Best described as a worship and ministry conference for Christian teens/twenties, Soul Survivor grew out of the youth wing of the New Wine conference. Alongside the daily diet of seminars and worship, there were music and film programs. The music program consisted of the World Wide Message tribe-hosted Pulse, which, unsurprisingly, provided dance fans with a club atmosphere in which to prance the night away; and the Cage, aimed at the rock/indie fans among us.
Fruit and Tree
The Cage, Saturday, August 15
First band up at Soul Survivor was one I'd been hearing a lot about. Fruit hail from the same general area as delirious?, and last year's debut CD received some positive publicity. Despite that, I'd found them hard to track down, so I was pleased at the opportunity to formulate an opinion.
The band's most immediate strength was their vocalist Aaron Opening the set with an acapella vocal reminiscent of a cross between Radiohead's Thom Yorke and delirious?'s Martin Smith, I was impressed by his range and power. The first couple of tracks showed a good deal of promise, and demonstrated the talents of the band's guitarist, Tommy Mills, as they packed in a fair bit of variety with a funky pop/rock sound that was obviously delirious? influenced, but was not limited to that.
After a couple of songs, it became evident the band had made the
decision to open with some of their best material; the central part of
the set dragged. The crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves, but the music
was too formulaic for my tastes, with not enough spice or variation to
enliven me. The last couple of songs, however, revived me with a stronger
dose of the Jamiroquai-meets-U2 feel that they sometimes hinted at; the
guitar solos showed a touch of the rock classics, alongside an ear for
a funky rhythm, and they left me
waiting to hear where the band will head next.
Fruit were followed by Tree, who seemed omnipresent as the week progressed. A new import from South Africa who last year sent us MIC (with whom Tree recently toured), this band stayed with the well tested pop-rock formula, a somewhat stripped down Newsboys. Some of their songs were strong, and there were some neat vocal harmonies, all of which led to a fun set.
Although the crowd enjoyed them, and their CDs sold well over the next few days, I don't believe they've reached the point where I'll join the queue when they start covering mainstream tracks with 'Christianized' lyrics--perhaps amusing to some, but not a good move as far as this reviewer's concerned.
Sarah Masen
The Cage, Monday, August 17
Having seen Sarah Masen play an acoustic set in an intimate venue with just 30 other people a few days prior to this, I was looking forward to seeing her play with a full band. That band was comprised of some session musicians who've become familiar to those of us who frequent these events, and who seem to have a never-ending ability to adapt to music by a wide range of artists. The sound was crystal clear, a major achievement given that the venue was a glorified concrete barn. And the place was packed.
Opening with "Come In," from her debut label release, Masen was in fine form and played a set dominated by material from her two albums (a big change from the acoustic show). Songs like "All Fall Down" encouraged the dancers in the crowd to get moving, while introductions to songs that included quotes from various authors, and a lengthy discussion about the grace of God, confirmed Masen's position as one of the most literate songwriters currently operating on the Christian music circuit.
The band were tight, and they added spice to the arrangements with some creative drum solos and extended endings that fitted nicely. It was a relief when Masen picked up her guitar to play some songs (her fidgeting fingers showed she'd been longing to do just this), yet the full band and solo acoustic balanced well.
Masen's rapport with the crowd was strong. The audience wasn't quiet, but it was respectful and seemed to be having a lot of fun. It was probably one of the broadest audiences of the festival - there were many youngsters who were looking for a good dance, or who'd seen Masen's much talked about performance last year, and there were respected festival personalities such as Graham Cray (soon to be trustee of Soul Survivor, seminar speaker, and President of Ridley Hall Theological College, Cambridge).
Masen confided to me a few days ago that her aim is to eventually
appeal to a fan base similar to those of Victoria Williams and Sam Phillips.
I believe the style she's working with at the moment will win over a portion
of that group, and her strong sense of melody and literate approach show
she has the potential to get there, but a new production angle would be
useful when it comes to recordings. Whatever the future holds for Masen,
this was
undoubtedly the show of the festival for me.
delirious?
Main Arena, Tuesday, Aug. 18
Not wanting to join the extremely long queue for this, the most hotly anticipated show of the festival, I occupied myself with some other activities while waiting, and, unfortunately, I was a little late to this concert, and missed the first few songs. When I did get there I was surprised by how quiet it all seemed - the sound was remarkably low, and I believe this contributed to the strangely anti-climactic feel of delirious?'s set.
The songs were all played flawlessly. "Deeper" had the room singing, "Promise" had them moshing, and the new material showed a slightly stronger drum presence than before, as well as a harsher feel, but the sound did not consume the audience the way it did during May's show in Brixton.
Martin Smith's vocals have improved a bit, and his voice didn't crack on "Heaven," as it did when the song was debuted in May at the d: tour. "Mezzanine Floor," possibly the title track for the next album, showed a slightly different lyrical emphasis. The title apparently alludes to the band currently being between the floor that's the Christian music marketplace, and mainstream success.
Stewart Smith's drums were crisp but harsh, and they were a long way forward in the mix; slightly reminiscent of programmed drums, but with a live feel. The U2 influences are still there, but from a slightly later period, and it will be interesting to see where the new songs go.
To be honest, I believe delirious? should have played in the Cage. Sure, the crowd would not have fit inside, but the back of the building could have been easily opened, and the set might have been more consuming. This show wasn't bad by a long way, but delirious?'s strength has been their live shows. This one was only average.
World Wide Message Tribe
Main Arena, Wednesday, August 19
This performance was second to delirious? in terms of anticipation, yet it was more convincing. As was expected, the tribe were their normal back-flipping, break-dancing, hyperactive selves, filling the venue with a variety of beats and melodies, and even with a tongue-in-cheek disco number complete with '70s clothing ("don't go out and buy them, thinking they're funky. They're not," was Cameron Dante's helpful remark).
The group have certainly put a lot of effort into their presentation. They changed their clothes between most songs, their dance routines were well choreographed, and, unlike delirious?, they made full use of the video screens, which provided build-up and support to the songs. The rapping and vocals were right on.
The one question I had was, to what extent did the songs rely on their influences? One song had a dance routing that was strangely similar to the video that accompanied Run DMC vs. Jason Nevin's recent hit single, "It's Like That," and while the stand-out track for me, "Hypocrite," had an absorbing, menacing quality to it, it did suggest the Prodigy. This is the tribe's emphasis, however, and while it occasionally irked me, it did work.
The tribe were an appropriate ending to the festival, leaving the
crowd baying for more when Andy Hawthorne made an appearance to ask people
not to disturb the neighbors. For me, it didn't equal Sarah Masen's show,
but it was certainly sweatier.
