Unfortunately, it's Natalie's last day, and all of us on the tour will miss her and her band immensely. I feel a sense of anticipating when I walk around backstage; sideways glances and quieted giggles from the backstage crew tell me something's cookin', but I just don't know what it is.

I've been away for several weeks, as Yvonne and Cybergrrl Aliza Sherman have come out for stretches at a time. I feel totally lucky to be back, especially for the end of the tour and I can't wait to go and find all my friends and busmates who I thought I had said my last good-byes to the first time around.

3:45 pm
I caught the arm wresting match backstage--they actually sold tickets! Collette beat Jamie of catering in the best two out of three, which is cool because Jamie is a guy. But the real showdown was between Julia and Jen, both from the stage crew. After three short matches as the "Rocky" theme blared in the background, Julia was triumphant. They hoisted her onto the arm wresting table and wrapped a shiny, gold victory belt around her waist (much like a WWF match). Quite a treat--I see little has changed since I've been gone.

4:00 pm
Because I got here a bit late (traffic was a nightmare) my trekking from stage to stage has started with Nina Storey, the last performance on the Village Stage. With her long jet black hair, streaked with varying colors at the ends with tiny bangs just barely resting on her forehead, Nina sang a set of country-inspired songs. At one point, she stopped a song half-way through to put down her guitar. Her band was a bit confused and also stopped playing, but she urged them on and told the crowd she wanted to dance instead of play. Well, her energy was infectious because by the end she had most of the crowd on their feet dancing with her.

4:30 pm
I ventured into the amphitheater, and not only does the show look sold-out--it looks oversold. It's nearly full here in the grassy area and the seats and there are many, many more out in the Village area still.

Replacing her signature cat-eye glasses with blue-tinted sunglasses, Lisa Loeb is strumming her guitar to a song about love, to which she says, "nobody ever cheers for love!" She has always given me hope that things in your life don't have to happen in "order." She had a huge radio hit, a video and numerous MTV appearances all before she had a record deal--typically the gateway into such success.

7:15 pm
Ohmigod!!! What an amazing performer! I have always liked Paula Cole's "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" but I've never seen her show until today.

There are few people who aretheir music, who feel it in their every pore and want you to feel it too and Paula falls into that group of artists. With a Bob Marley painting resting on a chair to her left, it is clear where Paula's expressive, unselfconscious dance and trance-like states are inspired by--the master himself.

8:00 pm
Since it's Natalie's last night, her crew has decided to surprise her with dressing up in circus outfits: ring master, clown, strong man, cheerleader, gorilla. They set up her stage while in costume, to which the audience went wild. Everything during her set went normal, until we got to the last song, "Thank You."

In addition to the guest performers on the last song, her crew members paraded out still dressed in their outfits, then slowly but surely, more circus performers joined the stage--a guy on stilts dressed as a clown, a belly dancer, more clowns, a joker--the whole stage resembled a Ringling Brother and Barnum and Bailey Circus. They dropped balloons and confetti as everybody danced and sang, "thank you thank you, thank you thank you." I could see other crew members jamming up both sides of the backstage area trying to see what was going on. This audience really can't appreciate how cool this is--I'm sure they think this happens in every city!

9:00 pm
We just interviewed Natalie's band after the entire circus spectacle. All of them are tired but are charged over the surprise--most of them didn't have a clue what was going to happen. As we go around the room to ask each of them their final thoughts about being at Lilith, the word most often used to describe their experience here is "utopic." From the friendships they've made to the music they have collaborated on to the performances to such appreciative audiences, several of them describe it as the most incredible thing they have ever been a part of. It is sad for them to leave, as they have been on every show (51 of them) since the beginning of this year's tour.

Midnight
I've finally been able to greet everybody and once that is over, it's life as usual on the road--shower before the bus leaves, grab a beer and go hang out with other folks in front of the buses. Tonight someone has located a large candle and brought out their guitars, so we wound up having a make-shift campfire before the buses roll out. We have a really long drive ahead of us to Park City, Utah and I know our bus driver, Dave, is trying to round everybody up so we can get a move on. I have definitely missed this and everyone and it's good to be back, for sure.