I bought 11 new CD's at Sonshine before I realized that my car didn't have a CD player. I was gonna tough it out, but that didn't last long. I ran to Wal*Mart and grabbed what's called a "Portable CD Player." Seriously, people actually used to carry around a device that played a physical CD. Weird. Anyway, here's the list.
*Note: Anorexia and Nervosa are two seperate CD's which is why the list only goes to 10.
- The Life I Know (Gwen Stacy) - These guys are UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING in concert. If you get the chance, check them out.
- The Everlasting [EP] (Hands) - We had never heard or seen Gwen Stacy before, and our seeing them was kind of by accident. They weren't on the bill, and they were playing when Hands was supposed to be on. After careful research, we found that the awesome on-stage band was Gwen Stacy. This CD (Hands) is pretty good though, too.
- First Came the Law (Once Nothing) - Buy four CD's, get the fifth at half price. After staring at the table at the Tooth and Nail booth for a solid 15 minutes, I finally decided on this one. It's pretty good. They have kind of an old school sound to them, instrumental wise, and the vocals aren't too shabby either.
- Anorexia/Nervosa (Showbread) - I may not have known it before, but I am a die hard Showbread fan. Josh Dies is a lyrical savant. Some of his music has changed the way I view God's love for me. These two CD's are really good. They are "not a conventional audio recording, but a soundtrack to the story in the booklet." There's a "how to listen to this album" disclaimer in the booklet, and throughout the story it'll say (2:31) meaning that's where you should be in the song when you reach that point in the story. Really good stuff.
- Arise & Conquer (War of Ages) - Much thanks to the girl who noticed my Mortal Treason shirt last year at Sonshine and asked me if I was going to see War of Ages, a band I'd never heard of one of whose members is an ex-Mortal Treason member. These guys are totally amazing, both in concert and on CD. This particular CD comes out today, but I got it last Thursday at the Best Buy booth as a "pre-sale" deal for twelve bucks!
- Children 18:3 (Children 18:3) - I've been an unintentional follower of Children 18:3 for a while now. They are a local band that opened up for just about every band I've seen at Club 3 Degrees and they just recently released their debut album on Tooth and Nail records. You should totally buy it. The chick in the band is barbie-doll hot, their drummer is some serious eye-candy for the ladies, and their lead singer is as talented as he is weird looking....yea. Buy their CD.
- To Burn Again (No Innocent Victim) - The Facedown Records table was selling all their artists' CD's for two dollars. I indulged. Although I haven't had much of a chance to listen to this album all the way through, what I've heard so far is pretty good.
- The Raven and the Reaping (The Famine) - I saw this CD at the Tooth and Nail table and the picture on the album cover screamed "rip your face off" metal. I was perusing the table, and this one caught my eye several times. I finally asked the guy about it, and he confirmed my assumptions. He said, "That album will blow your socks off." I immediately bought it, and I'm glad I did. Although it's not as hard as I hyped it up to be, it's still pretty darn good.
- Lost Memories and Faded Pictures (Symphony in Peril) - A while ago, I bought a SiP CD at Northwestern bookstore. It was called "The Whore's Trophy" and the album cover was just so friggin cool, I couldn't pass it up (I'm an easy sell, if you haddn't noticed). I played it when I got home and was sorely disappointed. I put it up on the shelf where it would stay for a few months. I found it one day, put it in, and rocked out to it's awesomeness for a solid three hours. Things get better with time, I guess. This is their first CD (The Whore's Trophy being their second), and it's equally as good.
- Show's Over (Jesus Wept) - I've been to Sonshine four times now, and every time I've gone, this CD has caught my eye. Jesus Wept. What an amazing name for a Christian metal band. I wanted to listen to them before buying their CD, so after my first time seeing it I went online to find some samples. After searching the internet over, and not finding any, I gave up. I saw it this year, and decided to just buy it. After all, it was only two dollars. I'm really glad I did. I listened to it the whole way through at work last night, and it's quite good.
And there ya be. Going to Sonshine, especially this year (for many reasons), was amazing. I haven't been to a concert since like September of last year, and Sonshine went above and beyond just "clearing the cobwebs" (get it?) of my need for a concert fix.
Comments (5)
I do love your taste in music...
I saw Children 18:3 at Cornerstone Festival last year and I've been a huge fan ever since...they have a very high-energy stage presence
Showbread...if you haven't seen them live, you must. Their name doesn't lie....they were bred to put on amazing shows!
Jesus Wept & No Innocent Victim...I have a few singles floating around on my compy...how're the full length Albums?
What's Sonshine?
@sheepthatsblack@xanga - I've seen Showbread in concert twice now, and you're right; they're awesome. Ivory actually put the mic right in my face during "Dead By Dawn" once.
Jesus Wept is a kind of mix between ska, punk, and hardcore. It's interesting, but I still haven't had much chance to listen to them; at least not enough to be able to fully explain their sound. Same with NIV.
Sonshine Festival (sonshinefestival.com) is just like Cornerstone, except it's three days instead of five, and there are less "big name" bands there. I really wanted to go to Cornerstone this year because Demon Hunter was there, and they're not coming anywhere near here this year. Demon Hunter is my favorite band by far.
What are your favorite bands?
Well more bands to add to the list. I am really encouraged at the wide range of music that Christian artists are producing. Creation Festival this year was my first "woodstock-like" Christian concert experience, Honestly it has only been a few years since I have even listened to "Christian music" in that I actually bought a CD.
This may sound funny but, The first time I ever heard the Newsboys was at Creation. I had just seen too many "bad" Christian artists and I like music too much.Next year I am going to have to check out the alternative stages.
I guess that pulls the covers that I havent listen to "Christian Radio". See I will argue for vendors and their rights all day long, but I also have the right to say, thats not for me....
@vwagenjetta - Umm...depends on the mood, you know how it goes....but probably Emery, Haste the Day, Stutterfly, Secret and Whisper, Thrice, Underoath, et al....
@sheepthatsblack@xanga - Emery is awesome, I have all their CD's, Haste the Day is the kind of music that'll make my mom run screaming (which is quite hilarious), and I've got two of their CD's, I fell in love with Underoath's CD "Define the Great Line" after hearing a good bit of it in college, I think I've heard of Thrice, but I've not heard of the others. Good stuff.