Hi Delirious? fans.

Matt West here again reporting this time from the monitor desk, which is in the mud, under a big top, in a field, near Hemel Hemsted.

It's been another great week with the boys. We had some brilliant nights on this run of shows. Croatia, Germany, Switzerland. Between each gig though we had some long drives. Leaving straight after the show and driving all night to get to the next one. The last drive from the mountains of Switzerland to the rolling hills of England.

When we made it to the UK we got news that the next show, in Hemel Hemsted, was going to be a bit muddy. It was a show for the Boys and Girls Brigade at their headquarters in the countryside, and there had been some rain. Their campsite had turned to slosh. When we arrived we had a bit of trouble getting the bus up the winding lanes and thought for a moment we may need to do some tree pruning. The load in was a messy experience and we soundchecked without Tim as he was collecting his family so as to start a holiday in Scotland straight after playing. It seemed a long way from the arena we were just at in Zurich not 20 hours before.
But then comes that hour and a half of the day which makes it all worth while. As the band readied for stage the air was filled with excitement. The crowd were muddy and wet and nearing the end of their weekend...

Then on stage. Bang. A glorious set of praise and worship through song. The crowd responding with joy and elation. Singing every word. Feeling every chord. In prayer through lyric, rythm and melody. Music is an awesome way to get right to what you are feeling and strike that special chord inside. The whole tent became as one. An army as one. An army of the One. The night was complete.

I consider myself both fortunate and blessed to be involved with Delirious every time that I tour with them. As always I am touch by their love and genuine affection to everyone they meet, myself included, and I am blown away by the special feeling I get show after show. Each time I learn more about myself. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. "Our God Reigns". Yes, and he rocks too.

Peace and love, Matt

photography © tim green

Stadion Schluefweg, Zurich.

I have had the pleasure of joining the Delirious? boys and their crew for this mini tour of Europe. I met up with the lads in Germany at the Himmelfahrt Festival after they had been in Croatia.

Now we are on the bus at the end of the third day I have been on the tour and on the end of the fourth gig for everyone else, we are now heading to Hemel Hempstead to finish this tour off at Firm Foundations.

Back to today where we were in Zurich playing in a Ice Hockey arena, without the ice, at the ICF Conference. Having travelled overnight from Minden, Germany we arrived around 1pm later than planned. After a speedy load-in the D: boys were up for their soundcheck, and for me trying to sort the video link for some new visuals and sorting out a very retro monitor for Mr Jupp.

After an afternoon of making use of the wireless internet in hospitality the band took to the stage at around 8pm after a getting the crowd going with Rain Down and Paint the Town, they slipped in Did you feel the Mountains Tremble a classic, watching 4,000 Swiss all jumping and singing in unison was a site to see! Another classic was rolled out a few tunes later in What a Friend, this was my most spine tingly moment of the tour, sitting in video-world putting the words up on the big screen and even there feeling God in the room doing his thing, was just amazing. Some of the new visuals to Miracle Maker and Majesty just add so much to the songs. Tonight the main set finished with Our God Reigns, using just the chorus as has been this tour to finish another great performance and another great night. A brief break and back on for There is a Light with a candle!

A speedy load out and showers, we are now somewhere between Zurich and Hemel!

photography © tim green

Guten Tag from Germany,

Were on the 4th day now of a short stint in Europe. I can safely say as the LD on these shows it's been an eye opener. This is the first time out with Delirious in Europe, I worked on the short UK tour in March which was our own production. This is great fun as you have complete control of your 'looks' , conceptually your design is built to meet the needs of the band and me as the designer. Meaning as the operator i'm spoiled this makes for a great show.

This leg of the tour however has been a baptism of fire in terms of my job in the team. Each night you have a different desk to operate and lighting rig to design with. Needless to say i've been "riding by the seat of my pants" taking the art of "busking" a lighting desk to new levels. This has been challenging but at the same time very beneficial in terms of seeing how other people work and design. Big thank you goes out to all the lighting technicians that have been gracious and very helpful to our cause.

Anyway enough of the technical jargon, the festivals out here have been a joy to work with hungry people all to willing to get involved and worship God, Croatia especially stands out as an emotional experience seeing the people worship God with us was amazing given their past difficulties, you could feel the faith in the room definitely worth going back there as the church is alive and well. Germany ROCKS! they know the music well and get very involved which is great to see while at front of house.

Bitte und guten nicht Deutschland.

photography © tim green

 

Wüstenrot was cold, windy and wet. The weather had more in common with a certain seaside town on the south coast, than southern Germany, where at this time of year sunburn is usually a certainty.

My wife, Jan, and I moved to Nürnberg five years ago so the opportunity to meet up with the guys again was something I was looking forward too. The last time I had seen them play, and had a chance to chat, was some seven years ago. Meeting old friends is always a tonic.   Sharing stories, reminiscing, catching up on family news, being amazed at the fact that the children of friends multiply, and grow up so quickly - this is the stuff of re-unions. And so it was when I met the guys in Wüstenrot. Delirious had been travelling for some 16 hours to cover the 1000 kilometres or so from last nights' gig, and yet despite being tired, hungry, and travel weary, were remarkably buoyant when they arrived. It is clear to see the depth of their faith in Jesus, and how they have allowed themselves to develop in God. The lyrics of their songs are steeped with the truths of the Gospel, and display at times a wonderful ability to give new poetry to old stories. That they are one of the top rock bands in the world is clear, that they love God is clear. The anointing that God has given them to encourage, and bring hope is powerful.   But there is more than that - something I could not quite put my finger on.

We talked some more and then it was time for them to prepare. We said our goodbyes, and I crossed the muddy lawns and went into the hall. After a short wait the guys came onto the stage, the crowded hall went wild and we were away, experiencing the best. The atmosphere in the concert was amazing, as we were taken through a fast moving set which included both old favourites, and tracks from Mission Bell. I was deeply moved by Miracle Maker - the story of the cripple at Bethesda - and, at the end of the song, found myself in a place of complete thankfulness to God. History Maker was as stirring as ever. The band were tight, dynamic, and musically simply excellent. The hour rushed by as we were taken from moments of sonic excitement, to moments of deep worship. The set was over and the guys came to front of the stage and linked arms to bow. In that moment I saw what I could not see earlier. These are not simply five mates in a band, these are five brothers-in-arms who actually love one another. Thanks you guys for being faithful to what you are called to be.

photography © tim green

D:ragi ?itatelji. ?elite li znati kakav je bio koncert D: u Hrvatskoj? Ja tako?er!

Kada si previ?e zaokupljen aktivnostima u backstage-u i samom logistikom onda ima? samo par trenutaka kada mo?e? u?i me?u publiku kako bi osjetio ritam koncerta. Ali ovo znam, bilo je glasno, bilo je organski i bilo je kao nikada prije. Ova zadnja tvrdnja nije samo fraza. Zadnji put Hrvatska je vidjela relevantan koncert na kojem se iznijela osnovna kr??anska poruka 1968 kada je Cliff Richard imao koncert sa kr??anskim pjesmama u tada komunisti?koj Hrvatskoj, i to je bio dosta hrabar potez.

Dovesti D: u Hrvatsku bio je jo? jedan hrabar potez jer prije 24.05. stvari su izgledale otprilike ovako:

Morao si putovati 12 sati autom da bi vidio koncert D: u tebi najbli?em mjestu, da bi mogao kupiti cd od D: potrebna ti je bila putovnica jer se prvi du?an sa glazbom D: nalazio preko granice, bio je samo jedan primjerak Mission Bell-a (pogodite tko ga je imao), i , a ovo je zanimljivo, jedan od najpoznatijih kr??anskih bendova u Hrvatskoj je odbio svirati na nastupu jer nisu znali tko su D:?%# U takvom okru?enju bilo je riskantno dovesti ove engleske de?ke. U stvari, mogao si imati lijep scenarij za m:i:iv. No ne?to bih vam rekao, vidjeti autobuse koji dolaze iz Ma?arske, Srbije (bok ekipa!), iz mjesta po Hrvatskoj koja su i preko 500km udaljena od mjesta koncerta, i ?ak vidjeti jednu obitelj sa dvoje male djece koja je putovala 20 sati vlakom da bi ih vidjela bilo je sasvim dovoljno da ovaj datum proglasimo povijesnim datumom za kr??anstvo u Hrvatskoj.

Da, de?ki su ponovno bili Tvorci Povijesti, ovog puta u Osijeku, gradu koji nosi puno rana i o?iljaka iz rata.

Crkva je bila ujedinjena organiziraju?i D:koncert. Franjeva?ki samostan je bio organizator, a ljudi iz Pravoslavne, Katoli?ke i Protestantske crkve bili su glavna logisti?ka baza. Hvala FRAMA, najbolji ste!

Vidio sam D: pet puta: 3 puta u Engleskoj, jednom u Americi i jednom u ?vicarskoj i smjestio bih ovaj koncert na visoko drugo mjesto ?to se ti?e produkcije i atmosfere ?to je veliki uspjeh za ovu malu zemlju. Nikada ova zemlja nije vidjela neko postoje?e ime kr??anske suvremene glazbe (CCM). Delirious? je bio prvi. To je bio dovoljan razlog da Predsjednik Republike Hrvatske po?alje svojeg izaslanika isto kao i gradona?elnik. Kr??anstvo je predstavljeno na relevantan na?in.

Hvala vam de?ki, hvala. Va? Mission Bell ?e odzvanjati u ovoj zemlji dugo nakon ?to odete.

Jesam li spomenuo da je 25 minuta prije koncerta Martin oti?ao u vozilu osiguranja u ku?u mladi?a koji je nepokretan od vrata na dolje i kojemu je jedina radost gledati DVD-e kr??anske glazbe kako bi molio sa njim? Dosta re?eno.

Hello all you reaD:ers. Would you like to know how was D: in Croatia? Me too! When you are all to busy taking care of backstage activities and logistics, you have only few special moments when you can enter into crowd and feel the beet of the concert. But this I know, it was loud, it was organic and it was like never before. This last statement is not just a phrase. Last time Croatia saw relevant concert with core christian message was in 1968 when Cliff Richard had gospel concert in then comunist Croatia, which was quite brave move.

To bring D: into Croatia was another brave move because before 24.05. it was something like this:

you need to travel 12 hours in the car to see D: in closest place to you, in order to buy D: cd's you needed passport 'cause first shop where you could find D: stuff was placed across the border, and there was only one Mission Bell album in whole country (guess who had it), and, this is fun now, one of the best known christian bend in the country refused to play on the venue 'cause they didn't know who D: are?%# In that kind of surrounding it was risky to bring English lads. As a matter of fact, you could have nice scenario for m:i:iv. But let me tell you, seeing busses coming from Hungary, Serbia (Yo guys!), from places in Croatia that were more than 500km away from the venue, and even seeing one family with two small kids traveling 20 hours in the train to see them was just enough to pronounce this historic date for christianity in Croatia. Yes, guys were once again History Makers, this time in Osijek, city which has many wounds and scars from the war in 90's.

Church was united organising D:concert. Franciscan monestary was organizer and people from Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches were main staff. Thank you FRAMA youth, you are the best!   

I saw D: five times: 3 times in England, once in USA and once in Switzerland and I would place this Croatian concert on high second place regarding production and atmosphere which is great achievement for this small country. Never ever this country saw any of the existing CCM artists having concert. Delirious? was first. That was enough for President of the Republic to send his representative on the concert as well as city major. Christianity was presented in relevant way.

Thank you guys, thank you. Your Mission Bell will ring in this land long after you leave.

Have I mentioned that 25 minutes before the concert Martin went with security car to the home of the young man who's dissabled from neck down and whose only joy is watching christian music DVD's to pray with him? Enough said.

 

Knock knock. Who’s there?
Colin. Colin who? That’s show business!

Well today at the Royal Albert Hall, for one day only, that old joke was laid to rest, as I was dragged out of retirement kicking & screaming, back behind the monitor desk for the mighty Delirious!!

Well okay, I didn’t do any kicking or screaming, but that was probably due to the very early load in time of 6.45am, after a very late night the night before!!

It had been almost a year since I had last worked the monitors for the boys, and it was with a little trepidation that I entered onto the stage at what has to be said, one of the finest venues in the world, wondering whether I would remember how the guys liked to be mixed. Luckily it all seemed to come flooding back and by the time the band arrived onto stage, it felt like I hadn’t been away!

After a brief and painless soundcheck, the guys all left the venue to spend time with their families in London for the day, leaving me to get to know the entirely new crew! For once the band were doing a gig without the production management skills of either Ian Cattle or his assistant Tom, and somehow I had been elected to cover their duties for the day. Piece of cake I thought! What could be easier than getting the guys to press, liaising with the stage manager and arranging towels, water and setlists for stage.

After a boring few hours of waiting around, suddenly everything seemed to be very rushed, but somehow we managed to have everything prepared just in time for the boys to be introduced to the stage – or so I thought! At the end of the first song, Stu G turned round to ask where his set list was. DOH! Well if you ask me, set lists are so over rated these days!

Apart from the lack of set lists on the front of stage, and Smee breaking a microphone in the first song, (which apparently he did on purpose just so he could have a visit from me!) the show was amazing, albeit a bit short! It certainly made me realise how much I miss being a part of the Delirious circus, experiencing the passionate worship that these guys lead, every time they set foot out on stage.

I hope we can do it all again soon – next time with someone else in the production manager’s hot seat!

photography © dave wood

Start spreadin' the news, I'm leaving today/ I'm gonna be a part of it: New York, New York." Frankie Boy's well known song from the late 70's started pounding in my brain at first glimpse of the New York skyline. It's Mother's Day! I'm off to the big city for my son in laws gig!

Wonderful memories flooded in as I entered the city. It had been quite some time since I had spent a day in New York. College years had been dotted with fun visits to New York while my boyfriend (now husband) was as NYU. Then came marriage, the baby carriage and treasured trips with my inlaws taking our family to Radio City Music Hall, restaurants, Broadway plays, New York Christmas lights, skating at Rockefellar Center. What magical times for my children! How many conversations! How could these memories not come to mind now? I'm in New York again! But this time it's time for new memories! I'm at the N.Y. Delirious? gig. This is my daughters husband! This is the wonderful guy that swept my daughter off to England and their baby carriage has given me three treasures with little British accents. What a wonderful way to spend Mothers Day. I will enter the Delirious rock world, enjoy the tremendous talents of the band, and be with family.

As I went back stage I found my son in law on the phone with my daughter. Mothers Day greetings from across the pond were now coming my way, as they did later from my other daughter in England. Nothing could bless a Mom more than her children remembering her. Offered a drink, I sat down to visit for a short time before it was time to go on stage.

Once on stage, "Miracle Maker" was sung and prayer was given for my other daughter who has grieved with two miscarriages. With grateful tears we once again cried out to God for His great mercy and the gift of a child. Nothing could bless a Mom more
than being comforted by her God. The gig was as fantastic as I had thought it would be. The crowd was great! The worship anointed! My day full! Little did I know that I still had a Mother's Day meal and ice cream coming my way!

I couldn't have felt more honored or appreciated. With this thought in mind I want to thank all the Delirious? moms who sacrifice by serving at home, quite often alone, by raising those wonderful treasured gifts that children are, quite often alone, and who graciously give their husbands to become all that they are called to be in Christ. It certainly gave this Mom one of her best Mother's Days. Thank you all so much! May your children rise up and call you blessed! What a gift! Much love and appreciation to all of you, your families and the gifts that you are to everyone. You guys lead lives that live what you sing.....

Petit is Back!
 
Or i was for once glorious day in Germany.  I was great to be with those 5 young (?) chaps, and get back on the road with all of the crew.  Clever Trevor was there, as was Mr Butcher (Lovely Biscuits!) and Scottish Tom on the lights, when he finally got out of bed!  Tom had an exciting journey over actually, after missing his flight, a taxi driver taking him over an hour in the wrong direction, and a small run in with some suspicious German coppers, he finally arrived to deliver a fantastic optical performance.  The gig was great actually, with all of the local crew being incredibly helpful, and laying on some great food. It was quite weird to be out on tour with the chaps again, after a short absence, but, despite my ever so slight nervousness, it honestly felt like I'd never been away.  There were no major disasters of the day, as Mr Lee Slater has kept all of the boys gear in fantastic working order.  So i shall say Au Revoir, but hopefully not for the last time. I'll be back...
 
Petit



photograph © www.willowcreek.ch