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Audio Adrenaline, Raze, Fono, Riley Armstrong
2/17/00, Philadelphia, PA. The Electric Factory.
Some people only ever see a band once. And if it's an off performance, it will stick
in their mind long after the final song has been played. However, some bands are consistently
good, and for Audio Adrenaline, this rings true. I've seen Audio A at least nine times
and have never been disappointed (well, except for maybe my seating arrangement). And the 2000 Underdog Tour date
in Philadelphia was the best of them all.
New Flicker Records artist Riley Armstrong opened the night
with a few songs from his debut, offering an acoustic rock blend with a beat. KMG rock band Fono followed,
with a solid performance as they rocked the venue. They opened up with "Collide"
and also played other selections from their debut, goesaroundcomesaround, including "Alcatraz."
Forefront Records' pop/dance act Raze took the stage next with a
jaw-dropping performance. The foursome, including their new member Todd (who replaced J.D.),
were accompanied by two dancers and delivered each song with full energy and moves that they
choreographed themselves. Although not much of a Raze fan, I have to say their set was stunning
as they performed such hits as "In the Name," "Lead Me," "Always and Forever," and "Arms Around
the World."
After an intermission, Audio Adrenaline hit the stage with "Mighty Good Leader,"
followed by "Free Ride," "I'm Not
the King," and The Doors cover "Let My Love Open the Door." The band put on a tight rock
performance that surpassed all previous shows I've seen from them. And this time around,
the band integrated a video screen backdrop which featured music video footage and various
other scenes to go along with the music. Lead singer Mark Stuart, donning a sleeveless
black shirt, strapped on his acoustic to perfom "Some Kind of Zombie" to the anxious Philly crowd.
Following "Zombie," Stuart informed the audience that they were going play some "old school"
Audio Adrenaline before throwing out the tasty treat - which AA is probably best known for -
"Big House." Mark got down from the stage and walked in front of the crowd behind the barrier
that held them back and interacted with the crowd. Stuart rejoined his musical team as they presented the title cut from
their latest recording, "Underdog." Following the song, the band left bassist Will McGinniss
alone on stage as he presented a short message from the scriptures about Christians being underdogs.
Following McGinniss' talk, the band rejoined Will to present one of the slower songs from the new album, "This Day," a
song about devoting each new day to the Lord every morning. Mark then told the crowd about a
car his family used to have during his childhood, and they began to play "Chevette" from their
Some Kind of Zombie record. The worshipful tune about asking God to use you, "Hands and
Feet," followed before the band members grabbed seats on stools for an acoustic set. They performed "Never Gonna Be
as Big as Jesus" and then asked the crowd if anyone owned their very first, self-titled, album. When a few enthusiastic fans
responded, they begged them to throw the album away. Audio Adrenaline then played a song off the first project
(may have been "What You Need" -- I missed it). At that point, the guys broke out a series of small keyboards and
placed them in their laps. Mark
announced that they were going to play classic Christian hits and let drummer Ben Cissel pick
a song. They then did a silly rendition of Amy Grant's "Baby Baby" - complete with motions. Stuart added
to the silliness of the moment by ad-libbing or inserting "something something" for words he didn't
know. Then they took requests from the crowd, and after hearing countless screams for the title, guitarist
Tylert Burkum began tapping out the guitar chords for dc Talk's "Jesus Freak" with Mark and Ben
joining in. Next, they sang the Newsboys' "Shine" after joking about other Australian artists and
Ben singing the chorus to Rebecca St. James' "God."
After their acoustic interlude, the guys picked up their instruments once again. Tyler began playing the opening bars
of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" before the band performed one of my all-time favorites, "We're a Band." Half-way
through the song, Mark introduced the band and then pulled four fans out of the crowd to join them on stage to
jump around with them (...myself included) before completing the song. Once the fans left the stage,
Audio closed out the set with another personal favorite, the appropriate "It's Over," a song about leaving
an AA concert and taking the message with you. With the song's end, the lights went out and the audience
screamed for more. But every Audio A fan knows they must come back for more. Besides, they hadn't sung "Get Down"
yet! Audio Adrenaline took the spotlight once again to perform their latest hit, "Get Down," complete with the concept
video showing in the background. But to close out the concert experience of the new millennium,
they ended the night in a worshipful mode with "It is Well." Donnie from Raze came out on stage to
sing the female accompaniment that Jennifer Knapp provided in the original recording on Underdog.
The show ended with hearts in the right place-- centered on God, our creator. So in closing, if
you get a chance to see The Underdog Tour this year, it is highly recommended it. Don't miss it!
Underdog Tour Photo Gallery
click on an image for a bigger size
Riley Armstrong
Raze
Audio Adrenaline
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