Thoughts on the Concert

Friday night was the annual winterjam concert. There was a huge crowd and we had about 20-25 kids from our church in tow. As I was sitting there looking around I noticed an older gentlemen sitting a few row back who seemed rather out of place. Then I realized he was probably looking at me thinking the same thing.

I do feel out of place there but I still go. I just sit there and listen, enjoy the music, and watch the kids go crazy all around me. I'm not one of those jump up and down, pump your fist and dance like a maniac kind of people.

The concert seems to get better every year. Here's my take on this year

The first guy was pretty good as the "new" band on display. I can't remember his name but he seemed pretty at ease and seemed to be enjoying himself.

The token solo female artist was Rachel Lampa. These acts just seem to struggle in this kind of setting. She has some pipes though and that helped. Not bad considering how awkward it is to perform in that setting.

Building 429 was good. I can't say that I had heard of them before but they sounded familiar. The lead singer has a distinctive voice but I think they are still trying to find there sound to some degree.

New Song didn't sing as long as they usually do and they did more worship songs. Both were good points. I don't mind their music but I get tired of hearing all their old stuff every year. It isn't exactly my kind of music so I don't too excited about it.

The offering time was much shorter which I appreciated. The alter call got a great response and it took some time to get everyone through the counseling process. I really like the way they do it with friends going with friends down to the alter.

Tait was great. I like Michael Tait and he gave a good performance. What else can I see. I could live with 4 and a half hours of just him.

Tobymac is a little too urban for my taste but he also gave a good performance. The back flip off the DJ stand was fun but I thought the woman who sang with Toby was especially good. At times I thought it was hard to tell whether they were featuring Toby or her. Tait and Toby doing DC Talk was great and ending with Jesus Freak was perfect.

As usual they put the best bands at the end and it was a little too long for my taste. I thought the message came through fairly well with all the bands. "Christian" music isn't my favorite because I think that a lot of garbage gets accepted because it has Christian words but its getting better. I also thought all the bands did a good job of letting their music do the talking. I hate it when a talented musician spends most of a concert preaching. Usually they aren't as good at speaking and if I really wanted to pay to hear someone speak I could probably find someone better.

All in all a good time and so now I'll let me ear drums recover for next year!