April is now upon us, and Mother Nature has already begun to tease us with tantalizing tastes of spring. Here on the Eastern shore the cherry trees are in full bloom. Toes are reappearing in flip-flops after their long winter hibernation. And while the proverbial young man's fancy may be turning to love, it's this time of year that our thoughts turn to our own personal passion... summer festivals.
A few of our staff were fortunate enough to spend a few days of last summer basking in the glorious sunshine and even better music of Creation East in Pennsylvania. Although muses don't traditionally take the form of sweaty, fluorescent-haired adolescents, we found that the experience brought out our poetic side. So whether you're a festival aficionado who ordered your armband months ago or you're new to the whole phenomenon, here's a summary of our trip that's sure to get you excited for the upcoming summer.
A Poetic Ode to Creation East
A is for AC, a blessing we longed for
B is for beach balls that bounce near and far
C is for camping—no bathrooms is hard core!
D is dust, which loves sweat just like feathers love tar
E is for encore, a pointless tradition
No longer surprising, but part of the show
F is for Fringe stage, where unknown musicians
Can rock out in hopes that their fan base will grow.
G is guitarists who solo in bridges
H is for heatstroke and hot, dusty air
I is the ice for our no-powered fridges,
J is for Jesus, the best artist there.
K is a letter that's very Relient
L is for late nights, long walks and long lines
M is for mohawks, so purple and giant
N is for noise of all volumes and kinds
O is the One campaign—a great cause. All they need is your vote to make progress begin
P is for the port-a-pots, where all must pause
They're fine if you're blind and you never breathe in
Q is for quiet (yeah right, who're we kidding?)
R is for rain that can cool a hot crowd
S is for showers—well, short line permitting
T is turkey legs—no forks allowed.
U is for unclean, a fan's state of being
While camping our notions of hygiene are lax.
V is for vomit, as natural and freeing
As writing the music for new Sanctus tracks*
W is wipes, to pretend-wash our hands
X is for x-games, a welcome sidetrack
Y is for yelling for our favorite bands
Z is Z's that we caught on the long car ride back.
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*Although we at cMusicWeb had the opportunity to ask questions of many artists during their press conferences, there were a handful of responses that really stuck out from the rest. One such gem was a comment that Sanctus Real's Matt Hammit made about their upcoming album, "The Face of Love:"
cMusicWeb: How do you feel the new album compares musically and lyrically to Fight the Tide?
Matt Hammit: There is so much more musical influence in our lives in the past year and a half than there ever has been for many of us. My own records that I bought get into a wide array of different styles - stuff like that we have been poking into for the past year. It has really affected us. It has really broadened our musical horizons quite a bit. And when you start soaking in music that you love, you fall in love with music again. You start to get passionate about what it means to make a record.
So the basic songs on this next record are much more an extension of ourselves as opposed to sitting down in a room and writing songs. So it's like... I don't know the best way to put this. I was going to say it's like vomit, but that is really gross. That is not the way it is. It naturally spews out of you because you are feeling a certain way. You have all the feelings inside. You can sit there and write about it or you can feel it through the music. And I feel like this time I am really feeling it through the music. It is an extension of that.
Sorry I used the word vomit in front of y'all. I really apologize. I'll never do it again.
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Creation will be returning this year, and is planning to stage a third festival—in addition to its East and West editions—in 2007. To find a festival near you, follow the festivals link on itickets.com.