After an afternoon of whirlwind interviews (which will be posted throughout the week) and ironing out some personal lumps, I arrived at the Gibson Amphitheatre to listen to the Rock the Boat concert. Unfortunately, due to heavy traffic encountered while straightening things out, I missed DecembeRadio's performance.

When I walked through the doors and into the wall of sound, I saw that Relient K was deep into their set. Matt Hoopes, Dave Douglas, and John Warne all seemed a little reserved in comparison to the lead singer, Matt Thiessen, but they all delivered. It's a little like comparing a light bulb to a road flare. Thiessen's energy was phenomenal as he alternated between piano and guitar, while doing a solid job of blasting out the vocals.

Jeremy Camp came on and really delivered. I'd heard a lot of his music before, though I hadn't realized it. He has an excellent voice, but what he really has is a boat load of charisma. I think that the only thing that struck me as odd about him was his look. It felt a little too put together in an attempt to make him seem edgier, the soul patch, and the wallet connected to his perfectly ripped jeans via a chain. None of that hurt his music though.  Considering the sounds we left and the sounds that were to come, it was a welcome pool of calm.

As the lights came up for Switchfoot, we were hit with sonic waves. If the previous groups were playing at a volume of eleven, Switchfoot cranked it up to a twelve. I hadn't heard much of their music before and I now officially count myself among their fans. John Foreman was all over the stage. They ripped out "American Dream", "Dirty Second Hands", and "Gone" among others and didn't let up. At one point, John Foreman did a complete circuit of the amphitheatre mobbed by screaming fans singing and talking to them, dragging out every last erg from them.

I left the concert completely blown away, ears ringing, exhausted from a long day that would end twenty-three hours after it began, and elated by the opportunity that I got to see these guys play. And thanks to Hollywood Jesus and Grace Hill Media, we'll get to see it all again on the small screen.