O.C. Supertones

See Spot Rock is a concert tour where 5 different Christian artists show off their talent to large audiences in most major cities across the country. Philadelphia happened to be one of their places to hold this spectacular event. The original date was February 16, but due to the severe snow storm, which dumped over 2 feet of snow,  started around the time of the festival, promoters were forced to postpone it until March 25, but it's well worth the wait.

Left to Right: Theo, Kristina, and Lisa

The festival took place at a unique venue known as the Electric Factory - located in Center City Philadelphia, not far from Independence Mall, and the Liberty Bell. On the outside, it looks more like an old-fashioned industrial site, but on the inside, it looks like a modern night club, with a standing room on the bottom, and a balcony where it only allows seating for a limited amount of people, but there it has a concession where you can purchase food, snacks, and drinks for a reasonable price.

Matt Theissen putting on a spectacular show with his guitar. (Thanks Krissy)

I went to this festival with two great people with the names of Lisa and Kristina. We arrived extra-early at approximately 4:30pm to beat the crowd, and get a decent spot in the festival. They fortunately had an extra ticket on hand, and I really wanted to go there, but couldn't find a ticket at the store. It was definitely Jesus that led me to this happening. We spent a good deal of time chatting and joking around as we were getting more and more pumped for a night filled with excitement. By the time 6 o'clock rolled around, we realized how much long of a line it became as more and more people waited in line, and more and more church groups come along.

Another Cool picture of the Supertones

The night went into full swing. By the time John Reuben started his performance, all of the concert-goers had arrived at the venue, and at their spots - for most people, at least temporarily. As the place was packed, the crowds started to get wild and rowdy. I was glad I chose the right sideline of the standing room. There I was assured that it would be my spot for the length of the event. Fortunately, I wasn't involved with the excessive moshing (an act of dancing, pushing and shoving each other - something I thought wasn't allowed). Since I was standing on the sidelines, but instead me and a few others standing there wound up being used as bumpers towards the end. (We made a plan to keep them from doing it again. Very crafty we are!)

I can imagine yourself saying "is this guy gonna get to the artists?" Alright, Here is my review of the bands I saw there...

Sanctus Real

Sanctus Real

The festival started at a little after 7:00, and Sanctus Real performed briefly. I've never heard of them, but their performance is OK. I think I've heard from better artists though, but they're a cool band.

Here is the man - DJ Maj - John Reuben's sidekick

John Reuben

John Reuben, along with his record-scratchin' sidekick, DJ Maj. Like Pillar, John Reuben's style is a mix of rock and rap. This guy can rock the house with a fairly short set of great Christian songs. But the highlight of his set was his sidekick, as he scratches those records like it was no tomorrow. Afterward he did several cool dance moves, and kept the crowd pumped.

You wouldn't believe what they had us saying to them - "Hey Reuben, Get off da stage, Get off da Stage..."

All in all John Reuben really rocked that night.  I just wished that they spent a little more time ON the stage.

Pillar

One of the highlights of the event is the great band known as Pillar. Whenever I listen to their music, my heart gets set on one thing and one thing only - Jesus! They performed their set from their "Fireproof" and "Above" CDs. All of them excellent.

Relient K

Relient K

I was happy to see another one of my favorite bands there at the event - Relient K. Relient K is just like the secular band, Blink 182 - except they're much more pleasing to listen to. They put on a slammin' set, and a lot of their visual effects were cool too. They used some footage containing car crushing and even drag racing. They played a lot of my favorites including 'Pressing On', 'Breakdown', 'Less is More' and several others.

The O.C. Supertones playing some really cool music for a crowd that just went wild.

O.C. Supertones

Here is a unique band that the crowd was most crazy for. I've seen this band before on a Christian TV network. There were excellent there, but even better at See Spot Rock. Moshing was at it's peak, but there were fortunately no injuries.  They combine a mainstream rock band with an archaic Big-Band. I truly enjoyed their whole performance.

Here's my cutest friends - Kristina and Lisa

Going Home

After the Supertones performance, most people (including me) were leaving, but my friends along with a good handful of others went to meet and greet bands, buy merchandise, and do other things. I decided to leave immediately afterward because I felt that I spent enough time with the crowd.

A See Spot Rock sticker that the staff handed to us.

Everything went smoothly from there.  I was very pleased to come to this one. I had a blast there, and I truly felt God's presence there as well, but his presence was dominant even before the concerts even started.

I would personally like to thank Kristina and Lisa for hooking me up, and hanging out with me during the most part. It was a real treat!

Theo R. – March 27, 2002

Easy Disclaimer: Thank you for reading this. Jesus is Lord! Have faith in Him. For security purposes, pictures were taken with the less expensive Vivitar PZ3140 film Camera. Friends' pictures posted with their permission.