This is a hard review to write. I lost my best friend to cancer in June this year. We shared a HUGE love of music and going to live shows which had become pretty much impossible for him to enjoy this past year. It was hard losing this particular part of our habits but it tolled the approaching finality and made the last months difficult. It is so sad to watch someone lose the ability to do the things they love or even to find solace in things that used to give them joy. It was also very hard for me to lose these shared activities and interests not to mention the overwhelming loss of losing my friend in the end.
The Collection was a band that we discovered on bandcamp and had been looking for an opportunity to see them live but always seemed to miss the chance. We loved the harmonies, the lyrical content and the joy the band pours into everything they do. Even the sad songs were more moving because of the hope that somehow always seemed hidden within the chorus.
The first time I listen to Ars Moriendi, which was the first album I bought, I was listening while driving to work enjoying the songs without really paying attention to the lyrics when I found myself crying. The song "The Doubtful One" never fails to bring tears to my eyes even after all this time. I think there is magic in that song. I had to see my friend immediately after work and play it for him and so we became enthusiastic fans and bought up what we could get and started watching for shows. We missed one in Little Rock, AR - and unfortunately we missed ever other opportunity that came our way for reasons I don't really remember - though we were limited to venues within a 5 hour drive because neither of us could handle car rides longer than that.
One more side trip before we get back to the concert: My friend had been hesitant to take trips for pleasure until I got him hooked by taking him to see Morrissey @ Liberty Hall in Lawrence, KS May 20, 2014. I wanted to make to a nice trip, it was also my 50th birthday celebration, so I looked for something fun to do the night before as well and found a band neither of us had heard of before playing at The Record Bar in Kansas City called Little Green Cars. Little Green Cars were simply amazing. The show started with them singing acapella and walking through the crowd to the stage. It was magical and their show enraptured us. LGCs became one of our favorite bands. And then the Morrissey show turned out prefection. It was our second time seeing him having caught him in Tulsa in 2006 @ Cain's Ballroom. This time really blew the previous time away. He was amazing, our balcony seats were the best, the venue was fantastic, I loved everything about that show. We had never spent time in Lawrence before and found the city charming and full of activity and interesting places and people. Anyway it was a great trip and really started our practice of taking weekend outings every few months and seeing bands. We often thought of both shows and the feeling that both were "like going to Church" in their ability to life our spirits and fill our souls with joy.
So I knew The Collection was coming to Kansas City but couldn't muster the courage to venture that far by myself to a place too full of feelings and memories connected to the friend I had too recently lost. I was feeling rather cowardly and knew he would have been unhappy I would let anything connected to him be the reason I missed something we had both looked forward to. Then an amazing thing happened. The KC show got canceled and a Joplin show got added. Joplin is just a 90 minute drive and tickets were only $8. The show was also being held in a progressive Christian Church in a historic building. It was like God was saying it was time to move on. To embrace this chance and honor my friend.
So I bought a ticket and arranged getting off work a little early so I could make the drive and be there on time. I got there in time to have dinner first but found myself indecisive and unwilling to chance eating at places we had been to together. I was a bit shaky but determined so I just drove on to the venue. At the venue I was sitting on the steps when David Wimbish comes out to talk to some relatives/friends. That was kind of cool and I soon realized this show was kind of a chance for him to play for some people he hadn't had the chance to personally. I loved the space/building.
The crowd wasn't large but it was enough I think. Everyone there seemed keenly interested in being there which is something missing at a lot of shows I'd been to recently. The opening duo was very good but I didn't catch their name. I had kind of settled in and felt calmer when The Collection came up and David gave a few disclaimers about how they would be jumping and running around and stuff....what an understatement. When they kicked it into gear they were awesome, inspiring, magnificent!!! I immediately started crying and struggled the entire show to keep from breaking down and just bawling. I knew from the first note that my friend was there and we were seeing them together and we were both blown away. David Wimbish writes soul-healing music but even more - every band member seems as sold on the songs as he is and the energy was so positive and upbeat. It is hard to understand or explain how much this band means to me - or how I can enjoy something so much that makes me cry so often (though they are not tears of sorrow or regret).
I was embarrassed that everyone around me was actively participating in enjoying the music, especially towards the end when the band came into the crowd and encouraged us to join in. It was great to watch but I was immobilized trying not to break down. It was like trying to contain an atomic blast within myself while also trying to drink in as much of the show and music as I could.
I am so grateful for:
- The "chance" events that made this last minute show take place
- The Collection and all the energy they bring to their music: spiritually, mentally and physically
- The South Joplin Christian Church for an amazing venue
- Every member of the audience and their collective participation in the show
- David Wimbish for writing songs that uplift, search for truths, seek out meaning.....
- Each band member for putting their obvious joy of music and energy into such an incredible show
- God for his complex tapestry of a world that we will always struggle to understand and see the beauty of its construction
- My friend, for the years we had and the memories I take with me into the future
Band's Website
Promotional quote for the show:
The Collection is coming to Joplin, MO for the first time on their Breathe Till I'm Full Tour!About this EventBREATHE TILL I'M FULL - a tour to celebrate all that is life, from the sunsets that catch us beautifully off-guard, to the mornings we forget the coffee ran out, each experience is a reminder we are HERE, NOW, in this moment, living together on this wild planet.Come just as you are and be with us, as we band together in joy and sorrow, peace and frustration, hope and doubt, to sing, dance, and create something beautiful with an evening at South Joplin Christian Church, a progressive church in Joplin MO. All are welcome, gay, straight, atheist, person of faith, etc - this is a welcoming place and show for all.
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