Berea Fest 3: A review of the last half hour

 

 

Caught in an aging church gym with a frenzied (yet well behaved) mob of sweaty, upbeat and sober youth I hid behind my camera and took notice of potential escape routes.

 

Memories of desperate youth groups attempting to persuade awkward teens into accepting Christ was something I wouldn’t wish upon anyone once, let alone twice. Then I remembered this wasn’t a celebration of Christianity, but DIY punk.

 

Caught the last half hour of Berea Fest 3, a two-day event featuring 30 local and national acts, on Saturday, July 19 due to excuses like a family reunion and getting lost on an often-traveled road … but I won’t bore with the details.

 

At nearly 130 miles from home, I managed to see the one band, Delay, who I see more often than any other. Funny how things like that work out. The band didn’t disappoint, but more impressive was seeing first hand the cult of Delay on the band’s former home turf.

 

The crowd was massive. Seriously, where do all these kids come from? There must be at least 50 dedicated pop punkers in every single southwest Cleveland suburban community. At least.

 

Immediately after the last chord was struck the cleanup crew was mobilized and so overzealous they were picking up the few cigarette butts on the sidewalk outside with their bare hands.

 

Soon it was like a punk rock show had never taken place.

 

Besides details like the large, illuminated portrait of JC greeting attendants as they walked out of the gym, punk played in a church has always felt strange. Softening the uneasiness was the fact that the proceeds went to a good cause that hit close to home – the Berea Children’s Home where my grandpa used to work.

 

Thirty minutes in Berea had left my head spinning and it was time to drive an hour north and sober up by getting drunk on the shore of Lake Erie.