Can't Get Enough of Their Music

You may remember a week or so ago I shared that Tessa and I were singing along with The Ball Brothers on the way back to her house after I picked her up at pre-school in Flora.  The song was spirited and easy to sing along with, titled "Happy Rhythm." This translated to "Happy Weirdo" to Tessa, though, which was what she was singing in the chorus.

On Friday this past week Gary and I were staying in Saginaw, MI, after spending a few days at Niagara Falls.  We drove to Port Huron through Canada and crossed back into the United States over Lake Huron.  After a stop at Bronner's Christmas Store and dinner at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, we drove a few miles north to the Country Inn and Suites where we had reservations for two nights.

As usual sleep eluded me for an hour or so in the middle of the night, so I opened up my iPad to catch up on Words with Friends.  Then I checked on recent Facebook posts. I noticed a post from the Ball Brothers, inviting people to attend their concert at the State Theatre in Bay City, MI the next night.  Whoa.....Bay City, MI?  The next night????

I quickly checked the maps app and found that Bay City was just a few miles north of Saginaw, a short 30 minutes drive if there were some traffic. That was closer than driving to Lafayette from our house!  

The next morning I casually mentioned to Gary that the Ball Brothers were going to be singing in Bay City and it was just up the road a few miles.  

No response.

About 20 minutes later he said, "Well, if you can figure out how to get there, we can go."  I was ecstatic.  I LOVE listening to the Ball Brothers and I really enjoyed the concert Hilary and I went to in Kentland in June.  I bought two CDs that I listen to frequently in the car ("Happy Weirdos" remember?) and I feel like we "KNOW" them because of their suggestion of a recording of "I Shall Know Him" to be be played at Mom's funeral, the fact that they sang that song at the Kentland concert because I had requested it, and both Hilary and I had our pictures taken with all of them after the concert.

So we went.  Driving to Bay City was very easy and we found the old renovated movie theatre quickly.  We parked on the street across from the theatre, went inside to buy our tickets, and stood with many of the locals awaiting entry when the doors opened an hour preceding the concert.

There was an opening act.  Another group, well-known to the crowd, sang for the first hour of the concert. During this time Daniel had wandered up and down the aisle,

 

 
 Chad was visiting with people on the front row (who turned out to be a former neighbor and his sister and brother-in-law and other family friends), 

 

and Mr. Bell was adjusting the sound at the soundboard at the end of our aisle.



After the first group finished and during the door prizes, I slipped out to use the restroom.  I didn't want to miss any of the music and take a chance on standing in a long line of women.  When I descended the stairs to return to the auditorium, coming in the door from the front lobby was Matt, the bass singer.   I swear there was a look of recognition in his eyes, warmth in his greeting, and he gave me a hug too! While I know they meet hundreds of people on the road, he did tell us at Kentland that we looked familiar, we are FB friends, and we did chat for a while after that first concert.  We talked for a bit, took a quick picture, then both of us returned to our seats.

 
During the rest of the intermission, most of the audience was gathered around the table featuring the CDs of the other group and visiting with them.  Since Andrew and Daniel were standing on the other side of the theatre, all alone, Gary encouraged me to grab my phone and move over to them and chat.  Which I did! Once again there was a glimmer of recognition, and I explained that my daughter and I had been to the concert in Kentland. Aha.  We talked about our being on vacation, just happening to see their FB post about singing in Bay City, and it being Gary's first time to see them perform in person.  I asked if we could get another picture, and Andrew took my phone, called over Matt again, then Chad appeared, and he snapped a few.




The concert itself was super.  Since I have been listening to their CDs so often, I know most of the words and recognize the intros as soon as they begin ("I can name this song in two notes!").  Much of the banter was similar to what Hilary and I heard in Kentland, but a few twists were added and several topics were deleted, probably because of the time constraints since the other group had sung also. 

 

 
 














It is no secret that I love to listen to them sing, and I am super glad that Gary was able to hear them live also.  It is one thing to listen to the songs on a CD, know who is singing which parts on some songs and guessing who is singing them on others. Seeing them in person, interacting with each other personally and watching them add in their own phrases and mesh their voices together is just a fantastic experience.

And to know that everything they sing is gospel based and that their purpose is to praise the Lord makes their concerts and music much more moving (how was THAT for alliteration?).