Revive: the musical

The band at Revive is quite good, listenable with mostly good stage manners. The stage set is also modestly appealing, despite the casual dishevelment of instrument cables, instrument brand names overly obvious and the visual domination of the band.

I'm not sure if the band is to entertain, draw our attention, or support our singing to one another. The way the lead singer deported herself with self-obsessed histrionics was little different from the manipulation of a pop concert. Her sexualising clothing was distinctly out of place: more orgiastic pop vamp than modest and humble cantor serving the congregation.

The humble stage presence of the rest of the band impressed, attracted and even moved me; even so I could see why the medievals had the choir not facing the congregation: it was not for performance!

As I posted earlier, her misplaced judgements of the superior and capable speakers: experienced and educated Christians, was pathetically insulting. It seems to have always been the case that a dose of minor celebrity amongst Christian pop singers lends a misplaced self appraisal of one's learning and spiritual experience.

For some reason, spiritual ecstasy makes younger people, and some older ones, stick one hand in the air. Some go the whole hog and do the Countdown arms (Countdown: ABC pop music show of the 1980s where the studio audience waved their arms in the air like a bunch of Quon Streamers: refer to The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy if you don't follow). This is of no moment, although weird in the congregation, but definitely out of place and distracting when the music squad does it.