From
Date: Sunday, July 11, 1999

Review:

It's 0330 and I awakened to one of my cats mewing under the bed. Getting 'really' annoyed I came to the realization that it wasn't my cat but my sinuses and now I can't sleep. <sigh> So I sit here at my computer listening to Beyond Nature as I attempt to put into words a reasonably accurate description of the events of this past evening ...

At 1600 hours Craig and I set out on our journey to Batavia, which happens to be about an hour northwest of me. The venue was Shannon Hall in the Eastside Community Center which happens to be a church that was built in the 1890's and converted to park district use. The church itself is built of limestone pulled from local quarries at the time and is testament to the local history of the area. The building also has some very ornate stained glass which I assume is original. Check out their Web site at: http://www.bataviaconcerts.org

Waiting outside Craig and I received our will-call tickets and I proceeded to take some photos while we waited for Dylan to arrive. Around 1700 hours we went across the street with Dylan and his two daughters to Pepe's for dinner and time to get to know each other. I enjoyed this part of the evening almost as much as the show. ;-) After dinner, while standing in line, we met Stephen Moshier from Wheaton college and I took more picture of us listers.

The doors opened at 1800 and we were able to get fourth row seats. The inside of the church is basically one vaulted room with a separate vaulted area above the alter area. This is where the stage was set up. On the ceiling there was a gold painted(?) mosaic tiling which, I thought, was very attractive. In the rear was a very small balcony which held, maybe, two rows of chairs. The sun setting in the west, shining through the stained glass helped to set the tone for the evening. Inside I was able to get a picture of all five of us listers who were in attendance, Stephen, Paul, Dylan, Jason and myself.

Phil came on stage at 1900 hours and his setlist included the following tunes: As Dylan said, "Jim will have to tell you the song title 'cause i am lousy on titles." All I can say is I'm glad I had a pen and a piece of paper. Phil stated that he had a bunch of family with him so he was in great spirits AND he was 'ON'.

1. Shades Of Green - which he said was written after he and Bernadette saw Riverdance.
2. Everywhere I Look - complete with mouth trumpet
3. Salvation Army Band - One just can't get tired of this song in concert as it is different every time and you never what he's going to do with it.

At this point in the show Craig turned to me and stated that "This is
REALLY good." I just smiled - Hooked.

4. Hold Me Jesus - in memory of Rich Mullins
5. Paka - an extended introduction of the tune revealed that the tune originally did not have words and Phil ended up coming up with the lyrics one morning while having coffee. He reminisced a bit about his dad and mentioned that he is the 9th child of 10 and at this point he started singing "Number 9, number 9" from The Beatles White Album. He then stated that this song was inspired by Chet Atkins and he went on to share how Chet had inspired him.
6. Rivulet - during the intro. he suddenly stopped and stated that he made a mistake and he restarted and once he got to that point again gave us a wink and a nod.
7. ? - Not sure what this tune was but there was a LOT of backward looping in this.
8. Days Like You - Phil has days like us, eh?
9. Jesus Loves The Church - Phil said he doesn't play this song much in concert and he was surprised he remembered the 'CH'ords.(pronouncing the 'ch' as in church).
10. Maker Of The Universe - one of Phil's favorite tunes according to the interview from last Thursday evening.
11. At this point he put on a capo and began a short monologue about music in general while making the point the 'Swing' is coming back and he suddenly forgot why he put the capo on. He went on to talk about hair, or the lack of it and then started, in a swing tempo, playing some 'Hair Tune', (no idea what is was, but it was hilarious) and the song ended up in this blues mode which was excellent.
12. Love Broke Through
13 & 14. Phil introduced his nephew, David, to come and play "bas" (sic) guitar. Phil said Dave has been playing for 'three' years and held up the three middle fingers on his right hand ... then suddenly raised his pinkie. That generated hysterical laughter from the audience. THEN he said, "Peace", and made the peace sign with his right hand and then immediately with his left hand. More laughter. They played extended jams of What A Day and John The Revelator.
15. Under The Grace - At this point Phil invited everyone to take a bathroom break as he was playing straight through without an intermission. (2 hours) He said he wouldn't be offended, but "everyone will know that you have to go". To get there one had to walk up to the front and behind the stage. Phil got through the intro. and a baby suddenly began crying so he stopped and commented how he loves babies and he really loved when he children were babies and that he missed that, except for the diapers to which Bernadette apparently told him to "Deal with it". More laughter. I really love this tune, BTW.
16. Legacy - complete with on the fly tuning. (Not to be confused with Parker Fly). Another Big favorite of mine.
17. Abraham - an audience request. Another Big favorite of mine.
18. As The Ruins Fall - Again, another Big favorite of mine.
19. True Believers - Elvis imitation > discussion on how fun it is to tune the guitar > origins of Celtic music. This guy's a regular card! Everyone was ROTFL > More Elvis.
20. Encore Medley:
As Warm As Tears - He began the intro. and suddenly the same baby began WAILING. Without missing a beat Phil broke into 'Brahms Lullaby' and played that for a good minute or two and then went back to AWAT (This was very touching) > I Will Be There > Nothing But The Blood > ? I didn't recognize this last piece.
end of show

After the show a line had formed in hopes of us getting to meet with Phil and get an autograph. He did come out and was very patient with us, taking the time to talk or make a comment. One guy came up with his Ibanez archtop (a gorgeous looking guitar) and Phil refused to "deface" the body so he signed it in the f-hole stating that if the owner ever changed his mind about Phil all he had to do is sand it off.

I had my wildest dream come true, too. Phil signed a CD for me that I plan on giving away to a friend soon as a birthday gift AND I brought five of my photographs I had taken at two other shows. Three he signed. He commented that, "Good photographs of me are few and far between". He really liked two of my shots and I, therefore, offered them to him and he accepted them. Craig and I were floored. I'm still floored. I also had technical difficulties with my camera at this point as my flash was not working properly. I didn't change the batteries <heavy sigh> so all the pics I took at the autograph line probably won't come out. (addendum - Most of the autograph line photos came out well ... EXCEPT the one that had me & Phil in it.) <sigh>

Needless to say I did take more shots during the show and if they turn out well enough I will post them at my web site.

This post is long enough and I'm the LAST person to begin preaching, but there is no doubt in my mind that Phil Keaggy, the Master's musician, is a Godly, man, husband, father, citizen, musician, lawn cutter, etc. If God is truly in your life that will show in all you do and Phil's concerts continue to prove that.

Thank you for putting up with this extra long post,
Jim, I'm really tired, Stybba

James G. Kammin - stybba@theramp.net
Oak Lawn, IL - http://www.stybba.com

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