God & Country (and some really good groups)

Last night, Lori and I took the kids over to the Idaho Center for the 40th annual Treasure Valley God and Country Rally. I always want to get there early to make sure I have a good spot for the concert. My spot is getting very popular, so an early arrival is imperative.

It's in my genes. My grandmother is 30 minutes early to church for every service and she handed it down to my Dad, who spends most of his time prior to going to church, going out to eat, going to the gas station (you get the picture) yelling,"C'mon! Lessgo!" He imparted this wonderful gift to me, much to Lori's chagrin. She is perfectly comfortable with arriving just in time for an event. It never bothers Lori if she runs a little late, which causes much consternation in my carefully regimented world. Our only arguments (I do not exaggerate) have come from our differing opinions of time and its importance. But, I digress.

We got there in plenty of time, spread our blankets out at my desired spot and all was well (besides the near-100 degree temperature). Marc and Talisha (and kids) met us a little bit later. While walking around perusing the food available at the booths, we ran into Markus Holloway. So, he and Johanna (and kids) joined us. After a while Bob Taylor showed up. Before it was all said and done Terry, Brooklyn, and Bridget Taylor came over (having just left the hospital where Terry's new baby girl was born earlier in the evening). It was a fun night! Friends, music, and fireworks: does life really get any better?

Lori, Trey, and Kassady smiling and grimacing while we waited in the blazing sun for the concert to begin.

Mark Harris, lead singer for 4Him (one of the greatest Christian contemporary groups of all time), did an outstanding job solo. He can tear up an acoustic guitar. He has written some of my favorite CCM songs. I sang along with most of his set.

A new guy on the CCM scene (at least to me) is Brandon Heath. He has written some outstanding praise & worship songs. Seemed like a nice guy.

And, then, one of my favorite groups of all time, in all genres: Phillips, Craig, & Dean. This was the first time that I have seen them with a live band since 1994 . They brought the house down. I don't know of any other group that has consistently produced better songs than this trio. Awesome! Shawn Craig recently married a girl from Boise, so I hope they'll be in the area more often. I shouldn't complain. They show up at least once a year as it is. While they were singing, I remarked to Talisha that I felt like a baby-boomer at a Doobie Brothers concert. I knew all the words to their old songs and sang along loudly. And, I admit, I did wave my cell phone slowly in the air as dusk settled in.

You can tell that Kassady frequents mostly Southern Gospel concerts. She's not into the loud music.

Trey spent most of his time hanging out with his buddies Johnessa and Emme.

We had our own mosh pit going on. This picture was taken shortly after Kassady did a little crowd-surfing.

Kassady stylin' it with her bud Addison. That poor guy can't get away from that persistent woman.

Addison scopes out the action.

No God and Country Rally is complete without the time-honored custom of men with really ugly legs wearing kilts showing up to deliver a wrenching, nasally rendition of God Bless America. One of my favorite moments was when the God and Country host asked the crowd to bow their heads in prayer. The chief bagpipe instrumentalist took this as a cue to jump into a rip-roaring version of America the Beautiful. The host, well, for the matter, the entire crowd stood silent with heads bowed, waiting as the bagpipe cadre marched off the field (around 150 yards in length) playing all the way. Very funny.

The fireworks are always the favorite part. They did a fantastic job this year! Not quite Cincinnati's Labor Day display, but almost. Once again, Kassady was overtaken with the dynamic performance.

Markus just lives for these performances. I mean, body language is everything!