It’s 1:14am and I am wide awake, reading blogs and writing. Tapping away at the keys before me. I am writing so much more lately. It’s been an interesting experience so far. I set myself some new goals creatively, for writing specifically, and I’m enjoying it so much more than I expected. It’s difficult at times but it is stretching me so much, and I am thriving on a new challenge.
Last Saturday night I went to the coffeehouse gig organised by the Interfaith Peace Witness guys. Some excellent bands played – David LaMotte, The Cobalt Season and NativeDeen. Here’s a few photos I snapped of the Cobalt Season… more on flickr…
Last night I went to see U23D with some friends here in DC, and wow, was it incredible! You need to go see it now!
No joke, but watching/experiencing a U2 concert is a deeply spiritual event for me. I connect with God so much through their music and lyrics, more than I do in many church services to be honest.
I watched this massive crowd of people being caught up in something that is so much bigger than any of their individual experiences.
They connected with each other, with the music, with the message. It makes me question what we as a church can do to draw people towards Jesus. Why do we not make better use of the techniques used in experiences like a U2 concert and redeem them?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the theology of music. I think I’ll do a separate post on it, but over the last month especially I have been connecting with God so much through “secular” artists than through “Christian” artists. U2 are the modern-day theologians for many Irish people, and probably many other nationalities. It was a strange experience to be sitting in a room full of Americans listening to Bono sing Sunday Bloody Sunday (Bloody Sunday wikipedia), knowing that it probably has an entirely different effect on you than on anyone else in the room. When you come from a country where your entire land has been torn in two because of religion, where the only differential is whether you go to church or chapel at the weekend, to hear a fellow Irishman sing, “No more…” is a powerful experience.
And the battle’s just begun
There’s many lost, but tell me who has won?
The trenches dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters
Torn apart.
Sunday, bloody Sunday.
Sunday, bloody Sunday.
How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long, how long?
‘Cos tonight
We can be as one, tonight.
I may not agree with everything Bono says or does, but in a country where church is irrelevant for many people (check out this video from the Republic of Ireland for an idea), to be getting your theology from U2 is not a bad starting place I reckon…
Take these hands
Teach them what to carry
Take these hands
Don’t make a fist
Take this mouth
So quick to criticise
Take this mouth
Give it a kiss
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahewh, Yahweh Still I’m waiting for the dawn…
Today I bought Jon Foremans new EP, Fall. It is beautiful. You should all go buy it.
I’m not sure why it always goes downhill
Why broken cisterns never could stay filled
I’ve spent ten years singing gravity away
But the water keeps on falling from the sky
So here tonight while the stars are blacking out
With every hope and dream I’ve ever had in doubt
I’ve spent ten years trying to sing these doubts away
But the water keeps on falling from my eyes
And heaven knows, heaven knows
I try to find a cure for the pain
Oh my Lord, to suffer like you do
It would be a lie to run away…
Today has been a good day. Lunch with Stoops. Dinner with Suz. Gig with Foy.
I spent tonight at Brel taking in Foy’s gig. To say I was excited would be an understatement… this was the rearranged gig that was supposed to happen in Sept. Holly and I were jumping around a little in anticipation… Foy didn’t disappoint. We had 2 newbies in our group – Suz and James… both of whom seemed to enjoy the night. Foy… I’ve said it before, but he really does get better every time. After the first song he played tonight, I remembered why I love to watch him live. Recordings are great, but Foy is in his element when he’s live.
He did an acoustic cover of Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For tonight, and it was so beautiful. Just him and a guitar standing in the middle of the crowd (so everyone could hear), singing the song. A lot of people joined in, and almost everyone sang along during the chorus. I had a little shiver up my spine… something beautiful. He also played an old song I love but haven’t heard him play live in years – someone requested What’s In A Bottle, off his first EP (the one he hates!).
I also discovered that ‘Home’ has been a perfect soundtrack for the past week and a half.
Though I can’t find a video for it, so here, watch Gabriel instead…
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