Last minute surprise!

After we waited through Kirk Franklin (who was very good), Toby, the one who I was there to see, came out. For me, that was very...wow. It was very similar to the experience of seeing the Newsboys for the first time...one of those things where the "it's real!" thing is going through my head. So anyway...

He came with his usual "Where My Freaks" song that he uses to start all his concerts, which was way cool. It was very amazing with all their moves!

Next came one that I was very much waiting for..."Get This Party Started" just never loses the game! I just can't say how fun it was...it was brilliant! I was also very happy he did it because that was the first song of his I ever heard, so it's always been a favorite of mine.

Next, Nirva (his singer) began to sing the chorus of "Somebody's Watching", another song from his debut, Momentum. It was far better than the studio version! The vocals were a lot easier to hear, and it was good and rocked out. I never really knew the song that well, but I liked it a lot!

After that was done, we all heard a bass line. I assumed they must have been warming up to "Stories", however, when Toby began explaining something about a friend of his, I knew that it could be nothing other than his biggest hit from his latest album Welcome To Diverse City, "Gone"! I knew he had to do it. That was just plain awesome. A fun part was that he let the crowd do the vocal "echoes"; Toby: She said she's had enough (Crowd: She's had enough) / Toby: But it sounds to me like you're straight out of luck (Crowd: Straight out of luck)...you get it. That was a very fun performance!

After that, things got a bit slower, but still fun, with Diverse City's opening track, "Hey Now". Like all the songs, it was even better than the studio recording.

Then, a fun one from Momentum, "J Train" came up. It was very fun and I liked it better than I used to.

Finally, they kicked off with a big hit from Momentum, "Irene"! We were all eagerly awaiting that. You've probably heard it before, maybe on the radio, or somewhere else (to refresh your memory..."hush little baby, don't you cry, I'm gonna sing you a lullaby / Everything's gonna be alright, the Lord's gonna answer your prayer tonight"). That was very awesome! The guitar player did a brilliant job.

And finally, one that I was very much waiting for, probably the biggest hit from Momentum, "Extreme Days"! A year or two ago, this was the song that really got me interested in Toby's music. It was heavy, it was fun, and it was killer. It was when they started that song that everyone really got to be dancing (we were a very hyped crowd).

In order to end the previous song, they went right into another Momentum song, "What's Goin' Down", which was perfect, because it's a bit similar to "Extreme Days". The didn't play the whole thing, but it was still great and energetic!

After that, they began to quiet down a bit when Toby began to say how he appreciated that everyone had come down for a good time of worship. So, of course, they broke into one of my favorites from Momentum, "Yours". It was very hard, awesome, and moving! That's where we really get to hear how good Toby's singing really is (he doesn't show it off that much). That was very great to hear.

Know what he did after that? It's famous from when he was in dc Talk, and it's still getting good radio play. Just as I was hoping, all of us got a treat to hear a spectacular job of "In The Light"! Wow...amazing...can't even say how much! It was different from the way it was done live with dc Talk, but it was probably better, because it was a lot more rocked out, and it just had a great sound. It was done perfectly! If we had Michael and Kevin there to top things off, I think, altogether, I would have been even more blown away, if that's possible.

After that, we got to hear another song that we all tend to associate with dc Talk, "Atmosphere". No, not originally a dc Talk song...on Toby's latest album, there are two versions; one he did on his own, and one he did with Michael and Kevin. Anyway...I was VERY happy to hear that song come on. It's always meant a lot to me. Very, very nice performance.

Next, they kicked off with a slow, but still very fun song that they do at pretty much every show, "Love Is In The House". That's a really great song, especially for a concert. Just a nice chill/groove. I've listened to it on live audio of Creation Festival twice and always loved it, but it was extra good to actually get to be there, see it, and hear it.

After that ended, when Toby began to talk about what he did after he saw The Passion Of The Christ, we all knew that he could be singing nothing else but his first hit from Diverse City, "The Slam"! I remember getting to hear it live from Creation in 2004 when he hadn't even finished writing it. It was amazing to actually be there and see it this time, when it had been finished! The guitar was very heavy, and the performance was just amazing with pure energy. I was very blown away! Absolutely brilliant performance.

After the incredible "Slam", the broke off into the usual old school medley, which is a very fun collection of old 70's disco songs, and other things like that (the collection includes the stuff like "We Are Family", "Le Freak", "That's The Way (I Like It)", etc.). That was very fun! It was near the end of this when Toby began climbing a pole that made up the frame of the main stage...I was very excited to see him do that, because he's been doing it since the early days of dc Talk. At the end (while Toby was on the pole) they did an awesome version of some great song that's been around forever, I just cannot for the life of me figure out what it is (help me here, someone!).

Once that song ended, they left the stage, leaving me tired and blown away from the wildest and most amazing show I'd ever seen. I'm incredibly happy and blessed that I got to see it. I remember in 2004, when I first found live audio of Creation Festival, I had decided to tune into Toby's show (at that time I didn't know Toby all too well, except for a couple songs and the fact that he was in dc Talk). That night, after listening to the concert, I felt quite refreshed and happy. But this time, it was even better, because I got to be there, everything came out better, and it was just a more personal experience. Since yesterday, well...let me just say everything feels a lot better. Wow. What can I say? I'm still pretty speechless. So in that case, you can look at all the stuff below...

THANKS TO...
My friend Emily, for telling me about her experiences at TobyMac shows;
My mom and dad, for working out the possibility to actually go to the concert;
My dad, for willing to take me, going through all the stuff we went through just to get there, and taking the pictures and videos (which came out great);
And of course, Toby and his gang, for putting on the most amazing and best show I've ever seen!

SEE SOME PICTURES (credit to my dad for all of these)

LINKS
TobyMac official site
TobyMac online (fansite with great content)