Jesus at the 9:30 club
I've been to over 100 shows at the 9:30 club in DC. It's my most-attended venue and one of my favorites in the city. It's a venue that artists love to play as well. Many of the bands I've had a chance to talk to always list 9:30 club as a "we've made it" gig, and often comment on the special feeling they get playing there.
Tonight was one of the best shows I've ever seen at the intersection of 9th and V St NW. The Lone Bellow brought spirit, the Holy Spirit, to that already spiritual room. I felt like I was in a revival tent. I've seen the Lone Bellow in three other venues in DC: DC 9, the Hamilton, and the Landmark Festival. Each time they thoughtfully constructed their set list and played to their strengths given their environment. But this gig everyone was firing on all cylinders. The 9:30 club was doing what it was created to do, and Lone Bellow was doing what they were created to do, and the audience was treated to a show of power and beauty such that everyone there, spiritual or not, knew something special was happening.
I had a rough night the night before the concert. I ate too much before going to bed, and I was groggy and super tired from hosting an event. The thought crossed my mind multiple times to cancel. To the point where I picked up the phone and started the text message, TWICE. But then my friend who bought the tickets beat me to the punch and sent an excited e-mail to our group of four ladies about plans for the evening. It was a rare treat that these particular four ladies would come together. We had a great group and it's such a great band, I gave in. I sent a lame e-mail hedging that I would probably leave early and that I was in low spirits, and that were it not for their collective awesomeness, I would have waved the white flag of surrender with no regrets.
I'm so glad I didn't. It was a night steeped in deep meaning and God and I were talking the whole time. And it came on the heels of a day that felt so dry, like a wasteland, all day. Just bitter tasting, and with no respite.
Specifically I remember during the song "Watch Over Us" the whole club was humming the background part while Brian, Zach and Kanene did their harmonies and put all of their souls into the words. Brian just about lost his mind on stage he loved the audience singing so much. and we could all feel it out there in the crowd too. We could all feel the same united spirit. We were humming the same notes together and it was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. I was talking with someone recently about being at two world cups and soccer as this crazy uniting force in the world. People come together around things and when they do, it is insanely powerful. I've seen this so often in music. When I talk to people about songs they love that I love, I feel a connection with them on a level of understanding that goes beyond words. I feel like our souls are literally being bound together. God was really there at the 9:30 club. I know I've felt crazy things happening there before but I've never really felt Him like that there before. It was amazing. I would talk about the whole set list, I would rapture more, but I just wanted to record what that night felt like, humming with 1500 other people to the same notes, harmonizing and connecting in a shared moment. There is beauty in this world.
Tonight was one of the best shows I've ever seen at the intersection of 9th and V St NW. The Lone Bellow brought spirit, the Holy Spirit, to that already spiritual room. I felt like I was in a revival tent. I've seen the Lone Bellow in three other venues in DC: DC 9, the Hamilton, and the Landmark Festival. Each time they thoughtfully constructed their set list and played to their strengths given their environment. But this gig everyone was firing on all cylinders. The 9:30 club was doing what it was created to do, and Lone Bellow was doing what they were created to do, and the audience was treated to a show of power and beauty such that everyone there, spiritual or not, knew something special was happening.
I had a rough night the night before the concert. I ate too much before going to bed, and I was groggy and super tired from hosting an event. The thought crossed my mind multiple times to cancel. To the point where I picked up the phone and started the text message, TWICE. But then my friend who bought the tickets beat me to the punch and sent an excited e-mail to our group of four ladies about plans for the evening. It was a rare treat that these particular four ladies would come together. We had a great group and it's such a great band, I gave in. I sent a lame e-mail hedging that I would probably leave early and that I was in low spirits, and that were it not for their collective awesomeness, I would have waved the white flag of surrender with no regrets.
I'm so glad I didn't. It was a night steeped in deep meaning and God and I were talking the whole time. And it came on the heels of a day that felt so dry, like a wasteland, all day. Just bitter tasting, and with no respite.
Specifically I remember during the song "Watch Over Us" the whole club was humming the background part while Brian, Zach and Kanene did their harmonies and put all of their souls into the words. Brian just about lost his mind on stage he loved the audience singing so much. and we could all feel it out there in the crowd too. We could all feel the same united spirit. We were humming the same notes together and it was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. I was talking with someone recently about being at two world cups and soccer as this crazy uniting force in the world. People come together around things and when they do, it is insanely powerful. I've seen this so often in music. When I talk to people about songs they love that I love, I feel a connection with them on a level of understanding that goes beyond words. I feel like our souls are literally being bound together. God was really there at the 9:30 club. I know I've felt crazy things happening there before but I've never really felt Him like that there before. It was amazing. I would talk about the whole set list, I would rapture more, but I just wanted to record what that night felt like, humming with 1500 other people to the same notes, harmonizing and connecting in a shared moment. There is beauty in this world.
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