music is poetry is beauty is truth

(switchfoot concert on 10.29, here's the rundown)

The day:
Left Lexington at noon with Rachel. 5 long hours of driving for one short set in Ohio. Arrived in Cleveland about 5pm. Upon recommendation from Robert, went to Tommy’s for dinner, and enjoyed the drive through Little Italy, the only place I saw in Cleveland that didn’t look like the ghetto. Didn’t get to the House of Blues in the Theater District until 7:10pm, and doors had opened at 7… so there was a huge line.

The venue:
Swanky and funky. Red velvet and religious icons. Multiple bars and bathroom attendants. Over the stage were religious icons lit up, with the phrase over the middle icon (tarot) declaring ‘Unity In Diversity, All Are One.’ Not sure how this related to blues music… (Interestingly, the symbol of the cross for Christianity was not present. However, I think they chose to represent Christianity with a statue of the Virgin Mary instead… ???) There was a jam packed downstairs floor where it was impossible to see anything due to the sheer mass of people and my shortness. Upstairs were box seats and balcony seating along with handicapped seating. However, behind the seats we were allowed to stand to watch the show. As it turned out, I got to be right on top with no one in front of me to block my view. Perfect view of the stage, even though I sacrificed feeling the crowd’s energy down on the floor.

The disappointment:
Not being able to take my camera inside, and then having to pay a $4 fee to put it in their coat check…. Grr. So the shot below is all I got really. Didn’t get to meet the band, didn’t get their autograph, didn’t get a marriage proposal (haha), didn’t get any cool photos.

The excitement:
It was Switchfoot, I mean, what is NOT exciting?!

Opening bands:
Reeve Oliver hailing from San Diego. Super cool guys.
Eisley, a chick band from Texas, with 3 sisters, 1 brother, and 1 cousin. The girls all wore cowboy boots. Didn’t dig their sound; I liked maybe 2 of their songs. I don’t usually like chick bands.

The set: (roughly in order, but not exact)
Lonely Nation
Ammunition
Dare You To Move
Easier Than Love
On Fire
This is Your Life
Happy is a Yuppie Word
More Than Fine
Company Car
Gone
Politicians
Shadow Proves the Sunshine
Twenty-Four
Meant to Live

Encore:
Stars
We Are One Tonight

A cool moment: Jon Foreman getting down on the ground, playing with his electric guitar’s amp and sound as he sang into the guitar strings to get this uber-cool resonating, echoing sound effect, similar to what he did with a piano for Shadow Proves the Sunshine on their Nothing Is Sound album. I don’t think I have to go into the details of exactly how cool this was. And I don’t think I can adequately describe its coolness because hearing it blows your mind.
Jon Foreman talked about the feeling of community at concerts, the oneness, the excitement that drove him to pick up a guitar in the first place. He prefaced Politicians by saying this was not an anti-Bush or anti-democracy song, but rather, he likes democracy only because he distrusts everyone equally. Company Car was a request from the crowd so they played it just for us Cleveland fans. They even sang a song about Oh!-Hi!-Oh.
And then they ended with the crowd singing a cappella to Meant to Live with the line, “We were meant to live for so much more…”

The experience, the tiredness, the long drive there and back again: oh so worth it.

Arrived back in Lexington at 5am (4am w/ daylight savings time… what a blessing for that extra hour!) Survived the long night thanks to coffee, ice, a whatchamacallit, mini chocolate donuts, Caedmon’s Call, Moby, Switchfoot, Rachel, good conversations, adrenaline.

Check back HERE for their thoughts on the Cleveland show... (I am impatiently waiting for them to post it :)

Dedication of sanctuary at 9:30am: beautiful. As Joel Hunter said over at the BHT, “It feels like Christmas or Easter.” The evening brought an organ concert by renowned Joyce Jones. I lucked out with a near front seat. Though I’ll admit I prefer the piano over the organ, there is something simply amazing about the organ, an instrument designed to praise God, and the virtuosity required in using both one’s hands for the keys and one’s feet to manage all the pedals. The concert was wonderful.

I am thankful for such diversity in creativity – to create beauty and express truth by words and music, whether through rock n roll or through a restored 1950s organ. I know some people cannot see beauty in something like rock n roll, the playing of loud drums and electric guitars. And I am not talking about beauty when these instruments are used in a praise and worship sort of setting. I am talking about rock n roll. I am talking about music produced by bands like Switchfoot. I am talking about the brilliance to utilize one’s voice with the resonating of an instrument to create an unearthly sound by singing into the strings. I am talking about the inherent creative gift that everyone has. This is not to say that every use of that creative gift is for good. There are ways that the creative gift can be used for unglorious purposes, aimed at tearing down, creating for the sake of destroying rather than giving and building up. But I don’t believe beauty in music and words is only found in a mass by Bach or a poem by Hopkins. I believe that the form is not static but dynamic, the content not limited but sprawling, that it is revealed in simplicity and complexity, and that I, too, am capable of its creation and expression. Wonder of glorious wonders, joy of inexpressible joys!