It was a great day yesterday - we had one of the first none rain nights in weeks. The festival was huge. It covered portions of the town of Bethlehem and the campus of Moravian College. I arrived at about 5 and found where the show would be in the evening - and then wandered around to see what was happening.

I am very good at following maps - I'm the one who always navigates for everyone else I'm with - but there was so much going on - that I frequently didn't have the slightest idea where I was. There were several locations all around where there were free musical acts - including a polka tent. And fried food galore - if it was food - someone fried it - I am new to this phenomenon. My dinner consisted of fried mixed vegetables - I was considerate of my fellow concert goers and did not eat the fried broccoli on my plate. I did not buy the fried cheesecake and just marveled that such a thing existed and that there weren't scattered bodies all around the stand. It also appears that everything can be served on a stick - including pickles - I did not stop to see if they were also fried.

I stopped to watch a rock act, Sandlot Heroes. They were very young. There was a group close to the stage bopping and dancing - but everyone else was sitting - and they struggled to get them on their feet. "Everybody stand up this is a rock show." Does that sound familiar? I guess this is a standard line. They were cute but clearly amateurs and their guitar work was nothing compared to David Cook & band - same goes for the drummer. I hoped that they would stick around to watch David's show and get some pointers.

My ticket said 8:30 start and the gate said it opened at 6:30. For some reason - I thought GRO was going on at 8:30 - and then David would follow. I did wander over there at about 6:30. I found my seat and then wandered about. Behind the food tents there was a river - and I found a large rock and just sat and watched the water and ducks flow by.

I was surprised when I heard the opening notes to GRO's set at about 7:15 or so - and hurried back to my seat. The place was only half full by then. The seating was area was long and narrow - the furthest seats and lawn area were very far from the stage. I was far from the stage - but not in the hinterlands. I thought GRO was very good. The people in the very front gave them a proper reception. GRO struggled to get the rest of the audience involved frequently invoking David's name as the one sure way to draw cheers. "Everybody stand up - this is a rock show." I did - but where I was there were very few that did and there were many empty seats. I enjoyed their set.

So now we waited for David & band to come on stage. The audience filled up. There were people of all ages. There were many men there with wives or dates - or whole families. Still there were more women than men. I looked at the where the giant screens were supposed to be. Silly naive me - I didn't know that they projected an image onto a screen - I thought it was going to be some sort of jumbotron and I was worried when they didn't pull down the canvas covering it - how would I see David and band when they came on stage.

Darkness fell - we were rickrolled - David and the guys came on stage. The first chords of Kiss On The Neck were heard - the projected image flashed onto the canvas making it into a giant screen - everyone stood up - and the show started. There isn't much I can say about the actual songs - I just enjoyed the show. I did get Little Lies which I had heard before - but they have rocked it up even more since I first heard it. (I was hoping for Died in Your Arms - hmm - does that mean I'm going to the Nokia - you got me Dave.) Also there was a teen boy next to me with several girls - while they stood the whole time he alternately sat and stood. He did get up immediately for Little Lies - so this song does sell itself to guys.

It has been some progression - from the newly formed band that I watched during the album release show at the Hard Rock (500-600 people) - they were so excited and happy back then - I thought they were wonderful - so I couldn't imagine them getting any better. Then I saw them at the Borgata (600 - 1000 people sources differ as to capacity) - new material - longer show - much stronger than my first introduction to them - more of a rock edge - and the onstage personalities of each member of the band becoming more apparent.

Now an open air festival (4200+ attending). The acoustics aren't as great in an open air festival - the sound from the band was wonderful - but you couldn't hear the roar from the crowd as it dissipated into the atmosphere. "Everybody stand up - this is a rock show" Umm, Dave - almost everyone is standing up and has been doing so for your whole show - at least where I am that's true. I can't remember most of the banter. David liked the festival mugs that some held aloft - they had flashing lights that glowed in the dark. He thanked someone who had a sign that said they voted for him 1000+ times. He appeared a bit annoyed (worried, concerned) and kept shooting looks to the side of the stage when he had trouble with his guitar when he wanted to play TWIK. I loved finding out that he was interviewed that day by a girl he dated in 7th grade. Three song encore - I was so happy when TWIK started - I was afraid we were going to miss out. Almost everyone got into the whoa whoa's during ADAM. I was in the middle of a long row - and after ADAM - they refused to move - they were waiting for the encore. The woman next to me couldn't understand why everyone was leaving - didn't they know that if you clapped there would be an encore. I had to explain that they just had the encore and that he always ends with ADAM. The woman and her daughter thought it was a great show. I told them about youtubing it to find performances of lots of other songs.

It really is a wonderful festival (what's not to like about fried food and music) and I will be checking out what artists play next year - because I would go again.