Columbia, SC

Before I get to the heart of this post, let it be known that we love playing in South Carolina. It was the first place we ever played outside our home state of Georgia, and they've always been very good to us. So if any of the following comments seem negative, it has nothing to do with the fans or the crowd, or even the show as a whole. I just thought you guys might like to hear our side of the picture.

Sometimes you leave the stage going "Wow. That was an amazing show." Sometimes it's more like "That was a terrible show." Tonight was neither. I think we all left the stage, scratched our heads, and wondered what in the world just happened. There were some excellent moments. Maybe because it's almost the end of the show and we were letting the proverbial hair down, but the acoustic set was expanded to feature our second-ever performance of "Born in Bethlehem". But we didn't stop there. We took requests and found ourselves playing "Give", "Never Bow Down", and even "Rockstar". That would have been awesome. But we tried to keep it going and did "Take My Life" instead of "Love Song". Somebody in the crowd decided to try to start a clap in the middle of the song, and I don't think the song ever found a tempo.

And there was some kind of vortex happening on my side of the stage. There's an audio term called "out of phase" which means that two microphones or sound sources are set up in a fashion that they cancel each other out. I think I was "out of phase" for the better part of the evening. If I zigged, everyone else zagged. It all seemed to start with the first song when my mandolin wasn't working. And it was just a downward spiral from there. Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug.

Overall, I think it was a fun show, and I think anyone who attended probably had a great time. But in the interest of total access and honesty here, I thought I'd share how it felt from my perspective.

I would love to hear what you thought about the show. Let me know in the "comments" section below.

Blessed Assurance
You Are So Good to Me
I Got a Feelin’
I Can Feel It
Consuming Fire
Show Me Your Glory
Thief

Sing a Song (acoustic)
Give (acoustic)
Never Bow Down (acoustic)
Rockstar (acoustic)
Mountain of God (acoustic)
Born in Bethlehem
Take My Life
Keep On Shinin’
Tunnel
Come on Back to Me
I Believe
Cry Out to Jesus
God of Wonders

Come Together
Creed

Comments

[maggie]

my dad is andy and i am the twelve/12 year old daughter. i have lived in south carolina since i was four. that concert was AWSOME!!! with a capital A!!!.it was also my first i luvvvvvvvv rock music but most rock music is very suggestive and not very clean so ya'll are a good and i mean that very good band to listen to. i luv come on back to me. cause when you play it every body starts hoppin' up and down and for some reason it reminds me of penguins?!! who knows! anyways i was at the consession stand with my little siter the 9.nine year old after leeland had played and i heard mac fowell start and i was like dern' it hurry up valerie im missing the concert and i ran as fast as i could back to that auditorium. anyways i just really enjoyed it.

[Andy]

I came with three of my kids, not really knowing how they'd respond (ages 14, 12, 9, younger two are girls), as this was their first concert. They loved it. Every minute! If that's an off night, then good for all of you to recover from technical and personal issues and still deliver a first class performance. I loved the acoustic set, loved hearing "Thief", "God of Wonders", "Show me your Glory", and of course "Consuming Fire." Hey, if you guys need to get a show on track, just start playing your "Wire" album. I like the new album too, but to me "Wire" is an amazing collection of music that I predict many will look back as one of the best of this era.

[Dianne]

Hi,
Just wanted to say that the Columbia, SC concert was my favorite so far.(Each one I go to is always my favorite so far.)But anyway, laying aside technical problems, others in the crowd, not feeling up up par or whatever threw a wrench in it for others, this was the first concert that I have attended...Third Day or anybody else....that I felt personally revived while I was there. I felt God's presence and I needed to. So whatever may have been wrong for others, God still showed up and blessed your efforts in my life. We had a group of about thirty sitting in first balcony directly in front of center stage and we certainly did our part standing, singing, yelling and just generally having a great time. We love you guys and thank you for being vessels that God can use for His purpose.
Love, Dianne Johnson

[Jeannie]

thanks you guys

[Jeannie]

Hey Guys,
My daughter and I was suppose to come to the concert and also have backstage passes we had looked forward to it for months then Friday morning I had to rush my daughter to the ER for kidney stones so plans on the show were now a no but you guys were nice enough to sign a get well card for her also I didnt see the concert first hand but my friends that went called me during some of the songs and I would put my phone on speaker so my daughter and I could hear it and mountain of God which is my favorite came in loud and clear and after all my daughter and i had been through that day you have to know that God helped me that night through that song so thanks guys and I pray that next year we will be able to make the show and get to meet you guys thank you for showing Gods love Jeannie Anderson

[Robyn]

Joe & I attended both shows (5 in total this year) Greenville was great but I enjoyed Columbia the best. Partly because Third Day played longer but also because there did seem to be a "let your hair down" attitude with the band and I loved it!

Also...sitting beside Wendy & Sarah is a blast!

[John]

I thought the show was great!

[3D NC fan]

Show was fantastic! We loved the venue and were on the 9th row, Brad's side of the stage. Everyone around us was singing praises to our Lord, clapping, jumping and enjoying being together as brothers and sisters in Christ. My favorite part was Come Together. Mac asked us all to join hands. It was a great moment.

[BJ Risi]

One more thing... Mark, don't be so hard on yourself! Nothing will ever be PERFECT until we get to Heaven. You just don't know how much you & the band bless everyone when you're all up on that stage.

[BJ Risi]

Personally,I thought this was one of the best shows on this tour(of 5 tour shows & 2 extras this yr I've been to).The venue was small & comfortable & very "homey". I don't have a discerning ear... just one that loves the music. I hadn't a clue that there were technical issues going on. I really can't say anything negative about this show at all! Excellent music, awesome worship & praise... fun fellowship with old & new friends... What more could I ask for? From my perspective (right behind the sound techs), everyone was totally loving this show& rockin' out.
Thanks for inviting Leeland out to play. I'm looking forward to hearing more from them. Looking forward to more Third Day as well... DUH!!!
Take this downtime to rest in the Lord & bask in the love of family & friends surrounding you. Please know we all give thanks for each of you & the sacrifices you've made this year. We all so appreciate your talents to take us to the mountain to meet with our great God! That's why we keep coming back... & coming back & coming back!!! See you next year!

[Love's Child]

Are you kidding me!? Average show what? My husband and I were on the 5th row (Our anniversary present to each other). It was amazing! I think my husband could have died of happiness right after acoustic "Mountain of God". And I was so thankful that you guys played "Show Me Your Glory" (I wasn't sure if you would with it being one of the older ones). That song is so sentimental to me because Exodus 33 and 34 have been my prayer throughout my whole walk. And the lights, there is no word on this earth that I can think of to describe how beautiful and amazing they were. And Leeland was awesome. They are truly annointed.
But the most important thing, It was a night of worship to our Lord and Savior and something was implanted in me that very night. It's like I came there in kind of a funk. I guess, 'in the valley' you would say. And I left 'on the mountain'; and have been that way ever since. And just a deeper sense of who He is and a greater longing for Him. And a smile you still can't wipe off my face because of the joy that was implanted that very night. Thank-you for allowing God to use you and work through you! What you thought was an average concert, He used for His glory.

Right now, I thank God for you guys and may He pour out His blessings upon you and lavish you in His endless Love. And may you find sweet rest in His arms during your break and endless blessings to you and your families. And I pray that He blesses all the works of your hands and keeps stirring that artistic talent. And to God be the honor and glory and power and praise and thanks. In the beautiful name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!

[Adam- Rock Your Face Off Gomer]

I thought everyone on stage was having as good a time as i was. Being on the front row, i couldn't really see what was going on behind me, but I know that i only sat down long enough to recharge the batteries. I thought the show was incredible. Being an audio guy, the few glitches i noticed weren't distracting. Mac was cool enough to say hey to me, so anything after that was just icing on the cake. I was perplexed as to why you'd not stand when near the stage, but i have to remind myself that i'm from a generation that has attended their fair share of concerts, and that a lot of kids i know these days have never even been to a show. To end my rambling, I'd just like to say that it was one of the neatest experiences i've ever had, and how thankful i am that y'all stopped by to see us in Columbia...keep on rockin'....

[Karen, The Unknown Gomer]

I went to both the Greenville and Columbia shows, and personally, IMHO, the Greenville show was better. I hate to be negative, since it still WAS a good show and I did still have an excellent time, but it really seemed to me that Columbia was a "fly by the seat of one's pants" show, right from what felt like - to ME anyway - a rather awkward start (especially in comparison to the tight and together starts of Greenville and the other shows I saw this tour), to a few audio glitches, like your mandolin, and Brad's guitar cutting out during one of his solos. (Of all times to be recording the audio of the show, huh? ;-) ).

Or it could have been that I just was in a better location for Greenville, nothing puts a bit of a cloud over the night faster than having your view of the whole left side of the stage blocked by speakers, so I was straining to see Brad and Scotty most of the night.

But with that being said, there's still no place else I would have rather been Friday night. Got to see some good friends, rock out to a great band (and I'm with Angie, even if you were feeling like the "bug" that night, I sure couldn't tell from where I was sitting), and even though I was WAAAAY off to the left, once I moved up to the front row, I no longer had to deal with any Big Head Todds in my way, so THAT was good too. And you played one of the tunes off the Christmas CD too, I was definitely into that!

Greenville was better over all, I thought, but I still had an awesome time in Columbia.

So WHEN is the Christmas tour starting? (j/k ;-) )

[Imperfect Gomer]

Hi Mark,
Whether "we" are parents that have to take care of kids when we are feeling out sorts, a pastor whose kids are stressing him out before church service, a teacher who feels unprepared, or a rockstar who feels "out of phase", sometimes the show must go on, right? In spite of the audio difficulties, you certainly didn't allow your cruddy experience deter you from your performance. We have more Gomer memories to add to our scrapbook. Thank you so much for pushing through Cola's performance and leave that yuck behind to ensure the Mobile experience was so incredible. God bless, Angie

[Kathy]

Hi there. I just wanted to say that I was on the fourth row in Columbia (standing up!!!) and in the sixth row (standing up!!) in Greenville SC two weeks earlier. The show in Greenville was my first 3D show and I was blown away. We decided Friday about lunchtime to trek to Columbia for that show also. I was not dissapointed and I would go again tomorrow. You guys are AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!!

[Christy]

I second the motion for Third Day Unlpugged.

[Wendy]

Thank you Mark for being very honest about the show. I really hate when the crowd doesn't respond (at any show I go to). You are working hard up there and if a person attending prefers to sit down and just enjoy the show (I hoped they enjoyed it) then sit in the back. I think the extremes of being too wild up front or being too dead is distracting to the band (or at least that is what I was told ;))

Now for me the show was very very very special. I thank you from the very bottom of my heart for playing "Give". That song has become my life song (read why on the boards) and I just thank you again. The acoustic set was fun. Let's do a "Third Day Unplugged" one day! :)

The people in front of me did stand up most of the time (except during Leeland and the poor guy kept telling everyone to stand up). The girls in front of me seemed to be having a great time though. I do wish I could go to a show with an awesome crowd (I seem to get stuck with the dud crowd lately).

Hope you and your family have a fabulous and blessed holiday season. Thanks for blogging during the tour. Thanks for blessing my life with your music and your friendship (yes I think of you as my friend now not just a cool rockstar ;)) God bless!

[Mark]

Sorry, when I said I was "out of phase", I meant that I was out of phase mentally and emotionally, not that anything was technically wrong (other than the first couple of songs).

See what I'm saying? The show was so weird for me that even describing it is confusing :)

[joanne]

the acoustic set, and the spontaneity of it all, was the best part. thanks for playing "Give" for the Judge, and for doing a good job ont he lyrics. Also "Never Bow Down" was totally cool. It was acoustic, and didn't have the Brad Avery guitar licks, but hey, I will take any version of that song any day.

Despite any technical difficulties, you guys always put on a good show that rocks and ushers the audience into the presence of God.

The real head scratcher was wondering how any one can sit down and remain sitting during a Third Day show. And how did they get front row center seats?

[SouthernGirl Gomer]

I thought the show was awesome!! Oh, by the way...we were on one of the front rows and we were NOT given the tickets and we rocked our faces off!!! We had a blast...the other comment poster must have been sitting in the other section cause we were loving every minute of it. Mac, thanks for saying hello to Adam...that was me with the sign. For all the problems you guys felt you had last night, we were none the wiser. The show rocked and we loved it. Leeland was awesome too. I would love to see them tour with you again. What did happen to HSU?

Anyhoo, you guys are great. Keep on shining!

SouthernGirl Gomer

[Robyn and Chris]

We were on the second row right in front of you (Carolina shirt) and the show was AWESOME!!!! I agree the crowd was very disappointing (especially the front row people, who apparently were given the tickets), but y'all were ON! Thanks for allowing God to work through you! BTW - the promoters never let the crowd know what happened to HSU and that they wouldn't be performing (we were really looking forward to seeing them again).