Later in the day, I checked out the Roots, who I had missed when they toured with Santana and the Dave Matthews Band. As I recall, they were either rap or hip-hop; I don't really care for the first and only just a bit more for the latter, so I moved on.
At some point (probably between the last two paragraphs) I checked out the Emerging Artists stage. Bijou Phillips was playing and I really liked the set. Much later in the day I also caught Sherri Jackson on the EA stage and enjoyed that show too. I can't remember which, but one of them (I think BP) played an electric violin, which always catches my attention. Some of the songs actually bordered on bluegrass (except for the amplification). No wonder I liked it!
I finished out the day at the East stage with the Offspring, Korn, and Bush. What a great show. The only bummer was that I was watching from the pavement and felt I should keep my sandals on to protect my feet. (I'm really quite particular about being crowded--which I thought would happen if I was on the grass--and I like to dance barefooted). Didn't dampen my energy, though.
I wandered back past the all night Rave area, but was a little too tired to hang out for long. Still didn't get back to my tent until 3-ish. Fell asleep almost immediately.
After grabbing some breakfast and piddling around for several hours, I made my way over to the West stage to catch Guster at one. I'd never heard of them before (although they hail from my neck of the woods), but a coworker had mentioned them and I wanted to be able to rub it in that I had seen them while she had opted to petsit instead! They were really good and set the tone for the whole day.
They were followed by the Bruce Hornsby Group (excellent), then I wandered (hiked--2mi) to the East stage to catch Counting Crowes (ditto). I don't know what happened next. I must've gone to get water or use the bathroom or something and got distracted, because I missed the Dave Matthews Band. That's okay, 'cause I'd just seen them back in MA.
I went back to the West stage to hear Collective Soul. Strange. It sounded like rap. I know I'm not too good about remembering band names with their music, but I was really confused. Maybe it was Everclear or Los Lobos, but that didn't sound right either. I later learned that Ice Cube and Collective Soul had swapped slots. Anyway, I've mentioned how I feel about rap, so I wandered around for a bit, then came back for Mickey Hart and Planet Drum. What an awesome sound! I'd heard some before, but I never expected to be so in to it. I danced until my feet hurt (2mi between stages, that wasn't hard) and still couldn't stop!
Afterwards, I went back to the East stage. I think I caught the tail end of Rage Against the Machine. Then I positioned myself right behind the sound tower for Metallica. This was an ideal spot for me, since the tower completely blocked the view of the stage. This was fine for me, since I can't keep my eyes open when I'm really into the music (and I certainly expected to be for this set!) and everyone else seems obsessed with seeing the stage, so they don't want to stand there. So it wasn't too crowded. (More about how I got there later in the Pictures section.) It was filthy however, and I don't recall removing my sandals. Nonetheless, I had an incredible time! Most excellent! They played quite a bit of their old "thrash"-ier stuff, which I used to not like as much, but now I do and that night I definitely did. They also played two (or was it three) encores. As they said "When you play last, you can play forever!" It was well after midnight when they stopped; quite a change from Great Woods (I'm sorry, the "Tweeter Center") where apparently the music must end by 11PM.
Again, I checked out the all night Rave. I still don't get the music. Techno stuff. Like program my computer to generate some sounds. No soul, if you ask ma (which I realize you didn't). Your mileage may vary, and that seemed to be true of a great number of people. I eventually went to bed.
Maybe it was later, or maybe I stopped for lunch, because the second set was already underway by the time I got to the West stage (which started at 1). I was confused because I had thought I'd catch some of Willie Nelson (why not?) but I misread the program (he was on the East stage). So, instead I listened to the rest of Our Lady Peace, then waited for Rusted Root, who put on an incredible show. I was sweating (would have even without the heat and humidity) and my hair was a mess (I love to dance!).
When Sevendust came on I took a break. I'd considered checking out Brian Setzer, but I was pretty sure I'd already missed him. And by the time I made the 2mi trek to the other stage, Everclear would have finished, too. So I stayed nearby or maybe checked out the Cybercafe or the Emerging Artists stage. Then I think I came back for Collective Soul, but I may have missed some of it. I don't really remember much of it and no I wasn't doing "anything." Next up was Godsmack and I know I'd moved on by then. Oh, yeah, I remember now. They kept flashing "Severe Thunderstorm" warnings on the screens during RR. The rain held off until Sevendust or maybe CS started, and really didn't amount to much even then, but you couldn't have proven that by the way the crowd scattered. I dunno where they went; there hadn't been any protection from the sun all week. Where were they expecting to get out of the rain? It wasn't even that heavy. I just sat on a bale of hay (where did that come from?) and watched them. Pretty entertaining.
Once the "storm" blew over (five minutes?) I decided to go buy a disposable camera and document my presence. After using most of the roll, I made my way over to the East stage to see Creed (finding my spot behind the control tower again). After one heluva good set, they introduced an oldtimer. "This guy was invited to play here thirty years ago and he declined, so we invited him back." No one seemed to recognize him until they gave his name: Robbie Creager from the Doors. They played that "woke up this morning and grabbed myself a beer" song (pretty strictly Doors-style) and then finished with Riders of the Storm (ad libbing a bit more on that one). I think they did some more Creed after that and he played with them, at least sometimes.
I had found out that the Red Hot Chili Peppers were going on (East) at 8:15 and Megadeth was scheduled (West) for 9. So I hung around for a few numbers, then began the 2mi trek. I still didn't know if they were going to delay the Jimi Hendrix tribute (East) until the Megadeth fans could join the rest and no one else seemed to know, either (even the staff at the West control tower). Too bad, I thought, 'cause I'm staying here until Megadeth is done. I found a spot right next to the stage but on one of the sides. It wasn't too crowded and I could move and gyrate. Megadeth, like Metallica, played a lot of the hard stuff and I was in heaven. When the set ended, we were pretty disappointed that they didn't do any encores, especially considering Metallica's attitude the night before. After all, it was only 10PM.
Kinda let down, I began walking back to the entrance. In the distance, I saw flames. Hmmm. Looks a little bigger than a trash barrel fire. Better get a shot of this. I didn't get anywhere near close (not even close enough to really see what was burning or to see any people), and of course the photo didn't come out. I got back to my car and made it to the NY Thruway by midnight. I was exhausted (more than I had realized) and began a desperate search for caffeine. All the rest stops were backed up big time. I pulled in to the last one before MA, but screwed up at the machine and wound up with Root Beer (tasty, but no caffeine). I apologize profusely to any and all drivers I may have frightened on my way home. At the time, I was thinking maybe I should have camped overnight back in Rome. When I saw the news, I was glad I didn't.