2/13/11 @ Bethel Bible Church

Was especially ready for music because the replacement for my in-ear pack came in and I could finally hear the band again! Makes a big difference, for sure! Here's what we did...

OUR GOD ABOVE(G)
This one has gradually become a strong for us. It doesn't have that initial "wow" factor, but the truth of the song is impossible to ignore. As a church, we care a lot about singing things that are true and it's good for us to realize that God is already enthroned. Worship doesn't change anything about God's position - rather our appreciation and reverence for it! I think that's why this song works. It's so powerfully true. The band did a great job. We stretched out the lead break so that both piano and electric guitar could lead some.

UNCHANGING (G)
This is not a new song for us, but we did try to do a version closer to Tomlin's live version of this tune. Actually, our normal version was so close to the live one, it made almost no difference! We did change up the intro and strip down the bridge a bit. First service, we accidentally played through the bridge without the drop. Wasn't bad, just unplanned. Second set we played through it without any noticeable mistakes.

GREATLY TO BE PRAISED (C)
I love this song. And I hate singing it.
Let me rephrase that - I love singing the song. But it's so stinking high and I know I'm killing my guys out there with it. I'd drop it to B but the range is just too broad. Not considering the falsetto requirements, the tune went great. We let piano carry the riff so that electric could provide the power. We've also arranged the intro differently, which was fun.

HALLELUJAH, WHAT A SAVIOR (A)
Second week to do this one. Went even better than last week, but the delay guitar intro didn't work in 2nd service. I like the intro, but so far, it's proven 50/50 on band accuracy. Lots of singing and expression from the congregation...naturally, though! We're singing about our Redeemer!

FOREVER FAITHFUL (A)
This tune usually comes off pretty strong. The last time I did it, there were some new folks and they seemed to really dig it. Today was a good chance to bring it back. For the first time, I had piano play the riff instead of electric. At our rehearsal, the pianist changed the riff up a bit, which I liked. Today, she played closer to the actual version but she and I decided we liked her version better!

YOU ALONE CAN SATISFY (E)
This was my favorite part of the day. We got up after sermon and did a pretty full version of this Bethel favorite. Loved the interplay of piano and keyboard in this one. It was fun, loose, improvisational...all the stuff I like about music!