Lacrae and his group did a concert at Mars Hill Church but also joined Red Letter on stage during worship to lead a song this past Sunday evening. Amazing worship song. So cool that MHC has the courage to do things like this. I love seeing people with a conviction and identity and just going after it.

‘Send Me’ - Live at MHC | Ballard from Mars Hill Church on Vimeo.

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I don’t think if I’ve ever seen a cooler way to kickoff a tour, gotta love Tom Waits. And he’s kicking off the tour in Phoenix!

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Below are a few pics from the John Mark McMillan concert, you can see the entire Flickr set here. What a night it was.

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Helio Sequence will be at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix again. A bunch of us went to the last show they had at the Rhythm Room and I think my hearing should be fully restored by the time this next show comes up on June 11th. I won’t forget my ear plugs this time. I’m no sissy, but my face was about a foot away from the dude’s crash symbal.

Then 8 days later Death Cab for Cutie will be playing at the Mesa Amphitheatre. I finally get a chance to see Death Cab, just never worked out before. From what I hear the Mesa Amphitheatre is one of the best, if not the best, venues in AZ. As an added bonus after I got the tickets I see that Rogue Wave is opening, nice!

As always I’ll be reporting from the front lines of music and give you my full review after the shows.

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It’s here folks! We will be selling tickets at the door if you’ve slacked and haven’t already bought your tickets. There are a few VIP tickets left, just a few. VIP Q&A session starts at 5pm, doors open at 6pm, concert starts at 7pm. Go here for full ticket information.

See you tonight!

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Mark and I attended a very interesting and entertaining concert last night, Bon Jovi with Chris Daughtry as the opening act. Mind you, we would never have purchased tickets for this show as I think Bon Jovi is one of the cheesiest rockers out there but we were not going to turn down free tickets and a suite with free food and drinks. We went with the mindset that it was probably going to be pretty bad but a chance for some great people watching and another opportunity to see what we can receive, redeem and reject from the experience. So with that being said here is some feedback on the show:

Daughtry’s music was good, not great, in the words of Randy Jackson, “it was just alright for me dog”. The songs were clean and rockin but I realized after each one of them ended I had no interest in hearing them ever again so that’s never a good sign. The thing I liked the most about them was their humility and their camaraderie as a band. It seemed like they were just a group of close friends getting to live out a dream playing in front of a packed crowd of 18,000 and loving every moment of it. They were fun to watch and their sound was tight so all in all I give their entertainment factor a C+.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Life In Stereo has just been added to the John Mark McMillan ticket on April 25th. They are an awesome band from right here in Phoenix playing their newly released cd The Shape of Things to Come. So now that little $10 ticket gets you in to see not 1 but 2 incredible bands. I must be crazy folks, these deals won’t last, get your TICKETS NOW!

Check them out at their website www.lifeinstereomusic.com or on myspace.

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Helio Sequence headlined a show at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix last Tuesday (Mar 18th). Our Rising Sound band attended and was tasked with a homework assignment. Observe, enjoy, taken in the experience but more importantly assess. See what we as a church can receive, what can be redeemed and what we must reject. I’ll try and summarize the observations of ORS and inject some of my own.

It was absolutely one of the best small venue shows I’ve ever attended. Helio just destroyed the place, they were flawless and they left many of us from ORS inspired. Those of you in religious bondage may be asking, “How could you possibly be inspired by a secular band”. I’ll get into the redemptive aspects of the show, but first lets take a look at what we can out right receive as the church.

Receive:

• arrangement philosophy - Helio plays to pre-recorded tracks as you may know, so their arrangement is pretty much set in stone. Usually a live show is the band’s opportunity to mix things up, I usually find it a mistake and wish they stuck to the record. So I was looking forward to hearing what I like. Josh noticed he was fearful or getting stuck in arrangements in worship. But upon seeing Helio realized that an expected arrangement can actually be liberating. Too much mucking about with the arrangement can be really distracting for a congregation even though it might be exciting for the band. Find an arrangement that serves the song well and stand by it.
• musicianship - both members of the band, Brandon Summer (vocals, guitar) and Benjamin Weikel (drums, synth work), are incredible musicians. The creativity they display is unbelievable but it always, always serves the song. Very rarely do you hear something out of left field that seems indulgent. Brandon’s guitar work is so unique and he’s certainly carved out a signature sound. I thought for sure with the amount of delay and reverb he plays with it would muddy up the room, but he’s able to cut through and knows how to manage it, let’s it get crazy sometimes but mostly does a lot of single string work. Benjamin’s drumming is phenomenal. His drum patterns are so uniquely crafted and memorable, they become almost melodic. His time is perfect and with the patterns he plays it’s even more impressive how spot on he is.

Redeem:

• passion - Nearly everyone on ORS responded noticing the band’s passion. They were 100% devoted to their music, having a blast, being creative. You could tell there wasn’t anyplace else they wanted to be, it’s what they’d given their life to, given the best of themselves to, their first fruits. Passion can be a huge problem in church bands in a number of areas but it usually comes down to a single reason. Being passionately in love with God and doing what you’re called to do. One without the other leaves us a shell of a musician who feels his presence is required not desired. I can’t stand seeing 5 robots lead worship, completely stiff and completely unmoved by the presence of God. If we are ushering in the presence of the Almighty, I’d think we should make sure our bodies recognize that and respond accordingly. God can redeem the passion in this concert for music, fame, and turn our hearts to passion for Christ.
• worshipful presence - Kendra noticed the worshipful presence in the place and how people there were enthralled, consumed, in awe of the music being played. Everyone was certainly focused and in a certain meditative state. It is a real simple view of how the enemy is crafty in not having creation reject it’s purpose, but just distorting it enough to have us forsake the true purpose and replace it with a selfish one. The arts have always been a battleground in this because it’s the outpouring of ourselves we can’t just turn that off. Since we are a fallen people, our art is fallen as well. Praise be to God that by his grace he can redeem that and purpose, hope, love can be restored in that. This band who gauges their success on the worship they receive could be redeemed and success given to God based on Kingdom effectiveness

Reject:

• pride - plenty of this to go around and I don’t mean this just in relation to the band and venue. Certainly plenty of pride in the church to deal with. The only authority I feel I have in this is knowing just how screwed up I am in pride and how desperately I need Jesus.

This was a fantastic learning experience for me and for ORS. I’ve been to a lot of concerts, but not many local ones. It was a great chance to see what kind of music the community is into, what the local scene is and start getting plugged into it. As the worship leader I have to know what is moving the community musically. Otherwise I shouldn’t be surprised when the community is disconnected, uninterested and dispassionate for the music in the church. I think we’ve made some good strides in this area. We have a big concert coming up and I look forward to continuing to press into the local community more and more musically.

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