By Dave Parsons
I’ve heard it more than once that you have to get a Christian audience’s arms uncrossed before you can get to their heart. And, the best way to get to a Pittsburgh resident’s heart is by showing you are one of them. So, it was a pleasant surprise when Lauren Daigle, one of Christian music’s biggest stars, led her Mardi Gras style band on stage, while waving a Pittsburgh Steelers’ Terrible Towel.
Sporting one of the longest catwalks in recent touring memory, the dancers, brass section (with trumpet, trombone, saxophones and dancers) paraded down that catwalk to open the The Kaleidoscope Tour at PPG Paints Arena on Friday, March 9.
The opening song, These Are The Days followed by Waiting, saw Daigle making constant laps from one end of the stage to the other, making contact with fans who were seated on either side and at the end. The crowd was made up of a lot of families with young daughters, who were most likely excited to have a tour of this magnitude to take the kids to. Those moms and daughters sang along, much like the moms did with their moms when Amy Grant first came along, and a lot of the dads still had their arms crossed watching.
By the time the band took their positions on a multi-tiered stage, and Daigle placed her microphone on a stand to sing New, the energy was buzzing through the arena.
Daigle explained that she chose kaleidoscope as a metaphor because of the fragments of shapes, sizes and colors, when put with light makes something beautiful, resulting in the community that music has the power to bring. That in itself was a beautiful metaphor for the Christian based lyrics that were the basis for the very pop songs being performed.
That’s not to say that Daigle can not hold her own vocally with the best of them, showcasing her voice on songs like Valuable, Hold On To Me, and Thank God I Do. Taking to the end of the runway for a few songs, Daigle did Saint Ferdinand in an acoustic setup she said reminded her of The Bluebird Café, the iconic music venue in Nashville.
It was about here that I stepped out to the hallway for a few minutes. On the way out, I noticed some of those dads still had their arms crossed, and despite nearly 2 hours on stage, and being that close to the proceedings, Daigle was still not reaching them.
In my route to go elsewhere, I passed a mom and 5 or 6-year-old daughter near the merchandise table. The mom looked worn out and her daughter had what looked to be her Halloween costume on, depicting her to be a princess. The mom had bought her a Kaleidoscope, the girl was admiring it, and the mom told her she was sorry she didn’t have the money to get her the tour T-shirt she wanted. The daughter said it was ok, and she was just glad her mom had brought her. A man walked behind them to the merch table and purchased the T shirt she had been desiring. He turned and said “here you go princess…every princess needs her own tour shirt.” The man put it on over her costume, as mom blinked back tears, and those arms he had uncrossed got the largest hug a 5-year-old princess could deliver. It was apparent something got to his heart, and his reward was priceless. It was most of what Daigle had been singing about all night.
Back on the arena floor, the acoustic set ended, and the show shifted into high gear toward the finish line. Favorites like Turbulent Skies and Still Rolling Stones brought the energy up again. There was a man a few rows down from me that I noticed had shifted positions, and his arms were now at his side. Daigle shifted into her grammy winning closer, You Say, and before she hit the chorus, his shoulders started shaking. By the time the song built to the climax, his wife had her arms around him.
Maybe she didn’t get to everyone’s heart, as we are all different, like the pieces that make up a Kaleidoscope, but she got to those who put their guard down, and let themselves believe in a better world. You couldn’t ask for a better evening than that, and Lauren Daigle delivered that to the Steel City.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the opening act for the evening who was Blessing Offor. I had the blessing, pun intended, to see him a few weeks earlier as he opened a country concert for Lee Brice solo. This time he had his band with him, but like Daigle his first words were “I was told to call you all yinzers….”. The crowd showed their approval of the term, and he played a few bars of the Here We Go Steelers refrain before launching into his opening song Rollin’. His brief 6 song setlist set the tone for the evening with soulful sounds and catchy lyrics that kept the attention of the audience, most of whom had probably never heard of him before. This guy is one to watch in the future.
Blessing Offor Setlist
1 Rollin’
2 Believe
3 Tin Roof
4 Don’t We All
5 My Tribe
6 Brighter Days
Lauren Daigle Show Setlist:
1 These Are The Days
2 Waiting
3 New
4 Look Up Child
5 Trust In You
6 He’s Never Gunna Change/Be OK/He’s Never Gunna Change
7 Valuable
8 Hold On to Me
9 Kaleidoscope Jesus
10 Rescue
11 Salvation Mountain
12 Thank God I Do
13 Saint Ferdinand
14 Love Me Still
15 How Can It Be
16 O’Lord
17 Turbulent Skies
18 Still Rolling Stones
19 You Say
Photo Gallery : Blessing Offor – PPG Paints Arena (03.09.2024)
Photo Gallery : Lauren Daigle – PPG Paints Arena (03.09.2024)
