Last night a group of us went to see the David Crowder Band open up for MercyMe and Michael W. Smith. Last year I went on tour for five shows with Third Day and Michael W. Smith, so I was interested to see how the new line-up would work out.

As usual, the David Crowder Band was upbeat but prayerful. Normally opening bands are something you just have to deal with until the big boys get on stage. But the opening band was the only reason our whole group bought tickets. MercyMe is too vanilla for my taste, and Michael W. Smith is too tame. You could see it on stage, but even more in the crowd. Way too tame.

When I was on the road with Third Day for the Worship Together tour, the crowd was always involved. Those five guys animated 10,000 people out of their chairs. The stage was elaborate and enticing, even if you were in the rafters. It was just a darn good show.

The whole Christian music thing can be dirty. Too often, you are paying to hear celebrity vocalists lead a church service. You are expected to stand up and sing because you are obligated to God. This is a standard request at hometown churches, and rightfully so. But I guess if I’m going to pay $21 for concert, I want to be captivated and entertained. Call me shallow, or just realistic.

I don’t know what to think about singing other people’s songs. I think Michael W. Smith is a great guy–I really do. I spent five days on the road with him. But his concerts have become praise and worship karaoke. He’ll sing whatever is the most-requested praise song of that month. We left early, so I didn’t get to hear his whole set; but of the four songs he sang, he’d only written one of them.

Having a big name record your song is a thrill for a young songwriter. Last fall, my roommate kept me up at night recording a song in his studio–just ten feet away from my bedroom. I’d lie in bed staring into the darkness, an unwilling audience of one. Less than two months later, Chris Tomlin heard the song. He decided to sing it too and put it on his new album. Chris Tomlin will join Michael W. Smith for the second half of the tour. It’s a wild dream to imagine 15,000 people at each concert singing my roommate’s song. That’s just cool.

But I’m tired of flipping on the Christian radio station only to hear big names taking turns singing someone else’s song. There’s no artistic integrity in that game. Maybe I’m just an elitist.