The Burning Kettles, Alanadale, and The Natural live @ Park Theatre!

Anthony Sweet has got to be one of the most relaxed people in the world.

Alanadale, the Burning Kettles, and The Natural (featuring Anthony Sweet, above) are three bands with strong connections to students here at CMU.  Last Sunday, they performed a show at Park Theatre on Osborne.  It was a last-minute decision to go, but it's a good thing I did!  Here are some of the highlights:

Act I: The Burning Kettles

The Burning Kettles are a folk music band who play a variety of original pieces.  What I enjoy most about them is the way they variate in interesting ways on songs I already know.  I know the band through being friends with Rabecca Hill (centre of the picture).  

Intermission

Rob Martins, a fellow student, is excited and ready for more!

Act II: Alanadale

     I remember early last year when this band began.  It was comprised entirely of CMU students, namely Thomas Krause and Josie Guenther (pictured) and George Dyck III.  In this show they announced the addition of a new member on keyboard: Dale Thiessen.  In most of their previous shows they had mainly covered songs  written by others with their own unique spin.  They are now performing more original material.

Gerald, Peter, and Krista  -- "The Blowers".

    In one of their songs "the blowers" (pictured above) were enlisted to provide some additional layering. 

George Dyck III in his many varied musical talents.

     And then, mid-way through the performance, the lights went down, the crowd grew silent, and George Dyck III took out a giant scroll and began reading an incantation.  I didn't know what was going on until I saw a giant mysterious object gently floating down to the stage.

...This is Spinal Tap, anyone?

Act III: The Natural

     

     The Natural is a band led by Anthony Sweet with Andre Forget, Colin Clay, and Alanadale's George Dyck III.  They are hands-down my favourite CMU band.  They have a very polished and diverse sound -- from the mystically quiet to the loud and driving.  Anthony has been making music for quite some time.  Although his band hasn't released any recordings yet, you can find some of his slower, stand-alone songs on cbc radio 3.  

Andre Forget gets into the music.

We're here to rock!

     The theatre was packed throughout the entire performance with many people I knew and many others I didn't.  I had a great evening and I'm sure glad the three bands put their all into this show.  Thank you!  Thanks also to Matthew Veith for these pictures.  Until next time!

    

Being Grounded

     In my spare time, one of the things I do is help out as a youth leader for my church.  In this role I get to meet and connect with lots of youth and parents from both inside the church and around Winnipeg. We recently had a leader retreat in which we talked about how to better improve our program.  It's an interesting question.  As leaders, how can we share the love of Christ with the youth who come through our doors?  As we discussed how to do this in one of our sessions, the idea kept coming up of being grounded in God -- the idea being that if we're not basking in God's love for us, then it is impossible for us to show that love to others.  

     I know for myself that this is hard sometimes.  It's so easy to forget that your ultimate worth as a human being doesn't come from anything you do, but rather comes from the fact that God, the creator, loves you.  When I rely on my own efforts to show love to others, I can often fail.  But if all I'm trying to do is reflect the love God has for me, then I can be loving.
     The thing is, I don't think this grounding should be an obligation.  Instead, it should give us great strength to know that our lives are not solely up to us -- we can draw on God for strength.  We are grounded in God when we let go of any negative energy, and focus instead on the positive loving force of God.


     

Back Home!

I duck out of the frame on an interesting talk about politics to take this picture

The Christmas break really did fly by!  I always feel kind of sad when everyone has to leave to go home for Christmas, but it's an important time to connect with family and friends back home.  Well, now everyone's back and ready to go for a new term.

     At the beginning of the year we had a few days to settle in, but this time round we're launching right into the semester.  The cool part about the second semester is the reading break in Mid-February.  The workload is a lot easier to stomach for me if I know I'm going to be getting a break in the middle!
     This past week and weekend has been going really well for me.  I've had a good start on my classes while at the same time spending lots of quality time with old friends and making some new ones.  A group went out to see Where the Wild Things Are (which I would highly recommend if you're in an artsy, eclectic mood), and there's talk of skating at the Forks* tomorrow.
     Judging by how life is right now, I'm expecting 2010 to be a good year.  I hope the same for you!


* "The Forks" is a really cool place near downtown Winnipeg, located where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers meet.  These rivers, when frozen, provide a great place to skate -- I'm going to have to grab some skates at Value Village tomorrow!

Spirit

So I'm sitting on a bus going somewhere downtown. And I'm people watching, because it's always interesting to do so. In front of me, there's this lady who is probably in her late 30s early 40s. She's in a wheelchair. 

Immediately, what strikes me is this sort of cynical, detached look on her face. She has this angry, self-confident negativity written all over her features.

This makes me wonder. What if I ended up in a wheelchair for life? Would I look like her? And I realize that I would have a choice. That this sort traumatic event would change me and mold me as a person, and that I would have the opportunity to choose who that person could be.

It could turn me into a cynical, jaded person, who has lost the beauty and wonder of life. The kind of person who sucks life out of the people around them because they themselves aren't hopeful, aren't enjoying, aren't living.

I could turn into a jaded person. Or I could choose to keep the wonder, the optimism, and the joy. The tragic event of being confined to a wheelchair would not have to dampen my spirit. It could even perhaps help me in certain ways.

Which would I choose?

And then it hits me. I make this decision every day.

Will I keep the wonder, or will I let it die?