Joal’s 2023 Concert Going List—December 2023

Live music is healing for me.

Live music is engaging, encouraging, enlivening, releasing and restorative for me.

As we’ve been navigating my wife’s health challenges this year, at her urging, I chose to care for myself in one specific way: by going to concerts far more than I normally do. This idea was greatly helped by the fact that nearly everyone I like, in every genre imaginable, seemed to be on tour this year. Some notes of highlight:

The largest concert experience this year: Metallica, where 100,000 people attended!

The most “captured by her voice & presence pointing to Jesus” concert experience this year: Cece Winans. What a Spirit-fueled evening!

The longest concert experience this year was obviously the festival I attended: Moon River for 2 days--it was worth every bit of sweating and standing to see NEEDTOBREATHE, Hozier, Nickel Creek, Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, Larkin Poe and so many more.

The loudest: Extreme, which seems appropriate, right?! (thank God and Sarah for my Eargasm earplugs!)

The least planned for: Thrice in October, with my ticket purchased just 3 hours before showtime (though a few others were a-day-or-two-before-kinda-ticket-purchase)

The show with the best “seat”: NEEDTOBREATHE in Fort Worth when I got bumped up to “the pit” due to a broken seat and got to rock out with two of my sisters-in-laws already there!

The most innovative BY FAR: U2 at the Sphere. Until you immerse yourself in that place & moment, it’ll seem like hype. Just go and you’ll see it’s unlike anything you’ve ever attended!

Repeat acts seen in 2023:

Thrice 2xs (yes, I see the irony)

Stryper 2xs 

NEEDTOBREATHE 2xs

Nita Strauss 3xs (one being w/ Alice Cooper)

MammothWVH 3xs

The best: ?

They all have a special place in my memory, with videos & photos on my phone and t-shirts in my closet. There wasn’t one “best”; they were all great in the moment. Some who have followed my Facebook posts, pictures and videos have asked for “The List” of the 35 concert events I attended this year. Feel free to look back at any of the posts there as there’s greater show by show detail and more photos and video clips. Here it is!

_________

March 17 at Will Rogers Memorial Auditorium in Fort Worth, TX:

Ben Rector w/ Jordy Searcy & Stephen Day

March 18 at Southside Ballroom in Dallas, TX: 

Alter Bridge w/ MammothWVH & Pistols at Dawn

April 13 at the Strand Theatre in Shreveport, LA:

Steven Curtis Chapman 

April 14 at the Arlington Music Hall in Arlington, TX:

Stryper w/ Millennial Reign

April 20 at First Baptist Church in Texarkana, TX:

Cece Winans

May 7 at Lake Country Playhouse in Mineola, TX:

Randy Stonehill

May 17 at War Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, LA:

Alice Cooper

May 22 at the Echo Music Lounge in Dallas, TX:

Thrice w/ Holy Fawn

June 29 at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas, TX:

Matchbox Twenty w/ Matt Nathanson 

July 12 at Trees in Dallas, TX:

Nita Strauss w/ Lions at the Gate & Adam Nanez Band & Russ Hewitt Band

July 17 at the Basement East in Nashville, TN:

Stryper w/ Jamie Rowe 

July 21 at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas, TX:

Shania Twain w/ Mickey Guyton

August 3 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX:

Thomas Rhett w/ Cole Swindell & Nate Smith

August 18 at At&T Stadium in Arlington, TX:

Metallica w/ Pantera & MammothWVH

August 22 at Revel Event Center in Albuquerque, NM:

Extreme w/ Living Colour

August 23 at Toyota Music Pavilion in Irving, TX:

Counting Crows w/ Dashboard Confessional

September 9-10 at Moon River Festival in Chattanooga, TN: 

Hozier & NEEDTOBREATHE w/ Nickel Creek, Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors (guest appearance by Amy Grant), JOHNNYSWIM, Larkin Poe, First Aid Kit, Wilder Woods, Noah Cyrus, the 502s & Larry Fleet

September 28 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX:

Guns n Roses w/ Alice In Chains

September 30 at the Belcher Center in Longview, TX:

Vince Gill (Neal McCoy’s ETAN benefit concert) 

October 6 at True Vine Brewery in Tyler, TX:

Lydia Laird

October 7 at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, TX:

Snarky Puppy w/ Nate Wood

October 9 at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, TX:

The Wallflowers w/ LC Franke

October 13 at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, CA:

Kenny Loggins w/ Richard Marx

October 14 at Toyota Music Pavilion in Irving, TX:

Sting w/ Joe Sumner

October 18 at Tannahill’s Music Hall in Fort Worth, TX:

Thrice w/ the 68

October 20 at Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth, TX:

NEEDTOBREATHE w/ Judah & the Lion

October 26 at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, TX: 

Brandon Lake w/ Benjamin Hastings & Leeland

October 29 at Flint Baptist Church in Flint, TX:

Natalie Grant & Bernie Herms

November 10 at the Strand Theatre in Shreveport, LA:

Whose Live Anyway?

November 11 at the Belcher Center in Longview, TX:

Crowder

November 25 at the Factory in Dallas, TX:

MammothWVH w/ Nita Strauss

December 1 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, NV:

U2

December 3 at Christ Church in Tyler, TX:

Nine Lessons & Carols

December 7 at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Plano, TX:

Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God w/ Jess Ray, the Arcadian Wild, Andrew Osenga, Jill Phillips, Andy Gullahorn & Skye Peterson

December 15 at Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth, TX:

for King & Country’s Drummerboy Christmas

I’ve created an Apple Music playlist titled “Joal’s ‘23 Concert Review” with over 50 tunes, 3.5 hours of listening, with a song from each headliner and many of the opening acts that I heard live this year. It’s pretty eclectic as the list of shows suggests.

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/joals-23-concert-review/pl.u-NpXmYB7FmvogKo

As I’m typing this, I still have my U2 floor access wristband on. I didn’t feel a need to cut it off because every time I catch sight of it or feel it slide on my wrist, I smile. 

Good memories buoy.

We can all use a little lift these days and these concerts have been that life-joy-lift for me.

Next time you see me, ask to see some concert photos and videos on my phone. I’ll show you some Crowder that’ll make you worship Jesus right then and there or a full on Footloose dance party with Kenny Loggins or a little Guns n Roses that’ll have you head banging with me in the parking lot or a smidge of U2 that’ll probably make you as dizzy as it did me that night. After seeing some clips, you’ll be smiling, too. There are a few shows in ‘24 I have tickets to attend, but nothing on pace with this year. It’s been a once in a lifetime run. 

Caregiving and Concert-Binging November 2023

Julian and Sarah.

My peoples.

They’re both cherished and loved. 

They both live with physical challenges that require, not constant, but continual attention.

Yes, there is younger son and soon-to-be-daughter-in-law, Mom & Dad and all the other extended peeps, but they’re physically well enough on their own.

I am a caregiver to Julian and Sarah.

Anyone who is caring for a loved one will eventually admit, as honesty meets exhaustion, that the toll is extreme but they’d rather not regularly share the details publicly.

Julian’s challenges will be with him his whole life. He’s on the spectrum and has epilepsy. Overall, though, he’s strong, healthy, loves working at the farm, loves all animals, loves his tools & old fire extinguishers

and rocks out on his drum set nearly every night. He’s all about live concerts and his tour t-shirts. He really can’t carry a tune, but music matters to our guy.

Sarah’s challenges have been arriving in waves through her adult years. A number of challenges (this not being the place to list them) have culminated in our ultimate moment: 

awaiting a

kidney transplant. Interestingly, music and specific playlists help her nearly everyday get through a visit or treatment or procedure or even a single, heavy moment at the house. The Carpenters, Bon Jovi and Trisha Yearwood all get huge thank yous from us.

Julian loves music.

Sarah loves music.

I love music, too.

Sadly, in the whirlwind of caregiving, work and life overall, over the last couple of years, I let my guitars stay cased in the closet, often for weeks at a time. It went so long at one point that a lifetime’s worth of callouses left my left hand, replaced by skin far too smooth to be a guitar player.

But a turn in caregiving, music, guitar playing, soul care and sanity arrived earlier this year. At the end of ‘22, I purchased tickets for me, the younger son & his lady to catch Ben Rector’s Old Friends acoustic tour stop in Fort Worth in March ‘23. I wasn’t feeling physically spiffy that night, but we attended nonetheless.

The show was great (Ben always is)!

G & L were a good hang. I love those two.

It was worth the effort and miles.

While acquiring the Ben tickets in ‘22, I also purchased a solo ticket to catch the Alter Bridge concert the following night in Dallas. I attended, still feeling less than great (dang kidney stone!!) and realized again, for the first time in a long time: I love live music! It matters to my being.

After seeing Wolfgang and Tremonti play that night the thought started dawning that maybe I should pull the guitars out and pick a bit. Another thought soon followed—these shows were great, they helped me feel good, they helped me feel again, lifting my spirit; maybe there’s another concert to catch in the near future.

The most necessary turn in this grand-concert-going-plan happened when I mentioned to Sarah that there might be another show or two I’d like to catch. Her response was immediate, emphatic and loving: “I can’t go these days, but you should go to any concert you can, see anyone you want, I know you love concerts. It’ll be good for you.” 

And so my “Sarah blessed concert binge” began. 

Since that day, I have been playing guitar most days, maybe just for 5-10 minutes but playing, and I’ve attended bunches of concerts. Bunches!

I haven’t made it to every show I wanted to see. Sometimes work prevented attendance, like missing the Dave Matthews Band show in Dallas in May. Other times two or even three good choices fell on the same night requiring missing someone, somewhere. But this year I’ve been blessed and thrilled to be in many a club or theatre or church or stadium or even open field where memorable magical musical moments occurred. I’ve watched unrivaled international talent mesmerize 100s up to a 100,000 all at the same time. I’ve sung, danced and headbanged with family and with total strangers all across America. So far this year, I’ve seen shows in what I consider to be my general area (Dallas, Longview, Tyler, Texarkana and Shreveport) as well as concerts in Houston, Nashville, Albuquerque and Sacramento. 

Each time I return from another concert or even

series of concerts, I have smiles and videos and stories and often a tour t-shirt. It’s been a year of good, true, right experiences and memories. 

Music does not erase our challenges. 

Music does, however, soothe my soul.

Live music, lost in the moment, part of a community of people enjoying the same thing, being where we all are because of desire, all of it has been good for me. 

I’ve approached this year of ticket purchases with a very open hand—I knew I may not be able to attend a given ticketed show and if that was to be the case, it was okay. It’s not a waste; it was just a plan with a few bucks attached. The caregiving challenges could always break into the plans with an unexpected sickness, surgery or situation. So far, all but one ticketed concert have been attended.

Current count is 30 concerts seen.

I have a few more shows to see yet this year and some concert plans in ‘24, just not quite the pace of ‘23, but a few things to look forward to down the road. And that’s part of the soul care ritual here: expectation of a simple pleasure. 

If you’re a caregiver, especially one with a long term forecast, any break you can take, any goodness you can bestow on yourself, do it.

It is not selfish. 

I repeat, it is not selfish. 

It’s kindness. 

Be kind to yourself.

True-Opposites-November 2023

Two seemingly opposite things can be simultaneously true. There are some folks who might possibly dispute that, the more didactic among us. Yet, the harshness of life on this side of glory has been bringing the tension of the true-opposites into sharper contrast for me lately.

God heals. I believe that.

I also believe we have lifelong disabilities and chronic loss-of-health.

Opposites, so it seems.

To relentlessly chase to embrace the first truth can lead to an almost comical fanaticism.

To cling solely to the second truth will grind faith, hope and charity to dust.

To only have the perspective of the first seems to disclaim we all have an enemy always looking to destroy us.

To stay locked in the second denies the truth that God is exactly who He says He is: Healer and the One making all things new.

The prayer approach and faith balance between the two is…I’d at first say difficult, but it’s more that it’s ever-presently tense in me.

Our longtime Nashville pastor Scotty Smith regularly reminded us from the pulpit that we live in the Now and the Not Yet. 

Another couplet of true-opposites.

Over the past few weeks I’ve repeatedly encountered Scriptures, songs, posts, podcasts and comments about the focus of Not Yet: Jesus’ return. Some hear the phrase “Jesus is coming back” and all the apocalyptic Hollywood-ness floods their mind. For some it’s a fear-filled, convicting and horrifying thought. It is true, He will return and it will be stunning.

But in my/our true-opppsites life, it’s a lot more comfort than concern, a lot more hope than horror. St Paul wrote that on this side (Now) we see through a glass dimly, but THEN we shall see face to face (Not Yet).

Yes.

Come quickly, Lord.

I know then there will be ultimate healing.

Still, today, the prayer is for healing, restoration, rightness N-O-W, NOW!

Mercy.

The Gospels are full of varied healing accounts. In St Mark’s Gospel there’s a recounting of a father whose son has seizures due to an impure spirit. 

It’s really bad, like hopelessly 

bad for the dad. The man wasn’t faith-less, but he was absolutely faith-depleted. 

At wit’s end.

The dad was reduced to “IF you can help us”. Jesus looked into that man’s eyes and assured him it would be done and the man honestly prayed directly to Jesus’ face, “Lord, help my unbelief”.

Some kernel of belief, trust and hope for healing led him to Jesus. Then the healing moment finally arrived, but (the ever-presently tense thought)…it was many years into the struggle with the dad admitting he was spent. While reading that portion of Mark’s Gospel, I also noticed the very one needing healing, the son, has nothing at all to say in this account. There’s no mention of the son’s age, other than the father explaining his son has been this way “since childhood”. For all we know, he could have been an adult, like 27 years old. The dad has faith, barely, for his boy. He didn’t have the answers, but he came face to face with the one who did.

Many of us wrestle with this over a lifetime with children, spouses, extended family, friends, colleagues, all forming an endless list of needed healings.

One of the first portions of Scripture I memorized was Psalm 23. I repeat it often. David wrote “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Desperately desiring healing and restoration equates as that valley to me. Loss of health due to a chronic condition and/or a lifelong disability are on the death-loss-side of existence, not the life-vitality-side.

So I repeat the Psalm to remind myself: You are with me/us.  I breathe the prayer: Jesus, heal and restore the ones I love.

Today.

Today?

Today.

Then I pray: Help my unbelief and Come quickly, Lord.

Two apparently opposite desires, but simultaneously true.