If you've ever been to the quaint Chicago suburb of Wheaton, Illinois, you may have noticed the numerous churches that seem to reside just about at every street corner. It's also the home of one of the evangelical capitals of the Midwest, Wheaton College. So what better place for Jars of Clay to debut some of their songs from the upcoming album, Redemption Songs?

On this chilly February day, my girlfriend, Melissa, and I went to the show with our friend and fellow Jark, Lynn Hickernell. We were able to find a few seats in the third row. Thanks to Lynn, she let Melissa and me use her meet and greet passes before the show, which took place in a room next to the stage. Of the 40-plus people who signed up to attend the meet and greet, only about six people showed up. One of the highlights was talking to Steve about what they're currently writing. Being a fan of the If I Left The Zoo days, I was pleased to hear that they've been writing some more upbeat stuff.

We got to our seats a few minutes before the start of the show, which began by Dan Haseltine walking onstage by himself, carrying a handheld media player. He shook it a couple of times as if it were running on low batteries and held it up to the microphone. As it was playing an obscure melody, Dan started singing the words to "And They'll Know We Are Christians." The rest of the band then made their entrance to accompany Dan. The crowd started to sing along as church was about to begin.

After nailing the intro, the band broke into some older tunes, one of them being the fan favorite, "Love Song For A Savior," which was given a twist at the end. Just when we thought the song would end, it lead beautifully into the end of "Faith Enough" from Who We Are Instead. It was also a joy to hear "Like A Child" back on the set list again. Next, it was time for the new stuff. Back in the meet and greet, one of the guys said he was a bit nervous because they weren't as prepared as he'd hope to be. However, this was not the case at all. Also, the band didn't have their drummer or bass player for this show. They began with the first single from Redemption Songs, "God Will Lift Up Your Head," which got the sellout crowd to its feet. Probably the most memorable performance for me was "Hiding Place." Having a sound and feel similar to "Silence" (The Eleventh Hour) and "Faith Enough" (Who We Are Instead), it ended with a smooth transition of the bridge from "Worlds Apart," which got much praise from the audience.

Matt Odmark and Dan then exited the stage while Steve Mason and Charlie Lowell performed an instrumental to "My Jesus, I Love Thee." Since Steve was playing the slide guitar, it made a nice lead into "Amazing Grace." This was one church service that I hoped would never end. The end of the set concluded with “I’ll Fly Away" and the catchy upbeat "Nothin' But the Blood," which did amazingly well considering there was no percussion. Dan was the victim of the only flaw I noticed when he couldn't remember the last verse to I'll Fly Away. Steve made light of it by saying, "This is the part of the show when Dan likes to think," which brought a good chuckle from the crowd. Thankfully, Lynn was there to assist Dan by yelling out the first few words and they were able to finish the song.

The encore consisted of "Silence," "I Need Thee Every Hour," and "The Valley Song." Since this concert was part of an AIDS awareness convention, Dan talked about Blood:Water Mission and the 1000 Wells Project. Everyone in the crowd responded by giving a generous donation toward the campaign.

Usually, there's always a few things I think of that could've made the show better, but this time it was really hard. I was really impressed that they played a lot of new songs from Redemption Songs. Plus, with no bass player or drummer, the selection of songs was limited. If anything, I would've liked to see them bring back "Hymn" from Much Afraid. I believe it would've fit in nicely with the overall theme of the concert. And don't forget, like I've said before, expect the unexpected at any Jars show.

Set list:
They'll Know We Are Christians...
I Need You
Like A Child
Love Song For A Savior (with Faith Enough ending)
Show You Love
Flood
God Will Lift Up Your Heads
Jesus I Lift Up My Eyes
Hiding Place (withWorlds Apart bridge)....my favorite part of the show!
Steve and Charlie's solo of My Jesus, I Love Thee
Amazing Grace
It Is Well
Sunny Days
On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand
I'll Fly Away
Nothin' But The Blood

Encore:
Silence
I Need The Every Hour
The Valley Song