12:10AM CDT

another day draws to a close as we near the end of our journey. only 3 more shows left. unbelievable.

sarah kept the crowd on its feet after the indigo girls left them craving more. sporting freshly dyed locks, she paced and roared all through her set. the crowd loved it. many sang along with the hits while others danced and clapped and just smiled a lot. once again she ended with the "big yellow taxi" jamboree. no one seems to tire of participating in it--it's fresh and fun every night. that's great to see.

10:00PM CDT

the indigos just finished their set to thunderous applause. the audience was not happy that they weren't returning. as usual, they finished their set with "the water is wide" (jewel and sarah guested on that) and "closer to fine". meredith and shawn joined all of them to sing along on that. it was so great to watch the audience while they sang that: everyone was singing and dancing and clapping. that's the essence of great music and performance. it was all there in that four minutes and the audience knew it.

earlier, jewel had wowed 'em with her vocal prowess. unlike other nights, the audience here sang along with "who will save your soul?" you'd swear this audience either is just full of plain old music lovers or full of people who've been starved of music for a long time. maybe it's combination of both of those things. who knows? all we know is that they are one of the best audiences we've seen in a while.

7:30PM CDT

the crowd's digging shawn colvin who's all decked out in a feather sweater and crazy tights. it's a bit of a change from her last few shows!

so far it hasn't rained, but it is cool. most people are sporting jeans and sweatshirts.

6:30PM CDT

meredith brooks is the perfect opener for the main stage. she really socks it to 'em out there. if anyone in the crowd was trying to get some sleep or just killing time, well, they soon stop! she starts with a bang and doesn't let up til her very last note. her hit "bitch" certainly gets the biggest response of all the songs, but there are a couple of others which set the crowd off as well.

6:00PM CDT

Dar Williams made an impressive debut at Lilith Fair this afternoon. Dar performed a solo acoustic set on the b stage to nearly one thousand devoted fans. Dar, who is very animated and humorous in her songs and in her between song storytelling, played 5 songs. Judging by most of the crowd's reaction they were familiar with many of the songs that she played today. One song that had the crowd cheering was about a thanksgiving dinner where a family of christians sit down with their "pagan" relative. At the end of her energetic and thought provoking set Dar left the stage grinning with a group of about one hundred people clapping their hands hoping for more.

5:30PM CDT

good thing we seem to have a knack for being at the right place at the right time. we decided to tape "i don't want to think about it", the last song of the wild strawberries' set tonight, cause it kicks butt. so we got there in time, but it was very crowded and we couldn't get very close without trampling hundreds of patient lilith fans.

we got an opening mid-way through their set as people (egad!) got up and left. from the new vantage point, though not ideal, we could see sarah watching them from behind the stage. hmmm, she played guitar on "i don't want to think about it". hmm, maybe she'll play tonight. sure enough, she jumped onstage with her gretsch and jumped right in. the crowd went crazy! good thing we didn't rely on anyone in our production team to let us know about that, huh?!

4:30PM CDT

Mary Jane Lamond and her band played their first Lilith Fair set this afternoon under the industrial setting of the Hanes bridge. A crowd of around 500 sat or stood to watch her set of 5 songs. Members of the Wild Strawberries, Sarah McLachlan's band and Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls watched her set. Mary Jane was upbeat and in good voice during her set. A crowd favourite was Wendy MacIsaac who played a mean fiddle and sang background vocals. Near the end of the set some members of the audience who had up to then been sitting on asphalt stood and danced their best jig to the music. Who says Milwaukee doesn't have a celtic soul?

4:00PM CDT

pat benatar just rocked the house!

the who's who of lilith fair braved the crowds gathered to watch her set. seen at the side of stage were meredith brooks; amy ray and josh; ash, brian, sean, dean, gavin from sarah's band/crew (and we're sure there were a whole lot more there who we couldn't see); and sarah was most likely there. everyone's been talking about her presence for days.

she didn't disappoint anyone either. she's a warm personality and was genuinely happy to be here playing. her excitement was palpable. and the crowd was with her the whole way. she sang 4 songs from her new album.

playing guitar for her was her husband neil (sorry, didn't catch the surname), and watching just to the side and singing along to every word was her young daughter. it truly was a family affair.

2:30PM CDT

the clouds have rolled in, but we're hoping that it won't rain. everyone's very optimistic. we're tired of this seemingly permanent change in the weather. it feels more like fall now.

we also had a shock when we went into catering. after the toronto dates where we were oh so spoiled, this was a rude awakening. now we're back in ho-humsville.

the venue, however, seems like a very nice amphitheater. there are great views from the lawn and the pavilion is very large with really good sight lines.

the village people are just completing their set-up. it's nice to hang with them while they do so and to hear their stories of life on the road. the common theme among them all today is their sorrow that the tour will soon be over. no one can believe it nor do they want it to be over. they're all enjoying it immensely. it sure will be sad to say farewell.

we were exploring the village as pat benatar completed her sound check on the village stage. she sounded great! and she looks great too. she'll likely draw quite the crowd including most of the crew and bands.

the community tent today includes voters for choice, planned parenthood of greater milwaukee, lifebeat, and women's center of waukesha. the center provides a number of services to women and children including transitional living, counseling services, the family support project, the legal advocacy project, an employment program, and sister house, an emergency shelter.