Night of Joy
A week or so ago, Sonya and I (and a couple of friends) got to relive some of our youth (along with several thousand other youths) at Night of Joy. It’s been a little busy these past few weeks, so that’s why this hasn’t hit with everybody else’s reviews.
First, the bad
I really don’t like to bad-mouth things, anything or anyone if I can keep from it. AND, given the fact that Sonya is a huge Disney fan, this is just a little bit harder.
I expect Disney to be masters at putting on concerts – after all, they’ve been putting on NoJ for 24 years, as well as numerous other concerts and events for even longer. So, count me as hugely surprized to find there were numerous places in front of the performances where I could only hear bass. Second, there were places in the park where you were literally being assaulted with 3 or more sources of audio at one time. Now, i can completely understand having bleed-over between the concert venues; what i can’t understand is why Disney decided to have a radio station full-blast in between the venues. Sorry, Disney, it was ridiculous to have so much audio in sometimes very small spaces. Next year, cut out the radio, or better yet, use those speakers to broadcast the closest concert for those that can’t get anywhere near the stage – maybe then I’ll get something besides bass.
Next, the ugly
Disney’s lack of crowd control the first night bordered on dangerous. Movement between the concerts was nearly impossible and resulted in numerous attitudes (from other people of course 
that most definately did not reflect where we were. In all fairness, the second night was not as bad, but for me that damage was already done. Because of the impossible walking situation (going from one concert to another would take the entire time of the concert), we missed Casting Crowns and Mercy Me – two of the main reasons we went.
I can attest that for at least one person, the crowds were too much. While Leaving the David Crowder Band concert, a woman had collapsed and was being looked after by medical personnel. Disney, i won’t be back because of crowd control issues. Honestly, there were far too many people in the park overall. I don’t have the numbers to prove it, but i suspect the event was over-booked. Either way, I will probably go to Rock the Universe next year.
Finally, the good
The performances (that we were able to see) were fantastic. We saw BarlowGirl both nights! They have incredible music and the best message I’ve heard yet for teen (and older) girls (and boys). The couple we were with has already bought all of their CDs since we got back. I absolutely hope my daughter thinks their message is “cool” when she gets there. Hope and pray, hope and pray.
David Crowder Band pumped so much energy into their perfomance, I was hard of hearing for two days, still humming their tunes. I had heard, but not seen David Crowder before, so he came as a little shock to me. Not a bad shock, he’s full of energy and uses it. Sonya kept asking when he takes a breath. I think this was probably the longest concert and they definately know how to worship. Even when we weren’t jumping up and down, our hands were raised in worship. A Collision is my next purchase.
Jeremy Camp was the last concert we got to. I think we were so tired that by the time we got here all we wanted to do was sit. JC definately put on a good show, but we couldn’t stand any longer. Sorry Jeremy, really we were jumping in our seats!
My hope
My honest hope is that DCB will go get BarlowGirl and come play at my house, well maybe not at my house – my walls won’t take it – but somewhere close. OK, my real hope is that someone with knowledge of how multi-concerts should work, with a large area of land and the inititive to get Christain artists out of the theme parks, will host some sort of woodstock event and transform some lives. Just make it near Ocala.
