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Monday, February 17, 2003 On Acoustic Concerts in Grand Rapids, Michigan It's been awhile since I've posted... so here's my attempt to recify that. :-) So much to blog about! Here's the first bit, a concert review: on Wednesday, I drove out to Grand Rapids to catch Caedmon's Call and Jars of Clay in concert together. The verdict: Caedmon's Call: For years, they were my favorite band--incredible lyrics, honesty, and a wonderful folk-rock sound (sometimes a little too bluegrass for my tastes, I'll admit)--but with the loss of singer/songwriter/guitarist Derek Webb something is definitely missing, which is strange to me because I've never been a huge fan of his voice to begin with. Caedmon added another singer to augment their 3-4 part vocals (before it had been Derek, Danielle, and Cliff with an occasional Josh) that sounds almost exactly like their missing member, but what I really miss is Derek's songwriting. The band not only avoided the question about Derek's whereabouts (he left the band, though it's not official news yet--and I must say, I'm not surprised at all with his solo career in the works) but they didn't play any of his songs. I also noticed that Danielle doesn't move much at all onstage--the last time I saw them I thought it might have been a fluke since just standing without movement is unusual for singers in bands--but apparently it's just how she is. It's a little out of place with the rest of the band, especially Cliff when he starts dancing around. As for the music, some of the more fun numbers were heavily percussion-driven songs; the contemplative numbers lacked an undefineable pizzaz, again strange because usually their slow songs are the best. But Caedmon's Call still has the integrity that they'd held onto for the last ten years. Unfortunately, they don't capture my attention the way they once did. Jars of Clay: Now this was the surprise of the night: I love Jars's first album--one of the best ever, in my humble opinion--and like the newest studio release, The Eleventh Hour, but I went to Grand Rapids to see Caedmon's Call. However, Jars of Clay played an acoustic set--think piano, string bass, acoustic guitars, guys sitting on wooden stools--and blew my expectations out of the water. This was the band that wrote "Worlds Apart" and the other goodies off the self-titled album; had they been in hiding? The songs shone. I realized at the show that Jars gives off a deliberate "artsy" or New York vibe while Caedmon's Call is more grassroots and down-to-earth (neither style is inherently superior--it's just something I noticed). Highlights of the night included a rendition of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (yes, you read that right), which was a spontaneous cover amid shouts of "Play 'Flood!' Play 'Flood!'", which they eventually did play. I don't know if they heard "Play a cover!" way down in the front, but they thought for a minute and busted out with a "serious" version of the Cyndi Lauper trademark. And yes, it was a little scary. But amusing nonetheless. They hadn't prepared much of a set list, so the majority of songs were chosen literally out of a hat by kids in the front row. "Worlds Apart" was much longer than the studio version, but began to the tune of laughter because singer Dan Hasetline couldn't remember the words. Good thing the audience did. I learned something about human behavior at the concert--if you say a joke once and get a laugh, if you keep saying it and people stop laughing don't stop; keep telling the joke because eventually people will laugh again. "We're pulling out all of our bad jokes tonight." Overall, incredible. My faith in Jars of Clay has been restored. The concert was supposed to start at 9:15pm, and Grand Rapids is a two-hour drive from Ann Arbor. I got home at 4:00am, but ithe show was so worth missing the sleep. And here's an amusing thought: my brother recorded the entire show with the voice recorder on his Palm Pilot. ^ Top | 10:10 PM | | | 
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