The house concert format is an interesting thing to me. There are so many variables that come along with it some incredible (level of intimacy with the audience) and some quite distracting (kidding– can we throw the lady with no rhythm and a tambourine into the closet?) I’ve had the pleasure of hosting several house concerts as well that have always been a great success in building community and introducing others to our circle of influence.
House concerts have challenged me musically to rethink how I will play all of my electronic music acoustically or “unplugged”. I’ve heard rave reviews of this format how important it was for people to here the songs in their singer-songwriter format. One thing that disturbs me is how if I stop playing, the room falls silent. I’ve played with bands for years and I’m not sure if I will ever feel comfortable being the only playing musician in the room. This has lead me to use different instrumentation that would allow me to talk over simple instrumentation. I love to talk and share stories about what inspired these songs or the passage of scripture they are written from.
Playing in front of a small group is incredible in that you can see and hear immediate feedback and response from people. They often have the opportunity to respond to you in conversation after a house concert like I have never seen at a larger show. Something about a stage creates an unnatural barrier that I’ve always had to fight past to establish the sense of intimacy that is indigenous to the house concert format. The longer I make music, the more I want my music to initiate real conversations between me and those listening to my music. I want them to try it on like a sweater… to interact with something I’ve made. I love this.
Another beautiful thing I’ve seen come about from some friends who led worship at someone’s house, was how this really became an easy opportunity for the host to invite all of their personal friends to get touched by the grace and ministry of someone who has ministered to them. I’ve also seen the amazing context of a night of prayer and worship as a night to lift up the arms of those too downtrodden and weak to go to a fellowship to be ministered to. This brings the intercession into their own home to leave a deposit of hope and healing in a way that often cannot or does not happen within the context of larger congregational gatherings.
