Please Don’t Stop The Music

I’ve been meaning to write this out for a little while but I hadn’t gotten the chance.

For the past several years, I wasn’t a huge concert-goer – not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t care to spend the money. I’d only attend shows I won free tickets to and that was about it.

I decided recently that I wanted to change that. I love seeing live shows, seeing artists perform their songs, seeing how they respond in that element. Songs can often take on new life in a live performance setting and it’s a blast hearing artists who take advantage of that and let the song grow and be reinvented.

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-I caught Jonny Lang a few months ago with Jason Joy after missing his show earlier in the year and vowing not to let it sell out again before obtaining tickets.

For me, blues is one of those genres that can’t be fully experienced on a recording. I think the recording was an after-thought to a band playing together, feeding off of each other and letting the music tell the story.

Jonny was brilliant. That boy can play. Man. And he knows how to pick a band! Talk about stellar musicians with more soul than a stage should really be able to handle. It was a great night and Jonny’s set flowed well. Highlights for me were the extended, laid-back take on “Red Light,” the very extended cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Living For The City,” and the many dynamic ranges of “Lie To Me.”

If you have a chance to catch his show, do it. You don’t have to be a blues fan to really enjoy it, as he’s taken to being more of a songwriter in recent years. But I think anyone can appreciate the beast of a musician he is.

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-MUTEMATH was in town a couple of months ago as well and, as always, they didn’t disappoint with their live set. If you’ve had the chance to see them before you know those guys know how to put on a show.

They are always impressive with the sound they manage to create and the energy with which they do it. If nothing else, watching drummer Darren King play can provide a night’s worth of entertainment alone.

This may be considered sacrilege to admit but I’m not the biggest MUTEMATH fan. Or more accurately, I’m not the biggest fan of their songs. They sometimes run together for me. But I do appreciate some creative musicians who know what they’re doing.

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-I became a fan of Mindy Smith’s sometime during my folk music obsession (which I’m still in, by the way) and have since gotten ahold of as much of her music as I could. She has this pure, sweet voice singing such sad songs. It’s quite gripping. Her latest release has far more upbeat songs but the content still isn’t what some would call “happy.” But I think she’s okay.

She played a small, side room at the House of Blues which turned out to be a perfect venue for the 70 or so people who came out. It was just Mindy and a second guitarist for the whole show and they carried the load well.

While it wasn’t my favorite show (evidenced by the fact that I looked down at my watch more than a couple of times) I was glad I went. Mindy Smith is a cool girl. Not at all who I expected behind the songs. I expected a quiet, soft-spoken girl with a shy personality that let herself loose in her music. Wrong. She’s funny, smart, out-spoken, sarcastic. Very cool artist. To the point where I wanna be her friend.

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-So I could give that show some contrast, I saw Third Eye Blind the next night. I’ve been a fan of theirs for a long time, since I first heard “Semi-charmed Life” back in high school (at least I think it was high school) and this was the first time I got to see them live.

Years ago someone told me that, while they were a great band on their records, they were awful live and that singer Stephan Jenkins couldn’t hold a tune to save his life. I had no basis to confirm that so I’ve always kept that logged away in my memory.

Yeah, that person was wrong.

Talk about a great show. Stephan Jenkins sounded amazing as did the rest of the band. Every song was excellent which reminded me of how much I love their music. They reinterpreted some older tunes, took some liberties with others, and altogether put on a pretty rocking show. Didn’t look at my watch once.

I especially liked how raw but polished it was, if that makes sense. They’re a tight band but they didn’t play to a click track – the songs breathed with the dynamics, with the crowd. Good rock ‘n roll.

I’ve always thought Third Eye Blind was one of the more underrated bands out there and since it had been six years of silence before their latest release, everyone had mostly written them off. I’m not crazy about the new album. It’s good but most of the tracks are forgettable. But they still got it, I say.

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-The last show I saw was The Swell Season’s. I don’t know even know what to say. If you’ve read this blog before or follow me on Twitter you might know that I’m slightly obsessed with them. Once I got hooked to the movie Once and its soundtrack (thanks to Kitt) there was no turning back. I discovered the project that the film’s stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova put out entitled “The Swell Season” and I bought just about everything I could of theirs.

Debut? Check. Live From the Artist’s Den DVD? Check. The Deluxe edition of their latest? Check. Tickets to their show as soon as they went on sale? And check.

I was blown away by these guys. It never hurts when you love all their music, though. They really seemed to love what they were doing, loving playing these songs to people who ate it all up.

And, one reason why these live shows are as much as fun as they are, is that these Swell Season shows aren’t all the same from city to city. I may have kinda been hunting down audio bootlegs and finding live video feeds of other shows on their tour to confirm this. So far, I haven’t heard a show quite like the Houston show.

They fed off each other, seemingly changing the setlist as it seemed appropriate, performing a song for the crowd completely unplugged and acoustic at the edge of the stage and still managing to fill the room with just a vocal and guitar.

One of the more memorable highlights of the show was during the encore, where they introduced a new, unreleased song. Like he does on a few other songs, Glen Hansard had the crowd sing along to certain part that he teaches to everyone before the actual song, where he’d sing a part and have the crowd echo it back to him. During this particular lesson, one soulful voice sailed above the rest and was met with applause and cheers from everyone else. It didn’t go unnoticed, so Glen invited Moji to come up and sing the song with them. So cool. And she was amazing. Raw and stunning, she definitely made the most of it. And here’s a little video of that moment that @_Admiral_Akbar managed to capture.

All in all, one of my favorite shows I’ve ever had a chance to see.

I know I can’t see everyone I want to play live but I’m thankful to have caught these acts while I could.

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Who are some of your favorite artists that you’ve seen live? Any heart-breakingly disappointing concerts you’ve attended? Please share!

Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty

You’ve probably already heard the sad news that Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, OK passed away yesterday morning from Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

I spent six years living in Tulsa and, being on the campus of ORU, it was impossible not to have some experience with Pastor Billy Joe. When Victory’s services were held at ORU’s Mabee Center, it was very convenient to walk just a few minutes to attend church on Sunday morning. He was also a regular guest at our chapel services and was always present at the ICBM conferences and Victory’s Word Explosion services which many students attended.

I’ve attended Victory quite a few times during my years at ORU. I didn’t always see eye-to-eye with Pastor Billy Joe theologically but I did admire the man greatly. He was one of a few people, particularly ministers, who I felt conducted every area of his ministry (and lived his life) with integrity. I never believed his kind demeanor was an act; his sincerity was felt when he preached from the stage and when you chatted as you ran into him around campus.

There’s plenty to be said of the work he did and I think Victory’s site does a good job sharing some of the highlights.

Pastor Daugherty lived a life in service to Christ. Billy Joe Daugherty was the Pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he also founded Victory Christian School, Victory Bible Institute, and Victory World Missions Training Center, and the Tulsa Dreamcenter. From inner city families, to single parents, to troubled teens—Tulsa has benefited from his influence beyond the walls of his church. And his reach was not only local, his ministry has birthed hundreds Bible training centers and supported missionaries around the world.

The world will never be the same because of Billy Joe Daugherty. As with any life given in service to Christ, the effects of his life and the legacy of his ministry will continue through his beloved wife Pastor Sharon Daugherty, his children Sarah and Caleb Wehrli, Ruthie and Adam Sanders, John Daugherty, and Paul and Ashley Daugherty, and his mother Iru Daugherty—and through the thousands who were inspired by him.

Thank God for Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty and the life he lived. I am inspired and I strive to live the life with integrity he showed was possible to do. I pray that I make an impact for the Kingdom that’s at least as fractionally effective as he did.

iTunes DJ

I’m unashamedly stealing this idea from Brody Harper because it’ll be fun and I want to get some new music ideas from you (and also just to have a potential chuckle).

For you iTunes users, you click on the iTunes DJ button on the left column. Then, you come back here, list how many songs you have in your library and then the first 10 songs that appear in your DJ list. And the good times ensue.

Here’s mine:
Library: 23,750
1. I Call It Love – Jared Anderson
2. Ian’s Groove – Phil Keaggy
3. Leaving – Crew
4. Striking – Francis and the Lights
5. Bad – Michael Jackson
6. Wicked Web – Waterdeep
7. Jesus, You’re Beautiful – CeCe Winans
8. I Ride An Old Paint – Johnny Cash
9. Knees to the Earth – Watermark
10. You’ve Been So Good [Reprise] – Martha Munizzi

Easy! Just leave your list in the comments. And, just as Mr. Harper warned, no cheating to make your list cooler.

Ragamuffin Soul

If you aren’t already, you should be a regular reader of Ragamuffin Soul.

Carlos Whittaker shares his faith and his journey in a blog that’s really as much about the community that reads and joins in as it is about him.

He’s also one of the newest artists to Integrity’s artist lineup and his new record is due out in the next few months. Excitement.

So, in true Ragamuffin Soul style, Carlos is involving everyone to weigh in on the selection of his first single off the album. Have a listen and cast your vote HERE.

While you’re there, go ahead and subscribe to the blog. It’ll be one of the few you won’t want to just scroll through to clear your Google Reader.

A Still More Glorious Dawn Awaits

I particularly enjoyed Stephen Hawking’s appearance.

HT: Know Your Meme

Reasons To Love Twitter, #158

Once again, I have to show love to Twitter for hooking me up with more free stuff.

This time I thank Shane & Shane for providing me with a copy of their new album as a reward for playing a “Guess What’s This Picture Is” game. Can’t beat that.

If you’re following anyone that’s giving away guitars or other music gear, do let me know

NaNoWriMo

Anyone out here participating in the National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo? Sounds intriguing. A fun idea to set and meet a difficult but achievable goal.

I’m a day behind but I may try and get in on the action. Join me?

(Follow the NaNoWriMo journey of other Twitter users here with Twitscoop)

Let’s Play Ball

As you may already be aware (for those who care, anyway), the NBA is back. I don’t know how the Rockets will fare this season because of some serious lineup changes but I will continue to show love when appropriate because, well, I am a lousy, fair-weather fan.

In celebration of the return of basketball, here’s a clip of the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade scoring past all of the Bulls’ defense.

HT: This guy

“Hey, Mr. DJ, Put A Record On”

Here’s an interesting article that claims people who illegally download music end up buying more music than those who are… ahem… not as pirate-like.

HT: BoingBoing

Hard To Get

You who live in heaven
Hear the prayers of those of us who live on earth
Who are afraid of being left by those we love
And who get hardened by the hurt

Do you remember when You lived down here where we all scrape
To find the faith to ask for daily bread
Did You forget about us after You had flown away
Well I memorized every word You said

Still I’m so scared, I’m holding my breath
While You’re up there just playing hard to get

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You who live in radiance
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in skin
We have a love that’s not as patient as Yours was
Still we do love now and then

Did You ever know loneliness?
Did You ever know need?
Do You remember just how long a night can get
When You were barely holding on
And Your friends fall asleep
And don’t see the blood that’s running in Your sweat?

Will those who mourn be left uncomforted
While You’re up there just playing hard to get?

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And I know you bore our sorrows
And I know you feel our pain
And I know it would not hurt any less
Even if it could be explained

And I know that I am only lashing out
At the One who loves me most
And after I figured this, somehow
All I really need to know

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Is if You who live in eternity
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in time
We can’t see what’s ahead
And we can not get free of what we’ve left behind
I’m reeling from these voices that keep screaming in my ears
All the words of shame and doubt, blame and regret

I can’t see how You’re leading me unless You’ve led me here
Where I’m lost enough to let myself be led
And so You’ve been here all along I guess
It’s just Your ways and You are just plain hard to get

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-Rich Mullins

Friday Glory

Today has been a long day of lawn-care, work, and errand-running. Long day. However, a few things made it all bearable and maybe even awesome.

-It’s Friday. Let’s face it, that just makes everything better, doesn’t it?

-The weather down here in Houston has been nothing short of stunning today. It’s been hot all week (and not just hot for October) but today turned things around. Even though I was busy driving around, I’m glad I got to be outside for a lot of this Friday.

-Due to the lack of a CD player, aux. input or tape deck in the ol’ work vehicle, I’m forced to listen to the radio. Top 40 is usually the way I go but with those stations tied up with commercials I naturally tuned in to my 93Q Country. And in the span of about an hour I managed to hear some clever, some corny, and some classic country songs.

Oh, and I also scored two tickets to Taylor Swift’s show in May 2010.

That’s that Friday glory, folks.

Happily Ever After

Last month I was honored and privileged to be a part of Tanner and Anne Herriot’s wedding. We arrived the Wednesday before the wedding ceremony that Saturday and I tried to capture as much as I could of the adventure.

I’m slow with video work, hence this video being here a month and a half after the fact. Yep. Oh well.

Enjoy. And much love to Tanner and Anne. Happiness.

You Lie!

I was told that Thursday would bring a cold front to us sweaty folk of Houston.

That is not a cold front. That is June.

I’m Like A Kid In Some Kind Of A Store

If there’s one thing we can be certain about in life it’s that there’s nothing we can be certain about in life. There can be good or bad days. Sometimes the good days need a reward. Almost always, the bad days need a pick-me-up. Enter one of God’s many gifts to mankind: candy.

But you don’t always want to make an emergency trip to the store to satisfy that needed hit. You’re tired! You’ve earned a break! Well, here’s a little tip I picked along the way (to the doctor, apparently).

Invest in a candy stash. Easy enough, right? It truly is. On your next grocery run, pick out some of your favorite candy selections and do your best not to eat it on the drive home. Next, and this is important, you’ll want to hide this candy. If you’re anything like me, any candy in sight will be promptly inhaled. Hidden candy, however, has a much higher chance of survival, hopefully to be saved for those moments where you truly need that sugar fix.

Here’s my setup. This looks like an ordinary bookshelf, does it not? Kinda dull…

ordinary shelf

But that’s before we learn that behind these books lies a veritable treasure trove of awesomeness.

surprise! happiness!

Sweet .

Shortcuts

I’m discovering that for many things that I do (or, really, attempt to do) there is a much quicker and more efficient way to accomplish the task.

I like to dabble in different forms of media expressions; I’m most definitely not proficient in any but I enjoy it anyway. I can often see a finished product in my head by my lack of technical knowledge and basic know-how definitely slow me down from arriving at my destination. I know there are tips and tricks out there (and thank you to the Interwebs for constantly supplying me with so much) but sometimes I don’t absorb them quickly enough.

However, I can’t make the excuse of not even trying or not going any distance because I don’t know the shortcuts. Better to take the long way than to get nowhere at all.

It’s 4:12 AM and I’m now going to bed. A little project that I was working on (that someone else could’ve finished in minutes) took me forever but I’m sorta happy I’ve (eventually) arrived at a semi-decent finished product. Go Team.

I Can Smell The Excitement In The Air

There’s enough to bum me out about the world and life in general but I’ve gotta constantly focus my sights on the abundance of gloriously wonderful things that surround me. Here’s to that:

-We got up to 90˚ this week down here in Houston. Remember it’s October. That’s not the good part. The good part is that it dipped into the 60s yesterday. I have little faith that the weather will stay this way for long but I’m loving every bit of it while it’s around.

-I can barely contain my excitement about seeing The Swell Season in concert here pretty soon. I love what they do. I love their music. I do. You might, too. Take a listen to some of their new tunes here.

-I’m terrible about putting away my clean laundry. But I don’t care at the moment. That’s good.

-Christmas is creeping closer. It’s weirding me out a little that the year is nearly over but I’m thinking it’s gonna end out brilliantly and 2010’s gonna be one to remember.

-Our church worship team has come to the conclusion that we’re bored silly with the way we play most of our songs. So, amidst other musical attempts that shall remain undisclosed at this time, we’re looking to give our songs a new kick in the face so they can speak to everyone (ourselves included) in a fresh way, maybe in ways they hadn’t before.

-This has been very unsubstantial. I think I just wanted to talk about the weather and The Swell Season. But that’s enough, don’t you agree?

Reasons To Love Twitter, #157

Say what you will about social media and Twitter in particular but it just scored me a $20 giftcard to Jason’s Deli.

Thanks to Madison over at Jason’s Deli for Tuesday Trivia and hooking me up with a real treat something I can really sink my teeth into food.

Peace Out

So President Obama is the recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize and the predominant response seems to be, “… really?”. Yeah, everyone seems surprised by the outcome, even the President himself.

What I don’t get is how some people seem upset about it – your president gets this award and you’re not happy? Whatever, that’s fine, but at the very least let’s be upset with Oslo for giving him the award rather than with the president, eh?

However, I did have a good chuckle at Jaron Nix’s tweets:

Sounds For My Soul (Present Favorites), Pt. VI

Alrighty, it’s been a little while since I’ve shared some music but I have a real winner here to make up for it. She’s not unknown but I do reckon she should be immensely more popular.

Alison Sudol is A Fine Frenzy, an artist with a great voice, style and songs. I was introduced to her brand of awesomeness sometime last year by the great Kitt Bender when he sent a link of A Fine Frenzy performing her song “You Picked Me.” I was smitten. After keep the video on repeat for the better part of a week I bought her debut album on Amazon which is full of brilliance. I mean, it was good from top to bottom. I love those kinda albums (and those are not easy to find).

She just released her second album a few weeks ago, Bomb In A Birdcage, and I must say that she absolutely does NOT suffer from the sophomore slump. It’s a different album in that some of the songs are a bit more upbeat, pop-y but the fact that it is so good is undeniable. My iTunes play count tells me that I’ve listened to the album ten times through, and that’s not including the numerous spins it’s taken on my iPod. I run through quite a bit of music on my iTunes so ten listens since early September is saying something about how I feel about her music…

Since it’s beautiful outside and it’s Friday I thought I’d share a happy track from A Fine Frenzy’s latest album. This song is called “Blow Away.” Then go buy the album (and whether you buy it from Amazon or iTunes, go to Amazon to get the exclusive track – it’s delicious).

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Previous entries of SFMS:

Pt. I
Pt. II
Pt. III
Pt. IV
Pt. V

Time Check

Have you ever found yourself carelessly glancing at a clock or your watch only to notice that you catch the same time whenever you do?

I don’t know what it is but whenever I throw a quick glimpse at the nearest clock I tend to see 12:34 displayed. Of course, that’s not the only time I ever see but this happens so consistently that it feels a little more than odd.

I’m not intentionally waiting and looking for 12:34 – it’s just there letting me know it’s there.

This can’t be happening only to me.

Can it?

Happy Birthday

That’s Just D(r)umb.

Sorry for the many Craigslist posts but this is just too stupid. I’m hoping this is fake but, if not, could someone PLEASE buy this drumb set and send this kid to college quickly?!

Ellipse

She’s not new but she certainly has her place on the list of under-recognized, innovative musicians today. Imogen Heap is releasing her latest project, Ellipse, tomorrow, August 25. Buy it here.

Sometimes, there’s an artist that fills in the gaps of your musical preferences perfectly. You can enjoy all sorts of diverse styles but sometimes there’s a song or musician that can sum up the reasons you love all that music in one fell swoop.

I’m not an Imogen super-fan by any means but I do know she’s one of the artists I turn to when I need a creative kick in the butt (or is it a kick in my creative butt?). I’m on my repeated listen of Ellipse and I can say that I really dig it. I enjoyed her last album, Speak For Yourself, though I found myself skipping a couple of tracks at times (sorry). So far, no skips on this record. Always a good sign.

If you’re not familiar with Imogen’s work, here’s a brief sample. First up is the first single, “First Train Home,” from her upcoming album.

And to really prove how clever she can be, here’s a live performance of her song “Just For Now” from her album Speak For Yourself. I’ve watched this countless times and it never fails to remind me that I’m a lame musician who desperately needs to practice. Gold.

Closure

Just for the sake of closure, here’s the second and final part of my weekend at the Assemblies of God conference.

Go to bed.

It’s Totally Okay – One Time I Nearly Tasered Bruce Springsteen During A Riot

How does it feel? To be on your own? A complete unknown? Bob Dylan might know.

A police officer questioning Bob Dylan recognized his name but wasn’t sure it was him.

The rock legend was stopped in July by police in Long Branch, New Jersey, who were responding to a call about a suspicious person roaming the neighborhood, police said.

According to Long Branch Police Department Sgt. Michael Ahart, Dylan had been peering into a window of a house that was for sale, which prompted a neighbor to call the police on July 23.

One of two responding officers, Officer Kristie Buble, 24, approached Dylan and asked him for his name.

“She recognized the name, she just really didn’t believe it was Bob Dylan,” Ahart told CNN. “He was soaking wet because it was raining and he was wearing a hood.”

So Buble asked the musician for identification, but he had none.

Buble and her partner, Officer Derrick Meyers, 24, then asked Dylan, 68, to accompany them to where his tour buses were parked. Once they arrived, Dylan showed them identification.

“Dylan was really cool about the whole incident,” Ahart said. He said he asked the singer why he had been walking in the rain and was told, “I just felt like going for a walk.”

Dylan, who is on a national tour with musicians Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, was in Long Branch on the Jersey shore prior to his performance at a baseball stadium in nearby Lakewood.

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CNN