Concert Review: Collingsworth Family - 12/30/11

On December 30, 2011, the Collingsworth Family performed a free concert at Faith Memorial Church in Lancaster Ohio.  I was privileged to attend this concert.  It was the first professional Southern Gospel performance that I’ve attended where I was able to stay for the whole thing, and it was well worth the time to attend!  The family sang a lot of songs from their latest album, Part of the Family, as well as a couple of songs from their last CD The Answer.  Phil and Kim even played an instrumental from the 2007 release We Still Believe.  Here’s the song list (not in order):

• At Calvary
• How Majestic is Your Name/Shout to the Lord (Instrumental)
• Swingin’ and Marchin’
• Tell the Mountain
• Joy Unspeakable
• I Pray
• I Know
• Power in the Blood/No One Ever Cared For Me (Instrumental)
• I Found It All
• Fear Not Tomorrow
• To God Be the Glory (Instrumental)
• Jesus Is All I Need
• Offertory Christmas Song (Can’t remember which song!)
• Joy, Joy, Unspeakable Joy
• Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho (shortened version; instrumental)
• Another Christmas song (again, I can’t remember which one!  O Holy Night maybe?)
• Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite (Instrumental)
• Just Another Rainy Day
• That’s the Place I’m Longing to Go
• Resurrection Morn
• Hallelujah Chorus (Instrumental)

We got our choice of seats (a few rows from the front) because we arrived over an hour early.  The wait, of course, was very long, but it was worth it to get excellent seating arrangements.  The Collingsworth started off with “At Calvary,” a song from their latest release, Part of the Family.

The concert was over two hours long, which gave the family ample time to perform songs from their latest CD as well as some from older projects.  Immediately following Kim’s offertory (I can’t remember what the song was now, but it was a Christmas melody) the family sang a song I have never heard of them singing before, “Joy, Joy, Unspeakable Joy.” (NOT “Joy Unspeakable” from Part of the Family)  It was beautifully orchestrated and sounded rather like something that would be on the Greater Vision Hymns of the Ages CD.  They performed this song excellently, and IMO, one of the better songs that they sang that night.

In a surprise move, Phil decided to have Kim play part of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite.”  OK, maybe that doesn’t sound so interesting.  The part that made it fun was that Phillip pulled a chair onto the middle of the stage, sat down and closed his eyes, and mimed playing the song instead of his mom.  Of course you have to see it to truly appreciate it, but it was hilarious to witness.

One thing I appreciated was the genuineness of the family during the performance.  They seemed like they were for real.  And they seemed to truly believe what they were singing.  The kids weren’t hesitant to raise a hand when a song spoke to them, and Phillip especially seemed to be touched by some of the slower numbers.  Obviously people can act spiritual, but while they did have fun doing some of the up-tempo songs, they didn’t seem to be just putting on a show.  You could very easily feel the presence of God while Kim played “To God Be the Glory,” and afterwards as she told of her husband’s brain surgery and the conflicting emotions that they felt leading to the operation.  She also told the story of her wayward niece who got saved after her cousins prayed and fasted for 48 hours.  It was a wonderful testimony to what God can do.

Also, besides the genuineness of the family, they made the performance seem unique.  It didn’t feel planned (Phillip’s pianist imitation for example), or like something that they just had to do for two hours every night.  It felt “special,” like it was something planned just for that crowd.

One of my favorite songs of the night (there were others, but this was one of my favorite up-tempo numbers) was “Just Another Rainy Day.”  I enjoyed seeing it performed live more than just hearing it on my computer or MP3 player.  There were some differences vocally that I think were an improvement to the song.

Brooklyn and Courtney played two songs on their violins, “Power In the Blood,” and “No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus.”  I usually don’t care for the violin solos (when watching the DVDs for example), but the girls did an amazing job that night.

One thing that I also appreciated is that the kids got a chance to talk.  Usually Phil does all the talking, and Kim might say a thing or two.  While Phil did do most of the talking in between songs, he had all the kids (with the exception of Olivia) talk while he introduced them.  This was a smart move, as it gives more personality to the kids and shows people what they sound like when they’re not singing.

In the way of complaints, the main sanctuary lights were left on during the whole concert.  I think the performance would have perhaps been enhanced had they been turned off, but I got used to them as the night went on.  Another surprise was that Phil Collingsworth had decided to grow a full mustache.  I actually think he looks better without it, but once you get used to it, it’s not a big deal.  The other major complaint is that, in typical concert fashion, the music was much too loud in certain places, especially when the whole family was singing a power ballad.

The Collingsworth gave an excellent performance and it was a delightful evening.  I would whole-heartedly recommend a Collingsworth concert to anyone who likes Gospel music.