Music Builds Tour 8-23-08 Category:Music Views:
193
Well, this is my first attempt at a blog about a concert so here we go. Pictures are included and I have a lot more in my profile as well. Just wish I had a better camera...
Band lineup: Jars of Clay/Robert Randolph and the Family Band/Switchfoot/Third Day
After getting down to Soldier Field to park and kind of wandering around to find the outdoor venue we arrived just in time for some rain to start falling. The best part was there was no where to find cover but it didn't rain that bad anyhow. I kinda have this thing where I have to get a T-shirt at every concert I go to and with Jars of Clay being my favorite band I had to get their only shirt available. Not the best looking shirt but it was kinda cool. Then my friend pointed out an awesome black Switchfoot shirt and it was a quick impulse buy. I didn't want to spend that much but hey, that's how things go when you're addicted to music, haha.
So we sat down in the middle section only 21 rows back, great seats. Jars of Clay came on first (though they should've been co-headlining instead of that horrid Third Day band...) and kicked us off with the new funky version of Flood. They were all wearing these white outfits and kinda looked humorous to me but hey, they were were having fun. They followed that up with 'Love Is A Protest' and 'Closer', which I was so excited for. After that was 'I Need You' and then the new version of 'Love Song for a Savior' in which they had an interesting way of playing that with the drums as seen below.
They followed that up with a brand new song called 'Heaven'. It's a unique rock song in the sense that Dan sings louder during the verses and when the chorus came he was quieter. Usually it's the other way around so I wasn't sure about that but otherwise I loved the song and it made my anticipation for the new album next year grow even more, if that were possible, hah. Finally they closed with 'Work' and then 'Dead Man', both great rockers that got the crowd going. I was hoping for Revolution but with only a 35 minute setlist there's only so much they could do. What got me excited is what followed afterwards. They had mentioned they'd be out to sign and meet us at the merch table so I hurried out there and got in an already growing line. Naturally I was excited and got a chance to shake their hand and talk to them for a bit as they all signed my shirt. Real nice guys and I asked them when they'd be headlining, though I already kinda knew the answer. Aside from a Christmas tour later this year they'd headline after the new album hits in March or so. Woohoo! Not bad experience for the first 45 minutes of the show.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band was next and I didn't know what to expect. Needless to say, they were pretty amazing and fun. The lead guy and a man they called their Pastor from Nashville were playing what I guess is called a Steel Guitar. It was pretty nuts and I loved the upbeat, blues-style jamming they did. The lead guy had a ton of energy and sprang up to dance in the first song. For some I suppose they may find their music tedious but I love jamming and they ripped it up on guitars. There was even a guitar solo duel and the organ player also busted out a violin and pulled off an amazing solo. One thing was apparent, these guys were from the south and had some serious 'soul' in their music. All had a great voice and I felt the presence of God all over. I'd even rather they were given more time than Third Day, haha. Here's a pic of the awesome rectangle guitar the lead had:
Third up was Switchfoot and they were as amazing as I had heard. The friend I went with said he didn't really like Switchfoot but after this amazing setlist he was a new believer, hehe. I only have their 'The Beautiful Letdown' and 'Nothing Is Sound' CD's but it was a perfect setlist for me. They started off with 'Stars' before going into 'Oh! Gravity' and one of my personal favs, 'Gone'. Jon has great stage presence and he talked to lead into songs. He certainly knows how to get the crowd going and involved which is great. The next songs were all performed very well with some interesting twists. They were:
'This Is Your Life', 'Learning to Breathe', 'This Is My American Dream' (they all posed in a 'rock out' position for a minute that seemed like eternity in the middle of the song, really awesome), 'We Are One/Shadows Prove the Sunshine' (then back to We Are One), 'On Fire', 'Awakening', 'Meant to Live', Encore: 'Dare You To Move'
'On Fire' was particularly awesome because Jon came down into the crowd and ended up going in my aisle no more than 5 seats over as he continued. He made a couple of teenage girls day by shaking their fist as they were freaking out, always comical, haha. I never seem to be in the right position when an artist does this but this time I was and for one of my favorite songs no less. 'Awakening' was probably the best rock song they did as the crowd was feeling it and so were they. 'Meant to Live' naturally had the crowd going nuts when that signature riff went off and when they left at the very end I knew they weren't done. Jon was the first to come back with an acoustic guitar as he sang the first verse and chorus. The rest of the band joined and proceeded to rock our faces off. I'd definitely pay to see them again as they were one of the best bands I had seen. This is how close Jon was to me during 'On Fire':
After that I left since neither of us wanted to see Third Day. The good news is we didn't have to deal with traffic as only a small group left. The bad is I've heard there were two last songs played with the other bands coming back though nothing special. Apparently they were 'I'll Fly Away' with Jars and RR joining Third Day and lastly was the U2 cover 'When Love Comes to Town' with Switchfoot joining the rest. All in all an amazing experience for me and well worth the money I paid. :-D
It's personal... with music... Category:Music Views:
148
A couple of guys from my youth group were over at my place late one night after church and as usual we got on the subject of music. That's one thing we definitely have in common (aside from acting like idiots and laughing so hard our sides hurt and someone nearly chokes on pizza), a passion for music. A couple of the guys are into the hardcore/metal scene in Christian music and a couple more are into hard rock but there's common ground all around.
Anyhow, we were talking about who our favorite bands were or our 'top 5' in music. One of the guys said 'Underoath' though he couldn't find words to explain why. Another said 'Devil Wears Prada' was his favorite and he touched on the fact that he just connected with them on a personal level that he couldn't explain. The Underoath guy was like, 'Hey, that's pretty much how it is for me and Underoath. I just connect with the lyrics and also the type of things Aaron (drummer for UO) went through'. He's a drummer too so there was that connection. Even though I can't understand that personal connection they have with that music I can easily respect that there is something there they get strength from.
Then I got to talking about how Jars of Clay was my favorite because I can connect so many of their songs (both lyrics and the mood) with so many things in my walk with Christ up to this point. That got me thinking (and the point of this blog) about how each of us connect with music on a personal level at some point and although there's a lot of bands we love; there are usually only a select few we can connect with on a personal level for whatever reason.
We all know that Satan was the 'choir director', if you will, of Heaven before he was thrown out. I have to think he's very much jealous of how we create music and worship to feel God's presence because he used to be in that spot. I also believe he uses music (not all secular stuff mind you) in this world because he KNOWS our souls connect with it and it can be just as deceiving and depressing as it can be uplifting. If he can get someone who has just gone through a serious breakup with their girl/boyfriend to listen to some depressing, bleak music then he has a foot in the door to do what he does best. Steal, kill, and destroy. I know this because I've experienced it with the secular music I used to have until I realized what it was doing to my spirit when I was going through trials.
Ok, I got way off track in that last paragraph but it's all good. For you who are reading this blog and didn't fall asleep yet, please give your thoughts on what music you connect to personally or if you think I'm just a blabbering idiot. Won't hurt my feelings. :-P
Well, about a quarter of the year is over and I'm pleased with how things have gone. So far it's been a year for me to discover new(though not necessarily NEW if you catch my drift) bands with a few debut bands peppered in for good measure. The first CD I bought of '08 was Edison Glass's 'Time Is Fiction' and so far it's the best. The latest one, Leeland's sophomore effort 'Opposite Way', was horribly disappointing. There's a good comparison here though. Sure, they are apples and oranges musically but one band released a proper sophomore album that saw them evolving musically and the other fell head first into the sophomore slump.
Esterlyn is my first debut band of the year and they really surprised me. I wasn't expecting the CD to be THAT good but I love being wrong on those things. Sanctus Real and The Afters both put out solid albums but I felt they could've been so much more with a few tweaks here and there. In particular, both albums are plagued with the 'strong out of the gates' syndrome only to whither away at the tail end.
I'm a bit picky when it comes to music so I only have those 5 CD's so far but I'm pleased with how '08 is looking so far. Next up are:
The Myriad - With Arrows, With Poise - May 13th
Since October - This Is My Heart - May 27th (not sold on buying yet)
Seabird - Til' We See The Shore - June 24th
Red - Red (only if they show me something that resembles a Christian faith because the last sure didn't)
And who knows what else in the future (please please, pretty please The Listening and Jars of Clay! I need a new fix! Oh and Neal Morse too)
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