Gary Lightbody smiles a lot

He really does!!!



Recently, well probably about a year now, I've become quite an avid user of Twitter @markmews (sometimes you need your stalking in 140 characters or less).
So the other night I was all cosied up for a wee Saturday night in, you know that craic, (you do don't you?) and I just randomly fired up twitter on the aul HTC.
@snowpatrolband had tweeted they were gonna be sound checking at the City Hall in Belfast at 9pm so c'mon down.
I ,just as habit has it, read it out to those present (namely Jean, Amy and Ben.) Next thing I know I'm (as in we're) standing outside the City Hall in Belfast happed up to the 9s against the elements.
Also along the way we picked up some randomer (namely Andrew Reid, my bro).

So anyway we wait, next thing ya know the SP lad are out sound checking to what some have said was close to 5000 peeps.

Absolutely loved it.

Something about the music, the setting, the feel, that has recently drawn me to the Snow Patrol sound.

and if i was the public confessing type I may just divulge that after almost 30 years of U2 a the top I may now have a new favourite band

that's probably bout all i got to say.....

oh!!! Gary Lightbody smiles ALOT!!!!

here's some pics...the aforementioned randomer bro took....

Snow Patrol and Dark Horses

Just got listening to the new singles from ....

Snow Patrol 'Called Out In The Dark'

and Switchfoot 'Dark Horses'

Snow Patrol is on first listen something a bit different from them, got a few beats going on there, on the other hand Switchfoot seems to be business as usual which is also a good thing.

Looking forward to album from both these bands both out this year :D

Burning Like The Midnight Sun

I've been a fan of the Choir for a good few years now, loved their Circle Slide album, still do and would listen to it still on a regular basis....
but just recently by chance (https://noisetrade.com/index.aspx# ) I discovered the Choir had released a brand new CD called Burning Like A Midnight Sun. I must say it's a great album, love the theme of friendship and friends that seems to run through it...
well worth checking out

http://www.thechoir.net/

looking to go back to the future

listening to....

Jars of Clay (on spotify) //

The Choir - Burning like a Midnight Sun & Circle Slide

and loads of Thin Lizzy (I'm reminiscing)

reading....

Francis Chan - Forgotten God

hello,
just wanted to pop in and blog a few things....

Recently got a wee message on FB from my cousin letting me know of a Canadian Band called Blue Rodeo who where coming to Belfast...
After a lot of will I won't I go deliberation i decided to give it a go, exhausted and all as I was.... oh my goodness...
they where amazing... totally blew me away. Before Eva had mentioned them I'd never heard of them.
They had a stand in guitarist for the night called Luke Doucet.... AMAZING.... i watched him nearly the whole night... that guy is G.O.O.D.

Blue Rodeo @ the Real Music Club

for a review of the night go here

http://stocki.typepad.com/soulsurmise/2010/10/blue-rodeo-live-at-the-errigle-inn-belfast-281010.html

its kinda funny really you make a choice go one way then find maybe just maybe that wasn't probably the best thing to do..

at a bit of a crossroads now wondering, praying for a clear road to take

a friend said to me recently (well when I say 'said' i mean through FB) going back is wrong if you're just going back but if in going back you can go forward then maybe its worth it..

also just over this past weekend was at GLS...someone at it said 'bad decisions make for good reason are still bad decision...hmmmmmm!!!

to be continued (maybe)

Aaron Ferris // Solitary Realignment - The Review

it's been along time from I've done a review.... here's my thoughts on the latest by Northern Ireland's very own Aaron Ferris



Artist: Aaron Ferris
Album: Solitary Realignment
Url: www.myspace.com/ferrisaaron
Time: 10 Tracks / 38.17 mins.

Almost 5 years after the release of his debut solo EP A Round of Silence. Aaron Ferris who hails from Northern Ireland is back with his first full length album Solitary Realignment and boy what a way to come back.


The title, as the cd sleeve lets us know, is a play on the words solitary confinement. These songs I feel are borne out those solitary moments where it was just him and God, deliberate moments. Moments he has chosen to draw near, to listen and be realigned by the Spirit and moments he has captured in 10 beautifully crafted songs.

The lead of track All I Ever Wished For kick off the album beautifully upbeat and sees Aaron back playing with a band for the first time in a long time and that my friend is a beautiful thing, no less than the song deserves.


These songs, for me, paint pictures in my mind. I see myself crying out ‘I don’t deserve you, I don’t deserve such grace’. I’m right there as those of the persecuted church are martyr in N.K. and I realise the blessing of my wife and the challenge of being a husband in Heaven Awaits & Chosen to Love. Song after song I’m drawn in and I’m laid open before the Father.


Standout track for me is the haunting N.K. which recounts the martyrdom of believers in the persecuted church and included Scripture read in Korean and include the line ‘I would rather die than deny my king’ Other tracks worthy of a mention are Chosen To Love, Someone like Me & I Don’t Deserve You.


It seems to me that too often much of what we hear musically, no matter how good it is, doesn’t seem to go much further than tickling our ear. These songs demands our attention and should have us longing of those solitary moment where we to can be realigned.
To paraphrase what someone much more intelligent than me has said. ‘These songs are not just good but good for something’


By the way I just love the sound of the bass on this album.

Check Aarons MySpace for a taste of the tunes and details on how to get your hands on a copy of the album www.myspace.com/ferrisaaron

The Signal and The Noise

Just listened to the audio of the service from last Sunday at TLC!! (Get it here - http://www.thrivinglifechurch.co.uk/audio.php

Very interesting!! It's actually something I was thinking about lately, about listening to/for God's voice!

In my own life I'm very aware of the possibility or even inclination to surround myself with 'noise' which could be anything. Life it seems bombards us with what can only be described as almost like a tidal wave of noise, things that distract us, take our attention and focus to horizontal at the expense of the vertical.
Now I'm not saying our interactions and relationships on the horizontal aren't important in fact I think they are vital. It's just sometimes we miss 'the signal' because of the noise or at least lost the picture because of interference.



Very recently I was listening to an Irish singer called Juliet Turner, who sings a song called 'The Signal and The Noise' to be honest not really sure what its about, but there's somethings about that line 'separate the signal from the noise' that challenges me with what noise I allow to impact me to the detriment of missing out on the holy signal.

Jesus says in the Parable of the Good Shepherd in John 10 in verse 4 that his sheep follow him because they know his voice and in v5 they want follow a stranger because they don't know his voice, I wonder which voice is my default, which is the voice I recognise and ultimately follow

I wonder!!

thats what friends are for

Its hard to believe but I've now been going to Thriving Life Church for nearly 10 months, its been an amazing journey... I've went through the have a made the right decision thing, the being lonely thing loads of different emotions... but the more I'm there the more like home it feels....

over the past few month i feel I'm starting to really develop friendships... all my christian life I've longed for friends not just people i know but people i can share this journey with honestly... I'm a long way of that at the minute but i really feel I'm on that road and pointing in the right direction
i have had this kind of friendship in the past but for some reason it ended or at least 'cooled'

so here's to the future

I'm really excited about the vision of TLC... God I believe is going to d ostuff beyond what we could even think and we are thinking BIG ...

bring it on!!!