12:00 MIDNIGHT

The Indigo Girls opened their hearts to the Pittsburgh crowd tonight at StarLake. Amy and Emily led their band through a good selection of songs. Sheryl Crow was the first guest on stage during a rousing version of "Tried To Be True". Sheryl came on stage bearing her accordion and smiled and jammed her way through the song. Jewel and Sarah joined Emily and Amy for the lovely four vocalist number, "The River Is Wide". With only the accompaniement of Emily and Amy's guitars, this song has a beautiful way of featuring the singers harmonies. Jewel and Sarah received huge applause at the end of their verses. The evening wound up with many guests coming onstage for "Closer To Fine". Shawn Colvin, Lisa Loeb, Jewel, Sarah, Sheryl Crow and members of Jewel's and the Indigo Girls' bands joined in. Shawn Colvin, Jewel, Sarah and Lisa sang verses to the song while everyone joined in on the chorus. The highlight had to be Jewel's yodelling near the last half of the song. Everyone on stage smiled and danced as Jewel let loose.

10:30PM EDT

the storm abated soon before sheryl crow went on stage. there was relative mayhem on the stage and at the front of house sound and light mix positions as all the techs made sure that everything worked fine. one of the light boards sustained some water damage, so jen's hair dryer was called into speedy service. the riggers/lighting crew were up in the trusses double-checking everything. the big cheeses (dan, dan, and paul) were out to oversee everything and give the final o.k.

so sheryl went on late but made a big splash by sporting flippers, goggles and a bathing cap (courtesy of shawn colvin). she looked great! and then she proceeded to rock the house, despite having a camera in her face most of the time.

there are 5 people in her band: key's, 2 guitars, bass and drums. and sheryl herself is a multi-instrumentalist. she plays guitar, key's, accordian, and harmonica. when she picked up the accordian for "Strong Enough", she said, "you guys are such a nice audience. i think i'll play accordian for you. i gotta say i think it really turns the boys on." We're waiting for feedback to see if she was right.

9:30PM EDT

A massive thunderstorm with lighting has just come over the StarLake venue. The crowd of over 20,000 is getting soaked by pelting rain. People are screaming and jumping up and down with the excitement of the storm. Jewel Kilcher, looking calm and collected despite the rain getting her wet, is finishing her set as planned. Lilith Crew are running around covering equipment with plastic bags and holding down the billowing side banners. The parking lot beside the venue is full of cars preparing to leave early from the show. So sad, but not really as everyone is in great spirits all things considered.

9:00PM EDT

Jewel Kilcher sauntered on stage this evening to a bluesy number accompanied by her bass player and drummer on a tom drum. This arrangement is unusual in that Jewel usually begins her set playing acoustically and solo. As she moved into her second song the crowd began to warm up. Half way through her set a huge and dramatic thunderstorm struck. Rain lashed down on those in the lawn and it even stretched into the seats. This did not stop Jewel who continued to play through her set unfased. At the end of her set Jewel attempted to calm down the storm-inspired crowd by playing a lullaby she used to sing to herself when she lived in a car. The crowd wasn't biting though. They continued to scream and dance not as much to Jewel's tranquil song but to the music that only Mother Nature can orchestrate.

8:00PM EDT

shawn colvin's here, really, she is. we just don't have any photos to prove it. the tape gremlin's were at work and even though we took photos, they weren't there when we went to download them. weird. that's a first. oh well, she's on til the end, so we'll have lots of photos of her.

shawn's set was great. she's accompanied by a bass player (can't confirm, but we've heard it's larry klein) and a guitar player. she sang songs from all her releases, so all the shawn fans in the audience ought to be pleased.

the mighty ms. m. (as we endearingly refer to her sometimes) hit the stage next. she seemed a little disoriented by the early time, and it was sure weird to be in the audience then too. it was still light, so there was a minimal amount of lighting/effects and the crowd was still chatting and eating dinner. the place was filled up, though, and there were a lot of people enjoying her set despite the distractions.

we noticed a few box seats which were completely empty. yes, there was prime real estate begging in the yale gutnick productions and sprint pcs boxes. 8 seats each were enjoying the show on their own devoid of human folk. What's up with you box owners? Like you had something better to do? Next year at least give your tickets away to someone. We'll find a nice charity to give them too if you don't want them.

people were singng along to the new songs, and "building a mystery" brought great cheers from the crowd. it even quieted the folks partying in the millcraft products box, much to their neighbours' delight/relief. during "possession", sean ashby urged the crowd to get to their feet and everyone obliged. now it was more like a "regular" sarah set! by the time she finished, everyone was pumped and cheering for more. they didn't stop even when the stage hands started taking down her gear. sorry, no encore tonight.

4:30PM EDT

it may be the heat, but everything and everybody around here seems really slow today. sluggy. and people are tired. see what a good day off does for us?!

patti griffin was the special guest today on the borders stage. she sang some songs that we haven't heard her do for her b-stage set. the crowd was small at first, but soon grew.

there have been as yet unconfirmed sightings of an astronaut/space traveller wandering around the site. we'll see if we can find it/him/her/them.

we heard sheryl crow doing her soundcheck, so we do know that she's here, but besides that, we wouldn't have known. there does seem to be more security than usual around today.

the massage therapy tent's right outside our bus--it's an appealing sight. jay needs one, but he's thinking that maybe his discomfort is more viral. we may send him to bed soon. he was lucky enough to tape jana's interview with yungchen lhamo today. here's what he said, "it was the most inspirational moment on tour; it brought both me and jana to tears." are we surprised? no. she's very inspiring. and jay will cry at the drop of a hat. it's the saskatchewan in him.

4:00PM EDT

Pittsburgh's own Lovechild played their only Lilith Fair show this afternoon. The band features Jenn Wertz and Stephanie Helsel playing with guitarist Korel Tunador. The band played several songs from their new self-titled album. Many audience members were fans of the band yelling out what songs they wanted to hear. Jenn led the band through four blues infused songs while playing the acoustic guitar. Partner Stephanie added backing vocals and percussion.

11:30AM EDT

a quote from our tour book: "note the set times: indigo girls close the show and sarah is on at 7:05 p.m."

yep, we have a really big sheew for you today. sheryl crow's here for her first of 2 shows and the lovely shawn colvin joins us. we're hoping she brought her cats with her. also joining us for stints on the acoustic stage are liz berlin and lovechild.

the lovely lisa loeb now appears on the b-stage in between shawn's and sarah's performances on the main stage. we'll be paying close attention to the schedule today, cause there are some major changes.

today we're also joined by a documentary crew. they'll be taping the show tonight with 6 or 8 cameras. i think we're gonna have trouble not getting in their way and vice versa.

10:00AM EDT

Burgettstown, PA doesn't exactly spring to mind when you think of likely stops for Lilith, but hey, if you build a 22,000 seat amphitheatre, we will come. And not with just any ordinary everyday festival - this is Lilith Fair. And it's not just any ordinary everyday Lilith Fair - it's a Lilith Fair show with Sheryl Crow. She's on for just two dates and this is one of them. It's also the first day for Shawn Colvin, Holly McNarland, and the only Lilith date for Lovechild. Plus, since the lineup is so ridiculously strong, the Burgettstown crowd will get to see Lisa Loeb on the second stage.