Caedmon's Call
March 20, 1999
Wheaton College
Wheaton, Illinois
by Brett MacAlpine
A live rock and roll band was meant to be appreciated while standing up. That lets the audience be literally moved by the music being made on stage, giving off energy that can inspire the band to throw themselves into their playing and singing with greater gusto. Sure, the members of Caedmon's Call consider themselves more of a folk group, but with amplified guitars, bass and drums there was no excuse for one's backside to spend much time on one of Edman Memorial Chapel's seat cushions.
Or was there? Why did the crowd spend the show doing an inconsistent aerobics routine, rising only for the faster and more familiar songs? It's impossible to say for sure, but the sights and sounds from the stage hardly inspired any behavior that wouldn't have been welcome in a conservative Sunday morning church service. Rather than create electricity from the live group's interplay of instruments and voices, most of Caedmon's Call's set seemed to be about finding a comfortable groove and not deviating too far from it. Many songs were also noticeably slowed down from the album versions. This worked to great effect on the acoustic intro to "Lead of Love," as Cliff Young took extra time to add emotion to each word. However, on formerly upbeat songs like "Not Enough" and "Coming Home," the change of pace may have added to the crowd's maddening politeness. Even after the faithful were coaxed to their feet for a rocking "Not The Land" or the familiar "Bus Driver," they were back in their seats by the time the last chord had finished buzzing through the speakers.
There were, fortunately, two notable exceptions to the rule. One was the energy of the new songs from their unreleased (at the time) album, 40 Acres. The band seemed invigorated by the new material, stomping their way through a Southern-fried "Daring Daylight Escape" and taking a soaring trip "Somewhere North." The other exception was their sense of humor. The pacing of their show a year earlier at the same venue was marred by several long speeches by singer/guitarist Derek Webb. This time he put away his teacher hat and put on his class clown beanie, responding to unintelligible requests from an excited fan ("That'll be on our next album") and comically leading the band through the first verse of "Freebird" at the prompting of a vocal crowd member who still thinks it's funny. The evening's most spontaneous moment came when Webb forgot the words to "Another Ten Miles." Sheepishly trying to point out how easy it is to get confused, he sang pieces of "On Broadway," "Ghostbusters," and Huey Lewis's "I Want a New Drug" to that same opening chord progression.
As Webb and Cliff and Danielle Young returned to the stage for the encore without the rhythm section, it seemed that the evening might end on a pleasant, if unremarkable, acoustic note. That impression was quickly put to rest as Danielle practically attacked the first lines of "This World" with an intensity that the previous songs didn't even hint at. Cliff Young's and Webb's voices soon joined hers in a powerful performance that far outshone the lushly orchestrated album version. A spark had been ignited that grew to a bonfire through the final song, "Thankful." Caedmon's Call was joined on stage by the opening artists, acoustic duo Dog Named David and songwriter Fred Haring, who each grabbed an instrument from percussionist Garret Buell's collection of toys. As they joined with drummer Todd Bragg's shuffling beat--played on a garbage can--to carry Webb's melodies, it brought to mind images of Paul Simon surrounded by Brazilian drummers on "The Obvious Child." It was too bad that the joyful, playful sense of community on the stage could have go on for another hour.
And what was the crowd doing during this stirring ending, you ask?
They were on their feet for both songs. Hmmm...
