Nothing really could have gotten me more excited than when I finally booked a hotel room for last weekend.  I was going down to see one of my biggest influences in music play at a venue I have always wanted to visit.  Yes indeed, Andy Hunter was coming all the way across the Atlantic, just about 6 hours east of where I live to Club Worship.   All I had to do now was drive down with 3 of my best friends, what a great weekend ahead of me.

I was stoked, I knew what to expect from Andy, as I got to witness his performances and share the stage with him at Cornerstone ‘05.   I had never been to Club Worship, but have only heard good things about it.  In fact I have always wanted to experience Club Worship, and maybe get some ideas and network with others for my own events.  I had no idea how wicked sweet the event would actually turn out to be.

After the long drive up from Ohio, we got to Club Worship around 6:30pm.  We were unable to make it up for the seminars but heard that they went very well.  Once we got there we were greeted by some Club Worship staff outside and really, the staff were not professional as much as they were friendly, it was almost like they were family or something.  After getting our tickets we went in to a building known as the Olympian Ballroom, which is a dance studio, rather cozy environment, nestled in a small town, sort of what I imagined.   In the very back of the studio, a narrow doorway leads to the ballroom, a nice open tall space that was overtaken with truss-loads of lighting.  Some of the DJ’s / bands were still sound checking, so we went outside and talked to people for a bit. 

The night started out very slow, and mellow, slowly people came to the dance floor to familiar Club Worship tunes.  After a couple minutes, the whole place was called to gather in a circle and pray for the night.  That really struck me as something unique to any concert I have been to.  It really set the stage right for the rest of the evening.  Most of the songs played were remixes of popular CCM hits, or worship tunes.  A lot I had heard before and some I have never heard.  The vibe is definitely not your typical underground DJ’s shredding the decks style (except for Andy of course).  Most of the music was simply faded into the next rather than mixed.  But the flow of the entire evening went very smooth, and some of the fades were very creative.  Later on some hip-hop and reggae performers took the stage.  It was during this time I got a tour of the Club Worship Mad Scientist Lab.

Well, it’s not really a scientist lab, but the control center for all the lighting and visuals.  Being the gear nerd that I am, there were butterflies in my stomach.  It was here where the atmosphere is set in the entire room.  I can remember a ton of intelligent lighting heads, and there was 1 large projection screen that would display a lot of beat active video, sometimes with lyrics to whatever song was being played.  When all the lighting was moving nice and slow the room looked so good to me.  Plus since it was controlled by a human, the lighting synced to the music well.

The attitude of the night was one of worshipping Christ, giving praise for everything He has done in our lives, and for who He is.  It was truly a night that encouraged me to give up my selfish desires for the truth that God provides.   Every performer reminded the audience of this, and it really set the mood for the whole night.  By the time Andy came on stage the whole place was ready to explode. 

I am not really sure how many were in attendance, If I were to guess I would say around 100-125.  I was expecting a lot more, but really the place held this crowd well.  The floor was comfortable, but you defiantly didn’t feel all by yourself.  The best part about this event was that the people were used to coming to dance.  The other Christian parties that I have been to, it was hard to get people to come out and start dancing.  I know from my own personal shows that I throw, this is often harder than getting them to show up to the event.  But the energy level of the floor was always high.  During the peaks of the song, everyone was going crazy.  In the breaks, everyone was static with hands held high.  The best part was during the build of the song, wow, the energy was unbelievable, there was no force strong enough to keep my feet from popping off the ground.  This was especially the case during Andy’s set.

Andy threw down.  Plain and simple.  The energy level was so high by the time he was ready to spin.  On top of that, a lot of people were there just to see him.  Andy started off hard, and kept the beats coming.  Constantly encouraging and drawing the crowd into a worshipful heart.  A while into his performance, he slowed down the entire set and played the 2 slow songs off his Exodus album, first was Show, followed by Translucent, and then the first part of the angelic, just like the album.  Andy encouraged the crowd to be still, and listen to God during these songs.  This was really a great idea to me.  How many times in what we call worship we do the talking and never let God guide us.  It was great to sit on the dance floor surrounded in lights, and big sweeping sounds of those 2 songs, it was really incredible looking back.  After that the beats slowly picked back up, until they were slamming again with a harder house feel.  Job well done Andy!  After Andy’s set, the club was again called to prayer for Andy.  That to me was groundbreaking.  I never experienced praying directly for the artist at the performance.  I really think that it would be a great habit to get into.

The great thing about this performance, as well as all performances that night was how all of it was totally God centered.  That really is the ultimate reason we are on this earth, to give praise and live for our God.  Club Worship really tries to do this with dance music, and in any other way they can.  It was easy to see that hearts were in the right place.  It wasn’t about the perfect mix, or the best attendance, but really it was about how much God is doing in the midst of those at Club Worship.  That was just really cool to me.  

All in all I had a great time, and would make the trip again.  It was great to meet up with all the other Tastyfreshers and talk to Andy while I was there. Meeting up with everyone is always the best part for me.  It is very encouraging to talk with others in such a small community.  I really appreciate Jeff and the rest of the Club Worship staff; guys keep up the great work.  I would encourage others to pray for Club Worship, and give God glory for the great things he is doing there. 

Peace and Blessings,

Joe Ambrose
DJ Yo-yo