2010 Concert Journals

[plvarona]

It looks like I'm starting the "Concert Journal" thread this year.

This past Wednesday, I saw my first concert of the year, seeing NEEDTOBREATHE, Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers and Graham Colton at the Varisty Theater near the LSU campus.  Interestingly enough, this was also the first show of NEEDTOBREATHE's spring tour.  I was personally surprised that they would choose Baton Rouge to kick off their tour too, but I'm not going to complain about that.  Also, this show actually started on time, which is a rarity at this particular venue.

Graham Colton was the first act of the evening, and it was just him with an acoustic guitar tonight.  With what he had, he did a good job.  Graham had plenty of energy, and a lot of the songs he played were catchy, both of which help tremendously during an acoustic set.  Graham also worked in a few amusing lines, most notably when he was describing the song "Cigarette", he mentioned it was just an artistic reference and he does not advocate smoking.  All of this helped to start the evening on a high note.

Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers were next, and I would say they were the most entertaining act of the evening.  Their sound was primarily folk-rock, with instrumentation mildly varying by the song.  Typically they went with a standard vocal-guitar-drums arrangement, although a keyboard was worked in on a few songs.  Additonally, on a few songs they went even farther out.  One of these was the title track to their latest album, "The Bear", where they brought in a tuba.  Another one was "My Old Man", where they did an unplugged set consisting of two acoustic guitars, a banjo and an accordion while stepping away from the microphones.  Honestly, I thought that song was the highlight of the set.  The band also had their fair share of crowd-pleasing moments, which included several mock teenypopper dance moves on "Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts", and a mega-medley at the end of their closing song, "Days", which features snippets of songs ranging all the way from the '50's to the '00's, with some classical songs and children's songs thrown in for good measure.  This set turned out to be quite fun to watch, and I probably need to check out this band more because I like their sound a lot.

NEEDTOBREATHE was the evening's headliner act, and overall I thought they did a good job, even though they had a few rough moments early in the set.  At first, they had some sound balance issues, as I couldn't hear lead singer Bear Rhinehart at all on the first song.  Fortunately, the sound balance improved after the first three songs.  Also, their arrangment of "Nothing Left to Lose" sounded a bit strange, and I didn't even recognize the song until near the end of it.  Fortunately, they were pretty solid from their fourth song forward.  I was able to pick up their musical texturing toward the end of the set, as I think that is one of the band's biggest strengths.  They also did some short jamming at the end of a lot of their songs, and I'm okay with it as long as it's not excessive and it keeps sight of the song, which it did.  The guys also did a good job getting the crowd into their set, as this was especially evident in the middle of their set when they included a bunch of crowd-pleasing songs ("Something Beautiful", "Washed By The Water", "Lay 'Em Down".)  Bear Rhinehart even threw in a funny line when he referred to "More Time" as a "song that keeps getting put in bad movies."  So overall, there was definitely more to like than dislike tonight.

After the show, I was able to chat with Graham Colton for a little bit, and also briefly met Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers.  I ended up getting the most recent CD from both artists, and also had the CD covers signed.

Set Lists:

NEEDTOBREATHE: "Prisoner", "Girl Named Tennessee", "Nothing Left to Lose", (song I didn't recognize, with the Beatles' "Get Back" sampled in), "Something Beautiful", "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" (CCR cover) seguing into "Washed By The Water", "Lay 'Em Down", "Hurricane", "Stones Under Rushing Water", "More Time"
Encore: "The Outsiders", "Let Us Love"

Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers: "Flower in Rain", "Sweet Sophia", "Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts", "The Bear", "My Old Man", "4th of July", "You Give Love a Bad Name" seguing into "Days" followed by a mega-medley featuring "Lowrider", "Jessie's Girl", "867-5309", "Ghostbusters", "Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round", "Beethoven's 5th", "That's Amore", "Great Balls of Fire", "Aquarius", "Stayin' Alive", "Physical", "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Hero" (Enrique Iglesias), and two other songs I can't remember

Graham Colton: "Don't Give Up On Me", "First Week", "There Comes a Time", "Cellophane Girl", "Love Comes Back Around", "Cigarette", "Best Days"

[murlough23]

I'm getting a late start on concerts this year. David Crowder Band and Sleeping at Last are coming up in April, and if I can work out the logistics, there's a tiny chance that I might finally get to see Iona live this year.

[NewDimension]

Last night I went to Sanctus Real's free, non-tour concert at Sunset Christian Center in Rocklin, CA. It was an acoustic concert and they played six songs from their new album, Pieces of a Real Heart.

When the concert first started and they were just about to play their first song, Matt dropped his guitar and remarked about how that was a great way to start a show. So then he proceeded to tune the guitar before they played.

On the last song they played, "We Need Each Other,' Matt asked someone from the crowd for a video camera, and then ran around the stage recording everything as he sang. At one point he made this twirl, which was quite funny.

Set List:

"Forgiven", These Things Take Time", "Lead Me", "The Redeemer", "I'll Show You How to Live", "Keep My Heart Alive", "Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly)", "The Face of Love", "I'm Not Alright", "We Need Each Other." 

Before and after the concert, it kind of felt like a David Crowder concert, because the church was playing some of the David Crowder Band's music, such as, "He Is Our King" and "Wholly Yours." They also played Brandon Heath's song, "Give Me Your Eyes" and Switchfoot's "Meant to Live."

Funny story:

Before the concert started, I told my father that it'd be cool to just walk up to some random person and ask them for their autograph. I didn't think much about what I said afterward, but when I was standing in the line for the band's autograph after the concert, I let this girl go ahead of me, and she said something about autograph's and I couldn't hear the rest of what she said, but I had my notebook out so I asked her for her autograph. She's all like, "oh, no" and smiling, but I said, "I really want your autograph." So she wrote her name in Japanese! (I think she was Japanese/American). It's fun asking random people for their autograph.

I also got the band's autograph and briefly spoke to Matt.

[ajyouthguy]

So i got a neat 'concert' experience today.  Apparently tied to some of the dates of the Winter Jam tour, people can enter or apply for the right to have one of the opening bands, Australian band "Revive" that Third Day 'discovered' and brought to America basically, in their house for a living room show the day of the Winter Jam show.  Little Rock has Winter Jam tonight, which I'm not going to, but one of my wife's friends who lives in our community (an hour or so away from Little Rock) won the house show, and invited my wife and me.  So, we spent about an hour or so with Revive and about 20 other people, in this lady's living room.  They played about a half hour acoustic show.  Their music hasn't ever really done much for me, but I have a new level of respect for them after this experience, and the whole idea of an Aussie rock band playing in a living room in a house in rural-ish Arkansas was really neat.  It was a fun experience.

[murlough23]

I totally respect that they're willing to do that. But yeah, their music doesn't do it for me, either.

[plvarona]

I just saw Jennifer Knapp do an acoustic show in New Orleans, and she put on a great show.  She was in pretty good form, had plenty of energy, and showed her sense of humor early and often.  Interestingly enough, the opening act, Jenn Howard, had also recently returned from hiatus herself.  According to my ticket, Derek Webb was also supposed to be on the bill, and I know he is touring with Jennifer right now.  However, he wasn't at this show.  Apparently, he must have had something else go on this weekend because none of the tour dates from this weekend were listed on his myspace page, yet a few future tour dates were listed.  Oh well.  At least I got to see him last Fall.

As for the opening act we did get, Jenn Howard was no Derek Webb, but she still wasn't too shabby.  Jenn has a very powerful, bluesy voice, which was well-suited for a lot of the songs she did.  This was just an acoustic set with Jenn bringing along a guitarist, which Jenn mentioned was a change for her because she usually performs for a full band.  Honestly, the way she sang at times was better suited for a full band than just a stripped-down set, because she oversang a few songs.  However, when she was on, she sounded very good.  Jenn did primarily her original material, but she also performed several covers, which actually got the best reception out of all the songs in her set.  In fact, she brought a few die-hard fans with her, and I could especially hear them cheering during the cover songs, which I'm guessing are staples of her full-band sets.  So overall, it was a bit of a "hit or miss" opening set, but more to like than dislike here.

After a short break, Jennifer Knapp came on with just she and her acoustic guitar.  Almost immediately she started firing funny remarks.  When she walked in, she commented, "I still haven't mastered how to come in looking really cool."  Then, while Jennifer was setting up, she noticed the microphone was positioned a bit high which led her to remark, "How tall does she think I am?"  During this time, a few die-hard fans were already making requests, which led Jennifer to say "Why don't I play this instead", and then she broke into "Whole Again."  As for her set, it primarily consisted of new music, although she brought back a few older songs.  It was interesting to see which songs made the cut, as they were a mix of big hits ("Undo Me", "Whole Again", "A Little More") and non-singles that apparently are some of Jen's favorites ("Usher Me Down", "Martrys and Thieves", "Fall Down.")  As for the new songs, I like what I hear a lot.  The hooks are still there, and from what I could tell, the lyrics, while not earth-shattering, are relatable.  In fact, there's one song I heard that is almost a sure bet to make my "2010 in Song" compilation because I can relate to it so well.  The main set concluded with "Inside", and I can certainly see why Josh (in another thread) said it was the "angriest" song she's ever done.  Jennifer did something slick-looking at the end of that song.  Basically, on the same beat the song ended, Jennifer threw her guitar pick into the crowd, and then did the typical pre-encore "walk off the stage" routine.

I did mention earlier that Jennifer had lots of energy, and I'd describe it as the energy level I would expect from a full band fully plugged in, yet all of this energy was produced by just one woman on an acoustic guitar.  There were some songs where Jennifer was strumming her strings so hard, I thought she might actually shred them.  Jennifer also kept firing funny remarks throughout the set.  Some of the best ones came when she was explaining the pre-order option on her upcoming album.  She jokingly described the procedure by saying, "First you pay for the album now, then I take your money and disappear for another seven years."  The pre-order did come with a demo CD, and Jennifer decided to give one away for free during this segment.  So she said, "The people in the back never get anything", so she threw the CD pretty far, to about the middle of the room.  Afterwards she said, "Don't sue me now."  Throughout the night, some fans kept shouting requests at Jennifer, which she deflected by saying, "Sorry.  I forgot how to play that song.  You can come up here and play it if you want."  No one did that, though.

So overall, it was great to see Jennifer back on tour after all these years.  Between her music and her humorous remarks, her set was highly entertaining.  I'm definitely glad I made the trip as well.

Set Lists:

Jennifer Knapp: "Whole Again", "Dive In", "If It Made a Difference", "Mr. Gray", "A Little More", "Usher Me Down", "Martyrs and Thieves", "Fall Down", "Better Off", (song not on the new album), "Fallen", "Letting Go", "Inside"
Encore: "Undo Me", "Every Little Bit" (Patty Griffin cover), "Stone to the River"

Jenn Howard: (two songs I didn't recognize), "One on My Mind", "Wild World" (Cat Stevens cover), "Skeptic", "Couldn't Really Keep Me There", "Don't Cry Baby" (Etta James cover), "Even If", (song I didn't recognize), "Oh!  Darling" (Beatles cover), "On The Off Days", "Me and Bobby McGee" (Janis Joplin cover)

[murlough23]

According to my ticket, Derek Webb was also supposed to be on the bill, and I know he is touring with Jennifer right now.  However, he wasn't at this show.  Apparently, he must have had something else go on this weekend because none of the tour dates from this weekend were listed on his myspace page, yet a few future tour dates were listed.

I just checked Derek's MySpace, and then Jennifer's. He's got upcoming dates in Arizona, Oregon, and Washington, but no California. What the hell?

Jennifer's got some April dates in CA. I might try to catch one of those.

It was interesting to see which songs made the cut, as they were a mix of big hits ("Undo Me", "Whole Again", "A Little More") and non-singles that apparently are some of Jen's favorites ("Usher Me Down", "Martrys and Thieves", "Fall Down.")

"Martrys" and "Fall Down" are personal favorites of mine too; glad to see she's still bringing out deep album cuts from yesteryear.

Jennifer did something slick-looking at the end of that song.  Basically, on the same beat the song ended, Jennifer threw her guitar pick into the crowd, and then did the typical pre-encore "walk off the stage" routine.

Haha, I still have a guitar pick lying around somewhere from when Danielle (and pretty much everyone else on stage, but Danielle's pick was the one I caught) did that at the end of a Caedmon's Call concert.

I did mention earlier that Jennifer had lots of energy, and I'd describe it as the energy level I would expect from a full band fully plugged in, yet all of this energy was produced by just one woman on an acoustic guitar.

A friend's description of her doing this in her opening slot on Audio A's Zombie Tour was what convinced me Knapp's music was worth checking out. Neither of us knew anything about her before that, and I missed the openers since I was late to that show, but my friend was expecting her to suck since he wasn't into mellow acoustic music... he was pleasantly surprised.

Jennifer also kept firing funny remarks throughout the set.

This also brings back heartwarming memories of the times I've seen her live. I love her sense of humor - it isn't something you'd ever guess she had just listening to her albums.

[ajyouthguy]

just saw The Rocket Summer and OneRepublic at the college near us.  Excellent musicianship, regardless of what you think of either band.  It was a neat show with a lot of diversity and talented musicians.

[ajyouthguy]

i'm so excited, i just found out that something we've been working on for 2-3 months IS gonna happen...we are gonna bring Shaun Groves in for a show at our little church in rural Arkansas!

[ewok20t3]

There's a good chance no one here will understand my excitement for the concert that I'm going to on Saturday because I don't think anyone here listens to these bands. I've been to hundreds of concerts and this could end up going down as one of the great ones for me, so I just needed to vent my excitement for it!

The lineup is:
Dependency - One of my favorite melodic hardcore bands.
Hundredth - One of my favorite melodic hardcore bands.
Mattie Montgomery - He'll be speaking. He's the vocalist from For Today, but he recently put out some kind of spoken word album.
White Collar Sideshow - Everyone who has seen these guys seems to fall in love with their show. They list their genre as "an intense theatrical music performance".
The Glorious Unseen - Hands down the best of the ambient-post-rock-worship bands, in my opinion.

I haven't been this excited about a concert in a very long time. All of these bands are extremely passionate and worshipful and the lineup is pretty diverse musically, so I can't wait! I'm probably setting my hopes a little too high, aren't I? 

[ajyouthguy]

White Collar Sideshow - Everyone who has seen these guys seems to fall in love with their show. They list their genre as "an intense theatrical music performance".

they (like Deas Vail) are from my area, and GREAT people with an awesome story and an incredible performance with an amazing message.  it is powerful, intense, hard to describe without seeing it.  and as i said, they are great, neat people.

[murlough23]

Wow, have I really gotten this far into the year without any concertgoing? Sad. That'll change within mere hours.

Concerts Attended:

4/24 (Sat) - Jennifer Knapp w/ Amy Courts & Pawnshop Kings, The Mint, Los Angeles, CA A-
Jennifer Knapp A
Setlist: Whole Again, A Little More, Dive In, Mr. Grey, Usher Me Down, Want For Nothing, Martyrs & Thieves, Fall Down, The Way I Am, Letting Go, Undo Me, Inside, Stone to the River
Amy Courts C+
Pawnshop Kings B

4/26 (Mon) - Sleeping at Last w/ Jeremy Larson, Hotel Cafe, Hollywood, CA B+
Sleeping at Last B+
Setlist: Porcelain, Chandeliers, Hurry, Needle & Thread, Side By Side, Naive, Keep No Score, Green Screens, Birdcage Religion, Currents, Unmade, Umbrellas
Encore: Timelapse
Jeremy Larson B

6/20 (Sun) - Iona w/ Dave Beegle, Rialto Theater, Loveland, CO A
Iona A
Setlist: Be Thou My Vision, Treasure, Today, Jigs, Another Realm, A Million Stars, Divine Presence, Ancient Wells, Flight of the Wild Goose, The Island, Clouds, Encircling, Let Your Glory Fall, A Dhia Ghleigil (Angel of God), Revelation, Heaven's Bright Sun, Castlerigg/Reels
Encore: Irish Day, Bi-Sé I Mo Shuìl Pt. 2
Dave Beegle B+

11/12 (Fri) - Mae w/ Terrible Things, Windsor Drive & Beta Wolf, The Glass House, Pomona, CA B-
Mae A-
Setlist: Bloom, Anything, Embers & Envelopes, The Everglow, Suspension, Breakdown, Night/Day, The Ocean, I Just Needed You to Know, Mistakes We Knew We Were Making, Just Let Go, Summertime, Giving It Away, Tisbury Lane
Encore: Sun, We're So Far Away, Someone Else's Arms, The Fisherman Song (We All Need Love)
Terrible Things B-
Windsor Drive C-
Beta Wolf B

12/3 (Fri) Future of Forestry w/ Kye Kye, Cornerstone Community Church, Simi Valley, CA A-
Future of Forestry A-
Setlist: Your Day's Not Over, Working to Be Loved, Closer to Me, So Close So Far, O Come O Come Emmanuel, What Child Is This?, Do You Hear What I Hear?, The First Noel, Pie Jesu, Joy to the World/All Creatures of Our God and King, The Earth Stood Still, O Holy Night, Little Drummer Boy
Encore: Slow Your Breath Down, Halleluiah
Kye Kye B+

(Last Update: 12/3/10)

[Ian]

That last one's not a typo. I'm scheming to kidnap the wife and surprise her with plane tickets to Denver and a weekend visit to her relatives in Fort Collins.

haha, nice work

[murlough23]

haha, nice work

Yeah, congratulate me when I actually pull it off.

[Wildcatblue7]

Yeah, congratulate me when I actually pull it off.

That is adorable, good luck!

[ajyouthguy]

Was supposed to go see Needtobreathe 2 hours or so from home Monday but may not be able to get tickets, that sucks.  BUT, may go to the Tuesday show a little further away, with Seabird also involved in that one!

[murlough23]

Just got back from the Jennifer Knapp show. Will post my full thoughts later, but for now, I'll just say "Wow." She still sounds awesome after all these years, the new material sounds great, she still has an awesome sense of humor, and damned if that wasn't the most supportive crowd out of any concert I've ever attended.

[murlough23]

Full thoughts on the Jennifer Knapp show, as posted in my blog today:

-----

Jennifer Knapp gave an awesome performance at The Mint in Los Angeles last night. For me, it was a lot like stepping into a time machine, reliving honest, confessional moments that had helped to soothe savage nerves and focus my prayers during college - a more innocent time when I was perhaps most acutely aware of my constant need for grace. Except, after stepping into that time machine and going back 10 or so years, I inadvertently did something to change the timeline, and my return trip landed me in this bizarro parallel world where Jennifer played rowdy nightclubs instead of squeaky-clean Christian festivals like fish fest, or stadium-sized opening gigs for the likes of dc Talk and Jars of Clay. The thing is, as uncomfortable as this parallel world could be, where I had to squeeze my way up to a crowded bar just to get some semblance of dinner, and navigate my way through a half-drunk crowd in which I, with my dorky T-shirt bought at Jennifer's show at Knott's Berry Farm a decade ago, clearly looked out of place, I kind of preferred this atmosphere to the "family-friendly" one where people do the competitive Jesus cheer and stuff. (You know what I'm talking about - two sides of a crowd warring to see who can scream "We love Jesus, yes we do, we love Jesus, how 'bout YOU?" the loudest.) And the crowd wasn't that rowdy. They were noisy, even with some interjecting smart remarks or off-the-cuff requests, but they were amazingly supportive. Given what Jennifer's been through in the last few weeks (and come to think of it, years), this was probably the best of all possible atmospheres.

So, in case you haven't seen the scuttlebutt making the rounds on the Internet, Jennifer Knapp came out of the closet in interviews with Christianity Today and other such publications about a week and a half ago. This got the predictable response from a lot of disgruntled Christian music fans - cold, hard, seething judgment. I was actually unsure of whether there'd be any vocal opponents of her coming out in the crowd that night, but then I thought, this is L.A., and why would such people pay to go to one of her shows? The interesting side effect that I hadn't counted on was that she suddenly got a lot of support from gay Christians. Yes, such people exist. I already knew that they did, but for some folks, these two things together don't compute. (If you're one of those folks, you probably won't want to finish reading this note, since I'm trying to be understanding about this, and I'm guessing you're not.) What this added up to was a crowd of people that would cheer equally loudly when a person on stage declared "I love Jesus!" (which opener/backup singer Amy Courts was not at all shy about saying), and when the same person did anything perceived to break traditional Christian rules, such as drinking on stage (not a big deal in my book), swearing (Amy dropped a couple of f-bombs - Jennifer was notably classier, though her new song "Inside" actually dares use the word "hell" in a non-fire-and-eternal-damnation context, as in "who the hell do they think they are?"), asking if anyone in the audience is gay (Amy is not, a lot of the audience was, Jennifer herself never made direct reference to the issue), and... actually, that's about it. Sorry to disappoint those who were hoping for scandalous reports of Adam Lambert-like activities on stage. Aside from the occasional slightly naughty comment (most of which was egged on by the audience), this was a remarkably reverent and passionate performance. Just Jen on an acoustic guitar, playing the hell (!) out of it, just like the old days when she first won us over with her acoustic confessions, except with a sidekick (and most of the audience, on the older songs) on backing vocals.

You're probably wondering if she does "Christian" music any more. I can't really answer that for you. Most of the set consisted of her old material, and most of those songs are very straightforward and honest about her experiences as a new believer. Only people can be Christians, though, not music. And she asserts that she is still one now just as she was then. It's refreshing to hear those old songs, knowing that the fervor behind them has not changed. Many young Christians who write songs make a lot of goody-two-shoes promises to do nothing but good from now on and to not be like the rest of that old sinful world - promises which are always broken later, because it is in our nature to fall and need to be rescued. I always got the sense from records like Kansas that great struggle went into those songs, that they were confessions of wanting to be holy but knowing she herself could not provide the impetus to achieve this - and I related to them for that very reason. Knowing what I know now changes nothing. Jennifer mentioned between songs last night that these writings had always been intended as gifts to the audience, not didactic sets of instructions, but something that would hopefully be as meaningful to an honest Christian struggling in their walk with Christ as they had been to the writer. She half-jokingly admonished us not to go back and reinterpret things in light of recent revelations. (So I'll save the curious question about why she so often uses the gender-neutral meaning of "man" to refer to herself. I can't complain; it always made it less awkward for me to sing along.)

And that's really the crux of it - she's not writing songs now, nor has she ever, with the intent of standing on a soapbox and taking a side on a hot-button issue. She's writing about wrestling with God, trying to ingest His words and take them seriously, admitting that it's a daily struggle to do so. Any Christian who is honest with themselves should be able to relate to some portion of that. It's often spoken in more general terms, sometimes even paraphrased from the Bible itself, so that it is not zooming in on one specific pet sin that's easy to complain about and treat like it's someone else's problem. This is music that owns the sin and says "This is my problem." Not specifically sexuality or greed or lust or what have you, but just a general contempt for obedience to God that we all struggle with despite knowing in our heads that we want to strive for better. Knowing her sexual orientation changes none of this for me - the words are equally genuine, perhaps even more so, in light of the dark nights of the soul that she must have gone through as a result of trying to face this honestly and being hung out to dry by those who knew about it.

Many of these same sentiments seemed to be echoed in the new songs, though she did also branch out with an easygoing country song about her grandfather, a noticeably angry one that serves as an indictment of a Church body so eager to judge that it casts stones without knowing the whole story (though go back and listen to "Hold Me Now" and there's that same sentiment expressed in softer terms), and even a Dylan-esque three chord closer that she described as 'more "anthemic" than her old stuff. Eight years out of the spotlight, with most of that time spent far, far away from the toxic community that is the Nashville core of CCM-land, understandably brought about an interesting evolution in this artist's approach. But it's still the same Jennifer. She's not radically reinventing the wheel - just writing about her growths and struggles as she encounters them. It's all good stuff, and I'm absolutely ecstatic for the May 11 release of Letting Go.

But why did I go to this concert, aside from the obvious reason that it was a homecoming for an artist I'd missed dearly for too many years? I just wanted to show some support. I don't think buying a ticket to a concert or recommending someone's music necessarily equates to "I condone everything you do and say", but then, I'm still working out my own views on what the Bible actually has to say and whether we've been reading it right all these years. (I'm sure I will get flamed for admitting this. But as tiresome as it's been for me to keep a lid on my questions about this issue, which for me is mostly academic, I can only imagine how tragic it must be for a Christian actually struggling with their sexual identity to make any headway on it in near total isolation, for fear of getting judged the moment they speak up about what they've been going through.) I just can't put together a checklist of "rules an artist must follow before I will consider myself a fan", that would cause my fandom to be revoked upon the first infraction. it would be hypocritical. That's not how I pick my friends. That's not how I determine when good work has been done by any other kind of worker. So why apply it to music? That sort of thinking would only remotely make sense if you saw a Christian musician as a teacher, and hung on their every word as if it were Gospel. It's not. These songs, as much as I may love them, are the words of a layman, someone working out their salvation with fear and trembling, just as I am trying to do. They are a fellow traveler on the journey. I make observations and emotional connections based on the thoughts they've expressed. But the only new truths I will generally accept as a result of hearing their music are the true fact that they feel a certain way. All they can do is reflect on truths that have already been taught. Maybe sometimes they get it wrong. I don't ban them from my CD collection for that unless I feel like they're deliberately trying to undermine God's truth. That's not happening here.

Regardless of what side of the debate I fall on (still undecided), I can't stick my head in the sand and ignore the fact that there are gay Christians out there. They will one day be a part of my circle of friends, my Bible study group, etc. (if they are not already). So how I handle it now when a favorite singer comes out is going to affect how I handle it later if a close friend does. And the words of one of Pastor Ken's sermons still echo in my ears: "When in doubt, do the loving thing." I hope this is it. Some people think you don't love someone very much if you're not brave enough to present hard truths that you think they need to hear... but let's be realistic. What gay person trying to be involved in a church or other form of Christian community doesn't get people bluntly telling them where they stand on a regular basis? As if someone can't even be friends with them without first getting that disclaimer out of the way. Sides have been picked; beliefs have been articulated. When it really gets down to it and you don't see eye to eye with someone on the way their theological views affect their lives, can you still love them? This actually seems easier when the other person is not a Christian, than when they are. But that's why I'm starting with acceptance here, when it's a little less personal because it involves a musician who does not know me personally. One day, it will likely become a lot more personal with someone I know well and care about very deeply. I don't want to screw that up.

I didn't tell Christine about Jennifer's coming out before we went to the concert. I wanted to see how fresh ears would perceive the new music and the new throng of fans, without her being biased in any way. She enjoyed the show (occasional rudeness of bar patrons and/or opening acts aside). She did comment after we left that she had noticed like "six lesbian couples" at the concert and that seemed unusual to her, at which point I spilled the beans. That was when I first had to articulate my reasons for still accepting and supporting this artist. She understood. Knowing that the person who knows me best gets where I'm coming from here makes it easier to explain it to everyone else.

I know this wasn't much of a concert review, so posting a setlist almost seems like an afterthought, but in any event, here it is. It was a thrill to see favorites - some of them never radio hits - from her early albums represented. (Note: I may be making up titles for some of the new songs when I didn't catch what they were actually called.)

    * Whole Again
    * A Little More
    * Dive In
    * Mr. Grey
    * Usher Me Down
    * Martyrs & Thieves
    * Fall Down
    * The Way I Am
    * Letting Go
    * Undo Me
    * Inside
    * Stone in the Water

When Jennifer stood back from the mic and let the crowd take over on a particularly confessional chorus, these words ceased being just hers and became our own.

So turn on the light and reveal all the glory / I am not afraid / To bear all my weakness, knowing in meekness / I have a kingdom to gain / Where there is peace and love in the light, in the light / Oh, I am not afraid / To let Your light shine bright in my life, in my life.

[murlough23]

I forgot to mention some of Jennifer's choice smart remarks during the concert. Three of the best were as follows:

1. (after finishing her first song and getting uproarious applause and "We love you"s from the audience) "That's not what they said in Oklahoma".

2. "In case you haven't heard over the past few weeks, I'm also a musician."

3. (after asking for requests, and a fan excitedly shouts "Hold Me Now!") "Well, honey, come on up here and I will!"

[murlough23]

Me again. Saw Sleeping at Last at the Hotel Cafe tonight. (In a shocking move, Vienna Teng did not magically appear out of the woodwork. Seemed weird seeing someone other than her there.) A mellower set than usual from them, in keeping with their most recent record, which dominated the setlist. A few songs like "Porcelain", "Side by Side", and "Green Screens" did have more of a fuller, louder sound than I expected them to based on the recordings, and they balanced a mostly down-tempo set out nicely with older upbeat tunes like "Umbrellas" and "Currents". Still, there were a lot of lags in the setlist, due to having to return guitars/ukulele between almost every song (which Ryan nervously acknowledged seemed like a good idea at the time when they were recording, but not so much when playing the new material live), and due to the band's curious habit of stacking several incredibly sparse tunes together and/or early in the setlist. (Seriously, "Keep No Score" right after "Naive"? The rest of the band looked bored. "Green Screens" was a nice break, but "Birdcage Religion" after that? They would have started to lose me there if I weren't already such a huge fan.) They still have strong material and perform it beautifully, but I wonder if their sets couldn't be more effective with the order rearranged a bit.

That said, "Timelapse" was an awesome encore. One of the most rhythmic and engaging songs on Storyboards. I was quite thrilled to go out on a high note with "Umbrellas", so this was icing.

Jeremy Larson was a decent opener. He played very hushed, mellow songs solo on the electric guitar, and later the piano. Kind of an Iron & Wine vibe, but less subversive and more lovey-dovey. Made total sense as an opener for SAL. He also acted as a fourth member of SAL (they have a touring drummer) during their live set, playing piano and bass when needed. People were actually switching around instruments a lot during their set, mostly because Ryan kept switching between different guitars and ukulele, and Dan was pulling triple duty on bass (handing it back and forth with Jeremy) and playing keyboards while making sure the sampled strings were timed right (since they can't really afford to fly the string players out to L.A. that I've heard they use at their Chicago shows).

Bonus: The wife and I discovered a lovely little crepe restaurant just up the street on Cahuenga. I normally don't like walking around the streets of Hollywood at night, but this was totally worth it.

[ajyouthguy]

i DID wind up getting to see NEEDTOBREATHE in Siloam Springs at John Brown University's chapel.  the place was absolutely packed...they opened up like 50 more tickets yesterday morning and we found out about them and were able to work out for a friend to get them, and then we met another friend and her husband up there and saw them.  It was just them, and the show was a bit short for my liking, but it was awesome.  They are phenomenal musicians, so, so talented.

They played almost everything off the latest album...and almost nothing off the previous two albums.  There were a few songs I wish they had played, but the Outsiders is such a great album that anything they played off that was awesome.  I think "More Time" and "Washed by the Water" were the only two songs off The Heat that they played, and I don't think they played anything off of Daylight. And I think they played everything off of The Outsiders but "Valley of Tomorrow," "Garden" and "Won't Turn Back," plus a cover of a 70's song that is escaping my mind right now.

Highlights included Bo on banjo on the opener from the latest album, also titled "The Outsiders," a distortion microphone enhanced version of "Prisoner," and the encore, which consisted of "Hurricane," "Let Us Love" and "Washed by the Water," which they did as five guys on the front of the stage, with acoustic guitars and limited percussion, with absolutely NO sound board enhancement.   I think the crowd probably got most into "Something Beautiful," "Girl Named Tennessee" and "Washed by the Water," but the crowd was into the whole night and it was a packed, wild house.  The band seemed legitimately glad to be there...the show had been previously postponed b/c a major snowstorm hit in late January, the original date for the show, and then the size and enthusiasm of the crowd, combined with the fact that there dad had gone to the school and it was their first time to be there, made the night electric.

(PS...they didn't mention it at all, but i found out a few days ago that they actually won the Dove for GROUP of the year?!  wow...that's incredible...not that it means a lot, but it shows the Doves got something close to right, since that award is almost always reserved for the usuals, like Mercy Me, Casting Crowns, Third Day, etc.)

[ajyouthguy]

saw The Wedding tonight with a bunch of local-ish bands at an event a friend put on to raise money for missions.  actually, i should have said i got to speak at this event, right before The Wedding went on.  pretty neat experience for me.  they were alright.

[plvarona]

Just got back from the Jennifer Knapp show. Will post my full thoughts later, but for now, I'll just say "Wow." She still sounds awesome after all these years, the new material sounds great, she still has an awesome sense of humor, and damned if that wasn't the most supportive crowd out of any concert I've ever attended.

I'd say that last statement is the one I find most encouraging, in light of her recent revelation.  I was the most curious about crowd reaction too, because I had also seen her recently, but before the Christianity Today interview was published.

Saw Sleeping at Last at the Hotel Cafe tonight.

I'm personally wishing they'd come by the Gulf Coast area.  I think it has been about five years since I last saw them, and that was back when I lived in Florida.

i DID wind up getting to see NEEDTOBREATHE in Siloam Springs at John Brown University's chapel. 

...

They played almost everything off the latest album...and almost nothing off the previous two albums.

I'm guessing they had a longer set than when I saw them back in March.  Back then their set was heavy on The Outsiders, but I'd say they only got to just over half of it.  It's too bad "Won't Turn Back" doesn't seem to be getting much love.  That's my favorite song on the CD.

Also, was NEEDTOBREATHE the only act there, or were there opening acts?  I noticed that you also recently acquired Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers' The Bear, and I saw them open for NEEDTOBREATHE in March.  I was wondering if there was a correlation or not.

[ajyouthguy]

I'm guessing they had a longer set than when I saw them back in March.  Back then their set was heavy on The Outsiders, but I'd say they only got to just over half of it.  It's too bad "Won't Turn Back" doesn't seem to be getting much love.  That's my favorite song on the CD.

Also, was NEEDTOBREATHE the only act there, or were there opening acts?  I noticed that you also recently acquired Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers' The Bear, and I saw them open for NEEDTOBREATHE in March.  I was wondering if there was a correlation or not.

they did "Won't Turn Back..."  Bo sang lead on it, because according to him, he won the group's fantasy football league and that was the reward, that the person who won got to sing lead on a song and name the tour (also called the "Won't Turn Back" tour, I think.

it was just them on this show...it was a reschedule of one that got cancelled in January because of a major snowstorm.  the next night, they were playing in Tulsa, with Seabird and Stephen Kellogg, and i actually thought i was going to that one because the one i wound up going to was sold out until the morning of, when they released a few more tickets, and we were able to get to go to the one we originally wanted to go to because of friends.  i got the SK album because i thought i was going the next night to also see them.

[plvarona]

I went to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this past Thursday, and as was the case last year it was a worthwhile trip.  Once again, I saw a diverse lineup that was mostly outside my usual musical tastes, although I was a little more familiar with the artists I saw this year compared to last year.  I'll go ahead and give a chronological report.

First, I saw a Vivaz!, a local Latin pop band.  They were put on a fairly entertaining set featuring typical Spanish rhythms with a few songs having jam sessions in the middle of them.  Their set was highlighted by the quick guitar strumming from the lead singers, and some impressive rhythmic runs from the bongo player.  This got the festival off to a fun start for me.

Next, I caught the second half of Kirk Joseph's Backyard Groove.  This 13-piece ensemble include several foundnig members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, so not surprisingly the rhythm section was outstanding.  Musically, think of an inspirational vocal group backed by a jazz/R&B-style brass band.  This isn't the type of music I'd listen to on a regular basis, but it was a lot of fun live.

After that, I caught the entire set of Amanda Shaw & The Cute Guys.  This was the second time I've seen them, as I saw them at New Orleans' 4th of July celebration last year.  Once again, Amanda's violin playing was the biggest highlight of the show, as she kept knocking out one fast passage after another.  Furthermore, her vocals seem to have improved a bit from last time.  One bonus was that Amanda had a new album that was released this same day, so she played a few songs from the new album that I did not hear last time.  So Amanda pretty much showed why she's becoming a local favorite around here.  Also, Amanda had a Meet & Greet/CD signing roughly half an hour after her show, and I ended up getting my picture taken with her during that time.

In between Amanda's set and the Meet & Greet, I caught roughly 15 minutes of Gov't Mule, a side project of the Allman Brothers Band.  It was good for what it was, albeit nothing spectacular.  They strike me as the type of band that you'd enjoy live if you like the CD, but if you don't, or are not familiar with their music, their live performance isn't going to sell you on them.

Next I saw Soul Rebels, a local brass band.  If nothing else, they were a lot of fun in concert, and they certainly knew how to work the crowd.  This isn't the type of music I'd normally listen to on CD, but I enjoyed what I saw of their set.

After that, I caught the first half of Martin Sexton.  Musically, I liked his combination of folk and R&B.  It's just that his voice was way too nasal for my taste.  I do realize I'm a fan of some artists with nasal voices (Andrew Peterson comes to mind here), but Sexton's voice was a bit much for me.

The final act I saw was Blues Traveler, who were favorites of mine during my junior and senior years in high school.  They closed the day on a strong note as they were a lot of fun in concert.  They certainly showed their reputation as a jam band as they frequently merged as many as four songs together, with one song getting an extended outro before seguing into the next song.  These jam sessions allowed the Kinchla brothers on guitar to really shine, and also gave lead singer John Popper a chance to show off his harmonica skills.  (Speaking about Popper, it looks like he has lost a lot of weight since the band's heyday in the mid-'90's.)  The crowd was actually pretty subdued at first, but when "Run-around" was played about a third of the way into the set, the crowd greatly livened up, and did not slow down until the set ended.  The only significant knock I have on this set is that John Popper's enunciation left a lot to be desired, although that's probably not a surprise if you've heard them on CD.  Other than that, I'd say this was a great way to close my day.

Selected Set Lists:

Blues Traveler: "Creep" (Radiohead cover), "Love & Greed", "The Mountains Win Again", (song I didn't recognize), "Run-around", "What I Got" (Sublime cover), "You Reach Me", "Carolina Blues", "Can't Win True Love", "But Anyway"
Encore: "Hook"

Amanda Shaw & The Cute Guys: "Bosco Stomp" (traditional Cajun song), "Blues de la Frontier", "Mississippi Kid", "Good Southern Girl", (song I didn't recognize), "Sweet Honey", "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" (Charlie Daniels cover), "One Night Stand" (Janis Joplin Cover), "Johnny Can't Dance", "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" (The Clash cover), (some song with a '50's-style beat), (two instrumentals)

[plvarona]

they did "Won't Turn Back..."  Bo sang lead on it, because according to him, he won the group's fantasy football league and that was the reward, that the person who won got to sing lead on a song and name the tour (also called the "Won't Turn Back" tour, I think.

Hmmm.  I thought you said in your concert review that they did not play that song.  Maybe there was a typo?

Speaking about fantasy football, I actually got talked into playing it this past year, and I almost won my league.  My team made it to the Championship game, and then got stomped.

[murlough23]

I'd say that last statement is the one I find most encouraging, in light of her recent revelation.  I was the most curious about crowd reaction too, because I had also seen her recently, but before the Christianity Today interview was published.

Keep in mind that this was Hollywood. Maybe not indicative of the reception she's getting nationwide.

[ajyouthguy]

Hmmm.  I thought you said in your concert review that they did not play that song.  Maybe there was a typo?

Speaking about fantasy football, I actually got talked into playing it this past year, and I almost won my league.  My team made it to the Championship game, and then got stomped.

oh sorry, i did now that i look at it...i put that instead of "Valley of Tomorrow," sorry.

i played for the first time this year...finished tied for 1st in the league, then lost in the semifinals barely in the playoffs...got hurt by people sitting out at the end of the year on good teams, etc.

[NewDimension]

Concert #1:

I went to another free concert at Sunset Christian Center on Friday. This concert featured, The Red Airplanes, Satelites & Sirens, The Wrecking, and Manic Drive. I don't usually listen to these bands (and I never heard of The Red Airplanes before the concert), so I couldn't really give a more complete set list for them, but these are some of the songs they played:

The Red Airplanes: "Show Me The Way" (played 5 songs)
Satelites & Sirens: "Take Me Back", "Breaking the Noise", "Anchor" (played 8 songs)
The Wrecking: "About to Fall", "Prayer Language", "Breathe" (played 6 songs)
Manic Drive: "Walls" (played 9 songs)

All of the bands were really energetic throughout the night.

Concert #2:
 
More free concerts! 

 Last night I went to the Journey's Backyard BBQ Tour at the Roseville Galleria (which is literally only about a mile or less from Sunset Christian Center), and saw Fight Fair and Switchfoot.

The opening band was, of course, Fight Fair. I had never heard of them before either. They played 9 songs, : "San Diego", "Party Girls", "California Girl."

Switchfoot played about 11 or 12 songs: "Oh, Gravity", "Stars", "Mess of Me", "Hello Hurricane", "Gone", "The Sound", "This is Your Life", "Sabotage", "Meant to Live", "Dare You to Move", and about three more songs--but I don't know the song titles.

Towards the end of the concert, when the band was playing, "Meant to Live," Jon interrupted the song and invited a kid on stage to play the bass. The kid had a sign that said something like (but these words aren't verbatim), "I can play 'Meant to Live'. Ask me to play and it will be the best thing you ever did."

[murlough23]

The Juliana Theory is playing a "first & last" reunion show at the Glass House in Pomona, CA on August 27, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Emotion Is Dead. They'll play the entire album plus a set of fan favorites from other albums. Basically it's the farewell show they never got to play, since their breakup was so sudden and driven by what sounded like a cash flow problem. I might have to check this one out (it's the same venue where I saw TJT with Something Corporate back in '03).

[Wildcatblue7]

Saw Pat Metheny's Orchestrion show tonight.

  to the 50th power

I knew the guy was talented to an unreal degree, but wow . . . it doesn't really sink in until you see him do all that musical gymnastics in person.  Great show.

[ewok20t3]

Last Friday I attended the Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, Cancer Bats, and Dead Icons show here in Lexington.

Dead Icons - This is a local band that I had never heard of. They're an old fashioned straight up hardcore band. I was very impressed.

Cancer Bats - They make very interesting music, but it doesn't come across to great in a live setting. Many in attendance were yawning and nodding their heads downward without bringing them back as if they were falling asleep.

Norma Jean - Brought me back to the days when I first started listening to heavy music. They played a set that featured many of their classic songs. Seeing them play "Memphis Will Be Laid To Waste" is worth the price of admission on it's own.

Every Time I Die - They played with great energy and put on a nice show. I've always kind of liked this band, but not enough to where I was familiar with a lot of their material. Those who were familiar with it were having a great time, though.

Overall I think Norma Jean stole the show. It was a good time.


Tonight, I'm going to see Mastodon, Between The Buried and Me, Baroness, and Valient Thorr for what should one heck of a sold out show!

[ajyouthguy]

we are about 10 days from hosting SHAUN GROVES for a FREE concert as the finale of our church's 130th anniversary celebration.  to give perspective, i live in a community of 925 in rural Arkansas, with the 'bigger' city next to us still under 30,000.  this is a BIG deal for our church, and we are promoting the heck out of it and praying and hoping for an awesome turnout from all around us.  it's an incredible thing for us to get someone like him, and for a FREE event as well.  i'm looking forward to really meeting and getting to know him and so forth.  his blogs/tweets/etc are amazingly smart and often hilarious, and his pitch is for Compassion International, so for me it's about much more than the music/concert. 

[murlough23]

Shaun groves is a very smart and witty guy. I think you will enjoy spending time with him. I envy that you get the chance to pick his brain.

NP: "A Guide to Marine Life", Falling Up

[ewok20t3]

This is from the Mastodon/Between The Buried and Me/Baroness/Valient Thorr concert I went to on May 22.

Valient Thorr - They put on a pretty good show, but they're a little over the top. I've seen bands do what they do much better.

Baroness - Owning one of their albums, I knew they were a great band, but I had no idea they would be so impressive. They made it clear that Mastodon may be be the best metal band from Georgia anymore. Anyone who has not heard The Blue Album is missing out on a hipster metal masterpiece.
Set list:
Bullhead's Psalm
The Sweetest Curse
Jake Leg
Isak
Ogeechee Hymnal
A Horse Called Golgotha
Swollen and Halo
The Gnashing

Between The Buried and Me - They've been one of my favorite metal bands for a few years now. Having seen them before, I knew I was going to get a great show. They played wonderfully as always, but the set list was a bit lacking. They didn't play either of the crowd favorites "Selkies" or "White Walls". Overall still a great performance.
Set list:
Fossil Genera - A Feed From Cloud Mountain
Prequel to the Sequel
Backwards Marathon
Disease, Injury, Madness
Mordecai

Mastodon - I didn't stay for their entire set due to my wife getting sleepy on me, and me not being cut out for concerts the way I used to be. From what I saw the band played great and had an amazing performance. This is the second time I've seen them and both times the drummer just steals the show for me. I think he's easily one of the best young drummers out there.
Set list:
Oblivion
Divinations
Quintessence
The Czar
Ghost of Karelia
Crack the Skye
The Last Baron
--
Crusher Destroyer
Crystal Skull
I Am Ahab
Capillarian Crest
Circle of Cysquatch
Aqua Dementia
Iron Tusk
March of the Fire Ants
Blood and Thunder

Photos from the concert are at http://www.buzzgrinder.com/2010/photos-mastodon-between-the-buried-and-me-at-busters/

[ajyouthguy]

Shaun Groves played (for FREE) at our church Saturday as part of a 130th anniversary celebration/block party.  It was a great event, even though we were super disappointed in the (lack of) numbers.  They arrived about 3 hours before the show, and I got to hang out with them at our block party for a while, then they did soundcheck/setup, and then Shaun chilled in my office until showtime.  I also got to take him and his manager (?)/sound guy/travel companion out to dinner with our music minister, myself, my wife, and my youth intern, which was awesome too.  They are legit, very real, very cool, very ordinary people of depth and insight.  It was a tremendous experience.

He sang a good mix of stuff from his three albums, as well as two of the four 'new' songs (he has 3 of the 4 available for free on his website), and did a great mix of stuff on acoustic guitar and keyboard.  He had the crowd in stitches between songs, as he has 'the spiritual gift of sarcasm,' and a tremendous sense of humor about life, faith, and everything else.  He also did a corporate worship set near the end that included a couple of better known songs and a couple of his songs.  Then he spoke for about 10 minutes and really did an amazing job of challenging our people in living out their faith instead of living for the American Dream, etc.  And our church responded well, by sponsoring 17 children through Compassion International, many of whom were sponsored by families of my youth, which excited them and me both.

It was an awesome experience, very real, very fun, very challenging. 

[murlough23]

He had the crowd in stitches between songs, as he has 'the spiritual gift of sarcasm'

I know some people who feel that this is not a gift. I feel very, very sad for those people.

[plvarona]

Last night I saw Josh Ritter and The Mynabirds at the Manship Theatre in downtown Baton Rouge, and it was simply an amazing evening filled with excellent musicianship across the board.

Up first were The Mynabirds, a new band led by Laura Burhenn.  (For those of you familiar with Georgie James - and I'm not BTW - she was one half of that duo.)  From pretty early in their set, the band's unique sound, which mixes Beatles-influenced pop with a tinge of soul, stood out.  The band played pretty well too, coloring the instrumentation appropriately.  Highlights included Laura harmonizing with her backup singer, Pearl Boyd, a few perfectly-synchronized claps by the entire band during "Wash It Out", and Boyd breaking out a kazoo during one of the songs.  The band also got stronger as the set went on.  They sounded good throughout the set, although some of the early songs sounded like they were lacking a little energy.  However, once they got settled in (which was around the 4th song), they were very strong, and you could hear the crowd reception getting more favorable as they got later in the set.  This all equaled to a very memorable set, and they have the potential to get even better too.

Headlining the evening was Josh Ritter, and he basically had it all - excellent musicianship, lots of energy and a great sense of humor.  Josh connected with the crowd early with his energy, and he certainly knew how to play to them, revving up a crowd that had been largely subdued to that point.  I don't think Josh lost steam at all either, as he was still highly animated at the end of his 2-hour set.  Josh's performance did a lot to complement the music, which was very well-played all around.  Josh and his band sounded clear, was rhythmically tight, and certainly had the instrumentation well-thought-out.  Highlights included the bassist moving over to upright bass on a few songs, and even taking lead vocals on a snippet of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" in the middle of "Harrisburg."  Also standing out was "Rattling Rocks", which featured percussion from three different members.  (It was amusing to see the bassist standing in the middle of the stage banging two drumsticks together.)  Josh even added to the mood by varying with the lighting in the theater, as he dimmed it on some of the more subdued songs, and even had all the lights out on "In The Dark."  Josh also kept the mood fairly light by firing off one-liners, many of which had to do with the Louisiana heat.  This all resulted in what has to be my favorite concert set of the year so far, and I've already seen some very good ones.  It's going to take something special to unseat this as my "Concert of the Year."

Set Lists:

Josh Ritter: "Curtains" (playing on the P.A.), "Southern Pacifica", "Change of Time", "Rumors", "Good Man", "Folk Bloodbath", "Monster Ballads", "Rattling Locks", "Orbital", (song I didn't recognize), "The Curse", "Lark", "Long Shadows", (two songs I didn't recognize), "In The Dark", "Kathleen", "Right Moves", "Girl in the War", "Harrisburg" (featuring a snippet of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game"), "Lantern", "To The Dogs or Whoever" (featuring an extended pause near the end.)
Encore: (acoustic song I didn't recognize), "Wait For Love" (featuring Laura Burhenn and Pearl Boyd of The Mynabirds)

The Mynabirds: "Ways of Looking", "LA Rain", "Wash It Out", "Give It Time", "This Will Be Our Year" (The Zombies' cover), "What We Gained in the Fire", "Numbers Don't Lie", "We Made a Mountain", "Let The Record Go", "Good Heart"

[ewok20t3]

Here's a rundown of the artists I saw at Ichthus yesterday.

Children 18:3 - A different and interesting punk band. I'm not going to run out and by their album, but it was good show. Their drummer also played one of the more impressive drum solo's I've seen.

Leper - A true goth band. Also, they live in a community of a couple hundred people who all support themselves by working in their community. It sounded like an Amish kind of thing. They were different, but I wasn't real impressed with their music.

Phil Keaggy - The man is insane on that guitar. He's 59 years old, but plays with the enthusiasm of a 20-something. It was such a pleasure to be able to see him perform.

Relient K - I only got to see them play a couple of songs, but they seemed to have had the crowd into it, as usual.

White Collar Sideshow - They are definitely great performers. The only problem is that they have a video that accompanies their performance, but it wasn't yet dark enough to see it well. They are unlike any other band I've ever seen though, so I was glad to have had the chance to check them out.

Switchfoot - They played a great and very long set as they closed the main stage and did a good job of keeping 20,000 or so people entertained.

Haste The Day - I used to be a big fan of this band, but they have no original members left and it's just not the same. They were decent and the crowd seemed to enjoy it.


Well, I'm headed out for day two!

[plvarona]

^Looks like a pretty solid lineup there.

I actually have Children 18:3's self-titled album.  It's not the type of music I normally listen to, but for the most part I still enjoyed the album.  I'm hoping to catch them live sometime, of course assuming they have the desire to go anywhere near southern Louisiana.

Also, as an FYI, I have finally posted the set lists for the Josh Ritter/The Mynabirds concert last weekend, with the exception of a handful of songs from Ritter's set that I could not identify.  I've also updated the set list for the Jennifer Knapp concert back in March, since most of the songs that I couldn't identify at the time ended up on her latest album.