It's actually been quite a while since I've been to a major concert where all the artists on the ticket were artists I've never seen in concert before. As somebody who seems to only go to a handful of shows a year (at most), concerts tend to leave a bigger impression, for better or worse. But from the time I heard about the new Plumb tour, I knew this one would definitely be a memorable night, and it certainly didn't disappoint.

 

Touring in support of her critically acclaimed new album (acclaim that includes two reviewers here on the NRT Staff, among them yours truly), Tiffany Arbuckle-Lee is headlining a tour as Plumb for the first time in years. Brought in for opening support are rising star Christian pop/rockers, Mikeschair, and one of the more consistent presences on CCM radio, Josh Wilson. Together, the three make up for an uplifting and exciting night of worship, music, and fun for the whole family.

 

Mikeschair opened the night and wasted no time capturing audience attention with the hooky croons of hit single "Let The Waters Rise." The track served as a somewhat surprising, but very fitting, opening to the night and showed that these guys translate very well to the stage. The band followed with a new song, "All Or Nothing," which was definitely upbeat, a little rocky, and an overall great track. This song serves as the title track for the band's new album coming out in January, and half of the setlist favored the new material. 

 

Hit single "All For You" from A Beautiful Life sounded great live and was followed by the very personal new single for the band, "People Like Me." Speaking to the addiction faced by lead singer Mike Grayson's family, Grayson spoke of how Christ alone can free us from our addictions, and that through Him, it is possible to overcome it. And as proof, he proudly proclaimed that the once-afflicted member of his family recently celebrated 20 years of sobriety. This lead into the emotional new song that is sure to be a hit for the band—and is also indicative of this new album possibly being their best yet.

 

This led well into the encouraging song of hope of how Christ's blood made us "Someone Worth Dying For." Perhaps the band's most well known song, it was an emotional and powerful moment in the set. For the final song, the band got the audience involved in the song's catchy and praising chorus. And with that, the band's hit single from their forthcoming release closed out the night. "All I Can Do (Thank You)" was indeed a fine way to end the first set and the audience definitely seemed to appreciate the band's sound. The setlist definitely accomplished its important goals: it made me psyched for their new album (I pre-ordered it on the way out), and made me eager to see Mikeschair again.

 

After a brief setlist change, contemporary worship artist Josh Wilson took the stage with a recognizable hit of his own in the passionate anti-complacency song, "I Refuse." Beach balls were sent into the air and were bounced about the crowd for a few songs, adding in an extra layer of fun to the set. 

 

Wilson's current single "Pushing Back The Dark" followed and kept the momentum going. The encouraging "The Dark Before The Morning" led into a brief outro of "Savior, Please." Wilson's band briefly left the stage to give Wilson a chance to show off his solo presence. Wilson used a unique recording technique to back himself up for the next song, "Shine On Us," to which the audience responded very well. The stripped-down and emotional ballad, "I See God In You" was a surprising highlight of Wilson's set. The song's stories of how we can see God in the most unexpected places, even our own brokenness, was a message that really took root. 

 

Wilson's band then returned for the title track of his new album, "Carry Me." The song served as an energetic and memorable offering and lead well into Wilson's closing song, a unique instrumental of "Amazing Grace" that did well to showcase his mad guitar skills. All in all, Josh Wilson's middle set of the night hit all the right notes and kept things appropriately exciting in preparation for the night's headliner. 

 

Plumb took a little time to introduce a video promotion for the night's sponsor, Metro World Child. Concertgoers may be used to prompts to sponsor a child through the wonderful work of World Vision, but this organization offers a slightly different sponsoring experience. Setting up portable Sunday schools for children who cannot get to one, this sponsorship offers the potential for a personal relationship with the child and regular visits and phone calls. Like any of the wonderful organizations living out Christ's command to serve the least of these, it's definitely an option those with the financial means could consider as an outlet to share their own blessings.

 

Another brief break passed—complete with a fairly comedic little game with a local Christian DJ, an audience member and Mike Grayson—before the stage darkened and the haunting intro to Plumb's set began. "Invisible" was a good way to open the night. The song itself sort of feels like a bit of an introductory track and so it served well as a sort of prelude to the night. The personal and encouraging "Beautiful" followed next and was an uplifting and standout entry of the night. The song was one of several written about Plumb's relationship with her husband on her new album, and plays well in the theme of the album and of the setlist as a whole. 

 

Plumb invited the audience closer as the ukulele intro to her current single, "One Drop," played. She then involved them in the song's peppy "oh, oh-oh, oh, oh" hook throughout the standout song. It struck me (again) during this song that Plumb's versatile musical offerings would make her an excellent and wholesome alternative to many of the secular artists such as Katy Perry or Miley Cyrus. While not a stylistic copy by any stretch (and Plumb has been doing this before anybody know who most of the chart toppers in the mainstream even were), this song could serve as a love song from both a faith-based and mainstream perspective and could definitely be relatable and appealing to all kinds of fans. It was a truly fun moment in the night and it was hard to not be absolutely smiling through it. 

 

The other fun song from her new album, "Chocolate and Ice Cream," followed and served as a good outlet to plug the free app of the same name that promotes date nights for married couples to help strengthen their marriage. It kept the fun rolling and the crowd engaged before a more serious side to Plumb returned in the dark and haunting "Damaged." Plumb invited fans to sing along to a stripped-down and abridged rendition of her classic hit, "God-Shaped Hole." The emotional story of how God helped save her marriage, which was on the brink of ending, gave the powerful "I Don't Deserve You" new layers of meaning and helped make it a superb entry of the night.

 

By this point, she had the audience entirely engrossed in the set and it made for an appropriate time to pause a moment for the story of the next song. It was a surreal moment in the night to hear about how a friend of hers waited so long for a child and then, when she finally was blessed with a child, how he only lived for 28 days. Yet, she didn't lose faith and chose to see his short life as 28 days of blessing. Afterwards, she visited the hospital to help other mothers through whatever difficulties they were going through with their newborns. Plumb then extended the song's meaning to whatever struggles the audience was going through. Thus followed the haunting, cello-fueled intro to the most heartbreaking and emotional cut on her newest album, "I Want You Here." 

 

The emotion Plumb puts into her songs is unmatched and she truly can get the messages under your skin and make you actually feel, which is something increasingly rare in music these days. It helped that Plumb's stage presence was friendly and engrossing throughout, and you could tell that she really believes what she is singing. One of her well-known hits, "Cut," appropriately was next and played well off of the mood set by the previous song.

 

Plumb wasn't done with her new album material yet, though. "Say Your Name" was one of the strongest cuts from her new album and was a highlight of the night with its powerful pop chorus and fierce energy. But perhaps one of the best moments of the entire night came as the opening notes to Plumb's signature lullaby hit, "In My Arms" opened into what was a slightly more rocked-up version of the song. The always-powerful chorus just seemed to transcend everything I'd felt about it before in the live setting. Maybe it was the intense instrumentation, Plumb's powerful performance, or something else, but it made the song take on a deeper new meaning and served as quite the concert experience. The rock returned for the fierce and energetic throwback hit, "Cage," which itself has some massive mainstream appeal. 

 

Plumb and her guitarist then led the audience in worship with a cover of Matt Maher's "Lord, I Need You." It was a great moment to pause from the entertainment side of it all and praise the Savior, the real reason the music even existed. Plumb did a fine cover and helped make the experience feel more intimate and complete.

 

It was almost sad when Plumb announced the last song because it had been so much fun throughout the night. She said that the song was inspired by panic attacks she'd had since she was a teenager, which harkened back to Josh Wilson's similar story behind "Carry Me." To nobody's surprise, the closing song of the night was appropriately the tour's title track, and arguably Plumb's most memorable and strongest song ever, "Need You Now (How Many Times)." 

 

It met every expectation on every level, to say the least. The song's power on its studio version was always a standout and it was no different in the live setting. It was a fantastic way to close the evening.

 

To my surprise, there wasn't the usual extended darkness to give the audience a chance to shout for an encore, which was a bit disappointing as more Plumb songs would've never been a bad thing. The setlist was generous to Plumb's current album, playing a full nine cuts. Although a shocking exclusion, one of the few songs not played from the record, was actually the album's first single, "Drifting." It would've been nice to hear the song translated to the live setting, even without the studio version's guest appearance by Dan Hastletine. 

 

However, despite any minor disappointments (and for this night, they are completely minor and really having only to do with wanting to hear more, which is actually a good thing), it was pretty hard to find any fault with the night. 

 

The sound was incredible. Some venues and sound engineers (even for some of my favorite bands) seem to like to blast things so loud that the sound bounces off the walls and completely drowns out the vocals. While some may like that big wall of noise, I came there to hear my favorite artists, not strain to make out what they are saying through a filter of loud. Luckily, this was not an issue at all for this tour. The sound was great and Plumb sounded genuinely epic in this setting. The effective use of colors on the screen behind her made for several cinematic moments throughout the night. And of course, all of the performances were spot on. And I got to meet the artists afterward and go off on my crazy fan routine (which is probably pretty tame compared to some) that comes from trying to not waste the 30-60 seconds you get to spend with some of your favorite musicians. So that's an extra special treat for me.

 

 

Closing Thoughts: 
The Need You Now Tour is a fine and entertaining experience for the whole family and a great night out. From the opening notes of the first act to the closing pounding drum beats of the title track's outro, it's one of the strongest Christian concerts this year. If you can get to any of the remaining dates, don't hesitate. There's little chance of regret in a tour as strong as this. You need to go now.