Oklahoma City,
OK 02/02 1999
Mecca Morgan's Oklahoma City review
Here's a little
review of Mitch's show OKC. I have to say, I really was impressed with
his full-length show. The only other times I've seen him, he was either
playing with Rich, or opening for This Train or the Ragamuffins, and basically
playing the same set of songs. This show was much different.....very laid
back.
Troy (left)
the organizer of the concert, with Mitch
Mitch's day
in OKC started off with an interview at the local Christian rock station,
KOKF 91FM. Unfortunately, RaNee' and I were at the Olive Garden with my
mother and missed it. We had set a tape recorder before we left, and would
you know it, it cut off it the middle of the song he did on-air! Ugh! Luckily,
we got to hear it and the end part of the interview in the car, on the
way home....just didn't get it on tape.
Patti Jackson
(left) KOKF radio (interviewed Mitch)
It really was
a good interview. Also, when I talked to the DJ a couple of days later,
she said that the station got a few e-mails from people who had listened
to the interview over the internet, and the seemed pretty excited about
that. The station hasn't reviewed Mitch's CD yet to see whether or not
they'll play it, but the program director has those e-mails and I think
that's going to help him make his decision, so thanks to whomever sent
those!
Shelli Yoder
and Mitch
Ok, on to the
actual show. First off, despite all of our promotion efforts, the crowd
was embarassingly small (think Jonesboro, AR from the HMT), but that didn't
stop the guys (and Shelli) from putting on a great show. I know Mitch still
wants his old singing voice back, but he sounds great the way he is. He
said in the interview that he's just gotten good at faking people out.
:-) The show was pretty much the same as the one Tim had at his church
in Winona Lake, except we got one more song than they did (ok, so I'm gloating
a little). They started off with "Here and Now" then played "One of These
Days", at my request :-). Next was a new song, "Right Here With Us", which
was very good! I don't know if y'all wanna hear a song by song description
or not, but that's what you're getting. Next was the "funky" version of
"New Mexico", then "Heaven is Waiting", then "Brother Shelli" did a wonderful
job on "In Your Hands" which is one of my favorites from "Canticle".
Michael Aukofer
and Mitch
The next song
was one of my very favorites of the evening, called "Where Did It Go".
We only assumed that Michael couldn't sing b/c he never did. We were wrong!
This song rocked, especially the end when Eric sang the chorus to "No Not
One" while Michael and Mitch sang rounds of "The Lord lift us up and never
say goodbye, he'll keep the poor and weak and weary at his side". Wow!
That needs to be on the next Cd, for sure! Let's see, next they did "Hope"
and "Fairest Lord Jesus/There You Are", Shelli sang on this one, and I
just can't say enough about what she adds to the group. She's a very sweet
lady, with a very pretty voice. Next, the extra song, I heard them do in
soundcheck (that would be the 2 hr soundcheck......don't ask). They practiced
"Madeline's Song" on us b/c they were going to be in Wichita Thursday and
Friday, and wanted to have it ready to sing for Jim and Meghan Smith (her
parents). After that, Mitch did the Compassion speech where he talked about
having lived right across from a Compassion school, and seeing and being
a part of what they do first hand. He also said that even though it wasn't
a big group, he'd seen some big crowds not respond at all, and he'd seen
small crowds really take hold of what they were trying to do with Compassion.
I think it really moved some people there, b/c Mitch's mom reported a couple
of days later that there were 9 sponsorships that night. (Cathy, I knew
you'd be excited to hear that!) A friend and co-worker of mine had brought
her 4 kids and 2 of their friends to the show (can you say, insane?) but
they had to leave at the break b/c it was getting late and the baby was
getting fussy. Mitch was kind enough to stop what he was doing to talk
with them and take a picture with her 14 yr old son. The part that cracked
me up though, was when he told the baby that they were going to be playing
some "real catchy tunes" in the second set, but he understood if she had
to go to bed. It really was precious, and he was right when he said catchy
tunes.
Eric Hauck
and Shelli
The first set
was surprisingly mellow, but once they came back from the break, they rocked.
First song was "Gospel Rain", then "Freedom", where Eric does things on
that cello that I've never seen before! Right about that time, Mitch took
it upon himself to REALLY embarrass a good friend of mine. Her name is
Melinda, and she's a bio-chemist (or on her way to being one), and just
a very serious type person. Well, Mitch stopped the show, and said "Girl
in the grey shirt, I don't know your name, but I've made it my goal tonight
to make you smile. You know, I can tell you're getting into it , but you
haven't been smiling, so......" then he (I wish there were words to describe
this) shook his head and made funny faces until she started laughing. Michael
made some comment that I can't recall, then Mitch was like "ok, so thanks"
and went on with the show. Funny thing is that my roommate, who was sitting
with Melinda, said that she thought it really blessed her. Anyway, next
song was a re-vamped version of "When You Love", and that thing needs to
be recorded and put on the air. Wow! I knew it was Rich's song, but parts
have been added. It has a new chorus, unless I'm just not remembering the
old version correctly. The new chorus says "Yeah, when you love, you are
gonna find peace. Yeah, when you love, you find a new song to sing. Yeah,
when you love, you are gonna break free from this world, and your heart
will rise above, when you love." I don't remember that from the original,
so my question, for anyone who knows is, was this Mitch's addition, or
something that Rich changed before he died? I could've asked Mitch after
the show, but I didn't think about it then. After that song, they did the
song others have mentioned about putting on the long white robe.....is
it called "Wanna Be Ready"? Whatever it's called, the song is great, and
another one where all 3 guys sing (they really should make Michael sing
more often). Afterward, Mitch told one of his funny stories from the road.
This one started out "So I'm walking up to the urinal...." 'nuff said.
Then, since telling that story always puts him in the mood for a hymn,
they played a beautiful arrangement of "It Is Well". Next, they did "My
Deliverer", another that Shelli sang on......wonderful. Then they ended
up with "Take Hold of Me", the "Lemonade Song", and since they don't know
any more songs, "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High", and "I Love You Lord".
Michael Aukofer
Wow! Aside
from my rant dating and singleness, many moons ago, this is my longest
post ever! Believe me, I'm as glad as the rest of you that I don't write
this much, very often. But it really was a great show, and I can't wait
to see them again. Like I've said before, I just can't get enough of Mitch's
music. Couple of things after the show, we were talking to Shelli and she
mentioned that Eric was leaving. I kind of knew this b/c the website mentions
that Mitch will be doing shows on his own later this year, but I just assumed
that Eric would be on tour with RBJ again. Shelli said that he wasn't,
but he was going back to his trek across the country on motorcycle. She
said that he still wanted to learn to surf, and then to live in Alaska
for awhile. Of course, that's just what I've heard, but some of you who
will be seeing them in the near future, might ask him about that. I hate
to see him go, even if it's only temporary. I also asked Michael how his
Christmas concerts went, since I didn't get to go to any.....and since
Danl hasn't said a WORD about them, ;-) He was really excited to talk about
those. He said they were going to do them again this December, while he
was home with his family in Wichita. He said hopefully, all the dates would
be set by October. Mitch suggested that we bring them down to OKC, but
Michael said that the shows had to be within an hour and half driving distance
b/c one of the guys works full time and would have to be at work the next
day. So, all of you who are within driving distance, take note and keep
your eyes peeled this winter! I guess I've pretty well covered everything.
On would *hope* that I have, by the size of this post. I know I left things
out, but that just gives RaNee' something to tack on, since she waited
for me to do the review. :-P
yes, I realize
that I've seen them 5 times now, but I'm really not a groupie ;-) , Mecca
(l. to
r.) Shelli Yoder, Mitch McVicker, RaNee' Stumpff (Mecca's friend),
Mecca Morgan
(reviewer), Michael Aukofer, and Eric Hauck
