Saturday

We're still missing you, Cam.

Today we got some updates from Cam & Rene. There are some contractions happening, so a celebration my be in order soon.

Sure enough... this morning came WAY earlier than I would have liked. I was quite unhappy to experience it, but there was work to be done. We met downstairs at 7:45 for an initial sound check, then had a quick breakfast and got ready to play. All went well with the set, though our 3 songs got cut to 2 on the fly. That was especially sad because the cut song was Your Glory Endures Forever, and we wanted to make sure everyone knew it so that we could do it again on Sunday. Still, ever-flexible, we went with the program.

We went and napped in the rooms until lunch. We ate at the same local restaurant that we ate at last year, and sat at the same table... what are the chances? Lunch was great going down (but wasn't without costs that I won't elaborate on here). After lunch, we ran an afternoon sound-check for the evening stuff, then Adam and I headed back to Guitar Center for a few errands.

On the way there, we ran across a local music shop that I won't name because someday someone might read this and try to sue me for the story I'm about to tell.

So this little place had what they called the "Bargain Basement." We were HIGHLY stoked about it, since we both love to find a treasure and not pay much for it. We browsed the store, which was basically an old, old house. Not finding much, we decided to try the basement.

There was a doorway to a carpeted stairway leading down and to the right around a small landing. Looking in gave me the immediate sense of a haunted house. Dark, some strange lighting down there, turning a blind corner... it would be difficult to come up with something that genuinely creepy on purpose. Approachin the doorway, Adam turned to me and said, "Why do I have the feeling I'm about to die?" That's no joke. He really said that, and the tightness in my stomach agreed with him 100%. Still, there could be treasures untold down there for low low prices! We forged ahead.

On the floor of the landing, leaned in a corner, was a close-up picture of the creature from the classic Alien movies. Below it was the tagline, "You won't feel alienated by our prices." Again, no joke. When we rounded the corner, we looked down and saw red light. Red light! In a creepy basement! You've gotta be kidding! At the bottom of the stairs (after you dodged the loose one that could easily claim your ankle) there was a room to the left, and another one straight ahead with two red bulbs serving as it's only light. We poked our heads in the left room to see the skeletal remains of merchandise racks, keyboard and cymbal stands, etc. Not a stitch of any wares anywhere. We were inexorably drawn into the red room ("redrum") which had a pillar in the center of the room. The walls were peg board, and there was a dilapidated old keyboard just to the left of the door. We stepped in the room, wondering where the bargains were.

I told Adam that this was just like the end of The Blair Witch project and that I half-expected to see someone standing in the far corner of the room. He hadn't seen the the movie, so I explained it later in the car. We decided that we felt dirty enough and that we wanted to leave as soon as possible. We trucked back up the stairs to the store proper. Adam bartered a little for some strap-locks while I looked at the old guitars hanging on the paneled walls, and the dusty antique amps that served as shoe-molding. Then we raced to the car and to the relative safety and normalcy of Guitar Center.

We finished our errands, headed back to the hotel and watched the Colts game in various rooms. Go colts! Had a little dinner and played two sets in the evening session. That set ended with David Crowder's "Only You," and reached a very nice spiritual level. We all felt Cam's absence at the end of the song when we all turn it up to 11, though. Having his Edge* influence makes a noticeable difference.

I was wiped-out again, but still had to type out this morning's slides. Cory, Jamie, Kyle, Joy and Matt went out for a late bite to wind down, so they left Isabelle's baby monitor in the room with me since I was going to sit and type one way or the other. She didn't make a sound and I sat here envying her as she slept. My mind was a wreck, so it took me a long time to get three songs done. Everyone walked in just as I was finishing up, so I went off-duty and straight to bed where I slept like a rock! Yeah!

All in all, a good day. I miss my family and am anxious to be with them again, but I can see God working in this weekend, so that makes the sacrifice more joyful. We miss Cam every time we step on stage, and in joking conversations, someone will always throw in a "Cam would say..." comment.

Thanks for reading, if anyone actually is... Sunday's post (and hopefully some pictures) coming soon!

*(Edge is the guitarist for U2)