I arrived at the Forrest County Multipurpose Center at exactly 5:10 PM. There was a group of 4 people standing at the door, so I stood behind them. It was very chilly. The guys in front of me were blowing on the glass door and then drawing pictures in the fog on the door. This kept us entertained for about 15 minutes. Then more and more people suddenly seemed to come out of nowhere. Before we knew it, about 100 people were lined up behind us. A few ticket takers came to the door at around 5:45 taunting us and telling us to come on in, but the doors were locked.

Six o'clock came and finally, the doors came open and we all came pouring in. I rushed to the very front row. I took my seat as the seats around me started to fill up with anxious teenagers waiting to have their socks rocked off. I sat in my seat listening to the mixture of 70's disco, Mexican musicals, and some other indescribable music. Tension rose as The Elms' lead guitarist tuned all of the guitars in the darkness. Then shortly after he walked off stage, the announcer came to introduce The Elms. He shared a little about First Priority (because First Priority was presenting the concert), after which he introduced The Elms.

The crowd began to roar as The Elms came up on stage. I didn't know what to expect, because I had never heard of them before. I had the impression that they were a very slow and mellow type band, but I was quickly surprised by a screaming Les Paul signature Gibson guitar. Then all of a sudden, the whole band began to play a very heavy rock style music. They rocked the house like I had never seen before. They quickly stated that hope is not found in music, relationships, or even church, that it is only found in Jesus Christ. I was very impressed with their performance. I am looking forward to hearing more of their music in the future.

As the stagehands cleared the way for the upcoming stars, the announcer came up again and presented the gospel to everyone. He also shared that his son was born premature with a rare disease and that his son made it through only by the grace of God. Then he introduced JARS OF CLAY.

In the darkness, I could see Joe Porter climb up to his drum set, then Aaron Sands step up to his small part of the stage and pick up his bass guitar. Then a very bright white light blinded me from behind the stage. They began to play a tune I had never heard before. Then I could see the silhouette of Matt Odmark. He came up slowly with his 12-string guitar in hand. Then I saw Charlie Lowell sneak up to his Whirly and take a seat. Then Steve Mason walked up with his Yellow Telecaster. Then Dan Haseltine walked up quickly with his bottled water in hand.

I was trying to match the tune with one of their songs, but it didn't seem to fit. Then Dan began to sing the lyrics of the first song of their debut album, "Liquid." Then it all made sense, they must have grown really bored with the other ways of playing this song, so they came up with a new tune to throw us all off.

After they sang "Liquid," darkness and dead silence came from the stage. Only the screams of the fans could be heard. Then without warning, the lights shined and "Disappear" rocked the stage. Then "Unforgetful You" took the spotlight. Then "Crazy Times," "Like a Child," "I Need You," and "Something Beautiful" were flawlessly performed. In the middle of "Like A Child," Dan introduced the band. First he introduced Dr. Charlie Lowell, then Aaron Sands, then Joe Porter, then Matt Odmark, then Stephen Mason, then he said, " Um… and I'm Dan."

After performing "Something Beautiful," Dan set a serious tone about emotions. He said that anyone who had ever experienced emotions before could identify with the next song. Then they began to sing the first verse of "Girls Just Want To Have Fun." Everyone in the audience seemed to be confused. They had no idea what the song was until they began to sing the chorus. Suddenly the building echoed with laughter.

After the song, Dan quickly explained that they had always wanted to be Cindy Lauper. He then said that the next song was about wanting to be Cindy Lauper. Then Dan said, " Not really, but sure!" They began to play "The Eleventh Hour." Then Dan introduced the next song as being about having hope. They song was "Fly." After that song, Charlie started up a familiar tune. It was the piano intro from "Collide." Then after being rocked like never before, the excitement rose tremendously as they began to play the song that they were most famous for, "Flood." I could hear all types of people, young and old, black and white, singing the lyrics to "Flood."

Then they played "Love Song For a Savior," "I'm Alright," and finished with "Revolution." Dan walked off stage first, then all of the other guys followed. The crowd began to chant, " We Want More" as the stagehands began to pretend to start taking down equipment. Then Dan came back on stage alone and shortly promoted World Vision by talking about children in Africa. He said that the amount of orphaned children in Africa is about 15 million and they expect it to rise to at least 25 to 50 million children within the next 7 years. It left many people with tears in their eyes.

Then Dan announced that they had time for one more song. At that time Steve came up with his acoustic guitar. He explained the lights that stay in front of them and shine brightly on them. He said that they call them the "Waaahaaaahaaahaaa Lights." He said, "Let me show you." They turned off the light, but a purple spotlight still shined on him. He told the guy at the light, " um… shhhh. Yeah! You….. no, you…..yeah……shhhhhhh." Then Dan said, " Steve, you're shushing the light!" At that time the spotlight went off, then the wahaha light came on and Steve said, "Waaaahahahaha."

They played "Worlds Apart" as the encore. At the end of the song, Dan waved goodbye and walked off stage. Then Joe climbed down and left the stage. Following was Aaron, then Charlie, then Matt. Steve was on stage all by himself playing his black Stratocaster. He slowly began to walk backwards and fade out of the spotlight. Then the guitar rang as he walked off into the darkness, waving at the sound crew, thanking them for their help.