ABANDON rocks Chicagoland

February 4 didn't end like a normal school day at Covenant Christian High School in DeMotte, Indiana. Instead, the students, along with the junior high classes of DeMotte Christian School, were treated to a concert by Christian band Abandon.

The band came out ready to rock, and the kids were immediately on their feet. They opened the set with "Be Alive In Me," from their CD Searchlights. "Safe In Your Arms," which has received lots of airplay on Shine.fm (89.7 fm) was familiar to many of the kids. Always a hit with the crowd is "Atmosphere," a song that features drummer Dave Vela moving to the front of the stage to showcase his skills. Bass player Bryan Fowler picks up drum duties, guitarist Stevan Vela takes on the bass, and no one misses a beat, even when lead singer Josh Engler launches himself off one of his bandmates.

Allowing everyone to catch their breath, the band slowed it down with "Hero." Josh reminded the kids that "the hero is our savior, who came to give all He had."

The band started "Hold On" with the familiar keyboard phrase, and a few energetic sophomores took it upon themselves to be "hype men" and get the crowd worked up. And the band appreciated the crowd's reaction. "This was a great group to play for, and the kids were really enthusiastic," said Bryan Fowler.

The students also clearly enjoyed the band's performance. According to one, "I think this concert was a great opportunity because it was something different from a normal day of school. And the music was awesome!"

The band left DeMotte for a quick trip to Minneapolis to play an Acquire the Fire conference on Friday, then hustled back to Chicago for an outreach event at The Underground in Naperville on Saturday. Thank goodness for no snow delays!

The Saturday night show included several youth bands opening for Abandon, with the hope that their friends and fans who might never have been in church before would enjoy Abandon and be inclined to return again on Sunday morning as the band led worship.

As expected, the Saturday night show was great, and Sunday offered us a peek at another side of the band. The guys have hearts for worship and story-telling, but they don't always get the chance to at regular concerts. Besides leading the congregation in some standard worship tunes, like "Mighty to Save," they also played some of their original songs and shared the stories behind them. Josh Engler told how the song "Providence," (my personal favorite!) emerged from Dave Vela's thoughts and journals about the story of Peter's denial.

Abandon will continue to travel the US with "Acquire the Fire" as they also gear up for what will surely be a busy summer festival season. Rumor has it that we may see them at Ignite Chicago. Stay tuned!