(Read: ~11 minutes)
A few days after the interview, La Bohème and Clem kicked off the coolest indie festival the city of Charlottesville had ever seen right in the parking lot of the ugly strip mall. As home to a large state university, the city has experience managing large crowds for sporting events, graduation, concerts and festivals all the time. Popular bands often fill the football stadium, even if the same can’t be said of the home team, once distinguished by the longest losing streak in college football.
The tent went up in the strip mall parking lot the day before the festival. The pole sticking out the top in the center rivaled the height of a nearby church steeple. In order to accommodate the expected crowd for the event, the city approved closing the street in front of the apartment building to traffic. A series of connected metal barriers standing about waist high enclosed the approved area. Dedicated fans camped overnight at the entry gates in order to ensure prime space directly in front of the stage under the tent. Overnighters brought folding chairs, small grills and pup tents, but stayed up and talked throughout the night about La Bohème, Clem and issues of concern for the nascent Bohemian movement. Visitors peeked up at her window and hoped that she was watching over them.
The morning of the festival, Crystal called for bright sunny skies without any hint of rain and the scene between the tent set up in the parking lot of the strip mall and the apartment building took on the feeling of being backstage. Vendors set up booths around the sides of the festival, cottage apothecaries selling scented candles with purportedly magical properties, painters hanging landscapes and nudes, makers hawking handmade bags and home decor made from repurposed materials.
Considering herself a foodie, Connie ensured a dining selection meant to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and the smell of food began to waft through the air in the early morning from several food trucks revving up to serve the expected crowd tons of fish tacos and barbecued pigs. Connie especially looked forward to a couple carts serving street food from around the world. Her favorite carnival snacks also found space in the mix, including kettle corn, funnel cakes and cotton candy. Local breweries rolled kegs of IPA and summer lagers into the communal beer garden while a winery from the hills nearby set up a wine slushie machine.
Connie expected to see La Bohème around eight that morning but nine o’clock approached without an appearance by the event’s host. She strolled over to the apartment building to check on her star. La Bohème came out the front door of the building before Connie got to the stoop. She noticed immediately that La Bohème had been crying.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, hugging her friend.
“Sorry I’m running late. Mom isn’t feeling well and needs rest. There’s nothing else we can do about it today.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Connie responded. Looking up at the unit on the second floor, she noticed Letitia at the window and waved. Letitia smiled and waved back. La Bohème blew a kiss to her mother and then walked with Connie across the street. The chaos of setting up the festival provided La Bohème temporary anonymity and she took a second to observe the scene. Seeing the size of the crowd already gathered at the gate gave her pause. “Is everything set for safety and security today?” she asked Connie.
“Yes, of course. You don’t need to worry. Just have fun with everyone who’s coming to see you.”
“That’s what I’m worried about Connie. A huge crowd is coming. Is there enough space for everyone who wants to come? If crappy weather comes, can we manage the crowd?”
“Yes, it’s fine. The security and the cops have it handled and Crystal’s forecast this morning called for clear, sunny skies all day,” Connie reassured. “You’re worried about your mom. But today will be great.”
About that time, a few fans finally noticed La Bohème and began to shower her with adoration. For the next hour, she mingled backstage then stepped on stage shortly after ten to start the show. Thousands of people already filled the parking lot to watch La Bohème emcee a run of modern vaudeville acts and eclectic entertainment, magic, feats of strength and pain endurance, performances with fire, axes and knives plus an assortment of self-styled freaks.
Clem and Them, the de facto house band, backed the festival with periodic sets amidst sweet clouds of cannabis smoke rising from the crowd, which continued unabated when The Dewberrys took the stage. Someone threw a joint on stage at Wildberry who pretended to light and smoke it, then slipped it into her pocket after.
The show proceeded without a hitch until the early evening when negative vibes began to manifest. Comfortable weather turned out a larger crowd than could fit inside the event’s security perimeter and an increasingly unruly crowd gathered outside the temporary metal barricades set up to control access to the closed street and the parking lot. Unable to enter the festival, people got rowdy and surged past the barriers, crashing through vendors’ booths in the process. The local cops stepped in to regain control when order broke down. Connie stepped in front of the local fire marshal just before he shut the event down due to crowd size. He preempted her complaint. “My only concern is making sure no one gets hurt. People just need to go home.”
“Making everyone leave adds fuel to fire. Then what? Fights, vandalism, looting? Or do you expect the cops to rough everyone up to make the point it’s time to go home. There’s a better way than starting a full-blown riot. Just close the surrounding streets and give people a safe place to gather and they’ll settle down again.”
Authorities acquiesced and allowed the overflowing crowd to loiter and drink within the expanded perimeter. The placated mob began to settle again, encouraged by a fresh supply of cops in riot gear supplied by the county sheriff’s office at the request of the fire marshall.
While Connie worried earlier about the crowd’s anger igniting, rain and fear quickly became an issue when nasty-looking clouds formed overhead. The afternoon thunderstorm sprung up over the city unexpectedly and caught everyone by surprise. The sky opened and pelting rain began to fall, all the folks caught outside the tent began to push, seeking cover. Panic set in after a series of ear-shattering bangs caused by a lightning strike exploding a nearby power transformer. Then came a downpour of pebble-sized hail. The festival crowd swarmed around the tent’s temporary supports while looking for cover, causing the heavy nylon top to wobble overhead. People lost their footing in the sudden crush of the crowd and fell under the trample of panicked feet. A few folks lost consciousness, only staying upright due to the smothering press of the crowd against their listless bodies.
La Bohème feared for the audience trapped amidst the chaos and called out from the stage with a clarion “Hey!” that pierced the electric air. “Catch me!” she cried out, then leapt from the stage, twisting midair, landing on her back, cradled in outstretched arms and hands. Forgetting their panic, people lifted her up above their heads. Moments before, the crowd raged out of control in a frenzy, now they focused on protecting La Bohème while she crowd-surfed above them. The fear in the crowd evaporated and everyone began to watch La Bohème. Clem and the rest of the band, affected by the scene, jumped on stage and started playing, disregarding the potentially fatal conditions created by a mix of electricity and water. Hearing the music, the crowd started dancing instead of pushing and shoving, enjoying the moment instead of being afraid. When she reached the edge of the tent, La Bohème dropped to her feet and entered the crowd with a splash, hugging and shaking hands, the rain and hail still pouring down. The weather mattered less than her gestures of love and grace, which rippled through the crowd in the parking lot despite the torrential onslaught.
The scariest part of the storm only lasted a couple of minutes with reports of small tornados touching down in surrounding parts of the city. Fortunately, none hit the festival. By the time the system passed, La Bohème was leading a conga line thousands of people long, snaking all around the strip mall parking lot, twisting and passing in every direction, everybody grasping hold of the person in front, high-fiving people going by in the opposite direction, soaked and satisfied.
Minutes later, the sun came out, just like it comes up, and the music eventually played late. A few minor injuries occurred amidst the melee during the storm, though no one required any trips to the hospital. Based on video of the scene and people’s descriptions of fearing for their lives, a peaceful outcome was no less than a miracle.
Arlo Gust 