Colorado
Springs, CO
1999 © CCM Magazine
By: Steve Rabey
Ten years
ago, three former students from Jerry Falwell's Liberty
University named Toby, Michael, and Kevin released an
inauspicious debut album called DC Talk.
In the years since then, Falwell has gained renown for a series
of controversial media soundbites, while his musical alumni have
gone on to become one of Christian music's best selling and most
critically acclaimed bands, achieving surprising success with
their unique mix of rock-solid Christian convictions and soaring
musical creativity.
Always known for high-energy concerts, the trio's 1999 "The
Supernatural Experience" tour, which landed at Colorado
Springs' World Arena in early February, demonstrates that dc Talk
remains Christian music's most riveting concert performer.
The mostly under-21 audience members standing in the
two-thirds-full arena were so entranced by a large
on-stage-screen -- which was pulsating with vivid historic
photos, cartoon clips and psychedelic images -- that they didn't
even notice Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait and Kevin Max standing on
a small, second stage in the middle of the arena floor, where
they sand the opening verses of "Dive" before heading
down the long walkway to the main stage. Here, they joined a
tight five-piece band and a scratching DJ for an entertaining
evening focusing on songs from 1998's Supernatural and 1995's
Jesus Freak.
It would be another two hours before the band sang Supernatural's
title song, with its straightforward chorus of "God is
there." But God's supernatural presence was a recurring
theme throughout the show, from the big screen which displayed
the words "God is here" to the band's between-song
patter to McKeehans post-encore talk about how we can all have an
encounter with God that's more real than anything on "The
X-Files."
The band mixed Christian and general market hits throughout the
evening, inserting passages of the Beatle's "Hello
Good-bye" after the Doobie Brother's "Jesus Is Just
Alright," tossing a few lines of John Lennon's "Give
Peace A Chance" at the end of their racial reconcilliation
anthem "Colored People" and throwing out snippets of
songs like KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way (I
Like It)" and Chic's "Le Freak" durring a
too-brief disco interlude. The trio made frequent use of the long
walkway, stopping to shake hands with the euphoric young audience
members. And a brief "Unplugged"-style mini-set on the
arena's second stage gave songs like "What If I
Stumble" an intimate ambiance. Some audience members even
raised their hands and sang along durring the band's renditions
of U2's Psalm-inspired "40" and Rich Mullins'
"Awesome God."
But it was dc Talk's high-energy hits and its members' intense
synergistic chemistry that most came to see, and few looked
disappointed. In fact, many stood or danced through most of the
lengthy set and failed to care when Kevin Max forgot to sing the
second verse of "Wanna Be Loved," a lapse that provided
comedic relief to the often intense concert.
Dove-nominated warm-up artist Jennifer Knapp's literate an
folk-flavored songs took on a much more hard-edged tenor, thanks
to her aggressive three-piece band, which at times drowned out
her passionate vocals and acoustic guitar.
The audience gave a warm welcome to The Ws, a six-member outfit
which opened the evening with a driving mix of swing and
rockabilly. Though a bit rough around the edges, the group's
enthusiastic performance got moms and dads dancing.
But clearily, it was Toby, Michael and Kevin who won over the
World Arena crowd with their winning combination of masterful
musical chops, no-compromise Christian testimony, readings from
the Bible and down-home winsomeness. By the time dc Talk closed
the evening with the no-holds-barred version of "Jesus
Freak," many in the audience seemed more exhausted than the
band. dc talk