Concert review - Steven Curtis Chapman, Casting Crowns &

[Pearly Gator]

Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin and Steven Curtis Chapman - October 23, 2004

We saw this concert tour at the Greek Theater last night. A big crowd of about 10,000 showed up. Casting crowns started and did four songs from their self titled CD. I especially enjoyed their violinist who is excellent. It gave the band a Celtic flair, which I love. The lead singer gave a wonderful testimony. What was surprising was that the lead guitarist played a black SG standard. It sounded great. He later switched to a Strat, but it could not be heard in the mix. The rhythm guitarist played an acoustic. When he switched to a Tele, he too was lost in the mix.

Next on was Chris Tomlin. I dig Chris’ style because his concerts are worship concerts. Total audience participation in praising Jesus and lyrics are projected onto 2 screens. His lead guitarist played a sunburst Les Paul, which, as we all know, is the Biblical guitar finish for we are commanded to “Burst into joy” but I digress… At one point the lead switched to a blond & maple tele and suddenly, the electric guitar did not cut through the mix. Is there a Fender pattern here? Chris played Taylor acoustics. I highly recommend Chris’ latest CD. I think it’s called “Arive.”

SCC was the headliner. He actually started the concert with a solo acoustic number. He joined each band during their respective sets, as a guest appearance. His band was - himself on guitar, two other guitarists, bass, drums and keyboards. SCC’s set displayed no lyrics on the screens like the other bands did. So, we could not sing along. The band was tight and very technically excellent, bordering on fusion. Loud, too. The two guitarists played Les Pauls, a 335, a Rickenbacker 360, teles, and a Gibson Firebird. SCC played a variety of acoustics, mostly a Taylor, a 52 reissue tele and a metallic green, rosewood FB Tele with bound body. The lead player had a huge pedal board with lots of effects, plugged into what looked like a twin reverb. He had the best tone of the night. The other lead player had what looked like a Boss GT6 pedal board and a Line6 controller. His tone, while at times having a unique sound, was less than stellar and rarely cut through the mix.

All bands guitarists used tube amps. Fenders, Orange half stack, a Mesa Dual Rectifier and lots of Vox AC30 combos. So, tube amps were the amp du jour. Notably absent were Marshalls.

Last July at the Saddleback worship conference, I remember how bands that played Fender Teles and Strats sounded. These guitars did not cut through the live mix. The Les Pauls did. Last night, this was confirmed to me. I wonder why that is? You would think that with proper EQ, any guitar would do. But even acoustic guitars, as a general rule, bettered the Fenders but were second to the humbucker equipped Gibsons.

A surprise happened in the SCC set. Johnny Lang made a guest appearance! SCC said that he is a believer, too! That is awesome for a secular artist. Johnny played a holowbody tele with 2 humbuchers and a P90. I wish I could have heard his solo….

Reporting from Griffith Park, California,

Pearly Gator

[Wally]

Sounds like a good show, except that the sound guys didn't know what to do w/ the Fenders. :D

[Pearly Gator]

Sounds like a good show, except that the sound guys didn't know what to do w/ the Fenders. :D

Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking.... http://forums.tribulationforces.com/html/emoticons/whistling2.gif

[reverbbb]

Well, I have Telecasters, Strats, a Les Paul and a PRS. I can tell you that the Les Paul, the PRS and the EC Strat (w/TBX boost) rarely have any trouble cutting through the mix. Primarily because let's face it, they have hotter pickups. But often these hotter pickups generally will provide a lot of background ambiance and sometimes sawtooth buzz. That buzz is sonically different from all the other sounds coming off the stage. Therefore they tend to set themselves apart from the other stage tones.

The single coil guitars have a much better tone, but they are difficult to cut through the mix. Their smoother tone is closer to the sound of the bass, keys and the singer(s) than a Humbucker grind. Generally, S.C. guitars have to be turned up louder than one would like in order to cut through the mix. SRV had his Strat at ear bleeding levels, but he used incredibly clean sounding amps so that he would not wash out in the mix (it alos helped they he mostly played in a three peice band until he added the keyboards).

I think the Fender guitars are just fine. But often on the stage, it feels like they are getting too much attension, so we generally back off of the volume, not realizing that the audience just got deprived of the sonic bliss that we were serving them.

Chris Tomlin is one of my favorites. I can't wait for a chance to see him live arond here. Casting Crowns has been through this area several times, but I am always busy. SCC is one of my wife's favorites too. That line up would have been awesome for our family to see.

Sounds like a lot of fun.