The Petra Zone

Well it was an experience, that's for sure.

Bob Hartman couldn't make the concert. John told the crowd why, but I couldn't hear - I think he said something about flooding in Atlanta...?

Anyway, someone handled the guitars on the opening track, J and H, and it rocked. I could tell that the person playing guitar wasn't Bob, but I thought, if the rest of the concert rocks like this, then I guess it's not too bad.

But that was really the only "full" band song they did.

The rest of their set was accoustic, with John giving his testimony, questions with the audience, etc.

I have to say, John is a very charismatic guy and quite the jokester on stage and it more than made up for the stripped down set. The drum solo was EXCELLENT and the praise and worship tunes were very well done.

I was glad to have been a part of something unique (even John said in his long muscial career, he has never had to deal with this before and he will always remember last night!) but I was also a little disapointed at not seeing the full set. In all my years as a fan (since Never Say Die) I never got to see them live and I suppose now I never will.

BUT!

I do have the live DVD to look forward to. Can't wait for that!

Monster Machine

It's kinda wierd how Bob missed the show but the others made it. Don't they fly together?

There's any number of reasons Bob was travelling separately from the band. Perhaps he had something to attend to and the rest took the tour bus. Although it may not have been the farewell show you all were expecting, it was even more special and personal. After all, you'll see the farewell stuff on the DVD eventually. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Luckily John, Greg and Paul have the personalities and talent to pull something like that off. Most bands would have just said, "Sorry, see ya at the next city."

The reason Bob was not in Ottawa was because his connection from Atlanta to Ottawa was cancelled due to bad weather in New Jersey. The reason he was in Atlanta was to redo some guitar stuff from the live album due to a bad michrophone.

Hey Matthew!

Tambourine man is Scotty. My brother and a bunch of his biker buddies know him - he's a "special" guy. Don't know if you noticed some of his props while the bands were playing...

Monster