Revolutionary Love – Review of DC*B…and how I am "ruined for the ordinary"

First, I just have to say that I saw the tragedy of the stage collapse in my home state of Indiana at the state fair.  I am so saddened by this random tragedy and my heart and prayers go out to the four families that have lost loved ones in this…as well as all the other injured people.  Words cannot express my sentiments to these families at this time.

On to a much lighter note:  While I in no means want to call my prolific, creative mind a curse after being “asleep” for the better part of 9 years – I’ll let you make your own judgement.  It is now a little after 2:30 – that is in the AM.  I woke up a good half hour ago, and the thoughts just started coming.  Being that it is a full moon tonight, I was fooled into thinking it was much later (or would it be earlier) than it actually is.  Imagine my surprise when I got up and to the kitchen thinking it was time to start coffee and breakfast and it was only 2:30!  Well, as a new kindred spirit and I were talking about the other day – there is plenty of time to sleep later, when we die.  (Okay – I know that is probably not theologically correct, but it makes me feel better when I can’t sleep.)

So here I am, ready to go for another round…knowing you can read whenever you have time – and hopefully I will be sleeping in a little bit again, once I get my thoughts out of my head.

Without further ado – let’s see if I can finally get this review out of my head, and if it is any good.  This in and of itself will be quite an assignment for me, as I am not accustomed to writing concert reviews.  I am really good at sharing my random thoughts and some how tying them together.  But building the scene of a concert to make you feel like you are there with me – especially when none of the iPhone footage turned out – this is quite a task.   I hope I can do it justice.

I don’t fully know if there is a great place to start, but starting with this song “Revolutionary Love” seems like as good of a place as any.  This song’s lyrics sparked my interest for several reasons:
* a close friend and I talk about how in this day and age, we have to be revolutionaries, rebels if you will for Christ – and how we feel the number of us true rebels is few and far between…
* as I’ve contemplated this word, I happened to start watching the History of Us – I think a history channel documentary about the history of this great land.  One thing has always striked me about our founding fathers and the patriots that came later – that I don’t know or think I could match their devout dedication to their cause.  Perhaps because we live such a cush life now-a-days, thanks to them and their efforts.  Perhaps because I have never had the opportunity to prove my devotion in anything of the like of their day…but perhaps my day is coming.  Lord please give me the strength!
* I might have been imagining this, but I think I heard one of our pastors use the word lately in a sermon…and thought, “oh, there it is again – maybe we are on the brinks of a revolution”, not so much of a political one, but a spiritual one that brings people to their knees to worship the only name under heaven which saves us!  (A girl can dream, can’t she?)

All this aside, if there is a revolution coming, David Crowder and band would definitely be my vote to lead the charge.  They are lively, down home kind of guys, that have such pure hearts for God while reaching new heights in Christian music…they are definitely revolutionary!  Unfortunately for us, they have a long note on their website that informs me they are “throwing in the towel” after this round of concerts…so I guess we’ll have to look for another band to take the lead.  I can’t say I blame them…for I have often wondered how hard life would be on the road – especially once you start having kiddos.  A life I know I was not meant to lead…

Of being my fashion lately, I ended up being late to the concert…but actually right on time.  I had been working on my first post about MPPC main sanctuary and wanted to get it done…and since it was just me, I took my time.  I quickly threw on all the layers I could find, for after stepping out the first time I realized although it was just 8 pm – it was freezing! Not literally, but for a summer night – even the bay area wasn’t this cold at night.

I arrive at my car, enter the address for the fairgrounds and I am off.  Once I arrive a few moments later at the location – my next obstacle is to find parking.  Not catching exactly where to park the first time around, I made a 2nd loop – pulled into a parking lot looking for an attendant to pay when I spotted a couple about to pack up their party van full of kids and the goods.  I rolled down my window to ask them about parking – and lo and behold they turned out to be a Christian family who weren’t staying for the concert – but that they would gladly give me their parking ticket since they were taking off.  Thanks God – who said God doesn’t know how to take a woman out on a date?

After purchasing my tickets, emptying my pockets and passing thru the metal detector – I’m ushered into the hall where the fair begins.  It has been ages since I have been to a state fair – but basically think of a big scale farmer’s market without the farmers, but with all the other other parts of a market.  It doesn’t take me long to realize that while I wasn’t back in KC like I had thought I would be this past week – I was in a part of Cali that could actually be mistaken as part of the midwest.  When I stepped out of the other end of the hall – there was my BBQ that I had so craved.  Walking back towards the concert – I was looking around at the people attending the fair – and behold there were cowboys and rednecks (eeks) –  I was home and I didn’t even have to get on a plane!  The only difference between the fair and where I grew up in KC is the smell of barn animals.  While yes there are a lot of farms in Kansas, I always lived in the metropolitan areas…so the smell of the barn is actually something I haven’t gotten used to until moving to Cali!

I get to the far end of the fairgrounds and enter the area the concert is at…I think an arena where they must do some of their rodeo things.  Most of the seats were set up on the dirt floor in front of the stage.  At first, I misread my ticket and thought I had a front row seat.  However, I soon realized what I thought was a 1 was actually an I…hey, anyone could get that wrong.  I make my way back to row I, and over to seat 12, sandwiched in between 2 men who thankfully weren’t too big.  The seats were just folded chairs with absolutely no space between one another, definitely challenging those who like a little more personal space.  But we wouldn’t be seated for long so this would be a mute point soon.

As I mentioned, while I was “late” I was really right on time for the main show.  I struck up a conversation with the man to my right and his wife to pass the time, and found another couple of kindred spirits.  They really are every where!

This is where I have to admit I really don’t know much about the DC*B band.  I remember my sister-in-law first exposing me to them on one of her mixed cds she had given me.  And of course, I then started to realize we sing a LOT of their songs at church.  But it wasn’t until I found Pandora that I realized how much they have influenced my worship life these past few months.  And while I had seen David’s picture a few times…he looks way different in person.  Partly because his beard is much longer…and so full that my first thought was, “how does he get his beautiful music out from behind all that facial hair!?” – I know, my thoughts aren’t always the best.

But sing David and his friends did…from the first step out onto the stage, they took all of us right out of our seats and right into the throne room of God.  They started with the song “Undignified” – jumping around the stage with all the enthusiasm of young teenage bands I grew up with.

(At this point, I have to be honest and say I am not enjoying this writing, and therefore doubt you are either.  As you can imagine, they went on to sing all the favorites we have grown to know and love over the years…and it was an AMAZING time of worship.  But I would much rather get on to my over all highlights and thoughts about the concert than boring you any more with my lack of writing ability in this review.  That and I can feel sleepiness starting to settle back in 🙂

Some of the highlights of the night for you that love this band, but might not know their history:
* They are from Texas – yee haw y’all!  I am truly never far from home (considering I consider many places home now-a-days)
* They went to Baylor – a Christian university in Waco, TX.  If Waco sound familiar – I believe it is because it was the sight of that strange cult back a few decades ago now.  But this is not Baylor.  Baylor is a great school that I have known several friends whom have graduated from there.  In fact, Lindsay – it appears DC*B was there when you were there…did you know them?
* I love this part- on how they got started.  It is much like what we are trying to do with the Catalyst project at MPPC – where the church folks do something “revolutionary” (there’s that word again!) and take church out of the building and to the people that need it the most.  Basically, either David and his crew or someone else (wasn’t clear on that fact) did a survey of the college students where an enormous amount (over 1/2) didn’t set foot inside a church during their four years at college. And this was at a Christian college folks.  Finding these stats rather alarming – David and his crew didn’t get discouraged, but rather set out to help bring Christ to their fellow students.  The band is what grew out of this – how cool is that!?
* Being from Texas, they liberally took stabs at the brilliance of Texans – which I think he coined “almost genius” – and told a story about a friend who bought a used van from a pawn shop.  The used van didn’t have working tail lights, so the man spray painted “STOP” on his back window…oh the pure humor of this as David talks in his southern drawl thru his bushy beard.  I will not do him justice.  But he goes on to talk about how the accelerator is broken, so when the man steps on it nothing works.  But the man – being “almost genius”, drills a hole into the engine that is in the plastic between him and the other front seat, ties a rope to the accelerator, and knots at certain points so that he not only can move the van forward – but has cruise control.  Oh, the “almost genius” of this Texan – if he is for real.  I am still laughing at this!  But please rest assure all you Cali’s – that those that consider Texas their home aren’t all as brilliant as this man!
* Oh, how could I have almost forgotten this.  Again, God knew I didn’t need to go back to KC this week – for he brought KC to Cali – as I have already shared.  But one more time, God touched my heart when the band brought out the banjos and talked about doing a little four-square dance.  I haven’t done any of that kind of dancing since I was a kid – and unfortunately we were too packed in where I was, but if I had been upfront you could have bet I would have grabbed a partner and promenade!

The other highlights I remember from the evening have more to do with the other people at the concert than the band.  I was quite shocked to see the range of ages, the demographics if you will of the people in attendance.  There were families there with young kids, young teenagers coming with their friends, couples, and many of the older but wiser generation.  And I would have you know that those from the older but wiser generation worshiped louder, jumped higher and praised God mightier than those of us younger than them (except me of course).  Perhaps because, as I am learning as I grow older but wiser, to throw off those things of youth that hinder us from being who we really are…and because we realize what Paul realized 2000 years ago, “That I am the chief of sinners.”  It is so good to confess that and just be real about it – so that you can really worship the Lord in truth and in spirit!

Lastly, I have to give the boys from Waco, TX a huge thank you for 2 very special songs they sang that are near and dear to my heart:

* “Amazing Grace”- while the memories of my sweet mother grow dimmer by the year, I do remember her loving this song.  At least I think I do (my memory isn’t proving what I once thought it was lately) – and so every time I hear this song – I think of her sitting up in heaven with God smiling down and can almost hear her sweet, angelic voice singing along also.

* “I’ll fly away” – I first heard this song from that older movie with George Cluney “Brother, Where are thou?”.  But it became dear to me when we chose this old hymn for my grandmother’s memorial service.  She had had a long and painful life in the body she lived in – and we loved the thought of her flying “away to God’s celestial shore”.  Since then, I have come to the conclusion this is definitely the theme song I want for my own memorial service – where I fully expect there to be a big party of celebration because I will be home with the Lord!

After a few minutes of “encoring”, David and crew did come back out for one last song – “O Praise Him” in which we all joined our voices with the angels of the universe in praising our king.  As I closed my eyes and listened, I could imagine us all in the throne room, chills running down my spine and not because of the cold temps.  And as the bright lights of the stage were turned on us, I could imagine the glory of God shining on us, at least in part and couldn’t help but pray that God will certainly pull this band back together in heaven to play and lead worship for us once again.

Worshiping with y’all at the end of a couple of amazing days with the Lord has completely “ruined me for the ordinary”, as my friend Anne Shirley would say.  Thank you David, Mark, Mike D., Mike H., Jeremy and Jack for inspiring us with your heartfelt words and love of Christ these last years.  We will surely miss you, your enthusiasm for the Lord and the words we couldn’t come up with ourselves in order to Praise Him.  Many blessings to you and your families until heaven reunites us!