wow...
Okay, I'm really really glad I went to the Michael W. Smith concert tonight. I was annoyed at the beginning because the 100 Yellow came like fifteen minutes late for some reason (maybe schedules were messed up from Homecoming or something) so I get to where I think I should get off the bus at the time that the concert was supposed to begin, and then I still had to walk like four blocks or something. I think I only missed some of one song though, and it wasn't even Michael W. Smith himself at the beginning. That's the amusing part. I knew it wasn't going to be just him performing, but I didn't know anything about the group that was performing too (Mercy Me). So I got there and I wasn't close enough to see the singer, so I wasn't actually sure which it was, except that I didn't recognize any of the songs except the two that have been playing on the radio all the time for the last month or whatever. (No, I don't actually listen to the radio normally, but it's on all the time at TIS.) So then at intermission I finally figure out for sure that it was Mercy Me playing, and that Michael W. Smith would be performing after intermission. Since I didn't know the group but heard the songs on the radio in conjunction with ads about the concert, I didn't even know who did those songs for sure. Except I probably should have realized, because after intermission, once he started singing, I realized that his voice actually is pretty distinctive. Oh well.
Anyway, so it was a really cool concert. What really struck me was just the sheer number of people there. I had never been in the Assembly Hall for a concert before, so I didn't realize how big it was and how many people it could hold, but the place was almost completely full. And I had to think that it couldn't have just been the power of music bringing so many people together, it had to be something more than that. I was just so amazed by it all. And also, I thought "If this many people just in this area alone believe this strongly, then why is there so much evil and unhappiness in the world?"
It was really nostalgic too. I've been listening to his songs for years...I first heard them when I started listening to the local Christian radio station when I was around ten or so. Two or three of them stuck with me for a long time and I was always happy when I heard them again on the radio, until years later when I discovered cheap cds on ebay and bought several of his. But those songs go back a long time, so whenever I hear them, I remember life in Michigan before high school and stuff. It was only a few years ago that I finally found the cd with the very first song I remember hearing of his, "The Throne," which is like my absolute favorite song *ever*, just because its images are so vividly beautiful. I was caught by images of crystal thrones and diamond rainbows from the first time I heard it. He didn't sing that song tonight, but he did sing my second favorite song from that cd, "Secret Ambition", and that was very cool.
I wanted to write more about the concert, but I don't think I could explain any better how cool it was than I have already. There's just something about hearing thousands of people singing along at once to some of these songs. I think this is one of those things that is really good for renewing one's purpose, and getting a sense of perspective on what's going on that you lose when you get too stuck in work for too long. I will sleep well tonight and hopefully wake up ready to face all the work waiting for me for the week.
Anyway, so it was a really cool concert. What really struck me was just the sheer number of people there. I had never been in the Assembly Hall for a concert before, so I didn't realize how big it was and how many people it could hold, but the place was almost completely full. And I had to think that it couldn't have just been the power of music bringing so many people together, it had to be something more than that. I was just so amazed by it all. And also, I thought "If this many people just in this area alone believe this strongly, then why is there so much evil and unhappiness in the world?"
It was really nostalgic too. I've been listening to his songs for years...I first heard them when I started listening to the local Christian radio station when I was around ten or so. Two or three of them stuck with me for a long time and I was always happy when I heard them again on the radio, until years later when I discovered cheap cds on ebay and bought several of his. But those songs go back a long time, so whenever I hear them, I remember life in Michigan before high school and stuff. It was only a few years ago that I finally found the cd with the very first song I remember hearing of his, "The Throne," which is like my absolute favorite song *ever*, just because its images are so vividly beautiful. I was caught by images of crystal thrones and diamond rainbows from the first time I heard it. He didn't sing that song tonight, but he did sing my second favorite song from that cd, "Secret Ambition", and that was very cool.
I wanted to write more about the concert, but I don't think I could explain any better how cool it was than I have already. There's just something about hearing thousands of people singing along at once to some of these songs. I think this is one of those things that is really good for renewing one's purpose, and getting a sense of perspective on what's going on that you lose when you get too stuck in work for too long. I will sleep well tonight and hopefully wake up ready to face all the work waiting for me for the week.