"We All Have Our Stories To Tell ..."

My sister and I went and saw some local bands play tonight.
It was a gorgeous night; dark and damp, with plenty of fog and a starry sky. The whole atmosphere was just kind of spooky, ominous; however, when we walked into the church and listened to the bands play their sets, the entire building just came alive. When the lights went down and the bands took the stage, it felt as if the main worship hall of the church was separate from the rest of the world. Outside, everything was bleak and cast in shadow; but inside, sounds of screaming guitars and crashing drums created a completely different atmosphere. The energy tonight was just great; it was a whole bunch of people, come together over good music, good company, and the chance to worship our Good Lord. Everyone was just having a blast, both in the crowd on stage. The intimate setting - small venue, where everybody knew everybody and were comfortable laughing, joking, telling stories ... - was such a pleasant change from the too-crowded clubs I'm used to going to to enjoy a good show. Granted, the clubs have their advantages, of course; but this atmosphere was just on a different level. I felt truly blessed to have had a chance to just spend an evening enjoying such wonderful music, performed by a bunch of really kind, genuine people.

So, I just want to send a shout-out to all the wonderful acts who performed tonight. I've linked you all to their MySpace pages, so, please, check them out. They deserve it.

Living Witness.
Emsley.
The Set Apart.
The New Divide.
Spiritual Plague.

I genuinely look forward to having the opportunity to watch these artists perform live sometime soon, and to watch them grow into the amazing bands I know they could be. Someday soon, I hope, the names I've listed above will be on the tongues of people around the country, around the world ... and, of course, I hope their music is played loud and proud from every speaker.
Some of these bands are already on their way ... for others, it's only a matter of time.
Until then;

keep on living
xoxo