Alli Rogers . Derek Webb

Last night a group of friends went up to Waterloo for a Derek Webb concert with Alli Rogers opening. Thankfully everything went down without a hitch. We have had a mess of winter storms across Iowa, which made for a very long and confusing trip for Derek and Alli. Thankfully they were determined to make it.Alli has an amazing voice with simple, beautiful lyrics that tell great stories. It as great for her because she is from the Cedar Falls area, so this gig was just 15 minutes from home. I would have loved to have heard a few more songs from her. We’re going to keep an eye on where she will be in the future.
Derek came out using the same 12-string guitar all night. It was actually pretty admirable. Most groups these days come out using all their bells and whistles, pushing buttons and pedals trying to impress with sound. Not that that has no worth, but there is something to be said about a guy who comes out with one instrument and some heart wrenching lyrics. I think that says something not only about his musical sound but his confidence in his message. He completely blew me away with a few new tunes that will be coming out on his new album in May 2007. And of course he brought out some old Caedmon’s tunes and played all sorts of his own stuff. Very raw, honest concert.

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