Purple Door 2003 left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. Now before you go suggesting brands of toothpaste to help me out, let me explain why. It was a dreary day when we attended which thankfully did not hold back some pretty incredible shows from Poor Old Lu, Bleach, The Benjamin Gate, Anberlin, and of course Brave Saint Saturn. But the night unfolded as was one large sopping wet letdown. It rained on and off all day and by the early evening it began coming down in sheets. Relient K was the warm-up act for those hard-rocking Swedes Blindside. However, following their performance, a furious downpour caused Blindside's set to be cancelled entirely, sending the mass of people (including us) stumbling over each other through mud and flood towards the exits. So when it poured once again for Purple Door 2004, we abandoned our plans to attend. However, our good friend Rebekah braved the elements and contributed this brief commentary of her experience...
-- John DiBiase, 9/11/04

Muddy. That’s the one word that describes Purple Door 2004. The overall artist lineup was quality, but unavoidable rains ended up canceling some of the shows and making the venue a mud bath.

Some shows were worth wading through the mud to catch. Number One Gun fired up the morning on the main stage with an energetic set that got the crowds pumped and ready for later shows. Squad Five-O turned their HM Stage afternoon show into one giant mud pit extravaganza and even encouraged their audience to embrace the mud while willingly jumping into it themselves. On the softer side, Denison Witmer and Over the Rhine catered to the people who just like to sit back and enjoy the music on the Gallery Stage.

While most of the bands put on decent shows, Anberlin was this viewer’s most anticipated event. Their show was not a disappointment. They managed to help people forget about their current grimy conditions and enjoy a great rock show.

After the moving praise and worship set by Cool Hand Luke, the sun was beginning to lower and due to the fear of losing and not being able to locate my flip-flops in the dark on the way back to the car, I had to depart from the festival.

Moral of this review: Check the weather before going to an outdoor festival… if it’s calling for rain, wear old clothes and old sneakers.
-- Rebekah Markowitz, 9/11/04