back to the hotel one day because of a show I was going to play, and I ended up staying in my friends rv right next to the Jesus Village. I was sleeping and they turned off the ac and it got really hot. I felt like I could handle that, but about an hour later I suddenly heard acoustic guitars and singing. I got my stuff together after getting about 4 hours of sleep maybe and went outside. I was shocked to what I found. The Glen Clark family was having a worship time, and I sat down and was really challenged. I started to notice a difference between "cornerstone culture" and just letting it all go in a worship time. I kind of wanted to leave, but I didn't. I am glad I didn't.
This year the Jesus Village was hopping with a lot of people for their dinner theatre and other spontaneous shows with Headnoise, and Seeds, and Aaron Weiss from mewithoutYou sharing a message. Jesus Village was definitely the highlight of the festival, close following was the scallywags vs. the hobos capture the flag, leper, headnoise at underground stage, anathallo, dharma love at a generator stage, and the list goes on, but as usual, the encouragement in Christ that I recieved from His family was my favorite part about the whole experience, Praise God.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Emery rocked... oh yes they did
Demon hunter put on an awesome show. It was one of the best I've seen!
C-Stone 2004 was my first..and I was blown away by how awesome it was! Best shows: Disciple, Aletheian, Blindside, mewithoutYou, and Nodes of Ranvier. Biggest dissapointment was that my friends's band, Circles Over Sidelights, wasn't able to make out up. These guys are worth checking out..awesome hardcore-metal sound. Visit their website..www.circlesoversidelights.com You can also find their cd on Amazon.com!
Disciple rocked! There were a lot of bands who rocked, and a lot who spread the Word, but no one did the 2 combined better than Disciple. As a 32 year old, when I can take my 8 year old son and we can both be absolutely thrilled a concert, what more could I ask for! Great first cornerstone with my bro, his 8 year old, and my 8 year old- everyone we heard was great. Can't wait until I can go again!
He is legend rocks......i love them, they are the best
well heres the deal, bands dont get much better than still remains in my opinion, people further up were raving about them, and they have nothing to feel bashful about. i could not believe how good they were. they should blow up. next, haste the day, even though i dont love there cd, was amazing, not once, but twice. nodes of ranvier impromtu set was amazing, all the kids circling it up and all singing along to their last song. also copeland, wow, 2nd time seeing them, better than first. also bloodlined calligraphy, can i get a date here, the girl screamer is better than anyone in any metalcore band out today, i think i'm in love. cya next year.
check out madisoneast from cleveland ohio @ www.madisoneastrock.com !!!!!
My first C-stone, and I'll be back for another most definitely! Great atmosphere, met some great people, saw some great bands, great time altogether. I really hope blindside is back next year, they were intense and gave a lot for their show, POD was good too, hope they're back. Only complaint was further seems forever, they're an O.K. band but style-wise I don't see them fitting in with Blindside and POD, they weren't on their level, they weren't even hard at all. And did they really deserve mainstage? Other than that everything was great, lots of fun, counting down the time until next year!
God Bless!
hey-
this year was awesome, but what was with Further Seems Forever!!!??? The show was aweful! I am still not sure what to think about Jon Bunch....anyone else have an idea or comment?
um.. FSF; that was more painfully ackward than barging in on your mom as shes getting out of the shower.
Doug, its time for truth or dare; which one do you want?
hey did anyone see the last broadcast play & if so what did u think?
1. norma-jean was amazing and after what i've been told (and buying the hellfest dvd) i'm glad i missed last years performance (though i saw that vocalist once in the fall). the 'accident' at the end of their set really makes you put yourself in perspective as well. i never found out the final outcome of what happened. but i pray it all came out in the end.
2. i saw the chariot three times in the week of cornerstone. once before the fest at a small venue in indiana (where they absolutely blew me away) and then twice at cornerstone. i'd actually have to say... to really experience them... you need to see them in a smaller venue up close and personal.
3. to the person asking about the last broadcast. i saw their set at the impromptu stage. it's kind of sad to see the former vocalist from anah aevia doing mediocre power pop. i was unimpressed, personally.
4. mewithoutYou playing a lot of new material was very good... maybe not as crazy as last year, but no less great.
5. for the (about 50) people who were at the questions in dialect set... they are an amazing band. maybe not "get you moving" music...but captiving in their orchestration.
6. if i die got shut down at the impromptu stage because of a fear of destroying equipment. if that doesn't say something, then i don't know what does.
7. nodes and AILD were both amazing shows with huge pits.
8. tantrum of the muse : oh when will you grace cornerstone with your presence? 3 years now you have dissapointed us.
9. fsf was the stinker of the fest. the recordings with jon bunch sound ok, but live... he's failing miserably and i'd hate to see him being the death of the band.
10. showbread put on two very powerful shows that really brought the band refused to mind.
11. silence the epilogue was sadly unimpressing. but symphony in peril tore it up.
12. dead poetic was decent. the first set was all right, but the second set (during the day) really had more heart to it. it's good to see how far they have progressed from their old rapcore roots.
13. i kind of accidentally saw anathallo, and even though pop-rock and such are not really my interest, i was very impressed with their set. not only do they have a huge number of band members, but all of them play multiple 'instruments.' (who says a metal pipe can't be an instrument?) they were complicated musically and very tight. and from what i've been told, they must be experienced live in order to really understand what it is that they do.
14. last note: the christian scene has suddenly gained an influx of metalcore and hardcore bands. nearly every generator stage i passed had them. there was very little variation and its sad to see a scene kind of stagnating. it's the same in my "scene". all week, i heard all of one spazz band... (and if i heard correctly, they got shut down for their antics.)
[spunj13]
FSF: the recordings on their site sound good to my surprise, but delight, however, the live show was just absolutely aweful. I miss Jason. He was by far their best vocalist and frontman.
The year was great. Tooth and Nail day started the fest off great! Emery and Showbread showed off matching outfits and put on an incredible show. Josh Scrogin was incredible with his new band The Chariot. Project 86 also put on an incredible show. The rest of the week was also incredible, with great shows including a return of blaster the rocket man. Beloved, One 21, Mewithoutyou, and Norma Jean all put on memorable shows. The only negative part was the FSF show. It was awkward and just flat out bad. However, the recordings with Jon Bunch sound pretty good, so, hopefully is was just one bad show. But, everyone at the show was just left is shock at how terrible it was. I was also a little aprehensive to see Squad Five-O on main stage, because it's much more impersonal. But Jeff Fortson lived up to his reputation and Squad delivered another energetic show.Overall, Cornerstone proved again to be the best festival in Christian music.
This was my second year at C-Stone, first year being 2002. And I must say that the year in between was way too long of a wait before going again. I was just totally blown away by all the amazing shows that I saw. It's so hard to pick out just one show that was the highlight of the whole festival.
I'm definitely glad that I attended the He Is Legend show. I hadn't heard the name before and wasn't really expecting much out of them but boy did they show me. Nodes and As I Lay Dying were both tremendously amazing shows. So much so that I went ahead and saw them twice. So much energy in their shows. Zao was a treat as well, their new vocalist filled the shoes quite nicely. Still Remains and Trauma were quite amazing as well. I didn't see much of main stage but the night I went was quite enjoyable with Blindside and P.O.D. and coming from someone who isn't a huge fan of P.O.D.
Dead Poetic, one band that I was really excited about seeing unfortunately didn't thrill me too horribly mostly in part because they played alot of the new songs and I had only had the New Medicines CD for a few days and thought it was alright. I now wish i would've got the CD sooner MUCH MUCH sooner because that CD is to die for and I know the show would've been much more enjoyable.
How many of you saw Underoath in the Cornerstone booklet and were disappointed as I was to learn that they weren't playing there this year? I sure was and then I heard "They're Only Chasing Safety" and was disappointed with the vocals that sounded no where near Dallas's shrieking screams and the emo-y sounding parts that were now added... It was nearly enough to make me cry.
(sniff sniff)
But as usual, Cornerstone proved to be an amazing and uplifting experience and this is one person who you will without a doubt see there next year.
two words: FOREVER CHANGED!
this uprising band was amazing.. Floodgate Records got lucky finding these guys.. i wouldn't be surprised if they blew up big time in the next year.
