Newsboys Rate Headliner Status
By Jeff Miers
The 2008 edition of the annual Christian music festival Kingdom Bound wrapped up Wednesday evening, before an audience of roughly 50 percent capacity at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center.
The annual event, initiated by the late Fred Caserta, a Buffalo native, blends various forms of Christian-themed music with between- set speeches and presentations by various ministries.
Wednesday, one heard various strains of pop music throughout the Darien Lake grounds — from the straight folk-pop of traditional Christian music, to the more contemporary strains rock and pop. The common denominator? Dropping “Jesus” into the song’s lyrics.
The big buzz of the night, of course, was the evening-capping performance by Kingdom Bound veterans The Newsboys. The Australian ensemble has been perhaps the most exciting, rocklike act in Christian pop for more than a decade. Part of the reason for that has got to be the fact that these guys sound pretty much exactly like the Jonas Brothers, save the Savior-centered lyrics.
It’s also significant that The Newsboys — excellent musicians all, and in essence, a power-pop band of the first order — put on a big, flashy rock ‘n’ roll show, replete with massive lighting rig, drum riser with flanking ramps and plenty of band-crowd interaction opportunities.
The Newsboys have won several Dove awards — the Christian music equivalent of a Grammy — and from the opening moments of the band’s set Wednesday, it was easy to understand why. This is a high- quality band, one well aware that, just as you can draw more flies with honey than vinegar, you can grab the attention of more potential Christians with big, Bon Jovi-esque chorus hooks than you might with misty-eyed folk music testimonials.
The band made the assembled wait a good while before appearing, perhaps in an effort to allow the Kingdom Bounders occupied in the amusement park to make their way to the concert area.
By the time the band hit the stage, the assembled were more than ready.
“Wherever We Go” blended a disco-funk foundation with pure pop vocals from singer Peter Furler, and even threw in a “Throw yer hands up high!” coda. The tune employed some contemporary lingo — a “Holla back!” here, a “Let’s get the party started!” there, to seemingly satisfying effect.
“Mission” was a bit more explicit — these are pop missionaries, after all — but still, it sounded like Coldplay crossed with INXS, pretty much.
Later, “Something Beautiful,”"Stay Strong” and of course, “Shine,” the band’s biggest hit, perfected the band’s blend of Christian testimony and secular rock song structures and presentation.
e-mail: jmiers@buffnews.com
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Newsboys
Performing as part of Kingdom Bound on Wednesday at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center.
Originally published by NEWS POP MUSIC CRITIC.
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