BC trip part 2...STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN CONCERT!!!

I’ve wanted to go to a SCC concert since I was in high school. When I went to boarding school in Africa my dorm parents used to turn on SCC music to wake us up in the morning…ever since I’ve been a big fan of his music! When I saw that he was going to be in Kelowna I asked Ben if we could go for my birthday. He agreed even though he doesn’t at all enjoy MWSJ. Anyway, we got to the concert location & they told us the concert had been postponed 1 hr because of the storm. We headed into Kelowna & wandered around the mall a little before heading back. To make a really long story a bit shorter…the people running the venue (not the SCC people) were really disorganized. There was very little communication & it was rather hodge podge. We found our row, but couldn’t find any seat numbers. Someone sitting there said they didn’t have enough seats in each row so we were just supposed to sit there…we did. There were a lot of people who were really frustrated by it all…I was on cloud 9 & really didn’t careJ. The concert was supposed to start at 7…ended up starting at 8:45. It was too bad to have to wait, but like I said…OK with me. At about 8:15 the lady running the venue finally made an announcement to explain it all. When the storm went through it blew all the chairs all over the field (they only had an hour to set them all back up which is why some chairs were missing), the band had already had all their stuff up on the stage…the rain drenched it all. They had to get out air compressors, hair dryers…anything trying to dry out all their equipment…and then start from scratch with sound check again. They ended up doing sound check in about an hour & a half…usually takes them 4 hours! It’s too bad that she didn’t explain sooner because as soon as people knew what was going on, there was less frustration in the air.

Waiting...

Sound check...Caleb Chapman (on guitar) & Will Franklin Chapman (on drums)...at this point it was still light enough to get good pictures...

Anyways…I nearly started bawling when SCC finally came on stage…couldn’t believe I was seeing him for realJ. I'm very thankful for my good camera so that I could get some pics even though it was dark by the time he came on stage! The only thing wrong with the concert was the fact that it wasn’t long enough! I wish I had written them down so I could remember them all, but I LOVED the songs he sang. Nearly every song I would tear up because so many of his songs have helped me through tough times in my life or touched my life. He told stories…most of which I had already read online…but meant so much more hearing them straight from him. Really, I just was never sure whether to laugh or cry…I couldn’t stop smiling…but I kept feeling myself tearing up out of shear joyJ. He talked about Maria…I’ve prayed for their family a lot in the last year & a half & have heard pretty much every story there is, but again…to hear him talk about how they’ve come through that tragedy was amazing. He sang “Cinderella”…really touching song…especially when I have a 5 year old girl… He sang the song that we had sung at our wedding…”I Will Be Here”…tears… He sang “Live Out Loud”…I’ve sung that so many times at the top of my lungsJ… Just before we went to BC they announced that he has a new album coming out…I mentioned to Ben that I couldn’t wait because I suspected that he would sing one of those songs at the concert…I was rightJ! (Not that Ben disagreed) The song is called "Heaven is the Face"...I can’t wait till the album comes out! Like I said, it came to an end WAY too quickly! I would have been plenty happy to leave right then…but I did want to at least be able to say I’d seen MWS…and Ben was curious if he’d like him better live. Oh, I forgot to mention…we were FREEZING! We were coming to Kelowna…it was supposed to be hot the whole time…even the evenings are usually plenty warm. The storm cooled things way off though. I was wearing a light sundress…Ben shorts & a muscle shirt…it was COLD! Oh well, it was worth itJ. So we cuddled together while the bands switched. It took at least half an hour for the SCC crew to get all their stuff off & MWS to set up his stuff…too bad with how cold we all were. By the time they got through the first song I was getting really cold. Ben convinced me to stay a bit longer…I think we ended up hearing 3 songs…which is hilarious because he’s the one who apparently didn’t like MWSJ. I was glad he liked it though…he said that seeing him live was way better…and his new songs he liked a lot more. We got back to Gram & Gramps’ right about midnight & headed to bedJ. THANK YOU Ben for taking me to the SCC concert…it was AMAZING! The fact that you were willing to take me even though you weren’t at all sure about seeing MWS means so much to meJ. I love you so much!

Just to prove I saw Michael W. Smith...