Doug Van Pelt

GMA.4

Tuesday was a good day at GMA. After several face-to-face interviews for the podcast (with Emery, Demon Hunter, The Send, and Ruth), I went to a few shows. Besides being wined and dined by Provident Music Group (not literally) on an old paddle-wheel boat (The General Jackson), which went up and down the Cumberland River (I don't know my river geography, so that might be false information), while a slick presentation took place between games of artist bingo and a performance or two from Casting Crowns, etc. It was great to hang with folks like writer Andy Agryakis (sp?), John Thompson, Noah (Pillar guitarist), Troy Vest, and others. Then I ducked into the tail-end of another Tooth & Nail showcase in the Renaissance Ballroom.

I saw the last two songs of Ruth, which was cool, especially after the wonderful interview that took place earlier in the day. Ruth played a fairly mellow rock set with cool, smooth tunes. One of which was "Mr. Turner," which the singer Dustin had told me the story about (which gives encouragement for those who are concerned about a friend or loved one).

Seventh Day Slumber came on after being announced by T&N's owner, Brandon Ebel. The band strode onstage to the tune of that great gothic operatic chant that Ozzy used to use to open his shows (I can't recall the name of this famous and often-used epic). It's a powerful piece that really raises the tension and expectation in the room. The band came on strong, playing plenty of songs from its latest album. The big screen projected images of the band made the performance seem even bigger, which was cool.

Adie performed a couple songs before her husband, Jeremy Camp, took the stage. They both sounded quiet, cozy, and fairly "sweet," mixing worship and inspirational CHR-type songs/ballads.

Red pelted their audience with intensity later on in the night over at the Flicker/Essential Rock Night Showcase at the Mercy Lounge. Their mix of gothic and pop sensibilities and metal power sound pretty darn solid. They do a good job of delivering "the sound" that successful mainstream bands have to dial in to get noticed. "I Don't Wanna Be Afraid" sounded good, and the performance (just the like T&N Showcase) was extremely well lit. Red's singer had his shadow broadcast on the wall of the club at times, which was a cool, and possibly unexpected/unplanned effect. "Breathe" was their last song, and the band did a good job of wresting plenty of energy out of the audience and giving it back.

Kids In The Way have toughened up their sound (and look), adding more Cult / fist-pumping biker rock muscle and less snotty punk. Two new songs: "My Little Nightmare" and "Sugar" showed their new direction even more. "Sugar" had churning power riffs that fit nicely within the context of a melodic rocker.

Pillar were very high energy, slapping hands and flying through songs, only to take breaths and short rests between. "Everything" preceded "You Can't Bring Me Down," which were both extremely tight. Vocalist Rob Beckly threw his extended hands out to direct the band right as they stopped on a dime to end the song. Nice. "Awake" sounded good, and Rob closed his eyes as he leaned over the crowd, belting out the lyrics like he meant each an every one of them. He shared his heart prior to the last song and even dedicated "Fireproof" to their "good friend" Melba Jackson. That was a hoot.

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at April 25, 2007 04:34 PM