LifeFest

[petrafreak2009]

You can check out photos of this event and others at http://www.wbcuradio.com/photos.htm

The first band on the stage was VOTA. Very differnet sounding band. Close to a mix of Kutless/Newsboys. To whoever loves power pop music definitely check em out. Very high power show.

Up next was Manic Drive. Their set had to be cut short because they were running late, but they did an awesome job. Their dance tunes really inergized the crowd. I loved their ballad, "Closer". I actually used that a few weeks ago as a prayertime song on my radio show.

Then came Flight Patterns, whose co-lead singer is Mike Sweet Jr., son of Stryper co-founder, Michael Sweet. They had a really good fined tuned sound. Very Stellar Kart/Hawk Nelson/Relient k. I was really surprised because they have only been a band for about 8-9 months. Definitely look up their website, myspace.com/flightpatternsma and videos on youtube.

Rush of Fools was next. They really set the tone for the rest of the day with their worship/power praise sound. The lead singer's opening statement was "Guys, I don't know why we're here. This is a great concert full of these cool hard rock/heavy metal bands and we definitely aren't cool. But we love Jesus Christ and we want to worship with you today. Is that ok?" And everyone cheered. They did all of their radio hits and it was a great time.

Up next was Superchick. I must say I HATE chick-lead bands, but these guys really have a niche. I love everything about this band, and amazingly....so does my step-mom!?!?! Lol. Very cool to be singing and shouting "Hey Hey" and "Rock What You Got" next to her.

Then came Barlow Girl. I've seen them twice before and they certainly didn't dissapoint. They played their newest songs, which I was most eager to hear. I really enjoyed their show.

Then came Pillar. I was really surprised by them. They were very worshipful in how they talked, and yet they were cool in their show. Needless to say, alot of headbanging went on during their set. lol. They were one of the ways I convinced a friend of mine to come to a "Stryper" show. It was awesome singing Pillar's classics "Frontline" "Fireproof" and several others before they broke out into material from their latest album, "Confessions".

Then came...STRYPER!!! ALL I CAN SAY IS WHOOOOOOO!!!! I had front seats and the cold weather was worth it! My neck is still hurting right now! lol. It was well worth the wait for my very first Stryper concert. I had front row seats. I got a picture with Robert. Also, when Tim's bass line broke HE CAME OVER AND GAVE IT TO ME!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! lol. At one point during the concert, Tim saw me and my 6"7' friend jumping up and down and mimicked us! What a show. I loved seeing how active Michael and Oz and Tim were. I could practicly touch Michael in about all of the songs. My friend, who's a huge Skillet, Decyfer Down, and Disciple fan, said he's going to get a copy of MBP after last night. He said it was the best concert he'd ever been to. I concur. I headbanged so hard during Calling on You I almost threw up. lol. Man...what a show. I got to hang out with Kenny Lewis for a long time so that was awesome too. He's a really great, humble guy. He told me all kinds of funny stories about Michael. Like he'll randomly run up to the bus driver if they pass a Starbuck's, no matter how late, and yell "STOP!" lol.

I also, like many of the LifeFest goers. Got my picture with Robert Sweet. That's going up on Facebook. lol. At one point during the show, someone threw some kind of toy onto the stage and Michael was like, "What?" and threw it at the keyboardist. IT WAS HILARIOUS. I thought Michael was going to fall over laughing during Eclipse of the Son, when it happened. After To Hell With The Devil, Michael goes, "Hey Robert? Do you think we can do some Christmas music?" Everybody went crazy when they started playing Winter Wonderland. All I can say is, very raspily, STRYPER RAWKS!!!! O, and one other funny thing happened during the concert. Michael was talking about how long they'd been a band. He said he had started the band when he was twelve. Everyone laughed. Then he asked how many people had ever been to a Stryper concert before. A lot of people cheered. He said, "Congrats, you just dated yourself." Everyone laughed. Then he asked if this was anyone's first Stryper show, and even more people cheered. He said, "Congrats, you just dated yourself too." It was awesome!

Hope some of you get to come next year! Keep up with all the news and updates on the official site, http://www.lifefestnc.com/