God’s Not Dead Tour Review – Featuring Newsboys, The City Harmonic, Abandon, Anthem Lights

Who doesn’t love a great live show? There’s a different energy, a different buzz, a different aura about seeing your favorite artist or a band on the rise in a live setting. From the long line going around the corner of the building, to the overpriced merchandise to the over the hill youth leaders yelling out awkward catch phrases that were played out in the 90′s (if you’re at a specifically Christian concert/venue) it is just so different than sitting in the corner of your bed jamming out to your mp3 player.

So when I got the opportunity to check out a show in the early stages of the God’s Not Dead Tour featuring Newsboys, The City Harmonic, Abandon and Anthem Lights (thanks to Shannon over at Integrity!) of course I jumped at the chance. Heading just a few miles down the road from my apartment with my wife Beth (and the child in her womb, it was Ellie’s first show!) to Calvary Chapel Oceanside in Oceanside, California was a nice and easy journey that included a pit stop at Taco Bell to make it a perfect start to a date night of sorts (I mean, work night, of course).

As much as I enjoy playing the role of the critic, I think I like to play the prediction game even more. I like to imagine in my mind how the night might play out and see how it compares to how I would have booked the show (I do the same thing when reviewing albums). How’d this night turn out? Well, let’s talk about that.

Having given people just enough time to filter in through the doors, Anthem Lights was given a short four song set to start off the show (check out the set list below to find out what each band played). Out of the four bands playing that night, I had to have known the least about these four young men that make up the closest thing to a boy band that I’ve ever heard of in Christian music.

Anthem Lights

They had a couple hired guns playing drums and guitar in the background and what looked to be some kind of DJ on the side taking care of their background music, but make no bones about it, Anthem Lights is four dudes singing their lungs out (almost literally, with two of them on the wrong end of a sickness that day).

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m probably not their number one demographic, but I can see big things for these guys with some time and tightening of their sound and show as they already have the vocal shops to get it done.

Next up was Abandon for a five song set, a group of guys that I had actually seen at the same place a few years ago with Fireflight, who just recently re-released their album Control with a few songs remixed from their friends.

Abandon vocalist Josh Engler

I love it when I get to see a band grow up, especially in a case like this where it is a little bit of time in between sets. They were so young back then (they had only released one EP at the time, now they’re up to two full length albums already) and they had a long way to go at the time.

I can easily say that Abandon has grown tremendously as a band over the years and I hope to see that same improvement over the next few years as they develop their sound further. The one thing that I found is that I appreciated their album more after having seen it live than when I heard it in by itself, it just feels more whole now.

The City Harmonic hit the stage next with a grand piano taking center stage with Front man Elias Dummer taking the keys in hand to play a five song set as well. The odd thing about my job is that there is always something new coming across my desk, so even when I am strongly affectionate toward a new album such as I remember being toward their recent release I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home) I didn’t really get a chance to play it all that often.

So naturally, I was eager to see if they could translate that big, sonic sound from the studio to a live show. Even more than the other bands, I was really quite blown away with how impressive these guys were live, with such an aura around them that is hard to find in such a “new” band as this.

The City Harmonic

From the powerful piano notes, to the banging of a ginormous drum (that oddly reminded me of a bit in Paramore’s live DVD from a few years ago), to the clip of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous mountain top speech I don’t think they could have possibly done more with less time.

Of course this was a Christian music tour, what would it be without an evangelistic message in the middle? I don’t want to spoil it for anyone going to the tour, so I’ll just make a brief mention that Bob Lenz talks about overcoming a speech impediment and represents Compassion while he’s at it.

After the intermission came the headliner, a band that goes by the name Newsboys, maybe you’ve heard of them?

I know I have. This was actually a special show for me. For a guy who is always on here trying to get you all to realize how amazing pop punk and alt rock are, I grew up with basically two bands that stood far above the other: Newsboys and DC Talk. Somehow, someway, it was like my high school years were about to be relived.

I saw DC Talk a few months after Jesus Freak was released when I think the guys from Grits were still dancing in the background and super producer Mark Lee Townsend rocking the guitar. I’ve seen Newsboys twice before this: once in junior high with John James as the front man, Phil Joel working the bass and Peter Furler on the drums; the other about 5 1/2 years ago with Furler having long ago stepped up to the microphone and having been well established as one of the biggest bands in the scene.

Newsboys do things as big as ever

Now, after all this time, Michael Tait from DC Talk had completely taken over and made himself captain of the Newsboys crew and made it his own thing somehow. Long gone were the days of singing about cereal and hell being mutually exclusive entities, no more were were they entertaining angels on a regular basis, they were like an old band and a new band all rolled into one. Music veterans with brand new music and a light show to kill all light shows. This was like watching the Christian version of U2 playing in a moderately sized church building. Talk about surreal.

Having been such a long time band of the Newsboys brand, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was prepared for the worst, hoping for the best. I was met with a lot more of the latter than the former (in more ways than one).

I had heard rumblings that they had at times played a medley of the older songs, but I had heard that years ago even when Furler was still in the band, so that might have done more harm than good. Really this was just a blast of the new tunes, especially from their recently released “God’s Not Dead”, for which the tour was named.

If you’re looking for a little bit of sentimentality, I have no qualms about admitting that I straight up geeked out when the strobe lights hit and they rocked Jesus Freak (I didn’t think I would) and they even played one of their older worship songs “He Reigns”, probably my favorite Newsboys worship song off their best worship album, Adoration.

Duncan Phillips rocking out with his hydraulics

The rest of the show was a mix of their new songs and well known worship songs of today and yesteryear, with the encore including a long diatribe by keyboard connoisseur Jeff Frankenstein about the truth of God vs the lies of Evolution (he puts it much more eloquently than I just did there) and the ever sick spinning drum session by Duncan Phillips (who plays the drums like a linebacker whose coach just inspired him to run through a brick wall) and the skillful guitar of long time veteran Jody Davis, as well as Michael Tait riding a platform above the audience.

Things have changed a lot for the Newsboys gang over the years, but their performance is as big and fantastic and real as it has ever been…and the supporting/opening acts are worth a listen as well. We’re all different in how we look at things, but I can say that I left the show with tired legs, a hungry stomach and a general feeling that I was glad that I was able to make this tour date.

Set List (to the best of my understanding):

Anthem Lights

1. Outta My Mind
2. I Wanna Know You Like That
3. Can’t Get Over You
4. Can’t Shut Up

Abandon

1. Live It Out
2. Under Fire
3. New Year’s Day
4. Hero
5. Feel It In Your Heart

The City Harmonic

1. I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home)
2. Yours
3. Mountaintop
4. Manifesto

Newsboys

1. Escape
2. Born Again
3. Something Beautiful
4. The King Is Coming
5. Your Love Never Fails
6. Here We Stand
7. He Reigns
8. Nothing But The Blood
9. Mighty To Save
10. Save Your Life
11. Miracles
12. Second To One
13. Jesus freak
14. God’s Not Dead (Like A Lion)
15. Revelation Song

Check out the trailer for the tour and the rest of the dates below:

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