I just got back from a concert by Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken.  It was really nice to spend a Saturday night out.  I thought it was really good.  Seeing something live just brings a whole new dimension to music.

Sandra opened the night with some acoustic guitar songs followed by some songs from her album Red Balloon.  She played a Beetle’s song and it was beautiful.  She is just such a talented solo guitarist.  All of the musicians were really great.  The keyboardist who did all the electronic stuff was phenomenal, just really fun to watch.  He even had a bass drum up by his keyboard.  Sandra’s music is so soulful, beautiful, and so tangible to me.  She encouraged the audience to tap into their inner creativity, get out the finger paint and do something to express yourself.  Seeing her play guitar brewed some of my musical aspirations.

Derek was terrific.  This is my first time seeing both of these artists and I was really impressed.  The concert really was the tour for the release of his new album Stockholm Syndrome, which is you know Derek Webb, it is a completely different style for him.  At first I didn’t know what to even think about this album, “Was this really the same artist that played in Caedmon’s Call?”  I asked myself if I wasted my money on i tunes, but after listening to it a little more I began to like it.  It makes me reminisce of the batman movie The Dark Knight, for this certainly is a little dark twist for this artist.  But it is a dark twist that smacks of the truth, of reality, and there is light in that.  Indeed it is a true hero who can put aside a reputation for a good cause….  alas I digress, but here is where I feel the music intersecting with my life.  You must take off your rose colored glasses to listen to this stuff, but in the end it points to a strong faith for the weak.  It brings up topics that will test your emotions, ask you what meaning there is in your life, and walk the narrow path of love.  It was definitely a good experience to see this live, to feel it reach my blood stream.  There is something freeing in going to a good concert for me, and that is the feeling that I took away from this night.