Bebo

I am normally pretty picky about which Christian artists I choose to listen to, and I am even more skeptical about which Christian concerts I choose to go to at Baylor. Bebo is most definitely one of my exceptions and I was not dissapointed in the least bit. Tonight was the most down to earth concert I have ever been to. Bebo is so simple. He writes all of his songs and the words are not showy or pretentious, they are completely real. Very few people can pull a 'George Strait' and stand in front of an audience with only his guitar and play and enjoy himself, but Bebo is qualified. He qualifies himelf simply because he doesn't need to put on a show and raise the level of spirituality by counting the number of closed eyes and raised hands. He just has a talent and he enjoys sharing it.

Tonight was almost like being in his garage and watching him and the boys pracitce. He normally does his shows by himself but he gathered together a band for about half of the songs tonight. (The other half was just him and his acoustic.) Although most of the Baylorites probably loved the lights and the show, I preferred Bebo and his guitar. At one point one, of the band members goofed and they stopped the song and started laughing at themselves and making fun of themselves. They were about to start again and Bebo couldn't remember the first words, so he asked the guys that were plying with him. After a bit, they remembered and began the song again. He also gave a great spiel towards the end, about the fact that he was not going to do an encore because they are so hokey. Bands always announce their last song and then they leave and go look at the script to remember what the real last song was that they had scheduled for the encore. He explained that he didn't like the join in the hokiness because he knew he would be lying if he said it was his last song when he had already planned an encore and the fans knew that he would be lying because they always ecpect an encore, so he just wasn't going to come out for one. So we were instructed to pretend that he had left the stage and then came back again for his last song.

I must say that this was the best "concert" that I have ever been to for numerous reasons. Most of the reasons, I've mentioned, but it would be difficult to recap everything. His album that came out about two years ago, Myself When I Am Real, resonated with me in many ways this past year. I went through a lot this year and Bebo's lyrics that sopke the promises of God's Word often brought comfort to me.

One of my favorite songs, that is not on the Myself When I Am Real album but is on his first album with the shoes on front, (can't think of the title right now) is The Hammer Holds. Bebo sang this tonight with his guitar and with one of the guys playing an accordian. (The same guy could also play several guitars and the dobro and dulcimer and probably numerous other random intruments.) I encourage you to buy his CDs. His latest one, Try, is coming out on Tuesday. (Baylor got a speacial priveledge to buy it a few days early.)

http://www.BeboNorman.com

Buy Bebo's Albums...

I won't give any commentary on the song because it speaks well for itself.

The Hammer Holds

A shapeless piece of steel, that's all I claim to be
This hammer pounds to give me form, this flame, it melts my dreams
I glow with fire and fury, as I'm twisted like a vine
My final shape, my final form I'm sure I'm bound to find

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the flames
And hurt a little, hurt for me my future is untold
But my dreams are not the issue here, for they, the hammer holds

And the water, it cools me gray, and the hurt's subdued somehow
I have my shape, this sharpened point, what is my purpose now?
And the question still remains, what am I to be?
Perhaps some perfect piece of art displayed for all to see

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the flames
And hurt a little, hurt for me my future is untold
But my dreams are not the issue here, for they, the hammer holds

The hammer pounds again, but flames I do not feel
This force that drives me, helplessly, through flesh, and wood reveals
A burn that burns much deeper, it's more than I can stand
The reason for my life was to take the life of a guiltless man

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the pain
And hurt a little, hurt for me, my future is so bold
But my dreams are not the issue here, for they, the hammer holds

This task before me may seem unclear
But it, my maker holds.