We’d love to know what you think.

When I was in the ninth grade I wanted to be cool.  So, I bought the coolest album I could- Pearl Jam’s Ten. Everyone in high school seemed to love them.  They sounded good, and it wasn’t like I had to reflect to hard on the lyrics that you couldn’t catch most of the word too anyway.  It was about being cool.  I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but my Dad (a pastor) decided that we should sit down and listen and read the lyrics together.  At first this seemed even cooler, seeing as how my first experience of rock music was the Simon & Garfunkel my Dad recorded off the radio during his college days.  But as we read the lyrics of songs like “Evenflow” and “Jeremy” I began to realize that this was disturbing stuff- painful and emotional songs about child abuse.  My dad didn’t make me burn the CD’s or throw them out, he merely pointed out that there was a massive disconnect between my own life and experience and the music I was listening to. I came to the realization that I wouldn’t be listening to Pearl Jam anymore (My junior year of college I returned to them with more mature questions). I had to recognize my own limitations. 

What I have come to realize is that while a Reformed view allows Christians the freedom to really engage and ask good questions of culture, it also places on us the responsibility of knowing where the boundaries are.  Even before the Fall, God had told Adam and Eve the limits that they were under, not as slaves to God, but so that they could find their identity and flourish in their relationship with God, rather than being deceived by thinking of themselves as god.  This has become clearer, or rather more muddled, after the fall, where we now see the world “through a glass darkly.”  In a world with real goodness and real evil, we must come to realize what our boundaries are so that we are pursuing faithfulness, rather than running into ruin. 

What we need is a community of conversation- a space where we can learn and grow in maturity and discernment.  To be human is to be a creature in God’s world, and we flourish most when we live inside the limits that God’s grace provides.  Engaging culture is not a free for all in which we celebrate every created thing as art, rather it is a careful process in which we work out our faith with “fear and trembling,” trying to discern the complexities of an originally good creation that we have screwed up by mistaking grace for irresponsible freedom. Engaging culture will involve developing appropriate gestures in response to culture; these gestures then shape our posture toward culture.  Andy Crouch (Culture Makers, 2007) lists “condemnation, critique, consumption, and copying” as possible Christian responses to different things in culture.  While each of these responses are appropriate for different things, we should not allow one of them to become the dominating response. Rather, within the limits of God’s world we have to become creators and cultivators of culture- to truly be salt and light in the world.

We are hosting a special pre-sale for student tickets on Monday, January 23 at 7pm in the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex.

The ticket purchasing policies are:
• $15 for Calvin students; $50 for faculty, staff, and public tickets.
• 1 ticket per Calvin Student ID card, with a maximum of 2 Calvin ID cards per student.
• Students will also be able to purchase a maximum of two full price ($50) ticket at this time.
• All tickets for this show are reserved seating. Student tickets are in a single block, so tickets purchased at full price will not be adjacent to student seats.
• There are a limited number of student tickets available.
• Tickets are not available for purchase online during the student pre-sale.
• Faculty and staff will be able to purchase two full price tickets ($50) at this time.

Student may want to contact their friends who are studying abroad this Interim in order to purchase a ticket for them, as this show will likely be sold out before they return.

Ticket sales for the public and online will begin at 9am on January 27.

All questions should be directed to sao@calvin.edu or check out the event on Facebook.

Adele - 21
Alison Krauss & Union Station - Paper Airplane
The Black Keys - El Camino
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
The Civil Wars - Barton Hallow*
Cut Copy - Zonoscope*
Dawes - Nothing is Wrong*
The Decemberist - The King is Dead*
Feist - Metals
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues*
Florence + the Machine - Ceremonials
Gardens and Villa - Gardens and Villa*
Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest*
The Head and the Heart - The Head and the Heart*
Josh Garrels - Love & War & The Sea In Between
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Laura Marling - A Creature, I Don’t Know
M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
My Brightest Diamond - All Things Will Unwind*
New York Hymns - Songs for Lent
Noah & the Whale - Last Night on Earth*
Over the Rhine - The Long Surrender*
Radical Face - The Family Tree: The Roots
The Roots - Undun
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
Washed Out - Within and Without*
Zola Jesus - Conatus

And those I hope to listen to more in 2012:

Beirut - The Ripe Tide
Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
The Milk Carton Kids - Prologue and Retrospect*
My Morning Jacket - Circuital
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
tUnE yArDs - w h o k i l l
TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
Wilco - The Whole Love
Wye Oak - Civilian

Best Dance/Electronica Album – Zonoscope Cut Copy

Best Rock Performance – “Down By The Water” The Decemberists

Best Rock Song - “Down By The Water” The Decemberists

Best Rock Album – The Whole Love Wilco

Best Alternative Music Album – Codes and Keys Death Cab For Cutie

Best Rap Performance – “The Show Goes On” Lupe Fiasco

Best Rap Song - “The Show Goes On” Lupe Fiasco

Best Rap Album – LASERS Lupe Fiasco

Best Country Duo/Group Performance – “Barton Hallow” The Civil Wars

Best Country Song – “God Gave Me You” written by Dave Barnes

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album – Ghosts Upon the Earth Gungor

Best Americana Album – Hard Bargain Emmylou Harris

Best Bluegrass Album – Sleep With One Eye Open Chris Thile (formerly of Nickel Creek) & Michael Daves

Best Blues Album – The Reflection Keb Mo

Best Folk Album – Barton Hallow The Civil Wars, I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive Steve Earle, Helplessness Blues Fleet Foxes, The Harrow & The Harvest Gillian Welch

Best World Music Album – Songs from a Zulu Farm Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Best Instrumental Composition – “Life in Eleven” Béla Fleck & the Flecktones

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical – The Harrow & the Harvest Gillian Welch

Best Short Form Music Video – “All Is Not Lost” OK GO

After CARE, David Bazan, former/always lead singer of Pedro the Lion, came out to perform at Calvin once again.  With his excellent guitar skills, sarcasm, deeply resonating themes and hoodie, what’s not to love about this man?  No wonder he’s back?  This time however, he comes out with 2 other band members (including an incredibly happy/always smiling drummer), and a more upbeat sound.

Bazan played a lot from Pedro the Lion, some from his first solo album, and of course, the all-new Strange Negotiations.  He sings “Virginia” with soul, and let the words resound in his listeners ears.  Who is this Virginia?  Does he know her?

Well, we get a little insight with the Q/A sessions interspersed between the set and after the show.  He explains that “Virginia” has a lot to do with the loss of a childhood friend (a short detour from his more contemplative, spiritually-based songs, but lamenting all the same).  While his good ol’ rock and roll is more upbeat than when he has come to Calvin before, there still exists this shadow of sadness—or call it lament or grief—which shows through the otherwise warm musical front.  But, that’s David Bazan. 

One characteristic of listening to David Bazan is trying to decipher where the music really comes from.  If you are not familiar with his history, he has oscillated between bringing a secular and/or Christian perspective to his music.  He has certainly been open about his struggles-in music, marriage, and life.  He explains his songs as mostly fiction, but the non-fictional tinges of guilt, questioning, and compromise successfully show through in all.  His introspective music can be uncomfortable, but also can arouse something within a person, whether it be judgment, an ability to relate, curiosity, or more/all-in-one.

Watching and listening to David Bazan joke with his audience, with little to no filter, seems to invite hearers into his understanding, while he tries to remain ironically detached… the whole time.  Some parts of the show are heavy, as heard in his music and his astutely referenced past.  What is this guilt?  What does it mean to put it in its place?  What is a person supposed to do with guilt?  And questions?  This is where Bazan works from and stands.  He seems to build and harness a confidence knowing he is not everything.

Bazan closed the show by giving a lucky audience member a life-long event pass.  Whether you fully endorse David Bazan or not, whether you seem him as some sort of beacon or representation of what it means to “struggle” (choosing whichever connotation of the word), David Bazan puts on a really decent show.  His band sounds great, his guitar playing is impeccable.  At moments it felt a bit Northwestern.  I could close my eyes and even imagine some Grunge show or that I was listening to Skin Yard. With his attendance record here at Calvin, chances are he will be back.

Now it’s true that aesthetically, Noah & The Whale created a very polished show. They had a distinguished consummate professionalism about them that I personally liked. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. I still enjoyed the music, it was a great, clear mix, and watching the artists perform it was especially gratifying (a big point in seeing artists live.) And after all, there was some informality with lead singer Charlie Fink’s remarks about the set itself, the politeness of the audience, and wishing a lucky Spencer, “Happy Birthday.”

Though it was a very professional performance, were we still able to connect with the artist? Is that even important? The Covenant Fine Arts Center is a smaller and more intimate space, so it definitely allows for that kind of relationship. (Not to say there isn’t intimacy with artists in arenas, just look at U2.) Personally, I definitely connected with them, particularly because their music was so relatable. They were singing about life and transformation. Their music is the essence of intimacy.

Take “Life is Life” for instance. The song’s tones are smooth and inviting. The song holds a kind of delight in the simple joy of making music. Meanwhile, the story of someone changing his ways and starting again is something we can all resonate with. Seemingly simple subject matter, but when added to music, any message becomes emotionally amplified and imbued with more meaning. For Noah & The Whale, nothing ever feels forced or disingenuous when Fink sings of the positive good in life.

Noah & The Whale’s performance of songs like these revealed something else to me, that listening to music within a live context is completely different in another way: it leads to new interpretations of the song. How the performers treat the song and how they act on stage adds meaning and emotional resonance to the songs. They become more powerful.  This leads to new and greater understanding of the music.

I realized this when they played “Old Joy.” Fink sang “Don’t dream of yesterday” – and I suddenly got the importance of what he was saying. The music and lyrics coalesced, and I really felt something profound, something never felt just listening to an mp3. 

This experience is totally unique to me; I can’t say if anyone else ever felt like that during the show. But perhaps that’s another reason to see live shows: moments of inspiration and profundity like that are spontaneous and ephemeral. You need great chemistry with the performers, with the audience,  and great art to tie them together.

Actually seeing the band perform reminded me of why we go to concerts in the first place: it is the true way to listen to music. You not only hear the songs, but you literally feel it: a thumping bass line in your chest, with the sound washing over you. It only makes the lyrics more powerful. You also get to see the artists in the flesh doing something that will never be recreated again, but unique to that particular time and place. The set up, the mood, the space, and the audience (among other factors) all contribute to the performance of the artist, and that is something truly special.

And believe me, that concert was truly something special. It’s been a long time since I’ve really rocked out to a jam band, and it was exhilarating. Taylor Goldsmith was awe-inspiring in being able to hit all the right notes while reeling around the stage, and it was great to see Griffin Goldsmith actively involved in the songs and not just drumming in the background. Seeing the interaction between him and Wylie Gelber gave some insight into the band’s unity. I only wish I could have seen Tay Strathairn’s fingers fly during his piano solo; that would have been something to see.

I emphasize sight again because it is so vital to a good experience for the audience. It also illustrates a continuous difficulty that can crop up at concerts: the matter of a standing vs. sitting audience. Those who decide to go to the front and stand right next to the stage also prevents many of their view of the concert. They get a better view by not only sacrificing their own seats, but the enjoyment of others behind them, effectively forcing them to either stand as well in order to see the performers, or get a lesser experience of the concert by remaining seated. Seeing performers make the music is an essential element to why we see live performances, so we all can understand why people would go up front to witness a great performance. However, until architecture or procedure functions in a way to make this problem disappear, the issue seems to plague many great shows. But I may be making a mountain out of a molehill. It was a great concert nonetheless, even if it wasn’t perfect for everyone. You don’t need sight to appreciate the sounds.

The last song they played was “Losers.” “Losers” is about rejecting all stupid competitions the world has set up, like how good you look, how smart you are, or how popular you are. They started the song simple, just a guitar and vocals, and then they build, slowly, until they shout at the world, “I don’t care about any of that s-hit no more!” That line is so freeing, and you could feel its power at the concert. I cried during the performance. I realized again that God is on the side of the losers like me.

I had a chance to speak with Ethan and Barbara after their show and asked if they wrote “Losers” for each other. They said no, the song is meant for everyone. They have done a beautiful thing. Their music is an invitation to everyone to drop all the stupid burdens we carry. It’s an invitation Christians believe in already.

The entire evening, I kept wondering why Youth Lagoon weren’t headlining, or perhaps why the show was not just a double billing.  Trevor’s rising fast, with widespread critical acclaim and the coveted Pitchfork “Best New Music” nod.  He’s on the fast track.  Moreover, he’s making music that people really resonate with.  It only helps that his signature sound is impressively beautiful.  Save for a few feedback issues, The Ladies Literary Club was an ideal spot for a great opening act. 

The evening progressed seamlessly to Gardens and Villa, which, despite my skepticism, are a genuinely impressive band.  They reminded me of a lot of things, (The Faint, Yeasayer, Cut Copy, at various intervals), but the act is really all its own.  G&V lead Chris Lynch knows how to command a room and endear himself to a crowd, even if his approach is informed by a coyness that certainly doesn’t come out in the music.  He’s engaging (as is the whole band).  And in a conversation after the show, Chris and the band had a chance to humanize themselves even further when they riffed on some audience-led questions about their reading habits (which far exceed mine) and musical inspiration.  I think most of us felt the urge to hang out with the band, which I regard as indicative of a certain sincerity that engenders good music. 

The night moved from introspection to outward expression in a way that felt pretty natural.  I just wish more people had been there to join in the fun.