Again, no pics, camera sucks, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda. Brief reminder, did not attend Day Two, had a wedding to attend, this that and the other, and we're moving on!
The first stop was the Bud Light stage to see Prosevere. Not specifically for Prosevere. There were no main draws for us in that time slot, and most of what we wanted to see was at that stage, so it seemed like a good place to start. We grabbed a patch of grass by the fence. Prosevere was decent enough. I had never heard of them before. I didn't dislike it. Well, you know me, any live music is good music. I guess I mean that if I heard them on the radio, I wouldn't immediately flip the station. I might check them out a little more simply because I've heard them live. Oh, and there was some bonus entertainment. Though the festival had just started, a woman was already hurling everywhere. Seriously, she threw up about five times. I was like, "Cool. She's really getting some projection." *gag* "I don't think *gag* I'm gonna *gag* watch her anymore..."
After Prosevere left the stage, there was some time to kill before Black Stone Cherry came on. We wandered. I grabbed a beer (which would end up being my only beer of the night. I had to drive. Poo.). Found a merch tent! Which means that I missed out on buying an Evanescence shirt Friday night. Oh well, I've missed several shirts on this mission, so that's okay. Anyway, I bought a CoCa shirt! So I still managed to add one to my collection. On a side note, I was checking out the dates on the back, and those guys are gonna be in Knoxville on the 12th. Not like I can be there. It just stands as a reminder that I used to live somewhere that was a stop on many bands' tours. Aaaand now I live in BFE, where nothing cool ever happens. Anyway, enough whining.
BACK TO THE POINT....
Black Stone Cherry! I saw them three years ago at The Valarium in Knoxville opening for 10 Years. I didn't fall for them then either, but I did enjoy them. After I saw them then, I downloaded "Blind Man" purely as a reminder of seeing them. They played it again this time. I still didn't know it well enough to do more than recognize it. Still, they were fun to watch, and I really like how throaty the singer's voice is. I can't see myself ever wanting to pick up an album or seek out a show, but I won't be disappointed to see their name at a gig I'm going to. I enjoyed seeing them again. They seemed to really work in that setting, too.
Ok, by this point I'm getting antsy. Coheed and Cambria is up next, and I bloody love them. They're not as far up on my list as Evanescence, but I have a good, solid relationship with them. I've always had a little trouble learning CoCa lyrics. They're not as predictable as most songs, plus, in true new prog fashion, their songs rarely follow verse-chorus-verse-chorus formula. I brushed up on their recent setlists and solidified what I could. I was very pleased with their setlist. I kinda ditched my companions a little bit for this one. I used every opportunity to slide a little farther forward. I think I actually only ended up maybe 20 feet ahead of them, but come on. Every inch is another inch of awesome. This show was a completely different experience from Evanescence. The crowd for Evanescence was mostly general festival goers. CoCa's crowd consisted of more actual fans. By far, the best part of the show for me was when they played "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3." This eight minute monster of a song is epic enough on the album cut, but live, it left such a sweet taste in my mouth. What made it all the sweeter was the energy in the crowd. I was surrounded by fellow CoCa fans who were screaming out, "MAN YOUR OWN JACKHAMMER" right there along with me, fists in the air. The best part was about seven minutes into the song. On the studio track, a chorus swells over the main theme (I think with a song of this scope, it goes beyond a riff and constitutes a theme). On stage, Claudio was tearing it up, and all around me, the crowd was the chorus, filling in that gap. It was almost like we were part of the song. It was pretty exhilarating. If you haven't heard it, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. So go listen to it. :P That was my favorite memory of the night. Oh, and did I mention that CoCa covered Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know?" I had seen it on some of the recent setlists and wondered if they would straight up cover it or dress it up a little. I figured the latter, and I was correct. When they started playing it, I didn't immediately identify it until I heard Claudio sing the lyrics, "Now and then I think of when we were together." The rest of the crowd realized what was going on at that time, too. I wondered how Kimbra's lines would be handled, but come on. This is Claudio Sanchez we're talking about. There's a reason my sister always thought CoCa had a female lead singer. Claudio covered Kimbra's lines beautifully in a smooth falsetto. I want this cover. It was hella fun. I think I'm gonna do my damndest to find a bootleg of it tonight. It was an excellent marriage of Gotye's original and CoCa's unique style. All in all, great show. I had a blast. And a new concert memory is born!
I was pretty worn out after that. It was bloody hot. Bush was onstage next. I also wanted to see The Civil Wars in that timeslot. Originally, I had planned on splitting that time. However, I didn't bring it up to my group because quite frankly...I really didn't feel like getting back up after we sat down at The Civil Wars. Lazy Kim was lazy. Plus, I hadn't really eaten much that day. I didn't eat at all before the festival, and I spaced 2 hotdogs throughout the day. Probably not optimal nutrition for boosting energy in 90-degree heat... But I digress. Ok. Back to The Civil Wars. I had heard of them before, but never actually listened to them. I really liked it. It was good and mellow for my much-needed cooldown. I picked up on a song that I especially liked. I've already added "Barton Hollow" to my iTunes library. I was very pleased with the show. It still would have been nice to have been able to catch Bush, but I'm not exactly chastising myself for being lazy.
For the headlining slots of the night, we started off watching Alison Krauss & Union Station. We got in quite close for that one. It was interesting. She's definitely not what I typically listen to, but for me, that was one of the most interesting things of the festival experience: getting to sample so many different types of music. It was pretty interesting to see her shred a fiddle. :D
About 20 or 30 minutes into her set, a few of us broke off from the group to check out Wiz Khalifa. I had never heard of him, but I was curious after seeing the energy at the Lupe Fiasco show. I felt it was prudent to check out a hip hop show properly. Yeah...so glad I did. First off, I had brought my blinky glasses (my Musers know what I'm talkin' 'bout!!), and it was only dark enough to whip'em out for the headliners. Alison Krauss wasn't really a blinky glasses kind of show. Wiz Khalifa, on the other hand... yeah. I was entirely too excited about being able to use my Muse glasses, haha. The show was pretty awesome. The crowd was so into it. Weed was eeeeeeeeeverywhere ("Weeeeeed driftin' oooon byyy"), which was fitting, since just about every one of WK's songs was about smokin' the ganja. What was particularly captivating about the show was all the glowsticks. At some point, someone (a crew member, street team, or possibly even dedicated fans) threw tons of bundles of glow sticks into the crowd, which everyone promptly starting throwing around. It really was kinda beautiful. The lights on the stage, a sea of people (and smoke...), and glowsticks soaring through the air. I wish I had a video. I'm really glad I went over to see him. I have since downloaded "Black and Yellow" into my library. Good times, good times.
Though I still can't make the check on my bucket list, my first festival experience was incredible. I want to go to a hundred more. My most precious memories are from the various shows I've been to, and I made so many more in the span of just a couple of days.
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