Welcome! You have accidentally reached the blog of a heteroclite follower of Jesus: dave wainscott. I'm
"pushing toward the unobvious" as I post thinkings/linkings
re: Scripture, church and culture. Hot topics include: temple tantrums, time travel, sexuality/spirituality, U2kklesia, role of the pastor, God-haunted music/art..and subversive videos like these.
Tim Gombus, author of this wonderful book, and some great blog posts on U2 has posted "Jesus' Missional Food" Topic: Samaritan Woman... Excerpt:
Even more shocking is Jesus’ description of what he is doing. The Son of God is encountering this woman in order to sustain himself. His encounter with her is his very food.
He does not say that his encounter with her is his mission. It is his food. The disciples tell Jesus to eat, but he responds by saying “I have food to eat that you don’t know about” (v. 32). Again, “I am fed by doing the will of the one who sent me and by completing his work” (v. 34).
The life-giving sustenance of the Son of God is to encounter “the other” redemptively.
...but the U2 Gigelpizel U2 fan cam, see it here or here
If you want to see a pic of me...or any of the other 70,000 that were with me... at the Oakland gig, click this. (just X out the popup) or this ..Have fun with the videocam! You can find yourself, and almost anyone who is at any concert of the tour.
--
We had an amazing night with The Violet Burning..here's some video, and more to follow. Be sure to grab the band's new triple release, six out of five-star release, "The Story of Our Lives". (cliick the band's name at bottom of post for more TVB posts, click here to read my review and hear lots of samples) and cllick here to buy the CDs yesterday..tell them I sent ya).
Right here..(click here ) is an audio podcast Keltic Ken and I did with band leader Michael Pritzl, especially about the new material.
Soon to be added to the post here will be a couple of killer exclusives (Watch this space!!):
1)the classic encore of two of the most moving psalms of lament ever recorded: "Underwater" and "Low."
It was an honor to get these songs live.
2)and video of the Spiritaneous afterglow concert (held on the street) pictured here...
Vincent J. Vera of course was wonderful as opening act, and his videographer Alex Ramirez, who produced this infamous clip below...which features Vincent, Keltic Ken Adams and meself, with Ken's stunning performance of "Dancing Queen".. filmed the entire evening, so I will link that as soon as I have it..
Didn't you love that? On to the show. First clips below, sorry so dar..waiting on Vincent's better film.
Note at the beginning of the first clip, for some reason two dummies are on the stage as the show kicked off.. (:
part 1"Where it all begins"/"Lights Out"
Part 2:"br0thr", "Machine Beat Sabbatha" and "Imminent Collapse"
Part 3 "Ilaria"/Firstborn from the Dead"
Part 4:"Rock is Dead," "Nowhere, CA" "Sung"
Part 5: "Underwater" and "Low"
Here's some of the afterglow concert, with the video description I wrote up on YouTube.
After their gig at Neighborhood Thrift, The Violet Burning perform a few songs out on the street for those of whose who volunteered, and for passersby on the street. We'll never forget how the songs got the attention of folks, including a homeless man who stopped and offered a knowing smile: "That's a gospel song, isn't it?" At the start of the clip, you see Michael and Lenny apparently trying to get Daryl out of the venue's bathroom, so the janitor can lock up the venue(: Then Michael and Lenny take Ivana's request of "Maker of the Stars"
Here, after I requested "I See Stars," Michael sings a bit before he asks me to remind of the lyrics ! I drew a blank, and they went into a moving rendition of "Mon Desir"
Some thought it was a nod to Emerson Lake and Palmer, who once covered the song.
(Some think it's an ELP, buy that's only us Americans).
But it was a not to Jesus....and the tradition of Jesus being in England (!!_
The song, which U2 did at Glastonbury? "Jerusalem," itself based on a Blake poem:
"And did those feet in ancient time" is a short poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton a Poem, one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. The date on the title page of 1804 for Milton is probably when the plates were begun but the poem was printed c. 1808.[1] Today it is best known as the anthem "Jerusalem", with music written by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916.
The poem was inspired by the apocryphal story that a young Jesus, accompanied by his uncle Joseph of Arimathea, travelled to the area that is now England and visited Glastonbury.[2] Although at that time England would have been in the hands of the Romano-British, Glastonbury itself was governed by the Durotriges, Romano-British (most of which were brythonic speaking).The legend is linked to an idea in the Book of Revelation (3:12 and 21:2) describing a Second Coming, wherein Jesus establishes a new Jerusalem. The Christian church in general, and the English Church in particular, used Jerusalem as a metaphor for Heaven, a place of universal love and peace.[3][4]In the most common interpretation of the poem, Blake implies that a visit of Jesus would briefly create heaven in England, in contrast to the "dark Satanic Mills" of the Industrial Revolution. Analysts note that Blake asks four questions rather than stating a visit to be true. According to this view, the poem says that there may, or may not, have been a divine visit, when there was briefly heaven in England. But that was then; now, we are faced with the challenge of creating such a country once again.[5][6] -WIKIPEDIA
Beth of course caught it:
"was Jerusalem builded here, among these dark satanic mills?"
What an amazing performance at Glastonbury. For anyone curious about the hymn that began "Streets" and also showed up in "Bad" last night - I'm sure all our UK readers knew it well, but it was a total mystery to many viewers in the USA - here is a brief homily drawing heavily on it, preached by NT Wright during the Glastonbury Festival in 2007 (tho not in connection with it). I think you can see how the first verse ties in with Glastonbury and the second verse ties in rather well with some standard U2 preoccupations. -U@ Sermons: http://u2sermons.blogspot.com/2011/06/was-jerusalem-builded-here-among-these.html#ixzz1QVBvBU7e
At Glastonbury, Bono not only sang some of "Jerusalem" as preface to "Where The Streets Have No Name" (a thematic segue that makes theological sense in light of the NT Wright sermon above), a spot where he often sings "Amazing Grace"), but also snippeted some of it into "Bad".
Also, note Bono's comments, "Might be the leylines, could be the jet lag,,but it's a very special feeling to be here".
I love that comment..reminds of "was that the Holy Spirit, or the coffee?" It's sometimes both.
The man has an unusual sensitivity to what some have called "spiritual mapping," (see "U2 can pastor the city")
or a Celtic theology of "thin places".....all that to say he always knows where he is, and what the the spiritual vibe of that cit is..He even has an assistant research each region the band plays.
Makes me wonder what it would feel like to see U2 in literal Jerusalem..
...which represents only one of the styles of music found on the project. They will be in Fresno Sun June 26, Don't miss...INFO HERE. Many more samples, along with my review, click:
'
As you hear St. Daniel Lanois explaining in the first video below, Peter Gabriel's "Come Talk To Me," was originally Peter talking to his daughter, but like all good art, leaves room for "more universal interpretation"..including the whole song as a prayer (Note the switch in one verse from "Come on and talk to me" to "Come DOWN and talk to me...) and lament.
More on the song/prayer? Click:
I had my wife's camera for the first time at the U2 concert in Oakland, so I didn't have the night shot settings right...which means the members of U2 glow in most of my videos (that will preach!)..
Having said that...
Here at the bottom of page is my Oakland "Miss Sarejevo" clip... a profound song about moving ahead with something as earthly and "unspiritual" as a beauty pageant even in the midst of war and violence. Official music video helps context:
A few things hit me after Oakland:
1)Lyric change to "is there a time for synagogue?"....Bono loves Jewish imagery more than we might realize...
2)On that note, I noted for the first time that the repeated lyric references to "is there a time for..."
connects well to open of the repeated lines of the concert's narrative arc/liturgy/leitourgia: "What time is it in the world?" (commentary on that here and here and here)
3)Bono...after singing the bridge of the song (the Pavorotti section), rides the literal bridge he was on, right over me. Bono loves to connect with fans, but often with his more prophetic stage acts (from MacPhisto to the more subtle ones) and theological references, he goes way over the fans heads...like he literally did mine in the video here. (:
I saw perform in New Haven in a coliseum that was soo good that the coliseum itself had to be blown up after the concert.
You can read my review of the show at bottom of the page here.
But here is the actual video (I WISH I had video of the gig; I mean video of the coliseum blowing up.
Enjoy!
No one can follow U2 on an "on" night. Might as well blow up the stadium.
Ok, the concert was 1984, and the coliseum was imploded in 2008..
and the destruction had nothing to do with the U2 concert....well, who knows (:
But every several years it happens.
A U2 concert, which is always good...enters another realm.
It was a surreeal moment for me as I realized from a distance that it happened again in Anaheim the other night. (I was just following the setlist online, so I can only imagine what it was like for those there watching it unfold).
Well, as many folks in this part of the interwebs, U2 played what some long-term fans (who would know) are calling among their best shows ever. I'm not jealous..wrong! But I shouldn't be, as I am still living off the first U2 concert I saw (here).
But the question becomes: what was up the other night?
>>It could have been "just" the usual set list changes and experimental energy that can happen when the band plays a second (or third) night in the same venue. Bono and others have offered that the second night San Jose 2011 could have been their best set ever.
>>It could've been "just" that this was a runthrough of the setlist for Glastonbury.
But often something else is (also) up.
It's kind of like what any pastor/preacher knows: Sometime you can tell when a "sermon" (concert) is carrying a special "anointing" (see Bono's quote on that word) ; sometimes you can't. Anaheim #2 was probably both.
They even had manager Paul McGuiness on stage for the first time ever in three decades:
Tim is onto something. I look forward to his fullblown blog posts and videos, but for niw he has already comemnted on Facebook:
...I wasn't even ready for this. You'll probably hear me say this in other posts: I realized that last nite I was sitting in Larry's kitchen for a good ol jam session. It was amazing. Just wish I could've been around a ...set of fans who realized what happened. The band was deeply moved by something(s) last nite. Bono said at the end of the show, "That was everything we could ask for and more. We needed that." Edge's house(s) and Clemon's death (and more) were really touching them. I think that's why it got personal. We didn't even hear from Tutu or Suu Kyi. Last night wasn't political. It was a big therapy session. I'll probably say more in a blog post eventually. I Shot some killer video that I'll post soon.
The BBC began its first television broadcast on 2nd November 1936. Britain got its second TV channel, BBC2, on 20th April 1964. That was almost thirty years of single setlist telly. I think I may have felt the same deep excitement of creative possibility at last night’s show in Anaheim that people may have felt when BBC2 launched. For an exhilaratingly delicious time during the first hour of the show, anything seemed possible. And despite being formed of mostly the same rerun songs just rearranged into a different order, the sheer elation and emotional effect was far in excess of the musical causes.
Bono said in Seattle two weeks ago that being able and allowed to begin again is an important element of the U2 philosophy. I wish they’d do it in their concerts far more often. The first hour of the show last night was almost as exciting as the first shows in Barcelona in 2009, and in Turin in 2010. But then, gigs can’t help but become exciting when the usual encore comes at the start.
There had been lots of speculation amongst fans during the last few days over what changes, if any, U2 would make to the setlist for Anaheim 2, after the stulpifying lack of variation at the preceding seven shows. I was being cynical, believing they’d swap in New Year’s Day for I Will Follow, and perhaps Angel of Harlem (the shows were in Angel Stadium) for Stay, and leave it at that.
Well, I got that one wrong.
Only one song actually received its 360 tour premiere last night (although three more had their first plays since Mexico). But it was a twangy, twisted, exhilarating belter, with Larry giving his poor drumkit its biggest battering yet. I was out in the spacious area behind Edge’s Red Zone with my lovely new Mexican-American buddy Jovita. She’s seen several shows so far this year, including in Mexico City. After Even Better Than The Real Thing, she turned to me and said “The moment of truth ...” We both waited. I expected to see Edge walk up to his piano for New Year’s Day. When he didn’t, I then expected to hear Adam and Larry start Out Of Control. When they didn’t, I had my first exciting “Wow! TWO TV channels!” moment. I recognised The Fly immediately from the first chord, as it had been rehearsed several times before both concerts. Jovita didn’t click it at first, then suddenly turned to me with a huge grin, “THE FLY!” I couldn’t help but give her a happy hug.
The band were all pumped up with adrenalin by something. Cod psychology theories abounded afterwards last night. I became Cathal Jung. I speculated that the band were full of nervous energy from playing a new setlist outside their familiar, safe, same-old 360 routine: “Where are we? What? WHAT?! Can’t be! That’s the encore! What the feck?! Larry, help!”
I theorised that perhaps U2 gigs these days really become dazzlingly alive when the band are full of that nervous energy. By making the setlist more familiar and comfortable for themselves, they could end up making the show a bit duller and less dramatic for their fans – certainly for the hardcore eejits who travel to multiple shows.
Every single one of the dozens of nutjob itinerant U2 fans I caught up with after the show were positively beaming, zipping about and raving about “best” this and “favourite” that. Several of the fans who had travelled to many shows during the entire tour had their (theoretical) last show last night. They all still have time to get tempted to return for more, and they probably will if U2 can keep playing shows like last night’s. The cynically easy point to make was that there should be more than a little of the collective euphoria everyone felt last night after every concert. After all, the BBC have dozens of channels these days.--.Cathalmc, continued
Video below of the amazing surprise appearance of President Obama at The Republican Leadership Conference. It's in two episodes here, so be sure to watch through the end of the second clip when the conference actually pulls the awards show trick (how to get a speaker off the stage: cut the sound to his microphone and usher him off). Backstory here.
As you might guess, I am not a huge fan of Pat Boone's music, nor was I a member of The Moral Majority.
But this bold column that Cal Thomas (former head of Falwell's Moral Majority) wrote in defense of Pat Boone's brilliant (temporary, 1997) "heavy metal" era is priceless.
Pat Boone had some fun tweaking his squeaky clean and Christian image, and recorded an album of metal songs (accompanied by folks like Dio and Blackmore). And even (jn a MacPhisto-like move) appeared alongside Alice Cooper (also a deep Christian, in case you didn't know) in leather biker gear
at the American Music Awards.
Video here:
Watch the video, and (other than the typical dumb scripts at award ceremonies), and decide if you would agree with TBN..
Who, a result, cancelled his "Christian" show.
Cal Thomas responded:
Man is not supposed to live by bread alone, but in the matter of the cancellation of singer Pat Boone's cable TV program, "Gospel America," it would appear that for some TV evangelists, man does live by bread quite a bit.
The owner-hosts of the Trinity Broadcasting Network dropped Boone's show when viewer-contributors threatened not to send more money because Boone wore a homogenized "heavy metal" outfit to promote his cleaned-up album...
Which is the more offensive image: Pat Boone in a modified heavy metal outfit, or some overweight religous TV hosts who sit on overstuffed couches,with makeup so thick it resembles a death mask, and tacky sets that mimic the interior of Graceland? Boone demonstrated uncommon Christian charity in his response to the show's cancellation. He said he judged the harder rockers without even listening to their music or trying to understand them as human beings with value.
-Cal Thomas, complete column here, it's a must read
It has been fascinating to follow the changes in the prophetic prayer rap Bono has been adding to live versions of "Moment of Surrender" in the last couple years. But I was pretty sure I heard a new and intriguing twist the other night in Oakland. Frustrated that I didn't think to record it, and that the full version wasn't on YouTube yet....I was thrilled that St. Seth (who was there with us), pointed out a recording...that proves I heard right.
Some history, and then the recording..
The first (?) version appeared out of nowhere on Saturday Night Live (NBC has taken it offline),
and wasn't incorporated into concerts for awhile,
but by the time of the Rose Bowl concerts, captured in the DVD here below (see 5:40ff), it showed up, and showed up emotionally (see comments at "Moment of....Prayer Rap").
It usually goes something like this:
Life is short…it’s the longest thing you’ll ever do The worst, the curse was that your dreams come true God is a mirror in which each man sees himself Hell is a place where you don’t need any help When I first met you, your face was like snow Wherever you went, I wanted to go Your face, your grace, your can of mace Your case as you put it down 8:17 on the ground Your faith in a clown Don’t leave me now, Lord, in this song Don’t leave me now Alone in this song
One of the hot debates was " Was he saying 'clown," 'crowd,' crown,"??.... I usually opted for "clown";
hoping he was drawing (again) from the "holy fool" tradition and referring to Jesus and/or himself as the clown..
"Holy fool" backstory:
Bono: (Paul McGuinness) would sit me down and say, “You have what it takes. You must have more confidence in yourself and continue to dig deeper. And I don’t be upset or surprised when you pull something out of the depth that’s uncomfortable.” Assayas: So you discovered things that, on first glance, you’d rather have kept hidden? What were those? Bono: The gauche nature of awe, of worship, the wonderment at the world around you. Coolness might help in your negotiation with your world, maybe, but it is impossible to meet God with sunglasses on. It is impossible to meet God without abandon, without exposing yourself, being raw. That’s the connection with great music and art, and that’s the other reason you wanted to join a band: you wanted to do the cool thing. Trying to capture religious experiences on tape wasn’t what ypu had in mind when you signed up for the job. Assayas: What about your own sunglasses, then? Do you wear them the same way a taxi driver would turn off his front light, so as to signal to God that this rock star is too full of himself and not to hire at the moment? Bono: Yeah, my insincerity… I have learnt the importance of not being earnest at all times. You don’t know what’s going on behind those glasses, but God, I can assure you, does. (53-54)
Sans glasses, still wearing wisdom, and more irony than one might think. It’s just been properly retooled and “dreamed up again” for a new millennium. He’s still a:
“Holy Fool,” which is a wonderful tradition of the Eastern Church who periodically pops up here in the West. In the Russian tradition, some of the saints would do almost anything to avoid being perceived as saints. One of them kept offering to wrestle bears so people would think him a nut and not praise him as a saint. In the West, St. Philip Neri acted goofy, partly because he enjoyed being a goof and partly to throw people off the scent of his sanctity and keep them from gushing over him. When offered a cardinal's hat, he proceeded to play football with it. Currently, we saw something of the Holy Fool in Forrest Gump a few years ago. All such fools have one thing in common: they know they are not wise. Similarly, those who are convinced of their innate wisdom are invariably great ninnies. It's far better to be a fool for Christ than to be a fool on one's own. Today, thank God for the folly that is his wisdom.
He’s still a holy fool, just more stripped down and streamlined. Far more subtle, no devil mask. But how is is that, on this current tour, he can dedicate “Running to Stand Still” to the troops in Iraq with a straight poker face, let alone without a McPhisto/devil mask to make the irony obvious? Does no one get it? Has anyone booed? No, they applaud what they perceive as patriotism (and they are partly right) and miss and misunderstand the subtle point (War is an exercise in death; in futility, and in standing still). Applaud is what they should do……but for another reason altogether: the singer has just brilliantly and understatedly (!) pulled off a holy fool moment. And dismantled death even. Even if not many “get it.”
-link
A couple years ago, Towers commented on my blog:
I would venture an as yet unspoken theory that Bono is in fact saying "8:17 on the ground - your faith in a clown" as a reference to 1.) the approximate start time of the concert..? 2.) the clown as himself. Picture - it's 8:17, the crowd is on the crowd, ready for 'Space Oddity' and lift off with 'King of your Love' and the drum roll of 'Breathe.' Everyone's enthralled. In keeping with the themes explored in 'Stand Up Comedy' (sadly unplayed as yet) perhaps Bono is here having a go at the idea that people place faith in rock stars who, despite pomp and circumstance, are essentially clowns. -see comments here, Towers,
I agree that it is likely 8:17 (and not A-17 as many think), as originally every song on "No Line" included a time reference...and Towers' guess is as good as any in context.
So..
what i thought I heard in person the other night was that "Don't put your faith in a clown" had become "Don't lose your faith in this clown" (Either way, Bono would be meaning himself, unless he pointed upwards, which I didn't see.
Here is the audio, check out 7:58..it's pretty clear:
LATER NOTE: FINALLY FOUND A FULL CONCERT VIDEO VERSION. HERE IT IS, pick up the video at 5:45 mark: (Note: I make the case that you can often tell when Bono's about to move into a prophetic section...you can watch his hand start to shake or swirl...LOL, I guess he's been to Toronto. see below and especially "Without You" at Slane here):
I realize he could be praying that GOD would not lose his faith in "this clown"=Bono. He sure assumes a posture of prayer as soon as he finishes saying it the last time. --
Considering what happened next...which was amazing:
..definitely one of the highlights, check out what happened at the very end as the band meets Wojtek, This whole thing felt prophetic as I watched it, as if the guest was sent to bring a blessing to the band and to the U.S with his visit...and gift to Bono. Of course, it is yet another refreshing example of how U2 honors fans......and a reminder that Beth is right: Bono does not bring only girls up on stage:
...suffice to say I haven't lost my faith in either clown.
When Bono was 'foolish' enough to let Wojtek up on stage, it was holy foolishness.
When someone holds up a sign that says "Bono: I flew 20 hours to be on stage with U2,"
and Bono is humble and holy enough to let it happen..
..wow, once some folks travelled eight hours to meet me..That was holy and humbling enough.
Story:
We were minding our own business, teaching for a small group at our church by the brothel (see both here) in Huancayo, Peru...when these men (video below) showed up unannounced.
No one knew them, so Ken greeted them and found they has somehow heard from the grapevine that we (some special gringos) were in Huancayo; they had travelled for eight hours on mountain roads, on the chance that we might be able to pray/commission them for their ministry: they run an intercession/outreach center from the poorest apartment complex in the country.
Sometimes when North Americans teach in Latin America or Africa, the locals think we are especially anointed, or will blow on them/knock 'em down like the televangelists on TBN. This was different. They just felt like we had something for them.
I even wore a clown suit once..maybe I'll buy it back..story and photos here..
Oh...
if the "holy fool" language trips you up, would it trip you up more to use the phrase "idiot"?:
I would love to browse the books by Bono's bedside.
We have long known he has read
Eugene Peterson (some see direct Peterson inspirations in this album),
Brennan Manning (great story)
Phillip Yancey (great story) ../
We have just confirmed a long suspicion he has read John of the Cross!
Why would he not be referencing Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot" in "Crazy Tonight"s use of ":idiot" language?
The title character is not only a Christ-figure, but his development was influenced by the "holy fool" tradition (which Bono directly utilized in the 9os). -full story
"church is entertaining me/ in place of theology../ I'm still looking for Jesus.." -The Violet Burning, "br0thr part 1" (1-05 br0thr PT 1 by thevioletburning)
--- You may want to click the story...and weep:
I saw/felt this coming in the early 90s when visiting a megachurch..the usher greeted us first-timers (im)politely with refusing to let us bring our (non-crying, non-special needs) son into the service, as he might disrupt..
I'm still looking for Jesus/ singing out on this lonely street.
Bono always says "celebrity is currenecy," I'd like to think I'd be as wise as Matt, who left Bono and family alone at Disneyland (see Buzz Outdraws Bono at Disneyland) .I'd hate to "spend" or "cheapen" his reserve of currency..
I guess I'm glad I didn't meet these street preachers (they give away the T shirt at left) at the U2 concert (first video) the other night. I preferred the preaching inside...
Did you notice, though, the crowd didn't swear at them like the crowd at the Kiss concert did (second video...and watch what happens when a Christian gal tries to reason with one of them).
