Okay, so I am a little late with the update, but I am an aging victim of the Parachute Experience, and such does weary me. Nevertheless, I am still in the land of the living, and one might add that this is only by the grace of God, but the Christian context of this blog should have already alerted one to this reality!

After last night’s frivolities, Man of Spin is in a more informed position to reflect on the vibe of Parachute 20-10…

To put it briefly, there is a different vibe at Parachute.  I am not sure if this is my aging individual, finding the wonderings and wanderings of youth of the prowl, even more sadly reminiscent of our narcissistic self, but the sense of missing out of the event seems to have diminished, with the desire to be there for the bands post-daylight, on Main Stage, even more motivating this year!

If to underscore this reality, Man of Spin is putting Parachute on time-out for this day, as it is the night when the party really get’s started!

Village life also seems a little less alive and more sparse of the retail variety.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, but one has that sense that the main factory in the Village has closed, and the community knows it, even if they are not that referentially self-aware.  Such could also be first day blues, or even a result of the credit that has been crunched for many people this past year, but it has not been life as we know… then again, it could just be the mad machinations in my mind!

In Part One of Day One, I referred to the acts I was looking forward to viewing that Friday night, and without further-a-due, let me recount the events at Main Stage on a mostly beautiful Tron night, except for the very occasional light rain, and the fact that it got quite cool – ish…

Man of Spin pretty much spent the whole night on a bucket-type green seat, attached to numerous other seats, on a bleacher, belatedly, with the help-meet of my youth-to-aging-middle!

First up in my night of music pot-pouri was NEW EMPIRE… These lads from Sydney Australia, looking scarily like something from my not-so-late- 80′s-and-I-never-had-a-Mercedes, playing their ”Weekend Programme” described “Pop Rock”… or if you like it more lethal, “wowser music,” but they were pretty good, were easy listening, mildly amusing, and played up-to-the-crowd, with their music mojo that seemed to be dominated by relationships… To illuminate this for you, while most of their tracks were easy enough on the ear, there was one track that stood up and said “listen to me,” which is this track…

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However, one did get the impression that they were a band on a mission, but whether this mission intersected with God’s, only they can answer, and while one wasn’t expecting a sermon, putting God on display, is generally a good idea… in fact, it is God’s idea, or if you prefer “Word” style… 1 Cor. 10:31, and watching and listening to their refrains, if God talk is worth all the money in the world, then they were definitely not the tipping types… cheapskates!  I get the, we want to be known for our music, not just because we can play at gigs because we are all Christians, but one fool’s one-self if one thinks one can put on and put off one’s  transformed worldview, like they did their Duran, Duran, come Wham styled clothing!

After they exited stage right… ALL LEFT OUT, came right in…

I can see this blog diary is going the way of things blogging for this Man of Spin, which is long.  Therefore, I will keep my comments on this kiwi band succinctly short.  They had a good set.  The lead singer, no I don’t know his name… while when visually singing, looked interesting, does have some good pipes on him, and uses them with skill!  Don’t confuse my colourless prose as a reflection of this band’s time on Main Stage, as their sounded would have dethroned any New Empire, but word limits count!
I would put up some tracks of this band and those following, but I am not on a bandwidth binge, not even close, so you will have to forgive me… it’s Christ-like, anyway, Disciple!

For the Man of Spin, the act that I was looking forward to the most was Rapture Ruckus, and after purchasing his limited edition EP, we, by this time I was not looking like a Neville Nobody, as I had the lovely company of my lovely wife, we sat at the top of the bleacher and took it all in!

In many respects, I find the less cultured sound of Rapture from previous years to be more authentic, and more massive, but the soon-to-be-expanding talent, still hits one in the solar plexus with sanctified sounds.  Let me explain a little… The Ruckus has been signed by American label, Tooth and Nail, and if you are wondering if that is big news, wonder no more, because that is a doorway to the big time!!!  Rapture spoke about how they are going to be spending 9 months in the US and 3 months in NZ, which means you will probably see Rapture next year, so do not fret!  What he did say about how this became a reality is that the video he shot a couple or three years ago at Parachute, providentially landed on the head of Tooth and Nail’s desk, and as a result of this happening, the Ruckus is off to Represent!

Anyway, the man is now a very polished performed, who not only knows how to grab an audience by the heart, but also does it with a sincerity that sends one heavenward, as they thank the Creator for this outworking of His grace on such a night.  As I have said before, some individuals seem to go through a redemption song that so casts a shadow on the rest of their life, as a result of the nature of the gift of God’s grace that is truly transforming, that they can not help but be enraptured with this life, for the rest of their days, and into eternity.  It seems that the man still really lives each day out of that Gospel jail-break in his life, and it speaks through in his lyrics that call Christ to the Stage, put Him on display, calling all listeners to marvel at the One who has given all those, lost not only a Parachute outa Hell, but a life ticket HOME, homie!

To give you some picture visually, Rapture has a new logo (to me , anyway), which is to “R’s” back to back, that looks uncannily like the Atari Space Invader (now there was a game worth playing), which was plastered on the screens as he came on stage… Probably what I should also inform you about, is that there is a screen above the stage, which is generally split into four, giving viewers a different perspective from previous years, and it works, so on these four screens, and the two beside the stage, the Atari-double “R” of the Ruckus, prepared those for his entrance.

The crowd was pretty massive, with the whole arena not too far away from capacity, and with a backdrop this year, which has a lighting capacity, set in 5 panels around the back of the stage, which gives the appearance of consistent breaks, such as a zebra crossing effect of emitting light (If you can grasp this description), Rapture hit the stage, and hipped till he hopped away for the rest of his set.

While not a massive fan of the mix on the Main Stage, with the next act in particular, Rapture still delighted his hearers, with two of the new tracks, grabbing my punk-donkey collar!  The first he referred to as being the number that he has had the most feedback on, which is Hold On, with the second one, also delighting my ears to my soul, as it gloried in the One who is worth more than all the mere musicology of man, titled, All Things New.  After completing his tag-team drumming duel, which gets the natives excited, he came back with band-in-toe, as the people wanted Oliver Twist style, just one more… Sir!… Oh, and there was some fireworks, that sort-of, didn’t work, but we got the picture, literally.

That leaves just one more act, one of the highlighted big acts from the States, Falling Up…

Man of Spin is not in the business to be mean, but Falling Over might have been a better description, as this band was a shadow of its former self, which seem to make sense, when the lead singer informed all those who stayed, which was ever-diminishing, that Parachute 20-10 would be their final gig!  It would seem that they had signed up for this some time ago, and unlike another US band, who had the temerity to do it two times, they at least honoured us with their visit (and they said they loved it last time, so this was some encouragement).

Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely something about the sound and story of this band, and even though they were a shadow of the band I viewed three years ago at the Chute, when their sound jumped off the stage and smacked me in the mouth, there were still the remnants of a sound that not only told a story in their lyrics (which you couldn’t really grasp… Mr Mixer), but embodied it in their Symphony of Sound.  One could grasp, even at the beginning that something was different, it was almost like watching four guys playing musical instruments, instead of one band, and when the lead singer apologised for the performance of one of their well-known numbers, which he informed listeners that they had not played for approx. a year, one began to think, have you not heard of practice?!

It was a mournfully eiry time watching these guys play.  I find the emotion and range of their score to be almost visceral in nature at times, and one is taken in, as something deeper seems to be transpiring, but it simultaneously with a sense of sadness, as this time seemed to be more a Wake for what was, then what is, in their musical presentation.  When the said lead singer, pointed out that they were not breaking up because of some personal animosity between the members, one sensed that this new reality was still very real for those mentioned members, and that such words may have been more for those in playing distance, than us kiwis in the crowd!

When they finished their set, they honoured those who had stayed, which would have been approx. a fifth of who had been there for Rapture, by coming out for one more, before they quietly left what should have been a time of joy!

Maybe this stands out for me more, as I have in my mind, moments about this band that stand up when I recall them, and remind me of times when the music world seemed to be their oyster.  As I have affirmed, I watched these guys hit the ground playing in the Palladium some three years ago, when they were visually and musically, full of life.  I also remember hearing on Life FM that one of the band members parents was listening on-line, and if my memory is correct, was wanting to know how the band went. Such reminders point to the dreaming of our figuratively youth.  Such was even a little heart warming, as one could perceive that this band was encouraged by family members who were enabling this to become a reality, and things were beginning to take shape.

That was then, and this is now, and what was potential in the past, would in a couple of days, be respective in reality, as this band in the flesh will be silenced.  I can’t help but sense the loss of dreaming, which may have been jolted by reality, which has encouraged this death in the band!

Such seems like a melancholic moment to end on, but such was the overwhelming sense of watching these guys play.  I stayed to the end, even against the wife’s be-hesting, and this narrative seemed to be singing duet style throughout.  Maybe it is because this Man of Spin understands something about the dreaming of youth that ends when life wakes up, but such still pulls me in.  I have not googled about the details of this break-up, nor am I privy to any insider information, and such may prove my speculations as specious, but one can only be thankful that although their time in themusical sun may be coming to an end, their time in the Son, is only just beginning, and for that reason alone, life goes on.

After all that, we arrived back in the Tron many minutes past midnight, where tiredness was the order of the day, and lying motionless on a bed was the stuff of Kings, which explains why you are reading this for Dinner, and not Breakfast.

While this is all but a memory for those at Parachute, the line-up tonight is certainly not.  With Family Force 5, Switchfoot, and Underoath, the line-up tonight is a massive attack, and Man of Spin feels like a rumble, so I may be forced to listen on!

Instead of promising my next blog diary tonight, one just may have to wait for tomorrow…

Patience O Reader…

For the Fame of His Name

Man of Spin