Going On Twenty: Third Day Concert

Hehe, this is what I (and you) have been waiting for.

A re-cap of all things related to the Third Day concert. Here goes.

So, let's start with I'm not actually a huge Third Day fan, as far as their music goes. I love their concerts, and it's not that I think they're music is bad, it's just not my cup of tea. But, Tenth Avenue North was there! So I of course had to go. Plus it's the only time to date that I can remember a Christian concert being so close to me. The closest they come is usually in the Philadelphia area and that's a good 3 or 4 hours from me.

I spent a good hour watching all passersby to find a group of friends who were also attending. They had floor seat though (I was up in the bowl). Oh, and I got a pretzel :) I don't know if I've ever expressed my deep love for soft pretzels. If not, this is me expressing my deep love for soft pretzels:

via

Oh great delicious bread, twisted into a shape I will never understand,

How I love thee.

Thou art soft, with the perfect salty taste to tame my ever growing cravings for saltiness,

I feel

Okay. I'm done. Now I really want a pretzel...

So about ten minutes before the concert started I finally spotted my friends. They didn't see me because I was wearing my invisible costume. Before it started, I noticed a dude standing in the backstage area to the side of the stage. And because of my amazing ability to identify people from far distances, I thought it myself, "Hey, that dude looks very similar to Bob Smiley." Lo and behold, it was Bob Smiley as I discovered once he got onstage and announced that he was Bob Smiley.

FYI, I LOVE Bob Smiley. He's my favorite comedian of all time. He. Is. Awesome.

After he got done being funny, Trevor Morgan came on. He's a really awesome musician that's not very well known but has written many songs for other artists and traveled with them, playing guitar, and Mac Powell found him and decided to bring him on tour with them! He's pretty amazing.

And who was after him??

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TENTH AVENUE NORTH!!!

I love Tenth Avenue North. More than soft pretzels. That's love.

I had such an amazing time of worship when they performed. I've found they're the only band that consistently write songs that relate to me. I love it. During one song, although I can't remember which, I felt this overwhelming sensation of God's love for me. I've been someone who's always felt inadequate. In fact, it's been just recently that I've been able to stop believing that lie and many more and finally believe that I am forgiven and loved. But sometimes it's hard to really grasp that there's some guy up in the sky who I can't see, who actually loves me. But during that one song, I felt it. It was like diving into a red pool. I could literally feel His love! It was amazing.

Anyway, moving on from that, something kinda cool happened. Well, Mike Donehey, the lead singer of Tenth Avenue North, came off the stage to sing and walk through the aisles, high-fiving people. He passed my friends, two of them got to shake his hand, then he went to the higher parts of the arena and was a section over from where I was and he spoke and sang. While he was singing, a kid actually jumped out of his seat, ran into the aisle and (with Mike still singing) pulled his phone out and took a picture with Mike! Haha, it was weird, but kinda funny. Another couple (who were like the crazy tattooed, leather jacket, long hair kind of people) did the same thing in the floor section.

And THEN, on his way back down, he passed by my friends again, but THIS time, he stopped, stood on the chair directly in front of them, and sang, 2 INCHES AWAY FROM THEM!! They also got some super handshakes along with a performance two inches from their face. I was up top freaking out, almost as much as my friend Carly. Carly tried to take a picture with Mike while he was singing, but she afterwards found out that she cut off his head. It's just a picture of Carly's head, an overly grinning face, and Mike Donehey's torso. It's great :P

Anyway, they finished their performance, I took pictures and videos, and then there was a break. Where Carly and friends came running up to talk to me. I found two other friends were sitting practically right next to me, so we all freaked out together and screamed, talking about what just happened and how Carly was never going to wash her hand again, etc...

AND THEN (I need to find a new way to begin a paragraph), my mom came running to me from the... not arena are (I have no clue what you call that. A lobby? Who knows) and shouted down the steps to me, "EMILY! Bob Smiley is up here!!" I was totally confused but ran up to her and eventually discovered that Bob Smiley was at the merch booth, just hanging out. Well, no one was really bugging him, so, feeling a bit nervous, I asked him if I could get a picture with him. He was super nice, and I told him (a little too fast and incoherently) how excited I was that he was here, and how awesome he was doing, and how I loved him, etc... Anyway, that picture will follow in the boatload of pictures I'll show at the end.

My group of friends who had floor seats apparently had an extra ticket so they invited me down where all the cool people were so I got to see Third Day up close! I felt slightly guilty about leaving my sister, but she isn't a huge Third Day fan anyway and doesn't appreciate us music freaks. So that guilt quickly passed.

During the performance, Third Day snuck around us floor people and started playing behind the floor seats. After a few moments and conflict, Carly and I ran over to where they were (no fence around them or anything! Just standing there with guitars and this weird mini drum set), there weren't very many people over there and Carly got within 3 feet of them, taking a boatload of pictures. They took requests from the crowd which was cool. There were some crazy Mexican guys next to me freaking out about being so close to Mac Powell. They were cool :3

So they made their way back to the stage, Carly and I went back to our seats. They brought Trevor Morgan back on stage with them for a few songs. Then, for the last song, they sang "God of Wonders" with Mike Donehey, which was absolutely awesome! Such an amazing worship song! Then they left, and after some chanting, we brought them back and they performed one more song. And THEN they were finished. And the concert was over. BUT Third Day stayed onstage for a few minutes afterwards and shook some peoples' hands! Carly, 2 other friends and I raced up front. I reached my hand out...

AND MAC POWELL SHOOK MY HAND!!!!!!

And a few other guys in the band!! Carly actually took an amazing picture of it. Mac's hands are just about to grasp mine. It's epic.

I'd like to take a few moments to say how much respect I have for those guys. They're so chill, and I can tell they're not trying to put on a show, they're just there to serve God. When they're playing you can see them messing around with each, little smirks and comments. They're so cool. Oh, and when he's singing, it seems like Mac Powell is looking right at you. He makes it so personal, it's awesome.

Anyway, I'm done. Time for pictures!

You all are EXTREMELY lucky. Blogger's actually working well tonight and I can upload pics! Yay!

Me and Maddy :)

Me trying to be creative in my picture-taking :P

Bob Smiley!!

Tenth Avenue North!!!

Mike Donehey - one of the coolest people in the world :D

Making whale noises :3

OKAY. There's Mike, a guy in black, and the two girl with blondeish hair? My two friends :D I think Carly's in the middle of the handshake right there O_O

Singing his heart out :) I love that guy

Raised hand? Blondes on either side of the arm - my friends, along with the blonde standing to the right of them (not the redhead, the one with her back towards you), and the guy with dark hair on the left, head slightly above and to the left of the balding guy :)