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Geoff Moore may have been the opening act for the Newsboys on Sunday May 20th but on this night he got my vote for best performance. The veteran rocker clearly upstaged the main attraction in the areas of heart, soul and passion. I saw Moore and the Newsboys in concerts last year and it was interesting to note the changes in Moore's performance and the lack of anything new in the pop rock group's repertoire. 
 
Moore who last appeared in Toronto during the spring of 2005 with Mark Schultz reveled in the opportunity to excite the sold out Canada Christian College concert hall. The veteran rocker who cut his teeth in the Christian music industry at a time when the words rock music got you a free pass to hell according to most evangelical Christians. Although Moore's soft rock and power ballads no longer qualify as revolutionary in the more open Christian music scene he proved he still deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the best rockers out there today.
 
Dressed entirely in black and with his good ol' boy southern charm at its best Moore had the audience involved in his show from the opening number "It's Good To Be Alive" a melodic rock tune. As he moved into the second song of his set, Moore's four piece back up band proved to be a worthy accompaniment. Particularly noticeable was the work of Moore's friend and guitarist Dana Weaver. Weaver and the rest of the ensemble showed little effect of having flown into Toronto from a gig the night before in the Atlantic coast city of St John New Brunswick.
 
This was a night when it is safe to say most of the people in attendance bought tickets to hear and see the Newsboys and the majority were far too young to know Moore. The southern rocker rose to the occasion however and before long had a litany of new fans. He received several rousing rounds of applause. The audience 'got him'. They seemed to make an instant connection and were whooping it up, clapping and singing the choruses to his songs. The song that really seemed to get them going was the fifth song of his set. 
 
His introduction to the tune "Every Single One" from the CD of the same name brought special meaning to the words. Moore and his wife are adoptive parents of two little girls from China. This song was dedicated as Moore said to those 'who cannot sing for (or speak) for themselves'. 
 
A seven song set is about right for an opening act but on this night it was far too short. I doubt you would have had any complaints had the guy with the shoulder length hair and beard lingered just a little longer.

By Joe Montague, exclusive rights reserved

Joe Montague is an internationally published journalist / photographer. His ministry is dedicated to the memory of his late son Kent David Montague who went to heaven at the age of 18. All copyright and distribution rights remain the property of Joe Montague.