Parachute 09

Here is my little review of Parachute 09 for what it is worth (which probably isn't much)....

Big Ups.....

- Weather: as a youth pastor who is always getting his BBQ washed out due to rain - Parachute sure is doing something right, they seem to awesome weather year after year.
- Dave Crowder Band: Expection means a lot in music and I went to the festival really looking forward to seeing Dave Crowder Band and I wasn't disappointed. (well I was a bit see below) Great 'short' set.
- Ruski: had our first youth group member (well ex-youth group member) play at Parachute. Well done Abby and Ruski, was a great set.
- Losing the "text to download this song" from the powerpoint song words during worship times. That was marketing a bit too much.

Ups

- All the other major acts - Kutless: were great, Family Force 5: not really my sort of music but the energy they all produce from the stage is amazing, Dave Dobbyn: what can one say, he is a Kiwi icon. Casting Crowns: clear that the main aim of their set is to get across a message, which is fine by me - but did make for a talky set. (note I didn't get to see them on Monday Morning).
- No big surprise acts this year. I did see Chris Cope and Season Pass that I haven't heard before and they were good. I enjoyed the Mumsdollar set on Mainstage more than I've ever enjoyed them in the past. Shooting Stars were great, if a bit awkward due to the funny programming that had them on just before Family Force 5. My wife's a big fan of Julia Grace, so we caught one of her acts.
- Speakers: due to being on the kitchen crew and helping serve lunches, I didn't get to hear many speakers apart from the main meetings. None were bad - persoanlly I really enjoyed Tim Costello and have a few of his CD's so i can listen to the seminars of his I missed.

Downers

- Some sets - in particular Dave Crowder Band - were too short. I have the DVD of Crowder's Remedy tour and it is quite a bit longer. He was only given one spot that was only a little over an hour long. Personally another 15-20mins or even just an encore would have been great. There were heaps of cool Crowder songs that we never got to hear.
- Manna Bookstore: Actually shouldn't be to hard on Manna here cos they are a businness trying to make money. But it is not often I can walk around a bookshop tent and not want to buy anything. The Manna Bookshop was full "Pop Christianity". A sad reflection on the state of Western Christianity that at a festival like Parachute, few books from the leading thinkers were present. The gap between Pop Christainity and the more academic thinkers is widing and I think its a serious concern for Western Christianity. I did buy a good looking book called 'Silent Legacy' put out by the Maxium Institute.

Overall, I enjoyed Parachute - I reckon I've only ever missed 3 ever since they started on a farm just out of Wellington, back when it was called 'Mainstage'. A great weekend.

Til next time
D