MusicScribe BLOG

I’ve just tuned in to Solid Gospel for the live feed from NQC. Rats, I missed Mark Lowry and LordSong. Looks like they’re running about 20 minutes behind schedule.

10:25 – Ivan Parker is absolutely tearing it up right now with “Midnight Cry,” showing precisely why he wins Fan Awards.

10:31 – The Florida Boys take the stage for the last time. There’s a special tribute segment scheduled for tomorrow, but I’m not sure if the group will sing. Emcee Brian Lester’s comments seem to indicate they won’t. “Hallelujah Square”…there’s a blast from the past.

10:34 – Commercials…a necessary evil, I suppose.

10:39 – “I Am His And He Is Mine”

10:42 – Les Beasley is introducing Harold Reed and Buddy Lyles, who are singing tenor and bass respectively. No word on who is singing lead tonight.
10:43 – Now he’s taking a vote on whether or not Derrall Stewart should sing a song. Les is going to play piano, Glen will sing bass, and Buddy will sing baritone. “I dare say it’s not the first time you voted for something and didn’t get much.” That’s a priceless line…I wonder if Les had the Fan Awards in mind when he said that.

10:45 – “This Little Heart Of Mine”…he was right, it’s not all that good. OK, now Harold has the melody, which is better! The crowd demands an encore, of course. Harold ends it on a sky high note.

10:49 – The Kingdom Heirs take the stage after two introductions…”God’s Word,” a great “power song” featuring Arthur Rice. He makes the most of his range on this song.

10:53 – Billy Hodges steps up for “Anchor Of Hope,” a great ballad. I can remember a time when Hodges was with the Dixie Echoes and his piercing tone quality would set your teeth on edge. Since he’s been under the tutelage of Rice, though, he has mellowed into a smooth tenor singer you want to hear over and over again. The applause proves that the crowd loves this kind of tenor singing.

10:57 – “The Rock’s Between The Hard Place And You”…another power song, this from True To The Call. (A CD that my Singing News review stated should be used as a clinic to teach what great quartet singing is all about.)

11:00 – “I Know I’m Going There”…a power song from the past. Arthur Rice is working hard tonight…I love it. Sounds like the Kingdom Heirs are really tearing it up tonight.

11:05 – Steve French asks “Has anybody lost a little boy?” referring to Jason Waldroup as he introduces Greater Vision. I can say from personal experience talking with Steve this week that up beside Steve French, most of us feel like midgets.

11:06 – Greater Vision begins their set with “We Are So Blessed.” They’re blending especially well tonight. Now the groups are only nine minutes behind on the schedule. The Kingdom Heirs didn’t take all the time they’d been allotted.

11:12 – “My Name Is Lazarus”…I don’t care for the way Waldroup lags half a beat behind the track on his solo section. Has he always done this? I know he did earlier in the week when I was at NQC. I don’t mind this technique on some songs, but I just don’t think it works that well with this one…otherwise, I still love to hear Greater Vision sing this classic song.

11:15 – “It Means Just What It Says”…This declarative song is going to be another hit for Greater Vision.

11:21 – Commercials

11:24 – Wolfe is leading the audience in “Blessed Assurance” when we return.

11:26 – Gold City takes the stage with “Get Up, Get Ready”…a little pitchy on the held note at the first ending, but they step up the energy for the encore and absolutely nail it the next time.

11:30 – “After Awhile”…the NQC crowd loves it when Gold City sings a standard, because they always infuse it with a uniquely Gold City touch. Aaron McCune does a great job of imitating Tim Riley.

11:33 – “Alone In The Garden”…one of my favorite Gold City songs of all time…I like the four guys and a piano version they’re doing right now.

11:35 – Commercials

11:41 – Steve Ladd is singing “Preach The Word.” I’m sure the slide-show is being displayed again, as it was on Wednesday night. The slide-show features photos of famous and a few not as famous preachers who have been faithful to their calling.

11:45 – Triumphant is introduced by Jonathan Wilburn. Jeff Stice launches into a slow piano introduction, and Eric Bennett’s first line of “Who Am I?” “Look For Me” is greeted with applause.

11:50 -After the long, slow opening number, Triumphant kicks into “Don’t Let The Sandal Fool Ya.”

11:54 – Stice and David Sutton play a high speed piano/harmonica duet. “Goodbye World, Goodbye”…in Southern Gospel music, I don’t think anyone offers a better combination of studio quality and stage energy than Jeff Stice.

11:56 – “Old White Flag”…this is a fun song, but it’s also a good, well written song. You can’t say that about every fun song. It’s a good contrast to the group’s usual fare. Cashing in on the popularity of O Brother, Where Art Thou? with a few George Clooney dance moves (without getting too carried away), Clayton gets a good reaction from the crowd every time.

12:00 – “I Know I’m Going Home”…Jeff Stice has given this song a rollicking quality that was missing from the album version. I only heard about 30 seconds of it before the feed went away at midnight.

Hope you enjoyed reading these completely spur of the moment, gut reactions to what I heard over the live feed tonight…overlook any typos, please! I didn’t go back and edit like I would normally do for a blog post.