Flatfoot 56, Circle Pits, Outcasts, Bands, Free Download

Flatfoot 56, "a Celtic punk band from Chicago," is one of the more prolific bands that plays Rage Fest, and perhaps the only one that played this year that has complete crossover appeal. They play in clubs and the like more often than Christian events, and they actually took a break from their tour with secular band Authority Zero to come play Rage. Whether they are your style or not, it's well worth seeing them in-person, if just for the spectacle. I like it best when they play the occasional Gospel song (they usually play "Amazing Grace", at least at Rage, and sometimes "I'll Fly Away").



Of all the bands at Rage, you're also perhaps the most likely to get trampled at their concert, between the stampedes, circle pits, and so forth. Then again, maybe not; the security guys love Flatfoot 56 and always have everyone's back.


Yes, that is a circle pit around the sound booth.

Oh, and Flatfoot 56 has a free download of "Courage" on their webpage (on the right side, near the top)! You have to give them your email but I got the MP3 just fine.

OK, I don't think that just because a musician is on-stage, that gives them any special knowledge about God (or anything else except maybe life as a musician). But, Tobin (I'm almost sure it was) of Flatfoot 56 noted that God was laying on his heart to tell everyone that Christians need to make an effort to befriend the outcasts--that person with a nervous tic is the only example he mentioned that I recall, but basically befriend the friendless and such, citing his experience with special-ed kids as one of the most positive things he's ever done (I'm paraphrasing here). The thing is, Tobin mentioned, Jesus ministered to the people on the fringe of society. Not that He loved the rich and the people who had it together any less, but as followers of Christ, we're called to be like Him.

Good stuff, particularly poignant given that he was talking just one weekend after the Tucson shootings (committed by someone I'd definitely consider an outsider and outcast). As to HOW to implement that advice? I'm really not sure, unless I'm meant to go volunteer somewhere, which is good, but the opportunities you see often don't encourage more than a one-time interaction. Maybe reaching out to more people online? Retirement homes?

He also mentioned that if your friend has a problem, you can offer to pray with him. And he mentioned how hard it was to be a band out touring, and said that if you have a band that the Lord lays on your heart, you should not only go to their concerts and buy their merch(andise), but he noted that it was even more important to pray for them every day. I've picked my band and am going to TRY to pray for them daily for a year (starting mid-January).

One interesting thing about Christian bands, though--they don't tend to last terribly long (I can't compare stats with secular "indie" bands, which are the closest equivalent I can think of). Often they'll just put out an album or two. On the one hand, I think it's sad that they can't continue forever, particularly the ones who play the most awesome worship music (Delirious and Ever Stays Red come to mind). But on the other hand, whether they have financial success, whether they ever get famous, if they're doing what God asks of them, they're successful. I'm not a musician, but I know if I wrote a book that God wanted me to write, and it brought one person to Christ, I'd consider it a success. Not to say I wouldn't get frustrated if it had no visible success, granted, but if you're following your calling and your passion, there's satisfaction in that.

Rage Fest 2011 Memories

Tuesday bonus! Here are some things I remember about bands that I won't be writing full articles about.


The Kings Divide were on the far-away Carousel Stage, quite a distance from the main grounds (but near the roller coaster!). So they had a huge sign that they had had folks and/or they themselves lugged around the festival grounds. A for effort!

We meandered over there and then got some food. I'd wanted pizza all day but something didn't sound quite right...

So I got "gyros" instead. If gyros have chopped up onions and ranch dressing.

Spoken played three of my favorite songs of theirs ("Wind in My Sails," "September," "Promise"). During "Promise," however, Matt saw everyone singing along and held out the microphone to the audience. There wasn't much sound. He was shocked and said everyone was lip-synching, and that people would be talking about it forever! I wasn't lip-synching, but I was near the back and I wasn't singing loud.

During the EXTENDED sound check for Superchick, instead of saying "check, check," singer/guitarist Melissa sang, "Straight up, now tell me, do you really wanna love me forever" and the audience sang, "Whoa-oh-oh" back for her. The whole chorus proceeded in such a manner. (They also cited what I believe is an urban legend, that the parking lot scene in Back to the Future was filmed at MetroCenter mall. I'm pretty sure that's wrong, though MetroCenter did have Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Regardless, MetroCenter has seen better days...)

And The Wedding's lead singer loved getting in the crowd. Yeah, that face out there? That's him.

He also called for circle pits. It was actually very, very funny to watch most of the crowd scamper to the edges whenever they called for a circle pit!

Sanctus Real had fun hijacking a fan's camera. This footage from another (bigger) concert about 9 months prior must be something like the fan had when she or he got home:



They also had a very nice song about the life of a small band, touring.

At his service, Pastor Dave talked about how the reason Jesus died was so that we could have a relationship with God, not just a fire insurance policy. I've come to understand that over the years, but a lot of the young people present (probably 30-40%) came forward at the invitation to promise to work on that relationship, etc. Good to see.

And the first band we saw, Hyland, had a good sound and a great stage presence, with amusing banter. They noted that how Phoenix said "hello" to them was by someone breaking into their van and taking their iPods and GPS. O_O (I apologize on behalf of Phoenix!) Also, something along the lines of, "How many of you are wearing sunglasses? 60%? You know what they're wearing in Minnesota? SNOWSHOES. And they're fighting polar bears." Good stuff. They recently got signed by Tooth and Nail Records...here's hoping Air1 picks them up.

And here's a lousy video I took, a.k.a. Hyland tries to teach Julie how to use the video camera in her camera. Apologies for the video, sound, and otherwise horrid quality!

Rage Fest Christian Music Festival Phoenix Arizona 2011

EDIT:  If you're looking for info on Rage Fest 2012, check the Extreme Faith Productions site!

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If anything here sounds a bit incoherent, sorry; I got hit in the head by a water bottle less than 12 hours before writing this!

So every year for I don't even know how many years (someone onstage referenced attending in 2003), Extreme Faith Productions has put on a Christian music event known as Rage or Rage Fest. It's two (or one year, three) days of Christian music in a parking lot for Castles and Coasters, which is Arizona's only small-scale (or any scale) park with a looping roller coaster, plus more rides and mini golf. This year, $50 got you in both days to see 50 bands, they said (cheaper prices for one-day admissions). Hours are more or less 10 AM - 10:30 PM, with a church service on Sunday morning. Every previous year I'd been to, it was at Castles and Coasters' main parking lot, with one main stage on one side and a somewhat smaller stage on the other side, (they generally have 2 acts on the main stage, then 2 on the side stage, then 2 on the main stage again, with no overlap), and a side stage by the carousel inside the park itself.

Band lineup from the Extreme Faith webpage for this year:

Band Line-up

Saturday, Jan 15:
8:45 PM - Thousand Foot Krutch
7:15 PM -Disciple
6:25 PM - Project 86
5:35 PM - Flatfoot 56
4:45 PM - Decyfer Down
3:55 PM - Manafest
3:05 PM - The Letter Black
2:20 PM - Ivoryline
1:30 PM - Spoken
12:45 PM - Write This Down
12:05 PM - Sent By Ravens
11:20 AM - I Am Empire
10:40 AM - Hyland
10:05 AM - I Am We

Sunday, Jan 16:
8:00 PM - Sanctus Real
6:30 PM - Superchick
5:45 PM - Flatfoot 56
4:55 PM - Manafest
4:10 PM - Abandon
3:20 PM - The Red Airplanes
2:35 PM - The Wedding
1:55 PM - Me In Motion
1:15 PM - Children 18:3
12:35 PM - Philmont
12:00 PM - White As Wool
11:30 AM - A Rotterdam November
10:30 AM - Church Service

Bands Appearing on Community Stage:

Saturday:

Rate of Change
Spiritled
Elegy
Twice As Deep
Ryan Romeo
Ruwa
Frizzell
"Suddenly"
Jeff DeKnegt
Heavenswill Band
SLEEPLESSOULJAZ
Rachel O.
Adriane Blanco Band
Healed Blind Eye
The Kings Divide
Exceptions

Sunday:

Katelyn From Havasu
Lacy Brooks
Jeff DeKnegt
Lybecker
All Eyes on Israel
Smiling Up
Truth Be Told
"Suddenly"
Ryan Romeo

This year, it was in Castles and Coasters' side parking lot, which on the map looks more or less the same size, but the lot is laid out differently.

Old location is by the "A"; new one is the lower left-hand corner of the image.

Plus this year, there was a food stand with a grill like you'd see at a carnival, and a fourth stage in-between the main and side stages. So it certainly felt more crowded, and louder!

Hope you like meat.

This year they made it clear on the website that you could bring your own camping chairs to set behind the chair line, and also bring outside food in coolers. However, they didn't plan the chair lines for the main stage (where the big-named bands played), so they set up a chair line on Saturday and then had to move it back significantly, creating a tiny area for chairs, and making most people relocate their chairs to beside the smaller stage.

Merch tables in the background

Air1 sponsors one of the stages and has a big presence there, but a lot of the bands at RAGE play hard rock music that Air1 won't play.

So if you're just an Air1 fan, you might not like the music, or may even fear for your life, depending on which artists you see (and how fearful you are). It's very common for artists to empty out water bottles on the audience, and/or throw partly-filled bottles into the crowd. Moshing isn't allowed, but people push each other around (lovingly). I accidentally wound up in that "pushing" area during a concert by Red several years ago. Very uncomfortable, I just went limp. Fortunately, going limp, I just bounced my way out like a pinball. It was pretty funny. Other bands do "circle pits" where you basically run around the crowd. If you hear the words "circle pit" and you aren't wanting to run around, I suggest you back away from the center VERY quickly, like people did during The Wedding's show. If you were already dead center, get behind a security guy (if one is there; most of them are built like refrigerators) and you should be OK.

And if you do get in a circle pit and lose a shoe, someone in the middle will pick it up and hold it up until you claim it. :)

Then again, I saw a lot more older (i.e. older than me) people rocking out this year, even jumping when told to jump, and so forth.

So here are the essentials I think everyone needs for RAGE:

Before RAGE:

PRAY - That's the biggest thing. I prayed several times in the days leading to the festival, that the bands would put Jesus first and that I'd really hear from God. To be honest, a lot of the bands' songs aren't specifically Christian (not bad, but not worship songs, and some really aren't related to God at all as far as I can see). But I did hear a lot more artists talking about God, and their words spoke to me more, this year versus the year prior. I don't know if prayer changed the artists' speech, what bands I saw, or what I noticed--probably all three. But it made a huge difference for me.

SUNSCREEN - The sun is BRUTAL. Wear sunscreen if you don't want to turn into a raisin. I wore SPF 100, water/sweatproof, etc. both days, and I'm still a touch pink today. Ideally, you should reapply your sunscreen at least once, but just wearing some in the first place is a good start.

DEODORANT - I've never noticed a problem with anyone else on this front, but again, the sun is brutal. Most bands also encourage people to not only clap, but also to jump, wave their arms, and sometimes form an aforementioned "circle pit" or run in straight lines, etc. Yes, I have video I may share later, LOL.

BRING:

EARPLUGS - I don't see how anyone gets through the concert without earplugs. It is LOUD. I am not the kind of person that says you have to take perfect care of your body (no matter what you do, your body is going to eventually give out on you). But there's no reason to experience premature hearing loss. If you bring your little kids, absolutely make sure they have earplugs themselves.

WATER - See the sun and deodorant entries. Don't get dehydrated! This year they also sold water for $1.00 a bottle, which was reasonable...but since you can buy 24 bottles at Fry's for $3.69 or less, you might want to plan accordingly.

HAND SANITIZER - With RAGE across the street from Castles and Coasters (and its flush toilets), the portable toilets were almost unavoidable. Might not be amiss to bring some toilet paper either. Just saying.

COAT - It gets cold in the desert at night. Sometimes during the day, too! It must have been January 13-14, 2007 when the highs on Saturday and Sunday were 49 and 46 respectively...I still remember Joy Williams' improvised song about Arizona. Something like "You lied to me, Arizona; I should've worn my ski boots." Anyway, leave your coat in your vehicle, or leave it on your chair (if you have one). But don't be one of those people in a short-sleeved T-shirt, shivering all night. I get cold just looking at them!

MONEY - Support the bands by buying their CDs and other merchandise. Also buy food if needed.

OPTIONAL - You can bring a camping chair--those are great for just lounging around between acts, as it's hard to stand for 12 hours straight. Check the policy in 2012, but in 2011 you could bring food in coolers if you wanted. Bring a camera if you want to take pictures; it's definitely allowed.

Also bring a Christ-like attitude. I overheard some people who...did not have one...and it was very discouraging, to hear such words coming out of Christians' mouths. (And they were professed Christians, since they (eventually) said "hate the sin, love the sinner.")

Meanwhile, one year my friend and I visited Waldenbooks in MetroCenter (back before it closed) and they knew we were there because of the festival, even though our wristbands were hidden. Granted, it was probably mostly because we were dressed a little unusually (nothing I haven't worn elsewhere, though), or just the fact that the mall suddenly had customers...but you never know. A smile can do some good, and the last thing we want is for people to think poorly of Christians because of how we treat others or how we speak.

Make sure you meet the bands! I don't know if secular bands are so friendly, but it's usually easy to get an autograph from Christian bands (bring a Sharpie to be safe). The bigger acts will be in a signing tent; the smaller ones are often found by their merchandise tables. Or just stop by and say "hi" or "thanks for coming." I'm VERY shy to talk to bands (I feel like I'm interrupting or pestering them) but they always seem happy to be thanked and it's a blessing to me to shake hands with them.

And, always keep your head up. Bands and the people on stage before bands like to throw things at people. Nathan of The Red Airplanes stated that he wasn't going to leave the stage until everyone was hydrated. So he threw most of the bands' case of water bottles (individually, but FULL) into the crowd. While I was looking down at a kid who was picking up one that had hit near me, one nailed me right in the forehead! I think it gave a little, because it didn't really hurt much, though I was pretty stunned. It's funny; I think it was Beth Moore (and surely others) who said that God may give you the thing you're most afraid of, so that you won't fear it any more. When I saw the half-filled water bottles go into the crowd, I always was a little concerned that if one hit me upside the head, it would really hurt. Well, I got a FULL one upside the head and am OK! And, suddenly not particularly worried about getting hit by a half-full one.

(The Red Airplanes are an awesome band; I've got no problem with them, and will write them up once their new CD release date is closer.)

So anyway, stay alert!

If you have any questions about the festival, let me know. I'll write more about a few of the bands on future Mondays for a while. See you then!

Media/Music Monday - A Rotterdam November - Love Is...

So I am attending RAGE Music Festival 2011--anyone with me? And I figured what better way to prepare than to review an album from one of the bands that will be there?

From their MySpace:

The name “A Rotterdam November” is the brainchild of Jared Nelson and contains a metaphorical meaning describing the mission and heart of the band. The city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands was bombed during WWII and the main part of the city was completely destroyed. At that time, a Russian/French sculptor saw the wasteland and dubbed it “the city without a heart.” However, the spirit of Rotterdam was determined to “…go on, eyes firmly fixed on the present and the future, and not to linger in the past.” As a result, architects were presented with the opportunity to reconstruct the heart of Rotterdam from scratch and so they did. As it stands today, Rotterdam is an old city with a new heart. This is the analogy for Christians; the enemy’s goal is to destroy mankind and he has been partly successful through Adam’s original sin. However, that is not the end of the story, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, mankind has the opportunity to be reconstructed with a brand new heart. Spreading this message through music, whether directly or indirectly, is the goal and desire of the band A Rotterdam November.

A Rotterdam November has two albums out. The quote above pretty much refers to their first, self-titled effort, which has a lot of brilliant war references, including a song called 1914 about the 1914 Christmas Truce during World War I. Perhaps their most popular song from that album was "Trainwreck," which may be my favorite love song, given its emphasis on "I can't be perfect." (It starts out, "I can't ever promise I won't let you down...I won't give my word you won't get hurt.") My favorite is still "City Without a Heart," which is just ridiculously catchy.

So, like many Christian (and probably other independent) bands, A Rotterdam November, or "ARN," lost a couple members between their first album and their second. I was rather concerned that one of these losses included the aforementioned Jared Nelson, who, if I recall correctly, was credited with most of my favorite lyrics. So when I found out that they had a new album coming out, I was a bit concerned that it might be weaker lyrically.

So, how is "Love Is..."?

The album seems to focus rather more on love and broken-hearted relationship songs, which is probably a smart move, given the popularity of "Trainwreck." Honestly, since I'm not terribly interested in having a relationship (!), those kind of songs don't always appeal so much to me, although several of these are for girls who are afraid to love...hm.

The melodies are fairly catchy, though there are no songs that make me want to drop everything and sing along like "City Without a Heart" on the first album. Lyrically, it took a while for anything to actually catch my ear the first time through (aside from the fact that "Anemone" rhymes "Sometimes I wish I'd met you long before" with "A flower where the world only sees a w...", which is the first time I think I'd heard that particular word on a Christian album!).

Then I stumbled across "Problematic," which says, "A bird isn't free when it's in flight/It's chained, chained, chained by the distance it creates." That's when my ears perked up and I realized that yes, there are some good lyrics here. Good thing, because some great lyrics, and melodies, follow. "Letter" is a song sweet enough to make most girls' hearts melt, I reckon. I fell in love with "We Still Believe" on the first listen was. It's an acoustic song that is about as far from "City Without a Heart" as you can get, but it's pretty and the lyrics are explicitly Christian, which is something you don't get on a surprising number of Christian rock albums.

In fact, there are even direct Biblical references (albeit most of them would go over the heads of non-believers). I found an explanation of the lyrics of "Love Is..." through Google (couldn't access it from their main site): http://www.arotterdamnovember.com/go/lyrics?id=541266 It references Psalm 56:8-9 (I semi-arbitrarily cited NASB):

You have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my tears in Your bottle
Are they not in Your book?
Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call;
This I know, that God is for me.

So lyrically, this album seems to have more direct Bible references than the previous one, but fewer historical references, and perhaps not quite as picky about grammar (the previous one actually uses the subjunctive and asks "If I were drowning...").

At any rate, I'd say "Love Is..." holds up pretty well lyrically and musically--not quite as intense as the first album, but quite good nonetheless. If "Trainwreck" is your favorite ARN song, then "Love Is..." is probably going to be a great album for you. Even if it's not your favorite, it's worth having.

(Psssst, now you can get up to 12 songs from High Flight Society for $5! Pledge $5 (the money will only leave your credit card if they reach their funding goal) and once they've completed it, they'll send you their 6-song EP. And you can get their previous EP--that's 6 free songs--here!)



FTC disclosure: I received "Love Is..." as a "donation gift" for supporting Effect Radio. I figure that I basically paid $15 (at the time) for it, but you could also consider it a "free" CD if you wanted.