On Tuesday night I saw Banks’ Laneway sideshow in St. Stephens Uniting Church and whilst there I had a sudden epiphany or maybe it was some sort of religious experience, nonetheless I came to the awesome realization that more non-gospel related artists need to perform in churches. Here are my reasons why:
1. First of all I am going to attempt to describe to you the awesome eargasm that was hearing Banks’ debut album, “Goddess”, performed in a church. To set the scene I walked into a packed room with people sitting on pews as they waited for Banks to preach. There were awesome blood red lights on (the colour synonymous with Banks) two massive urns with all kinds of white flowers on either side of the drums and guitar and behind the stage was a massive, carved wooden panel piece culminating in a large cross in front of the organ. We were all in Banks’ church and we were waiting for her sermon. Due to the acoustics it felt like the music was all around you, over you, under you and even inside you. That’s right INSIDE you! There were moments during the lightshow where the entire crowd was plunged into darkness and only her stunning vocals stood out (kind of the like a blind disco rather than a silent one). There was also something so wrong yet so right about her performing somewhere where she probably shouldn’t swear or talk about sex for fear of being smited in that very spot. All in all it was the perfect venue for Banks to perform her mix of vengeful RnB and dark pop tunes.
2. The second reason is Jeff Buckley. Buckley had the right idea when he performed at a tribute concert for his late, estranged father, Tim Buckley in St. Ann’s church in Brooklyn. Unfortunately there is no live footage, not even a single photo of Jeff Buckley’s iconic performance at the church but it was this performance that essentially heralded his rise to fame. By all accounts this show was what they call “life-changing”. There are segments about the performance from the book “ Dream Brother: The Lives & Music of Jeff & Tim Buckley” here and the indie flick “Greetings From Tim Buckley” allows us to get an idea of what it may have been like. So even though it might be a stretch to say, but had Jeff Buckley not performed in that church he may not have moved on to make “Grace” *faints at the thought* and may not have become the icon he is now. And that is why my friends you should all go out and perform in churches.
3. The third reason is somewhat more simple, If churches are good enough for the likes of Guns ‘N’ Roses, Madonna and Florence and The Machine to set their music videos in them, then by gosh they are good enough for everyone else. Case in point:
So in conclusion I would like to ask all the artists out there to get their shit together and take me to church, I and the world are ready to praise you.
- Court W
