BeNo.

Tomorrow Bebo Norman is playing Bethel and I'm not going. For the first time in 8 years I am not going to see Bebo on his MPLS stop... I could go... probably get on the guest list... but I'm not going to. True I have something MUCH better to do with people who are VERY cool, but there's more to my not attending.
You see, my freshman year of college my roommate Wade introduced me to Bebo’s music. 10,000 Days rocked my face off. I immediately became a fan. His music was easily approachable, but very poignant. The album was masterfully made- as if each song introduced the next. Never has any single artist connected with me like Bebo did- and it just kept on getting better. I bought his self-release Fabric of Verse and fell in love with that. Then Me, Myself and Big Blue Sky and Try… Song after song touched me right in the center of my heart as if I was living the words he was singing. I know that may sound weird, but really to be able to connect an emotion or feeling with a song is a powerful thing- but to do it over and over again… indescribable.
Then I started going to his shows. The first one was in a rehearsal hall at Luther College there were maybe 50 people there. He played and played and it was magic.
Then my dad and I went to a show at St. Thomas. It was a full room- maybe 200 people. He played for a solid 2 hours. It was lights out. Then he started selling out Maranatha Hall at Northwestern and Grace Church in EP. I saw him 3 times in one year. First 4 rows every time. (I am NOT a stalker, I promise) He told the same 3 or 4 stories every show, but that was OK because they were always funny and I always laughed. Plus he always had his guy Gabe Scott with him- a man who can play EVERYTHING... honestly, bebo shows are pretty fantastic.
But then it all changed. His music started to be a little more dissident- not literally, but emotionally. His stories were different too… and he was touring less…and putting out fewer singles… what happened? Why the change? You guessed it… he got married.
She.
Ruined.
Everything.
Ever since then I have not at all been impressed with his tunes. Not only are the words bland and shallow, but he’s gone WAY more “poppy” in style. And now he’s on BEC records… a BIG corporate label… blagh.
So tomorrow I’m not going to see him. Alas, I still love his old music- When people ask me who my favorite musician is, I always say “Bebo”… and I always will. For 8 years he connected with me in a way that was unprecidented and likely unrepeatable. I can only hope that as his massive CCM popularly eventually inevitably dwindles, he’ll return to his roots of a southern singer/songwriter who makes music as a musician lead by his heart, not by his label…

The Hammer Holds
Bebo Norman, The Fabric of Verse
A shapeless piece of steel,
That's all I claim to be
This hammer pounds to give me form,
This flame, it melts my dreams

I glow with fire and fury,
As I'm twisted like a vine
My final shape, my final form
I'm sure I'm bound to find

So dream a little, dream for me
In hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me
So I can bear the flames
And hurt a little, hurt for me
My future is untold
But my dreams are not the issue here,
For they, the hammer holds

And the water, it cools me gray,
And the hurt's subdued somehow
I have my shape, this sharpened point,
What is my purpose now?

And the question still remains,
What am I to be?
Perhaps some perfect piece of art
Displayed for all to see

So dream a little, dream for me
In hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me
So I can bear the flames
And hurt a little, hurt for me
My future is untold
But my dreams are not the issue here,
For they, the hammer holds

The hammer pounds again,
But flames I do not feel
This force that drives me, helplessly,
Through flesh, and wood reveals
A burn that burns much deeper,
It's more than I can stand
The reason for my life was to take
The life of a guiltless man

So dream a little, dream for me
In hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me
So I can bear the pain
And hurt a little, hurt for me,
My future is so bold
But my dreams are not the issue here,
For they, the hammer holds

This task before me may seem unclear
But it, my maker holds