Live Christian Rock Shows: Jars of Clay, Audio Adrenaline, Relient K, Newsboys, Lost and Found

It's been a little while since I've posted a new entry (as I don't have one disc of Semi-Precious Memories I can't yet complete the series), so I thought I'd throw a few obscure concerts out there, all soundboard recordings of some of the top Christian artists today.

First up, on of the groups that started it all, Jars of Clay. Their name comes from 2 Corinthians 4:7 ("But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us") and they've toured with Sting and Matchbox 20. This concert comes after their third album, If I Left the Zoo, and features quite a few songs off it interspersed with the hits from their self-titled debut (along with a funky cover of Bill Wither's classic Ain't No Sunshine). The set also has a 20-minute backstage interview done by the House of Blues as a bonus track.

Jars of Clay
House of Blues
Los Angeles, CA
March 22, 2000

Disc 1
Unforgetful You
Crazy Times
Grace
Five Candles (You Were There)
Love Song for a Savior
Worlds Apart
Hand
Boy on a String
Like a Child
No One Loves Me Like You
Sad Clown

http://rapidshare.com/files/16234836/JarsofClayHOB1.zip.html

Disc 2
Ain't No Sunshine
Collide
Can't Erase It
I'm Alright
-encore-
Liquid
Flood
Needful Hands
Bonus: Backstage Interview

http://rapidshare.com/files/16235004/JarsofClayHOB2.zip.html

Kentucky's Audio Adrenaline has been a fixture from the Christian music scene almost since it began, being the hardest of the few early hitmakers (including DCTalk and the Newsboys). Though their had their final tour at the end of last year, in the course of their 13-year stint they received two Grammys and four Dove awards. This show from the World Pulse Music Festival features songs from their 2003 release Worldwide next to a few hits and covers (the hymn They Will Know We Are Christians, also covered - better - by Jars of Clay and Grand Funk Rainroad's American Band).

Audio Adrenaline
World Pulse Festival
South Bend, IN
August 21, 2004

Intro I
Intro II
Worldwide One
Mighty Good Leader
Underdog
Church Punks
Big House
Dirty
Hands and Feet
Ocean Floor
We're a Band -> They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love
Leaving 99
Beautiful
Get Down
Start a Fire -> American Band

http://rapidshare.com/files/16244551/AAWorldPulse04.zip.html

Next up, my favorite Christian rock band out there, Relient K. This Creation show comes a few months before the release of the breakthrough album MMHMM and features a preview of the single Who I Am Hates Who I've Been. They had been huge on the Christian circuit for years, however, and this set shows why. It's got a couple sound problems for the first few songs, particularly Matt Hoope's guitar being too low in the mix, and skips minimally several times. As this was recorded off the Creation radio station, these are inherent to the broadcast. Still a killer show from a band that has yet to release a live album.


Relient K
Creation East
Mt. Union, PA
June 26, 2004

Intro
Deck the Halls
Forward Motion
Mood Rings
Pressing On
In Love with the 80's (Pink Tux to the Prom)
Who I Am Hates Who I've Been
Softer to Me
Less Is More -> Getting Into You
Sadie Hawkins Dance
Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry
A Penny Loafer Saved, a Penny Loafer Earned
I Am Understood?

http://rapidshare.com/files/16236577/RelientKCreation04.zip.html


Alright, here's a couple shows from another of the first early groups, the Newboys. First up is a show from way back in '97 at the Creation festival. They had a couple hits under their belt by then, most notably Shine, but had been around far longer than many realized, having begun in Australia in '85. They'd only been stars for a few years though, and they put their best foot forward in this live show, though the recording has a few static problems. The second show is from the beginning of their worship period, also from Creation, and has them touring behind their best-selling Adoration. A few hits are thrown in their, but for the most part it stays to the genre and new album.

Newsboys
Creation East
Mt. Union, PA
June 27, 1997

Intro
Not Ashamed
Truth and Consequence
Real Good Thing
talk: a few rules
Spirit Thing
Reality -> Funky Town
God Is Not a Secret
Cup of Tea
talk: thanks, enjoy
Worship Medley
Let It Go
Take Me to Your Leader
drum solo
Shine

http://rapidshare.com/files/16245346/NewsboysCreation97.zip.html

Newsboys
Creation East
Mt. Union, PA
June 26, 2004

Joy
Million Pieces
No Sacrifice (part)
Entertaining Angels
Blessed Be Thy Name
Beautiful Sound
Peter talk
You Are My King
He Reigns (worship)
He Reigns
Peter talk
Shine
Breakfast
It Is You

http://rapidshare.com/files/16245760/NewsboysCreation04.zip.html

And finally, by far the most obscure group of the bunch, but one of my favorites nonetheless, here is Lost and Found. Unlike all the young rockstars above, this is just two older guys playing their signature "speedwood" style of music: like speed-metal, but with an acoustic guitar and piano. They play a lot of youth retreats and churchs and have garneered a very strong cult following. Their songs are alternatively funny and telling, but this is some of the best song-writing in Christian music. Their voices are unconventional in a Bob Dylan sort of way, but that does nothing to stop their message from getting across. They are primarily live artists and have legendary live shows, keeping the house lights up to facilitate audience interactions and always ending with their song Slide Girl, in which they improvise the verses about people in the crowd. Here is one of the concerts I saw, in m4a format. It features some of their lesser-played songs (much of their set is taken by request) and a recording of them interacting with me in the second to last track.

Lost and Found
The Lutheran Church of the Ascension
Northfield, IL
September 14, 2003

Be Not Afraid
New Creation
The Church Is One Foundation
Liked You More
Saskatchewan
The Lutheran Song
Convinced
Hyatt Hotel
Baby -> Weight -> Must Be & Cardiac & Remain
Lions
Can't Take Away
Raise Him Up
Everybody Matters
God of Grace
BLSQD & Entschuldigen Sie Mein Schlechtes Deutsch
Slide Girl

http://rapidshare.com/files/16246846/LostandFoundNorthfield.zip.html