oh yeah, and something I'm REALLY excited about

So anyone familiar with this blog will know that Don Chaffer is my favorite songwriter but I've never seen him live. After Miles and Ruby were born he and Lori took a break from touring so I have missed the goodness of Waterdeep live. BUT NO LONGER.

Derek Webb.

Sandra McCracken.

Alli Rogers.

WATERDEEP.

Eddie's Attic in Georgia. A venue I've always wanted to go to (the Indigo Girls play there fairly often).

Morgan and I are committed to going.


I'm also definitely going to the Art, Music, Justice tour with Sara Groves, Derek, and Sandra that's coming near me in PA. I've never seen Sara Groves though I love her songwriting and, come to think of it, that will be my first opportunity to hear Sandra live too which is totally exciting for me. So yay for concerts!

John Mayer

JM is just the artist I hate to love. He won me over in May of 2002 when my friend Kristin made me listen to a bootleg of him singing "Love Song for No One."

Now Morgan and I both discuss how we refuse to go see John Mayer in the venues he plays now- way too expensive to see a show with way too many people. We've agreed that we wouldn't pay more than $15 to see him with 10,000 people but would be willing to pay a lot more to see the John Mayer Trio in an intimate venue. (This is in a fictional alternate reality where I have money.) So that alone should tell you I much prefer his acoustic and Trio sets.

Anyway, I previously claimed that somehow JM managed to OWN a Tom Petty song, but here's the evidence. My favorite bit is 1:56ish, that guy on the right is my favorite, his harmony just adds a total dimension of awesomeness.



This is the other song I love- I immediately loved it for the harmonics he plays in the beginning and then just the whole song- ugh! It makes me want to do nothing but lie in bed staring at the ceiling with the fan on and drink iced tea and listen to this song on repeat. I could happily do just that for HOURS. It's that sublime and I HATE that I would use that word to describe John Mayer, but just listen and you'll know what I mean.

the promised summary

As usual in my musical wanderings I was prepared for an onslaught at what should have been the most anticipated theatrical release of the summer: the Remedy Club Tour, of course!

So Morgan and I went to get tickets, then we had dinner and became excited about Crowder. We had a great time with the, uh, 40 other people in the theater?! A few people clapped and randomly sang along quietly but overall we all just watched and had a low buzzing joy reverberating over our collective heads. :)

The dvd is great. I am definitely going to buy it at some point and make my friends watch it with me. The cinematography is good, the editing is pretty mindblowing (on one song the footage switches back and forth between ATL and NYC seamlessly, it's beautiful!), and of course the music is great!

The one sidenote is that I have never considered any of the members of the Crowder band particularly good-looking; talented, thoughtful, brilliant (bwack and his wizadry), artistic, etc but not so much attractive. THE CAMERA LOVES JACK. I had already thought about ten times, "geez, I never noticed how attractive Jack is!" when my sister leaned over and was like, "Who is that guitar player, again?!" and then we both started laughing hysterically. Anyway, way to go Jack, you definitely stole the good camera angles! Not to mention played a mean banjo.

So, yeah, you should give it a look-see.

the bright sadness

Today is my first day of (grad) school, I have no internet at my house.

But I have been listening, listening, listening. :)

Morgan bought John Mayer's "Where the Light Is" which includes a KILLER cover of "Free Fallin'" (I mean JM owns that song) and a newbie, "In Your Atmosphere" which I can't see ever becoming a radio hit but the harmonics and harmonies are so beautiful!

But what we've REALLy loved is Charlie Hall's new album, "The Bright Sadness." It's so good and so Charlie, worth the wait and well done through and through.

I thought this review from Christianity Today did a good overview.

Jars of Clay: Ship Wreck

Another "discovery" from Emily, this is a song from Jars' "Roots and Wings" EP. What a gorgeous and thoughtfully poignant song. I love it.

Ship Wreck
Jars of Clay

One two, one two

He put it in the bottle and he threw it out to sea
But the tide would not surrender and it floated to the beach
So the message of apology his love would never see
He walked around that island all shipwrecked and heavy

The scars of early childhood still showing on the skin
Necessary enemy so healing could begin
From the message of apology his heart might soon break free
For now he walks that island all shipwrecked and ready

Low beyond horizon lines, across the salty sea
A boat without a captain makes its way to some city
He prays that it would sail its course to lover or to kin
And fan a thirst for searching and finding him again
Finding him again, finding him again

Let us be the Remedy

So my sister and I got tickets to go see the Remedy Club Tour DVD on the big screen. For the uninformed, this new DVD is being released in movie theaters for one night. I find this fairly hilarious because I think the Crowder band excels at seeming really accessible and indulging super enthusiasts like myself with fun interactive things: think the Remedy summer scavenger hunt, the goodreader videos, the streaming video of their recording process, etc.

But this I think will be hilarious. I mean, usually I wouldn't wear a Crowder tshirt to a Crowder concer but, in this case, surrounded by other Crowder fanatics would it just be funny? Will we sing along like a real concert? Will we eat popcorn and raisinets like a movie?! I'll let you know how it goes...

i thought i said this but maybe not

Well it's a little late now, I thought I posted that I was going camping for a month- 14 National Parks in the Rocky Mountain region and then moving across the country and that is the reason I have been absent and haven't shared any musical excitement recently. So anyway, I just spent a month in a tent and driving a lot and therefore listening to a lot of music. This segues nicely because one of the happy surprises of Lifest was how much I enjoyed Switchfoot.

I really enjoyed their songs on the Walk to Remember soundtrack (never saw the movie but LOVED the soundtrack) and then when they "resurfaced" a few years ago I remember my friend Kate being like, "now is this the same Switchfoot that was that Christian band?!" I think I just shrugged. So I was looking forward to seeing them in concert and Anne really wanted to get over to see lead singer Jon Foreman play some of his solo stuff.

I think I was most impressed by how authentic they seemed despite being a band that has seen it's share of hype, in a sense. So when my friend Emily (companion of the epic camping trip) showed up with Jon Foreman's EPs to listen to while we drove I expected good. But it was really REALLY good. These songs are SO scriptural! I found myself on the verge of giggling because he does such a great job of artistically interpreting the scriptures he focuses on and giving them extra emotional tension. I like a lot of them and could listen to these EPs over and over (and have!) but the one that I latched on to immediately, turned up every time it came on and after listening to once told Emily I plan on listening to everyday for the rest of my life was the Amos inspired "Instead of a Show."

The verses he draws from haunt me often when I'm gathered with others to pray and sing so this reminder is really gutsy, I think, an indictment of guilt for all of us. But beautiful, beautiful, I genuinely wish every worship leader would open with this song.