I got soul but im not a soldier...

What a great weekend! It was the 1st birthday of my niece and nephew, James & Anna and so we marked the occasion with a party in Malahide. Hope you enjoy the couple of photos here!


Then, lo and behold i got offered a last minute ticket to see The Killers at the Odyssey. Being a big fan of the band i couldn't say no and so made haste up the road from Dublin to Belfast! I think i missed the first 25mins of the gig but it was still AMAZING! 'All these things that I've done' was definitely a highlight as was 'Human' and 'Mr Brightside'!

ATL Rock School...

It's a bit short notice for this but ATL Rock School final is being televised tonight at 8pm on BBC2. Three of the young people from our youth fellowship have made it in to the final as a band called 'Wednesday Adams'. Tom McConnell, Rhea Lyttle and Kris Platt formed the band a year ago and have been writing music together and playing gigs ever since. Watch the link above to see a short video of the band and listen to a studio recording!

The programme was recorded in November but i am not going to tell you who the winner is - watch and see! Also look out for an interview with me in Cafe Rigmarole Waringstown about the band's history!!!

Having a moment with Foy...

Hello there, a while ago i promised a bit of a blog about the new Foy Vance album. It's called 'Hope' and was released in the UK at the start of July. If you are not familiar with Foy's music then your life is less fulfilled as a result! He is one of those artists whose music will touch you to the depths of your soul with a combination of his emotive, real-life song writing and powerful vocals. Not only that but he is a local Christian guy hailing from Bangor - so go on, buy it!

On my travels this summer i spent a lot of time listening the new album and i think it is fantastic. So i thought i'd just highlight 3 songs that particularly caught me:

1. I Was Made. This seems to be a song about Foy's encounter with God. The song begins with an expression of his lifestyle before he met God - 'i didn't know what i was missing'. Then God finds him and he professes:

i came round to all the truths i found
i threw down all of the chains that bound me
i was made for loving you

He goes on to make reference to Christ's suffering for our sins:

i left you hanging all alone
threw my stench upon your throne
after all that you'd been through

'I was made for loving you' - great truth within a beautiful song.

2. Indiscriminate Act of Kindness. This is probably Foy's most well known song and i have heard it hundreds of times before but as i listened to it on a bus one day on my travels, there was a particular line that just grabbed me and challenged me deeply. The song is about a one man's kindness in a random encounter with a down and out drug addicted woman. The line that got me is when the woman asks:

how is it you can see past me as i am?

Surely as Christians we are called to see past people as they are but the sad reality is that many don't. Ive worked with lots of young people over the last few years and when i ask them what they think of church people, more often than not the answer will be 'they don't like us' or 'they think they are better than us'. Just a few weeks ago i was chatting with some of the local young people and this question arose and one guy said something that really struck and chord with me:

'they [meaning church people] see us drinking [alcohol] and just think we are bad people.'

How sad, that often Christians are not defined and known for their ability to accept and 'see past people as they are'.

3. Two Shades of Hope. Hope is a word that is woven throughout this album - hence the title i guess. 'Gabriel & the Vagabond' speaks of the 'gentle whisper of hope' that leads to life transformation - again referencing a God encounter. 'Hope, Peace & Love' is a simple song that has echoes of 1 Corinthians 13. 'Two Shades of Hope' however attempts to portray the harsher side of hope. He opens by explaining the two shades: 'the enlightening kind', covered in the above songs, and; the other which he likens to a 'hang man's rope'. He goes on to share some real life stories including a loveless broken relationship and a lost battle with cancer where on each occasion 'it was hope that dealt the hardest blows'. His conclusion? Despite the pain and despair that comes within relationships, he still has the realisation that:

'i cannot help myself but hope.'

A moving song that i'm sure we can all relate to in some degree.

I can't endorse the album to you enough - you will not be dissapointed! On top of that he has a few gigs coming up at the end of the month at the Black Box that would be worth checking out. Foy Vance has yet to attract mass attention which means it is still possible to see him in small intimate venues at little cost (£10) but this is could change very soon, so take the opportunity while you can!

Belfast Festival...

Ok folks i got a programme for Belfast Festival (19 Oct-4 Nov) a couple of weeks ago and i thought yeah i really must go to some stuff this year cos ive never been to any of the festival before. If you haven't got a programme then do not fret, all the stuff is in the website - click here. There's something for everyone there including music (of every genre), theatre, dance, visual arts, talks, cabaret, comedy and cinema! Here's a few things i have picked out that I'm going to try and get along to:

• 19 Oct - Crackers. Outdoor display of fire and fireworks in Botanic park to open the Festival. It's FREE so you can't beat that!

Music

• 22 Oct - Buena Vista Social Club plying some of the finest Cuban music ever made. Sounds interesting to me! Cost £17.50
• 30 Oct - Declan O'Rourke with Final Fantasy. 'It's the simplicity of great songs coupled with a unique voice that has the ability to reach into your heart and tear it apart.' I haven't heard of Declan before but have since listened to a few of his songs on myspace music (look for his link on the left) and have been impressed. Click here to see a live video of him performing a beautiful song called 'No place to Hide'. Cost £8 (bargain).
• 4 Nov - Iain Archer & Courtney Tidwell. I would like to go to this as i like Iain Archer but alas this date doesn't suit me - worth checkin out if you have a spare £8 lying around! Click here to listen to some of his songs.

Theatre

• 1 Nov - The History Boys. Sounds like an entertaining production - check it out.

Comedy

• 2 Nov - Andrew Maxwell. A local boy renound for telling a good story! Cost £11.50

Talks

• 4 Nov - Moazzam Begg (Amnesty International). A British Muslim's Journey to Guantanomo and Back. Sounds like an interesting life story. Cost £5.

So there you go, a few ideas for nights out in Oct/Nov and there's lots more on offer too and most of it at a reasnoble price i think! So if anyone would like to join me for any of this stuff then let me know as i'll probably try to book some tickets this week!

Jet Pilot supported by Sonic Flood...

So we had a Formal dinner on Friday night for our Fusion group (YF aged 12-18) at Edenmore Golf and Country Club - oh what a night! As many of you may know Saturday was the Megalife gig in Moira Park which was being headlined by Sonic Flood, a worship band from the States. Anyway we are in Edenmore and we find out that Sonic Flood are having a meal in the restaurant and the next thing we know in they come serving our desserts and doing a bit of publicity for their gig! A few of our young people (aged 14-16) have formed a wee band calling themselves Jet Pilot and we had asked them to play after the meal as entertainment for the night. So because all the band gear was set-up the guys from Sonic Flood played a couple of songs for us - it was our own little private gig! Then they asked Jet Pilot to play a song so our guys rocked out a bit of Californication by the Chilli Peppers - they were awesome and i could definitely see the guys from the Flood were impressed! Anyways basically it was a cracker night's craic and Jet Pilot's claim to fame now is that they were supported by Sonic Flood in one of their first ever gigs!


Sonic Flood doing their thing.



Jet Pilot in action being appreciated by the Flood!

Dublin, the Goo Goo's and the mouse...

I went to the Goo Goo Dolls gig on Friday night in Dublin with Chris McC & Chris T. Two concerts in two nights - how great is that! I don't claim to be a huge Goo Goos fan but their stuff is pretty easy listening so i knew i would enjoy it. The concert was great, it was in a small venue (Ambassador Theatre) which made it all the better and i was pleased that they sang a lot of their material from Dizzy up the Girl as well as their new album Let Love In both of which I'm fairly familiar with.

So we were staying at this apartment (friend of Chris Mc). It was lovely and we arrived back after the concert with pizza only to find a mouse happily skipping across the kitchen counter. Anyone who knows me well will know that i don't cope well with any sort of vermin at close range (think its inherited from my mum!), so at this point i was starting to panic. Thankfully the 2 Chris's were a bit more masculine than me and cornered the mouse with a frying pan and rolling pin and a bread board! Basically the mouse finished up flattened between the bread board and the side of the fridge with the bread board being pounded with the rolling pin! Meanwhile i'm still seeking refuge in the living room until i get the all clear! As you can imagine this left quite a mess in the kitchen to be cleared up, so we decided to eat the pizza first before tackling the next problem of getting the squashed mouse into a bin liner. This turned out to be a 3 person job and one of the most hilarious and discusting experiences ever! Oh the craic!

The Editors...

So i was at The Editors gig last night in Madella Hall Belfast. I first heard the band last November when they supported Franz Ferdinand in Manchester - great gig. From then i quickly purchased their album 'The Back Room' and its a great album.

So the gig last night was excellent, the band played most of the songs on their album as well as about 5 new songs a couple of which were great tracks - so i would expect another album fairly soon. The Editors are definitely at the early stages of a journey that should take them far.

I just love concerts, there ain't anything better than being at a gig and really feeling the music as the bass resonates inside you. Also there's something unique about that shared experience with a huge amount of people all enjoying the same thing. One distraction for me was the lead singer who I'm convinced either had Terrets syndrome or was on drugs! He just seemed so anxious and on edge and fidgeting all the time! Anyway it didn't take away from the fact that it was a great gig and this band can definitely put in a good live performance! If you want to sample some tracks click here.