I know that after I saw Coldplay I said that I probably never see a better show than that in my entire life, but I may just have. I'm not sure, its too early to tell. I'll have to let the experience sit and simmer for a little while.
Either way, though, Crowder was incredible. The 2 opening bands, I wasn't such a fan of, though. Robbie Seay Band opened, and while they were definately talented, I felt like they were quite generic. They were great musicians, its just that their songwriting didn't seem particularly interesting. Maybe I'm the only one...
Shane & Shane went up next. A bunch of the people I was with were already big Shane & Shane fans. I had never heard them (although I had heard a couple of their songs--I was told we sing them in FSM/The Grove quite often). Whichever shane played guitar was a very, very good guitar player. Musically, even though they apparently screwed up a few times, they were incredible. Whoever their drummer was was freaking unbelievable. But, much like I was with Robbie Seay Band, I wasn't particularly interested in their music, for the most part. I would be willing to give one of their albums a shot, though.
When Crowder came up, it was insane. They opened with "Do Not Move," a song I was seriously hoping they would play. Very intense song. When they got to "Foreverandever Etc." Crowder came out with a keytaur and discussed the "phatness" of the beat he layed down with it. Man, the guy can engage a crowd. I would love to see how he engages a community of believers while leading worship.
"You Are My Joy" was the peak of the show, I think.
They ended with "Rescue is Coming" (which, also, was awesome), left the stage, and then came out and encored with Robbie Seay and Shane & Shane on stage with them singing "Be Lifted or Hope Rising." Very, very cool.
I just realized that I have never given my impressions of the new Crowder CD "A Collision" on here. I guess now would be a good time.
I love it. I think David Crowder*Band is one of the only truly creatively progressive bands in worship music today. They're essentially the only "Christian band" that I can with confidence say is one of my favorite bands. They're probably the only "Christian band" I've ever heard that is not content with being reactive to the secular pop music scene. It seems to me that most Christian artists tend to come off as being "the Christian [insert popular band here]"--gaining their popularity by emulating a sound that a secular band got popular with. Crowder is forging his own sound, and doing a wonderful job of it. I even put Crowder up with the ranks of Radiohead, Wilco, Coldplay, Sufjan Stevens, and Guster from both a pure personal enjoyment standpoint and a creativity standpoint.
Now, with the CD "A Collision or 3+4=7", Crowder has outdone himself. He has created a very, very complete concept album. All of the ideas come off as fully realized. What is the concept? What it means for a Holy being to lower itself (in a manner of speaking) while raising us up to him for us to be able to interact (or Collide, if you will), and how death, life, forgiveness, hope, and abandonment tie into that idea. It is so densely layered with ideas and actual musical layers that it seems like every time I listen to it I discover something new--a new way to interpret a lyric, a new lyric itself, a beautiful banjo part that I had previously never heard, etc. This isn't just a collection of songs, it is a fully realized concept album from start to finish--every part seems to have a meaning. It seems like this is the album that their last CD, "Illuminate" wanted to be (another concept album with the theme of luminious vs. illuminous objects and what it means for us to reflect Christ's light). And while Illuminate was an amazing album (most likely the best contemporary Christian release in 5 years, and one of the best albums period of the year it was released), its smaller scope and narrower focus pales in comparison to "A Collision." Ok, I'm rambling. Lets just get down to the basics: I love "A Collision" and I think it is one of the best albums of the last couple of years, one of my personal favorite albums ever, and probably the most important Christian release since Dc Talk's "Jesus Freak" in the 90s.
I have a pretty funny story to tell about when I met David Crowder Band's lead guitar player, Jason Solley, Tuesday night, but my hands are getting tired. I'll post about it in a few days.
Thats all I have for now.
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