The weekend of January 15, 1999, Washington, DC was hit with a couple of storms. One nearly crippled the city's public transportation, and power all over the region. Nearly 500,000 people were without power and whole shopping centers were dark due to a severe ice storm. The roads were riddled with accidents. In storm number two, the President of the United States was being tried in the Senate for crimes he had been impeached for in the House of Representatives. But Bride was in town, so we braved the elements, the long road trip, and thousands of lawyers to get to "My Brother's Place," a small coffee house in Waldorf, a suburb of DC, to find that the scheduled Bride show and the electricity were still on. Finally, some good news! Bride, it seems, had driven through all kinds of weather as well to be there that night and brought their own kind of power. "Powerful" would be a good adjective for the entire Bride weekend.
Bride was in town to do two shows at "My Brother's Place" to celebrate the release of their new CD, Oddities. Friday night was their usual loud, aggressive, rock and roll show, then on Saturday the band did a special rare unplugged show.
Any ice problems and thoughts of cold places quickly melted away
as Bride took the stage and Troy Thompson, dressed like he was in search
of a soccer match, banged out the hot power chords that introduce "Would
You Die For Me," from Snakes in the Playground. Singer Dale Thompson
walked on stage dressed in a black collared shirt, black shorts, and black
wrestling shoes to rumble the first refrains of the song. He promptly began
pouring water on his head and shoulder length hair as he began to scream
out the chorus signaling that Bride was in the house and ready to rock!
"I Ain't Coming Down," "If I Told You It was the End of the World," and
"The Worm" followed, then "I Found God" from the very fine new album. Dale's
award winning voice was in fine form. The night's set continued with, "Fallout,"
"Why Won't He Break," and a rousing "Psychedelic Super
Jesus." Back to the new CD for "Under the Blood," "Day by Day,"
and "If I Live For You." They closed with the rock ballad, "Only When I'm
Left Alone," from Oddities.
The band was right on and tight. Troy is such a good rock guitarist! Talented drummer Jerry McBroom and bassist Steve Curtsinger are also great musicians and a formidable rhythm section. The only breaks in the action came when Dale was chatting with the crowd of around 300 until a string broke on Troy's guitar and Dale grabbed his Bible. Sitting down at the edge of the stage, he asked everyone to come close so he wouldn't need the mic.
He announced that he was given the gift of teaching and he had something
to share with the fans tonight. He started his Bible class with Adam and
Eve, went through the cross and came out on the other side, with me and
you and the choices we make that affect us in so many ways. He talked to
the young believers in attendance about rejecting sin, and living a holy
life. Ending with an invitation, he prayed with quite a few young people
and then finished with an acappella praise song. An eventful, convicting
evening. We went home satisfied but looking forward to the next night and
what
surprises might await us then.
Saturday night arrived and, although much of the Washington DC's electricity was still out, we knew that Bride would be providing enough entertainment to light up at least one small coffeehouse and whoever would show up there. "My Brother's Place" had been transformed into a candle lit restaurant with tables and chairs filling the same floor that was filled with moshers and dancers just the night before. The musical power was also transformed into a power of another kind as Bride expanded their palette and colored the new night with a few accomplished acoustic versions of songs from their extensive catalog, and songs that I have never heard them do in thirteen years of Bride concerts. Unplugged Bride is a treat.
Dale, dressed a little more dapper, with his hair back in a ponytail, came out on stage. Troy Thompson was still dressed in soccer gear, carrying a huge Epiphone acoustic guitar. He sat on a stool and strummed the evenings first tune, "If I Told You It Was The End of the World," as I found a table and took a seat. Dale was in fine form once again. Although this night was less polished than the previous night, it was much better sounding. The distortion of Friday night was replaced with a much clearer, brighter Bride, and Dale's vocals followed suit. We could understand every word he crooned. Yes, that night, he was a crooner. The band moved into "The Worm," and Dale ribbed that he was not going to be screaming tonight because it might mess up his hair. The tune was anchored by an intelligent, jazzy bass line by Mr. Curtsinger and the equally smart drumming of Mr. McBroom. "I Miss the Rain" followed, and I was excited to hear some of these songs that usually do not get played in concert because Bride is an all out electric hard rock band on the road. Dale and Bride sounded very funky, in a Robert Plant sort of way, on "Hired Gun." The rarely heard "Sweet Louise" from Kinetic Faith, was expertly done, and an unplugged "I Love You" sounded friendly. The band was very relaxed. "Only When I'm Left Alone" from the new record and finally, another rare treat, "Picture Perfect" from Snakes in the Playground. The band opened the hymn books to number 203, and sang "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" in a Kentucky hills style. Blues classic "Jesus on the Main Line" followed, and finally Dale Thomson with a sugary acappella rendering of "Sweet Hour of Prayer."
Another enjoyable night of Bride, with a twist, neared an end; but not until Dale once again opened his Bible, sat on stage, and preached. Dale talked about returning to living out one’s faith by God's grace. Most of the Saturday night adult crowd stayed at their tables and appreciated the sermon.
Christian rock institution Bride laid another stone in the strong
tower of their East Coast legacy with a double night special appearance
here in Maryland. Genuine pioneers, and expert musicians are always fun
to see in concert, and this special week end of Bride was truly a delight.
