Posts Tagged ‘Revelation Generation’

This past weekend my brothers and I took the trek to Revelation Generation–a music festival involving bands with Christian members. Although I am thoroughly annoyed with the evangelical subculture with its t-shirts like “(front) God is not a conservative Republican (back) But he’s DEFINITELY NOT a liberal Democrat,” or the fact that similar t-shirts will never be worn outside of an evangelical setting (as I hope they aren’t!) and only if trying to offend someone, or the $1,000,000 bill Bible tracts with Ronald Regan’s face on it, or its simplistic “Gospel” messages such as “If you were the only person on earth, Jesus would’ve still died for you;” although all those things bother me for various reasons, Revelation Generation is one of the premier Christian music festivals around (and I’ve been to quite a few). Some Christian music festivals need to pick it up (*cough* Creation *cough*), but the plethora of talent of the bands at Revelation Generation is superb. There are two main stages–New York (alternative music) and Philadelphia (hard or harder rock)–and three smaller stages–Nashville (solo acts), Urban (hip-hop and the like), and Come & Live (new record company with more underground bands).

I spent most of my time at the Philadelphia stage with the “harder” bands. My favorite band The Devil Wears Prada (not the movie) was there, and that’s saying something! August Burns Red with their cornucopia of breakdowns are always inspiring. Underoath, which are big in all circles, were the finale on Friday night. Derek Webb (who I was able to talk to for 5 minutes; and, yes, he did drop the word “s***” in that one song) was the finale at the Nashville stage, which he was surprised to see he was after Jon Foreman (from Switchfoot). The New York stage invited the audience to the sounds of Relient K and Switchfoot, who both have had success outside of Christian circles. Thus, Revelation Generation did an awesome job with the lineup this year so kudos to them.

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out The Devil Wears Prada’s new music video of their song “Danger: Wildman” below.

I haven’t blogged in awhile. Since my new job has started, I have been incredibly busy, but now things are slowing down; and I am glad to give an update.

Highlights:
1. We had an awesome vacation in North Carolina. Giselle loved the beach–sand and water. She gets really excited to be in the “wa-wa” (water), and every time she sees it she wants to be in it.
2. With that being said, we also took her to Sesame Place. She enjoyed the “wa-wa” there too. She gets really excited and starts to squeal with joy when she is splashing in it.
3. The Cliff Lee trade has been the best move the Phillies have done in awhile. He’s 5-0 with .98 ERA since coming to Philadelphia, and I’m sniffing another championship.
4. The Mets are collapsing. I would be lying if I said I was sad, but really it’s nice to see them in double digits behind the Phillies in the NL East.
5. My new job as Resident Director for Philadelphia Biblical University has been a lot of fun, even though it’s been a lot of work. I really enjoy the people I work with, and I am ready for the school year.

What I’ve Been Reading:
1. I haven’t had the chance to read much, but when I have I’m reading Barth’s Church Dogmatics I.2.
2. Also, I’ve been digging into Walter Brueggemann’s The Prophetic Imagination. It’s an excellent book. He’s not evangelical so there are some things I struggle with in this interpretation, but overall it’s a wonderful read.

Repeat on my iPod:
1. I finally got mewithoutyou’s new album It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright. It’s a little more folksy than expected but still awesome in a way only mewithoutyou can be.
2. Also, I joined the fun with Derek Webb’s Stockholm Syndrome. He’s lyrics are very thought-provoking, and I’m hoping to see him at Revelation Generation (if I go).

What I’m Looking Forward to:
1. Seminary classes are beginning again in September. This is my last year, which is bittersweet. I love Biblical Seminary, and, if you are interested in a progressive evangelical seminary, Biblical is the way to go.
2. Less busy = more time with Amanda.
3. My brother, Jon’s, wedding is coming up in September. I also have his bachelor party this weekend, which I still am not sure what we are exactly doing, but it will be fun regardless.
4. Revelation Generation. I’m hoping to go, but I’ll have to see about getting tickets. It’s $75, but the lineup is pretty sick.
5. Blogging more. Let’s be honest…you missed me.