The Choir

Item: Live at Cornerstone 2000
Author: Doug Van Pelt

Live at Cornerstone 2000

(2000)

Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt

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Label Galaxy 21 MusicHM Magazine #88March/April 2001

alternative rock dream pop shoegaze

If you're a fan of the following bands -- Undercover, Altar Boys, DA, Adam Again, The Choir, Mike Knott, One Bad Pig, or The Choir -- listen up. This limited edition live series could be gone before you know it. And, if that happens, it'll be a shame. The folks at M8 were massively busy this past year at the granddaddy of radical Christian music festivals recording all these bands. Mind you, this is not a touched-up live album in the vein of Frampton Comes Alive, Strangers In The Night, Kiss Alive, or Double Live Gonzo -- not even. Live At Leeds would be a closer comparison. These waiver between fair, bad, and ugly. But even the ugly performances, which sound way too much like a thin and vacuous board mix, are cherished moments to the ears of a fan. By and large these bands have never received their due appreciation, and these recordings -- ugly warts and all -- go a long way towards that cosmic justice battle going on in our hearts.

The multi-textured, multi-instrumental sound of DA benefits from this recording which somehow captures the magic and offbeat humor of the outfit. In some ways it endears the band deeper into your heart, but some songs suffer from a demo / rehearsal quality that likens to seeing musical heroes like The Beatles perform naked (not a good thing).

The Wayside shows its soul like their studio recordings have hinted at. Their inclusion to this series should boost their status as smart songwriters and sweet singers.

The Altar Boys ripped out their great songs with the passion of a young band trying to prove something -- pretty good for a group of old guys getting the lead out one more time. Mike Stand's exhortation to the younger bands who might be smart enough to listen to their predecessors was well-timed and to the point (Jesus).

The Choir's musical magic was captured (twice) -- a full band effort and an unplugged set. There's special moments in both records, but the enchanting sounds of the lyricon, sax and electric guitars take the listener somewhere that vocals, strings, and drums cannot. One poignant moment comes in the dedication for the band's recent song, "Hey Gene." It meant more at a performance like this, because the audience knew who they were singing about as they were collectively missing their talented and special friend along with the band.

The less-complicated recordings, like the solo acoustic set by Mike Knott, stand the tallest, simply because there's less room for any sub-par sonics to distract you from the songs. Like a "Storytellers" episode, the little explanations between songs add to the stripped-down but impassioned performance. All the albums deliver good vocals, but this recording is particularly hot. The silly "Aaron's Getting Poopy" and the story behind "Bad Check" are hilarious moments.

One Bad Pig's live recording doesn't fare much better than its Live: Blow The House Down album in parts (mostly due to tinny vocals), but they sure sound tight during the frantic "See Me Sweat..." Along with older brothers Undercover and Altar Boys, these old geezers really showed that they can still rock it -- hard.

The Greatest Hits disc was probably meant as a sampler to entice the curious into checking out the other titles, but this one has three 77's tunes -- "Woody," "Tattoo," and "Rocks In Your Head." These probably won't be found anywhere else.

The gem of the entire series, however, has to be the big 3-disc Gene Eugene / Adam Again Tribute box-set, which includes the multi-guest player and vocal Adam Again show at this past year's Cornerstone, plus Adam Again's '95 and '97 sets are there, and special interview bytes from friends and fans of the late Gene Andrusco. Thanks to the tight rhythm section of Jon Knox, Paul Valadez, and Greg Lawless, all the special guests (a who's who of Christian authentic rock: Andy Prickett, Mike Knott, Derri Daugherty, Steve Hindalong, Mike Roe, Sim Wilsons, Karin Bergquist, Ojo Taylor, Dan Michaels) sounded right at home with Riki Michele. It's amazing how all these singers seemed to dial in a feel that really paid tribute to the vocalist who suddenly left us seemingly too soon last year. For those that were there for this evening, this acts like a powerful photograph that brings it all back. For those that missed it, the performers and performances were special enough to make you feel blessed to hear this. The two additional discs of bootleg-quality Adam Again live shows are icing on the cake for fans.

The limited nature of this series make reviewing it almost bittersweet. 15,000 copies of this magazine are out there and, with shared copies, maybe 30 to 45,000 people will read about how special this series is -- this "only 1,000 copies made" series... Maybe it's better not to say anything at all.