UPDATE: Thanks to commenter Ndidi for putting names to the voices ...

Do I have some video clips from Wednesday to share, or what? I can't say enough good things about Wednesday's praise & worship, but I'll try to unpack at least a few dozen kind words here. Between getting the chance to see what Michael Mellett can do up front, seeing some of the ensemble singers get a moment to show their talent, and finally - FINALLY - getting a nice little showcase moment for Randy Allison on the sax, it was a very special treat for what I can only presume is a fair portion of the regular attendees that enjoy all of the musical talent we get to listen to.

Now, sadly, I have no names for two of the ensemble singers that get some run here. I meant to nag any of the ensemble/band members that I know on my way out, but never quite got the chance (well, unless I wanted to interrupt Fiona's conversation ... which I didn't). So I'm appealing to the readership to help me out with names yet again.

First up is the first song of the night, where we got a taste of things to come in the form of sharing the spotlight on stage. UPDATE: Silvanus J. LaToison is the ensemble singer here.

Then, there's Randy's extended sax solo toward the second half of "How Great Is Our God." I think he could have strung this out for another five minutes or so and those in attendance would still have been applauding it.

Last up is a lead-in from one of the ensemble singers, in this case, kicking off "God He Reigns" ...

UPDATE: Elizabeth Varughese is the ensemble singer here.

Again: Names, people ... I need names! UPDATE: Nevermind, I'm now content ;-)

Seeing Michael W. Smith is as close to going to Branson as I'll likely ever experience without crossing the Missouri state border. It seemed like everyone who was looking for an alternative to an R-rated movie on Friday night was at Lakewood. Like ... from the ages of 7 to 70. And it looked like they were all getting into it except for the one row of kids in front of me, all of whom fell asleep two songs in.

The mob scene was certainly not as bad as was feared. I arrived by 6pm and folks were lining up at all the 2nd floor entrances, but it wasn't terribly bad. By 6:30, the concourse was by no means as claustrophobic as it was for the last Hillsong show. Come to think of it, I also didn't see busloads of church groups depositing kids at Lakewood's doorstep. Guess that's the difference between Sunday night and Friday night.

Had I wanted to force my way in, I could have gotten a onesie seat up at the front section. But since I didn't view myself as a big enough MWS fan to warrant that sort of behavior, I meandered back toward the sound booth. I arrive, I sit down, I patiently allow various groups to obtain seats further toward the middle of our row. I'm at something like the fifth seat from the end. As the others settle past me, they arrive in groups of 2 or 5. Minutes later - after they've all arrived - they depart one-by-one to the restroom. This is the most brutal form of brutality imaginable to a guy looking to kill 45 minutes of dead time sitting near the end of a row. I don't think I ever made it past two sentences before hearing the faint echo of one more bladder-strained individual offering their "Excuse me's" to get past the dwindling number of us still seated. Naturally, they all returned one-by-one as well. I swear, I think I've finally got abs of steel from my Friday night workout. Feel free to check back in about 50 years and I'm sure my most lasting memory from this concert will be that everyone had to go to the bathroom 45 seconds apart from someone else. That and maybe that nobody else in my section knew how to clap in time to any song performed.

So there was, in fact, a concert, also. A little personal history here. I own all of one Michael W. Smith CD - "Go West Young Man." I remember when I bought it, the guy at the record store took one look and said that the guy on the cover looked like George Michael. Realizing he was spot-on in his analysis, I did some quick rationalization of how much it meant to have the full CD just to get one song - "Place in This World." I really could have used itunes back then. So I'm not the biggest, baddest MWS fan who can recite endless trivia tidbits of his musicianship, ministry, or favorite fast food menu item. Don't bother going head-to-head with me on such matters when it comes to Stryper or Whitecross, though. You'll be trapped in a month long lecture series.

Still, I know the guy's got some chops and he's no slouch, and I'm willing to guess he's a very genuine guy whose efforts should be rewarded with as large a crowd as possible singing along to whatever songs he's singing these days. To my regret, neither "Place in This World" nor "Go West Young Man" were among them. Drats. For better or worse, though, his setlist is a bit more populated by Hillsong material that I've become accustomed to.

The highlight of the night is one simple, brief moment. "Mighty to Save" ... not the most unusual song in the world for someone like Smith to belt out, but I think this earns high marks for the camera work. There's a point where the chorus seems to go on like forever

Shine Your light and
Let the whole world see
We're singing
For the glory of the risen King

And the cameras are just trolling around, picking up so many of the choir folks that I know and love. Singing. For the whole world to (ultimately) see. For the glory of the risen King. I obviously have no idea how the finished product will end up, but I've got to think someone would be making a huge mistake to not use that type of footage for the DVD.

Sure, there were several other great moments to report. Guest spots with Israel Houghton (in English) and the Spanish worship leader who's name always seems to escape me (in Spanish ... natch); Aimee Beard, Stephan Jackson and Dos Mellett's on the background vox. Christa Black on guitar, vocals, and violin (note: every female on stage had red hair. That automatically pushes this event up the ranks on my all-time list right there. Oh, and we should seriously look into what it'd take to get Christa back for another guest appearance. Dibs on picking her up at the airport!). MWS offering a 36-hour old song that at least has the distinction of being written in Houston. I'm not sure why - mixing, my seating choice - but it seemed like I picked up a lot of Stephan Jackson from the background vocalists. No complaints there - he's good.

Anyway, that pretty much sums up Friday night.

(Via Rachel)

Well, well ... welcome Cindy Cruse Ratcliff to the internet!

If you sign up for her mailing list, you can get a free download of "Love So Amazing." Sounds like a fair deal. Rachel also hints at an upcoming solo album, which sounds like a fair deal for all the time we've gone without her voice on Wednesday nights. Look for this to be a very busy year for music coming out of Lakewood.

Cross-posting this review of the Jonny Lang/Dave Barnes concert Thursday night. Both artists fill an odd niche of Christian music that isn't necessarily "Christian music". See this review of Barnes' latest CD for an overview of what I might be talking about there.

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Just back from catching Jonny Lang and Dave Barnes in concert. And aside from some of the buggy quirks of the Verizon, it definitely met expectations.

Coupla critical notes up front. Maybe it's just me, but I thought Barnes' 40-something minute set was a tad too short. Maybe I'm of that opinion because he left out "Nothing Fancy" from the list, opting for the more Office-friendly ballad of "On a Night Like This." Likewise, Lang omitted some of his early secondary hits/cult faves like "Missing Your Love" and "When I Come To You."

All that said, I'm pretty sure the crowd just wanted to see the kid rip it up on guitar. And on that score, he didn't seem to leave anyone disappointed. I tend to be a bit more appreciative of guitar players that are a bit looser on stage than Lang, but there's no doubt he's got enough talent to take in live. Never imagined Lang's tone coming from a Les Paul, but he seemed to play that for about half the night. And after enjoying his latest gospel-tinged CD, it was incredible to finally get to hear some of those songs live. Oddly, I suppose, one of the draws of Lang to me is his voice. From his first album on, it always struck me as a bit unnatural that someone so young could sing the way he does. The guitar work, though, is a huge bonus.

Barnes definitely managed to impress. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't have his latest album for download, so I'll have to wait and pick up some of those songs when they ultimately get added. But he managed to represent some of his earlier work rather well in the set, so I'm not hurting for new tunes based on some favorites picked out at the show (Someday, Sarah was definitely a great, upbeat number). It's not entirely clear to me whether Barnes is aiming for a category more like that of Lang or that of a more mainstream Chris Tomlin (Tomlin's producer did Barnes' latest release) or Third Day. Either way, he's one to check out if you get a chance. Just might be nice to know he's got a solid niche that'll keep him recording albums for many years to come.

A glimpse of what we've got in store this Friday ...

It was certainly entertaining by my count to have the stage setup the way it was Wednesday night. Much of the band is right up front and seemingly more a part of worship. Only drawbacks were that everyone's favorite horn section was stashed back in the far corner and the percussionist area was pretty well hidden behind the new location for the drum kit.

Be that as it may, there was some great song selection for the night and Israel always seems to be the surest to break from the routine that we sometimes find ourselves in. I think I was commanded to address/pray with those seated around me more than any Marcos Witt sermon ever. Seeing a service with Israel & Stephen leading the way was also a treat that I don't recall offhand whether we've gotten to see before.

Be sure to make an excuse to catch the concert on Friday. You might find yourself on a DVD later this year.

Tonight ... one of those Wednesdays that I really look forward to. It's a night of praise and worship at Lakewood and the last hot stock tip I've got is that Michael W. Smith stops by.

With any luck, it'll look and sound a lot like this ...

Just kidding ... partially.

Be sure to arrive late on Friday so that I can get there early and have a great spot in line for several hours and work on any lingering claustrophobia I might be dealing with.

Wanna be on the next Israel & New Breed CD? Here's how.

Since I'm still a bit pressed for blogging time, I thought I'd use the blogger's best cure ... letting other people do the typing (aka - cutting and pasting comments) ...

First off, Rachel brings to our attention that Da'Dra is back in the role of doing a special performance for us this weekend. Not that I suspect you were planning on balancing your checkbook during the special ...

Secondly, here's two points offered by Angela in the wake of the J-Life blacklight performance.

Angela

When we are singing we are in the midst of worshipping. To be able to experience the worship from the perspective of the congregation is a completely different aspect. I find myself touched in a much different way.

Funny you should mention that, Angela.

For my own experience, I'm usually running around a slight bit before Saturday night services. I've obviously got to get any Saturday errands done before church and usually try to plan on having the rest of the world taken care of by no later than 3pm in order to work in a late lunch before getting to church. After I'm there, I usually do an early setup for Koinonia video before service (don't have to, but I like to be thorough and it gives me the chance to spot any potential problems that are better taken care of before everyone is busy). And immediately after service, I'm darting up to the 4th floor for Koinonia ... after plotting my getaway for what seems like the entire second half of the sermon. So it's a very different experience than, say, those times I take in the early Sunday service. Then, I get to just enjoy and relax the whole time.

But one of the things that I've found that helps me take in the actual service is the repeat views I get Saturday night (from the recording) and Sunday morning (from the webcasts). By the end of all that, I typically feel like I can deliver Joel's sermon from memory, write out the chord charts from each of the songs during praise & worship .... and probably sing just as good as Israel Houghton or Steve Crawford. Well, maybe not that last one ... or the one before it ... or even the one before that. But hopefully you get the point.

Also, since I've got a book problem habit, I'd suggest looking for a copy of "Simple Gifts" by Bill Henderson. It's not likely to be a universally appreciated book by every church-going person, but it's a wonderful overview of the author's own imperfect journey back to church through his appreciation of the music sung in church. In his case, it's more traditional hymns, but there's at least a few levels where I think any music aficionado can relate to the book.

Angela (again)

Not only did He move the performance into the congregation, but also it will reach the world because it will be included in the one hour Lakewood television broadcast. And its power still resonates in KidsLife because it is being shown on the KidsLife monitors that are near the registration counters.

That's fantastic to hear. I'm sure it'll be even better to view ... again. I'm calculating that that should hit the airwaves this weekend, then.

Expect another madhouse on June 20. Michael W. Smith is recording a live album at Lakewood.

LIVE ALBUM RECORDING - JUNE 20th IN HOUSTON, TX!

05/27/08

Don't miss your opportunity to attend a LIVE MICHAEL W. SMITH ALBUM recording on June 20th @ Lakewood Church in Houston, TX. The show will be completely free to all comers. The First 16,000 people who come to the church will be allowed in for this SPECIAL recording!

Here are the details:

* Doors open @ 6:00 p.m. CST
* Concert begins @ 7:30 p.m. CST
* There are NO tickets for this event, the entire Church will be general admission.
* For Directions to the Church CLICK HERE!

Make sure you plan on joining us for this special recording. YOU CAN BE A PART OF THIS NEW ALBUM JUST BY ATTENDING!

I threatened Josh the soundguy with a liveblog of his band's performance Saturday night, so I thought I'd actually follow through on the threat. Sound check was promising, the band is fully fleshed out this time with backup singers and a full band lineup. Things set to commence shortly (as of 8:43pm, that is).

First song up is "Say So" ...

Second up is "Friend of God" ... bilingual version of the song heard a few million times at both the English and Spanish services.

Third up, we finally get to some hardcore Latino tunage: "Todo Poderoso" ...

Next-to-last: "Lord, You Are Good" ...

And finally ..."Te Damos Gloria" ... a song heard probably a few million times at the Spanish service.

Abel Orta happened by and seemed suitably impressed, so who am I to disagree with a professional? I only messed up about a quarter of the lyrics on the last song (not bad for a white guy!). Josh had the task of keeping on their feet and did a great job of that.

ADD-ON: Marie, the lovely, sheep-chucking Admin. Asst. performed a drum solo for us as an encore. Clearly, we were in the presence of greatness.

Two hot stock tips for ya.

One has to do with this weekend's special. Apparently, Stephen Jackson has a solo as part of it. Naturally, I've not bothered to get the name of the song being performed. Just let yourself be surprised by that part. Last time Stephen did a special, I skipped the whole weekend thanks to seeing Chris Tomlin on Saturday and sleeping in all day Sunday. Not a chance of missing it this week.

Two, we're celebrating Cinco de Mayo up at Koinonia after the Saturday service. Josh the sound guy will be doing a mix of English & Spanish on some familiar praise & worship numbers, plus I'm told he's got a closer that will have everyone dancing. 'Cept me ... I'll be making sure folks can sing along.

NONWEEKEND TANGENT: Looking well beyond this weekend and beyond Lakewood, Lincoln Brewster blasts out an email with a release date for his new CD, "Today's the Day." It should be on the shelves September 23rd, with the first single being on the radio by end of May/early June. Sweet!!!

So, I've commented on my delay (and ensuing mental trauma caused by same) in finding something to scratch my bookworm itch. Now, I've got a similar problem with some new tunes. How bad is it? I've got enough PepsiPoints stored up to get a free MP3 from Amazon.com and have no clue what to get.

At least one means of alleviating the issue leads me to recommend a few quality podcasts of indie Christian tunes:

BoredAgainChristian.com is the standard by which all are compared. Primarily because Pete's been at it the longest.

... and a couple of plugs from Pete's latest podcast:

The Habañero Hour & Ears to Hear.

For now, I'm slightly fonder of EtH just due to the relative chick-centric take on tunes is a bit more unique than most of the other material I've run across over the past few years. Of course, all the listening I've been catching up to lately has simply led me to download (and savor) a freebie by The Elms: "A Miracle." So there's one newbie.

I could blame work on the lack of time to surf around and pick up more new stuff. But quite frankly, I feel like I've put in a few more hours to look for new stuff than I normally do in a given week. And yet ... still lookin'.

Enjoy a little visual Elms - different tune, but you get the idea:

It's been too long since I've rattled off what's running on my MP3 player. And since I've had precious little time to blog about weightier matters, this strikes me as really super easy to do in the meantime. So here's a cheapskate's dozen of what's in heavy rotation right now:

1. Follow You - Geoff Moore ... this is me kicking it a little old-school. 1989 to be precise. I maintain that the album this comes from - "Foundations" - is not merely Geoff Moore's best, but it holds up as one of the best albums of it's day. Oddly enough, though, there's two reasons I love this song. First, it was initially recorded by secular artist, Glen Burtnick, and the album that he did is one of the true gems of album-oriented rock from the 80s. Secondly, I like listening to this and substituting what I presume to be a mandolin in the recording for a banjo. To date, it's the only song I know that could easily seque from banjo opening to a hard rock tune in midsong. If I ever learn to play banjo, I'll perform it that way just to prove my point.

2. How Your Halo Fell - Roper ... this is me kicking somewhat less old-school. 2004 to be precise. It's an international travesty of the first order that Reese Roper isn't recording a new album every month. I love this album and suspect that if you check back in a decade, I'll have something from it in rotation at any given time.

3. Enter This Temple - Leeland ... I can't claim to be the biggest Leeland fan in the world because I kinda missed the first boat on them. Now their huge and everyone loves them. So I'm gradually trying to develop a taste for their stuff and make up for lost time. As luck would have it, the first MP3 I got of theirs, I love enough to keep in rotation. So far, so good.

4. When the Summer's Gone - Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken ... Webb & wife record together and their EP is golden. My only concern is that since I paid up front to get the immediate MP3 download of the new EP, I run the very real risk of some of this stuff being a bit too played out in my mind by the time the physical disc ships in a few weeks. Still, this number is catchy as all getout. I guess I was thinking ahead when I added Webb's acoustic CD along with it. Man, I can't wait for that to arrive.

5. If A Song Could Be President - Over the Rhine ... I guess OtR fills a gray area in the realm of Christian music, but they at least play Cornerstone again this year. I'm totally and unabashedly in love with this song. The only struggle I have is that certain friends of mine accuse me of listening to "suicide country" everytime I crank this one. I make no apologies ... I have a thing for pedal steel.

6. Forever Mercy - Altar Boys ... there can never be a setlist of mine without either Altar Boys or Stryper. "Never, never, never" you might say.

7. Surrender - Lincoln Brewster
8. Another Hallelujah - Lincoln Brewster ... I went cruising for Lincoln's take on "Hallelujah" after posting the Over the Rhine take on the song earlier here and found an extra tune to fall in love with while I was at it. It speaks volumes for me to suggest that Lincoln's version of the song is more favorable to me than that of OtR. I mean, I love 'em both and all, but Linc's lyrical twists on the song are just incredible. Surrender is just one of those songs that I play over and over again and wish I had the chops to perform it. My sense is that it'd only work if I could sing it halfway decent (that is to say ... not a shot of this ever happening). Otherwise, I'd be tempted to overplay the guitar parts.

9. Gotta Good Feeling - Dan Gomez ... I'm officially shamed for not ever getting around to reviewing some of the great CD's I've picked up lately. This, Ryan Bell, and Josh Myers all high on that list. Dan's stuff has a nice 80s AOR vibe to it that I thoroughly get a kick out of. The rhythm guitar stuff on here is just plain addictive.

10. Light Gives Heat - Jars of Clay ... Somewhat similar to my oversight on all things Leeland, JoC represent a longer omission on my part. I'm certain that I'm the last church-going musicophile to ever own a copy of this band's material. Truth be told, the cheap pricepoint of the "Live Monsters" EP was a draw for me to test out some of their stuff. Even worse is that I probably spun this about a dozen times as background music before realizing that there might be a song or two on here that I really really like. Turns out, this one is far and away a favorite. I tried to go back and listen to the studio version to see if I got into it as much, and oddly enough ... I just don't. Still, I've always had a lot of respect for this band based on what I've read of them. I'm at least on alert for new stuff of theirs to add to the library.

11. Carry Each Other - Mars Hill Band ... Got this as a freebie from Rob Bell's church website. I've been enjoying it so much that I probably ought to just go ahead and pick up the full EP of tunes they've got this packaged with. For those of you keeping score at home: YES, this is exactly how drug dealers conduct business.

If you know of any tunes that might cross-reference with some of the styles you see there, I'd love to hear 'em. Naturally, I don't pretend that my MP3 player is innocent of any secular tunes. But since several of them have no words whatsoever, I'm tempted to ask for a waiver for those of you beginning to pray for me on that issue. As for my infatuation with The Flirts' "(Jukebox) Don't Put Another Dime" ... well, commence praying.

4/9 - Night Of Worship w/ CC Winans

Wow!

... picking up a free MP3 on Amazon courtesy of drinking enough Pepsi to collect the PepsiPoints.

One of the best time-killers on the web for my taste. Sadly, the site is on hiatus and that may be terminal. But the downloads of good 60s & 70s Jesus Music are priceless. It's enough to make me appreciate the stellar production qualities of early-80s Star Song records!

I have to confess to being only superficially familiar with some of the bands (Maranatha, Mustard Seed, Shiloh). But it's worth a dig through the archives to see if any of the descriptions pique your interest. I've downloaded Justyn Rees and Stronghold already. Can't claim any of these are going to end up in heavy rotation, but it's good listening for historical purposes. Think I'm gonna have to dig up some of the few post-1980 just to see if I can at least pick up some sounds I'm used to growing up with.

On another note, it's a shame this site hung it up before digging through the Wendell Burton catalog.

For at least a limited audience that appreciated 80s guitar shredding at it's finest, I offer a link mention for Pastor Dan. If you like what you hear, feel free to cast a vote for him to play at Cornerstone this summer.

One item that happened to catch my eye at the bookstore:

Of course, I understand just enough Spanish to make my way through a Taco Cabana menu. But I'm tempted to pick this CD up just since it covers one of those rare genres of 80s music that totally passed me by back in the day. Check the link above for a few MP3 clips. Marcos played a clip of this in one of his sermons to good enough effect that I feel compelled to have a copy of this as a keepsake.

If you'd rather wait for something newer by Marcos, you won't have to wait long. New tunage out in May.

A little spending splurge to note here. I've been itching to pick up a Message Bible ever since making my way through Eugene Peterson's series (so far) on spiritual theology. Mission accomplished. Coulda saved some bucks ordering online, but this one looks like it's worth the cost of instant gratification. I don't recall ever opening a Bible at Genesis and just feeling like I'm ready to burn through the entire thing from start to finish, but Peterson makes for an incredibly readable paraphrasing of the Bible and sets up each book nicely as well. My other option was to replace a lost NIV Study Bible, which I still miss. But the way Peterson illuminates with his reading, I'm missing that study Bible a bit less now.

Another impulse buy ... the new Stellar Kart CD. Doesn't really go on sale till Tuesday. I would have waited till then to just get the MP3s off of Amazon (seriously, who uses a CD player anymore?). But once more, instant gratification wins out. Still making my way through an initial listen, so the only song I've got in heavy rotation already is the released single: "Jesus Loves You" ... which IS available on Amazon already.

Just a reminder ... this is coming up on Sunday:

Map here:

I plan on being there this time around.

If this is already on display in the bookstore, I missed it. But apparently, they're picking a greatest hits offering from the first two Lakewood Live discs. It goes up for sale on Tuesday.

Just a visual reminder that Worship Team auditions are coming up on the 16th. You can register online here. Today's the last day to RSVP for childcare.

But if you're like me and your singing skill usually involves apologizing to the people seated near your immediately after praise & worship ... this video is for you: