Posted 7/7/04 by Dave
If any of you saw the pictures from the Day on the Meadow Concert, you may get the sense that not everyone was quite so pleasant that day. You may have noticed that in one picture in particular, Lee indicates his displeasure with a certain act. Let me assure you, this gesture was not intended for the band as a whole, but specifically one person. And I can safely say that the feeling was shared by most people who bore witness to the events that occured both onstage and backstage. That picture of Lee with Camper van Beethoven playing in the background was meant more as a joke than anything else. We weren't looking to bash CVB at all, but we were actually poking fun at their leader, David Lowery. You may know him as the frontman for Cracker who found mainstream success with their hit "Low." Lowery's place in rock history, although not prominent in most people's minds, is well established. In fact, for those of you who aren't aware, CVB is regarded in many circles as pioneers of indie rock and the college radio genre back in the early '80s alongside such groups as R.E.M. Even before the phrase "alternative rock" was being thrown around the industry. So, all respect to Camper van Beethover, the band.

Anyway, enough with the history lesson. Everything started when Lit was onstage. In between songs while the band was talking up the crowd, Lit guitarist, Jeremy Popoff, joked with the people in the back who were sitting on the grass, thanking them for supporting "the benefit concert for people with no legs." An obvious reference to the fact that they were not standing up like the people in the front of the crowd. A relatively harmless joke, that I personally thought was pretty funny. Apparently, David Lowery took exception to the comment and said something to Kevin Baldes, Lit's bassist about it as they left the stage. Kevin, probably thinking nothing of it, brushed it aside and didn't appear the least bit concerned about it.

CVB followed Lit onstage and began their show. In between songs, group leader David Lowery began his own dialogue with the audience. Here was his opportunity to connect with the predominantly teenage audience and show them where the roots of a lot of the music they listen to comes from, and perhaps win over a few new fans. Instead, he started in on what "real rebellion" and "real punk rock" is, lecturing the young crowd. That lead to bringing up Jeremy's "no legs" joke again, telling the audience how uncool it was and how wrong it was to make fun of people with no legs. He could have left it there, and been done with it. But then his attack turned personal and he started bashing Lit and the type of music they play, calling them "one hit wonders" and "wannabes." Fortunately, Jeremy and A.Jay from Lit had a plane to catch and were long gone by this time. However, Kevin and Allen heard every word of it.

As CVB finished their set and walked off stage, one of Lit's friends walked up to Lowery and let him know that his comments were wrong and uncalled for. He may have spoken in a slightly aggressive manner, but there certainly was never any physical aspect to it. Lowery immediately took it as a personal attack and confronted Kevin and Lit's tour manager about it. Never even standing up from their chairs, they let him know how they felt about it. Lowery got even more aggressive and accused them of "getting their posse together" to fight him. Sure, we were all standing around in a group, glaring at this fool, but we were by no means a "posse." Most of us hadn't even met each other until that day. Did he expect to be welcomed with open arms after that tirade? I'm sure we all looked pissed, but no one even hinted at threatening him physically. Lit's tour manager even said, "I'm sitting in a chair with my legs crossed, smoking a cigarette. Does it look like I want to fight you?" Lowery then got up in his face and continued with his hostility, so the tour manager flicked his cigarette at him, which bounced harmlessly off his leg (which Jesse from Apollo Sunshine picked up and continued to smoke. THAT cracked me up!) This was probably the most aggressive gesture made by anyone toward Lowery. Eventually, the police showed up (not sure who called them) and they pulled Lowery away. But not before what was probably the most bizarre and laughable part of the whole incident. As the police were pulling him away, Lowery whipped out a Sharpie marker and lunged for Lit's tour manager. He managed to leave a little mark on his leg. (That's assault, isn't it?) So let that be a lesson to you, don't piss off a "real rebel" because he just might write on you! Unfortunately, the story doesn't quite end there. Lowery later confronted one of Channel 104.9's DJs and demanded to know the station's stance on the incident. The DJ did his very best to remain neutral and calm him down. This only infuriated Lowery more and he demanded that the DJ return the CD that he had given the him earlier. Can you believe that?

Aside from David Lowery's immature behavior, it really was a great day. Everyone from all the other bands were really cool. No egos, no pretentiousness. And to be fair, the rest of CVB seemed to be really good guys too. They even were apologetic for their leader's behavior. I guess I just don't understand it. It was such a great day, everyone was having a great time. And this moron has to go and bring everyone down. I know that in his day, he carried some clout, but he was lecturing to crowd most of whom had no idea who he was. Bashing other bands on the bill to the audience who came to see them, not you, is not the way to win any new fans. As the elder on the bill (Lowery's in his 40s, the rest of us in our 20s and 30s) you would think the roles would have been reversed. But I have to say the Lit and the rest backstage handled the situation professionally, and I congratulate all in keeping cool heads. This whole thing was such a minor part of the day and didn't ruin the whole experience for any of us by any means. But in retrospect, the adsurdity of the situation demanded that the story be told.

By the way, any CVB reps, fans, friends, etc. that feel they need to respond, send it directly to me, Dave, as Lee and I were the only ones associated with Taming Ingrid that were eye witnesses to the whole event. The views and opinions expressed in this posting do not necessarily reflect those of the band, it's management, blah, blah, blah...