Andrew Osenga
- “Awesome God” - AP
- “Calling Out Your Name” - AP
- “Boy Like Me/Man Like You” - AP
- “Hard to Get” - Andy Gullahorn
- “Cry The Name” - Jill Phillips
- “What Susan Said” - Andrew Osenga
- “The Howling” - Jeremy Casella
- “Screen Door” (complete w/ cups) - Brandon Heath & Mitch McVicker
- “You Did Not Have A Home” - Finnegan Bell
- “Elijah” - Matt Giraud
- “Buenos Noches from Nacogdoches” - Leigh Nash
- “Bound to Come Some Trouble” - Mitch McVicker
- “If I Stand” - AP
- “Here In America” - AP
- “Isaiah 52:10” - Jill Phillips
- “The Color Green” - AP
- “Hold Me Jesus” - Brandon Heath
- “Creed” - AP, Andy Gullahorn, and Jill Phillips
- “Peace” - Andy Gullahorn
- “78 Eatonwood Green” - Gabe Scott on the hammered dulcimer
- “Hard” - Finnegan Bell
- “I’ll Carry On” - Jeremy Casella
- “You Gotta Get Up” - Leigh Nash
- “How To Grow Up Big and Strong” - Andrew Osenga
- “Land of My Sojourn” - AP
A couple recommended newsletter reads
Quick recommendations for a couple things I’ve read lately that are worth a few minutes of your time:
Diana Butler Bass’s most recent newsletter essay On Statues, History, Politics, and Division. In discussing the removal of Confederate statues across the South, she hits on a resonant phrase.
Not long after the Richmond bronzes and marbles had been removed, I was in the city speaking at a church. The pastor, a religious leader who agreed with their removal, asked me: “Have you driven down Monument Avenue yet?”
“No,” I replied, “I’ve haven’t been there recently.”
“It is stark, emotionally powerful in a different way,” he said. “You look down the road and the statues are all gone. There are empty altars everywhere.”
Empty altars everywhere. That captures the spirit of the age, doesn’t it?
Second: Andrew Osenga’s latest, American Christianity is a CyberTruck. He looks at the sad scandal of Robert Morris and some online discussion of a modern worship song that says “praise is the water my enemies drown in” and pulls the threads together this way:
The commercialization of Christian culture has led us to sacrifice wisdom for influence, and thus we are losing both.
These songs and leaders (and books and conferences, etc etc) might get us where we want to go - a big church, a #1 single, a senate seat - but to anybody outside our little circle, it just looks ridiculous.
They don’t take our faith seriously, because we have not taken our faith seriously.
The CyberTruck might get you to Target, but people are going to roll their eyes when you get there.
I don’t know what kind of car Jesus would drive, but I do know that He has asked me to love my enemies, to pray for those who persecute me, to give what I can to the poor, and to pick up my cross and follow Him.
What if the world saw a young pastor turn himself in for his sexual abuse, offer his guilty plea, do his jail time and then live the rest of his life quietly doing good and serving others? What fruit might grow from that true repentance?
What if, rather than weapons or drowning, our big sing-along songs were about loving those who persecute us? How might that change the nature of our cultural conversations?
In many ways it feels like the sun is setting on a particular era of American Christian empire. Its leaders are crumbling like pillars of sand and the institutions feel like empty shopping malls.
In the grief and pain of so much damage, may our tears water new fruits of kindness and humility, thoughtfulness and wisdom. The world doesn’t need Jesus-brand products, it needs to see Jesus in our eyes, hear Him in our language, and feel Him in our actions.
Yes and amen.
10 Albums, 10 Days: Also-Rans
Culling my list down to 10 albums was a challenge. Here are a few also-rans that just didn’t quite make the cut:
The Morning - Andrew Osenga
This one got a lot of play time from me, and I spent a lot of time playing its songs. Andy O’s solo stuff continues to be meaningful to me, but this one hit the sweet spot where our life experiences aligned and I felt like he was writing about the things that I’d write about if only I had any skill at writing songs.
In Rainbows - Radiohead
Radiohead is another band I came to mid-stream. In Rainbows is not usually listed as anybody’s favorite Radiohead album, but it was the gateway for me into their music. I dig it.
All That You Can’t Leave Behind - U2
Same story - this was the gateway for me into U2’s music. Such a good record.
Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Soundtrack - Lin-Manuel Miranda and cast
All that stuff I said about my love for smart wordplay? Hamilton has that in spades. More than any other record I can think of. My love for Hamilton knows no bounds.
A healthier approach to a mid-life crisis...
Andrew Osenga started a new podcast earlier this year called The Pivot. Episode 3 is his discussion with musician, producer, and composer Don Chaffer. Toward the end of the interview, Don talks about how he’s started writing for musical theater, and how it provides an outlet that he needs as a 40-ish father and husband.
…when you have kids in particular you just give and give and give and give. And one day you wake up and you’re like ‘what do I get, what’s my part in this thing? Because I used to do a lot of stuff I liked… sometimes I would go out to eat or watch a movie! That was crazy!’. I told a monk friend of mine one time, he said ‘tell me everything’. And I said ‘well I feel like between family and work I’ve got nothing left.’ And he said “yeah! and a hundred years ago you’d be dead by now, too.” So, there’s just something about this phase of life, it’s just - he’s like, ‘people died at that point just because they were too pooped to keep living’. And I feel like - so that’s what a mid-life crisis is. You hit these limitations and you think ‘I’d rather have, you know, a Corvette and a hot blonde with a boob job. And so you do these crazy stupid things, blow up your whole life. And it’s like – one of the jokes I’ve made is that my mid-life crisis was music theater instead of hookers and blow. But it’s true. I think that it became - one of the things I realized is that you find a healthy outlet to give yourself some space, to do some things you enjoy. Because that’s important. You can’t live on only sacrifice. It ends up being a negation. While love and sacrificial love are endless, hypothetically, they aren’t for a human, right? They’re only endless because they come from somewhere else. There’s some point you kinda run yourself out and you realize ‘I don’t have infinite capacity here to be a loving husband and father. I’ve gotta do something for myself.’ The other piece of it for a marriage is to try to invite each other into it together. Not necessarily doing the same things, because usually that isn’t going to help - you need space from each other - but invite each other into that headspace of like, ‘do some things for yourself. I’ll do some things for myself. We’ll get a babysitter if we can afford it. Or swap. I’ll take the kids tonight, you take them on Wednesday.’
I resonate with that more than I’d like to admit many days. (I bet my wife does, too.)
Andrew Peterson and Friends: The Ragamuffin Album, Live at the Ryman
Last Sunday night I had the privilege of attending an Andrew Peterson-organized and -led concert honoring the legacy of Rich Mullins at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Peterson and his cadre are roughly my age, and we share a deep debt to Mullins, who in his all-too-short musical career penned songs that showed that Christian music could be artistic, poetic, and honest in ways we hadn’t before seen. (Andrew wrote an essay for the concert booklet telling his Rich Mullins story that’s well worth a read. It’s posted on The Rabbit Room.)
This year is the 20th anniversary of Mullins' death in a car accident, and served as an opportunity for Peterson to round up his friends and prepare the music. The Ryman was packed to capacity with an audience that clearly loves Rich’s music just as much as the musicians themselves do; the concert was punctuated with opportunities for the audience to sing along, starting from an impromptu acapella chorus of “Awesome God”, which Peterson led “just to get it out of the way”. (While it’s perhaps Mullins' best known song to the general public, it’s certainly not his favorite among his more devoted fans.)
Peterson and friends followed a concert format that he has perfected over years of touring his Behold The Lamb of God Christmas tour. The first half of the concert rotated in each of the guest artists to sing a Mullins song of their choice, with AP sneaking a few of his own choices in along the way.
When we hit intermission I told my wife that I couldn’t think of another Rich song that I was disappointed that they hadn’t played in the first half. The set list:
The second half of the concert brought each of those artists back out in turn to perform note-for-note versions of each song from Rich’s masterpiece A Liturgy, A Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band. A string section played the original string charts as provided by Rich’s producer Reed Arvin (who himself was present and played the piano on “Creed” midway through the second half).
To my critical ear they were indeed almost exactly note-for-note and lick-for-lick. Gabe Scott had his hammered dulcimer skills tested and found awesome. My specific criteria for this evaluation was the little turn from the second verse into the pre-chorus of “Peace” - there’s a drum fill, a bass slide, and a little guitar riff that come together in a sublime little moment that I’m probably the only person in the world who cares about. They nailed it. The only place they diverged was I think they gave Andy Osenga an extra couple choruses to play a smoking guitar solo on the end of “How To Grow Up Big and Strong”… but ain’t nobody gonna complain about that.
The second half setlist:
Even they they weren’t quite done. Peterson brought the full cast of musicians out and led the (now standing) audience in “Step By Step” (with guest vocals by Peterson’s daughter Skye) and the call-and-response of “I See You”, which itself leads back in to one final chorus of “Step By Step”. After some final applause, Peterson did his trademark exit, singing the first line of the Doxology, and then exiting the stage as the audience finished singing it. (1200 people singing the Doxology in the old Ryman auditorium: chills.)
Hearing so many of Rich’s songs in one sitting highlighted both the artistry and prophetic nature of his lyrics. For instance, the last few lines from “Hard”:
I am a good midwestern boy
I give an honest day’s work when I can get it
I don’t cheat on my taxes, I don’t cheat on my girl
I’ve got values that would make the White House jealous
Peterson wondered aloud (perhaps just as much as he dared) whether Rich had any idea those words would still resonate so loudly 25 years after he wrote them. But the lines that stood out even more loudly to me were from “Land of My Sojourn”:
And the lady in the harbor
She still holds her torch out
To those huddled masses who are
Yearning for a freedom that still eludes them
The immigrant’s children see their brightest dreams shattered
Here on the New Jersey shoreline in the
Greed and the glitter of those high-tech casinos
Some mendicants wander off into a cathedral
And they stoop in the silence
And there their prayers are still whispered
And I’ll sing their song, and I’ll sing their song
In the land of my sojourn
The list of concerts I’ve attended isn’t as long as I’d like - and shorter thanks to the U2 concert in St. Louis getting cancelled last weekend - but Sunday night at the Ryman has to be right up there at the top of the list. Peterson posted on Facebook the next day that it might have been his favorite concert ever. I’d be inclined to agree with him.
This Time I Can Stay - reflections on the music of a friend
I want to take a little time today to tell you about a guy I know named Andy. (He’s got a weird Dutch last name, so for the purposes of this post I’ll just call him Andy.) Last week Andy announced a fairly major transition in his life (for which I’m very happy for him) and it caused me to reflect on how he’s impacted my life over the last decade. So, forgive a friend a little nostalgia.
If I trace the story I actually end up a little further back than my getting to know Andy. I go back to the early 2000s when I became a fan of a Christian folk rock band called Caedmon’s Call. (My brother had tried to get me turned on to them in the late 90s but, as usual, it took me 5 years to catch up with his musical tastes.) I dug into Caedmons' music, and got fanboy enough to start participating regularly in an online fan forum. Yeah, I was hooked.
Then came a fateful day in 2001 when Derek Webb, one of the founding members of Caedmon’s Call, announced that he was leaving the group. His replacement? This guy called Andy. Off to the fan forum I went to find out about this Andy guy. Apparently he’d fronted a band called The Normals back in the late 90s - again I was out of the loop. But he had an acoustic record out, so I got it and really dug it. Heck, he even posted in the fan forum every now and again. Very cool.
Fast-forward to fall 2005. I went to see Andrew Peterson play an outdoor show and was crazy excited the night before when I found out that Andy was coming along with him. I blogged about it and even posted a few (pretty scary) pictures. I was on cloud nine.
With summer 2006 came the release of Andy’s record The Morning. With this record I felt like Andy was writing with the voice I wish I could find. Every song hit home with me. I made my first road trip to Nashville to see Andy play a release show for the record.
I followed Andy’s career very closely after that. I drove all over the Midwest to hear him play shows. I set up a fan website. I sponsored a coffeehouse show here in Cedar Rapids. I bummed my way on to a house show road trip he took and rode along with him between a few shows. I hit him up to do lunch when I was in Nashville and hung out at a studio for a couple hours while he recorded vocals. I probably blurred the line between fan and crazy stalker a few times, but in the end I’m pretty sure I can still call Andy my friend.
In the fall of 2011 Andy had another wild idea - a concept album about an astronaut on a long solo trip through space. To make Leonard the Lonely Astronaut really complete, Andy wanted to build a rocket ship set in which to record. I spent another weekend in Nashville with a bunch of friends helping build. The great thing about that weekend is that while it was basically all about (and for) Andy, it helped cement relationships between a bunch of his fans that showed up - guys and gals that continue to be a rich online community even three years later.
Andy’s had a tough few years since the Leonard record came out. A water line broke in his house while he and his family were on a month-long trip and he spent most of the next few months rebuilding. Work was harder to come by. He had the opportunity to tour as a part of Steven Curtis Chapman’s band this past fall which was great for paying the bills but kinda tough on family life. (Andy and his wife have three daughters just a little younger than my own three.)
Two weeks ago Andy had a big announcement. Today (April 30) is his first day as an Artist and Repertoire guy at Capitol Records. It’s a far cry from his indie days - he’ll be working a regular job in a regular office with a salary and benefits and the whole deal. This will keep him from touring much any more, but will have the advantage of a steady income and the opportunity to be home with his family every night.
I couldn’t be happier for Andy in this new phase of his life. Last night he played an online hour-long “concert” from his living room, streaming to fans across the world. (Hey, I know folks from Canada and Brazil who were logged in, so that counts as “the world”, right?) He seemed happier and more relaxed than I’ve seen him in a long while. His daughters flitted in and out of the picture as he sang, at times singing harmony parts to songs they’ve undoubtedly heard a hundred times. It was a beautiful thing.
He finished off the night with a song from his early days with The Normals, called “I’ll Be Home Soon”:
Life it just goes on when the traveler’s gone
And that’s the hardest part, for time has no respect
For a lonely man with a longing heart
‘Cause once you’re where you’ve wanted, everything’s so fast
But I’ll be home soon I’ll be home soon And if you have a place where you belong
You’re a lucky one, for time was meant to waste
A laugh with good old friends or walking hand in hand
I can’t believe I’ll be there and this time I can stay
But I’ll be home soon
I’ll be home soon
I’m a richer man for the music and community that Andy has helped bring into my life over the past decade, but I’m so glad that he now has the opportunity to set some of it aside and just be a husband and a dad. His wife and three daughters will be glad that “I’ll be home soon” is a message they’ll be able to hear every evening around 5:00. We’ll hear more music from him before he’s done. And hey, it’s only a 10-hour drive to Nashville. Next time he plays a local show, I’ll be there.
Thanks, Andy, and blessings on you and your tribe as you start this next phase of your life.
Leonard the Lonely Astronaut
My friend Andy Osenga has a new record available to purchase (download or physical CD) today over on the Rabbit Room store.
Leonard the Lonely Astronaut is quite a concept. Leonard is off on a solo intergalactic space flight, and while he’s traversing the galaxy he’s writing songs. We build a rocket ship set for Andy to record this thing in. It was awesome. The record has turned out awesome as well.
Ten bucks gets you the mp3 downloads today. Don’t wait long, though, because in a few days it’s going back into the AO vault until its official release in the fall.
Leonard the Lonely Astronaut is rated A for AWESOME. No space rocks were harmed in the making of this blog post. This author did not receive any compensation for writing this post other than the satisfaction of plugging a friend’s record. In fact, this author is still waiting for the t-shirt that is coming with the Kickstarter pledge. Pictures to follow.
News to make my day cheerier
It’s been a frustrating couple of weeks, but this does make the day cheerier: I just firmed up plans to road trip to Nashville on April 27 (less than two weeks from now!) to meet up with some friends (Geof Morris, Mike Terry among others) and see Andy Osenga play a show with full band at 12th and Porter.
Yeah, who care if it’s a 10-hour drive each way. I can’t wait.
[Oh, and also: I completely have the best wife in the world. Thanks, Becky, for being supportive of this.]
How do I know when to...?
Andy Osenga nailed it on his blog today by answering the question “how do know when I’m ready to < insert thing here >?”. In his particular case the question revolved around when to record a CD, but he applies the lesson to all of life, and he’s right on. The money quote:
So my answer to the question “how do I know I’m ready to make an album?” is probably the same as the answer to many other questions like it. Because you feel the need and it’s become possible for you. And because otherwise you won’t be ready yet, won’t be ready yet, won’t be ready yet and then one day it will be too late.
It’s like getting married, having a kid, driving a car. You’re never ready. You just decide to do what you feel you need to do, from my perspective this is called “obedience”, and you do it as well as you can and you wait for something supernatural to bless it.
Sometimes Things Don't Turn Out Like You Expect
When Andy Osenga’s The Morning came out two and a half years ago (to much fanfare on this blog) I would not have predicted that New Beginning would become the signature track off the record. Early In The Morning would’ve been my bet, with then either House of Mirrors or Marilyn next on my list.
Thirty months later, though, New Beginning has become the most durable track, evidenced by, if nothing else, the fact that Andy is performing it almost every night this year on the Behold the Lamb Christmas tour.
The bridge of the song still gets me every time:
I can feel a prayer rising And I don’t even know the words Still the groaning is the postage And it will not be returned Though we’re living in this rubble Of our reckless plans and games We are reaching for the promise That we will not stay the same…
Thanks, Andy, for a great song.
Entering the Whirlwind
I feel like I’ve been in it for a few days already, but I know there’s still more to come this week.
Friday afternoon I drove four hours to Omaha to see Andy Osenga in concert at a little place called The Foundry. It was a great show, fun to see Andy again and visit. There was a 7:00 Saturday morning elder meeting scheduled at church, so I had to turn around and head back home right after the show. What I did learn from that experience was that the right combination of diet pop, sweet tea, Red Bull, and candy will keep me wide awake on a four-hour drive in the middle of the night. Good to know.
Saturday was the aforementioned meeting and then time at home to catch up a bit - cleaning, spending time with the family, watching some of the Final Four on TV. Also watched a pretty cool SciFi channel miniseries that I’d TiVo’d back in December called The Lost Room. Becky even enjoyed it. Good stuff.
Sunday morning I led music for both services, then we had an afternoon elder meeting, then the church’s annual meeting in the evening. Thank the Lord most of that stuff is done with for now.
Now it’s Monday morning, and I’ll be at work for a few hours before heading home, eating lunch with the family, and then flying out to Salt Lake City for a quick trip for work. I’ll be back home on Wednesday night.
Friday morning I get off work (Good Friday) and so we are taking the girls up to my folks' place for the weekend. The girls will have fun seeing Grandma and Grandpa again. By the time I get back home on Sunday night, well, I’ll be ready to be home for a while. :-)
Welcome to the Whirlwind. It’s a wild ride.
'Cause we're all praying for the ice to break...
This song has been rattling around in my head for the past day or two. It’s beautiful, intense, personal stuff, made all the moreso by the knowledge that Andy was really writing this about himself.
My struggles haven’t been specifically with anger like is dealt with here, but I still understand the feeling of “waiting for the ice to break” - for that cold stasis of the soul to crack up into rushing, vibrant spring - Rich Mullins' streams “all swollen with winter, winter unfrozen, free to run away now…” What a beautiful call to repentance, renewal, and refreshing.
You’re floating like some Lost episode
Now you’re there and I want you but how
How can I get there inside your house of mirrors
Are you looking for a window,
Are you looking for a door?
Cause it’s been too long, too long - It’s been like this too long.
There’s Scripture taped up to the wall now
Are you getting any solace
From the promises, the Word?
Cause you’re angry,
And you can call it what you want to,
But the tree grows from the seeds in your ground
And it’s been too long, too long - It’s been like this too long
Cause you’re lonely
And when Matthew said forgiveness
Your heart leapt and your eyes looked away
You get so busy with the hours and the mortgage
You can turn cold and ignore how you’ve changed
Cause we’re all praying for the ice to break
Waiting for our friend to come back to us again
Cause you’re hurting more than anybody
And they’ve got no power over you now…
-- Andrew Osenga, House of Mirrors
Road Trip: Andy O CD Release Show
After hearing the announcement that “much rock will be had”, I decided if I could make it work in my schedule, I’d head on a road trip to Nashville to see Andrew Osenga’s The Morning CD release concert. The schedule worked out, and next thing you know, I was on the road.
It’s not as bad a drive as I’d feared from Cedar Rapids to Nashville. I left at 4:30 am, and with very minimal stoppage I arrived in Nashville by 2:30 pm. I checked into my motel and then left to drive around and aquaint myself with the Nashville area. I drove past one shopping mall that was very dead, and then another one which turned out to be the Green Hills Mall that Andy Gullahorn sings about. After having located Mercy Lounge and how to get there, I went back to my motel to crash.
I apparently gave myself too much time to get down to the Lounge, because I got there about 30 minutes before the published “doors open” time. Deciding to escape the heat and humidity outside, I stuck my head in and managed to hear the end of Andy and the band’s sound check.
There were two openers for Andy; the first was Dave somebody; he sported a Napoleon Dynamite-style afro and a bunch of falsetto vocals with his acoustic guitar. Not bad, but not very memorable. The second act was Matthew Perryman Jones. MPJ is one of the Square Pegs, but I hadn’t heard any of his music until that night. He was very good. He played a few songs solo, then brought Andy O, Cason Cooley, and Eric Weigel up to play with him. Again, very good stuff. I bought his new CD Throwing Punches In The Dark after the show.
Then it was time for Andy. He was playing with a full band: Cason Cooley on keyboards, Eric Chris Weigel on bass, Paul Eckberg on drums, and a guitarist Jason Feller on guitar, and a percussionist whose name escaped me. They played a lot of music from Andy’s new album The Morning, starting out in album order with In Gym Class In High School, After The Garden, and White Dove. He played a few songs from his earlier album Photographs, including Kara and When Will I Run. The highlight of the night was probably his rocking Santa Barbara from the new album. It is a classic roll-the-windows-down rock and roll song, and it was great that night.
I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and also the chance to meet a bunch of folks, some I had already met, some I had not. This is where I name drop (though is it really name dropping if the people are only “names” to a few people?) : Geof Morris (of rmfo.net fame), Ron Davis (aka Ronzilla) of moreron.com, a couple of other dot.netters, and then in addition to the aforementioned band members, there were Jeremy Casella, Chris Mason, Andy Peterson, Ben Shive, Randall Goodgame, and oh yeah, Andy O’s wife Alison. Very cool.
After helping carry Andy’s gear down to his car, I called it a night and crashed hard at the motel. The following day brought me back on the reverse trip from Nashville to Cedar Rapids; again about a 10 hour drive. It was a great time, well worth the drive. As I told Andy, next time I’ll come back, but I’ll bring my wife along. :-)
Andrew Osenga - The Morning
Only 18 more days until release. If you’re a fan of Andy Osenga’s already, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about; if you’re asking “Andy O-Who?”, let me introduce you to the man who is hands-down my favorite solo artist. Andy Osenga is a wonderful singer, songwriter, and guitar player, formerly of The Normals, currently with Caedmon’s Call, a member of the Square Peg Alliance, and now releasing his second full-length album in what I hope will be a long and brilliant solo career. (By the way - a link to his blog has been sitting over in my sidebar for months now. If you’d paid attention, you would already know what I’m about to tell you. :-))
May 16th will herald the release of The Morning. Andy has released four of the songs on his blog over the past week - if you get over there soon, you may still be able to hear them. After The Garden is a rockin' tune, reminding us that he doesn’t fit neatly into that acoustic singer-songwriter stereotype. Santa Barbara is only slightly more laid back. House of Mirrors gives a smooth, relaxed vibe that will just leave you wanting to hear it again. And New Beginnings? Well, as Andy says, it just about sums up the themes of the whole album.
Go and listen to his songs. Then hit his website and preorder a copy today. Or, buy a couple of copies. Heck, stock up on his older stuff if you haven’t got it already.
OK, so this is a rather shameless promotion on my part, but seriously, folks, this is some good music, and Andy is just the kind of guy you’d want to support by buying his music. I’ve already ordered mine. :-)
The first time I've ever played a concert with somebody riding a cow in the background...
Last Saturday afternoon I got to see Andrew Peterson and Andy Osenga in concert at “Cornfest” in Clermont, IA. Clermont is a little bitty farm town, and this “Cornfest” thing was pretty much a start-up festival, I think… they had some small Christian music acts going for most of the afternoon, and then their headliner was the aforementined Andys. I’ll note here that it’s a good thing that they booked those guys - probably 70% of the folks that were there for the concert came specifically to hear Andy P.
I felt kinda bad for the Andys that the concert was not very well attended - maybe 150 people, max. They had a large flat-bed trailer for a stage and had to battle bugs all afternoon - asian beetles, bees, other nasty things. Some lady shared some bug spray with them after about the third song and I think that helped things out a bit. And yes, there was somebody riding atop a Holstein cow in the background. Only in Iowa.
Anyhow, it was just three of them - the two Andys and then Ben Shive on keyboards. They did a two-hour set, with lots of stories and bad jokes in between. There were also impromptu versions of the Rawhide theme and an old Spin Doctors song (can’t remember the name…) I’m not familiar with Andy P’s music yet (an omission which I am hurriedly correcting) so I can’t give a song-by-song breakdown. Suffice to say that he did a few songs off of his new album, took several requests, and filled in with other favorites.
The show was marred by a few technical difficulties; Andy was complaining all afternoon that his guitar sounded funny in the monitor (it sounded fine to the audience) and so in the course of several songs they replaced the guitar cable, the direct box, the mic cable that connected the direct box to the board, and then both the 9-volt batteries in his guitar pre-amp. (Andy O had to steal 9-volts out of two of his guitar pedals to make this last fix happen.) The time required for these fixes gave time for Andy O to sing one of his songs (High School Band, so I wasn’t complaining about the other issues. :-)
After the concert the three of them hung around and talked with folks until almost everyone had left. I was really wanting to meet Andy O (having missed him at the Caedmon’s concert last year), and was not disappointed - we talked for a while and had a good time. Ben and Andy P seemed like nice guys, too.
But the best was yet to come. There were a couple little kids who had a couple favorite Andy P songs that they wanted to hear and that he hadn’t done in concert. So, he grabbed his trusty Taylor and proceeded to take requests for another 45 minutes… just him singing and about 20 of us perched on the side of the hill listening. It was awesome. I kept thinking he was about ready to wrap up, but then he’d ask for any more requests, and somebody would ask for a song, and so he’d tell the story about the song, and then sing it… wow. After a while Ben and Andy O came and sacked out on the hill next to the rest of us, just enjoying the music and the beautiful afternoon.
So then towards the end of that “set”, Andy P sang a goofy little song he’d written for his daughter. I don’t know what it’s called, but the chorus has a line about her “one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten pretty little toes”. About halfway through the song Andy O got up and wandered off - I think he was going to pack some gear into his car. But it was too good not to comment on, so after the song was over I asked Andy P if he’d run Andy O off, made him feel inadequate by singing a song about somebody with ten toes. (For the reader unfamiliar with Andy O’s toe situation, see his blog here.) Andy P got a good chuckle out of that, then told the story about Andy O’s run-in with the lawnmower, and mentioned that it was the middle toe, “Roast Beef”, that was missing. So then I had to mention Andy Gullahorn’s song by that name, and so we tried to come up with the lines to that song… but between Andy P, Ben, and myself, we could only come up with the first few lines. It was still pretty funny.
Let me say here just last that I was also hugely blessed by my wife that afternoon; our daughter Laura was getting tired and antsy as only toddlers can. Becky was very gracious and willing to deal with her so that I could take advantage of the chance to enjoy the concert and meet the guys. Fortunately Laura fell asleep right before the acoustic mini-set, so she got to enjoy that time.
I could ramble on for quite a while, but I’ll spare you. Let’s just say I came away from last Saturday with a good sunburn, a heightened appreciation for my wife, and a real blessing from getting to meet one man who is my favorite artist right now, and another who is quickly climbing that list.
(Full-sized photos of the afternoon are available on my flickr page here.)