Amazing Weekend, Part 1…

For the past 11+ years, I have been a fan of Caedmon's Call…

I remember when their self-titled album came out, and I heard it for the first time. I believe it was on a quiz trip of some sort, during my senior year of high school. After hearing it once, it rose to the top of my list of albums that I desperately wanted, and shortly thereafter, I purchased it. It is still the greatest album of all time…

Throughout the years, the stories told by Caedmon's have paralleled our lives in ways that are almost uncanny. Every album has hit home… and almost every album sits on my CD shelf… not just collecting dust, but being pulled out time and time again to be played… Subsequently, a time period of my life is remembered… and almost relived… every time the music comes on…

There have been less than a handful of Caedmon's songs that I haven't valued. And, eventually, even those few have grown on me. More often, the case was that I downright cherished a few from each album, as they spun the tale of life as I knew it in the moment.

When "Overdressed" came out, my initial reaction was a little different. Let me preface this by saying that the first chords of "Trouble" (the first song on the CD) were perfect. The return of Derek Webb for this project was incredible, and after hearing the beginning of the album I thought to myself, "That's how it's supposed to sound". That being said, I have still thoroughly enjoyed and connected to the Caedmon's music written in his absence. Randall Goodgame became another household name around here because of it, and that's definitely a plus…

But beyond that first song, I wasn't sure I liked the album all that much. And that came as a shock to everyone… including me… because let's face it, Caedmon's could put out trash, and I'd be the first one in line to buy it. Something wasn't right about the way I felt about this album, though, and eventually, it became apparent to me that I didn't like the album so much, because once again it paralleled my own life… and I didn't like my life that much at the moment. (I wrote about this at the time, but it was awhile ago, so this is kind of a refresher…)

I kept listening to the album anyway…

And I'm not exactly sure which order it happened in, but I gradually began to like "Overdressed"… and I gradually began to appreciate my place in life again… and then I gradually began to love "Overdressed"… and I gradually began to determine to live life to the fullest of my ability… and then beyond that to the fullest of God's ability… because what He does to bring restoration is a whole lot better (like leaps and bounds… over the moon and back…) than what I can do on my own…

At any rate… The "Overdressed" Tour was in our area on Friday, and for the first time, I had the privilege of seeing Caedmon's Call in concert. In a lot of ways, I'm glad it took this long, because the things we wait for are quite often the most worthwhile…

Caedmon's was incredible, playing music from all over their great history. It was so awesome to be able to sing along to just about everything, and there were moments when I was standing with only a few… and screaming all by myself… and it was just awesome (minus the slightly irritated vocal chords)... and emotional... yeah, I can't really even put it into words...

After the show, Phil and I went to the guild room, and let me tell ya… it was amazing to just meet these people face to face… shake their hands… introduce ourselves… and get a couple of snapshots…

There was just something unreal about being greeted by Cliff Young at the door and hanging out with Derek Webb while he ate a cookie (see photo below)…

I never cease to be impressed by Danielle Young. I had never stopped to think about it, but I'm sure she is the reason I love harmonies… and echoes… and bit parts… mixed with the occasional solo. But she's just a real person, too. She has four kids, close in age to my own, and after the show she was ready to take off "early" to check on them… Gosh, that sounds familiar…

I am tired. Already there is much more to say about this weekend, and it's only Saturday night… So this will be… again… another two… or three… or more part post. But I'll leave you with some pics. for now:

Lisa