Daniel Amos In Concert

Windstorm June 1983

by Don Ling

It wasn't the usual Christian concert crowd that had to wait outside in a light drizzle. The assortment of wrap-around sunglasses, safety pins and different styles and colors of hair sometimes seemed to glow. But Terry Taylor had something to say to the eight hundred rockers bouncin' in their seats and hoppin' in the aisles, and he pulled no punches as he "Hit Them With Love."

After a delay do to some equipment failure and a few songs by a local warm-up. DA hit the stage opening with their standard classic "I Love You # 19," From there they easily performed, their most powerful material to date, staying with the music from Alarma! and their newest venture. Doppelganger, which Terry said would be available some time in the spring of 1999. Joining the band for the tour, on keyboards, was Rob Watson, formerly with Tamarack. This was done to give more of the sound from their new album which used Tom Howard on Keyboards.

Terry spoke between a number of the songs, more to the body of believers than to non-Christians His 'raps' were kept short and full of his humor, as they were to the point and always lead into the next song, giving the audience a little more to chew on. The crowd really became involved and on several occasions were up and dancin', especially during the now-famous "Surf Music Set," which included a new-wave version of "Surfin' USA." Ed McTaggart’s drum solo on "Wipe-Out," "Near Sighted Girl With Approaching Tidal Wave" and the crowd-pleasing "Endless Summer," Part way into the first half, Jerry broke a string so Terry led the crowd in a chorus of "Valarie," and Rob did a quick little number on keyboards while Jerry made the necessary adjustments.

Afterwards, they just picked up steam and never let up, slamming through a group of new music from Doppelganger "Real Girls," "You Take Too Many Trips Down Memory Lane," and "Mall All Over the World" received a warm reception from the audience. "I Didn't Build This For Me" seemed to receive the greatest response from the crowd, as it showed that the old DA humor was still intact when Terry and the band took a short break about mid-way through the song to give Terry a chance to get a drink and a rub-down from Jerry.

Although it was difficult to discern words at times, the mix was one of the, best I have heard from Daniel Amos and the volume was near perfect. It was an attentive audience that sat through a short, presentation from Compassion International's Devlin Donaldson, as he presented an opportunity for everyone to help feed some needy children. A ten minute intermission dragged by slowly, but gave the crowd a chance go pick up their favorite album or T-shirt (They still didn't have any in the small size I needed)

Playing some of their more familiar material from Alarma!, DA picked up where they left off with "Colored By," "Baby Game" and others. They finished the evening with what has turned into a favorite audience participation song. "New Car," in which everybody gets to play an overly excited game-show audience by standing and screaming "A New Car" while being monitored by drummer, Ed McTaggart’s drumstick meter. Lead guitarist, Jerry Chamberlain, seemed a little tired and didn't wander all over the stage as is his normal custom (although its understandable with only three hours of sleep after flying in from Florida.) But towards the end of the evening, he showed signs of life as he chased bass player Tim Chandler back and forth behind Terry. Tim took his usual wide spread stance and rarely moved except for his exchanges with Jerry, but this just added to the sense of power that seems to emanate from this group. The house lights began to come up, but the crowd would have none of it.

Finally, after some loud persuasion from the crowd, the band appeared back on stage and blasted through "Walls Of Doubt," finishing off one fine performance. New-wave power rock, call it what you will, Daniel Amos has proven they are a definite leading force in today's Christian music.