The truth is, I was having a horrible
week. Everything that could go wrong did, and I was looking for a serious
pick-me-up. It seemed I had found it. Catawba Fest, a weekend festival put on
by Half Acre Promotions, would be hosting one of my favorites, Papadosio. The
festival was only a stone’s throw away, and admission was reasonable. I only planned
to attend Saturday, when Papadosio was scheduled to close out the main stage.
The event took place over the
weekend of Aug. 31 to Sept. 2. It was held at the Catawba Sustainability Center
in Catawba, Va., property owned by Virginia Tech. The goal of the center is to
educate on sustainability, which the festival also focused on. Several booths
were set up showcasing earth friendly projects and vendors. The festival was
held there in an attempt to raise awareness and funding for the Sustainability
Center, as well as to provide musical entertainment.
So, on the night of Sept. 1, I
arrived at Catawba Fest with unmeasurable excitement. Something was finally
going to go right, and Papadosio would make all my stress and tension float
away on syncopated rhythms. I think many others felt the same.
The land was beautiful. An open
field with mountains in view, capped by an expansive sky (often cloudy) and
happy faces. It was intimate, something I’ve always loved in festivals. I
recognized many, and the number only grew as that much awaited time approached.
We were there for the same reason.
The day was rainy. At one point I
found myself drenched, hiding inside a tent dripping with puddles. The music
had stopped; the downpour and winds were simply too much. I didn’t bring a
tent, since I hadn’t planned to stay the night, so when the rain let up, I
moved to a car for protection. When I finally ventured out again, the band’s
set time was nearing but there were still showers.
Because of the rain delay, things
were off schedule, and the Shane Pruitt Band, on stage right before Papadosio,
played later than expected. The band closed out its set with remarkable energy
and began to pack up. At this point, rain was still falling lightly, but I’d
realized that a small area right in front of the stage was also covered by the
tent, and was staying dry.
The crowd gathered in wait. Papadosio began to set up. The anticipation was
palpable. Like-minded souls expecting a release.
 |
| Papadosio performs at Electric Forest '12 |
The group was small. Many attendees
had gotten rained out and gone home, or had children they needed to put to bed.
The last few survivors waited for their reward. But suddenly, the atmosphere
changed. Cords were wound instead of unwound. Equipment was packed up instead
of set up. Lights were broken down; instruments were put away. Confusion spread
through the crowd as people wondered, “What’s going on? Are they going to play?”
There was a stalemate on stage. The band members were clearly ready to put on a
show, but something was stopping them.
And then it all became clear. No, they
weren’t going to play. We all reeled in disbelief. This couldn’t be right.
