- Point of Grace:[2] Your question might be, "Why would he add a 2 to his collection --and after having reviewed it earlier as such?" Well, it was used, cheap, and a re-mix CD, so I thought it'd sound a bit different from their usual stuff. As you might know, if you've read a few of these articles, I don't always pick 'em right. Now there's a sample of very stereotypical sticky-sweet, preaching-to-the-choir CCM in my collection. I don't dislike it so much I'll get rid of it, but not by much. I've also got to say, Point of Grace has a song which rates a 5 from me --"Steady On" has a great coffeehouse/country rock style.
- Disciple:[4] Heavy with traces of '80s thrash metal. If the yelling was toned down, Disciple'd get a strong 5.
- Evanescence: [4] heavy/electronic/industrial/alternative/diverse coffeehouse. I'd have rated them a 5, but they're questionably a "Christian" band. They were listed in Christian Book Distributer's Summer 2003 catalog, and list a fair number of Christian names in the "Thanks"-part of their CD. Christianity can be heard in the lyrics if you want to hear it, but if you don't want to hear it, you probably wont. Despite the cryptic lyrics, the message isn't anti-Christian at all.
- East West:[4] I want to say East West is quite heavy, but tracks after #7 led me to second thoughts. I suppose their style is industrial, bordering on death metal. It's a most-interesting sound.
- Five-Iron Frenzy:[4] Punkabilly, fun music. It's a bit on the intense side for long listening, but the lyrics keep me smiling.
I guessed that I wouldn't quite like Anointed's musical style, and I guessed right! There was lots of nasal warbling, and cliche singing. Despite the style, the message was strong and correct. Lincoln Brewster was stereotypically drippy enough that I only give him a one, as well. His lyrics were quite scriptural, but still cliche.
My wife and I arrived in time to catch The Monday Feeling (the band, not that groaning gotta-go-back-to-work draggy feeling). I think they were first up. It was fun to arrive to see people we knew before even getting into the event-area. Our church's youth were in a service capacity as parking lot attendents, merchandise-booth operators and lots more. Serving can often mean the difference between a great or rotten time. Since I was sitting near the public drinking-water-cooler, I took it upon myself to make sure it stayed full and iced. I even ran over a hundred gallons of water to one of the inflatable games. Lugging those 5-gallon buckets and coolers-full of water through the crowd was actually fun, in a different sort of way, and that little contribution made me feel useful. Serve if you can. It's well worth the effort.
