a few more years shall roll

i’ve always been a lyrics-oriented listener of songs. (i think this is why i love hymns so much more than praise choruses. ) really, when i buy a new cd, the first thing i do while i’m listening to it is pull out the insert and read through the lyrics. i’m no poet myself, but i deeply appreciate songwriters who craft their words with painstaking care. they allow me to step into their thoughts for a brief moment, or tell me a story in a way i’ve never heard, and these are rare gifts.

this song is one of the many reasons i love listening to Eric Peters’
music. i get emotional just reading the lyrics.

These Hands

does anyone here remember Wilton Reeves?
does anyone here remember his sweet wife?
made a humble home in south Louisiana
he must have crossed these fields a thousand times

he held her shrivelled hands near his body
he lifted up her useless, withered feet
it’s hard when you hold the hand of struggle
but when you love there’s no way to retreat

these eyes have seen two wars…more than most men
but these hands have longed to hold your figure,
have you touch me with your fingers
and i could fall apart deep within your hands

they took their vows before the planting season
in 1901 there was no time for grieving
she never asked for any of the reasons
he never looked for his within the bottle

what he treasured most of all was giving
he’d kneel down at her side to kiss her cheek
it’s easy when you’ve held the hand of mercy
and when you love there is no way to leave

these eyes have seen two wars…more than most men
but these hands have longed to hold your figure,
have you touch me with your fingers
and i could fall apart deep within your hands

does anyone here remember Wilton Reeves?

of a concert . . . it’s becoming one of my favorite experiences. I never thought I’d even consider promoting a singer-songwriter concert, especially at my church, which is pretty focused on maintaining traditional worship (a focus for which I am quite thankful, by the way). But, last September I worked with Eric Peters to bring him to my church, and the response was really great. It’s a bit of work, but the payoff is worth it. I don’t want to make a huge habit of it, but anytime Eric asks, I think I will be willing to do it. So, on Saturday, we did another show.

To be honest, I was pretty stressed out about the show a week ago. I felt that I hadn’t done enough to promote it, the sound stuff wasn’t finalized til a week before the show, I had other stuff both for church and for work on my mind, and I just didn’t know if it was going to happen well. However, all was well. Simon, a guy I had never met, came to set up sound, which he did wonderfully. My friend Jeff graciously agreed to run the sound during the show, and Eric and Gabe set almost everything up before either Jeff or Simon arrived. On this two week tour, Eric was joined by Gabe Scott, musician extraordinaire, and all around nice guy (he toured with Andrew Peterson for five years and is now working with Bebo Norman) . In the past when I’ve seen Eric perform, he’s been solo, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. But Gabe’s guitar, lap steel, dobro, accordion, and backing vocals added a whole new level to the concert experience.

Here’s the rundown of my day. I was already at church because we had a women’s breakfast that morning, which was excellent! Then, I headed upstairs to the music office to help organize the tickets for our 175th anniversary concert at the Kimmel Center. I even solved a few problems along the way. My friend Sharon and I then went for a little walk around center city, stopping at capogiro, an adorable place that makes the best gelato you will have outside of Italy. Truly. They make about 35 flavors each day, from burnt caramel to avocado to cactus pear to bitter chocolate to grapefruit. The hardest part is deciding which two flavors to get on my cone. I went with cactus pear (mainly because it was the brightest pink I had ever seen in gelato) and pistachio (which is salty and sweet like real pistachios—not like the fake bright green sweet flavor you usually get). Sharon had bourbon butterscotch and mocha, for those keeping score. Then, back to the church, where the catering company who had been feeding the extras for the new Cameron Diaz movie filming in town was clearing out. I’m telling you, it was an exciting day—even before the concert.

Eric and Gabe showed up around 4pm and we unloaded all their stuff and headed upstairs where they immediately began searching through the back closet, where all the sound stuff is kept (in not so clearly marked disorder). Seriously, who does that? Comes for a show and starts setting up the sound stuff on their own? These guys are great. Humble men, who love jesus, who play and sing so well, who are so gracious to everyone even though they just spent five hours on the Pennsylvania turnpike. Perhaps this is why Sharon told me on Sunday that she understands now why I travel around to see these musicians. Anyway, Sharon and I sat around feeling somewhat useless (since we know nothing about sound setup), although we did set up merch, so that was one accomplishment. And, we thoroughly enjoyed the hour long sound check, which is really almost as much fun as the show itself, or at least make me appreciate the show even more. Then, we headed over to get cheesesteaks, because when one visits Philadelphia, one must have cheesesteaks. And, Gabe, although he’d been to Philly before, had never had one. And, yes, they are better with ketchup for those who wonder. And, no, it’s not worth it to order them outside this region.

We headed back in plenty of time, and heard the story of Gabe and his fiancée on the way back, while Eric was on the phone with his wife Danielle. I was a little worried at about 7:15 when no one had shown up . . .I took them downstairs to see the sanctuary. The lights weren’t on, so we could only see by the street light and moonlight coming through all the windows, but it’s such a beautiful room. By 7:25 (for a 7:30 start) there were about five people there, but in the next ten minutes, people jus streamed in. I have to remind myself that getting into the city and finding parking always takes people a little longer than they expect. We ended up with a few over 60. Not as big as the last time but we were also competing against the final four.

Gina Campbell, a friend who goes to Tenth, opened with her band, and warmed the crowd up well. Like Gabe said, “Gina looks perfectly normal, and then she starts singing and she’s got this cool funky voice.” It’s true–she’s putting out a cd in the next few months, and it should be a good one. Then, Eric (with Gabe for most songs) came up and played a great set, with a few minor sound issues.
Clenched Fist
My Tripwire
The Ending
Mary (A Husband’s Lament)
September Sunday
These Hands
In the Meantime
Love is Real
Waterloo (”a little predestination . . .if you believe in that”)
Little by Little Things
These Three Remain
I Know the Mountains
May Your Tenderness
Then an encore of Recovery and Dust to Dust (this one they hadn’t performed together before, but it was wonderful!).

They had to head off to Baltimore for a morning concert for Eric and a morning flight for Gabe, so didn’t have as much time to hang out as usual after the cleanup, but it was still a great night!