Events
I’m still pretty new to the dance music scene (Christian or secular) as a whole and to DJ-led worship in particular, and until September 9th, I hadn’t been to any live events. I really don’t think that I could’ve picked a better weekend for my first live EDM experience and my first DJ-led worship event.
I'm still pretty new to the dance music scene (Christian or secular) as a whole and to DJ-led worship in particular, and until September 9th, I hadn't been to any live events. I really don't think that I could've picked a better weekend for my first live EDM experience and my first DJ-led worship event.
Taking a much-needed vacation day, my family and I left mid-morning on Friday and headed towards West Reading. I'll fast-forward over the shopping at the Green Dragon in Ephrata and the Vanity Fair Outlets in West Reading. I'll drop a couple bits of wisdom and get right to Friday night's pre-party:
Travel Tip #1: Use the Club Worship directions. MapQuest let me down in a big way.
Travel Tip #2: If you're staying the night, I highly recommend the Country Inn & Suites. Nice hotel, very friendly staff, and a 10-minute walk from the Club Worship venue. Oh, and the self-serve Belgian waffles for breakfast are awesome!
Friday Night Pre-party
Around 7:00am on Friday, my wife and kids dropped me off at Club Worship where Jeff Stoltzfus and some of his crew were working on setting up for Saturday's event. I hung out until they were done, then caught a ride with Jeff to Jon Carlson's house for the pre-party.
There were only 15 or so people there. I was hoping I'd get to meet some Tastyfresh folks that night, but it wasn't meant to be. Thanks to a flat tire, Radu and his friend Tony didn't make it up until the party was over. (Yes, they drove from south Florida!)
The party was really laid back and casual. We sat around, enjoying snacks and good fellowship. I'm typically more of a wall flower than a social butterfly, but everyone was very friendly and welcoming, and I found them easy to talk to.
One nice surprise was having Andy Hunter drop by for a while part way through the night. I was impressed by how genuine and down-to-earth he was. He just came in, sat down, and joined in the conversation and laughter as we listened to Josh's stories from his job with a pyrotechnics company. (Josh also is a graphic designer and VJ for Club Worship.)
Eventually, the jet lag won out, and Andy told everyone good-bye and went back to his hotel, taking a Ziplock bag of "crisps" with him. The rest of us stayed for a while longer. Jeff answered my clueless newbie DJ-related questions and showed me a little bit about working the Numark CDX decks and Vestax PCV-275 mixer that were sent up in the Carlsons' living room.
On the ride back to my hotel, Jeff got a call in his cell phone from Radu. Radu had used MapQuest, too. (See Travel Tip #1.) Jeff talked him to where we were waiting at the side of the road, then they followed us to the TGI Friday's across the street from the hotel, where Radu and Tony grabbed some late-night dinner. I got to meet my first non-Club-Worship Tastyfolk and enjoy some more great fellowship before heading across the street for bed.
Saturday Night Event
After spending the day with my family doing more outlet shopping, taking it easy in our room, and enjoying some time in the hotel pool with my kids, my family dropped me off again on Saturday night for the Club Worship event at 7:00pm.
When I went in, I didn't see anybody I knew, so my wall-flower side kicked in, and I stood along the back wall. After a bit, Radu found me, and we talked until the music started. With Jeff Stoltzfus manning the decks and Josh Moss (not the pyrotechnics Josh) leading us to worship, my first DJ-led worship experience began.
Since I knew that I wanted to do this write-up for Tastyfresh, I started out by taking some pictures and doing a rough head count. (At that time, I figured there were 75 to 100 people in the ballroom.) After that, I put my camera away for a bit.
Not sure what to expect, I quickly felt God's presence in the room. It wasn't any tangible sensation, but more of an emotional feeling. Like an emotional load being lifted. I also felt what can only be described as a literal need to worship. It wasn't a feeling of peer pressure. (People were worshipping, enjoying the music, or just hanging out.) It wasn't like at a church that I grew up in where, even as a non-Christian, I felt pressured to act all charismatic or feel like an outsider. That night, I felt as if to not worship would've required actual resistance on my part. I wanted to worship, so I let myself go with it.
Soon, I found my eyes beginning to tear up. This was the worship experience that I'd been looking for—praying for. I'd been wanting to attend Club Worship for several months. Now, here I was, and already it was what I'd hoped it to be. And the night had just started.
One of the first tracks that I recognized was Gerwin Koudijs' remix of Michael W. Smith's "All I Want". Hearing that familiar track set me even more at ease. That was followed up with a remix of "It Is You" by Newsboys. It was during this song that I raised my hands in the air. If you knew me well enough, you'd know that I never, ever do that. But in that time and place, I wanted to raise my hands in worship. I did it with little hesitation or self-consciousness.
Something that surprised me at Club Worship is how easy it was to feel alone—in a good way—in a roomful of people, most of whom were dancing energetically. The quality of the lighting and video presentation at Club Worship was first rate and really added to the energy and atmosphere in the room. At the same time, the fog and low lighting provided the ability for one to feel alone and intimate with God.
Around 8:00pm, the Club Worship guys wrapped up the opening set. Jeff talked to the crowd a bit and took that opportunity to announce that UK house duo Aorta would be the headliners for Club Worship's October event. Judging from the crowd's reaction, many are already looking forward to next month.
The rap duo Chase Nafta from Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, who also will be performing at the October event, were present to give everyone a two-song preview set. Rap's really not my thing and not something I personally could worship to, but the guys did it well, and the crowd responded.
Next up was Conexion, a hip-hop and reggaeton group from Elizabeth, NJ. That musical style also is something you'll probably never hear coming from my car stereo, but I found myself really appreciating and enjoying their set. Maybe it was the crowd and the atmosphere. Maybe it was the heart for worship that the guys expressed. Maybe it was God breaking down genre barriers within me. I don't know.
For me, the most memorable part of their set was the medley of popular praise choruses ("Here I am to Worship", "How Great is our God", "Open the Eyes of my Heart", etc.). To be able to sing familiar choruses along with Conexion and the others in the crowd to a smooth reggae beat was awesome to experience.
I headed out to the lobby a little before 9:00 for some water. While I was out there, Jeff Stoltzfus introduced me to a few more Tastyfolk: Rapture Man, Tronster, Infrared, and DJ Yo-yo. (I realized then that my Tastyfresh username—godlovesmaggots—is even sillier to hear said out loud than it is to see in the forums. Oh well, at least it's memorable!) Shortly after that, I ended up at the diner a couple blocks away with Rapture Man, Tronster, and Infrared. They grabbed a late dinner while I refueled with a couple glasses of Mountain Dew. They were all great guys, easy to talk to, and full of fun stories, dance-related and otherwise.
When we got back to Club Worship, Andy Hunter was on the decks. We went from a time of good fellowship in the relatively quiet diner to being hit with the pumping energy of Andy's track "Come On". The change was powerful and invigorating. I couldn't wait to get back into the ballroom.
Andy played at least seven of his own tracks from Life ("Come On", "Lifelight", "Alive", and "To Life To Love") and Exodus ("Amazing", "Show", and "Translucent"). Hearing so many tracks that I knew was helpful to me, making it easier for me to stay in a more worshipful mindset.
Andy was very engaged with the audience. He actively directed the worship, speaking often to the crowd or directly to God as he worshipped along with us.
Maybe two-thirds of the way through his set, Andy slowed things down. He moved the roomful of worshippers into a deeper level of worship as he played the Exodus track "Show", with its evocative female vocals. As he moved on to "Translucent", Andy encouraged everyone to sit, kneel, or even lay on the floor and pour themselves fully out before God, worshipping Him in complete openness.
As I moved from the sidelines and onto the dance floor itself, I found myself weeping. For me, as I knelt down, there was no other appropriate response. I felt beyond words and allowed my tears to speak instead. It was a tremendous moment, like nothing I've ever experienced before. I could've remained like that, on the floor of the Olympia Ballroom in West Reading, PA, for hours, feeling the presence and love of God surround me and move through me.
The only brief negative reaction I had during Andy's set was when he mixed "Alive" in right after the ambient tracks. The opening beats felt jarring to me. Not because the mix was bad or anything like that, but because the percussion conflicted with the tranquility I was experiencing. However, that initial feeling quickly faded, and along with the others, I moved into a more active time of praise, which continued as Andy played "To Life To Love".
Andy finished up with some instrumental tracks that I didn't recognize, and then his awesome worship set was finished. Feeling rather spent, I went out into the lobby and waited for an opportunity to talk to Andy. I thanked him for his set and for his music. I briefly told him how I got back into Christian dance music (after 10 years away from it) when I heard "Lifelight" playing from a kiosk in a Christian bookstore.
At 38 years old, I felt a bit silly asking if I could have a picture taken with Andy. He, of course, agreed. After shaking his hand again, I went back into the ballroom where Jon Carlson and Josh Moss were leading more worship.
A lot of people had left, but Jon and Josh played a few more tracks, including another Michael W. Smith remix by Gerwin. This time, it was "Let It Rain".
Then, an amazing night came to an end. I helped where I could with tearing down and packing up the equipment, said my good-byes, and walked back to my hotel, exhausted yet exhilarated.
The weekend was everything I could've asked for. I got to spend the days with my family. In the evenings, I met a bunch of wonderful people and worshipped God with a freedom like never before. I'm looking forward to experiencing it again.