reviews on enid cocert

[brent]

This is my review of the Enid show.

Disclaimer: I am tired and full of BBQ. If I have typos...well...oops.

1. Arrived at 1:00PM. Walked through the loading dock doors. Saw the sound system and instruments being set up. Introduced myself to the tech crew/band FOG (Four Old Guys). FOG brought the PA in, because Farewell June (who is being paid by Petra) provides their PA for the tour, and tech (drum, guitar, etc) services when not playing, has had sound system issues all tour. Found Bob and Wayne, talked to him about monitors/front-of-house sound, etc. Found Brian, the promoter (nice guy), who hooked me up with tables and info for the day.

2. Set up Project Damage Control booth.

3. Due to communication breakdowns, technical issues, doors opened late. The hall is an old (like 40's, 50's at the latest) small arena. It is famous for basketball. It is 100% acoustic nightmare concrete, and darn near round. So, these guys were using low end audio gear, in a very tough room. I told Brian that even if they had some high end, defacto standard stuff, that the room may not have allowed much of a difference to the average casual listener. Reliability and quicker set changes and a quicker set-up/calibration would have likely been the only result.

4. I just erased a huge story. After reading it, I decided that it didn't benefit anyone. All I will say is ...well, there almost was no Petra on stage. That statement alone is going to generate IMs, etc. All that I will say is that last night is the BIG reason that I do not miss being on the road, working with my friend and former road manager, and the BIGGER reason that I don't do concert promotions. Both people take a good financial bath on both sides. It is a crap shoot sometimes.

Sometimes, bad things happen to good people with good intentions, like Brian. Brian had sponsors back out of their obligation, two days before the show. Brian had to find another PA system, for about 1/4 of the average market rent rate, four days before the show. Farewell June onviously didn't communicate well with anyone about their system, set-up time, etc. Sometimes band managers encounter enough of these types of unfortuante circumstances, that they have to be abbrasive, because they think that people are trying to screw them and the band out of money. (If you want to work with financially screwed up people, deal with Christians/churches. They think that you should understand, because it is all about ministry, etc. But, transportation, time and services comes with a cost.)

I watched a little of Petra. John was having feedback issues in his monitor. Once he kicked the thing out of the way, he was good to go. He was pretty solid after that point.

All of the guys had to go back to old school monitor wedges, because Farewell June didn't break out their monitor console, splitter, Avioms, etc. This meant that Bob had to use some VERY bad, VERY noisy amps. His tone was not what we would be used to. Greg had to play through a bass cab as well. His tone was fine.

All things considered, the sound wasn't that bad. The average listener wouldn't know the difference. It took Wayne and Bill a while to get the stuff dialed in, with the room being to live and boomy.

Performance wise, the crowd left a little bumbed, from what we were hearing, because the concert ended, ended at the time it did, and in the fashion that it did. Obviously all things must come to an end. Some people mentioned that ending with the ministering and the praise music was ok, but they wanted a blazing rock medley, etc. To me, what a way for Petra to leave the stage, doing Gods commands, pleasing God. As far as the time goes, 45 minutes of show time was eaten up set change, and technical issues.

I am sure Brian did not sleep well last night. I hope that he is encouraged that people got to see the band in Oklahoma. I wish that he could have been able to enjoy it.

It was fun for Alan and I to meet people that we have been talking to on the phone, internet, etc. It was great to see so many differing kinds of people come together to appreciate a common theme. To all of you Petheads that I talked to, thanks for being so nice. I wish that we could have talked longer.

This my friends closes out a chapter in my life. Petra is gone (for now). I am thankful for the people that have made up all of the versions, played on the records (or not). All of these humans will always have the same reverance that I give some of the characters in scripture. They were sinners saved by grace, working out their salvation as they walked with God, creating music, that spoke to my mind, spirit and body. RIP Petra. God Bless you all.

Over and out

PS. They had the Live CD on sale at the show.

[Shell]

Generate IMs? Here? NEVER. And if you believe that one I have some swampland in Arizona I'd like to sell you.

I'm glad things worked out and they played.

[bklockmiller]

And if you believe that one I have some swampland in Arizona I'd like to sell you.

If I buy it will you throw the golden gate in free?

[calicowriter]

It's a shame there were so many issues, and since I wasn't there, I can't really know for sure what happened, but I HAVE been at five of the shows (not counting Franklin) and the sound was excellent, and the cooperation between Farewell June and Petra guys superb. Personally, when I saw the post from the promoter with the list of what, 70 bands that were playing that day, I thought it sounded like a logisitical nightmare. As we say in the south, it's like trying to cram 10 lbs of horse Poop in a 5 lb bag.

I hope everyone that went from the Zone had a good time nonetheless.

[Shell]

10 lbs of horse poop into a 5 lb bag?

There are bound to be problems sometimes. I'm glad they were able to play.

I don't think I'd want to try to put a concert together either.

[jared]

Yes, the sound was noticeably.... off. Knowing that there was short notice and all on the PA I understand why, it was just a bummer. I'm very thankful that they were able to come up with something to run the show. The sound progressively got better as the whole show went on, and made a marked improvement once Petra got on stage (the 45 minutes of sound check and setup made a vast difference). I did feel better knowing that I had the farewell CD in hand at the concert with a perfect sound mix, and a live dvd coming later to re-live it all again.

I had started to think that they kids I brought with me were all completely turned off by the whole thing (especially after all the talking up of the concert before hand that I did), but what was really cool is that once Petra took the stage, every single one of them had a blast. When I looked over and saw them standing still I thought they were bored to tears, but later found out it was actually them staring in awe at how cool Petra was and how much they rocked. Same thing with the adults that came. The adults that came with me really got into the whole concert once FOG came on and enjoyed every bit of it after. Greg Hough reminded us all of Eric Clapton, the guy is amazing.

When all is said and done, I think this concert might have created 9 new Petra fans (I just wish it wasn't right at the end).

[executioner]

At the Irving show the night before the guitar player for Farewell June was having alot of amp problems and they only played four songs and the last two were acoustic. The lead singer felt really bad about it though and said he was sorry for not being at their best. I did like Bread of Stone; They put on a great show.

[OKCRick]

My wife and I got there around 4:00pm and went into the arena to check the schedule. Once we found out that GHF wasn't on until 6:40pm we left to get a bite to eat. We arrived back at the arena around 5:50pm and caught the end of "Story Side B", which was the last young band we would see. Next up was "F.O.G." which as someone else has said already stands for "Four Old Guys". They must have been in their fifties and they definitely had the sound of the rock band from the eighties like Whitecross, especially the voice of the lead singer. The crowd took a little to warm up to them, but I thought they sounded really good for an 80's style rock band. The do a lot a ministry to the Biker community and they looked like they all probably owned Harleys.

Next came the GHF band. I have to admit I don't remember much of the early Petra tunes, but I think GHF played their own songs. There were lots of guitar solos during the songs, which most of the people seemed to enjoy.

Once they were done they added Bob Hartman, which took forever to get him hooked up it seemed like. At this point the crowd at the stage doubled and the cameras came out. They knew that they were witnessing history and the band did not dissappoint them. They said they were playing all the songs they still knew, which was four or five. I think that adding Bob to any band brings the quality up to a new level. GHF playing without Bob and Petra playing without Bob just isn't the same.

After they finished there was another long break before Petra took the stage. Unfortunately as was previously discussed the sound wasn't good until about halfway through when Bob's guitar finally started getting the volume it deserved. There was a constant flow of tech people on the stage trying to correct the sound issues, but the band pressed on and made the most of what they had. I have run sound and video at a few events and I know exactly how they were feeling when you can't get it working right and you feel like everbody in the room knows it.

One of the highlights was Paul's drum solo. He is quite the entertainer and really got the crowd into it. He was a great choice to replace Louie.

To me no matter how the rest of the concert goes I always love the way Petra ends their concerts with an invitation and the singing of praise and worship. It was great to see the younger generation get to experience that part of the concert.

Okay, now for my biggest annoyance about the whole concert. The "White Lattice Backdrop". My wife said it looked like there was a Valentine Banquet getting ready to happen. Anyways, the background wasn't the ideal black curtain with PETRA in big letters, but you can't have everything.

Overall I'm glad I went and had a fun time.

[sue d.]

the BIGGER reason that I don't do concert promotions. Both people take a good financial bath on both sides. It is a crap shoot sometimes.

That it is.... and most often, it's the promoter who gets left holding the bag (empty of all money/profit).

Thankfully I've never had that happen because I raised all the money needed before I ever sold a ticket, but I know a number of promoters who've gone deep in the hole.

I also know Petra has been stiffed in the past (having played and performed as contracted, only to have checks bounce, or not even getting their paycheck).

I wholly agree with Brent - it's tough - for both sides.

The only solution: NEVER rely on ticket sales to cover expenses. Plan ahead, raise funds ahead of time, and most importantly - pray very hard.

[Michael]

This is my review of the Enid show.

Copy and paste it onto the Guide! hehe

I am tired and full of BBQ.

Made by Sam's husband Warren... now famous across the country, and having fed like, I don't know, seven million Christian rock bands Saturday, getting famouser all the time!

I watched a little of Petra. John was having feedback issues in his monitor. Once he kicked the thing out of the way, he was good to go. He was pretty solid after that point.

The tech issues went on for about half the set... Paul was back there adjusting microphones (on his drums, and his vocal mike) for most of the performance. One time Greg's bass went out... I don't remember if he was running wireless and it died or if he was running with a cable and it came unplugged. Someone ran out with a new cable and it was fine. The feedback was only going on for the first song mostly... I thought it was Bob feeding back, but I guess it was John. And I was right in front of the stage so I could hear everything on the monitors, but it sounded like once the house sound went completely out for ten or fifteen seconds. But I really appreciated that Petra performed a RIPPIN' show. Very professional, very awesome! Even one time when John had to run off stage for something, right in the middle of "Judas' Kiss," the band just kept playing. We got a super-long extended guitar solo by Bob!

Performance wise, the crowd left a little bumbed, from what we were hearing, because the concert ended, ended at the time it did, and in the fashion that it did. Obviously all things must come to an end. Some people mentioned that ending with the ministering and the praise music was ok, but they wanted a blazing rock medley, etc. To me, what a way for Petra to leave the stage, doing Gods commands, pleasing God. As far as the time goes, 45 minutes of show time was eaten up set change, and technical issues.

I for one was crying like a baby by the end of "Show Your Power." I'm not much of a "We Need Jesus" type, because it's not really a "worship" song by my definition (worship is me speaking to God, WNJ is me speaking to others), but "Show Your Power" is a favorite of mine I guess. They really played their regular set list... all they left off was the ballad medley and "Grave Robber," and considering the sound problems I don't blame them for not wanting to try to get the cello and all working in a different setup. I was thrilled that they didn't leave MORE out, since things just got started so late (it was after 9:00... I can't remember if it was more like 9:15 or 9:45).

It was fun for Alan and I to meet people that we have been talking to on the phone, internet, etc.

I finally got to meet Brent! I met Sword of Light Carl, too, who has been posting here.

I was totally floored by GHF. If you can picture a band playing your basic retro rock-n-roll... not quite as hard as the Petra Petra album... and every once in a while the lead guitar player starts to just SHRED!!! ...that's GHF. They had a raffle for a GHF album, still sealed, to be autographed by the band... and JEN WON IT! (Reoracer here on the Zone.) She's MARRIED to one of the guys! RIGGED, I tell ya! NO FAIR!!!!! hehe

Anyway, when Bob came out and they played the retro Petra set... all I can say is, I can see how Petra got started. They must have been hands down the best Christian band out there. I'm sure they were better than most of the bands out there at the time, period. The songs sounded almost exactly like on the albums... not really leaving out a note of music. And Bob's voice is MUCH better now than it was then! Much more powerful. I have much more respect for Bob Hartman now than I ever had. He truly is an excellent guitar player.

After the show I got a few minutes to talk to Bob, and I was like, I've listened to that album a million times, and I never thought I would get to hear those four guys play those songs... you guys did AWESOME! And you knwo what he said? He said "Were you able to recognize the songs?" HOLY SMOKES! HOW COULD I NOT???? It was great. If you get to see GHF, either with OR without Bob, it is DEFINITELY worth the trip!

[Shell]

Hehe. You're a little ahead of yourself; Ms. Savage and Mr. DeGroff are engaged, not married yet. Unless they've changed their plans and went ahead and got married.

[SamScales]

Well, I got only a few minutes left here at the library, Warren's already tired of being on the computer and he's ready to go. I haven't read through all the posts, I just got done with Brent's.

It sure was nice to meet you Brent and you summed it up pretty good! With having had so many supporters pull out, it was really hard on the promoter. He has a good heart, a great vision and he wanted this to be special, but he had many BIG money supporters pull out, some due to the hurricanes, and them donating their money elsewhere.

Warren had a BLAST feeding everyone, he got to visit with just about every band member and it seemed that everyone just loved his food as they dug in and stuffed their faces! It was a blessing for me to watch all this going on and see so many smiling faces, many, many wonderful remarks and tons of encouragement that we have received as we are going through some very difficult times. We are thankful to have been there and thanks to Cat and MJ it was possible! They rock by the way.

Well, I'll try to post more tomorrow but gotta get off here now. Laterz!

[InpopShara]

PS. They had the Live CD on sale at the show.

Curious... how much were they selling it for?

Shara

[ctwomn]

You are sooooo welcome sam!!!!

Anyways..it was an interesting turn of events. I believe that John did not feel well from the time he arrived...than after the etremely long day it DID not help! He still rocked the house...even then! I am so glad that we were there to be a support and be of service to them all. It was fun making runs for band members...like MJ driving Pauly to the hotel and stuff! hehe! I felt like we REALLY ministered to the band that night. There was small group of us who went to the back to talk w/ them...but it really made them feel better that we were there to help! Sam has such a way of giving about her. She and Warren did an awesome job on the catering! The food was GREAT! I am so glad I could get ya the gig! I am so glad that she and Warren are our friends!

While the band was singing "Show your Power" I totally lost it. Thanks Sam for not lauging at me:) All these feeling rushed in...like how we have met the most awesome friends in the world and how it all was pretty much over. I am still amazed that God has used us to be a blessing to them! It is all still so overwelming that I can not think about it w/ out crying! You guys(petheads) do not realize how you are appreciated by the band. As we were talking and encouraging John after the show we were all sitting there and it hit me how lucky we are to be a part of the family christ. After the talk I no longer saw us as fans like we were when we were teenagers... I see us now as we really are... brothers and sisters in Christ who love Jesus and need each other. I guess that is a pretty good way to end all of this. I love being that! Just friends!

[Edward]

PS. They had the Live CD on sale at the show.

Curious... how much were they selling it for?

Shara

$15