Downhere/Building 429 concert review

Had a fun few hours last night at West Edmonton Christian Assembly watching one of my favorite Christian bands – Downhere – live in concert for the first time. They were the openers for Building 429, but it was apparent from the moment that the host came out to welcome us to the show that Downhere was the band that the crowd wanted to see. Indeed, Downhere got a big standing ovation when their short set was over. Building 429, on the other hand, had almost half the audience walk out during their set.

And that’s a shame because for as good as Downhere is, and as great as their short set was, Building 429 was a lot of fun, and deserved to have more folks stick around to watch them.

Of course, to be fair, I was also one of those people who came just to see Downhere, but figured I’d stick around for Building 429 as a “bonus” concert. I thought I didn’t know that many Building 429 songs, but it turned out I was familiar with about half the songs in their set, which was a pleasant surprise. They were an energetic bunch of guys with an obvious heart for God and ministry. I’m now officially a fan.

The Downhere part of the show was fun because I was live-Twittering before and after their set, which actually got a Twitter response from the band later. Very cool. The guys in Downhere, as they noted on stage, do not take themselves particularly seriously, but they’re a fantastic quartet live (and in studio), and it was a real treat to see such talented musicians play.

Thumbs up.