Date: 22 Nov 1998
To: RichMailList
Subject: [RichMailList 230f]: Elgin, IL 11/08 reviews

Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1998 09:14:55
From: Jennifer Bieritz
Subject: Homeless Man Tour - Elgin, Illinois

Good morning Dan'l!

Saw the Homeless Man tour last night (sold out show) in Elgin, Illinois.
Ditto what everyone has said about this concert.  I'll just share a few
additional thoughts.  This Train was great, and I will definitely buy
their CD.  I always liked Million Years From Now and never knew they
sang it.  Absolutely loved Mimes of the Old West.  They closed their set
with that sappy love song, Monster Truck.

Other than Canticle I had never heard Mitch before.  Other folks have
said his voice is not as strong as it was, but I certainly couldn't
tell.  If it is, he more than makes up for it with the conviction with
which he sings.  By the way, it was Mitch's 26th birthday, and we all
sang Happy Birthday to him.  Eric is great on cello (thanks for the
heads-up).  Michael played everything from a popcorn tin to the hammer
dulcimer.  Amazing.  Loved the Lemonade Song.

The Ragamuffins were awesome.  They did Nothing is Beyond You, and Rick
Elias mentioned this is only the fourth time they've performed it in
concert.  Nothing against Amy, but I really preferred Rick's rendition. 
The second half of their set, Rick said we were going to do church. 
Wish I could attend that church every Sunday.  Unbelievable.  Everyone
joined in on If I Stand, Creed, Sometimes by Step, I See You, That Where
I Am . . . They said they'll be touring again in the spring, and I hope
they never stop.

Peace,
Jennifer Bieritz

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From: Gina Blanchette
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 16:22:59
Subject: [ragamuffin] Elgin Concert

The Elgin Concert on Sunday was incredible -- bottom line I think the 
bands had a good time.  The audience definitely did.  The Ragamuffins 
did "Nothing is Beyond You" and "That Where I Am . . ." which are 
recent additions to their show.  We sang "Happy Birthday" to Mitch 
twice.

The Elgin show was an emotional one for the bands (sorry Steve!).  I 
won't go into it except to say they were in the midst of a lot of 
memories being in Elgin which is old This Train stomping grounds, 
site of the Roswell East studio, and the location of the church where 
Rich taped the demos.  This Train naturally had a lot of support from 
the locals.  When Mitch came on he was well-received.  After his 
first song someone started a round of "Happy Birthday."  He got a 
standing ovation for being there after he spoke about the accident, 
losing Rich and how he's coming along.  Mitch's voice sounded great, 
but he still says it isn't what it was.  Someone brought a cake with 
candles blazing and Eric presented it to Mitch who was sung to a 
second time.  Then he blew out the candles and tried to make a sound 
on the harmonica at the same time, for which he received more 
applause.  It was very cool to share in his impromptu birthday 
celebration.  He said he'd split the cake 500 ways if someone would 
volunteer to cut it.

When the Ragamuffins came on it was hard for them to get a sense of 
what was going on with their audience because they couldn't see us.  
They mentioned a couple of times that they really needed us to be 
there tonight.  After a couple songs they knew we were and 
things started falling into place.  News from Rick is that they're 
touring again this Spring with additional songs -- and they plan to 
come back to Elgin.  When they came back after intermission to do 
Rich songs and the lighting was brought up on the audience things 
couldn't have gone better.  It was such a powerful time -- great 
musicianship and spirit on their part and a grateful, receptive 
audience -- and both playing off each other to God's glory.

The evening brought back memories of why Rich's songs never were just 
songs -- JimmyA talked about that, too.  Each one of Rich's songs 
showed a different facet of Jesus.  I had almost forgotten that we 
always seemed to be praying when we were at one of Rich's concerts, 
praying through the songs.  I was grateful that that hadn't changed.  
The Ragamuffins are picking up the dance just fine.

I didn't get to talk to the Ragamuffins afterwards 'cause I had to 
leave for home quicker than I originally planned and I missed meeting 
a couple people on the list.  I talked with Mitch and then gave him 
the e-mails and a hug and thanked him for being there.  He was 
selling his own CDs and tapes -- I let him know that his CD is 
really, really good!  Then I had to leave.  I hope the others from 
the mailing list got to talk to the rest of the band and will report 
in, especially with any other news or prayer requests.

God's blessings,
Gina
gblanch@olivet.edu

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