Third Day Weblog

- 11.18.08 - LIVE Tour update

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated the 3D blog in earnest. Internet connections seem to be of the utmost scarcity these last few shows! I'll fill you in on more details as I get the chance, but until then, here's a little update:

We just completed a great run of shows in the Southeast. We started in Johnson City, TN then played Savannah, GA followed by stops in Brandon and Ocala, FL. I think the big takeaway from this run is the addition of the new acoustic set to the show. The response we've gotten has been overwhelming, so we'll probably try to continue it in some form, although you never know what that's going to be!

This tour is absolutely flying by. It's been awesome having Needtobreathe and Revive out with us. Bear from Needtobreathe has even been sitting in with us on guitar. And Mike from Revive has demonstrated to all of us that just because you don't know the rules of football doesn't mean you can't RULE at it...

If you live in AR, MO, LA or MS and you're on the fence, you owe it to yourself to come out and see the LIVE Tour! You won't regret it.

07:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

- 11.08.08 - Cincinnati, OH

It had been a few years since we had done a show in Cincinnati. I'm not really sure why, because we had a GREAT show tonight!

We played at a church called Temple Baptist a little ways out of town. It was the perfect venue for a show as it had a high stage and general admission, club-style seating. It was hot in there, and it sounded REALLY good.

The new things we're doing on this tour worked well. King of Glory was great, God of Wonders in the encore worked well, and Come Together felt awesome. The moment I'll take away was the end. We did Agnus Dei last, and left the crowd singing. They probably would have sung all night if we had let them! A great way to do a rock show and still end in a worshipful place.

If you haven't seen the openers on this tour, you owe it to yourself. Revive is a great new band from Australia who have toured with us off and on for almost a year. And I get the same sense with Needtobreathe that I got when we first toured with Switchfoot back in '97, that it was only a matter of time before the rest of the world figure out how great this band is. So come check out a show if you get a chance!

Today was a fun day. Not quite as action packed as our Friday, but it was still fun. A big group went to Mike's Music, which is almost worth a trip to Cincinnati on its own if you're a fan of vintage musical instruments. And a bunch of college football was watched today. There was a brief period, when the Alabama game went to overtime just minutes before we took the stage, that we were getting worried. The success of the show itself hinged on whether Alabama won or not. Thankfully, they won. Crisis averted. (You see, Mac is a BIG Alabama fan.)

Thanks Cincinnati for a great show! Don't tell anybody I told you, but it's quite likely that we'll be playing at King's Island this summer, so start making plans!

01:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

- 11.07.08 - Bloomington setlist

10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

- 11.07.08 - Blooomington, IN

Please forgive my lack of expertise when it comes to Indiana geography, but I didn't realize we were playing at Indiana University until I stepped off the bus this morning. Hey, at least I'm honest, right? We played here a couple years back and had a really good time.

Speaking of really good time, I guess you could say that when it comes to today, a good time was had by all. Several of us went to a local Indian restaurant called Shanti. That was some of the hottest food I've had in my life. It was so good... Nigel and I went to a cool record store and I scored a copy of everyone's favorite Christian metal band, Becoming the Archetype. Their first record - cool stuff.

We soundchecked today and worked up new versions of some old favorites. We're going to start doing a new Southern tinged version of Come Together, and we're ending the show with Agnus Dei.

After soundcheck, Mac, Tai, Scotty and myself went and saw a forgettable, yet funny movie. You know how forgettable it was? I honestly can't remember the name of it. Not sure if I ever knew the name of it...

Then we had the big thrill of going to the basketball arena and watching the Indiana Hoosiers play. Growing up in the South, I didn't grow up watching Big 10 basketball, but anyone who follows college athletics knows that Indiana basketball was and is a BIG DEAL. So it was amazing to be able to go and watch even a few minutes of a game.

The show tonight was stellar. The crowd was a little mellow compared to Grand Rapids, but I felt like we really nailed it on the setlist. The new songs went over really well, and I thought we turned in a great performance overall. I gotta say the highlights had to be the new songs we added in. You never know how it's gonna go, but Come Together was great, and with a couple of tweaks Agnus Dei will be awesome too. Oh, and we did Love Song tonight by request and it was good. We might have to keep that one...

Indiana, this show was so great, we're gonna have to do it again real soon. How's Sunday night sound? Say 7:30? In South Bend? See ya there...

10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)