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Have you ever attended a social function that was such fun that you laughed so hard and felt you would spontaneously combust--then the next moment your heart is breaking with sheer emotion and tears are streaming from your face? If you haven't, then you probably were not at the Lost Dogs show at Rock Creek Church in Derwood, Maryland. The Lost Dogs are a Christian mega-band including members of three other bands: The Choir, the Seventy-Sevens and Daniel Amos.

The show was performed inside the sanctuary of the church and was definitely a religious experience that only the Lord Himself could inspire. Granted, there was the occasional hemorrhoid joke from Terry Taylor (Daniel Amos) and the continuous one-liners by Mike Roe (the Seventy-Sevens). Of course, it was all in fun, and the audience could tell that in the way they interacted with each other they had nothing but love for one another. Before the show began, all in attendance noticed something peculiar that few had ever seen at a rock concert. There were no drums set up! In the place where drums would've been was an eclectic collection of various percussion instruments, and on the faces of everyone in crowd was an expression that seemed to ask, "what's going on?"

Then the show began, and drummer Steve Hindalong (The Choir) began pounding on all of the different percussion instruments and began convulsing like a peacock experiencing a sugar rush--really, that's what he looked like! They began with the song "If You Want To," originally recorded by Daniel Amos in 1991. It's a song about how God will do whatever one allows Him to do. "We'll fall in love / if you want to." This stripped-down live version aided in communicating the intimate cry of a loving God to His children to allow Him to love them. Terry Taylor played acoustic guitar all night, Mike Roe alternated between acoustic and electric guitar, and Derri Daugherty (The Choir) played exclusively the electric guitar and the three of them alternate the vocal leads and back-up vocals. The opening song was indicative of how the rest of the songs (with only two exceptions) were to be presented--stripped-down, bluesy country rock (if that makes any sense at all). One such song was "It's So Sad"; before the song was played, we were treated to the comedy portion of the show. Terry teased Mike about always wanting to play boogie woogie music (rockabilly), and Mike retorted on how Terry doesn't like anything that's not from the 1930s because old-timers don't like modern music. That comment opened the floodgates, and zigger after zigger was unleashed, with the crowd bursting out into side-slipping laugher as such comments like "Derri the fairy" were thrown out and pushed even further when he was told to go sprinkle his fairy dust.

After things settled down, they played the aforementioned "It's So Sad" that definitely had the crowd--young and old alike--rocking in their seats. The highlight of the song was the extended guitar solo by Roe, using classic guitar clichés like the total body spazz-out, jumping in the air, etc. What was fun here was he was doing entertaining the attendees, not playing some super cool rock star. Later in the show they performed a staple live song, "Why Is the Devil Red?" This song must have been written just to be played live because it translates so well into a live environment. They ended with Steve using an instrument called a spring drum that makes this twirly "twilight zone" sound to it (I found out what it was after the show when I asked him) that was an awesome sound effect, it was amazing to see something so small make such a big sound. After this song, the set took on a more serious edge.

Terry shared with the crowd his strained relationship with his father--how his dad wasn't an affectionate man and how Terry sought affection from his grandfather instead. He told how, after all his years of making music, he finally wrote a song specifically for his father, and when his dad heard it he was so proud he told all his friends about it and told Terry how proud he was of him. The message of the story was that God had given him a gift, and he used it to bring joy to someone whom he loved dearly--and with one song, walls that were up for about 30 years came tumbling down. Forgiveness and mercy was extended by both parties. The song took a sad turn (as most good stories do); last year his dad lay dying in a hospital room with cancer. As all the family gathered around his father in the hospital Terry's album Avacado Faultline played in the background, and the moment that his father passed from this life to the next, the song that was written for him started playing. Definitely a heart-wrenching story. The Dogs then played "Papa Danced On Olvera Street," the song Terry wrote for his father.

There were a couple of lyrically heavier songs, including "The Great Divide," which was written for deceased band member Gene Eugene, who died four years ago. By this time most of the audience was in tears but they weren't done yet. "I'm Not Letting You Go (I'm Setting You Free)" is a song about Terry having to say goodbye to his daughter this year as she departs for college and Steve's daughter not being too far behind. The majority of the crowd was unglued at this point. But the Dogs aren't cruel! Then came the wistful song "Honeysuckle Breeze," a tender ballad about enjoying nature, just relaxing and taking it all in. The remainder of the show included more reflective songs on God's grace and love. It was a beautiful show--very emotional and entertaining at the same time. They made the audience laugh and cry, but above all, made us look at our Creator as a personal Father who wants to show us all the beauty that is in this life and hold our hand through the pain that undoubtedly comes with this life.

Without the aid of a recording studio, the Lost Dogs was still able to pull off a studio-quality performance and put even more emotion into their songs as they performed. There were people after the show who had never heard of Lost Dogs before who said that this was the best show they'd ever attended. This thought shows how impressive the Dogs are live; everyone that night agreed this would be a night that would stay fresh in our minds for the months and years to come. In their set list was a total of 23 songs, 19 tunes, plus two songs in each of their two encores. At the close of the show Terry wished us all the very best things in our lives; hopefully, he and the rest of the band realize that the show they put on was just that: one of the best things in life.

In addition to writing for Phantom Tollbooth, Aaron also independently writes poems, devotionals and more about the human condition. To read more of his writings or order some of his books go to: www.aaroncanderson.us.