Review of Petra's free 9/11 show

Talk about Petra albums, songs, and concerts.
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Review of Petra's free 9/11 show

Post by spottacus » Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:06 am

First I was going to bring a video camera, then I was going to bring a still camera, then I decided to bring a notebook to take notes instead...then in the end I didn't take notes at all.

So this isn't going to be your typical concert review - no setlist, no footage or photos, just my recollections.

That said, this was an awesome show. The opening act was a band from Indiana. I keep wanting to call them the slaughterhouse five, but I think they were actually the Sidewalk Prophets. Nice band, good adult-contemporary, soft-rock sound. Interesting choice for an opening act. And by interesting I mean not quite right.

Sidewalk Prophets finished at about 8pm, followed by a long sound check - Petra had just flown in from an earlier show in Kentucky - and a very lengthy ceremony honoring the heroes of 9/11, the local law enforcement heroes, local government officials, and a lady pastor from a local church who prayed for fifteen minutes...a large part of the walk-up crowd dispersed while she prayed. But the bulk of the 5000+ stayed and found the wait was worth it.

The band absolutely blew the town away. I talked to one lady who had missed the Petra show in the same park two years ago but heard it from home in the Carver, the next town down Highway 41. This time the sound system was even better (much louder) and the band had Bob Hartman back. Hartman, for the uninitiated, was a founding member of Petra in 1972, who retired from the road in '95 or so and came back a year and a half ago. Bob was an absolute monster on guitar. John's voice is changing, getting a little lower or raspier, Greg is a very competent bassist who has a real nice voice for harmonies. The new guy, Paul Simmons, ranks up there with Ted Kirkpatrick and Louie Weaver as the best drummers I've ever seen. Live, anyway.

The band totally skipped all ballads, and only played three or four crowd-pleasing praise tunes. The emphasis was on their heaviest blues/metal rockers, both new and old.

The magical moments included an instrumental number featuring guitar and drums that blew everyone away and the encore (only one song) of He Came He Saw He Conquered, with some serious shredding tossed in.

The expected drum solo never happened, but Paul is obviously a seriously world-class time keeper, and the crowd was nuts for the band.

I want to take a moment and present some anecdotal evidence that Petra is back. I was behind some skeptical looking shagball adolescents when the show started. As the band warmed up with some hot metal riffs the two in front of me looked at each other and nodded. Two songs in, they started grinning. After the fourth song, they took their hats off and started headbanging. And at the end of the 105 minute performance they bowed down and gave Bob the old "we're not worthy" routine.

Awesome.
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Post by petrafan » Mon Sep 13, 2004 5:14 pm

Petra is sooooooooo underrated.
as a petra fan and a musician with a broad musical taste, i can state that Petra is one of the best bands in the world ever.
i still remember back in 87 when i saw some ad i cant remember the details on the Guitar Player magazine, that put Petras name right in the first line of some Best Players, Best Bands list, along with names like Dio, Malmsteen and others.
Petra is pure rock and if you saw Petra live you know what im talkin 'bout.
"do you know what i'm talkin 'bout? hey! ON FIRE!!!!"
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Post by SamScales » Tue Sep 14, 2004 3:01 pm

Yes, it definitly was an awesome concert. Honestly I have to say that I missed the sound mixed by Brian Houle, because I've noticed waaaay too much distortion in John's vocals and Bob's guitar. Either it sounded like that from where I was standing, or they tried to overpower everything. For a while John's vocals didn't come through clearly until Erik Olson told some guy that they need to do something about it. After that it got a bit better. I'm picky when it comes to sound and I have to say that the sound wasn't the best I've heard PETRA have. I remember a concert in Rice Lake, WI where Brian Houle did the sound and man, was that ever awesome!!!! Best sound I've heard in a long time for PETRA to have.
Sue would agree with me on that one!

But the concert was great and I thought that the Sidewalk Prophets were definitly a band with ministry in mind and they really impressed me because of that. I'm yet to check out their website, but they were an excellent band in my opinion.

Paul the new drummer is an excellent musician and definitly rocked those (I think they were) Peavy drums. Gosh I miss the DW's!! I could just imagine what Paul would do on DW's! For the first time I got to meet Paul and talking to him he's a very nice guy and totally down to earth. He's definitly thrilled to play in Petra and considers it a privilege. He's never met Louie yet, but sure would love to. He said that his brother worked with Louie on some project. Paul right now is working with John on a woodworking project which is really cool and he said it's turning out awesome.

We got a few moments with John and Greg and talked with Bob a bit as way later on he came out to talk with people that hung around and signed autographs for kids and adults that had waited around.

Unfortunately there's never enough time for catchup.....the guys always have to leave so quickly as they had an early flight to leave out of Minneapolis the next morning. They all said they were very tired and it had been an exciting day with tight schedules.
Greg told us that when they got to the airport in Kentucky that they only had 10 minutes to make it to the plane before the door would shut. They hadn't even gone through security and everything.....he said, they don't know how they made it, but they did!

For me, coming to this concert, was an opportunity to have a great time to see old friends, meet new friends and hang out afterwards. For Warren to meet some of my Pethead friends and become a part of "the gang". We had picked up Sue D. in Sheboygan and she rode up to the concert with us, which made the trip even more fun.
Thank you to Tim who put us up at his house for the night.

Isn't it just wonderful when you can meet total strangers - on the internet - and immediately have a connection with them - and develop lasting friendships? It's such a God thing!
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Post by spottacus » Tue Sep 14, 2004 4:40 pm

I meant to say something about the lead mike. I assumed it was feedback due to a hasty soundcheck, but I could be wrong. Anyway, it was taken care of (more or less) and the show was good. Sounded awesome where I was, but then I was about 25 feet from the stage just off center, so I had the best of it.
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Post by johnathan » Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:00 pm

did anyone tape this?
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Post by sue d. » Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:22 pm

Yes.... but sit tight... I'm working my connections! Waiting for a return phone call....
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Post by GLF78 » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:14 pm

I was also there.

My two daughters, ages 10 and 14 each asked two friends to go so all 7 of us hopped in the Mini Van and made the trip. I only live about 5 miles from the concert, which is good, because the trip over there with those 6 girls was louder than the concert, I think.

Sidewalk Prophets were pretty good. Pretty mellow compared to Petra, but I enjoyed it.

The weather was near perfect.

As Petra was setting up I rounded up my 10 year old daughter, Macy, and her two friends and stood right up front on the right. The three little girls had the time of their lives. Jumping and singing to every song, non stop. Who says Petra doesn't have young fans?

I lost track of my 14 year old daughter and friends, but as it turned out they spent much of the concert on the side of the stage interacting a bit with Paul. A couple of them even got a drumstick after the show. That was a real kick for them. Paul was impressive. Good drummer and fun to watch.

From up front I would occasionally turn to check out the crowd. Wow - a lot of people there.

The concert itself, as already documented, was very good. The sound up front was not perfect, but the vocals were clear from up there and the energy level made up for any dificiencies in the sound mix.

I was a little disapointed they didn't have the meet and greet. I would have liked the kids to get a chance to meet the guys and get some pictures. I had a hunch before hand, however, that might happen. Not only was that their second show of the day, but they had to be half way across the country for a concert the next day. Kentucky to Minnesota and back out east to Virginia,I think,within 24-36 hours.

By the way...Sue was that you directly behind me? Red top, camera and recorder? I sort of suspect it was. Somewhere along the line I believe I have seen pictures of you on John's web site. I turned around a few times, wondering if I should ask, but was not aware you made the trip, so wasn't sure. I was the guy directly in front of you in the blue polo and denim shorts. I hope my big head wasn't in your way. I bet you remember the 3 little girls in front of you too. I hope they weren't a problem. I was trying to make sure they weren't bumping into people around them.

In closing, a few tidbits about my daughters:
My 14 year old has always liked Jekyll and Hyde, asking me to play it on many occasions in the car, but she has now taken it a step further and confiscated my CD. It's now in her boom box in her room.

As I tucked my 10 year old daughter into bed on Sunday night she said, "Dad, when is Petra going to be back here for a concert?" I don't know, but one thing is for sure - we'll be there.

Gary
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Post by spottacus » Wed Sep 15, 2004 8:11 am

When I win the lottery I'll bring Petra to Fargo for a free show in a city park.
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Post by SamScales » Wed Sep 15, 2004 4:22 pm

Hey Gary,
I REMEMBER YOU!!!!!!!!! We were with Sue at the concert, and yes, that was her with the camera! I am blonde, was wearing a white tank top and lime green cargo pants and my husband was with me wearing a grey sweat jacket and he held his straw hat in his hands.
We remember the girls too. I watched them and grinned as they had such a good time. I always love seeing youngsters rock out to PETRA!
Then Erik Olson, also from the zone, he was right next to me, tall guy with a white t-shirt on with stuff written all over it......he hollered several times and we sang our hearts out at times. I'm sure you couldn't miss hearing him, hehehe.
Well, too bad that you didn't stick around, because they did end up coming out and sign some autographs for those who hung around but they didn't have much time as they needed to go to the motel by the airport as they had an early flight.

Well, it was nice 'meeting' you - even if indirectly. :D
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Post by sue d. » Wed Sep 15, 2004 5:21 pm

Yeah, Gary - that was me.

Oh, you SHOULD HAVE introduced yourself!

You could have hung out with the rest of us - and you sure could have gotten the kids' pix with the guys. They did hang out for a bit after the show.

(btw, the kids were no trouble... I got some clear shots)
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Post by GLF78 » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:12 pm

SamScales....Yup, I remember you too. So, it was Erik yelling

"WOULDA, COULDA, SHOULDA!!!"
"WOULDA, COULDA, SHOULDA!!!"
"WOULDA, COULDA, SHOULDA!!!"

in my ear. Ha Ha Ha Ha! I thought that was pretty funny. I was just about to join in. I wanted them to play that song too.

Sue - Now I'm disapointed that we didn't hang around. Next time. If those Iowa dates turn out to be legit, I may have to give a trip down there some consideration. I did talk to John once after a show a few years back. I once wrote about how he signed a Petra CD and I also had him sign a Head East CD. He was cool about it.

Are you going to post some pictures?

Gary
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Post by GLF78 » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:14 pm

Wait....Woulda, SHOULDA, Coulda
not
Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.

It's late.
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Post by sue d. » Thu Sep 16, 2004 6:31 pm

Yes, pix will come... I gotta finish shooting up the roll, then get' em developed, then scan, adjust 'em and put 'em on FTP.

THEN.. MJ has to load 'em up.

It's not a speedy process, especially when you're still shooting film and not digital.

LONG LIVE REAL PHOTOGRAPHY!
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Post by calicowriter » Fri Sep 17, 2004 7:45 am

I heartily agree Sue! Long live film! I'm not really a technophobe, but I have my technological limits. I don't like having a camera that is smarter than me. :) That being said, if I could afford one of the new digital SLRs...I'd might have to reconsider!
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Post by SamScales » Sat Sep 18, 2004 2:01 am

Yeah, I love REAL film too - BUT - for time sake and expense I would love to have a digi cam. I could post pictures so much faster, but for shots to be put in print, I much rather have my Minolta SLR!

Warren and I are thinking about the Independence Iowa Show. It's only 3 1/2 hrs from where we are staying at the moment. We are not sure, but if we go we'll let ya know. Gary, then if you are going, please introduce yourself!

Yeah, Erik was quite vocal with the Woulda Coulda Shoulda, hehe.
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