Lilith Fair

Some friends and I put rainy Seattle behind us two Saturdays ago and drove east to George, Washington, for Lilith Fair at the Gorge Amphitheatre. The venue looks out on the Columbia River Gorge and was a perfect opportunity for our sun-starved selves to soak up some rays and live music. The line-up included Sheryl Crow, Sugarland, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Colbie Caillat and Sarah McLachlan to name a few – Grace Potter was my favorite, you should check her out! I was also quite impressed with Sugarland. I didn’t know any of their music prior to the show but their lead singer was an energetic performer and super fun to watch. They did a great job rallying the crowd – so much energy!

The day started and ended with coffee – the gorge is two and a half hours away in the middle of nowhere. For a venue so large and established, we were surprised at how unorganized everything was. We looked up the venue rules on the Website before we left so we knew what we could bring – soft-shell coolers, beach chairs (they had to be low to the ground – elevated camping chairs weren’t allowed), food, etc. When we got there, we discovered that soft-shell coolers on wheels weren’t allowed so Maile had to leave the line and take the wheels back to the car. When Christy and I made our way to the front of the ticket line, the ticket people told Christy that they had just decided there should be a cooler size limit and our cooler was too big. Luckily for us, another ticket agent waved us through anyway, probably avoiding a tirade from us about why they should post these restrictions on the Website BEFORE people drive two-plus hours to get to the venue. Then, not even five minutes after we entered, we saw someone wheeling around a soft-shell cooler.

Some concert-goers were able to bring in camping chairs, blocking views. The group of girls in front of us had entered in two waves – one group was allowed through with an elevated chair, the other group was stopped and ordered to take their chairs back to their cars. WTH?

As if this wasn’t enough inconsistency, the ladies behind us noticed we were eating fruit out of Tupperware and asked us how were we able to bring that in? We said that no one said anything to us, and they told us that they had seen others in line who had to throw away any food that wasn’t still packaged from the grocery store. “Your watermelon could be soaked in vodka!” they said. Just as I was thinking that the venue couldn’t be that vigilant about alcohol control, a group near us was busted for bringing in a flask.

Watching all those talented women made me want to bring out my guitar again and re-teach myself how to play. I knew how once upon a time… and we do have a guitar so I don’t have an excuse. Step one: find the tuner.