Limping into day three of Spirit West Coast — literally, given the standing-room-only pit "seats" at Newsboys the night before — we had a full day of music goodness ahead of us. Armed with a few hours of sleep, we headed over to the final day's activities.
We got to the morning worship to see October, Inc., a band whose worship we had caught the previous day. It was pretty good, though the lead gal was a little "meh". But she DID play one of those keyboards that is slung like a guitar! So that was neat. [ed: I've been reminded that the keyboard/guitar thinger was worn by the gal in WORTH DYING FOR, not October, Inc. October, Inc. was more straightahead rock-ish music and was pretty good. The lead singer didn't sit too well with Vanessa; I thought she was good enough.] The message... didn't stick with me, so I'll have to skip saying anything about it.
Nothing after the morning worship except this Avril Lavigne wannabe, Jessie Daniels. And she was playing the main stage, where we were already planted; not really looking forward to the prospect of getting up and walking around on sore feet (and because Vanessa was interested in seeing her act!), I agreed to stick around. What followed was probably one of the more surprising acts of the festival. For any fault Ms. Daniels might have (e.g., singing pop-y music, having poor stage presence), she sure can sing. I only vaguely knew of her single, but the whole set was good stuff.
We ended up chilling for a few hours after Jessie Daniels, walking around, checking out the booths in the vendor area, etc. But we were eyeballing the 2:30PM slot, since that's when Aaron Shust went on the main stage. If you've listened to Air1 radio or spent any time in CCM, you've probably heard a song or two by Aaron Shust. But somehow, he has maintained a sort of "undiscovered" sense about him. He's a former worship pastor at a megachurch in Atlanta, and all of his music has retained a sort of worship quality. His biggest single, "My Savior, My God", is centered around a bit of music that he used in worship for months before writing the rest of it, recording it, and riding it to... moderate obscurity. For all of the radio play, awards, etc., the man should be a megastar, but he's a supporting act, a humble guy roaming around and grabbing his own bratwurst from the street vendor in between his shows.
And that says nothing about his music... which is absolutely fabulous. He played a number of tunes from his previously-unreleased second album, Whispered and Shouted, as well as songs from his inspired first album, Anything Worth Saying. His set on the main stage was tremendous; whether on guitar or piano, he delivered his songs simply and honestly. We were in tears a number of times, marveling at God's beauty and grace, to which he music constantly pointed. I think my favorite moment might have been hearing "Give Me Words to Speak" for the first time; it's a new song from the new album, but it builds on a 17-second snippet of music from the first album. So it felt somewhat familiar as a fragment, but he gave it such rich music and lyrics and developed it into a gorgeous song. I've adopted it as a prayer before going "on stage" — "Give me words to speak; don't let my spirit sleep 'cause I can't think of anything worth saying, but I know that I owe You my life." His music and attitude has taught me a LOT about what it means to lead people in worship.
We headed back to the tent for a while after Aaron Shust. We had every intention of making it back to watch Barlowgirl, but couldn't quite make it. They're a fun band, but not one we felt was a "can't miss" for the festival, so no worries. We DID make it back for Kutless, but not in time to get a reasonable seat. (Don't even get me started on the festival's wholly-ineffective and completely-unenforced "no seat saving" policy.) In the midst of all of the 13-year-old girls turning us away when we tried to sit in their friends' seats, a 40-something guy missing a few front teeth invited us to sit by him. He lived in San Diego and was driving out for each day's events... and was REALLY into Kutless. He seemed to know all of the lyrics to all of their songs, and was really cool. It was frustrating sitting so far from the stage when it was a band I wanted to watch, but we were both pretty tired (and saving our energy for the main act of the evening).
Side note: Kutless is one of those scream-y bands. The singer has a nice voice, but occasionally just breaks into this hoarse, blood-curdling screech. I've never understood how singers can do that; my voice is so tinny that everytime I try to do something like that, I just lose my voice for a few days. Ah well.
Once Kutless was done and the "pit" people (down in the front) started to clear out for dinner, we made our move. By the time it was done we were probably 40 feet from the stage, wedged between junior high youth groupers and a surprising number of their parents. The final headline was about to go on: Third Day.
If you haven't listened to Third Day, you ought to. If you like Lynyrd Skynyrd and other Southern rock, you would love Third Day. The singer ("Mac", of course!) has one of the most pure, rugged voices I've ever heard in any genre or venue; whether singing old hymns (they did "Blessed Assurance" for heaven's sake) or hard rock, he seems to sing everything so effortlessly, but with such passion. I knew very little of their music by heart — less even than tobyMac or Newsboys, the previous headliners — but it almost didn't matter. Like a cool drink, they were pure satisfaction to me and the rest of the tired crowd.
The best part of their act, and of the entire festival in my opinion, was when they ended with "Agnus Dei". Amidst the crowd's choruses of "Holy, Holy are you Lord God Almighty, worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb, You are Holy", the guys from Third Day left the stage. Just took off. We all kept singing — no one was leading anything, no one was on the stage, nothing. We were all just singing praises to the God of creation, telling Him that He is Holy, that He is worthy of our singing, of our devotion, and of our lives. I tear up thinking about it a little even now; no amount of my poor attempts to describe it would ever do it justice. It was just the beautiful culmination of so much vital spiritual food for my soul from the week. It was one of the only times I've ever been able to cry out — literally, raise my voice until I had nothing left — and dig from the depths of my soul to give everything I am to God. It was exquisite.
With screaming leg muscles, but just enough energy left, we headed over to the late night concert we had anticipated for a while: Jessie Daniels and Aaron Shust. In the smaller venue, both artists reenforced their technical prowess; Jessie Daniels was still a good singer (and still goofy on-stage :-), and Aaron Shust was still a brilliant and passionate songwriter. I spent most of the first set smiling and feeling young; I spent most of the second set with my eyes closed, letting the rich music just wash over me. The music was largely a repeat of the day's earlier sets, though they did a little more chit-chatting in between songs. No matter — both artists were good the first time around, and they were great that last evening.
And with that, the festivities of SWC were done. Our time there wasn't quite done; I could write about the "adults" that were up WELL past curfew, laughing and carrying on quite loudly; or the kids outside our tent that didn't seem to attend a single concert, but chose 1AM as the time in which they would start worshiping. But ultimately, all of those inconveniences were small potatoes compared to the amazing time Vanessa and I had together. The music, the ambience, the personalities... Spirit West Coast was, all at once, spiritually nutritious, musically pleasing, challenging, exhilarating and an all-around good time. I suspect I'll be feeling the after effects of SWC for some time, in my music, leadership and life.
Fifteen years ago, today, I was wearing a Hard Rock (LA) T-shirt, plaid shorts, black Chuck Taylors...
...and a cap and gown as I walked at Don Antonio Lugo High School graduation, class of '92. Man, 15 years. Seems like an eternity.
After a short night filled with the frustrating inability to sleep too much, we were ready to hit day 2 of Spirit West Coast. But first, a visit into town for coffee and earplugs.
After collecting an English Breakfast Latte from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, as well as earplugs to protect what is left of my poor hearing, we headed over to the fairgrounds to catch the day's shows. In our quest for caffeine, we missed the first group and devotions, but made it to see Masada on the main stage. We were excited to see a jazzy, latin Christian band; a question I have always had is, "Why aren't there any Christian jazz artists?" Maybe I just don't know about any of them. In any case, they were not what we expected, focusing heavily on the latin stuff (of which neither Vanessa nor I am a huge fan). They also didn't seem quite on the same page, and the sound problems on the main stage continued. I can imagine it was frustrating for them because it was pretty uninspiring for us.
After wandering around the vendor booths for a while, we headed back to camp to eat PB&Js for lunch and relax a bit. We came back to catch a little of Margaret Becker's second show; it was a lot of the same stuff as her late-night show the previous night, but came off a little better. Both of her shows really showcased her rich voice and (unfortunately?) in-your-face attitude. Meh.
We took the long trek over to the C28 Arena Stage to see our next act, RAE (nothing online?) and Red. The latter was really the band I wanted to see that afternoon, as they are good ol' fashioned chunky mosh metal. But we didn't know what time they were supposed to go on, so we had to forego a "Worship Q&A with Delirious?", which happens to be Vanessa's favorite (?) Christian band. That turned out to be a dumb idea, as RAE was about 20 minutes late in coming on and they were pretty forgettable once they did actually take the stage. So we missed a relevant session with a tremendous band to stand around trying to avoid listening to a mediocre one... bummer.
Red, however, was really good. They had tremendous energy, played to the crowd (which was largely 15-year-old boys wearing bandanas around their faces and moshing), and sounded awesome. They saved "Breathe Into Me" until their final song, but the rest of their set introduced me to their other songs, all of which were pretty solid. I'll definitely be grabbing their album.
We hustled back to the main stage, but given the lateness of RAE, we missed Todd Agnew. Yet another bummer, but the night was young. Delirious? was playing early that evening, so Vanessa and I grabbed some polish sausage corn dogs and plopped ourselves in the standing-room-only area just in front of the stage. We were not going to be able to sit for the evening's festivities...
When Delirious? came on, they were all dressed in white jump suits. The bassist was even working the wings and all. Their set was unimaginably good — "Majesty (Here I Am)", "History Maker", "Rain Down", "Here I Am, Send Me", "Paint the Town Red"... every song was passionate and gorgeous. Martin Smith does a wonderful job as the frontman; his carefree enthusiasm was infectious and his interaction with the crowd was just cool and unforced. They had a slideshow showing on the screens during their songs, which made the whole thing feel more like worship than a concert. However, unlike the other acts that did this (during explicit worship time), Delirious? integrated their words into street signs and billboards (a la All Your Base Are Belong To Us) or designed complex animated slides. The whole thing was the most creative and the slickest thing I think I've ever seen in a worship-style setting; it just lends more weight to the idea that some people really take this stuff seriously and are interested in making something great, not just making something good.
After Delirious?, Josh McDowell gave a message... and I missed a good portion of it making a run back to camp. Vanessa said it was good; she remained behind to save our spots so that we could see Newsboys up close and personal. :-)
So... Newsboys. They are a band about which I am most conflicted. Their new album, Go, is very, very good. Their worship music tends to be good (with the exception of "It Is You", which is beyond superb). Some of their old music is pretty good. And then they have some music that, lyrically, is just embarrassing. (I'm looking at YOU, "Breakfast" and "Take Me to Your Leader".) They've always struck me as a band that's largely useful for showing fifth through seventh graders that it's okay to be silly and Christian. But on the strength of their new album and their worship stuff, and the fact that Vanessa grew up loving them (hi baby!), and the fact that the energy on the floor was so much higher than the energy in the stands, we decided to see them on the floor.
The Newsboys made me a believer. They're still goofy and they inspired an eye-rolling or two from time to time, but darned if they don't put on a good show. All of the older songs they played reflected a more mature sound, even if the content was still silly. They did a great mix of old and new, worship and straightahead rock, and the place was bouncing. The high point in energy was definitely "Breakfast". There's a line in there that mentions Cap'n Crunch (yeah, the cereal); seeing all of the various Cap'n Crunch boxes that people were toting around all day, I could imagine what would happen. It was like Rocky Horror Picture Show, but with the cereal instead of rice (or toilet paper or the myriad other things thrown on-stage at RHPS). Newsboys were totally cool with all of the flying crunch, even when a couple of boxes flew up on stage mid-verse. It was everywhere; I was picking it out of my hair for two days following the show. Really a lot of fun.
After the big concert, we mosied around for a bit before settling on a bit of an acoustic show with Paul Coleman, the guitarist for Newsboys. Before too long, though, we were nodding off, having spent all of our energy (and not really having a bunch to begin with, thanks to the camping arrangements). So we headed back to camp, content in knowing that Sunday would be another big day with great acts.