Lifest Christian Music Festival, Oshkosh, WI, Friday, July 9, 2004 Reviews - Part 3

This is the final post covering my day at the Lifest Christian Music Festival in Oshkosh, WI.


English Dance Rock: Skillet
Skillet is one of those bands that ends up on the wrong side of the pond in my Music Spectrum. I put them in the English Dance Rock section near Placebo, the Cure, and Jesus Jones. With Skillet’s use of sampling, overdubbing, and effects, they sound a lot like a traditional band doing Jesus Jones, a Jesus Jones that doesn’t rely so much on electronics.

Skillet is a distinctive sound, though, and their live sound helped clarify how they are unique. The bass of lead singer John Cooper and the drums of Lori Peters keep everything a bit off kilter while still charging forward. Cooper adds off placed beats, and so does Peters, even while she’s attacking those drums like a banshee.
For the rock purist, there’s probably too much electronics, even in Skillet’s live show. However, I find the band’s use of triggers and effects to be. . .effective.

Cooper’s voice comes on a like a combination of metal rock and dance band. That adds to Skillet’s claim of a niche in the rock scene—the blazing, screaming passion of metal with the hooks and rhythms of dance rock.

Finally, Skillet’s stage show comes on like lightning, matching the intensity of the music. Guitarist Ben Kasica played behind his neck. Keyboardist Korey Cooper works constantly, charging the air with both aural and visual energy. John Cooper swung the bass around his neck. The show was great, but I needed to step over to a smaller stage to support another young band.

Meanwhile, thanks to Ardent Records, I’ll be able to review Skillet’s new one, Collide.

Punk Rock: Amsler
Again, I didn’t stick with the headliner in order to go and support another young band, Amsler, from the Milwaukee area.
This group of teens played a half hour set of originals on the small Stage X. Punk is probably the better descriptor of their brand of Garage Rock. I can hear the Replacements, Husker Du, and Soul Asylum (all Garage Rock), but there’s also the more frenetic pace of Punk Rock.

This young band is writing some good songs which blend those elements of Garage Rock’s songcraft and Punk Rock’s energy. Drummer Justin keeps things going while 2 guitarists and a bass (Jason, Evan, and Jake) play off each other on triple vocals.

While you might call them amateurish, you can see where these guys could go. Lead singer Jason was kind enough to send me a demo. Given the right producer and environment, these songs could become a great debut EP.

"Let It Go" works musically to really explore the struggle against the sinful flesh. Haunting vocals, introspective verses, smash down choruses, so that when the triple vocals play with the line, "Where did I go wrong?" I’m inside my own head, screaming at my own stubborn will. Now that’s a Christian rock song! Instead of just taking pride in my own worship, Amsler’s song leads me to humble myself before God, wearing sackcloth and ashes.


Country-influenced Rock: Spirit Creek
Spirit Creek played their brand of Country-influenced Classic Rock, a kind of small stage premonition of Third Day’s set later that evening on the Grandstand. Spirit Creek may aspire towards following in Third Day’s footsteps, but I’m afraid that they will not attract such attention without a major shift in stage attitude.
Their set began with "Us Against the World," which has a Country, 2-step feel to the Third Day/Classic Rock sound. The second song changed this up with a beat more like the Barenaked Ladies, but the guitar solo was all Boston.

However, by the third song, the problem became obvious. As lead singer Doug Shea belted out "Only Human," I realized that every line of all 3 songs had been a "raise your eyes to the sky" line. As my friend said, he was trying to pull every heart string with every line. He falls into the "earnest praise band leader" trap—being so intent on showing his devotion that he fails to connect with the audience.

It is a good reminder, though, to would-be Christian bands and a good reminder to me as a preacher. It can’t be "all intense, all the time." You’ve got to move and shape and connect and lead your hearers to those high points.


Hard Rock: Blindside
Back to the Edge Main Stage for another popular group, Blindside. I know I didn’t stay long enough for them to convince me that their music stands out from the rest of the rather hard rock themed day of Christian music. Because I didn’t stay long enough, I only hope that they’ll give me a chance to review the album.

However, I was completely convinced of 2 things: #1 – I heard the kernel of their uniqueness, and #2 – Christian, the lead singer, is one crazy mother.

#1 – The band is really good at working full stop breaks into their hard rock. This is where the freshness begins.

#2 – In the opening song, lead singer Christian backed all the way up to the drumkit, said "Are you ready?" to the crowd, and then did a full speed stage dive which turned into a somersault on top of the hands of the waiting crowd. Falling, sinking, being pulled by security, wrapped in the mic cord, kept singing the entire time. I don’t know why that didn’t convince me to stay; I must have been blind.


Country-influenced Rock: Third Day
Here’s a case of a live performance changing an artist’s location in the Spectrum. Third Day had resided next to the Alarm in the American Band Rock section based on their self-titled debut. However, I quickly realized in their Grandstand set on Friday evening that they belong in the Country-influenced Rock section.

I had this same experience when trying to find the appropriate place for Dire Straits. They’re from the British Isles, so I naturally assumed they would land somewhere in the English Rock area. Yet, after hearing the live album, On the Night, the Country influence came through crystal clear; their true colors shining with slide guitar and a "by the way of Ireland" twang.

Third Day took the stage after a rather heavy-handed push for Compassion International from comedian Ken Davis. The band came on stage amid a wash of heavy effects and electronica; I realized they had come a long way from the opening of the first album, the distorted guitars of "Nothing at All."

"I Wanna Be a Rock Star" introduced the set, lead singer Mac Powell taking the stage last. He showed a pop rock casualness which wasn’t in line with the driving guitar on the song. That same inconsistent presence would be a main drawback to their set.

"I Wanna Sing a Song for You" kicked in the Country Rock, but it also featured a "Holy, Holy, Holy" break, showing that it seems to be obligatory to turn songs into worship songs, rock concerts into praise choruses. "Come on Back to Me" is a brand new song that has Classic Rock guitar, hard rock bass, but Powell’s same vocals. Here’s where I started to see most clearly that Third Day’s truest sound is classic Southern Rock. The band Alabama comes to mind. In my collection, this now places them next to Lynyrd Skynrd—albeit as a band revisiting a sound rather than expanding it. However, this new song did groove like "Nothing at All," the song that convinced me to buy the first album.

Then after all of this wondering about where Third Day had taken their sound over the years, there it was again. Powell counted off, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6," and the guitar of the first album kicked in for the 1996 album’s "Consuming Fire." It features Powell’s acoustic guitar on the verses with an electric chorus. The electric chorus reached a blistering level, a perfect match to the rain smell in the air.

"Come Together" showed that even Third Day wanted to get in on the pogo-ing theme rampant in Christian music today. When Powell invited a few audience members up on the stage to sing, we slipped back into youth ministry mode. It was a tension I experienced all day—were the artists there to play music or be youth speakers/leaders? The Christian music scene seems to be alone in this dynamic. That’s why I appreciated when Switchfoot played the Rave in Milwaukee, a club date where the intensity of the music speaks more than the crowd participation/youth event gimmicks.

As Third Day’s set wore on, I was less and less convinced that I needed to stay. The on-stage antics of the band were fun to watch, as guitarist and bass traded looks or poked at each other, but the music itself was a bit straight, vacant, lacking the spontaneity of the antics.
While I stayed for a few more songs, I already had one foot pointed toward the parking lot when Powell asked if there were any Canadians in the audience. A few cheers went up. Powell then said about Canadians, "They’re more fans of Michael Moore than America."

I’m not sure why Canadians have to be fans of America. I’m an American and appreciate what Moore is doing. The implication was that of course Christians would support President Bush and the Iraq War. On a very real level, Christians should always speak out for peace. There shouldn’t be an assumption that if you’re a Christian, then you’re also a Republican and you support the Iraq War. That crack by Powell ended a great day at Lifest on a rather sour note.
I drove home listening to Amsler and Flatfoot 56, remembering there’s a lot more than the Grandstand, than the headliners at Lifest and in Christian rock.

Thanks to Brian and the Media Relations people at Life Promotions and to all of the bands, labels, and managers for their help.

For more on the day, see the other Lifest posts: Lifest #1 and
Lifest #2