Sonshine Festival Recap

This summer i had the privilege of attending the Sonshine Festival in Wilmar, Minnesota. This is a 3.5 day festival of Christian bands that has been going on every summer for at least the last 10 years, probably longer but i'm too lazy to look up how long. this was my first time attending, however my wife, and pretty much everyone i know from Minnesota, have gone before.

This year the lineup of metal bands was good enough to lure me away from the comforts of Colorado, and take a pop-up camper with my homie Alan and camp out for 3 days. I'm going to do a "show recap" of the bands so i'll save that for later, in this post i want to review the festival as a whole, and the great experience i had.

Basically the setup was 3 stages, the main stage for performers like Newsboys, David Crowder, Skillet, and Toby Mac. Another smaller stage, Stage 2, was setup for up and coming bands like Everyday Sunday, and a bunch of super-pop bands that i've never heard of. the last and most important stage was the HM Stage which was metal bands in the evening, and hip-hop group in the early afternoon. Alan and i spent 90% of our time here, the stage was setup in a hockey rink, with the stage at one end and the merch/band load-in at the other end of the rink.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the 'fest, but i was excited, no curfews, late nights, plenty of sleep, and a lot of metal. what i didn't expect was the interaction with the bands. the band load-in was at one end of the rink, the same entrance that was used by the fans to get into the rink. this made for an awesome dynamic, getting to hangout with the bands right at their trailers/vans and as usual at their merch tables.

We basically chatted up Lucas from Oh Sleeper first, after their set. After he realized that we were big fans, he started to open up, talking about "militant Christian bands" and the differences between them and more artistic bands like Haste the Day and Oh Sleeper. if you know much about Oh Sleeper you know that their first album is titled When I Am God, a title that is sure to spark questions and controversy, which is what the band wants. If you read the lyrics you find out that the second half of the phrase is When i am God, this church is unsound, a lyric that has really impacted a lot of people. Their new album is titled Son of the Morning, a name used for Satan, and they're hoping for the same result. Lucas basically conveyed to us that they don't want to be a preachy band, they want to sing about their lives as Christians, and let you see Jesus through their lives.

Lucas was great, we talked him up for probably 30 minutes during the Flatfoot 56 set. After that we were able to chat up the guitarist for Gwen Stacy, the keyboardist for Glorious Unseen, and basically listen in on conversation with Josh Scogin of The Chariot, and many other conversations. The accessibility of the bands was awesome, to be able to ask questions and talk about the tour/festival was great. I even had the chance to catch Ben of Glorious Unseen and give him props for rocking a Comeback Kid hoodie on stage during their set.

The best though was during the Norma Jean set. if you've listened to Norma Jean you know that their sound is pretty aggressive an harsh, for the "untrained" listener it doesn't sound good. But they're a huge band with a big follower, and they headlined the Friday night lineup on the metal stage. We walked over to get a good spot after we watched David Crowder, then August Burns Red. A few minutes before Norma Jean was going to take the stage David Crowder, Hogan, and their guitarist moved into the crowd right in front of us. It was pretty impressive that they would brave the crowd, the pits were brutal and Crowder was right there. He lasted a few songs longer than his band mates, about 6 songs, and was enjoying the set (and obvious fan of Norma Jean) pumping his fist and laughing as pits broke out all around him. some people recognized him and some didn't care, it was pretty cool!

The other memory that happened was probably better experienced in person, but i'm going to give Alan props here anyway. On Thursday night, the Scream the Prayer Tour was essentially the entire lineup, with the unfortunate substitutes from tour bands Project 86 and Corpus Christi, and then the addition of some band called Flatfoot 56. I'd never heard of this band, but they had the 2nd to last slot of the night so they had to have a big following. well they did, and they sucked.

Flatfoot came out in full hockey gear, which instantly told me that they were a gimmicky band and that it was time to leave. we decided to go check out The Chariot merch table, which was basically near the back of the rink (still inside the rink). Flatfoot started playing and they were a punk band, that apparently everyone in Minnesota knows about. As soon as they started playing hundreds of kids started a circle-pit. not just any circle-pit though, they were running full-speed around the edge of the rink, essentially pinning bystanders either inside the circle, or against the edges of the rink, like Alan and I.

As they came running around the rink, the width of the circle-pit got wider and wider, to the point where Alan and I were pressed against the merch table. i turned my back to oncoming "traffic" and was watching Alan's face to see what we should do when one of the runners apparently took aim on my open back and lowered his shoulder, jacking me to the floor. Alan helped me up and informed me that he got the runners license plate, and they we'd get him on the next go-round. I waited, getting in my stance and wondering how hard i should hit this dude (at a Christian Fest), or if i'd even have the chance. sure enough a few minutes later Alan pointed the dude out as he rounded the corner. i'm not usually one to follow through with violence, often talking a big talk, but lacking a big walk, so i was nervous and he approached. just before impact Alan jumps out ahead of me and lowers his shoulder right into the dude, flattening him out.

The crowd swooped him up and he was fine, i'm sure, but not wanting to escalate the incident anymore more we move to the back of the building where we were safe, and chatted with the dudes from Oh Sleeper.

The hit was epic, Alan totally manned up, i was impressed, and thankful that we had gotten our chance and taken it. it made the soreness that i had the rest of weekend not feel so bad!

and here's Alan gettin' low with Big Al:

A lot of other of enjoyable moments happened, but too many to list here, overall i had a great time and i'm hoping to go back next year!

Show Recep: Scream the Prayer Tour @ Cervantes

It was a pretty good night, the Christian B-Team rolled through Denver and put on a pretty good show. Apparently Denver was held in high-regard according to a few of the bands, who had nothing but bad things to say about the previous tour stop, Salt Lake City, Utah. I don't know if it was the presence of the Mormon youth that ruined the night, or if SLC's scene-kids are bigger in number, and more annoying than most stops (because most stops have annoying scene-kids). i do know that SLC is to blame for stealing one of Oh Sleeper's guitars, therefore forcing the band to change their set list on the fly and sticking to old songs, so thats lame on the part of SLC.

but it was good for Denver.

This show was at Cervantes in downtown Denver, and the doors opened at 3p. I'd done my research and found out that the show usually didn't start for about an hour, and since Tahoe and I are old-dudes, we didn't want to stand around for 6 hours so we decided to go a little late. Unfortunately i wanted to see Corpus Christi who was the opener, but i had no desire to see the following handful of bands; Agraceful, A Plea For Purging, and For Today. So we left for the show around 430p, and just to get the timing perfect we drove all the way to the venue only to realize that Tahoe had forgotten his ticket, so we drove back to Lakewood, then back to the venue again! i think this was maybe divine intervention because as we strolled into the venue, the show was in-between bands, probably just after For Today and getting ready for Gwen Stacy. It's rare to get to a show and have the first band you see actually be a legit band, usually you have to sit through some crap first, but Gwen Stacy might have had the most energetic crowd of the whole night.

Gwen Stacy was really good. I think they only played 5 songs but that's alright. The crowd was very supportive and two separate circle-pits broke out. there was a surprisingly high number of "hardcore kids" doing ridiculous hardcore/scene dances that i thought were reserved for more angry/violent bands but i was wrong, and so was the Staff dude standing next to me. As kids were flailing around karate kicking the air i had to step in and actually protect the 6' security dude, i guess he had no idea what he was getting into. anyway, Gwen Stacy, solid, they played a short set that included The Fear In Your Eyes, If We Live Right We Can't Die Wrong, Gone Fishing, Path To Certainty, and the closer was Gun Held To the Head. great set!

I was thinking that the show had a pretty high standard to reach now, set by Gwen Stacy, and some of the bands delivered. Next up was Oh Sleeper which was probably the band i was most excited to see. They have a new album coming out in August called Son Of The Morning and i had been listening to the one released song, Son Of The Morning, which they had been playing on the tour. As they started their set you could tell instantly that the crowd wasn't as excited and lacked some energy. Despite that i got up front and sang along with the tunes, I Will Welcome the Reaping and Charlatan's Host. I had read that the band was playing 3 songs off the new record so i found it odd that they played I Will Welcome the Reaping, Charlatan's Host, and Building the Nations right off the bat, knowing that they would close with Vices Like Vipers. Micah, the singer, started talking about how good it was to be in Denver, and that they didn't have a good time in Salt Lake. Apparently they had a guitar stolen and for some reason, that meant that they couldn't play any new songs! what a bummer! Now i really don't like SLC! but they made up for by playing The Siren's Song which is my favorite Oh Sleeper song. These guys are pretty tight and the new drummer appeared to be pretty comfy switching up the set on a days notice, thankfully! Then they closed with Vices Like Vipers which everyone at the show knew the words to so it went off well.

Next up was Project86, the O.G.'s of metalcore/hardcore. I'd never seen these guys live, or heard one of their songs. They got really popular back when POD and No Innocent Victim were cool and i just never checked them out. Well they put on a pretty good show for being old dudes, and the crowd was really into them. I don't know their songs but i heard him say that they played Two Glass Eyes, some song about Ichabod, and the closer was Spy Hunter. good energy and crowd participation!

The Sleeping Giant was up. probably the most controversial band on the tour, and a holdover from last years tour. Sleeping Giant is sort of like Madball/First Blood/War of Ages feel, militant Christian hardcore. i say they were controversial because their music is lacking any real creativity and their message/lyrics are blatant and in your face. I know this rubs some people the wrong way, i didn't mind the message, but i did mind the boring sound, it all sounded like one long song. As they chugged through No One Leaves This Room Sick ("if your church isn't showing you the healing of the sick, they're not showing you the full Christ") and Blame It On The Holy Rollers it seemed that the crowd was really getting into the set. the played about 4 songs, and one message about Christ and then the most powerful moment of the night came. The lead singer basically gave his 5 minute testimony. Now i'm not the biggest fan of testimonies, nor do i like lead singers that preach from the stage, but as the singer got through the first minute of his testimony the whole place was dead-silent. i'm not joking, i just kept thinking that "wow, no one is talking to anyone else!". it was awesome. the testimony was powerful, and if there were non-believers there (doubtful but possible) then they couldn't deny the message that was spoken. That lead into Whoremonger, which is the song that accompanies the testimony

It's easy to stand there and be critical of Sleeping Giant, i felt like a Pharisee in the back of the room laughing as they shouted "Don't You Judge Me!!" and stomped their feet. But the band knows their identity, and they're not afraid to proclaim Christ as the Saviour. After Whoremonger they closed with a song of worship, Oh Praise Him. This lasted about 10 minutes and was pretty cool, the whole place was singing along while one-by-one band members set down their instruments and walked off the stage. i was impressed, it was pretty cool.

Up next was a big contrast; The Chariot. These guys could probably take credit for all of the scene dancing / craziness that happens at these shows. i was expecting chaos and i pretty much got it. You could say that The Chariot is more about experience than about the actual music, they used all kinds of lights on the stage that were pointed at the crowd, they all had their own drum to beat on, at one point christian hardcore legend Josh Scogin was swinging a garage light around like a lasso! Anyway, i'm not the biggest fan of the band, but their stage presence was awesome. i couldn't even tell you what songs they performed, i didn't recognize any of them except Daggers and Dead Policeman which they closed with. pretty good!

Last up was the headliner, Haste the Day, one of my favorite bands! I've seen them a few times and they're always good. unfortunately every time i've seen them the sound quality has been poor or too quiet, but last night they were plenty loud. Before the show i had read a rumor that Brennan, one of the last of 2 original members left in the band, had quit. Haste the Day has changed singers, writers, guitar players, and last Christmas their longtime drummer moved on. All that was left was an original guitar player and bass player, so the news that Brennan, the guitarist, had quit was disheartening. Haste picked up the guitarist from A Plea For Purging to fill in for the rest of the tour. Either way HTD played well, but their set list left some holes for sure. First off, Stephen the lead singer, picked up a guitar about halfway through the set and lead the band in Porcelain and An Adult Tree. the songs are good but Tahoe and I both concluded that they didn't add much to the show, especially at the sacrifice of such great songs like American Love and Resolve. They played the rest of the classics though; Walk On, Blue 42, Pressure the Hinges, Mad Man, 68, White Collar, and then closed with When Everything Falls. I had read that they were doing encores but apparently Denver wasn't loud enough so we didn't get one.

On a side note, for all of you stage-diver / crowd-walker / crowd-surfers; you can't jump off the stage when the crowd is only like 5-6 people deep. many people landed hard on the floor because the crowd wasn't compact enough, and it was full of girls and 14yr old boys that are about as strong as the girls. near the end of HTD's set anger was starting to set in with some of the crowd and a few fights broke out. i really don't get this, especially at a "Christian" show where the lyrics/songs have no anger or violence at all! some people should get a clue, especially that dude that i punched in the junk when he jumped on me.

good times. Shirts that i saw kids wearing:

"Mount and Do Me" (in the Mountain Dew logo)
"Oprah didn't die for your sins"
"Double-Pedal Jesus Metal"
"Drug Free For Christ"
"Stay Brutal"
"The View From Here" seriously, i saw a TVFH shirt...i was wearing it!

Haste the Day Pictures:

Sleeping Giant performing Oh Praise Him:

The Chariot performing with lead singer from A Plea For Purging:

Live Music Overload?!

no way!

Next week will be one of the best weeks ever for me and live music! On Tuesday, July 14th the Scream the Prayer Tour comes to Denver, showcasing the "B-Team" of Christian metalcore/hardcore. the A-Team would probably be something like underOATH, Dead Poetic, Thrice, Zao and bands like that.

The B-Team featured on this tour? Haste the Day, the Chariot, Oh Sleeper, For Today, Sleeping Giant, Project 86, Corpus Christi, Gwen Stacey, and A Plea For Purging!

This tour alone would be enough awesome music to get me through the summer, but no, on Wednesday night i fly out to Minnesota to attend the Sonshine Festival with my homie AlanB. Who is playing at Sonshine this year? how about big acts like David Crowder, Glorious Unseen, and Family Force 5 and some hardcore bands like For Today, Gwen Stacey, the Chariot, Oh Sleeper, the Showdown, Haste the Day, August Burns Red, Norma Jean, and Canton Jones!!

man it's gonna be crazy, unfortunately i can't Saturday night of Sonshine so i'll miss As I Lay Dying, Austrian Death Machine, and War of Ages, but thats alright because War of Ages is coming through Denver in August on the 10 for $10 Tour with Bane, Madball, Crime in Stereo, This Is Hell and more!!

man i'm pumped!

Sing a Song to Satan?

one of my favorite bands, Oh, Sleeper has a new album coming out this August titled Son of the Morning. For those of you who are unsure, Son of the Morning is a reference to Satan. I definitely don't have a problem with a band singing about Satan, especially when its a "Christian" hardcore band, on a Christian label (Solid State). according to their myspace page:

Oh, Sleeper has crafted a concept album detailing the final battle between the devil (with Micah Kinard screaming in character on the title track) and God (with Kinard answering on "The Finisher," which closes the record) from start to finish

I'm all about concept albums so i have no problem there either. my question comes from the live shows. I'm seeing Oh Sleeper twice next week, and i plan on being up front screaming along with the words, but what happens when they play the title track from the new album? according to their twitter account they are playing Son of the Morning on their current tour. the song is set up as the thought process between Satan and God, with the verses apparently reflecting what Satan would say, and the choruses reflecting God's response. Here are some of the words:

VERSE

Every night I start my rise, climbing high into the morning sky,

but soon after I lose your bride and I damn your son for stealing my light.

This world is mine...

They call me the son of the morning.

I can mound all your fallen past the clouds as they roll in,

and when I do I will claim your throne through all these cowards you call your sons. CHORUS

"If you could see like me you'd see you haven't won anything.

If you could see like me you'd see, it's by my grace that you're breathing."

If you could see like me you'd see you haven't won anything.

If you could see like me you'd see.

So when i'm up front screaming "they call me the Son of the Morning" is that weird?


Before you cast this off as a problem that only screamo/hardcore bands have, "but not my reliable Christian worship bands" i found the same issue with both David Crowder and Third Day.

David Crowder's song We Win is apparently directed/sung right to Satan, with the following words:

"Because we’ve already won
And You don’t have a chance
Yeah we’ve already won
No you don’t have a chance"

and Third Day's popular song I've Always Loved You is song from the perspective of God, so when everyone is singing along they're not actually singing to God, they're singing along with what God might be saying.

I'm not saying any of this is wrong or right, i'm just wondering what people think about these songs.

Show Recap: mewithoutYou @ Marquis

i've never been a big fan of mewithoutYou, i missed it when they started and gained popularity so i felt a little bit out of the loop. Despite that and the fact that their sound takes a little getting used to, i picked up their new album, It's all Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright and i really liked it, but not enough to go to the show.

Until Tahoe came through with an extra ticket and convinced me i should check it out. Best thing Tahoe has done since he signed my marriage certificate as a witness back in the day.

first of all, the show was at the Marquis Theater in downtown Denver, a venue that has become really popular for bands that aren't of large status. Most of the shows i go to down there the place is about 50-200 kids deep, and taking advantage of the PBR Tall Boys served at the bar. This night however, the entire place was full, we were standing at the back wall, with PBRs, and i couldn't even see the stage let alone the band members. from what i had been told, lead singer Aaron Weiss is crazy on stage and i wasn't about to miss that, so Tahoe bore a hole and i got close enough to feel the energy (i couldn't see so much since i'm a short-dude).

This was one of the best shows i've ever been to, seriously, and i only knew a handful of the songs. The energy in the place was crazy, the music was passionate, and the crowd was eating it up. Frontman Aaron was awesome, he reminds me of an instense folk-singer, his story-telling songs and nasal-ly voice were a trip to see. It's so hard to describe mewithoutYou, according to their Wiki they are a prog-rock band, a little bit folksy, a little bit hardcore. They're signed to Tooth & Nail records, a Christian label, but the music is exactly outspoken Jesus music. a lot of the lyrics are metaphors and stories and they take a little bit of brain-power to figure out.

The best way to describe this night would be "raw". the emotion and passion exuded by the band was amazing, it's sort of like how us "non-singers" might feel and sound like if we just let go of our pride and sang as loudly and crazy as we could. Aaron dances back and forth across the stage, swinging his arms in raw emotion, never worried about his apperance or crowd response. the band was handing out percussion instruments to the crowd during songs and it reminded me of a scene out of the Old Testament, maybe like David singing some Psalms in the streets. Powerful.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the crowd, most of the shows i go to end up in a "mosh" pit and everyone sort of rocks out, but this wasn't that style of music. a lot of people just watched in awe, not being able to look away from the antics of the band, some people raised their hands as one would during a worship service. Some danced, others focused on singing the lyrics as loudly as they could, it was an awesome thing to see.

"Oh, my God! I do not exist we faithfully insist while watching sink the heavy ship of everything we knew If ever you come near I'll hold up high a mirror Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as You"






sorry, my videos aren't the greatest visual quality, it was tough to get close enough to see:

In A Sweater Poorly Knit:


Goodbye, I!

Show Recap: the Audition @ Fox Theatre

i got a chance to catch 2 bands that i've liked for quite a while, the Audition and the Higher. both of these bands don't really fit into the style of music that i enjoy most, but they're fun bands, very poppy/dance /groove style and sometimes you need to enjoy something a little contrasting to lighten things up.

Anyway, this tour was in Colorado Springs a few days earlier and i was really bummed i couldn't make it down there. Luckily my homie Jordan saw that it was coming to Boulder, so i got a chance to see the Audition again (saw them on Warped Tour a few years ago) and a band i've been really trying to see; the Higher.

Both of these bands are signed to labels that don't really represent their sound, Audition to Victory Records and The Higher to Epitaph. Neither band has a big following which was evident as soon as you entered the venue, there were maybe 50 kids in the whole place. By the time The Audition played it had filled up to maybe 100-130, but it was relatively empty compared to other shows.

i wasn't interested in the first 2 bands, including Runner Runner who was in my opinion, way too cheesy and corny. they were energetic but i couldn't stand them, way too much pop for me. i don't even know who the first band was, it was either In:Aviate or Lives of Famous Men or something like that.

Once the Higher came on i was very intrigued as to what they would represent musically. Their sound is like pop-punk, but less punk than usual, with a real groove to the sound. They were very energetic even though the crowd was a little chill. The lead singer looks super-geeky and his whole feel reminds me of white-gangsta, wankster, whatever. He has a good voice, but it's pretty limited, and i concluded after their set that they would be better in a shorter time frame, like 5-6 songs, instead of the 10 or so they played. The switched up between their first full-length On Fire and their recently released full-length It's Only Natural. The main talent in the band appears to be the drummer, who was trying his best to convince us he was Travis Barker with full upper-body tattoo's, and a punk/hardcore style of drummer.

They played a ton of songs, most of them were good but forgettable, their best song by far is Insurance? off of On Fire which they saved for last and were joined by the dudes from Runner Runner. other songs they played were Rock My Body, Histrionics, Movement, 31 Floors, Insurance?, Try Again, Undertaker, Play With Fire, It's Only Natural, and Closer (cover of Usher?).

Edit this setlist | More The Higher setlists

The headliner was the Audition, a band that i've followed since their first full-length was released on Victory Records, Controversy Loves Company. They've always been a favorite of mine, a lot of fun, and i usually compare them to Fall Out Boy but a little more serious. Last time i saw them they were a 5-piece but this night they were down to 4 band members, which took a little out of the overall sound. According to their wiki page, founding member/bassist Joe Lussa quit the band earlier this year, and has not been replaced.

Lead singer Danny Stevens is definitely a veteran of the game, and the whole band showed their experience through the night. The songs were solid and tight, except for the Jack Daniel's-influenced vocals that seemed to be a little off but nonetheless they were good. Most of the place was dancing and pogo-sticking throughout the set, bobbing their heads to the beat (think a little like the upbeat songs of Maroon 5 with edgey-ness). The bass player was solid, and it was impressive considering he was the rhythm guitarist for the duration of the band until earlier this year, but he was killing it this night.

Near the middle of the set, Danny picked up his acoustic guitar and lead the band in Los Angeles, and slower track off the new album; Self-Titled Album and then into It's Gonna Be Hard which he described as his favorite song they've ever written. It sounded great and it was a good feel before the last few songs. I'm not sure why they chose to play It's Too Late so late in the set as you could tell the crowd didn't really know the song, i'm sure their last two albums are the most popular.

The songs i remember them playing were

Edit this setlist | More The Audition setlists

Show Recap: Anberlin @ Boulder Theater

I got to see Anberlin for the fourth time since i've been in Colorado. Anberlin is easily one of the best live bands out there, they always come with a ton of energy, they play a great set, and they're music is energetic and catchy. I stumbled onto Anberlin sort of by accident a few years ago, when they toured with Story of the Year. I had never heard of them, but i really enjoyed their set so i went home and looked them up. i've been a fan ever since!

Last night was one of the better Anberlin shows i've seen. Unfortunately they weren't headlining (Taking Back Sunday was the headliner) so they didn't play more than 35 minutes, and i went by myself which is pretty common out here in Denver for me, apparently people don't like live music as much as i do? Anyway, i got inside just as Envy On The Coast was playing, i've seen them before and they put on a really good live show. I think they're starting to get pretty popular, the crowd was really into them and seemed to know most of the songs. I think EOTC is probably better live than on a cd, i got their album last time i saw them and it was okay, but i'd see them live anytime. the lead guitarist switches between keys and guitar with ease, the lead singer is super energetic with his dreadlocks apparently trying to emulate Zack de la Rocha and doing a pretty good job of it. They don't have a banner on display behind the band like most bands do these days, so instead they wrote their name on some 11 x 8'' paper and hung that, i found it pretty funny.

Next up was Anberlin. After their last album, New Surrender, they've added a laptop dude on stage to add all of the effects and tracks to the show. i like the addition, it made the music much more complete. It's amazing how much energy Anberlin can pack into a 30 minute set. The downside of Anberlin shows is the crowd that follows the band. After years of going to punk shows, Anberlin's crowd base is exactly the type of people who get under my skin, like the 6' jock in front of me that decided to pogo-stick the entire time. and then his buddies decided to try and start a mosh-pit?! Moshing? to Anberlin? hello! so lame.

anyway, they played most of the hits like Readyfuels, Day Late, Whisper & a Clamour, Feel Good Drag, Resistance, Breaking, Dismantle.Repair, Godspeed, and Disappear.

I left before Taking Back Sunday, i'm just not a fan and since i was there by myself i didn't really have a reason to stay. Great Show though, if you get a chance to catch Anberlin you won't be disappointed, no matter what kind of music you're into!