Friday, my wife and I went to the Rock and Worship Roadshow’s stop in Dallas, TX. The show was at the American Airlines Center. We were blessed enough to receive some VIP passes from some great friends. Here is my review of a great night
Sidewalk Prophets
These guys played a three song set to start off the festivities. Prior to the show, I had heard of these guys but never really listened to them short of some of their fill-in appearances on last year’s roadshow. The opened with their rendition of ‘Man in the Mirror.’ It was a a great opener. High energy got people up out of their seats. Their song ‘These are the words I would say’ touched on the concept ‘be strong in the lord.’ Which really strikes a chord with those who are going through something tough or have gone through something. This song brought tears to my eyes because it really struck a chord with me because my wife and I are going through a season. Every single solitary word in this song hit on what we are experiencing at this moment.
Remedy Drive
Nebraska was in the house. I have to confess I’d never heard of these guys until a week ago. I have since realized that I’ve heard ‘All Along’ while listening to my Pandora or radio before. I was really impressed with their musicianship and I really liked their tunes. Plus they are from the greatest state in the union, Nebraska. Which by default moves them up in my book. One thing they said has stayed with me after the concert and that is that ‘after the darkness comes the dawn.’ Which said another way is that good times are right around the corner.
Fee
Steve Fee came on and blew the doors off the place. He opened with Rise and Sing and I felt like I was at a true, authentic arena rock show. The only exception is that the love songs we sang were about Jesus and not some other human being. It was an incredible set. After the band left the stage, I began to wonder why I don’t have any of their music in my collection.
Francesca Battistelli
This was my wife’s most anticipated artist. She loves her music especially the ‘dents in my fender’ and ‘it’s your life.’ Francesca’s set was very well done and I came away impressed with her vocal abilities as well as her backup band’s ability to create a jazzy groove. My favorite song of the set had to be ‘It’s your life’ with it’s great rock groove.
Family Force 5
It’s probably because I’m a thirty something but I had never heard of these guys prior to the show. I did some obligatory YouTube and Google searches to see what these guys are all about. But to say I knew all about these guys would be disingenuous. After seeing them live, I came away impressed and a fan. The kids (I guess I can say that now) went nuts when these guys took the stage. I can see why. I grew up on hip hop and rap music. I really like how they mixed musical styles. I may not fit their demo but man I could bob my head to that music. I feel like I have to justify my midlife crisises (not a word but I’m going with it).
David Crowder*Band
Okay I’ll admit this was the most anticipated set of the night for me. Everything Glorious is one of my favorite songs of all time. I’ll leave out why because I think it could be a blog entry all on it’s own. Love their songs and how they layer different instruments in the composition. They really mixed musical genres all keeping Christ centered. It was a thing of beauty. I think my favorite was their cover of Hank Williams ‘I saw the light.’ I really enjoyed listening to the band talk during their set. We seem to share the same worldview (that is to say uber-geekiness). I take this stance on the inclusion of the Mario Bros. theme music and their robotic drummer Steve-3-PO. Which is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Overall their set was incredible and I came away more of a fan if that’s possible.
MercyMe
MercyMe continues to be one of my favorite bands. So so many of their songs apply to my life (which is to say my own walk with the Lord). Their performance was really awesome and I really loved how they kept Christ at the center and made it a point to do so. My favorite was the inclusion of a ‘Homesick’ intro to I can only Imagine. Their set list had a great mix of their hits and new stuff. It also did a great job of covering a great spectrum of styles they have in their catalog. MercyMe was like the exclamation point on a great night worshipping God.
They of course as the headliners had the coolest stage setup. A massive LED board behind them that really did a great job illustrating what the band was playing and singing about. It really added to the experience and the worship.
Summary, conclusions, and personal feelings of the night.
Now that my very weak attempt at a newspaper review is over, I can get to meat and potatoes of this thing. Quite simply I have never worshipped my creator like that. I know that is bad to say (especially since the worship leader at my service at church is a friend and might read this blog). But there is something about church that makes me hold back. I know we should hold nothing back because we are in his house but I do. It doesn’t hold back tears especially if the song sings my heart. But I for some unknown reason keep my hands down. This wasn’t the case on Friday night. I held my hands and I sang as loud as I could with everything I had. I was in a room with thousands of other people but I was able to sing to one guy. And it was a beautiful thing. The whole night was so moving. Every song allowed me release and sing to my creator. I couldn’t even take pictures because it was so surreal that I wanted to see it through my eyes instead of my viewfinder. I walked out of AA center changed because I have tasted true worship. Something I want to taste more of.
