Above the Golden State, Part II

Back in November, I reviewed Above the Golden State's rookie self-titled release.  Now, 4 months later, I get to write about a live performance.  It was interesting...

Saturday, March 21, the Truth, Hope and Love tour made a stop at North Parkersburg Baptist Church in Parkersburg, WV.  Building 429 was headlining and previous acts consisted of Kimber Rising, After Edmund, and ATGS.

I was honestly there just to see ATGS.  I actually left during intermission, before Building 429's performance, in order to make it back to campus for some birthday socializing.  But anyways, the concert was interesting for more reasons than this...

I eagerly awaited ATGS as Jared, the MC for the night, walked on stage to thank Kimber Rising and announce the next act.  "So help me welcome Michael!" yelled Jared.  Wait a second.  Michael?  Just Michael?  What about the rest of the band?  I came to see Above the Golden State.  Not Michael.  Boy, was I in for a surprise.

Turns out, the rest of the band was back in Oregon doing ministry with their churches.  Okay, I guess I can excuse that.

So Michael ended up giving us a five-song acoustic performance.  I'm not gonna lie - I'm glad the rest of the band was back doing ministry.  Not just because ministry is a great thing, but because the acoustic performance was awesome.  I already know all of their songs off the album, so to hear them live and acoustic was really cool.  Now I also see how playable they are, so I have some work cut out for me.

After his set, I also got to talk to him for a bit.  For more regarding that go here.

photo courtesy of newreleasetuesday.com

Winter Jam 2009

On Saturday, Jan. 31, some friends and I headed west to Columbus for one of the best concerts I've ever attended.  The Monday prior to the concert, I had no idea the thing existed.  A simple FCA announcement turned into my weekend plans and how grateful I am that they did.

The Winter Jam, a seven or eight band extravaganza is currently on tour and for the convenient cost of free (tickets were only $10 but we got our hands on some free passes) I experienced all of these bands, concluding with a eardrum-throbbing performance from tobyMac - but I'll get to him shortly.

First, we got to Shottenstein center in Columbus around 4 p.m., an hour before the doors opened.  Lines were already backed up at each entrance to the arena and we picked the shortest line we could find.  But there was a reason it was short - it was already in the teens temperature wise and we picked the line in the shade.  Bad idea.

But after the wait, we managed to grab decent floor seats in what would eventually be a packed out Schottenstein Center, which seats over 20,000 people.  The only seats were in the nosebleeds way behind the stage.

The music got started shortly after five with a pre-concert from Stephanie Smith - an up-and-comer who didn't disappoint.  The rest of the evening went in this order:

Pure NRG - hats off to three kids at 13, 14, and 16 years old.

Francesca Batestelli

NewSong

Barlow Girl

Brandon Heath - unfortunately, he only got three songs, although he was still awesome

tobyMac

Okay, so now tobyMac.  Prior to the concert I had never really listed to Toby.  I didn't have anything against him (I know now that I would have loved his music) but I just didn't listen to it.  I knew a few of his songs but couldn't tell you more than one title.  But that all changed after Saturday night.

When tobyMac took the stage, it was obvious that my face was about to get rocked off.  His stage crew, Diverse City, was right there with him, laying down beats and lyrics that had the crowd throwing their fists and bobbing their heads.  It's had to put into words what the concert was like.  You could listen to his CD's, but they don't do a justice to a live performance.

Enhancing the already stellar lyrics and music was breakdancing, turntable solos, synchronized steps (not your typical N-Sync moves), and a finale crowsurf from Toby with confetti as icing.  The most gut-wrenching feeling was when the bass reverberated through my body.  This wasn't the typical feeling from the pounding of a bass drum.  This was some type of synthesized base that was felt for a couple seconds each beat.  I could feel several short pounds for each throbbing note.  I'll just say that it's a good thing I went to the bathroom before the concert because I didn't have any spare underwear on hand.

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better performance.  Especially since I got the whole deal for free.  tobyMac - you have a new fan.

Great Lineup

Here I am, two weeks down the road from my last blog entry.  I really do want to keep this thing updated.  Procrastination is the stinkin' devil.  Anyways...

April is a good ways off, but within it is a concert that I will hopefully be attending.  On April 16, a lineup of five bands will be performing at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio as a part of the Rock and Worship Roadshow.  The performers are:

Jeremy Camp

Tenth Avenue

 North

Addison Road

Mercy Me

Hawk Nelson

I don't know who is headlining this thing.  But I don't really care.  Those are five pretty awesome bands, especially the first two I listed, and I'm seeing them for ten bucks!  Yeah, $10 at the door and that's it.  First come, first serve.  

I was just recently opened up to Tenth Avenue North and I love them.  They have great lyrics which to me is the primary thing.  I have always been a big Jeremy Camp fan, as well.  Simple yet powerful lyrics and relatively easy songs to play on the guitar.  I've actually seen Addison Road and Mercy Me before, but another performance can never be a bad thing.  And for Hawk Nelson, never really listened to them.  Nothing against them, I have one of their CDs it's just not a top priority.

Unfortunately, Thursday is my busy day as far as classes go.  So we'll see how that plays out.  But I just have to be there.

He's by our side

First off, in response to my last post, my dad did figure out the CD player. Phew - that would have been a long trip without music.

I wanted to share some lyrics from a song that has recently been playing over and over in my mind. It's "By Your Side" by Tenth Avenue North. I've been struggling lately just in feeling close to God. This distance is large in part due to a lack of being in the Word and in prayer. I was talking with a buddy of mine, Anthony Mossburg, a few days ago and he mentioned this song. I had heard of it before (it's quite popular on Christian radio) but I hadn't really listened to what it was saying. The song is an encouraging note from God's point of view of not turning away from Him. Please read these lyrics and let them sink in as God's Truth to us and an amazing gift that He and only He can give:

Why are you striving these days?

Why are you trying to earn grace?

Why are you crying?

Let me lift up your face

Just don't turn away.

Why are you looking for love?

Why are you searching as if I'm not enough?

To where will you go, child?

Tell me where will you run?

To where will you run?

And I'll be by your side

Wherever you fall

In the dead of night

Whenever you call

And please don't fight

These hands that are holding you

My hands are holding you.

Look at these hands and my side

They swallowed the grave on that night

When I drank the world's sin

So I could carry you in

And give you life

I want to give you life

I'll be by your side

Whenever you call

In the dead of night

Wherever you fall

And please don't fight

These hands that are holding you

My hands are holding you

'Cause I, I love you

I want you to know

That I, I love you

I'll never let you go

It kind of reminds me of 2 Timothy 2:13 - "if we are faithless, he will remain faithful."

Amen!

A trip without music?

Before I get to my main topic, I want to say that I hope I don't stop blogging on here just because the class it was for has ended.  I am still writing occasionally on trumpful-sound so I this one keeps up to.  So here we go.

I'm really good at leaving my car headlights on.  I have emptied my battery this way on many occasions.  But it's not all my fault.  Most of the time when it happens, the little trigger that makes the dinging noise gets stuck, so I don't hear anything reminding me to turn the lights off.

I went about three days without needing to drive my car, so I was fully unaware that the battery had been drained.  Fortunately, my gracious father hooked it up to a charger and in a few hours, it was ready to get back on the road.  So on the road I went and what did I find out?  My stereo system was no longer was working!

I never listen to the radio.  I don't even know how to tune it manually, I'm only capable of scanning.  So this not being able to play CD's thing was quite the dilemma.  And even if I wanted to use the radio, it wasn't working either.  I thought maybe it was because it was so cold outside, but nope.  It's been almost a week and it's still not working.  I have yet to inform my dad about this and I don't really want to.  Not that I'd be afraid of his reaction, but I just don't want to bother him about it when he's got a lot of other things to take care of.  Because God knows that I'm not going to be able to fix it.  So here's the real dilemma:

I'm currently planning on taking an eight or nine day road trip starting the day after Christmas, with a few stops for friends, a camp New Year's reunion and ending with my sister's wedding.  My first destination is Warren, PA - 6 1/2 hours away!  That's a long time, an extremely long time, to go without music.  Rarely do I go without listening to anything in my car.  I turn my car on, and the music starts playing.  It's not like I have to turn it on, so why turn it off?  On a couple occasions (such as the drive home after an amazing summer at camp) I have turned it off to take some time in prayer and to soak in all I had just been through.  But this is only for about 30 minutes.  Six and a half hours is different.

But here's the funny thing.  In the week I've been without any noise in my car, besides me talking to myself (you know you do it to), I haven't really noticed the lack of music.  I can't say that it's been a miserable experience.  I've only gone about 5 miles at a time, but when I get o where I'm going, I don't even realize that the music hasn't been playing.

This makes me realize how little time I spend in silence (I think you can say the same for yourself).  And I'm a big believer that it's important to spend some time in silence.  I like to use that silence to reflect and be in prayer.  When I think about a typical day, the only time when there is silence is probably once my roommate and I have fallen asleep - so not until about 2 a.m.  And then at 8:30 the noise starts up all over again.  I need to take some more time in silence.  I need to create it if it's not there.  If I'm just sitting in my room doing homework and I have music playing or the TV on, turn it off.  Take a few minutes to reflect and just relish the silence.  It's something we all need a little more of.

So, for this trip - Music or no music?  That is the question.

Pa rum pum pum pum

On Tuesday, November 25, 2008, The Almost released their five song EP, titled "No Gift to Bring."  Around 12:30 a.m. on the 25th, half an hour after it had been released, I had it purchased from iTunes and sitting in my music library.

I must say, I was very pleased with what I heard.  The track listing is as follows:

1. Awful Direction
2. Little Drummer Boy
3. Amazing (Because it is) Full Version
4. Your Love is Extravagant
5. Dirty and Left Out (McTague-Lectro Version)

Awful Direction is their only new song on the album.  It is entirely acoustic (a simple guitar and drum set) which sets the mood for the rest of the album.  Lines like, "I've been wrong, I've been right, but tonight, I just want to be Yours," are straight from the heart and reflect the struggles of a life faithful to God.

The Little Drummer Boy version is one of the best I've heard (I guess I really haven't heard that many versions, but you catch my drift).  It has a unique rhythm and Aaron Gillespie's voice adds a new flavor.

Tracks 3 and 5 were on the previous album, Southern Weather, but this time with a new twist.  The electric sensation of Dirty and Left Out caught me off guard but I am really warming up to it.  

Your Love is Extravagant has always been one of my favorite praise songs, so to see The Almost cover it this Christmas season is very refreshing.

Well done guys.

photo courtesy of fye.com

So, I'm giving iTunes a shot

I'm not usually a huge fan of technology.  Some of it can be pretty sweet, but for the most part, I find it unnecessary and excessive.  Everyone knows about iTunes and how it along with Mac is taking over the world, and up until now, I was successfully able to block it out of my mind.  I don't have anything against them (I own a MacBook and love it) but I just didn't have a need for iTunes so I didn't really deal with it.

Well, at camp this summer, one of my camper's mothers gave my co-counselor and me a $10 iTunes gift card.  For the longest time, it just sat in the bottom of one of my drawers.  Then, as I posted a few days ago, I won another $25 in iTunes money at the open mic.  So with $35 in iTunes money, I figured it was time I acted on it.

Well, in the last 3 hours, I have gone through this shopping list:

1. rented "Garden State" and watched it (incredible movie - the soundtrack is killer, I may have to blog on it)
2. bought The Almost's new 5-song EP (another potential blog post)
3. bought a $10 software update which allows me to download applications
4. downloaded Relevant Magazine's podcast
   
5. downloaded a couple pointless but entertained applications

I've only got $16.50 remaining.  Hopefully it's not gone by the time I go to sleep.  Perhaps I should turn off my computer and think about my purchases before I go through with them.  Because once I run out of gift card money, there's no more buying to be done.

Confirmed: Shane and Shane are the best ever!

Last Saturday, Nov. 15, I went to see Christian/acoustic duo of Shane and Shane perform at Mount Vernon Nazarene University and I don't even know where to start.

I saw them play at the youth leaders convention a few weekends ago, but this time was different - way different.  At the convention, they only had time to play four or five songs, while everyone was standing at the front of the stage. This was the opposite.  Now usually I would be all for standing at the front of the stage, but given this recent concert was in a sanctuary, there really wasn't a concert-type stage as one would imagine.

So into the church we went, (myself and nine others) and three of us ended up sitting second row, about thirty or forty feet away from the two Shanes.  It was so relaxing to just be able to sit and listen to them play.  We didn't have to worry about tired legs or seeing over anyone (being 6'3" always helps me in that respect).  And there acoustic sound doesn't really call for standing and jumping around.  It was such a great time to relax, listen to great music with even better lyrics, and be reverent to God all at the same time.

What was interesting is that I could kind of tell that the guitarist, Shane Bernard, was having an off night.  He had trouble tuning his strings to begin and there were a couple other spots where it was obvious he was just having a rough time.  But the great thing - it made no difference at all.  He was just up there having a great time, singing and praising God.

In most concerts, it is just song after song after song, but in this situation, there was time when the two Shanes were conversational with each other and with the audience which goes to show that it's not just some routine for them.  Each concert is genuine.  Shane Bernard even took several minutes to share the Biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo and the fiery furnace and how they refused to bow before the king, even knowing it would cost them their lives.  This then transitioned into their song "Burn Us Up."

I could write for days on how amazing these guys are - their voices, their harmonies, their modesty, their genuine attitudes.  I just hope this wasn't the last Shane and Shane experience I have.

Finally, another open mic

Last Thursday was the first open mic on campus in the last two semesters.  I love coming out and just playing my guitar and singing, so to be able to do that again was a lot of fun. 

 Normally, there is no prize for the winner, but this time there was, and there was a catch to it.  The event was also a food drive.  The audience voted for their favorite performer with non-perishable food or money that would go toward food.  Here is a blog that talks more about it.

The cool thing...I won.  I started off with "Beautiful," by Shawn McDonald.  Throughout the week, I had been practicing it, and when my suitemates found out I was playing it, they immediately assumed it was James Blunt's "Beautiful."  So, since I had time to play two songs, I played "Beautiful" again.  It was quite the contrast in sounds and moods.  (Disclaimer: I don't really like James Blunt, but I've been told I have a good impersonation of the British singer and it's funny to sing in falsetto.)

My prize was a $25 iTunes card.  I kinda wished it was cash.  I probably would have just given it back to them to go towards food.  I don't really use iTunes.  Maybe I can sell it to someone for 20 bucks or something.  But anyways, it was loads of fun and there had better be more in the future!

If you'll recall last Tuesday, I made a post about how musically filled my weekend was.  I mentioned how I heard Starfield perform, that they were "up-and-coming" and then had to retract my statement because that are already well-known.  Well, I have to do it again.

In the post, I didn't even mention hearing Matt Maher.  Why?  Because I thought he was just some guy that they chose to lead praise and worship.  I assume that he's a modest guy and wouldn't want me to hype him up as more than just a guy singing and playing his guitar, but I really undermined his successes.

As I browse my google reader looking for ideas, I kept seeing his name for winning awards.  The name sounded familiar so I looked at an article and realized it was the same dude.  Maher has recently won two awards for his work.  The first award received was for "Praise and Worship Album of the Year" for his album "Empty and Beautiful" at the Covenant Awards 30th Anniversary.  That's quite the prize considering other praise and worship artists such as Chris Tomlin and Charlie Hall - not that any of it is a competition for them.  The second award, received a day later, was for "Artist of the Year" at the 9th annual Unity Awards.

One of Maher's popular works, "Your Grace is Enough," was released on "Empty and Beautiful" and was also recorded by Chris Tomlin, who seems to sing just about every praise and worship song these days.

So, along with Starfield, Mercy Me, David Crowder, and Shane and Shane, I also got to enjoy Matt Maher.  Dang, that was quite the weekend.

photo courtesy of CMSpin