Band/Artist: Audio Adrenaline
Album: “The Diverse City Tour: with Toby Mac, Kutless, Hawk Nelson”
Label: Forefront Records Interception movie
I took the family to see the sold out Diverse City Tour show. There was something for everyone here. I’ve wanted to see Kutless in concert. And Hawk Nelson was a bonus for me. The rest of the family likes Toby Mac. I’ve never been a huge fan of Audio Adrenaline; they have some stuff I like. Overall, no one came away overly disappointed except me.
Hawk Nelson led the night. I had seen them back in January with Sanctus Real. They only played 4 songs and were having guitar problems. Just about the time I was getting into the set, they were done. I don’t fault the band, I’m sure it had to do with trying to get through 4 bands in one night. I’m not sure why it seems to be taboo at Christian concerts that they can’t go to far past 10 o’clock. I give Hawk’s set a 4 and the tour promoters or whatever a 2 for not letting them play longer.
Next up was Kutless. I’ve wanted to see them for a long time. Again, guitar problems set in on them about halfway through. But, Kutless came out hard. The launched into “Treason” and “Sea of Faces” in there 7 song set. Also included in the set was the title track from their new album “Strong Tower”. They finished up with “Your Touch”. I give them a 5 on their set and the concert promoters or whatever a 2 again. Kutless should have been able to play longer. The band was tight, they sounded good and they rocked. Hopefully I can see them when they headline and get a full show.
So at this point I’m feeling a little disappointed. Next up is Toby Mac.
While I like Toby Mac more or less, I’m not into hip-hop all that much. I’d heard that Toby does a great show. And he didn’t disappoint. He played for over an hour and did all the big hits from his latest Diverse City album. Backing him up was DJ Maj on the turntables and 8 other performers and musicians. One thing I noticed but I’m sure it means nothing, but everyone had hats on. Who knows?
The crowd was clearly into the show. From my vantage point in the balcony, it looked as if the whole floor was dancing. Toby also performed a couple of songs from his first album “Momentum” and a medley of 70’s/80’s Disco hits. Whatever. He is talented and the band was good, but most of his set was really out of my realm. But that’s not his fault, just mine. The rest of my family loved him and said that his set was the best of the night. And they were clearly connecting with the crowd. I was glad that they performed “Lost” and “Catchafire (Whoopsi-Daisy)”, my favorite songs from “Diverse City”.
Audio A finished the night up with a 50 minute set. They were good live. They played their top hits which for them would probably be hard to choose as they have a huge list of music to choose from. Among the songs performed were “We’re the Band,” “Bighouse,” “Hands and Feet,” “Get Down” (which really had the crowd going) and “Ocean Floor.”
There was plenty of Audio A fans in the house. They are good live and connected with the crowd as well. Lead singer, Mark Stuart, spent some time down with the crowd during a couple of songs. That’s always good for the crowd, and they ate it up that night.
Audio A and Toby Mac have good presence on stage, learned and practiced from the years that they have toured. Really, it’s hard to be disappointed with the show. Warm up bands will always get the short end of the stick with the big names. But everyone had a good time. But the main thing was that the good news was preached by the bands. And the sold out crowd heard it.
