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The All Angels December show is always their Christmas concert and brings back the favorite performers from the last year. It is also a benefit concert for the homeless of the area, the upper west side of NYC, and all of the artists perform for free, all funds taken in from ticket sales go directly to the outreach fund. This year the line up featured some of New York's finest musicians and actors playing to a standing room only crowd.

The evening was built around a dramatic presentation entitled "The Broken Gift" featuring the acting skills of  Ghana Fickling, Kim Myles-Ramsey and John Unruh, as well as a short talk on homelessness by Stephen Long. Long, a former homeless person, spoke of the impact that the outreach has had on his own life. The actors wove their tale amidst the songs performed by the evening's musical guests in a seamless tale of sorrow and joy. Musically, Sarah Lentz was up first accompanying herself on acoustic piano and doing a mere two songs, she had another gig later that evening so was unable to stay for the entire show. She did "O Come" and "I Wonder As I Wander," being assisted by Annie Quick of Stickman Jones on background vocals.

Up next were New York favorites, Stickman Jones who played four tunes, "Winter," "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "O Come O Come Emmanuel," and "Peace On Earth." I have had a chance to see Stickman a number of times over the last two years in various settings and they just keep getting better each time I see them. To see this band perform is like having a bunch of friends playing in your living room, they just give a sense of intimacy to every show they do. Up next was the only ringer of the
evening,Vesper, she's from New Jersey, and was imported for the night. Performing solo, this talented songstress shared four tunes, : Gabriel's Message, "Fulfillment," "In The Bleak Midwinter," and "Sing Angel Chorus." Keep an eye out for this kid, she is good.

Singer-songwriter Mark Giacobbe followed next with soulful interpretations of "Jesus Is Born," "Mary Did You Know,' and "Christmas Morning." Mark formerly the driving force behind Mother Kirk is a great vocalist, a talented producer and a darn nice guy too. His solo disc, _"Color of the Day_ made my top 5 of the year. The co-producer of the evening, Brian Milner also through the course of the night performed three tunes,"Welcome To the World,"  "Only You Can Help Us," and "We Are the Reason." Brian and his wife, Jennifer are in charge of the All Angels Coffeehouse and do a superb job coordinating and hosting each show throughout the year. The evening concluded with a candle light rendition of the Christmas classic "Silent Night" sung by all present. A perfect way to end a perfect evening and as Saint Nicholas said, "A Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night."

The artists can be reached through their web sites:
Sarah Lentz
Stick Man Jones
Vesper
Mark Giacobbe
Brian Milner